Morning Hunt

[Anonymous]

The morning sun rose, streaking the sky with pink and gold. To the west, there still clung the shadow of the moon and stars, which were slowly fading away until night. Slowly, the village was bathed in the light of day as the shadows were chased away.

It was quiet, except the occasional footsteps of a villager walking around at this early hour. A door of a humble cottage opened and out stepped a very large man who nearly had to lower his head to get out of the doorway. In his hand there was a giant battle-axe with a red cloth covering the blade. Renko shut the wooden door behind him and lifted Exael up onto his shoulder before walking down the street to the forest where he did his hunting.

The large man would occasionally get a few stares from the handful of villagers walking about but he seemed not to notice. He soon reached the edge of where the village and forest met but he did not hesitate to step into the wilderness. Renko avoided the twigs and dry leaves on the earth as to not alert any animals around to his presence.

Morning birds chirped away and flew in and out of the canopy of trees. The gentle breeze moved the leaves so they brushed up against one another so they made a sound that could be considered music of the forest. Renko paused, listening for sounds of twigs snapping or any other sounds that might betray an animal. Hearing none, the hunter continued his wandering. It wasn't until a few minutes passed that Renko noticed that the birds had stopped singing.

He came to a stop and listened, bringing Exael down to his side and holding the grip with two hands. His one gray eye darted around quickly. There was something here and it remained to be seen if it wished him ill or not.

[Anonymous]

"Azerath. Metrios. Zinthos."
the words slipped out of her mouth as quietly as a moth gracing a leaf in the early morning mist, and Neo was totally and completely drowned in her mind. Having found a small clearing in the woods just outside the villiage main, she proceeded in her daily meditation, sitting in a crosslegged fashion, levitating about a foot or two off the ground. Her hood was up, her long black cape flitting slightly in the breeze, and she was completely at peace. No one was there to bother her, no one was there to stare at her, no one to scream in terror when she came near. She wouldn't expect that from a worrior villiage anyway. Presumably, nothing in the woods.
That was, until she felt, on the very edge of her mind, another being. Close.

((Do you mind me joining in? you wern't already rping w/ someone, were you?))

[Anonymous]

((It's alright, go right ahead. :) No, this is the first time I've used this character.))

Renko walked slowly forward, adreniline filling his booldstream. He had hunted in this part of the forest once and, if his memory served him correctly, there was a clearing up ahead. Soft words faintly reached his ears but he couldn't make them out.

With care to be quiet he peeked through the foliage and saw a girl above the ground. Now, anyone that barely knew Renko would think that he'd kill any mage type person he came across. True, he disliked magic but killing an innocent life is something he wouldn't do.

He moved back a step but his boot snapped a twig right in half, the sound echoing across the quiet forest. He grimaced and lowered Exael, no point in hiding now.

[Anonymous]

Neo's words caught in her throat. The snap of the twig sliced through her mind's peace like a knife. Actually, it made her jump. Sort of.
The young girl fell out of the air with an unpleasent thud. Shifting around, her black eyes widened at the sight of a large man with a nasty looking axe looming close. "Who's there?!" she asked, scooting backwards. "What do you want? Have I disturbed you? Do I need to go?" the questions came pouring out of her mouth before she could stop them. She wasn't scared enough to cry-this man didn't know what she could do. But the last thing she wanted to do was accidently hurt him, being as she didn't have full control of her powers just yet. Neo pushed back into a tree, slowly allowing herself to stand at her full 5'6".

[Anonymous]

[OOC: I just had to bring Keb in here ^^;; It seems like a good thread to throw him in, anyways! If you guys don't mind, of course! Keb's a bit of an oddball, so you can get a better picture of him through <a href=http://www.geocities.com/damaged1616/characters/keb.html target=_blank>his biography</a>.]

"Ahh!" Keb squealed in pure terror as he bumped into Renko's leg and, upon looking up, saw the grand axe the large man held in his hands. Keb stood at just over three feet tall and basically looked like a wombat except for the fact that he wore human clothes and was bipedal. Keb was a stout yet stubby wombat anthro and did not look to be any sort of a threat. However, in the short time Neo and Renko could have seen him; he may have looked completely different. The moment after he had screamed, Keb had turned and ran in the opposite direction of the hunter, hastily running as fast as his little legs would carry him.

Sadly for Keb, this was not a far distance at all. Keb carried a backpack filled to the top with rocks. Not gems or other precious stones, but whatever rock he felt was beautiful--which was basically every rock he saw. Keb was a digger by his wombat nature, and was thus attracted to rocks and dirt.  

When Keb was not a few metres from Renko, he encountered a rather insurmountable obstacle of a boulder and various large trees. To a man of average height, this would be something easily overcome, but for Keb this was like a grand wall which stood between peril and safety. Feeling no other option, Keb hoped his brown fur would blend into the forest scenery and merely huddled against the wall in a crevice with his back facing Renko and Neo. He couldn't help but shiver lightly in fear.

[Anonymous]

((He's so cute!))

Renko was about to reply when something bumped into his legs. He watched the small creature flee but dismissed it for the moment. He turned to Neo, slightly amused by her attempt to make herself look taller.

"Please, m'lady I didn't mean to startle you. I was hunting in these woods when I came across you meditating. I shall leave if you wish." Besides, Renko wanted to find out what that thing hiding a few meters away was.

[Anonymous]

Neo leapt back as a small...man? creature? thing? came barreling out of the woods, ran into the man, and then, (it looked like to her) ran into a boulder.
" I just...no, no need to leave...I'm..." she stuttered, her attention trapped by the funny little thing hiding against the boulder. She could hardly see it, but she knew it was there. Turning back to the hunter, she pointed casually at the thing. "You know what that was?"

[Anonymous]

Renko shook his head. "It looked like nothing I've seen in this forest." He leaned his battle axe up against the trunk of a tree. "Care to find out what it is m'lady?" Renko had no need to worry about his weapon. Few could even lift the thing, let alone steal it.

After all, he was curious about that... thing and it was far too small for him to make a profit out of. So he'd spare the creature its life.

[Anonymous]

Keb gulped and tried to settle his stomach. He was extremely fearful of the hunter--having just narrowly escaped a young boy and his crossbow not days ago, Keb was beginning to believe that this whole forest was out to get him... It certainly felt like it!

"I'm not a 'what' I'm a 'who'," Keb said in a shaky voice as he slowly waddled out of his hiding place. If he was going to be killed, he'd at least like to do it standing and with his head held high with some dignity. Keb's voice was drenched with an Australian accent, but these two probably would not be able to make that connection. Keb was not originally from this world, but from the past, before the Ragnarok.

"Er.." Keb said, feeling extremely out of place and smaller than he actually was. There was no hiding it, that hunter intimidated Keb. Still, Keb could not help but at least try to change his fate and make friends out of these presumed enemies. "Th'name's Keb." He said, extending his furry, clawed hand in a handshake upward towards Renko yet still glancing over once at Neo to acknowledge her and introduce himself to both of them.

[Anonymous]

He was quiet for a little when he saw that Keb could speak. Then again, it wasn't that unusual to find different species on this Earth. Renko was pulled out of his thoughts when Keb spoke again and offered his clawed hand for a hand shake.

Renko knelt down and gently took the Australian's smaller hand in his large one. Yes, he had a feeling that Keb was afraid of him but who could blame him? "Well met. I'm Renko and this is..." he paused for a lack of name and looked at Neo.

[Anonymous]

"I'm Neo." She said, bending down to the little man's level, and holding out a snow-white hand. her black eyes glistened in curiosity at the funny being.
straightening up, she smoothed her cloak, still not lowering her hood that shadowed most of her face. "So...what are you doing two doing in this neck of the woods?" She pretty much could guess what Renko was doing here-but Keb was still a complete mystery.

[Anonymous]

Keb beamed with happiness and seemed to have immediately shed his fearful demeanour. He merrily shook both of their hands, his small hand fitting into each of there's rather oddly. His claws were nothing to be worried about, since they were rather thick and mostly for digging. They were perhaps only dangerous if Keb ever put as much pressure into flesh as he did when he was digging, but he'd never done that before, so perhaps they would never know what kind of damage his claws could really do.

"Its nice t'meet yeh both!" Keb said merrily. He was still fairly young--sixteen years old--and thus still had a bit of immaturity, which seemed to shine through with his naiveté. Keb was just a generally cheerful and friendly being. He couldn't help that, even if his friendly nature had gotten him into a bit of trouble, especially lately.

"Well, I've been travellin' through," Keb explained, "but got a bit lost after a boy.. er.. tried to hunt me down for dinner, I suppose." He added with a worried look and turned his head to ensure that the mention of the boy had not magically brought him straight to Keb.

"What about y'selves?" Keb asked. He was hoping Renko used his axe for cutting down trees or something... Anything but hunting! And Neo? Well, he had been too frightened to have even seen what she had been doing!

[Anonymous]

"I...uh..." Neo shuffled her feet around in the dirt and leaves, staring at the ground. "I'm lost, to be honest. I haven't been around here very long, and...well..." she shrugged it off, looking over at Renko, hoping he'd start on his biography as to destract everyone from hers. She never had been much of a conversationalist. Tired of standing, she went back to sitting cross-legged in the air, somewhere inbetween the heights of the other two.She bobbed up and down for a few minutes, waiting.

[Anonymous]

He shifted his weight to his other foot. So a kid had been after Keb? Renko being a hunter might not go over too well.

Oh well, c'est la vie.

"I came here to hunt. But don't worry, I don't kill anything that is clearly another innocent," Renko hastily added the last part. It was true and besides, Keb was way too small. Not to mention, he had no idea what exactly he was.

[Anonymous]

"Lost, eh?" Keb said with a smile. "I know the feeling," he added with a wink. He'd been wandering these lands for a lot longer than one would think. He'd started in the mountains--which had proven to be a great expedition for him! So many rocks and stones!--and had just recently came upon the forest, but his short legs didn't allow for a quick journey... then again, Keb didn't mind taking the slow route at all!

"Maybe Renko could show the way to the nearest town then," Keb said, looking up at Renko now. "I mean... there is a town around here, right?" He asked. He could be wrong, after all. Maybe that boy had come from a cottage? Maybe this land was deserted, too.

When Neo went from standing to floating, Keb was taken completely by surprised and jumped back a little. He stood there, eyes wide, with a surprised and amazed expression on his face. "How'd you--I mean... You know you're not on the ground, right?" He asked her, still staring in awe.

[Anonymous]

Neo chukled slightly to herself. "Something to eat would be nice. And an actual bed to sleep in." She looked up at Renko hopefully. Looking back at Keb, she smiled. "It's called levitation." She closed her eyes and slowly lifted her hand in front of her. The little wombat man slowly floated into the air so that he was level with her. "Fun isn't it?"

((ok, we need something exciting to happen here guys. Any ideas?))

[Anonymous]

Keb began to panic immediately once his feet left the ground. He began to look around anxiously, his heart was beating fast and his hands were looking for something to hold onto. "No!" Keb cried out louder than he would have liked. "If I had been emant to fly I would have been a bird anthro--or just a bird!" He explained hastily, hoping to be gently put back down on the ground!

[OOC: Not really ^^;; I'm just happy to be posting poor Keb again!]

[Anonymous]

A deep bass laughed escaped from his throat upon seeing the wombat anthro fly. "The village isn't far. I have some extra food at my place if you're interested."
Renko picked up his axe and glanced back at Neo and Keb. "Or if you'd rather float in the air, fine."

((I'm just trying to stay awake))

[Anonymous]

"Sorry..." she mumbled to Keb, quickly letting him sink to the ground. Her head bent foreword, so her face was even more shadowed. "I didn't mean to make you upset." Glancing quickly up at Renko, she nodded. "That would be wonderful. I'll watch you from up there. " She pointed a slender white finger at the sky, before floating up there, around the trees, like some sort of dead spirit.

[Anonymous]

The hunter grimaced inwardly. He had no idea if it was from the magic or her appearing to be upset. Sure, he didn't like magic but he'd never intend to make a girl upset.
He sighed and tried to shrug it off, but it still nagged him at the back of his mind.
Renko slung his axe over his shoulder and looked down at Keb. "Will you follow? Or are you going to watch from somewhere too?" his voice sounded unententionally tired and worn. Renko mentally kicked himself for sounding so washed up.