[IC] Finding the Pray

[VerusEbullio]

Tuz "Flare" Vandora

With the radiance of the morning sunlight tearing through the hills of Terra, and slapping the thick canopy below, the animals gave their morning chirps and roars. The forest now crawling with some of the most dangerous cats and feral creatures in the living world. One couldn’t be sure on which was worse, the day, or night. One with ruthless canines and birds, that have no second thought on defeating their own territory. What had been reclaimed after the war was now their own, no humanoid creature called this forest home anymore. Ancient weapons from the old war times still diluted the dense forest floor. Caves of hollowed, broken barns, and old fence lining twisted into the branches of age-old trees. These were what now made up the dens that the day creatures dwelled in well into the night. Meanwhile night creatures, such as vicious cougars and bobcats came out at night the lick your flesh from straight from the bone. One wouldn’t know which is a worse fate.

Tuz walked along an old dirt road. The land around her, once prospering farms, now flat with tall grasses. Fences and old barns reclaimed by nature. A crow rest in the shade of the a remaining piece of roof. Not a bad sign, but perhaps a sign of a change coming today. It was almost a joy to see the bird that so many humans associated with death. A small grin found its way to Tuz’s lips. The slight curve she couldn’t hide, and in these dangerous times Tuz liked these kind of moments.

The girls feet shifted as her ears picked up the movement around her. She couldn’t tell for certain if this movement came from an animal, friend, or foe. Making a small fist, her eyes shone a deep, fiery orange. Being ready to defeat herself if needed. The poor girl had ran into a few hunters wanting her feathers for the black market and that’s not something she was willing to give to anyone. It could also be her next meal, before she continues on her way towards the next village. A friend, although they would not start off as a friend at first, would be beneficial down the road. To have someone to fight alongside her, to have to kill everything that crossed her path. The feeling would be so nice.

After a few miles Tuz couldn’t handle the slow movement of her humanoid form. Lifting her arms above her head, they grew beautiful, silk feathers. She shrugged off her clothing as her body changed to that of the fire bird. The orange of her iris quickly consumed the rest of her eyes and narrowed. Her nose and mouth extended and hardened, transforming into a sharp, dull-yellow beak. Her hair shortened and the feathers on her nape grew. With her legs buckling out and re-jointing themselves, a magnificent tail burst off the end of her tailbone. Bright, long feathers whipped the ground and with a single stroke of her wings she took off into the air, with her clothes wrapped and tied around her neck.. The process only took a matter of seconds and she now resembled a messenger bird, with her belongings tied onto her back.

Traveling by air, Tuz was able to spot potential threats and how close her destination was. Once she was about a mile off, she descended into a tree just off the path. Transforming back into her humanoid form. Back onto the road she pulled out a few coins that weren’t so honorably earned, but would get her a place to sleep. Walking into the local inn, or what she thought was the inn she observed the people around her. There were maybe a handful of men. All had mugs in their hands, the smell reeked of alcohol.

“What can I get the lady?” A man asked from the counter.

“Um, you wouldn’t happen to have Ale from the Ash would you?” Tuz replied, her head snapping to the side in a bird-like motion. The ale wasn’t easy to come by, it felt like you were lighting you mouth on fire, and the phoenix loved it.

“I do believe so. Two atres” He answered back. A small glass of grey liquid in his hands. The girl put two silver coins on the counter and took to glass. Giving the bartender a nod and a cup raise before going to find a seat. Eventually finding one in the corner where she could see everyone.

(OOC: Pin= 1 dollar, atres= 10 dollars, just to put the currency into perspective.)
@Kidd @akirashadow

[Kidd]

Kaliyanei

When Kali had walked into the inn, she had rented a room. Now it was the next day and she was running out of pebbles to give the bartender and the more she used her magic, the more likely he was to see through it. So after a few hours of watching people come and go, down drinks and inhale food, she decided it was time to have one final drink. Admittedly, she had already had a bit too much for her small frame and her hood finally fell off her head to reveal her dark, pretty face and violet eyes. She appeared plenty comfortable despite.

"One more," she requested lazily. The bartender had just finished serving another woman--not that Kali had noticed--and now he cocked an eyebrow at her. He seemed to debate it, but hesitantly nodded. He placed the drink before her and she dropped a few more pebbles onto the table in exchange. At least, that's what onlookers would see; she was charming the man into seeing a few atres more than the drink was worth. And he had continued to be tricked by it instead of doubting where this strange girl got so much money. "Keep the change," she teased.

And at this point Kali was just buzzed enough to not worry so much about onlookers; they hadn't noticed for two days now anyhow. So she happily started her final drink, sighing happily as the warmth filled her stomach and then body.

[akirashadow]

Akira Shadow 'Peace Hunter'

A walking pace, not much faster than a crawl had finally brought Akira to the inn. He squinted his eyes as he gazed up at the sign hanging above its door. It felt like he'd been walking for several hours and he was probably correct for thinking so. The young man looked down to his right leg and shook his head before leaning his left arm on the door as he stepped forward. The door opened part-way then further as Akira stepped inside, a pained limp in his step. The less than normal entrance had drawn the attention of a few nosey patrons as the man continued to limp toward the bar.

His right leg, poorly bandaged with a scrap of rags had been dyed red from where a wound had once been bleeding. Making it to the bar the young man let himself fall softly forward catching himself on the bar with his arms as his right leg buckled. The inn keep sighed as he stepped over to Akira, clearly this wasn't his first time dealing with a wounded patron. "What'll it be young man? You're welcome here so long as you're not looking for trouble." Akira smirked at the inn keeps comment before speaking up.
"Trouble? Worry not, this is merely a scratch... albeit a rather nasty one. Oh, a tankard of ale..." Akira stated as he placed some coins on the counter, more than enough to cover his drink. "...and a clean cloth, if you can spare one." The inn keep nodded in response as he prepared Akira's drink and slid it to him with a section of cloth. "Thanks." Akira stated with a smile before glancing round for a free table.

Having found a place to perch himself in more comfort, Akira had hobbled over to a free table waving away any patrons sober enough to offer him a helping hand. He straightened his leg out in front of him as he sat down, before leaning forward to pull back the blood rag. The wound had mostly dried shut, though that didn't seem to be the only issue. Akira stared at the wound, had there not been so many patrons he could spend a little blood from his finger for a simple healing spell. With a sigh he undressed the wound before taking hold of the clean cloth, wanting to keep the 'scratch' covered he tightly wrapped the cloth around his leg, before pulling his leg back toward himself and stretching it out several times trying to work the pain out of the muscle and get it used to natural movement once more. Having done enough stretching to make him feel sore anew the young man took a swig of his ale as he glanced around the inn, the patrons had returned to their drinks and the natural vibe and scene of calm resumed.

[VerusEbullio]

Watching all the commotion undergo from her corner, Tuz sipped her drink. The burning sensation felt wonderful as it sizzled down her throat. Ale of the Ash was made with flame cherries. While they were rare, one did come a crossed a bush here and there. Sometimes they would find their way into other countries. Eating a berry would be like drinking hot magma, at least in sensation. It was no question that the ale it made would be truly like drinking something very unpleasant to a regular human being. However, only creatures capable of breathing fire would be accustomed to the drink. Many inns and taverns chose not to sell it as to keep the fire breathers controlled, others thought to please all their customers and obtain the drink. Therefore, it would be easy to pick where Tuz's species would truly be liked, and not as trophies.

A girl caught her eye handing pebbles . Her head cocked to the side before a grin slipped along her lips.the little tricks had always impressed Tuz, but she figured not to make a big deal of it since this was how the girl was paying for her drinks. Not long after she heard the door open. This new comer trailed blood as he had barely managed to limp in the door. The fire colored girl sat quietly wondering how he had got such injuries. He did appear human, and their species was notorious for hunting all creatures, including themselves. That was the one thing that Tuz didn’t understand. For a species that does has so much potential, they abuse it and destroy everything in their wake. The girls eyes moved down to her ash-colored drink sadly, thinking of events she had heard and witnessed.

After taking a gulp of her ale, a puff of smoke came from her nose and mouth, like exhaling a cigarette. She thought about helping the human with his injury. Perhaps cauterize the wound. However, before she could get out of her seat, his hand was healing the wound. It was only a small portion of magic, something nobody else would notice. But she did.

Getting out of her seat, with her hood covering her hair, Tux went up to the counter. She leaned over the wood and placed another 4 atres on the counter. The bartender, reading what she wanted, placed another glass of the grey liquor in front of the girl. "And one of whatever the girl wants.". She said giving the girl the same impressive grin before leaving the counter.

With the drink in her hand, under her cloak, the girl took a seat a crossed from the man.“How did you do that? Aren’t you human?” She whispered leaning forward to keep other ears from picking up the noise. Fascinated and wanting to know more about his powers.

[akirashadow]

Akira had been making his best attempt at minding his own business. It wasn't often that he could go into a tavern without getting bombarded by patrons trying to push hunt contracts on to him. He had observed the patrons of the place a couple of times but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, kind of strange considering the remoteness of the taverns locations. Eventually he'd glance upon a young woman heading his way from the bar, with a sigh the hunter lowered his head as though to portray the idea that he hadn't noticed. As the young woman proceeded to sit at his table, Akira remained with his head lowered as if oblivious to her presence, just when he was expecting some sob story to get him to sign onto a contract he received a less normal question in the form of a whisper "How did you do that? Aren't you human?" The young man would leave a pause, before he looked up, though only bearly, leaving it questionable as to whether he'd even heard the question. "You know..." Akira took another swig of his ale. "It's incredibly rude to sit at someone else's table, without first enquiring if they desire the company."

Akira looked up properly, examining the young woman who'd taken a seat at his table. "Well now, that is an interesting pair of questions." His voice was now quieter than before, he didn't need to create any more of a scene then he already had. Leaning forward towards the woman Akira looks her straight in the eye. "But would you really still call me human?" The taint from the blood magic could easily be made out if one were to look for it. "Though your wording is also interesting." Akira took a final swing of his ale. "Ah... tell me then miss, what manner of creature are you? Don't be surprised, we humans are typically so blindly ignorant of other races that we would not typically refer to each other as 'human'." The hunter gave a cocky smile as he leant back in his chair as he awaited an answer. As he waited he glanced over to the bar, he'd seen out of the corner of his eye the deed that the woman who was now sat at his table had done for the woman at the bar. "I don't suppose you'd also share what made you intrigued by her?"