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Post by Fanged on Nov 23, 2021 22:21:31 GMT -6
Fanged had been surprised when a strange, skeleton Estharne appeared to block their path. Had this been the thing making the howling noises? Somehow, that didn’t seem like the correct answer. The large cat approached her, though its posture was more curious than frightening. The creature, to her surprise, was not paying attention to the small group at all. Instead, it was rolling a mall rock with its paws, playfully batting at it when it rolled away. The sight would have been more amusing if the area around them wasn’t still dark and full of terrors. Ingrid and the Koguma both watched the Estharne warily. When it didn’t move to attack them, they both relaxed considerably. First, Fanged would need to figure out the method to taming this wild creature and then she would need to get her horde of beasts back to her kennel. Her party was growing rather sizable.
(Ingrid 7 1/5, 21 1/5)
(Black Bones Hunt 1)
36
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Post by Fanged on Nov 23, 2021 22:35:53 GMT -6
Fanged took the initiative and moved to approach the Estharne. She started by calling out to it, not wanting to startle the wild cat by being too stealthy. When she called out, the Estharne looked up in surprise, its game momentarily forgotten. Ingrid glanced at both of them, deciding whether she should intervene or not. She didn’t want Fanged to get harmed, but the Estharne hadn’t done anything to hurt them yet. It simply looked frightening and that in itself wasn’t a crime. The Koguma was much more frightened, though it too did not want to do anything that could potentially interfere with Fanged’s handling of the situation. When the Estharne remained friendly, Fanged took a step closer and kicked at the pebble with her shoe. It skidded a few feet away from them and the Estharne was quick to chase after it. It playfully pounced forward, capturing the tiny pebble under its paws.
(Ingrid 7 2/5, 21 2/5)
(Black Bones Hunt 2)
37
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Post by Fanged on Nov 23, 2021 22:42:15 GMT -6
With its quarry captured, the Estharne blinked at Fanged gratefully. That had been a fun game! Maybe if it followed her, it would have some more fun! With that settled, it marched over towards her companions and parked itself close to her pack of critters. Ingrid looked curious and the Koguma looked nervous. Neither of them made a move to prevent the Estharne from joining them, so Fanged took that to be a good sign. Taking the Koguma back to her kennel wasn’t too difficult a task. After all, it was keen to stick close to the group lest it be eaten by something much larger than itself. Leading the Estharne was a bit of a different story. It became distracted easily, just as likely to dart off into the bushes, chasing after some small, woodland rodent than it was to follow them. It took a long while of meandering before they made it back.
(Ingrid 7 3/5, 21 3/5)
(Black Bones Hunt 3)
38
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Post by Fanged on Nov 23, 2021 22:47:45 GMT -6
Fanged quickly dropped off both creatures back at her kennel. They were a bit too inexperienced to join her further on her garden expedition. The Estharne didn’t listen to her yet and the Koguma was too skittish for a nighttime expedition. For a moment, she wondered why it had even been out so late in the first place. She had grabbed a flashlight quickly before leaving and Ingrid wasn’t about to be left behind either. She might still be technically a baby, but custom pet quirks could result in some strange maturity levels. They returned quickly, still choosing to travel through the gardens during the night. For some reason, Fanged felt determined to get her exploring done in the middle of the night. Perhaps it was the restlessness she felt when she tried to sleep, or perhaps it was some greater intuition. Whatever it was, it ensured they wouldn’t be giving up.
(Ingrid 7 4/5, 21 4/5)
(Black Bones Hunt 4)
39
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Post by Fanged on Nov 23, 2021 22:54:01 GMT -6
Ingrid appeared ready to go the moment they returned to the plot of land that was designated as Fanged’s own. She didn’t know if this place was magical or what it was, but it appeared to stretch on forever when they traveled through it. The flashlight helped keep her nerves calm. At least now, if something approached them, she would have a bit of a visual cue to rely on.
“Alright girl, let’s start by taking the left path,” she remarked.
Ingrid was happy enough to follow her. The little Malii was determined and had no qualms with going the way that Fanged had chosen. The path was intimidating on first glance, but she supposed that everything looked like that during the night. Even the most mundane of shadows were scarier when the whole area was covered in them. She and Ingrid took slow steps to start with and then picked up the pace.
(Ingrid 8, 23)
(Black Bones Hunt 5)
40
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Post by Fanged on Nov 23, 2021 23:03:52 GMT -6
Before they could venture too deep into the wooded area, another bone-chilling howl filled the air. This time, Fanged wasn’t quite so frightened of it. It sounded far away and whatever was making the noise had yet to approach them. Ingrid appeared braver about the sound as well. She didn’t freeze this time, but she did look to Fanged to see what the woman wanted to do next. When she continued walking, Ingrid was quick to follow. The two of them continued on, finding themselves less scared of the shadows, more used to the stillness, and less annoyed by the consistent croaking of frogs. They fell into a calm routine, following the dirt path that lay before them even as it disappeared into the barren trees and the muddy terrain. Fanged found herself not caring as much if her feet crunched against the dead leaves or if she accidentally snapped a twig.
(Ingrid 8 1/5, 23 1/5)
(Black Bones Hunt 6)
41
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Post by Nadia on Nov 24, 2021 12:33:57 GMT -6
Is this going off, or is it just how it looks...?
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Post by Fanged on Nov 24, 2021 21:48:50 GMT -6
With their renewed confidence, they covered ground more quickly than they had before. Fanged found herself wanting to seek out the creature that was making the eerie howling noise. Ingrid stuck close to her. As a duo they were powerful and if they were to get separated, that would be bad news. Ingrid kept her footsteps light even when Fanged didn’t. Though the deeper they got into the woods, the more careful the woman became. After all, there was more hiding spots out here. They wouldn’t have as much forewarning if something decided to jump out at them. As if to interrupt their concentration on the path in front of them, a single brown fruit lay discarded in the path. Fanged paused and crouched down to retrieve it. It was another bunana. She didn’t think they were anything special, but she wasn’t about to leave one behind. She might have need for one eventually.
(Ingrid 8 2/5, 23 2/5)
(Black Bones Hunt 7)
42
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Post by Fanged on Nov 28, 2021 9:15:04 GMT -6
Ingrid allowed the disruption of their journey even though she didn’t find much value in fruit. When the momentary distraction had passed, Fanged and Ingrid continued to press forward through the wooded area. Nighttime was out in full force. Crickets filled the air with a cacophony of noise, blocking out any other noises that might have been helpful to them. If they wanted to find a creature, they’d either need to rely on visual cues or try and find an area that was quieter. Nighttime made it a bit difficult to see visually, so the easier option seemed to be to get away from the crickets. Ingrid pricked her ears forward. It would be easier for the Malii to pinpoint an area where the crickets weren’t so prevalent. When she chose a direction, Fanged found that it was her turn to follow. Ingrid was perfectly content to lead them forward.
(Ingrid 8 3/5, 23 3/5)
(Black Bones Hunt 8)
43
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Post by Fanged on Dec 4, 2021 21:38:49 GMT -6
They pressed on, only pausing to stop and check things out when the area around them became more unusual than it had been. They ventured deeper into the darkness, trying to find an area devoid of sound. Ingrid pricked her ears forward. It was a bit of an odd turn of events, using her sense of hearing to track down a place devoid of noise instead of following a specific sound. Ingrid pushed forward, her eyes focused intently on the area she had chosen. They slipped into the inky darkness, Ingrid leading and Fanged following her as she tried to make her steps as silent as possible. They found themselves in a clearing, one that was surprisingly devoid of the typical fixtures that one would expect to find in a garden. Instead of plants, the area was covered in an array of rocks. On closer inspection, the rocks appeared to have been purposely stacked.
(Ingrid 8 4/5, 23 4/5)
(Black Bones Hunt 9)
44
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Post by Fanged on Dec 8, 2021 3:12:19 GMT -6
Ingrid warily approached one of the stacks and sniffed cautiously at it. Fanged turned to a different one and moved closer to examine it.
“Looks as though a person or intelligent creature did this. They appear stacked in an artistic pattern,” Fanged remarked aloud.
Ingrird listened to her words, though her understanding of them was limited. She did pick up on the fact that Fanged had rapt interest in the piles of stacked rocks. Ingrid moved close, trying to see if she could figure out what made the rocks important. Even after checking, the rocks remained rather ordinary to her. They didn’t produce magic, they weren’t colourful, and they certainly weren’t edible. She looked towards Fanged for further instruction.
“I suppose there isn’t much to be done about this, but we need to be careful. Something sapient or close to it might be around.”
If they ran into another person, it could turn bad quickly.
(Ingrid 9, 25)
(Black Bones Hunt 10)
45
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Post by Nadia on Dec 8, 2021 14:13:00 GMT -6
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Post by Fanged on Dec 14, 2021 13:43:01 GMT -6
They spent a bit longer around the rock piles, searching for signs of the creature that might have made them. Ingrid jerked her head up, her nose twitching as she caught the musky scent of a wild creature. She tilted her head, trying to track down precisely where the scent was pulling her from. Fanged watched her as she mulled over which direction she had going to take. Ingrid eventually made up her mind and veered to the right, away from the piles of rocks. Fanged had to move quickly to keep up with her. Ingrid stopped suddenly when a gust of wind blew the scent away from her. It took her a moment to reorient herself before she could find the scent once again. The Malii was indecisive for a while when she caught wind of a second scent. After a bit of consideration, she decided to head towards the second scent.
(Ingrid 9 1/5, 25 1/5)
(Black Bones Hunt 11)
46
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Post by Fanged on Dec 14, 2021 21:40:25 GMT -6
Fanged hesitated, wondering which scent would be better to follow. But ultimately, that wasn’t her choice to make. Her nose wasn’t nearly sensitive enough to track a creature by scent alone. Ingrid decisively veered after the second scent, abandoning the first without a second of remorse. The action was rather curious, though Fanged decided that likely meant the second scent had to be more exciting or unique in some fashion. She moved away from the rock piles, instead opting to head towards a copse of trees that was thick enough to hide an assortment of mid-sized critters. The copse immediately dispelled the silence they had experience. Birdsong filled the air with an echoing cry, though the trees remained void of any animals. Ingrid narrowed her gaze as she scanned the trees for signs of life. It became evident that they were alone, even if the noise indicated that they shouldn’t be.
(Ingrid 9 2/5, 25 2/5)
(Black Bones Hunt 12)
47
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Post by Fanged on Dec 14, 2021 21:48:55 GMT -6
Fanged couldn’t dispel the chill that ran down her spine. She wasn’t one to necessarily believe in the supernatural, but it was difficult not to believe in that sort of thing when magic was a very real part of this world. Ethereal creatures had been crafted a long time ago by the labs. It was not odd for some offshoots of wild species to exist either. It was less common to see a mundane creature touched by magic, however. She peered at the trees, half expecting to see the skeletal shapes of an undead flock. Her vision remained empty despite her ears telling her there was something to be found. Invisible then? It was certainly a possibility. Ingrid seemed to lose interest in the birdsong rather quickly. She was a hunter who preferred to hunt prey that she could see. Invisible prey would be uninteresting, even if it did make terrified noises.
(Ingrid 9 3/5, 25 3/5)
(Black Bones Hunt 13)
48
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