Forums » General Roleplay » A Forest Clearing

{A river runs on the far side, the clearing filled with long grasses and flowers and otherwise surrounded by trees. The nearest city is facing (bug? ) attack, forcing surprised citizens into the forest. I'm leaving the rest of the setting generally open to accommodate variety. I mostly just want to get used to a new character so go crazy All characters welcome. Grammar preferred.}

Aloutte breathed a sigh behind her mask, looking up as the forest's canopy cleared to show a much welcomed sun. She slowly curled forward over the neck of the large black stallion she rode to whisper in his ears. "The sun has been long gone. Welcome it." Smiling as he stopped at the edge of the trees, she pushed herself upright again, her bare toes wiggling in excitement. She looked over the clearing carefully, inspecting the plethora of newly blooming flowers for movement. Hands drifted to her bow, hidden under her robe. She welcomed the idea of fresh meat again, and fancied the idea of sending the stallion into the clearing to stir up game. For now, however, she waited and watched, her red mask and blue 'hair' a sore thumb upon the natural colours behind her.

It was a beautiful day as far as Nathan was concerned. The sun's pleasant rays and the rush of cool water at the river made him curiously apathetic towards leaving his one-night camping spot.

With a stretch and a groan he stretched his tall, lean figure and then gathered his pack resting against a tree. He whistled sharply, the sound carrying until a large black wolf with gold eyes appeared.

"Well, Bella, we'd best get going; we have a fair ways to travel before we reach the next town." His hands gathered the longbow and tied the quiver to his waist where it was within easy reach should he need an arrow. "From what I've heard," he said to the wolf, "there's some trouble up this way with animals--I just hope they're not your species."

The wolf wagged her tail briefly, tongue lolling out as the heat of the day began to set in. Nathan struck out into the field as the wolf sprinted forward, eager to be moving again.

At one stretch of the river was a quiet, peaceful scene. Plants drifting gently in the breeze, a couple rabbits hopping along through the grass and enjoying the lovely day. It was just bad luck they had it shattered by a blonde man appearing out of nowhere, falling out of the sky screaming and landing in the water with a resounding splash.

A couple moments after landing he resurfaced, just as loud as he had been when falling. "Damn, that's cold!" Merrion shouted, quickly looking around and making for land. Thankfully he'd landed only a few feet from the shore, unlike his last wet landing that had dropped him into the middle of a freaking ocean.

Dragging himself out of the river, he glared at the device in his hand, wishing he could figure out how to refine where it rematerialized him. The last thing he needed was to die since it dropped him into a volcano or something stupid like that. Tucking it into the pocket inside his jacket, he'd deal with drying it out later. Checking his weaponry, he found his blade and regular pistol still in working order, but the laser one wasn't going to be any use until it dried out like the teleporter.

Finally taking the time to actually examine the area he landed in, he frowned. A forest, clean air, pretty clean water too if you overlooked the grease the water had stolen from his clothing. It must not have been a very well-developed planet. Fantastic. What sort of primitive culture am I going to be subjected to this time? He wondered, wringing out his ponytail.

Taking his deactivated sword in one hand and pistol in the other to be safe, he headed into the forest since one direction was as good as any other when wandering blindly. Idly he wondered what sort of things he'd find waiting for him. Maybe he'd run across something huge like dinosaurs this time. Going blade to claw with a raptor could be fun, at least until he got disemboweled.

First notice was given to the wolf, a sound and a quick sight. Tribal girl would give the stallion a quick, reassuring pat before raising a hand in front of her, angled toward the ground. Wrapped in her fist was the bow - carefully carved of the finest wood she could find with black and yellow speckled feathers tied near the bottom and top ends. Small notches and designs gave it an ornate look. An arrow quickly followed, clicking against the wood of the bow together. She followed the track of the canine and her shoulders dropped, disappointed to see this man here.

The bow, previously rested on her leg, jolted into position when the scream disturbed the area. Though Lou's reaction was right, her horse's was not. He immediately reared up, an action accompanied with a hoarse whinny, and would proceed to dance sideways. The arrow shot out wildly into an arch and into the far side of the field (hopefully unnoticed), one hand catching the mane of the stallion and the other looping between the string and body of the bow to calm him. A series of coos came from her and she quickly readjusted her sit on his back before she could fall entirely off. The horse finally under control, her stare darted to the blonde man, quickly to the wolf man, then back. Spend more time with sudden spooky things, a mental note for later.

Nathan hadn't really expected to see anyone; he was simply enjoying the day and keeping a wary eye out--or thought he was until an arrow arched overhead. He flinched and spotted a horse and rider. He whistled again, calling back Bella, afraid she might be the target.

The scream made him jump--and for a moment he thought it came from the rider. But perhaps not. He swiveled and had an arrow nocked to his bow, looking for the source of the scream.

Bella appeared at his side, ears pricked hard forward, tail up but not wagging. She had heard it too, though it was obvious the horse had her attention foremost.

"Alright, to the forest, I suppose," said Nathan. Bella led the way, though only by a few feet. He raised his bow to point towards the forest so that the horse rider could see them. He wasn't sure if it was a friend or foe, but his bow might at least stall an attack.

Looking down irritably at his boots since they were making a squishy-sloshy sound with every step, ruining any chance of stealth, Merrion went to the nearest tree and came to a stop. Holstering his pistol and using the tree for balance he tugged off his left boot, emptying the water onto the tree's roots. Giving the area another glance since he'd been preoccupied with his feet for the last minute or so, he caught sight of the giant black horse, it's blue-haired rider and wondered how he could have missed them before now. Teleportation making him loopy, most likely.

Quickly dropping his boot and grabbing his gun, he took aim at the rider. Although it might not have had a weapon drawn, the angry-looking red mask didn't give the impression they'd be friendly. Not to mention it made him think he'd landed on one of the most primitive planets yet. With lots of dangerous animals and vicious tribals and-

Wait... He thought, paranoia kicking in. ...Tribals usually hate outsiders, and aren't some cannibalistic? That thing sure looks the type. Doubt they'd travel alone, and there's no way to be sure if gunfire would attract them or scare them off. Dammit! Of all the places to land... freaking machines are still trying to kill me! Well I'm not gonna end up some tribal's snack-pack! Centering his pistol's aim on the rider, he waited for any hostile movement before taking a shot. Even if his paranoia was right, he had a few issues shooting an unarmed person.

The forest was beautiful at this time of day. Danniel had been meandering about, just generally getting lost. She heard a lot of commotion of to her left and was startled when an arrow hit a tree right next to her. Was someone trying to get her or was that a stray arrow? Instinct told the coyote anthro to move back, to find a safe place, but curiosity drove her towards where the shot had come from. She found herself at a clearing filled with an assortment of people. The one who stood out the most, yet seemed perfectly at home was the tribe member. Danniel handy even known there were tribes in the area, especially since there was a rather large city about 50 miles to the south. The young anthro was about to walk into the center, but decided against it, realizing the likelihood of her being shot; rather she hid behind a tree to watch the events unfold.

Lou's composure lifted back quickly to see the gun, for some reason shocked and intrigued at the same time. But she knew danger when she saw it and she was otherwise quick to pull up another arrow, pointed promptly at the blonde. And seeing the other proceeding into her forest, though obvious he'd already been through (and technically still within it), she didn't know who to keep such a sharp eye on. She urged the horse to walk on, curving along the tree line towards the path of the other, arrow steady on the blonde. This brought her not only closer to observe one, but perhaps put of aim of the blonde- for perhaps he did not intend to harm her but something near her. Given a degrees of fault she wouldn't have liked the odds of being beside such a thing anyway. Moreover, should these men leave she could maybe find her lovely arrow again, though it wasn't her biggest priority.

Nathan spotted the other man when a glint of metal caught the sun. He'd never seen such a weapon, though he knew it was aimed at the strange native. He didn't have time to react as suddenly Bella bolted forward.

"Bella! Heel!" But the wolf was too far gone, shifting into a full out sprint after the man with the weapon. If she caught the other man's gaze with her gold eyes and paralyzed him, there might be time for him to catch up so nothing bad happened. If she didn't, she'd probably be wounded or killed.

"Don't shoot!" he tried to yell ahead--praying his voice would reach the man before his wolf did.

Though his finger twitched at the rider's movement, Merrion held off on firing. The tribal-looking person got its horse moving slowly and he started to think they might be just as keen on a fight as he was. Lowering his gun a bit to see if they'd do the same, he didn't get the chance to see how they'd react. A faint shout that he couldn't quite make out got his attention, though if he guessed it might have been "Bloody hell!", and he turned wondering where it had come from.

One glimpse of the dark blur rushing at him sent a chill down his spine and memories of Odessa's hidden horrors flooding into his mind. Grotesque, six-legged beasts covered in jet black chitin that looked like the twisted mutant offspring of an ant and coyote. He heard the shout telling him not to shoot, and it was right, guns were useless on those abominations. All sense of where he really was lost to old training and fears, reflex took over.

"Celestia!" He snapped, his eyes tinting red as they shifted to thermal sensor mode. Dropping his pistol and taking his sword in both hands, he ignited the blazing purple blade and faced the oncoming beast, getting ready to strike. Once it lunged, he'd finish it like he had all the others before it; By taking its ugly head off.

Danniel gasped as the man drew two swords and killed the wolf that was with the other man. It wasn't just a little gasp either, it was loud enough to attract attention. She covered her mouth and ducked behind the tree, her eyes starting to fill with tears. The wolf hadn't done anything, at least not yet, and now it was dead. She slumped against the tree, bad thoughts entering her mind: thoughts of death, and of horrible, horrible things she had seen.

Lou may have relaxed, but she was smarter than to let up herself before too long. And it really wasn't long before she spotted the wolf, too, running towards the very man she had her arrow aimed at. She didn't dare shift, her fingers flinching open only when she no longer saw the wolf but instead two glints of metal. She really couldn't be sure what had just happened. The arrow was swift though, controlled and steady and went directly to it's destination, but Lou's intent was never to kill unless hunting. Goddamn this beast. He would find it nested just below the right side of his collarbone. Lou promptly slid off the horse, though, instructing him sternly: "Go, stay near." She pointed him towards the forest, and immediately the stallion would make off into the thick of trees. Without him she felt only slightly unnerved- yet at ease knowing this new man wouldn't find him if she had any say about it. And then she would realize, another sound had come, a different direction. Her head jerked over, squinting as she looked, but being too late she saw only trees. Lou straightened up again and watched the two other men carefully for their actions. By golly she hadn't even looked yet to see if her arrow had done anything - something she maybe should have done first.

It was the unusual flash of purple that halted Bella from lunging directly forward and thus saved her the clean beheading intended for her. She jumped to the side, rather than forward, and flattened herself to the ground, thus barely escaping the swing of the unusual sword.

She turned and bared her teeth at the man, her gold eyes searching to meet his own, to halt his attack.

Nathan sprinted for all he was worth; his long legs working overtime. He drew his daggers, discarding his bow as he raced to engage the man before he actually cut down his wolf. "S-stop! She's not a threat!" He threw himelf between the man and wolf, desperately hoping he made it in time.

Danniel tried to keep a straight face, but tears were streaming down her cheeks, leaving dark, wet streams of fur in their wake. She let out a quiet sob as her mind replayed the wolfs death again and again. Try as she might, the girl couldn't remove the horrible image. It took a few minutes, but Danniel finally composed herself and peaked out from behind the tree. She saw that the tribal person had sent her horse away and that the wolf was... Okay? Had it been in her imagination? Danniel peaked around the tree and moved ran to a large rock that was closer to the events than her tree. She ducked behind the stone and listened for any kind of discussion.

The beast veering to the side at the last minute caught him off guard. Taking a quick step back, tracking its movements and keeping his blade between them, the fact that it stopped and growled threw him off a bit. The ones that had come at him before were never that smart, was this one different? That's all he needed. Abominations with intelligence. His Commander would not like this report if he lived long enough to-

He blinked, realization dawning on him at the name. That had been ages ago, what the hell was he thinking? This creature couldn't be one of those things, he wasn't even on the right damned planet. He tried to focus on the shape, but a larger human-shaped blob of red and yellow suddenly put itself in way and he took another couple of steps back and told him to stop. Was it the tribal?

"Twilight." Merrion muttered, eyes fading from red to their normal gray. The man in front of him was certainly not the same one he'd seen on horseback. He looked more... well, normal. Possibly an enemy too, given the daggers in his hands. "Not a threat? Could have fooled me, what with the charging and growling and trying to rip my face off." He said, giving a quick glance around the man, noticing it was a simple wolf and not some mutated creature. Still dangerous, but certainly not something that haunted his nightmares.

Lou played with the idea of approaching, or calling back the horse already. Getting closer to the two might be a risk to her, and the other man seemed to fall to the blonde's feet.. Who seemed to have already dismissed the arrow completely. And the wolf, who she could only hope (seeing only from distance) had faked death rather that faced it. She might have best done disappearing, temporarily, and hidden nearby such as the other girl. Or she could march right up there and tell them all to shut up and leave. Something still kept her where she stood, though, not yet having made another move.

Danniel sat there for a while, ears pressed flat against her head, until she couldn't take not at least being take account of. She hoped they wouldn't fight if they knew she was there. She turned around and used the rock to help herself up.
"H-hello," she said, fear showing in her voice if not her tear stained face. "Please, don't fight," the coyote anthro said, already regretting showing herself.

Nathan lowered his daggers. "Bella, down." The wolf grudgingly lay, but her ears were back and her eyes were unhappy. "Sorry, she's still in training. She's not your average wolf and I think she thought you were a threat."

Hearing someone else hail them, Nathan turned expecting to see the masked rider from earlier. Instead confusion and surprise caught his features. "We-we're not fighting. It was just a misunderstanding. I'm Nathan by the way; a traveler, huntsman, and tracker by trade. The wolf is Bella. She usually behaves herself unless she senses an attack."

Merrion frowned. "Well, I can understand that. I certainly thought it was a bigger threat than it turned out to be." He commented, lowering his sword a bit when the other man did so with his daggers. Until someone else spoke up suddenly and he brandished the blade in the speaker's direction. One look made him reconsider his thought that there were no mutants on this planet. What on Odessa was that thing and why could it speak? Wait, what did it way? Don't fight?

Eyes drifting from it to the man as the latter introduced himself, it seemed like Nathan was more surprised by the newcomer's arrival than appearance. Were these sorts of creatures normal on this world? That would take some getting used to. Still, at least it didn't seem as prone to violence as the four-legged beast.

Deactivating his sword and hooking the shaft through the trigger guard of his pistol, which had been left on the ground uncomfortably close to Nathan's feet, he pulled the weapon over to him before bending down to grab it. "Merrion Kambel." He introduced himself as he stood upright again, still occasionally giving the wolf a wary glance and keeping his weapons in hand, if not raised. "I'm a seek... er... mercenary and treasure hunter."

Danniel gave a sigh of relief that the two men were no longer showing any outward signs of violence.
"I-I'm Danniel," she slowly came out from behind the large rock, standing awkwardly in the open. Her t-shirt and jeans were wrinkled and dirty, she was thin from under eating for a few days and she just over all felt out of place. The man who she had thought killed the wolf seemed surprised by what she was, whilst the man with the wolf only seemed surprised by her being there.
"I'm not some kind of monster," she said softly to the man with the swords. He was the scariest for the time being and she wanted to at least let him no she wasn't a threat.