+ Scions of the Beast +

[Lil_Ninja]

Conri, Nazari, Nathanael, Dalton, Callie and Balto followed Kisho, excitement welling up in them, or was it nervousness?

Nazari gave Conri an eager glance as they walked. The time was soon coming when all havoc would break loose. But were they ready for it? He doubted it.

~~

Maxine followed alongside Kisho, making sure to stay close to him. Her hand often brushed his as they walked, but for some reason she didn't hold his, nor did she pull away. It seemed as if she was torn. Torn between Kisho and whatever lurked just under his skin.
When he mentioned dying, her heart raced. Not for her own well being, but for the others, especially Kisho and Nathanael. The two people dearest to her. She couldn't even imagine losing either of them. The thought was unbearable. But she knew that the chances of them dying was higher than not. They lived in a dangerous world, she just had to face it as hard as that may be.

Callie stayed close to Maxine. The girl seemed to form a bond with her.
Maxine put her arm around the girl's narrow shoulders as they walked. Mostly so she wouldn't wander off and get lost.

They reached the forest before noon and were on their way through the woods, the tall trees looming over them, creating a heavy atmosphere for everyone. Doom seemed to linger in the air and they all could feel it. Something was coming and they all knew it.

Maxine sighed, looking up at the expressionless face of Kisho. What was going on in his mind? One could only imagine.
"I once heard of a land where Anichi could live amongst humans in peace. No wars, no prejudice.. I've been thinking a lot about it.. And I was wondering what you thought about it." She asked Kisho as they walked through the forest.


OOC: Yes, this RPG has an end. But along with that sad news is good news!
Once this RPG is done, we're putting our effort into a new one that is very similar to this one! It'll help us get more people and a fresh story to go off of.

[Nami]

OOC: Indeed we are! So please look forward too that! ^^ I've already planned out my characters outfits etc X3 its awesome.

IC: Chaucer kept an ever watchful eye on Nazari, the second he made a suspicious move he would be all over him. Spring walked next to him staring straight ahead at Maxine and Kisho, a warm fluttering feeling went around inside of her and she beamed. Those two were most definitely in love. A giggle escaped her and Chaucer glanced down at Spring quizzically.

"Sorry," she whispered, still smiling, "I couldn't help it." She jerked her head at Kisho and Max. "They are simple adorable."

Chaucer arched a brow at her, "interesting to hear from you, but yes I agree." he glanced at Kisho and felt the tension rise, he didn't know what, but something didn't seem right.

"I hope someday, we can all be happy like them." Spring murmured. Chaucer smiled a little and squeezed her into a hug, never taking his eyes of Nazari.

--------

Kisho walked silently, he never made a noise as the leaved tried to rustle and the bushes threatened to trip him up. His nose was quick and his mind quicker, he would try to anticipate an attack if one should come, he glanced backwards and then shook his head, trying to remind himself not to accuse Nazari, just yet.

Maxine's question caught him off-guard, but he hardly showed it. He ponder her question. "I...sincerely hope that the place exists, it would be...peaceful." he smiled down at Maxine and gently squeezed her hand before letting his drop and his expression returning to an emotionless wall.

"For now, we just have to find it." he whispered, "then we can dream." a smile twitched on his lips as he glanced toward Callie, a pang streaked through him. He knew what it was like to be so young and see so much bloodshed and horror thrown at the Anichi, just for being born. Humans were horrible, most anyway. But someday, he did hope in fact sometimes he prayed, that they would find peace.

[Lil_Ninja]

After several hours of walking, Maxine proposed that they stop for a water break at a nearby stream. "And we can scan the area for any dangers before continuing." Is what she said. It was a good idea. Nazari especially liked it.

Maxine had felt the need to get away from everyone for a breather. She never liked traveling in large groups. Especially when all eyes were on her and Kisho.
"Hey Kish, I'm going to scan the area to the south. I'll be back in a bit." She stood on her tip-toes to kiss his cheek before following the stream to the south. Though she was going to scan the area, it was mostly an excuse to break away. She knew Kisho could tell, but she didn't care. She knew he respected her space, and she loved him for it.

Maxine wasn't the only one that wanted to be alone though. Nazari had turned into his snake form to drop out of Chaucer's sight. He stealthily followed Maxine as she walked a good distance away from the group. Things were aligning perfectly.


Meanwhile Conri had alarming news for Kisho and Chaucer. He walked up to the two and said in a hushed tone, "We need to talk." He pulled them away from the rest of the group (purposefully to the north side of the stream).
"I spotted a group of hunters closing in behind us alarmingly fast. We need to get away now." He talked in an urgent tone, constantly letting his eyes dart around for any sign of the hunters.

~~

Maxine knelt next to the stream and lowered her lips into the water, closing her eyes and taking in long refreshing sips from the crystal pool.
When she opened her eyes she was startled to see not only her reflection, but a tall man's reflection as well. She jumped to her feet and spun around, her heart feeling like it was about to leap from her chest.

"Forgive me. Did I startle you?"

She let out a breath of relief. It was only Nazari. "I didn't smell you coming up."

He laughed. "Well, I bathed this morning." He joked, getting an eye roll in return.
Truthfully, he had masked it so no one would be able to detect his scent with hers.

"Do you need something, Naz?" She asked, irritated that he had followed her when she was trying to get away from everyone.

His expression turned serious now as he took a step closer to her. "It's about Kisho. I fear for you when you're around him." He told her, his voice holding genuine concern.

She turned away from him, folding her arms. Her head was downcast, and her dark hair fell away from her shoulders, exposing her slender neck. "I can take care of myself." She told him, looking at her own reflection in the water. She also felt concern when around Kisho. But not for her own well being, but for his.

He sighed. "But the problem is, I don't believe you." He took two more steps closer, to where he was right at her back. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders, sending a shiver down her spine. He lowered his head so his lips were close to her ear. He whispered now. "I hope you can bring yourself to forgive me in the future.."
With that, his long sharp canine teeth sunk into her exposed neck, injecting venom that instantly caused paralysis in her body.
She hardly had time to react. A compressed scream escaped her throat as she collapsed into his arms.

"I truly am sorry, my friend." He said to her unconscious form as he picked her up and ran further into the forest, letting her scent trail behind, but not his own. After they got a good distance away, he wrapped a blanket around her that would mask her scent, making it impossible to be followed after a certain point.

OOC: Oooh, it's getting juicy. 8D

[Derek_Is_Me]

OOC-^^ I'll try with long posting. Oh, and just to let you know. The reason why I"m not posting alot right now is because I'm still getting settled with my new house. ^^ I love it!! XP

BIC- Storm stared quizzically at the human. He had never had much luck with them. They always tended to either want to hurt him or run away from him when all he really wanted was a friend. The last human that Storm had trusted had sold his brother and him out to the government were they tried to do experiments on them. But luckily. One of the people at the hidden complex that they were staying at had felt sympathy for them because they were only children and she thought that they lucked cute with all there animal bits out to show. She had been the closest thing to mother that Storm ever had. But sadly. In the the time that his brother and him used to escape the woman had died trying to protect them while they ran through the forest to safety. His brother stayed behind to give Storm more time to get away. Whether his brother got away or not he didn't know. So here he was staring at a human that seemed to want to be his friend and not really knowing what to do. So storm slowly and shakily reached out with his hand and shook Eric's hand."I-t's nice to m-eet you, Eric. My name's Storm." And with that done storm quickly jerked his hand back to his side and smiled weakly at eric.

[Nami]

OOC: Nin, tell Strafe he can jump in any time now ^^

Derek: We all understand, its all good ^^ I love your post BTW, gives good insight into Storm's past.

Sorry its so long! But trust me, its good! Don't forget to read it! ^_^

IC: Eric looked quizzical at Storm's reaction and then smiled brightly, "dude, you don't have to be scared of me! I love Anichi, they've made my life incredibly cool!" He slapped Storm gently on the shoulder, "hey wanna listen to some music?" he pulled off his head-phones and held them out to Storm, not noticing Chaucer, Kisho and Conri going off to the side, or Maxine leaving and Nazari disappearing.

---------

Kisho tried not to blush when Maxine pecked him on the cheek, he shook it off and turned to Conri, Chaucer followed them and they listened. Kisho stiffened at the news.

"But I didn't smell any." Kisho murmured back, eyes narrowing, "are you sure?"

Chaucer stiffened and sniffed at the wind carefully, "Kisho..." he grabbed Kisho's shoulder, "He's telling the truth, I can smell them, less than a mile away."

Kisho cursed under his breath, "darn it all," he ran a hand through his hair and twitched, "alright, I have to go find Max, you look after the group." Before Conri or Chaucer had a chance to stop him he was jogging away, "take them somewhere safe!! We'll find you." he disappeared into the woods and a sickening twist yank at Chaucer's gut.

He looked at Conri, "Alright, you heard him." he turned to the group with a huge smile, "hey everyone, let's pick up the pace a bit Ok? We want to get to safe grounds before sundown."

Something in his tone set Spring off, she noticed immediately that something wasn't right, of course she had been with Chaucer most of her life so it was easy for her to read him. She went over to ask him a question but he gave a small shake and she stopped, biting her lip.

-----------

Kisho bolted through the woods following Maxine's scent, he stopped puzzled at the water. "Max?" he called, then he spotted something. He bent down sniffing and then he put his finger in it. Blood. He felt sick and his face paled, he jolted to his feet, panic rocking his body.

"MAX!" he screamed and booked after her scent, his teeth grew out then his ears and tail, his hair got messy as he ran, leave snagged at him. Nothing slowed his incredible speed as he ran. "MAX!" he shouted again, he turned and followed the scent. When it stopped he froze, sniffing carefully, someone had muffled the scent. Growling he looped around looking in the area.

Cursing he turned and looked up.

'Kisho...let me' Phantom whispered, weakly. 'I can find her.'

'NO! NO! I promised Max I wouldn't! I won't!' Kisho screamed in his head, making Phantom flinch. Kisho began to chase after something he thought might be her scent, he started to become franic, losing all his sense of reason. 'Shut up!' he hissed at Phantom, even though he hadn't spoken.

'Calm down you fool, you won't find her like that...let me do it...I can find her...I'll save her.'

"No! I told her I wouldn't," he said aloud and then he stiffened, something wiffed at him and a feral snarl broke from his lips, "Nazari." he bit out the word like venom and with a furious cry he slammed his fists to the earth, tears rolling down his face, he started to sob. He hadn't been able to protect his mother either from Nazari, he still remembered the blood...all that blood.

'Let me Kisho.' Phantom's voice grew stronger, 'Let me take revenge for you, for what happened to your Mother and what might happen to Maxine...you can still save her...let me help.'

The offer was tempting and slowly Kisho was losing control of his barrier, tears poured into the dirt as he sobbed harder. "Please...don't." he whispered. Too late.

"I promise...it doesn't hurt." Phantom grew a wicked grin and Kisho was forced behind a barrier in his mind as Phantom consumed his body and took him over. The tears stopped, his eyes glinted red and his hair lost all the orange, going all black, longer claws grew vicious and sharp, his tail was thicker, blacker, his ears twitched and he looked down at his hand.

"Oh..." he touched the grass and grinned, sharp fangs poked from his mouth. "Its beautiful..." he stood up and looked around grinning, "I can't believe it! After twenty-seven years of captivetly, I am free!" he spread his arms wide, his victory was short lived as Kisho shouted for him to find Maxine. Phantom twitched, "fine...I'm going." he lunged into a tree, enjoying the sensation of muscles doing everything he wanted, he sniffed the wind, twitched his ears and his eyes shot open.

"Got him." He jumped silently and lethally from tree to tree above the ground, going at an incredible speed until he caught up to Nazari, he frowned, annoyed by how short the chase had been, he had been hoping for something more, but what could he expect from a mere Anichi? He was after all, ten times better in every way than a normal Anichi. He sighed and landed silently on the ground not far from him.

"You know, I knew you were a snake, but I didn't realize it was taken so...literally." Phantom's voice had a deeper edge to it than Kisho's, but it wasn't so drastic that anyone would notice right away, he stayed in the shadows so Nazari couldn't see him as Kisho screamed in his head, trying to get to Maxine. Chains bound Kisho inside and Phantom grinned wickedly enjoying his game.

[Lil_Ninja]

OOC: Verryy nice, Nami!

IC: Conri had started running around and gathering everyone together, trying to keep a cool exterior. He had to stick to the plan... He had one of the most crucial parts in the success of this whole scheme, and he was determined to follow through.

~~

Nathanael immediately knew something was wrong. He walked up to Chaucer and said in a hushed tone, "What's really going on? And where did Maxine, Kisho and Nazari wander off to? They weren't there when I was doing the headcount." He stared into the face of the bear of a man he'd known for ten years. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

~~

Nazari had hid Maxine deep in the woods so when Kisho caught him, he wouldn't be instantly killed, and he had ripped his clothing for his plan later. Because Maxine would be in her state of paralysis for several more hours, he didn't have to worry, and he had hidden her well enough, even the Phantom couldn't find her. Well.. He hoped.

When he heard Kisho's voice behind him, he froze. He paused to adopt a face of sheer terror as he turned to his feline companion. "Kisho, they've taken Maxine!" He blurted out, taking several steps towards him. "I-I tried to stop them but-but there were too many.. They had trapped her at the stream. We have to help her!" His words were almost one run-on sentence as his expression twisted to one of desperation. "They'll kill her, Kisho!" His eyes started glistening with tears that had started welling up. His performance was proving to be very thought out. Now if only the big fur ball would take the bait..

[Nami]

OOC: ARG! its killing me! I want to post but I'm gunna be gone this weekend!! Ok! I'll post real quick.

IC: Chaucer turned to Nate his eyes narrowing, "I don't know, but Kisho is after them, if Nazari tried something he will stop him." Chaucer glanced at Conri, "I trust Conri, but there is most definitely something going on, keep an eye open please? I fear we are not out of this mess yet."

-----------
Kisho or rather Phantom, watched Nazari's act and decided to play along just to see what would happen, he adopted Kisho's expressions and actions while he played his part.

"No, who took her Nazari? Where?" he sounded harsh and concerned, his face read of worry, he stayed mostly in the shadows though, not willing to unveil his changed appearance just yet. "Which way?! Take me to her!"

[Derek_Is_Me]

Still feeling insecure around humans. Storm gently took one of the ear pieces and placed it in his ear and looked over at Eric."S-sure."said Storm softly. He would try and give this human a chance. If eric tried to hurt storm in any way then storm decided from that point onward he would just give up on humanity all together.

[Lil_Ninja]

Nazari was slightly shocked that Kisho didn't even suggest that Nazari was behind it, but he didn't let it show. His mission now was to lead Kisho as far away from the others as possible. Beyond that, he had no plan. Way to go and commence a half planned scheme, Snake...
That was just him though. Never really thinking things through before jumping the gun. If he wasn't careful, he would wind up getting himself killed one of these days, there was no doubt about that. But he couldn't dwell on it right now. The fate of everyone rested on his shoulders.

They had been running in the opposite direction of the crystal, the group, and Maxine for the last two hours and he could feel Kisho was losing his patience. "The-uh.. Hunters went this way! Yeah!" He didn't sound too sure. He feared he couldn't keep up this little goose chase for very much longer. What do I do now?

~~

Conri could hear hounds behind them, howling away in the distance. They caught their scent. "We need to pick up the pace!" He tried to keep a steady tone, but he was too edgy to hide his nerves. He caught up to Chaucer and grabbed his shoulder to gain his attention. "I'll see how far behind they are, and I'll try to cause a diversion. You keep the group moving. Head for the mountains, it's the safest place." He whispered, then transformed into his coyote anichi, sniffing the hunters out.

~~

Callie looked distraught as her eyes searched the group of people around her. Maxine was gone. She walked up to the closest person to her. Storm and Eric. She grabbed Storms arm, and looked up at him. "Where's Maxine?"
Balto was next to her, trying to comfort her to the best of his ability.

[Nami]

Phantom got sick of running and sighed he looked around the area, "alright... hunters.." he sniffed and then looked up, he smelled Nazari's sweat. He narrowed his eyes, annoyed by this game.

"Alright Nazari, I've played your stupid game. Now give me the girl." He said chillingly, his voice going into its deeper mode, the one he had been desguising until now. "If you don't give her to me I'll be forced to apply pain, and trust me...you don't want to feel that. Now...the girl?" Phantom stayed in the shadows, he didn't have this kind of time to waste, he needed to find the Crystal, he felt its power pulsing not too far away from him and he was growing restless.

--------------------

Chaucer nodded, he looked back at the group and saw the fear in Callie's eyes mirrored in Spring's eyes. He pulled Nathanel forward, "listen, try to keep the others calm please?" he begged with his brown eyes, something was terribly wrong and somehow Kisho had known this would happen.

Chaucer gripped the book and yanked it out, he flipped to the page they left off on as he walked. He read the strangest passage and read it again just to be sure. "Oh my gosh." he murmured.

-------------

Eric grinned, "there we go!" he then looked startled at Callie, "What?" he jerked his head up and looked around as Spring dropped back to Callie and Storm.

"Its going to be Ok." Spring whispered grabbing Callie's other hand gently. She smiled, "c'mon, we have to pick up the pace." she looked up at Storm. Fear was written all over her face, something terrible had happened.

Eric looked around again. "Nate!" he called, "whats going on?"

[Lil_Ninja]

Nazari froze cold in his tracks, he felt a chill run down his spine at the sound of the Phantom's voice. He slowly turned to face Kisho (now Phantom). He knew there was no sense in going any further with his plot so he decided to take a more direct approach.
"Ah, I was wondering how long it would take for you to catch on, Phantom." Yes, he knew who he was talking to.
"I'd rather die than hand her over to the likes of you. But I know you wont kill me, because if you do, you'll never be able to find her." A mischievous smile spread across his face. He was mostly right. It would take Phantom an annoyingly long amount of time to find her, and he knew he wasn't that patient.
He could endure torture. He's done it before in the hands of worse foes, he can do it again. He had an almost challenging smile on his face as his eyes slowly narrowed.

~~

Nathaniel nodded. Keep everyone calm. He could do that. Hopefully..
He turned to Eric and motioned for him to keep his voice down. "I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it wont help to inform everyone. It'll just cause a panic that we don't need." His expression was very serious. "I guess you were right earlier. Something big is going to happen very soon." He said, keeping his voice quiet.
Suddenly, he heard a howl in the distance followed by barking. Hunting dogs. His eyes widened. They were gaining on them. He moved to the tail of the group. "Come on, everyone! Let's move faster!" Surprisingly, he was able to keep his voice very calm and almost chipper.

[Nami]

Phantom listened and then smirked, "I knew from the beginning that you were tricking me. And trust me, you are lucky I went along with you for this long." He stepped into the light, everything about Kisho's body was more aggressive looking including the evil glint in the dark eyes that no longer belonged to Kisho.

"You're right...about me not killing you." He stepped closer, "but that doesn't mean I can't beat you to the inch of your life!" Suddenly Phantom was on Nazari, pinning with with his strong arms, he flashed his teeth. "You pathetic and weak Anichi! You can't beat me." he grabbed Nazari's head and slammed it hard against the ground and then dragged him to his feet, punching Nazari in the gut hard enough to knock the air out of him. "Don't even think about transforming, it would be far to easy for me to make you immobile that way, and I like playing with my enemies." He laughed maliciously and kicked Nazari.

"Where is Maxine?" He said reasonably, holding Nazari by his neck, "I know you think I can't find her, but I have a pretty good guess about where she is." He chuckled as Kisho struggled inside, he didn't mind seeing Nazari get beaten, but he knew that Phantom could find Max without Naz's help, Phantom was not like the rest of them, he had powers that Kisho couldn't even begin to imagine. Cruel power that he would use against Nazari, it made Kisho sick thinking about it.

"MAX!" He screamed. Phantom shoved him back mentally and shut him up.

-----------------

Eric felt fear for teh first time since they had broken into the circus, he looked back at the group and felt his innards quiver, they weren't safe.

Chaucer grabbed Eric, "keep quiet, we need to move faster." he whispered harshly, "get Storm, Callie and Spring. Hurry!"

ERic nodded and went back, "hey you three lets hurry." He said smiling, "can't wait for this all to be over."

[Lil_Ninja]

Nazari didn't try fighting back, because he knew he had no chance in his human form. His head swam as he was slugged in the gut. He felt like he was about to expel his last meal.
Again, Phantom grabbed him. He was forcefully lifted to his feat by his neck.
He grabbed Phantom's arm with both of his hands as he stared into his eyes. He could see Kisho struggling to break free, and as soon as Kisho yelled, Nazari took that advantage to kick Phantom in the torso, sending him stumbling back.
Now was his only chance to do something. He started his half transformation.
His upper body suddenly grew buffer and from his waist down became a very long snake tail, black on the top, red on his underside. Scales spread across his forearms, stomach, spine and most of his neck. His eyes became snakelike as his tongue forked and his fangs grew longer, along with his nails sharpening into claws. He now towered over Phantom at least two feet. He lunged at Phantom, quickly wrapping his snake body around him, restricting his limbs. "Kisho!" He looked into Phantom's eyes. "I know you're in there!" He was desperate for Kisho to come back. "How do you think Maxine will react when she sees Phantom? Don't you think there's a chance she'll run from you, heart broken?" He searched Phantom's eyes for any trace of Kisho. "You and I both know Phantom will never willingly let you take control again!"

~~~~

Callie, Balto and Dalton hurried to keep up with the others.

Dalton knew something was wrong, but he didn't know exactly what. People were missing, they were running now, and there was barking behind them. His first instinct told him it was a hunter. He ran faster.
The mountains! Their only hope. They had to get to them!

~~

The group was almost to the edge of the forest and the hunters were closing in fast.
As they ran across an open field towards the mountains, they heard voices behind them. The hunters saw them, and everyone else saw the hunters.

Nathanael ran up to Chaucer. "What now?" There was panic in his voice.


OOC: Nami, feel free to take the initiative and control the hunters and group movement

[Nami]

OOC: Ok ^_^ hey, did you PM Strafe? This would be a perfect moment for his character to jump in and save the groups hides.

IC: Phantom roared furiously, he hadn't half-transformed! What a cheater this snake was. He laughed viciously, "Kisho can't hear you!" He bit hard into Nazari sinking his feline fangs into Nazari's skin, he may have restricted his limbs but his mouth still worked well enough. He ripped a chunk of flesh with his teeth and squirmed. "Maxine may hate me but she would never abandon Kisho! I've seen it in her eyes." Phantom said starting his transformation, he knew Nazari was strong but he wasn't a twisted, he used to have a friend, a woman...someone he had cared for. The other twisted, somewhere in this life she had disappeared, he snarled remembering her and this time his half-transformation broke free, his back arched and his claws grew freely, his ears popped from his head, tail swishing behind him agitatedly.

Phantom smirked in Nazari's binding, "you are a fool, you got close..." He pulled on Nazari's arm and twisted his wrist around clawing into Nazari's flesh. "Tell me where the girl is!" As he said this, he sniffed him and then air, a wool smell, he chuckled.

"Oh, you are smart Snake-boy." Phantom's eyes glinted evilly, "you covered her scent with a blanket. How smart, unfortunately for you...I believe I have an idea of where she is." Suddenly he lept hard, springing off the ground, wriggling loose of Nazari he slammed whole bodily onto Nazari and the ground shook. "I know you are strong, that will only keep you down for a moment...so I take my leave... I will find the girl. Adieu!" He chuckled and rushed off into the woods. Back the way they had come, in his half-transformed state he was faster, stronger and more lethal. In Kisho's thoughts, he knew that Nazari hadn't really stood a chance. Afterall, Phantom was not like them.

OOC: Hope thats Ok Nin, Phantom afterall is a Twisted ^^;;

IC: Phantom rushed back to the clearing, landing neatly on the ground, he sniffed lightly, searching for the faint scent of the blanket that he had detected from Nazari. Phantom transformed back into his normal state and walked over to the hiding place. "Smart, very smart. I'll give him that. No wonder Kisho felt threatened." he mumbled pulling out the blanket, he unwrapped Maxine from it and noticed immediately that she had been paraylzed.

"Maxine." He whispered, somewhere deep inside his heart ached, no not his heart, Kisho's. Phantom cradled her in his arms, something had changed inside of him, she reminded him of the other one, the Twisted he had been in love with. So strong, so willful. Phantom smiled and stroked Maxine's face.

"Wake up young one, we don't have much time." He said hand still on her face.

OOC: "I will not bow" - Breakin Benjamin, is Phantom's theme song. ^_^

--------------

Chaucer tried not to curse under his breath, they were too close and they weren't getting away. He knew they would be caught, unless by some strange twist in fate they were saved. Chaucer looked at Nathanael, he saw the panic that he felt and he opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He had never felt so hopeless, not even when he had been a double-agent working for the Anichi but making the humans believe he was a Human and on their side.

"I don't know." He admitted yanking the book out, glanced at Dalton and then down at the book, the map showed a path leading toward the mountains, it was probably their best shot. Renewed in his determination, even if only a little, he turned to the group.

"Listen to me." He said as calmly as he could, "stop panicking, the dogs can smell it. They smell your fear and chase it. I want you all to walk in single-file to confuse the dogs, if we mix our scents they won't know what they are chasing." He looked over the fearful group, his eyes landed on Storm.

"Storm, I want you in the middle, you will be our scout, keep your eyes open and look for any trouble, of if you can, a hiding place."

"The rest of you, get in-line! Callie with me." Chaucer held out his hand.

OOC: STRAFE!! SAVE THEM!! C'mon Derek! You can be a good scout! :3 Maybe you can give Strafe an opening to get into the RP!

[Derek_Is_Me]

Storm only nodded at being told to be the scout. It wasn't the first time he had done something like that. Bending forward a little bit storm started to go into his half-transformation. He grew a long white and black striped tail and ears came up on his head. His legs became more musculer and he grew sharp fangs with long claws coming from his fingers. Storm looked over at Chaucer and smiled softly,"I'll be right back. I'm going to go look ahead." With that said storm took off running. Most of the group when storm ran off didn't even see him move because he had moved so fast. 150 yds ahead of everyone storm looked around for any signs of the hunters. He could smell a small group of them off to the east about 300 yds away and he could also smell a much larger group straight ahead of them about 500 yds away."This can't be good. They're all around us."
--------------------------------------
Jason wasn't having a very good day. First he was minding his own business and carving a statue in a tree when some men started to shout at him and tell him to get out of the tree or they would shoot him. He quickly disposed of them and started to make his way deeper into the forest that was near the mountains when he smelled something oddly familiar. It was a tigers scent. Jason stood there happily shaking his tail since it came out since he was so excited.'Little brother.'thought Jason."I'm coming for you young one."said Jason with happiness. With that said he took off at inhuman speeds towards his little brother.

[Lil_Ninja]

OOC: Oh, yeah that's totally cool!
I wasn't expecting him to find her that fast, but it's cool
I'll just say Nazari already gave her the antidote for his venom XD
Btw, nice song pick for Phantom

IC: Nazari shrieked with pain when Phantom sunk his teeth into his side. He tried to hold on to the man, but it was hopeless. He was right though, Maxine would never abandon Kisho, no matter what sate he was in. "I wont put Maxine in harms way!" He hissed, groaning from the pain.
His eyes widened. Phantom knew. And now Maxine was in mortal danger. If he found her now, she wouldn't be able to fight due to the venom still in her system. He had to do something! She was a sitting duck!
But before he could, Phantom had hurled him to the ground. And now he was reeling from the blow, and the man was getting away. He tried to rise from the ground, but he was stunned momentarily from the pain screeching through his body.
He grunted, shaking his head to clear his mind. He had to catch him before he found Maxine.
He pulled him self up, and was now racing through the woods in his snake like half form.

~~

Maxine's mind was swimming. She was still in a daze from the venom, and her whole body was aching. Though Nazari had given her the antidote, the venom was still effecting her.
Her eyes slowly opened when she heard Kisho's voice and felt her body moving, and even though her vision was fuzzy and she could hardly make out his face, she knew it was him. Or at least, she thought it was him. Even though she tried as hard as she could to move her hand to reach for him, it was futile and it only made her ache worse. But not the ache in her limbs. No. The ache in her heart.
A tear ran down her face as her expression became one of distress. Why can't I reach for you, Kisho? She squeezed her eyes shut. What has Nazari done?
His betrayal was worse than any she had felt before. He not only stuck a knife in her back, he twisted the blade. She had trusted him.. And this is how he repaid her.
She sucked in a deep breath. At least she still had Kisho. She knew he would never do such a thing. He was her rescuer.

~~

Conri was too late. Kisho had already found Maxine. He figured they had been there for a while.
He could work with this though..

When he got to Kisho/Phantom, he transformed into his human form and walked the rest of the way to him. "You found her!" He smiled, letting out a relieved breath.
His expression changed to a more serious one, as if he remembered why he had come. "Kisho, listen, I came to get your help. Hunters are closing in fast on the group, and they need help." He paused looking into Kisho's eyes. "There's not much time, we need to go back now." He paused again, waiting for his reaction. Everything he said was true though, the group was in dire need of help, and Kisho might be the only one that can save them.

~~


They followed Chaucer's orders, Nathanael taking up the back. Would they have to fight? He hoped not. There was enough blood shed between humans and hunters as it was. He kept glancing back at the hunters and then to the surrounding woods. Where was Maxine? He could only hope and pray Kisho had found her by now. He was a determined man, he would never give up on her, that was for sure, and it gave Nate a certain hope.

Callie took Chaucer's hand, her wolf following close behind. She tried to move as fast as her short legs would carry her, but she was having a difficult time keeping up with them.


OOC: I did PM him.

[Strafe]

OOC: Here comes the glorious hero... or not. Too bad my characters are a sadistic gothloli oujo-sama and her weak willed maid... Long Character intro post. Skip background if you must. And sorry for Procrastinating so long.

-Evangeline and Kanako-

Evangeline sighed, her head cocked to the side, supported by her hand, which rested on her knee, which crossed over her other leg, which was on Kanako's lap, who sat on a log in the forest. he knew Kanako secretly enjoyed feeling like a mother. It wouldn't do if the heiress to the Saint-Claire Fortune was to sit on a dirty log. She got distracted for a moment, thinking of her last name. Her parents' last name. The parents that were probably searching for her fervently right now. But they were idiots if they wanted to find her.

---

The Saint-Claire family was known to be one of the leading funding groups for the anti-Anichi activists. Her adopted parents hated the Anichi with a passion far beyond reasoning, and if they weren't so influential industrially, would most likely be campaigning along with them. They might even be among the vigilante lynching crowds.

But, one would never have guessed that side of her parents, Peter and Isabelle Saint-Claire, who loved her greatly with the love only a mother and father could give. She was left on their doorstep when she was merely an infant, crying for a mother that never came. The Saint-Claires took her in without hesitation, naming her Evangeline, or good news. To the childless barren couple, Evangeline was better news than they could have ever asked for.

She was told young that she was adopted and her visibly Korean heritage told her every day that she was different, but she never felt the pain of being an adopted child. When she found out of her biological differences, she simply smiled, and hugged her true Mommy and Daddy. She was spoiled, but loved genuinely, never slighted, only greeted with a warm smile and a hug. A happy child. At least until her 10th birthday.

She woke up in the night on the anniversary of the day she was found, uncomfortable, feeling strange on her head and backside. For some reason, she was extremely hot, and extremely cold. She got up. A burst of light exploded before her face, only to be frozen instantaneously. She shrieked, and a Maid rushed in. Kanako Inoue knew instantly what she was and what would happen. An Anichi in the house of the ones who hated them most. She took the crying girl in her arms, the Kitsune, born in a burst of fire, but iced over in fear. Evangeline's head was adorned with ears, and 3 tails sprouted out from behind her, and her hands grew furry and clawed. Kanako, in that moment, thought she was beautiful and wanted to help her.

But Eva hated herself to no end after that. She learned how to completely hide her transformation, and suppressed her powers until her backside ached and her hands boiled with fire. She wore Victorian bonnets, gloves and long skirted dresses in Gothic fashion so she could hide her form in the case of an emergency. She distanced herself from her loving parents, knowing what would happen. Her demeanor grew as cold as ice. Her extravagant clothing made her untouchable. She was like a porcelain doll, beautiful, but sad. Kanako watched with grief as the once bubbly girl was iced over by terrible necessity. She could not bear.

Her parents thought of it as a phase, a Gothic lolita fad she would get over. But she couldn't. Evangeline hated the dresses, the stiff way of acting. She just wanted to be normal. She tried cutting off her tails, and slicing her ears, but the pain was unbearable to even cut them at all. Her longing for love twisted and warped her, producing one who was in pain, and so wanted others to feel pain. At least at the surface. Inside was the same girl who knew the love her parents gave. But she was trapped.

For 2 years, Evangeline hid from her parents until she fled. Spontaneously, without reason, she walked out of the house and never returned. Kanako went out to search for her, finding her, but knew that there was no going back.

So, the two feigned being a Mother and Child, convincingly, as to most people they looked alike.

---

And so here they were now, in the middle of the forest, on the way to another town. Eva was tired, so they waited until she could move on. She took off her bonnet and gloves, letting her ears and claws come out in relief. She puffed a small bit of fire in her hand, distracted by its ethereal flickering, how it seemed so alive, but really wasn't.

The flame extinguished, and Eva sat up slowly. She could smell blood, sweat, and fear in the distance.

Kanako looked at her quizzically. "Are you ready to move on, Eva-sama?"

Eva rolled her eyes coldly. "Please refrain from addressing me as sama. I'm not Japanese, and you're not my maid any more. But yes, we're going." She sealed her ears, donned her bonnet, and slipped on her gloves, heading rather quickly in that direction.

She walked through the trees daintily, deliberately slow and patient so that she missed nothing. Her ears perked. In the distance a group had gathered.

"Kisho, listen, I came to get your help. Hunters are closing in fast on the group, and they need help. There's not much time, we need to go back now."

Eva looked to Kanako, who had heard nothing, and motioned for them to hurry. They moved swiftly, until they saw the people.

Eva approached them quietly and carefully. "Excuse me. I'm terribly sorry for eavesdropping, but I heard that you are in need of help, as are we." She motioned for Kanako to come out. "My mother and I are hopelessly lost, and we were wondering if you could give us directions to the nearest town. In return, I believe we could be of assistance... somehow." A thin, confident smirk painted her lips.

[Lil_Ninja]

OOC: Strafe, Kisho and Conri are already with Maxine. Unless you're referring to another unconscious person.

[Strafe]

OOC: DOH. I skipped the last few posts. srry. Going back...

[Nami]

OOC: Dude everyone posted!! I'm so happy!! *tears* I was wondering how long we would be alone!! Thank you Derek and Strafe! You two rock! I love your posts! :3 Everything is coming along nicely!!

IC: Phantom watched her open her eyes, he could tell she was having a hard time seeing and speaking. The venom must have done that. Deep down inside of Phantom he felt something boil, anger. He was furious at Nazari, or was it Kisho? Either way. He was mad. He clutched Maxine closer, cradling her in his arms.

He snapped his head up upon hearing Conri's approach. He didn't respond for a moment, then he lifted Maxine into his arms and faced Conri, knowing that Conri had no idea that Kisho was no longer here. "I'm coming..." he paused, hearing two more people approaching, Phantom instantly put up his guard upon seeing the two woman.

"We can give you directions," he said coolly, "but the nearest town is through a group of hunters. I don't think you want to go that way. The other closest down..." he looked at Conri, wondering if Conri had an answer to that. "We'd be grateful for hlep, how can you assist us?" He asked catiously.

--------------

Chaucer looked down at Callie, he felt sorry for her and in a swift swoop, he scooped her up into his arms. "Sorry Balto, I won't hurt her." He apologized to the wolf as he walked quickly now. "This'll be faster, and you won't have to try and keep up." Chaucer said softly into Callie's ear.

'This path should take us up into the mountains...but I don't know if we will make it.' Chaucer thought, 'They are too close! I feel them, smell them.. He glanced over his shoulder. 'We don't have enough time. I hope Storm gets back soon with some news, perhaps if we know more we can outsmart them...'

The hope of that was small, he could smell more than one group now and the panic began to beat hard in his head. He gulped and forced himself to be calm, he had to be, for Kisho and for the rest of them. Chaucer looked back once again and caught Spring's eyes.

Spring looked different, determined and fierce. She was a woman now, one who was willing to fight and kill if necessary to keep the hunters away. This frightened him even more, the last thing he wanted was his precious daughter getting into a battle.

Eric, the human, even though he head nothing to do with this, looked around. he didn't look afraid which was odd, he simply looked ready to fight in their defense. STrange, Chaucer had never really met a human who would die for an Anichi, Eric must've been closer to Maxine, Kisho and Nazari than he had let on.

OOC: Negotiations with Eva! Let's see how that goes. X3

[Strafe]

-Evangeline and Kanako-

"We can give you directions, but the nearest town is through a group of hunters. I don't think you want to go that way."

"Tch." Eva was taken slightly aback, expecting a bit more of a formal reply. I can decide for myself what I can and cannot do, thank you. Distasteful, that this trifling commoner address me in that way, so nonchalantly. She checked herself though. Not everyone knew the formalities and nuances of higher society. Though if he kept up his uncouth demeanor, she would have no choice but to give him a piece of her mind.

"The other closest town..." He turned to the man beside him, then back to her. "We'd be grateful for help, how can you assist us?"

Eva sneered. This man was obviously not very bright. Stopping in the middle of a thought, then starting an entirely unrelated one, answering her question way past due. Perhaps she should not even waste her time talking to the dog. (OOC: Heheh. Cat. Its ironic.) She looked to Kanako, who was pretending to be polite, while quivering and sweating beneath the facade. Other Anichi always terrified her, not being cuddly and cute, as she would embarrassingly point out about Eva. Kanako was long gone. She sighed, letting a good portion of her elegance fall away instantly.

"Would it bother you to make sense when you speak? You're like a caffeinated squirrel with tourette syndrome."

Eva gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Her tongue slipped, unleashing a mocking tone, insults, and even worse, a contraction in her speech. She turned red in embarrassment. What would they think of her? Any shred of her high bred facade had completely shattered.

She stood up, and hurriedly bowed slightly. "I'm sorry... I mean... I am sorry." She twitched at letting another contraction slip out. "That was terribly rude of me. I don't... do not know how that happened. Erm... Um..."

She looked in panic to Kanako, who hadn't noticed her at all and was still looking wide eyed at the strange men in pure terror.

OOC: Eheh. Sorry. Eva's still new, so it would be weird if she didn't have any character building moments and just got straight into the story. Sorry if I'm holding things up...

[Nami]

OOC: Ahaha! It's Ok I think its funny.

IC: Phantom watched the girl for a moment then shifted his eyes to the woman and smirked a bit, "Oh ho..." he breathed, he looked back at Eva, "you have quite a tongue on you, sounds like someone was repressed as a child." His eyes narrowed in amusement, he didn't need to mention that she was still a child, it hung there unsaid.

"What I meant was, I don't know where the next town is, which is why I thought my friend here might." He paused and cocked his head, "I also meant, how could you assist us, if you aren't going to be of help...we can just as easily leave you and your...frightened human here alone." He looked sharply at Eva, letting her know he was not fooled by her act.

"So, can you assist us or not? Make it quick, I've got things to do...I don't have much time to exchange insults with a sulking child." Phantom was slowly losing his patience, he felt Maxine trying to regain consciousness, he didn't care if Conri figured out something was up with his behavior, he was sick of pretending. The group needed some help and if this girl could help that would be nice, but if not, he needed to get back and kill off those humans before the other Anichi got hurt. Phantom paused in thought, those were Kisho's feelings, not his own.

OOC: I kinda feel bad for Phantom, he hasn't had his own body in years.

[Strafe]

OOC: Hold on. So Evangeline appears to be a human, while the Anichi can probably tell what she really is. There didn't seem to be any adverse reactions to strangers going on.

-Evangeline and Kanako-

Eva flinched back, shocked at his reply, unable to process what had just happened. Then she fumed, face turning red in anger this time. "Why... you... How dare you speak to me like that! I am not a child! You hear me! Not a child! I was not repressed either! Why... I... I..." She began to cry slightly in frustration, and bit her lip so she didn't whimper. She hated this man's bluntness, and how she couldn't say anything back. He was right too, but she hated being called a child more than anything else.

She turned to leave. "Fine then. I won't help you out, and I'll let those meanie hunters get you." She crossed her arms and slowly began to walk away, still trying not to cry. Kanako bowed, still trembling, then hurried off to follow her mistress.

In the trees, a man pointed his gun right at her head. He smiled in wicked delight, and his finger tightened over the trigger.

---

OOC: So... do you care to save the insolent brat from imminent doom?

[Derek_Is_Me]

Storm stood silently listening to the wind and listening to any footsteps that he could hear. He turned around upon not hearing anything and ran as fast as he could back to the group. Getting there storm rushed over towards Chaucer and looked him dead in the eyes."There are two groups up ahead. One to the west and one to the north in the moutains."panted storm from running so fast.
--------------------------
Jason kept running. He could smell him like he used to do when they were a little was apart. He still smelled the same too. Just like pine and mint mixed together. The mint smell was probably from the plants that storm liked to wash his hair with. He didn't know. Nor did he care. He was just glad that he was going to see his little brother again. Making it to a tree Jason sat in one of the highest branches and the wind blowing away from the group of anichi. There he was. Panting from being out of breath and speaking to an older male.

[Nami]

OOC: o.o I'm confused by your question...I read it five times... are you saying its weird that they could tell she is Anichi? Or are you saying..what? O.O;

IC: Phantom watched the girl fume and felt annoyed at her tears, then when she turned to leave he smelled the man, his eyes widened a little, easily he stepped forward, holding Maxine with one arm, and yanked Evangeline backwards, putting his back to the man. If there was a bullet it would hit him instead, which he was fine with. Though he wasn't sure why he had reacted that way. Perhaps, he had felt bad because she was Anichi, or maybe it had been Kisho, a small part of Kisho's personality leaking through and forcing him to protect the girl and her servant...?

Blood soaked the back of his shirt, furious he put Maxine down and spun around facing the man in the tree, in a blur of movement he lunged up into the tree and with a grin that could out-match anyones he snapped the humans neck. The sound echoed through the woods for a moment and then he landed silently on the ground.

Phantom turned back to Evangeline, "listen..." he said slowly, "There is a group of Anichi who need your help don't do it for me...save them." He stared at her hard waiting for her to realize he had justed saved her life and ended a threat. Phantom picked up Maxine again and held her carefully, he moved without taking his eyes off of Evangeline.

--------------

Chaucer swore under his breath, he held Callie carefully, "this isn't good." he muttered looking back at the group. "There isn't anyway we can get away." He waved Dalton forward. "Good work Storm." He said patting Storm's shoulder, "take a break."

"Dalton, Conri's disappeared to find Kisho. What do you think would be the best way to...to get away?" Chaucer didn't like asking Dalton, but he had to fet a second opinion. Times were too bad not to trust each other.

Spring smelled a new Anichi instantly, she transformed and climbed the tree where Jason sat, until she was a this feet. "Who are you?" She asked in her spidery form down at his feet.

Eric watched the scene in front of him and new things were bad. He looked behind him and frowned. Maybe he could do something to help them, like distract the hunters? He looked around and spotted Nathanael.

"Nate!" he jogged over, "what do you think? Do you think I could distract the hunters and give you guys a chance?"

OOC: Ok I've got a small plan so here goes the chaos.

IC: Somewhere further back from the group, the Hunters walked or ran through the woods, their dogs had caught the Anichi's scent long ago and now they were hot on their heels.

"We'll get those stinkin' pests yet!" one of the men barked. The others agreed through some growl or another. Suddenly the dogs froze, and they all sniffed the wind. The humans waited. Only the dogs didn't move.

"Whats going on?"

"I don't know. Pooka? What's wrong?" the man bent down next to his dog trying to bring it back to him, only the dog stared into the trees. The man looked toward the tree and squinted, he didn't see anything, cursing he stood. "Stupid dogs."

Suddenly in a flurry of leaves and dust something struck the man in the chest, he fell blood splattering the ground. He was dead. The other hunters stared in shock, too late to react as a flurry of attacks landed on them all, the movements of the creature were lightning fast and before they knew it...there was only on Hunter left standing.

He shook in fear and stared at the bloodied creature, only it wasn't its blood it was covered in but the hunters. "W-w-what are you?"

The Anichi turned slowly, revealing it was a woman her icy blue eyes pierced the man. "Your grim reaper." She said, her voice just as cold as her eyes. The man screamed, but it was cut off. It echoed out and then the woods fell silent.

The woman looked a the dogs and patted her leg, they all came over, she brushed their heads they whimpered and then took off into the woods. She straightened. "I'm coming...Phantom." she whispered into the wind. And then just as silently as she had come she was gone, leaving only the corpses of ten hunters.

OOC: WOOO! :3

[Lil_Ninja]

OOC: THE OTHER TWISTEEDEDD??? Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

Bravo for posting, everyone!! *claps*

IC: Conri was mildly amused at the dispute between Eva and kisho, Though it was cut short by the crackle of gunfire echoing through the woods.
"Kisho!" His eyes widened in fear for his friend. "Are you alright?" He stepped closer. "Please, let me carry the girl for you." He offered his arms, but he doubted Kisho would let him carry Maxine, even if he was hurt.

~~~

Kisho's hurt? Panic raised in Maxine's mind, though she was powerless to do anything.
This time when she tried moving, she was successful. She opened her eyes and lifted her head, her vision clearing considerably. She raised her eyes to meet the Phantom's.
"Kish.." Her voice was weak and there was a tremble in it. Whether it be from her throbbing body or the fear raging through her, she didn't care. She just needed to know if he was alright.. He had to be alright.

~~

Callie tightened her grip around Chaucer's neck. She was afraid. Nothing like this ever happened before.
Balto kept up with them quite well, always staying right beside her. He was alert, cautious. She knew he could smell the other dogs. It made him antsy.
She stayed quiet, content with listening to the others plan.
She sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out as she leaned her head against Chaucer.

~~

Dalton was surprised Chaucer was asking his opinion. They must really be desperate.
He scanned the area, figuring out their options. "Well.." He said slowly. "If we can get to the mountains, we could easily lose them. The humans wont be able to climb what we can. We could send a distraction to the north group as the rest of us sneak to the east."

~~

Nathanael's eyebrows scrunched together. "Eric, that is very honorable, but it's too risky. You're only human, you would be killed." He gazed off into the distance. "There has to be a way out of this without bloodshed." He sighed. There was so much bloodshed between humans and anichi it was ridiculous. He couldn't stand for it. He was going to try his best to avoid any unnecessary casualties.. It had to be done.
Suddenly, he stopped cold. Spinning around to smell the air. "Blood has already been spilled." He turned to Eric. "While the hunters are hunting us, something else is hunting the hunters." He quickened his pace to get back to the group.


OOC: Sorry for my anorexic posts. No time to make beefy ones. Hopefully you peoples can go off of it?

[Strafe]

OOC: I mean like, are they obviously in Anichi form, or does Evangeline think they are human? It doesn't really make much of a difference, but sort of puts things into perspective.

-Evangeline and Kanako-

Shock. She was yanked hard, fell backwards and landed on the ground. Shock. A crackle like lightning shot through the forest. The man stepped in front of her in a flash. She closed her eyes, and the man grunted in slight pain. She trembled, wondering what had happened, not daring to look, whimpering quietly in fear. There was movement, flight, a cry of fear, a loud painful snap, then the thump of a dead body hitting the ground hard from up high.

She screamed, terrified beyond life itself. Footsteps drew closer. Her eyes locked shut, tears of horror streamed. For the man was probably dead before her, and everyone else was dead, and she would be dead too. dead. Killed. Murdered. Ended. She cried for every soul that had been left in unrest. And pleaded with whatever power there may be to save her.

"Listen." The husky voice of the man. She stopped. Slowly peeked open her eyes. There he was. Alive. She sat, staring at him blankly, unsure of what anything meant. All she knew is that she was alive. Kanako was alive. The girl and the other man was alive. And they were safe. At least for the moment. She didn't know whether to laugh, smile, continue crying, get angry. All she could do was stare into the eyes of her savior as his words melted into thin air around her. Her hard gaze softened into admiration, and she couldn't stop it.

And the man began to look more and more attractive the longer she looked. His soft gray eyes encircled by a deep blue, like the ocean, seemed to call out to her. His stern expression accented by what might have been a slight caring nuance teased her. Locks of his hair framed his sharp face. She smiled ever so slightly, caught in a daze. Their eyes locked into each others'.

Then she caught herself. She blinked rapidly, as if coming out of a trance, and looked to the side in confusion. "Um... ah... I'm sorry" She stood up, and hastily put her cold demeanor back on. "Why of course. That is fine with me." She didn't hear a word he said, but she figured it could have been anything from help the anichi to... she gulped... I love you, please run away with me forever.

"But... ah... no... that's too much... W-we need to get to know each other first and then..." She mumbled to herself, blushing considerably, putting her hand to her lips.

The man turned, seeming not to even hear her, kept his firm gaze on her, but picked up the girl. A pang of jealousy shot through her at the sight of the girl in his arms. She wished she was poisoned too.

Then he turned, and a dark blood stain could be seen from where the bullet grazed his back. Eva winced in guilt. That was her fault. "Ah... Wait... let me help you with that."

Kanako, who had snapped out of her fear when she saw that the man was nice, (Considering she hadn't seen him kill their assailant, as neither did Eva.) chuckled to herself, feeling old. It seemed little Eva was growing up just a little, at least in one way.

OOC: >_> I feel weird writing for an adolescent girl. I really don't have much context. So if that was too mood swingy, random, and unrealistic, I apologize.

[Nami]

OOC: Ok, no they appear human but Anichi can smell their own kind at least...ones who know what to smell for. I really like her crushing on Phantom that cracks me up! XD You did a good job Strafe and it really wasn't out of character, I'm fairly certain most girls her age would be that way after being saved.

Yes Em! It's the other Twisted!!

IC: Phantom looked down at Maxine as she tried to speak and he winced in pain, which choice did he need to make? Hand Maxine to Conri and let him carry her and let Evangeline help him with his wound? Or be stubborn and say it was nothing. Suddenly he felt Kisho prick his consciousness, telling him to trust Conri. Phantom gritted his teeth and looked at Conri, but he couldn't let him take her.

"I'm fine." He said calmly to Evangeline, "thanks though. We need to hurry, no need to worry about me." He smirked a little, trying to hide the grimace of pain. "We need to get back to the group...that is if you are willing to help." He looked at Evangeline again, she was but a child to him, though a stubborn sort of will shown out from under it and he couldn't help but smile. Anichi with strong wills made him wonder why Humans had repressed them for so long.

"We should hurry."

------------------

Chaucer glanced at Callie and gave her a gentle squeeze trying to reassure her that everything would be fine. He listened to Dalton, he let the words soak in around him and then he nodded. "It will be dangerous for the distraction group..." He hesitated, not wanting to put any of the group in fire of danger. If only Kisho were back. Chaucer sighed.

"Alright..."

---------------

Eric frowned, he knew that Nathanael would say that, only he had hoped he would tell him to go and distract the hunters. He froze at Nathanael's words and then ran after him back to the group. "Chaucer...Nate smells..."

Chaucer froze, "blood." he whispered. He whipped his head around and sniffed, it was coming from behind them. "...Kisho?" he said looking at Dalton, Storm, Nathanael and Eric.

Eric shrugged, "I don't think so." He said calmly.

"Well whoever it is, this adds trouble to our equation." Chaucer muttered, absently stroking Callie's hair, it was what he used to do for Spring when she had been upset.

OOC: Woo! I won't post more about our Twisted Female until Kisho/Phantom rejoins the group.

[Strafe]

-Evangeline and Kanako-

"No wait... here." Evangeline walked up to the man, placing her hand on his bloodied back, gently chilling the wound with a trickle of ice. The bleeding stopped, and a thin coating of frost chilled the wound. She stepped back. "That should do it."

They walked quickly, and Evangeline's petite frame struggled to keep up, stumbling occasionally, but she didn't say anything.

"Um... Thank you for saving me. My name is Evangeline... Han. What's yours?" She knew that mention of her real last name could cause trouble.

[Lil_Ninja]

OOC: So.. Juicy!

Strafe, I enjoyed how you portrayed Eva! It sounds typical of a young girl XD
It's hilarious, I love it XD Once Maxine recovers though, she'll have something to say about it


IC: Conri withdrew his arms and nodded in understanding.
He had to get the second dose of the anti venom to Maxine without Kisho seeing. But how?
When Eva started helping Kisho's wound, he took that opportunity to take a step closer to Maxine, slipping a syringe unnoticeably into his right hand, keeping it just out of sight.
He then slipped his right hand over her exposed arm, quickly injecting the anti venom into her and slipping his hand away before any suspicion was raised. The ache Maxine must have been feeling right now would have masked the sting of the needle and even his hand on her arm for that matter.
He knew quite well what she was going through at this point. He too had been bitten by Nazari before. Except in his case, Nazari was in snake form, and Conri had accidentally stepped on his tail.
Let's just say that the incident didn't make his top ten favorite afternoons.

~~

Maxine couldn't help but notice the way Evangeline looked at Kisho, and even though Kisho didn't hear her odd comment, she had.
She exhaled sharply, not liking it one bit. Though Eva was only a child, she still felt a prick of annoyance, and she sent her a sharp stare to show it, the only signal she could give the girl to knock it off.
Calm down, Maxine. She's only a kid. Don't let your animal get the best of you.
Maxine had always been extremely possessive of territory, food and other things she claimed as hers, and she knew that more recently, Kisho fell into that category whether he knew it or not. Though she has always been protective of him, she knew it was more so now.

She watched the girl help Kisho and even though she was annoyed with Eva, she appreciated her helping him. She would have to thank her later, she told herself.
She turned her attention to Conri as he gave her a worried look. She forced herself to smile a little to ease his worry.

With every passing minute, the ache in her bones started steadily declining and her range of movement improved. She figured the venom must have finally started wearing off.

~~

"Let's go." Conri said, transforming into his coyote form. He started heading back towards the group just slow enough for the others to follow him. When he caught sight of them, he also saw a handful of hunters hot on their trail. His eyes widened in alarm as he looked back at Kisho. "What should we do?" He asked in an urgent tone.

As they got closer to the group, Maxine also saw the hunters. "Kish!" She grabbed his arm. "You have to help them!" She was almost surprised that she got out a whole sentence, but she knew a lot of her recovery had to do with her stubborn will to get better. She couldn't stand being a damsel in distress, even if Kisho was her knight in shining armor.

~~

Dalton replied without hesitation. "I'll do it! It'll be my greatest adventure yet!" He smiled broadly at Chaucer. "Well.. Next to this one." He laughed lightly, placing his hands on his hips. "I'll go now to distract the group. You make sure everyone keeps a low profile and sneak to the east. Perhaps it would be better if they were in their anichi?" He said, plotting in his head how he would go about distracting the group. Yes, he can multi task quite well. A trait he picked up when he was a detective.

When he heard what the others said, he added in "That makes it even more urgent to get to the mountains! I have to do this."

Callie finally spoke up. "Chaucer, I have an idea." She said, digging through her bag. She pulled out a clear bottle filled with a brown powdered substance. "This will stop the dogs from being able to track us." She told him, holding the bottle so he could see it. "I've used this powder to repel hunting dogs before, and it works quite well."