[IC] The Beasts Within

[antman0623]

Juno, walked down the dirt path, dragging his feet along, slowly contemplating where to go next. He had been traveling like a vagabond, just stopping by at each village just to get his bearings and move on. There was no where left for him to go, not after the whole fiasco at the village. He couldn't even go back there and word, would probably travel to other villages of his ability to become animal. Then he would be alone for good.

Turning off the path, he walked through the forest a ways and found what was a small clearing. He sat down on a tree stump there and pulled out a small corked bottle from his pouch. Uncorking the bottle he took a nice swig of the cool water. It was quite refreshing after traveling for so long. The rest was needed.

As he sat there for the few minutes, he heard a rustling. Juno looked around, but all he could see was forest beyond the clearing. No person or creature in sight. He took another drink of the water. There it was again, the rustling of cracking leaves. Someone or something was here in the forest as well. Juno perked up and scanned the surrounding are, trying to scout and see if he could find the source of the noise, but he could not. He kept a watch and then as able to make out a figure. Not who it was, but just a shadowed figure,

The figure seemed to notice Juno sitting there and slowly began to come closer. Juno became alert and ready, if anything was to happen, although it looked like just another traveler traipsing around the forest as well.

[Navy_Vet]

Jasper stretched to his full height, in his bear form. Ever since his turning he had been shunned from villages repeatedly for being too "Different." He wasn't abnormal looking he was just freakishly strong like a bear. The last village ran him off after he single-handedly lifted an overturned wagon full of flour. He saved a villager in the process but the suspicious villagers called him a monster, and demon and other sorts of names. He eventually began staying more and more in his animal form just to avoid the angry villagers.

His senses improved and he learned to trust more and more on his animal instincts. As he hunted for berries he caught an unfamiliar scent. It was human but had sort of an animal smell to also. He did not recognize the smell and he tracked it down. The lone figure walked the woods without a real sense of where it was headed. Watching slowly he saw the figure emerge into a small clearing.

Jasper remained hidden until the figure had seated itself, and then he turned back into his human form. He emerged slowly from the woods into the clearing wearing his buckskin pants and an axe strapped to his back.

"Are you lost?" he asked as he approached the sitting figure.

[TheSeriousJoke]

Surya glided from tree to tree, moving around at a rapid pace. She slowed as she heard heard walking below her. She saw a man walking down the dirt path in an exhausted manner. Surya slowly and silently followed him through the trees. She was curious about him. She was always curious. But if she's learned anything, it's that you should be careful around people, especially people in the woods that don't look the friendliest. He eventually stopped in a clearing, and Surya was tempted to go in and talk to him, but someone got to him first. Surya just decided to sit back and watch the event play out, maybe join in if it's worth the effort.

[Kaga]

Nissa groaned quietly as she turned over in her sleep, before slowly coming to her senses and waking up. She had made herself some shelter under a tree out of leaves and tree branches, creating for herself a safe place to sleep during the day where she’d be hidden and protected from the elements, but, per usual, she kept her owl hearing on during the day just in case any danger should present itself.

As Nissa blinked, her eyes slowly adjusting to the brightness of day, she started to regret that decision.

Poking her head out from under her cover of branches, she peered through the forest to see what could’ve woken her. Ordinarily she’d expect to only hear the sounds of creatures traveling through the forest - but she could’ve sworn she heard voices, too.

Despite her human vision being a significant downgrade from her owl vision, she still managed to make out two humanoid shapes not too far away. She wanted to go back to sleep, but she figured there’d be trouble if these two found her later, so she decided to keep an eye on them for the time being. She saw no reason to interrupt at the time, preferring to stay out of trouble, but she did decide to watch.

[Lily Kierstrider]

Drea ambled between the trees in the forest. She kicked a rock in front of her, sending it flying a few yards in front of her before she caught up to it to repeat the sequence again. Her life in the forest had been anything but interesting so far. She remembered how things used to be, back when she lived in the village. She felt a pang of longing and pushed it away. Now wasn't the time to get nostalgic for what she couldn't return to.

Drea approached an overgrown ravine and gingerly made her way down the side, willing her tail to appear for extra balance. She had caught an unusual scent earlier and, as she had nothing better to do, decided to investigate the source. So far, her search had only come up with numerous cuts and bruises from forcing her way through excessively wild areas. She inhaled deeply. The source of the odd smell wasn't too much farther ahead. She double checked her position to make sure she was still down wind. She wasn't sure if her target could smell her or not, but she wasn't about to take a chance.

Drea was clambered out the other side of the ravine when she heard voices. Up ahead there was a small clearing. She skirted around the edge of the treeline, keeping low to the ground, until she had found a position where she had a good view, and yet she couldn't be seen, herself. She crouched and peered into the clearing.

Interesting. There were two men, neither of whom appeared to be native villagers. If anything, they had the rugged looks of travelers. She glanced down at her own filthy frame and matted, black hair. I probably look just like them. She examined the two apart from their bedraggled images. One of them was a bit on the short side with a lanky figure. The other was his exact opposite. He was huge and carried himself like a hunter. Seeing the two together only served to highlight their stark contrasts.

Drea settled into her hiding spot, occasionally testing the direction of the wind, and fixed her golden eyes on the two men. They looked normal enough, but their scents betrayed them. There was something different about these two, she was certain of it.

Maybe life in the forest wouldn't be so boring after all.

[antman0623]

Juno looked at the man, still on the alert in case this was some sort of trick.
"No, I'm not lost. Just resting after traveling."
He corked the bottle and put it back in his pouch, looking back to the man to make sure nothing was awry. He turned away for a moment to fix the pendant he wore that was his mother's,tucking it under his shirt and stood up and faced the man.
"Might I ask what it is you are doing here out in this forest? Not many people travel through here. It doesn't lead to anything. I better get going. I have a ways to go if I'm to reach the next village by nightfall."
With that, Juno turned and started walking away, but he heard footsteps following him. He turned his neck and saw that the man as following him. Well, Juno thought, so far nothing suspicious has happened, so maybe there was no harm in letting this man travel with him for the time being.
"Alright, well If you're gonna follow me I guess I can let you tag along for now. Come on let's go."

[Navy_Vet]

"Well Little Man, I kind of roam where I please, my name is Jasper but my friends used to call me Bear; but I have no friends now and pretty much go where I please. This forest pleased me so I stayed."

Bear stood up and followed the man as he walked away. "I will follow you, I came across a trail a few days ago from a band of bandits that have been raiding some of the local villages. I'm not implying anything by your smaller stature my friend, but you look like you may need a companion at least to the next village."

As he walked through the woods his sharp sense of smell warned him that he was not alone in the woods, he stopped walking and sniffed the air again. "My friend it looks like we are not alone. He shouted loudly, "If you're a friend show yourself, if your not prepare yourself for my axe cuts deep." Bear then pulled his double bladed axe from his back and waited to see who would reveal themselves first.

[TheSeriousJoke]

Surya was disappointed. What an anticlimactic conversation. She figured she would follow them to see if anything of interest happens, she had nothing better to do anyway. She stealthily followed the pair of strangers until one guy, Jasper if she heard correctly, suddenly stopped, "If you're a friend show yourself, if you're not prepare yourself for my ax cuts deep." He yelled as he pulled out his ax.

"Well I guess now is a better time then never." Surya mumbled to herself as she jumped from a tree and reformed into a human, slowly walking onto the path, "Name's Surya. Impressive senses you have there, most people never know I'm there."

[antman0623]

Actually, having a companion to the next village would be nice, Juno thought. at least he would have someone to talk to, instead of just the voices in his head.

Juno watched the girl approaching them, he tuned to Bear and made a quick glance as if telling him to beware, but he could see that Bear already was on guard. He turned back to the girl. "Names Juno." He looked at Bear. "Should have introduced myself before, but now's a good a time as any."

Turning back to face the girl, he stood at attention, still in case this was some ruse or trick. "What's your deal girl? What brings you out to this forest?" Juno asked, while being cautious. She could be one of the bandits that Bear was talking about. There was no way to be sure unless they extracted the info from her.

And in the half a minute this was all occurring, Juno now felt comfortable enough to know that Bear was not the enemy. How much Juno could trust him though, now that was another matter altogether, but for now at least he knew Bear wouldn't attack him.

[Lily Kierstrider]

"My friend it looks like we are not alone. If you're a friend, show yourself; if you're not, prepare yourself, for my axe cuts deep."

Drea froze, her catlike pupils thinning to narrow slits. How could he have known she was there? She had checked and double checked that she was downwind of the two men, and she had been completely still and silent the entire time she watched them. There was no way they could have seen her, either. She was fully concealed behind a tree and a cluster of bushes, positioned in such a way that only she would be able to see them. She let out an inaudible sigh of resignation. Well, there was no point in hiding if they knew she was here.

Drea was just about to climb out from behind the foliage when another girl stepped out from behind a nearby tree. Drea stopped and followed the new person with her eyes. This was interesting. With her focus trained on the two men, she hadn't noticed this third individual. Settling back down, she continued to observe the three from her hiding place.

"Name's Surya. Impressive senses you have there, most people never know I'm there."

Drea got the impression that this Surya girl was feral as well. Either that, or she stalked people on a regular basis. Drea preferred to assume the former option. Now there was just the looming question: what were so many rogue humans doing in the same place? It was too ironic to be a coincidence. She shifted her attention back to their conversation when the smaller guy spoke up.

"What's your deal girl? What brings you out to this forest?"

His sharp tone of voice betrayed a wariness for the girl. He obviously didn't trust her. Drea felt a smirk tug at the corner of her mouth. She could tell this man wasn't very familiar with feral life, so he probably hadn't been out in the forest for very long. She was wondering what made him decide to leave his village when another thought crossed her mind: what if these other people were exiled like she was? It wasn't completely impossible that there were others who shared her transforming abilities. With her interest suddenly peaked, Drea continued her spying, hoping to find out the answer.

[Kaga]

Nissa tensed as she heard Jasper call out to see who was hiding, making her fully awake in less than a second, though she was pleasantly surprised to see someone else emerge from the forest - implying that this newcomer was the one Jasper sensed, not her.

…But, wait, hold on… Nissa couldn’t allow herself to relax and go back to sleep that easily, not when she considered how weird it would be for a human to just know someone was hiding in the forest like that. Nissa certainly didn’t hear anything, and Jasper didn’t act like he could see anything, so how did he know someone else was around? On top of that, this Jasper fellow seemed unnaturally tall… Curiosity piqued, she very carefully removed her leaf cover before attempting to follow them. She tried oh so carefully to stay hidden behind tree trunks whenever possible, though, as she found it extremely difficult to be stealthy while creeping across the ground - always worried the sounds of her footsteps would give her away. Unfortunately, flight was not an option at this point in time.

[TheSeriousJoke]

"What's your deal girl? What bring you out to this forest?" The smaller guy asked Surya in a tone she could tell was caution, but unfortunately he did it in a manner that pissed off Surya.

"My name isn't girl, it's Surya! Here's a tip, when someone tells you their name, you call them by it!" Surya said in a way that showed just how insulted she felt. She then breathed, attempting to calm herself, "I live in these woods. It's not exactly the nicest place, but I don't think anywhere else really fits me." She explained, which wasn't exactly a lie, but she wasn't planning on telling the whole story, "But enough about me, what are you doing here?" Surya asked, even though she didn't share a lot about herself.

[antman0623]

Juno looked at her. "Alright, alright. Surya. I'm just traveling, looking to find myself and somewhere that accepts me. I've been traveling days now. Just stopped here to rest. Then I met this guy over here, who informed me of Bandits. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, now would you?" He asked her quite cocky in his tone, trying to play off being cool and confident, but in reality, he was more nervous then he seemed.

Turning to Bear, he motioned him to come closer. As Bear bent down, Juno talked quietly in his ear. "You don't think shes part of these bandits do you? I'm not getting that feeling but you never know."

As bear straightened up, Juno glanced back at Surya. He saw her give him this look which let him know that she knew they were talking about her and wanted to know what they were saying. Fully focusing on her, he stared at her and proceeded with the grilling.

"So, come now. Out with it. What do you know. Spill it."

[TheSeriousJoke]

Surya raised her eyebrows as the boy kept talking, "Alright, alright. Surya. I'm just traveling, looking to find myself and somewhere that accepts me. I've been traveling days now. Just stopped here to rest. Then I met this guy over here, who informed me of Bandits. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, now would you?" He asked in a cocky tone. Surya made a face that shows she was rather unhappy with what he said. He whispered to his larger friend, which Surya didn't interrupt so that she could collect her thoughts, "So, come now. Out with it. What do you know. Spill it."

"You're never going to be accepted anywhere with that additude! Just who the fuck do you think you are!? And yes, I happen to know a lot about the bandits. I even know where they're camped, where they travel, and who to trust. But you know what? I won't tell you any of that. Pro tip, if you want people to accept you anywhere, fix your fucking additude." Surya said, folding her arms and slightly leaning.

[antman0623]

He watched the girl speak with her pissed tones and realized his attitude was all the difference. The only reason he spoke to her like that was because, he was uncertain of who he could trust in this world anymore. After what had happened in the village with his home and parents, there was nothing left for him and he was cautious, but presented himself as a cocky bastard, trying to force people to tell him their business so he was able to know if they were trustworthy or not. Even then, how could he know if a person was even giving him information that was true. It could all be lies just to shut him up.

"I am sorry. I'm not in the right mind after what happened at the village, with my house being burned down and my parents burned alive inside. I don't mean to come off this way, but since that incident I am very cautious about things and people and who to trust. Sorry if it offended you, as that wasn't my intention. Maybe we can put this all behind us and start with a clean slate? I'd like to find out anything that you might know."

Why did he even tell her about the fire, what made him open up for the brief moment he divulged that information. He just wanted to be accepted and after being seen as what the village considered "different", there was nothing for him. That's why he became a loner, but now that he met these two, maybe there was some sort of friendship to be had. He could hope right?

[Navy_Vet]

Bear stood with his arms across his chest and his axe back on his back. He listened to the squabbling between the two. Standing there he ran his fingers through his hair and turned to let the slight breeze blow across his face. Taking a deep breath he caught a new scent on the wind. Sweat, body odor, and fresh blood. There was a small village a few kilometers north of the woods. A new scent was in the air now something his animal instincts couldn't stand. Smoke.

Bear fell forward onto his hands as his arms and legs grew similar to a bear, growling low he barked out roughly, "Humans coming, they smell like smoke and blood. I think they attacked another village."

He moved towards the oncoming bandits knowing they'd have only a few minutes before they'd arrive. He stood up once more, now closer to 7 feet tall and looking more like a bear than human. He pulled the axe off of his shoulder and readied himself for a fight.

Standing there Bear realized he had just revealed his true nature to the small man and the girl. "Well either they'll run and scream, or try to turn me in. I may have to fight them and the bandits," he thought to himself."

He called over his shoulder, "You two better run now and forget you saw me this way, I will hold off the bandits long enough for you to get away, they travel in small packs of 5 - 10 men. Besides it's probably me they're hunting for anyway."

[antman0623]

With that, Juno knew he could either run away like a coward or stand his ground and fight with Bear. He chose the latter, although he might regret it in the end. "Bear, I am not going anywhere. And maybe they are hunting you, but I'm certain these bandits are the ones that set fire to my home and I am not letting them get away with it."

He turned and looked at Surya. "You joining us?"

Juno didn't wait for her to respond. He just walked a few steps away following Bear. If he was going to do this he had better just come out with it and do it. Juno crouched over and in an instant it happened. His hands and feet became small paws with claws on them and on his back he gained what seemed like a shield of armor. He stood up, letting Bear and Surya, see what he really was. Now that he knew Bear was like him, his trust level for Bear rose and he knew that bear was deserving of his full trust. If Bear was able to transform also, what's to say there weren't more of them out there that were like them.

"Come on Bear. We've got some bandits to take care of."

The pendant he wore became warm, like it did when he needed the sword. He only discovered the ability recently after he took the pendant from the ashes of his burned down home. He knew that it was made from the metal of the reforged sword of his father, which he inherited after his 16th birthday. What Juno didn't know until recently was the ability it possessed. After noticing that once pendant and sword were together, the sword would disappear. This led him to believe that the metal used to make sword and pendant had magical abilities. The pendant acting like the key which unlocked the potential of the magic.

Reaching over his back, Juno pulled out a sword from what seemed like thin air. And he knew that Bear and Surya were looking at him with disbelief.

"What are you two looking at? Haven't you ever seen a sword before? I'll explain once all this is over. For now we've got some bandits to dispose of"

[Kaga]

Nissa listened closely to the conversation unfolding between the three. Her ears perked up when she heard the term ‘bandits’. Bandits? she questioned silently. I must’ve wandered into the wrong woods… After they mentioned it, she realized that, soon enough, she could indeed smell the smoke riding in the breeze. All her focus on them, she listened intently so as to learn more information about these bandits, but what she saw next shocked her far more. Even with her dull human vision watching from a good distance away, she knew what she saw - the two men suddenly sprouted animal appendages. Her jaw dropped. “Those are…”

“And what are you doing way out here in the woods, lady?” A coy voice spoke up from behind her. Spinning around, Nissa saw them - the bandits. While she hadn’t been entirely aware of it, she’d crept out of her hiding place as she listened to the exchange between the others, now standing in plain view, and she’d even started talking to herself at the last second there… And all the time, she was so absorbed in what she’d been watching that she was completely oblivious to the sounds of anyone creeping up behind her. She couldn’t believe herself.

“You know, it’s not safe for a woman like yourself to be out here all alone… how’d you get here?” the leader of the group asked, though Nissa could tell the group was anything but sincere. Even if she hadn’t known they were bandits, the tone in the leader’s voice and the look on all their faces had that subtle, sinister feel to them as they all seemed to be inching closer and closer to her. And on top of that, she hadn’t trusted any humans in a long, long time…

“Stay away from me.” she spoke sternly, taking a few steps backwards. “I’m warning you!” With those words, her hands quickly transformed into talons, held out in front of her defensively. Ordinarily, she would be more timid with her transformations, but with two others like her only a short distance away… She could only hope she’d have some back-up. In the meantime, what happened next all depended on who made the first move…

[Navy_Vet]

Bear watched Juno draw his sword and grow armor on his back, he nodded to him and turned his focus to the woods. He heard a woman's voice saying to "Stay Away." He turned to Juno and said "Let's get 'em" running through the woods he crashed into the first man and tackled him quickly. Bear rolled on top of him and with a quick punch from his large bear-like hands the man was out cold. He hopped up and realized he was now surrounded by 10 other bandits, taking in the situation he realized the small woman had talons for hands, he quipped at her, "Hope you know how to use them claws Honey, cuz' the party is startin' now." As he finished speaking he jumped at the nearest man and raised his axe over his head. The man tried to parry with his sword but using his brute strength Bear brought the axe straight down and broke the weapon's blade. He reversed his movement and slammed the axe handle into the chin of the man in front of him. He watched momentarily as the man's eyes rolled back into his head.

Before he could pick out his next target someone jumped on his back and began trying to choke him. Bear stumbled over to a nearby tree and tried slamming whoever was on his back into it.

[TheSeriousJoke]

Surya watched as the action started to unfold, then she ran to where she had the advantage- the trees. She allowed herself to transform as she climbed, and hung on the end of a branch. She waited for just the right moment to leap. She saw one of the bandits attempt to choke the bear man (she took a mental not to learn their names at that moment) and jumped onto him, bitting into his arm. She was venomous, but it wasn't anything that could kill a human. She imagined it would cause some numbing, though. She bit down until she heard her teeth scratch his bones and then released, being careful not to take any of the mans flesh with her, and threw him off of the bear. She jumped off of him him and onto her next victim, repeating the same process.