[IC] Animal Army

[Tracyarmav]

Isa : Anisim Misolav

The familiar scents of Luci, Blue and the less familiar scents of guards, and one other scent reaches me as I lay quietly in the slowly moving water. My tail twitches under the water, barely causing ripples on the surface of the water. That new scent intrigued me, almost enough to get out of the water and see who and what it was, almost. Blue smelled stressed out, which meant that Roxy was probably in trouble again... a hypothesis supported by the absence of her usual scent in the room. Next time, Vlad will die... I duck my head under water for a moment to wash away the rage building in me, and it sort of helps, as water gets in my nose, and I sneeze rather loudly several times to get it all out. Well, so much for going unnoticed by everyone, still they'd probably already known I was in the room and would have been wasting time looking for me if I hadn't sneezed, so at least that's out of the way. Now all we have to do is figure out if the new guys tastes any better than Vlad does. I lay still, waiting to see what this new fellow had in mind for the day's activities.

@KatherinWinter@BlackPanther@Alina13

[KatherinWinter]

@BlackPanther@Alina13@HaleyTheRandom@Tracyarmav
The door opened and a young man stepped in. He was a classic nerd. He stood maybe 5'8 with mousy brown hair. He had think black glasses. "Hello everyone." He greeted them in a nasally voice. "My name is Sean. I...um...am Vlad's assistant. He will not be rejoining you for a couple of days. Umm...during that time I will be in charge. Now...ummm...I know you and Vlad got off to a bad start. He isn't the most likeable man. But he had a good idea here. Today we are going to do a practice mission."

[BlackPanther]

@Alina13@HaleyTheRandom@Tracyarmav
@KatherinWinter
Lucifer crosses his arms which are seemingly covered with scars of varying lengths and sizes. Some seem as concise as the autopsy scars others seem more like knife wounds. He looks rather unamused as he waits for this new 'boss' to continue. His expression though seems more bored. He can smell isa in here and hopes the guy doesn't cause more problems. After all, harming team mates is generally frowned upon.

[Alina13]

@KatherinWinter@BlackPanther@Tracyarmav
Savannah listened to Sean speak in a voice that annoyed her to no end. The guy sounded as if he hadn't blown his nose in 30 years. She looked around the room and saw the uninterested expressions of the others, particularly one scary looking man with tons of scars. She wondered what those were from. . .
She wanted Isa to show himself in his tiger form so she could learn from him. She didn't really know much about that side of her but she figured that she had to learn from someone and who better to learn from than someone who had the same half? She wondered what this "mission" was about but whatever it was, she hoped she didn't get stuck with people who didn't know what they were doing.

[KatherinWinter]

@BlackPanther@Alina13@HaleyTheRandom@Tracyarmav
"You must learn to work together in both human and animal forms. Sometimes one or more of you will be in animal form while the others remain human. You will learn how to control your transformations. You will need to figure out a way o communicate with though who are in those who are in the opposite form you're in." Sean explained to them. "Today you will ork on that with Isa in Altight form you will use your skills to find Roxy. She has been hidden in the facility."

[Tracyarmav]

Isa : Anisim Misolav

Hmmm, that'd be relatively easy to do, unless they'd taken the trouble to throw false trails, or otherwise obscure it. Though obscuring it was less useful than one might imagine at first glance, or would that be first sniff? Who cares? Sean want's us to hunt Roxy down, and in particular to work on communication between partners while in alternate forms. We can do that easily enough. First order of business establish at least a basic system of communication. Which meant I had leave this wondrously cool bath... well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, so no point in wasting time now.

I rise reluctantly, and stepping up onto the shallow bank, and shaking most of the water from my heavy coat, before walking up stream a short distance where I could easily cross the stream without having to climb, or jump, up onto an over hang. I pad quietly over to the group, my paws finding the points of least resistance to land on in the soft debris strewn jungle floor. the abundance of moss helped to keep my steps quiet, and I only had to worry about the occasional new limb, still mostly dry, but those are all easily spotted as the rest above the moist and slightly soggy ground. I move towards Blue, and sit at her side. Though the new girl, the strange scent I'd first noticed when the door opened to admit the current group, held my attention as watched to see how she would react to being approached by a Siberian Tiger, the largest cat in the known world. I pointedly ignore the scared boy, Luci. If anyone of us had earned the title "Vlad's Pet" it was Luci, and I wasn't real thrilled with him right now, though I wouldn't be surprised if he thought he was acting on behalf of the group's greater good.

@KatherinWinter@BlackPanther@Alina13

[Alina13]

@Tracyarmav@KatherinWinter@BlackPanther
Savannah looked on in amazement when she saw the full grown Siberian Tiger, just like her, pad up to the group and sit so majestically in front of them. Suddenly, she found herself changing into her tiger form as well. She locked eyes with Isa as she changed and felt her whole body rush full of exhilaration. She was going to win this competition and find Roxy if it was the last thing she did. She wanted to earn Isa's respect and show the others that she wasn't just a fragile little girl.
When she was fully changed, she sat down in front of Isa facing him and wondered what he though of her. .

[BlackPanther]

Lucifer looks at the two tigers and groans. "I hate cats" the snarl rips through him and he stands storming off. Screw them he can track rich on his own with his own nose and his own tracking abilities. He inhales deeply and pauses before crouching down and following what he thinks is roxy'a scent.
@Alina13@Tracyarmav

[Tracyarmav]

Isa : Anisim Misolav

Oooh, a white tiger? I'd have to be sure to introduce myself later. I purr with distinct pleasure at having found another cat, and Luci's little comment only increases my pleasure, and with it the volume of my purr, so it might be audible to the guards now. Blue hadn't done much yet, probably just making sure everyone would play nice like a good leader should. I nudge Blue's hand with my head, to grab her attention before prowling out the door, listening and smelling what I could as I went. Though at this point I wasn't trying to track anything down just yet, as I recalled my guard had said that Roxy was with Vlad, and I knew where Vlad would be, in the infirmary. My tail twitches with pleasure at that thought, though I've stopped purring, one never purrs while hunting.

I arrive in the infirmary and begin hunting Vlad's scent, guessing that the guards might not have thought to hide his scent, or other signs of his whereabouts. I pause before a set of double doors, that need to be pulled open, and wait for Blue or an orderly to open it. Continuing through the doors and into a long hall which reeked of chemical cleaning solutions, which told me nothing more than that they cleaned this place religiously, or maybe just very recently. Still listening, and looking as best I could, I hunted for further signs of Vlad or Roxy in the area.

@KatherinWinter@BlackPanther@Alina13

[Alina13]

@Tracyarmav@BlackPanther
Savannah looked on after Isa, being very thankful to have another cat in her presence. If she could be any animal in the world, she wouldn't pick anything else. She loved being a cat. As she looked after Isa, she could tell he was very focused and she was almost tempted to follow him. She decided that it wasn't a good idea because she didn't know how he would take teamwork.
She exited the doors of the Jungle Room and took a left, making sure to open her mouth wide to test the air for any new scents. Out of her peripheral vision, she glimpsed Lucifer a small distance away with his nose to the ground attempting to track Roxy as well. Dogs really are inferior to cats. Maybe it wont be me, but some other animal will find her long before he will. That's what happens to ones with such a big ego. . . Savannah thought. She never had liked dogs, as a human or in her animal form. She had owned one dog she had loved, a border collie. And she figured that was because she acted like a cat.
She scanned the area around her and noticed that Isa had disappeared. Then she had a thought. The others were all moving around trying to track Roxy's scent but that wouldn't work because she would always be in a different place. They would never be able to catch her in one place. Savannah decided to be smarter than that. She would find a tree with a decent amount of foliage and hide there to wait for Roxy and ambush her.
Feeling confident in her new found plan, Savannah padded off to find a worthy tree.

[KatherinWinter]

@BlackPanther
Roxy scent was everywhere. It was like the guards had waled he around the facility to add to the difficulty of the quest. It would be hard to figure out which trais were newer because the trails laid over one another. Finding her this way woukd be hard.
@Tracyarmav
While the guard said Roxy was with Vlad he didn't indicate if that was her current location. After all there would e little hallenge if Roxy was that easy to find. In the medbwy Vlad would be sitting in a semi-reclined position. He grinned at them. "Looking for something?"

[BlackPanther]

Lucifer gets frusterated and pauses. If he wanted to do this alone he would need stronger senses. This would require his wolf form...however his trigger seems to be anger. He pauses then sighs. He lets out a short frusterated woof and starts pacing. The new girl and isa seemed able to shift so easily and all he could do is have extreme senses and claws. He growls and stops pacing. He snaps his fingers and willingly forces himself into a memory. Bones start to audible break and crack as he forces himself to get angry... To change. Of course, he takes a bit longer then the others to change.
About half an hour give or take, lucifer stands in his large dire wolf form. He snorts and starts flexing everything as if checking to make sure he was fully shifted. Once satisfied he starts sniffing again. In his wolf form it is slightly easier for him to pick out fresher scents. Once he finds what he thinks is the freshest he woofs and starts following that.

[Alina13]

@KatherinWinter@Tracyarmav
As Savannah searched for the perfect tree to rest in, she realized that she had never met Roxy before. All she could do was make sure to have her pallet wide open for any new scent, no matter who's it was. As she scanned her surrounding area, she found a tree that she thought would suffice for her plan. This was her favorite part.
She unsheathed her claws, gathered her strength in her hindquarters and sprang off the ground a good 13 feet in the air to the nearest branch and clawed her way up. She loved looking down on the world below her. Maybe she would catch something. . .

[Tracyarmav]

Isa : Anisim Misolav

Vlad made an excellent invalid, I hoped he wouldn't recover to quickly. I flicked an ear at his in response to his question, whether he recognized it as a negative response or not I didn't care. I'm briefly tempted to finish the job I started yesterday, but I doubted things would improve much with Vlad's death, considering how very hush-hush this whole thing seemed to be, at least as far as the public were concerned. Still, he didn't need his legs... bah, all right I'll come back for those latter. I pad on down the hall, continuing my search by moving towards Vlad's office, or trying too.

I wasn't sure I knew where that was, but I had a pretty good idea of where it should be, with the other offices, but not with the labs. So I wander around, taking the time to make mental notes of Points of Interest, like large intersections, doors that sealed, other habitat rooms, stairs and elevators, etc. I move systematically through the halls, trying to get a god feel for the layout of the facility as well as be sure I've looked everywhere I can. I can smell Roxy everywhere now, and would have chuckled if I were in human form. It was a typical ruse to cover one's tracks by leaving to many trails to follow, or just walking over someone else's prints, leaving little trace of your own passage. It seems they've applied a similar method to masking her scent. Still, it wasn't perfect, Luci would probably be able to get a pretty good read of the trail if he shifted completely.

Speak of the devil, I stop at the sound of woofing nearby, and judge that Luci isn't far. Still, I doubted they used only the one ploy in masking her scent, and decided not to trust Luci to find her by scent alone, though he'd need the practice in finding a fresh trail so I didn't see the point in trying to discourage him either. I looked around, consciously noting for the first time that she wasn't with me. Well that was brilliant... Oh well, focus on the task at hand. I continue my methodical search of the compound, not quite snarling if I should happen to pass Luci in one of the halls.

@KatherinWinter@BlackPanther@Alina13

[Alina13]

@Tracyarmav
This idea could either make me look really smart or really stupid. I could be sitting here forever if everyone else has already found her and make myself look ridiculous when I come strolling up. Or, I could be the first one to catch her moving and ambush her on the spot! That would make me look like a pro. I bet no one else would suspect her to come to the place where we all started. I hope this pays off. . .
She heard Isa snarling a little ways away and wondered what he was so upset about. She bet it was because of that wolf boy. He didn't seem right, in a rather unnerving way. He constantly looked as if his best friend had betrayed him or someone ran over his cat. Wait, He didn't like cats. Savannah thought in a mocking tone. Who in their right mind wouldn't like cats? How is that even possible?
Just then, as she broke out of her thoughts, she saw something move in the brush in the corner of her eye. She hopped up a couple more branches to try and get a better view but the leaves would not budge. She did not want to leave her post but she couldn't help but wonder what that noise was. Was it Roxy?

[KatherinWinter]

@BlackPanther
The trial Lucifer found was one of the fresher ones. It would lead him down the hall towards the med bay. The scent trails crossed each other several times. But finally he found two rooms filled with cages. The cages were empty. But the scent was strong in this room as if Roxy had spent a lot of time here. The trail would lead to the far wall of the room.

@Tracyarmav
Vlad smiles as he saw Isa head off. He knew that they would not have an easy time accomplishing this mission. They were too independent. They would refuse to work together. Already three of them had shifted. Technically they had failed the mission by not practicing communicating. Still it was early and they had only just started.

@Alina13
The sound that Savannah heard was a sun bear. One of the many natural animals that Vlad had brought in to make his environments as real as possible. There would be many jungle sounds around her.

[BlackPanther]

@KatherinWinter
Lucifer cautiously follows the trail his ears back as he sniffs. He feels like this is a trap but hopefully it is not. His steps are slow as he walks forward. He eyes the cages wearily as he walks past them. He figures that they have probably failed the mission but if he finds roxy he can try howling for the others. If it is a trap then he can still try howling.

[Alina13]

@KatherinWinter
Savannah caught a glimpse of a small body with matted brown fur and assumed it was a bear of some sorts. Because she was not having much luck being up in this tree, she thought about coming down but she wasn't sure if it would increase her chances or not. She had a feeling that she needed to start prowling the premises in order to find anything. She slowly crawled down the tree and she could feel her claws shredding the bark of the tree on her way down. She loved that feeling. When her pads met the grass of the Jungle Room, she padded over to the door and peeked out cautiously. She saw no one and heard nothing.
I wonder how long we have to find her. . . Savannah thought. Hopefully she had a little longer. She didn't want to be the one who wasted the entire period in a tree and found nothing. She opened her mouth wide so her pallet was exposed to the air and egan padding around the hallway in search of a new scent. She sensed something but she wasn't sure what it was. She decided to follow it, so she continued down the left side of the hallway, tail twitching excitedly.

[Tracyarmav]

Isa : Anisim Misolav

Finding little in my search so far, I was growing a tad frustrated. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to tag along with Luci long enough to rule out scent trails, but that seemed so terribly inefficient to me, that I resolved to finish my methodical search before relying on the hounds nose, sharp though it was. As I get close to the Jungle room again, I see the new girl, still in her white tiger form, padding up the hall towards me. I stopped and waited for her to come closer, cocking my head to the side in question, with my ears pricked forward and alert, I hope she understands that I'm trying to ask if she's had any luck. But I've lost to much to trust a hope, and so wait patiently for her reaction. I stand in the hall ready to react to her or any sign of Roxy, should any such sign become suddenly apparent.

@KatherinWinter@BlackPanther@Alina13

[KatherinWinter]

@BlackPanther
If Lucifer walked around alittle he might find more then scent. In the far corner of the room there was a small button. He wouldn't be able to reach it is current form. It would be just out of his reach. This button could lead him to something. But he would need to find a way to reach it. It might be the key to completing their task.

@Alina13@Tracyarmav
"You are far far from what you seek. You aren't going to find her by wondering the halls." Vlad taunted over the PA system. He loved that they were screw this up. It should have been a simple task. He hadn't hide Roxy that hard. If they had worked together they would have worked together they should have been able to find her in a couple of hours. But none of them had listened or worked together.