Something in the Darkness (Open)

[Anonymous]

Shadyo stared off into the dark Jungle.  Noises could be heard in there...noises that she had never heard before.  She grew up in the Jungle...but these noises were unknown to her.  It scared her.  She didn't like being scared all that much. The noises were low growls, tearing of flesh could be heard.  She shuttered only wondering what the creature was feeding on.  

She was shaking as she walked slowly up to the edge of the Jungle, looking into the sheer blackness as the clouds covered the sun.  Her large brown eyes were even bigger with wonder and fear.  She stood there, breathing in and out, only aware of the wind as it moved the trees and rattled the plants.  The Jungle was scared as well.  She took another breath, and held it.  Listening. Breathing. There was deep breathing coming from within the forest.  The creature was big.  She held her spear close to her.  

She was sent from her village to go hunting.  They needed some fish and she was sent, alone. Like Usual since the ocean was not that far, but quite a walk.  Something had scared her, it was big and black, and it lurked in the shadows.  It was dragging something, for blood was seen where it's shadow had been.  Shadyo had followed it, wondering what it could possibly be.  Now she was here.

She was frozen with fear as the breathing suddenly got louder.

[Anonymous]

Loki's feline feet hardly made a sound as he ran through the jungle, his wings spread for streamlining. This was too much. There were predators in this jungle; yes. That was the way of life. But this...beast, was tipping the scales a little too far. It ate the predators and the prey alike. It ate everything that moved. He wasn't sure how long it'd been there— he came back from a trip, and it was there. It wasn't a dragon, because it didn't have scales. It wasn't a gryphon, because it didn't have feathers. But it was big, and it was out of control, and he had to stop it before it attacked the villages. Sure, he had no association with the villages...but he still fell asleep to their crooning lullabies...

There it was, feeding on some animal that shouldn't have been hunted yet. Suddenly, it lifted its head, as if it heard a noise, and Loki froze. But it wasn't moving toward him; it was moving toward a shap in the brush...a Yoreiqi hunter! With a scream of rage, he ran and gave the beast a mighty flying kick, with the force and ferocity of an angry lion. Which was stupid, of course. Now he had an angry monster focused on him, and all he had was his legs, wings, and a wild magic he was too afraid to use.

[Anonymous]

Shadyo gasped as the creature started towards her, but then was shocked to see someone come up from behind the creature and kick it... she watched as the creature turned to face the man, she looked down at her only weapon, a fishing spear.  The creature started after the man and Shadyo had to do something quick.

Shadyo lifted the spear and got into a hunting crouch.  She started to run after the creature with all of her speed for the creature was fast, and unnatural.  She kept the same speed up, hoping to soon have the right timing to throw the spear and hit the creature, at the most killing it, at the least scaring it off and injuring it some.  She hoped the most was the winner.

She kept running and then finally saw an opening, and great timing, she threw the spear as hard as she could. She heard a thump and tried to figure out if landed on the ground, or in the creature, but she couldn't tell. She tried to find the man, and hope that he was alright.  She unfolded her bright orange wings and took to the sky.  The creature was too black to see if the spear was in it or not.  She gasped when she saw that man in front of the creature.  "Watch out!"

[Anonymous]

The beast, eyes wild in pain, was shuttling straight for Loki, looking for someone to take revenge at for the pain. Of course, Loki just jumped up into the air. Dumb beast. You can't charge a flying creature anywhere there is room to fly. And, with his powerful leonine leg muscles, he could leapt pretty high into the air... and land with a kick that could break a beasts back. Which it did.

He stood back and watched the beast writhe in its death throes, and bowed his head. When the beast had moved its last, he directed a question at the Yoreiqi, without turning his head, adorned with his mane-like, shaggy hair up at her, and fixing her with his black eyes. Instead, he continued to keep his head bowed as he asked, "Do you normally take such a large hand in slaying such powerful thing, such as this? Or have you never realized your ability?"

[Anonymous]

Shadyo had watched the creature as it died, the man could really kick.  When he lept into the air and unfolded his large wings, she took a small gasp. They were big.  She looked at him, he asked her a question with his head down, which made her think he was afraid of her.

"I am hunter.  I know how to kill an animal."  She swooped down to the dead creature and landed silently next to it.  She knelt down and placed her hand on the creature's side, blood covered her hand.  She bowed her head and silently started to whisper a thanks for the creatures life and wish it luck traveling to the other world. She opened her eyes and looked up at the man, "You have some strength.  Who are you?"

[Anonymous]

Loki foldedx his arm/wings and looked at the hunter. "I am Loki, son of the Lioness Goddess of the Desert, and The God of Ravens. I have no village." As was custom among the Yoreiqi, he moved to her and pressed his nose to hers in greetings.

"I live alone in this jungle, but I often leave on trips for... learning purposes. After one such trip, I returned to find this creature unsettling the balance. I do not know how it got here, but I have given it time to settle into the rythm of the jungle, but it had failed to do so. Have you noticed that the birds have stopped singing? The jungle noises had dimmed. But hear: they are now back. The monstrocity is gone." He looked down at the corpse. "I don't think its meat is edible. We should let it rot, and give its life to the planta around."

[Anonymous]

Shadyo touched noses and then nodded as he said to give the creature to the jungle, "Yes, let the jungle reclaim what was lost to it by the creature. The sound of jungle returns and it is music to my ears."  As he mentioned that he was from the desert, and the son of the Lioness Goddess of the Desert, her eyes lit up.  

"You seem like a very interesting man.  I have a village. But, I tend to wander the Jungle. I love to learn more and more about the way things are here. I want to be closer to the beauty of the Jungle and learn its ways."  She smiled and looked around her at what she called home.

Her village was deep in the Jungle, but it was still Village life, and it seemed to bore her sometimes.  But she never thought about leaving it. They need her help, and her mother would be very disappointed in her if she left her people for her own selfish reasons. She would never do that, as long as she lived.  She would just have to enjoy the Jungle as long as possible, before she had to return.

[Anonymous]

"I have lived in the jungle all of my life.  Having been born here, I know this jungle more than I know my parents. One might say that the jungle is my parent. Or my village. " Loki nodded decisively. "Yes, this is my village. I am glad that you care so much about it. I will teach you its ways, if you like. And thank you for your compliment, as well."

[Anonymous]

Shadyo smiled widely suddenly, "Oh, would you teach me?"  She looked at him.  She hungry to learn the ways of the Jungle, but then she rememered her duty.  She walked over to the dead creature and grabbed her spear.  She had to hunt for food.  She suddenly stopped, for another roar was heard.  She looked back at Loki.

[Anonymous]

Loki stood completely still. Could there be...more of them? How many were there? "Hold on," he murmered, and leapt straight up in the air, through the canopy. There was a few minuted of silence before he dropped down with a suddeness that terrified nearby birds and animals, and, though they had been hidden, the surprisingly large amount of animals that hadmade there way into that area without being seen made themselves seen fro a flash as the quickly fled. Loki paid no notice.

"It is as I thought. There has been strange going ons in the volcano. Inside. Strange magics and noises. This," he motioned to the corpse," beast is no animal, but a monster, and someone is making more of them. I'm sure of this. If this is not stopped, they will begin to attack villages. This cannot happen." He watched her with his intelligent, serious eyes, then looked toward the volcano, hidden as it was in the canopies and foilage. "I need... find me some hunters brave enough to join me, and we will find out what is happening, and stop it."

[Anonymous]

Shadyo was shocked as the news was told.  Someone making monsters?  "But...why would anyone do that.." She she whispered to herself. Loki wanted warriors, she nodded and turned.  She unfolded her brilliant orange wings and took to the sky.  She looked back down to him, "Loki...Be careful okay."  She turned and with one large flap of her fourteen foot wing span, she flew into the air, graceful and quite, almost like she was a fog, misting through the treetops.

[Anonymous]

Loki nodded at herr, then watched her fly off. It was time for him to leave as well. She would find him when the time came; he was sure of it. That was how these things worked. He spread his arms and leapt up through the air, clearing the trees before he spread his wings and soaring, heading for the volcano. Yes...strange smoke... small, strnge creatures running besides the lava flows... this was not right. He quickly turned wing and headed home.

At the edge of the jungle, he landed on the platform of his treehouse, which was near impossible to reach without wings. Or his jumping ability, but... no one could jump as high as he could. Maybe one of the beast gryphons. Although it was dark, he lit a beeswax candle, and studied the night away. When he oke up the next afternoon, he had to peel paper and vellum off of his face and freshen up before he could fly out to the general area where he had met Shadyo the day before. He flew around, searching for her.

[Anonymous]

Shadyo had found a couple warriors who were willing to help her, even though they hadn't really believed her.  She had gotten almost no sleep during the night, for the thought of more creatures like that out there, scared her.  She blinked, trying to wake up some, as she and the warriors headed to find Loki.  

She spotted him and swooped down, followed by the strong warriors, "Loki, I found some help. "  She looked up and noticed strange smoke rising from the volcano.  She looked at Loki with worry in her eyes.

[Anonymous]

Loki gave Shadyo a reassuring nod before taking to the skies. "I've found a way in. We'll be underground. It will also be hot. I do not know what we will find...but I hope you have said your goodbies in case you don't return. Our primary objective is to stop whomever and whatever is creating the, and the strange gases. If we were to die, but have stopped further growth, the hunters would be able to take them down, although with great sacrifice. If we manage to come out alive, then our secondary goal is to destroy the beasts."

Loki dived, suddenly. Landing in the trees near the base of the volcano, he motioned to a cave entrance that appeared unguarded. "We will go through there," he said. "All clear? Then let's go."

[Anonymous]

Shadyo nodded.  She had said her goodbyes.  She didn't know what this journey could mean for her, but she would do anything to save her people.  She took to the skies and followed Loki, the warriors following them.  She looked back.  They all seemed so very eager to serve their people.  She sighed, hoping that they all lived.  

She landed next to Loki and looked to where he pointed, "Yes.  Let's go!" She called to the warriors and jumped out of the tree, she landed silently, and folded in her orange wings and looked up at the sky.  It could be the last time she saw the sky.

[Anonymous]

Stealthily, Loki sped for the cave, body low to the ground.  Inside, the cave was dark, and a magic-laden, butbut natural smelling smoke filled the upper portion of the tunnel, forcing them to crouch low. The long, thin cave, like a tunnel, went a long ways into the mountain before it started branching off. From each passageway, fresh air came through, so Loki waved them past: those tunnels led to the outside. They followed the smoke until the went around the corner to find a dragon, the source of the smoke, sleeping.

This was obviously not one of the intelligent races of the earth, but their cousins, similar in look, but far jdifferences in intelligence. This might be trouboe. As long as no one makes a sound...

[Anonymous]

Shadyo followed Loki, and breathed in the fresh air everytime they came to a tunnle that led to the outside.  Some of the Warriors were giving her strange looks, maybe they were starting to believe her that something weird was really going on?  She hoped, then they would be on more alert.  

When they came upon a dragon, she had to stifle a gasp.  Loki's facial expression told her not to make a sound, for waking the beast could be lethal.  She looked at the beauty of the creature and longed to study it more, and get to know how it lived.  But she knew that she could end up dead trying to do that.  Dragon's were not something to mess with.  Her mother always told her that.  She looked at Loki and wondered what they were going to do.  She noticed a tunnle on the other side of the dragon and then waved them over to the side of the cave wall.

She slowly started to walk around the beast, hoping that she was light enough on her feet to not wake the dragon.

[Anonymous]

Following Shadyo to the tunnel, Loki nearly sighed in releif when they had passed the dragon. He held hithe sigh, wanting to be sure they were scot free, but one of the warriors didn't take that precaution, and his quiet sigh sounded quite heavy in the empty caverns. And, of course, the dragon woke. "Run!" Loki yelled, throwing caution to the wind. Spreading his harpy-like wings as far apart as the tunnel allowed, he streamlined his way in front, and sped down the tunnel. Taking the first tunnel branching off, he didn't even care what awaited them as the others quickly joined him as a burst of flames flew by. Good thing the tunnel was too small for the dragon!

"Well, now..." growled a voice from behind. Out of the frying pan, and into the fire.

[Anonymous]

The dragon awoke with an angry lust for who ever woke it.  Shadyo heard Loki's call and she raced forward.  She was grazed but his wings and she followed closely. When they came to the cavern, she stood breathing hard.  She looked around to make sure no one was hurt.  The heat of the fire ball and singed some of her down feathers, but she wasn't really concerned about that, for a voice had spoken behind her.

[Anonymous]

Turning, Loki found himself face-to-face with several men. At least, they resembled men. They were parts of creatures and part human: a bulky, furred arm here, scales there, unnatural wings; they, although they mightve been men once, that they were no longer.

"Do you know, you don't belong here. Now, if you come along quietly, we'll keep you here for a while, until the boss wants to speak to you. Alright?"

"...Alright," Loki said. "I don't think there's any way we can defeat tou, anyways." That didn't make since. Him, Shadyo and the warriors; together, they could definately win against the strangers. Without getting much hurt, either. He was just giving up!