Turn and Face the Strange [DragonSong]

[MadEmperor]

Part of Kahroan's mind pulled back against the idea of embracing his new form even that much. He reminded himself that he needed to eat and, unless he really wanted to eat like a beast, he had to use whatever he could of his new body to ensure that wasn't necessary.

"Unless you have something that'll work. I'd rather not waste what this creature's sacrifice has given us."

[DragonSong]

"Fair enough." She stood and stretched—though shifting wasn't painful for her, sometimes she found herself taking a few minutes to...resettle, as it were. "I'll make sure the scent doesn't call any more predators down on us."

[MadEmperor]

Kahroan exhaled through his nose and went to work. Using claws was an adjustment and made it a bit awkward, but his raw strength more than made up for it. Handling the animal was easier than it had ever been.

As River did her job, she began to get the sense that something was watching them. Nothing could have tracked the blood that fast. Kahroan's roar, perhaps? Whatever the reason, it felt... malicious, as if it was more interested in dominance and killing than feeding.

Kahroan was either too engrossed in his task, too unused to his new senses, or still too human in his thinking to notice.

[DragonSong]

The scent hit her before anything else, and she suddenly whirled from the perimeter she'd been pacing around Kahroan and the doe, taking her wolf form as she did.

On your feet. Her lips were pulled back in a snarl as her eyes searched the trees. We're not alone.

[MadEmperor]

Kahroan shot to his feet, blood still dripping from his talons. He assumed a guarded stance as he scanned the area for danger. Whatever it was, the hunter couldn't see it.

River's sharper hearing picked up a creaking sound in the trees. Above them! Many-legged shapes the size of wolves themselves perched on the high branches, carapaces glittering in the dappled sunlight. They must have been hibernating in the trees long enough for the wildlife to forget their presence.

As soon as they could sense that they had been noticed, they all hissed. Three bulbous insects dropped from the trees and reared up, their scythe-like mandibles open wide and their stinging tails raised to attack. They looked more than capable of piercing the dragonman's hide.

[DragonSong]

Oh, fuck.

River shrank back, hackles raised and a growl rumbling between her chest and throat as her eyes flicked from one creature to the next.

There was a reason wolves were pack hunters; she wasn't built to handle more than one opponent at a time, not really. And they were actively outnumbered--and outclassed, if those stingers were anything to go by.

But running wasn't an option either, she had no doubt the creatures would be on them in a handful of seconds. So their only choice was to hold their ground and hope they could--at the very least--prove that they were too risky a meal to be worth pursuing.

Damnit.

[MadEmperor]

A deep, threatening rumble emanated from Kahroan's chest. He hadn't known he could make such a sound without thinking about it.

"I was hoping to figure out how to use dragon's breath before we ran into anything dangerous."

He had barely finished speaking before they advance. Being the larger target, two of them charged on him. The first leaped at him, legs splayed out in an effort to ensnare him. He managed to roll out of the way, narrowly avoiding the second's stinger as it stabbed into the ground. The venom made the underbrush smoke.

Acid.

The other lunged at River, tail driving towards her. She could see from Kahroan's battle that the creatures didn't turn very fast, so she had the speed advantage if she could evade the charge.  However there was no guarantee she could find a vulnerable spot to bite.

[DragonSong]

River darted out of the way, twisting to zig zag through the trees in an effort to confuse the massive insect as it lunged for her again.

If you can get that dragon breath working anytime now, that'd be great!

She crouched low as the stinger swept over her head and tried to dart around the creature to make a break for one of the two that was targeting Kahroan, hoping to at least distract it if she could get a grip on one of its hind legs.

[MadEmperor]

Kahroan wrestled one away, shoving it towards the second to buy himself some breathing room. "I'm trying!" He coughed, failing to conjure any fire.

The two attacking him weren't tangled up for long. The one that returned to its many feet first raced at him again. He used a fallen branch to keep its snapping mandibles busy, but it wouldn't slow them down for long.

The other soon followed, only to find itself being held back by the jaws of a pesky wolf. It screeched angrily and tried to sting her, but it couldn't get the right angle. It shook hard, trying to dislodge her.

Seeing his ally—friend?—in danger from the one she left behind, he tried even harder to find the breath weapon that could turn the tide in their favor. He dug deep into whatever part of his soul had influenced his specific form and commanded it to burn.

Nothing.

Wait. Blue dragon. My claws look like...

River would see a faint blue-white glow along his throat as some energy prepared itself to be released. The steam of a winter's breath puffed from his nostrils as his mouth opened. From it poured a blue-white flame that caught his opponent by surprise. The icy flame froze the front half of the creature's carapace. One swift punch shattered the shell of its head, and a second blow crushed its tiny brain. It fell, dead, into a twitching heap.

While the creatures looked like fire might not harm them much, they were clearly unprepared for an ice dragon. They could win now.

[DragonSong]

River clamped down on one segmented leg and held on. For the moment, this brief breath in the conflict, she was at the perfect angle to avoid the stinger on its tail, and it couldn't exactly twist itself to bite at her.

Her teeth weren't going to do any good at cracking the carapace--but maybe she didn't need to. As she had with the down, she bite down and shook her head vigorously, the same move that would snap her prey's neck in a normal situation.

With a sickening, elongated crunch, the leg ripped halfway free from the creature's body, and it gave a high screech of pain. Blood that was startlingly hot for an insectoid creature spattered her fur. Then--

She yelped, skittering sideways from the sudden chill in the air as ice flashed by her and Kahroan made swift work of the third creature. She blinked, momentarily frozen, then gave him a wolf's grin, tongue lolling.

Now we're talking!

[MadEmperor]

Kahroan laughed as he charged the creature that was coming up behind her. It skittered back, suddenly on the defensive. They circled each other, its tail prodding for an advantage like a swordfighter.

The wounded one began to hobble away, steaming blood pouring from its detached leg. That was good, but perhaps they couldn't afford to let anything so dangerous escape and cause untold harm.

[DragonSong]

Oh no you don't.

River snarled and launched herself after the lamed creature. Wise to her tactics now, it jerked awkwardly to the side, trying to avoid her pounce. It managed—barely—not only because she slipped in the blood splattered across the forest floor.

Damnit.

Sliding under it, she rolled onto her back and gauged upwards with her back paws, digging claws into the joints of its carapace and ripping back as hard as she could.

Something cracked, the creature screeched, then collapsed onto her. It twitched for a few moments, then stopped moving.

Well. She'd certainly done something.

Although...now she seemed to be a little stuck.

[MadEmperor]

Kahroan's foe made a lunge for him, tail lashing forward. His ice breath returned just in time and a well timed blast froze its legs. Its own movement caused its legs to nap. It screeched in pain as he moved around behind it and pulled off its tail with a wet squelch. He stabbed it with its own tail and it died with an unearthly screeching wail as its venom melted its insides.

Bright orange blood steamed across his midsection as he moved over to pull the dead one off of River.  "You alright?"

[DragonSong]

She kicked and wriggled her way free once Kahroan had lifted some of the weight, resorting to her human form to roll away once she had enough space. "Fine," she panted lightly as she got to her feet, brushing off her tunic. She glanced at him, then at the bodies of the creatures around them. "How about you?"

[MadEmperor]

"Not a scratch, but only because I figured out how to use my breath just in time." He looked down at the two different colors of blood spattered across his scales and huffed. "We could both use a good soak. I must look horrific."

[DragonSong]

River chuckled a bit, though she was starting to breath through her mouth—the scent of those creatures was overpowering in death.

"Eh, believe it or not I've seen worse. But you're right." She sighed and glanced down at herself, nose scrunched. "Should be a stream or something around here somewhere. Here, I'll grab the doe if you take our packs? We should probably finish butchering before we bathe, or we'll just have to get wet again."

[MadEmperor]

Kahroan nodded and went to gather the packs.

They located a large pond where stream water had gathered in a depression in the ground before continuing on. Nothing else had accosted them along the way, so they were free to clean themselves up.

He placed the packs on a rock and cleaned his arms in the water so as not to contaminate the deer meat with monster blood. "This is perfect. I've got the doe if you want to go ahead."

[DragonSong]

"Cheers." She nodded at him, then stripped quickly before jumping into the water to clean off. It was cold, but thankfully not so chilled that she couldn't stand to be in the water long enough to get properly clean.

She climbed back out, shaking herself in a way that was positively canine, and noted with some wry amusement, "Wonder if you won't care how cold that is. Y'know, ice dragon and all."

[MadEmperor]

He was finishing up getting the skinned and gutted deer completely clean. Dragon claws had allowed him to make quick work of it. After the bath, he would cut the meat and wrap the steaks in large leaves. If he could find some salt, he could make it last longer. Or perhaps he could flash freeze some.

"It might actually feel good," he pondered as he removed the tattered cloak from about his waist.

He dived into the water and soon came back up. "Yes, it feels just right to me. Strange that this fiery gem would have this result. I suppose it responded to my warm personality."

Was that a... joke? He was so deadpan it was hard to tell.

[DragonSong]

River snorted, then looked at him, unsure if he was joking or not. His lack of expression didn't tell her much.

"Well, maybe it's a—oh, what's it called?" She waved a hand surly as she started to pull her tunic back on. "Y'know, that thing some animals do to show they're poisonous. Bright colors rather than camouflage. Maybe I've dragons like to advertise their location."

She paused in dressing as she realized her tunic was just as bloody as she had been. With a sigh, she moved to the other side of the pond and began scrubbing at it. "I really need more than one of these things," she muttered.

Well. Good thing for her they were still heading in the general direction of the town where she'd bought the thing in the first place.