The Hunter is Now the Hunted (Solo)

[Ciara]

The bright sunlight shone down on the mostly barren and rocky landscape of the Holm Mountains. The trees that dotted the cliffs and mountaintops were extremely few and far between, sometimes gathering in groups that some may consider tiny forests, but were still far from it. Of course, there still lived plenty of life there that was accustomed to the dry and nearly inhospitable region, which was surpassed in danger only by the desert just to the west of the mountain range. Moving quickly from the shade of one tree to the shade of another was a medium sized bird of bright orange coloration, standing about two and a half feet tall, with long stick-like legs supporting it's relatively small body and vestigial wings. It's neck was somewhat long, ending in a head dominated by a very long beak measuring nearly a foot long.

Unbeknownst to the bird, it was being watched by one of the deadlier predators that inhabited the Holm Mountains. From a rocky outcropping off to the side, a large beige mountain lion, about four and a half feet at the shoulder, was hunkered down behind a rock, waiting for the moment the bird was almost at the shade, almost at its perceived safe spot. The thin pupils in the cougar's icy blue eyes concentrated on the bird for a moment right before pouncing out from behind the rock. Too late, the bird noticed the predator bounding towards it, faster than it was able to run, and yet it still made an effort to escape while letting out a string of sounds comparable to Whoop, whoop, whoopoo, whoopoo!

Finally catching up to the bird, the cougar sunk it's claws into its side with one fell swipe, knocking the bird to the ground. It didn't live much longer as its small body quickly bled out what little blood it had inside of it. Satisfied with its kill, the mountain lion dragged it over into the shade against the tree, and after dropping it on the ground, it's body began to contort, paws extending into human-like hands and feet, the torso growing into a more delicate looking female figure, though still strong looking in her own right. She wore tattered cloth clothing that left her legs and arms mostly bare, also showing the red tribalistic tattoos running in an intricate pattern from her left shoulder down the whole arm. The icy blue cat eyes remained the same on her face, and her pointed ears could be seen protruding from her long, unkempt blonde hair. Ciara started taking apart the bird with her teeth while leaning against the tree trunk, throwing the nutrition low legs aside in favor of the body itself, which she began taking bites of.

Ciara's ears began moving around as she heard a twig snap off to the side. Now on alert, she instincively dropped the corpse of her prey, stood up quickly, and got behind the tree to get a good view of what made the noise while still remaining mostly hidden. Listening in, Ciara heard a pair of voices beginning to argue with each other.

"You damn fool! Are ye tryin' ta get us killed!? One bad move or loud noise, and ye might alert us to any number of 'orrible beasties that live up in these here mountains!" That first masculine voice was very commanding, but at the same time, seemed to have an air of general stupidity, especially given the irony that his yelling entailed.

The second voice was also masculine, but somewhat softer, responding meekly to the first. "Uh, sorry 'bout that Clyde. I didn't mean to, really! But uh, shouldn't ya also be not yellin' so much, as that's also some'a them sounds ya mentioned we shouldn't make..."

The one apparently known as Clyde responded. "Gods damn you Ralph, ya can't just leave it how it is. Ya always gotta have the final word in every argument. Know what? Whatever, we can argue 'bout this later, when we're outta these mountains and we've found a prize to take back to the boss!" Both figures moved a bit further, revealing their extremely plain appearances and rough and tumble physiques as they emerged from being some rocks and bushes, one with an axe in hand, and the other wielding a hunting bow.

Ciara's eyes widened as she realized these were no taguel, nor were they humans of Vinland. These were Elibean humans, the vermin that poached and captured innocent taguel and other creatures of Vinland for pleasures of varying types. She had to figure out what to do, whether she would try to fight them both, or run. Either way, she needed to decide fast.

[Ciara]

Ciara had made her choice. She would try to fight. Ideally, she would kill or badly wound the archer, and hopefully that would deter the axe wielder, and if not, she could still easily out speed him in her beast form. But, there could be some merit to talking first, and so she stepped out from behind the tree to confront the invaders. Her pupils becoming extremely thin as she focused in on them, and her breathing growing more intense, Ciara said, "You, humans! Why have you come to these mountains? This is taguel land, and certainly no safe place for humans to be wandering about in."

The bow wielder, presumably the one named Ralph, spoke up first, very surprised equally by the sudden confrontation, and the catlike ears on Ciara's head. "U-uh, hey there little kitty lady. My buddy and I are just her ta get a nice little prize to bring back to our boss. Ya see, he likes havin nifty animals to own, and we're lookin here cuz most people won't question what we're doin' way out here in the mountains."

Astonished at his partner giving away everything they were doing, Clyde smacked him on the back of the head and began shouting, "You damn idiot! Quit tellin' the lass what we're plannin' ta do! Chuckling a bit, he turned to Ciara and said, "Heheh, now then, girl. You seem like a pretty, well, pretty specimen, and I think the boss would take a mighty fine liking to you. Now, ye can come silently and painlessly, or... You'll be a lot more hurtin' when we drag you away by force!"

Hm.. these are definitely Elibeans.. Guess it's time to show them what happens when you intrude on a taguel's territory. Before either man could get his weapon fully ready, Ciara was already shifting, turning back into her large cougar form. Once the transformation finished, she growled loudly at the two before letting out an even louder roar to try to intimidate them. She started to pace in a circle around them, awaiting one of them to make the first move so that she could attempt to dodge and punish the mistake. Ralph attacked first, launching an arrow straight at Ciara, which she dodged easily by sidestepping. She then turned to rush at the nervous bow wielder, ready to pounce in him and gear him to pieces, but Clyde was ready for her, so she turned her path to attack him, fighting a bit more defensively than intended, the two equally staring each other down waiting for an opportunity to strike. Soon enough, she could hear a falter in Clyde's breathing, and presuming it to be a lapse in concentration, she pounced, digging her claws into his chest and knocking him to the ground, pinning the muscular man.

Just as Ciara prepared to rip out the man's throat, she felt an arrow dig into her side, and she turned to see Ralph with an expression that quickly shifted from surprise at even hitting her, to terror as she prepared to attack him as well. Getting off of Clyde, she stalked closer and closer, preparing to rush him the moment he tried to run or fire off another arrow. Just when she was about to, Clyde ran at her, swinging his axe wildly and landing a couple light slashes on her hind leg and back. Wincing in pain, Ciara began questioning her choice of actions. Maybe this wasn't as smart of an idea as I thought.. They're a little bit more competent than I'd first assumed.. M-maybe I can still-

As Ciara was in the middle of her thought, a new third masculine voice boomed out from a rocky outcropping leaning over the area the three combatants stood. As he stepped into view, Ciara could see he wore a long and fashionable blood red coat, dark boots, and a pitch black tricorne hat with a long white feather sticking out of the left side, which Ciara assumed was plucked from the corpse of some innocent Bird Tribe member that lived beyond the mountains. He also had a very fine looking rapier at his belt, the hilt of which gleamed intensely in the midday sunlight. Most notably, he had a long and deep scar running from his right eyebrow that went all the way done his face until stopping just below his lip. His voice resonated, even from his high up vantage point, "Alright, wee lass, ye've been struggling long enough. We wouldn't want to get you too scratched up for when we present you to our employer. Now then, I'll restate what me mate Clyde has already stated previously. Will ye come with us, and stop yer pesky struggles?"

[Ciara]

Damn, outnumbered by three of them now... These Elibeans sure know how to fight fair... Sigh, I don't think I have much of a choice. I'd prefer to still live to possibly break free in the future. Reluctantly, Ciara began shifting back into her humanoid form, stepping away from her targets just a bit and watching the newest stranger intently as he walked down from the small cliff he'd been up on. Once he was close enough, he simply grinned smugly, waiting for her answer. Breathing slowly in and out first, Ciara finally spoke, albeit in a softer voice than she normally spoke in, one that was mixed with a degree of defeat. "F-fine... I'll come along with you three."

Now the leader of the three was smiling from ear to ear, and he said, "Heheh, that's a good lass! Now then, I s'pose you deserve a proper introduction to meself. I go by Captain Faryl, and it'd be in your general interest to take that name to heart, as you'll likely be hearin' it a lot over the next few weeks while we're aboard me ship." Ciara was distraught at the idea of being stuck on a boat for such a long time, and she started debating running away, but Faryl was already grabbing her arm in an iron grip, binding her wrists, and starting to walk her away. Clyde had already put his axe away, but Ralph had his bow still trained on her, just in case. Eventually, she could see the lowlands east of the mountains as they began to decend to lower ground and then north towards the shore of the continent.

The ship was still a far ways away when evening was approaching, and the group sat down to have a very simple dinner, though they didn't offer any to Ciara, and so she was getting extremely hungry, especially since she'd only eaten part of her intended meal earlier that day before being interrupted by these three strangers. If there had only been one of the men there, she would've tried her damndest to try and break free and murder him, but alas, that was simply not the case. Instead, she was forced to watch as they ate, and listen as they said demeaning things regarding her, to which she said nothing, as she'd learned from the walk so far that backtrack would just result in a clean punch to the gut from Faryl, or worse.

Just as the men were setting up a simple camp for the night, chaining her arm to a tree she was lying against, it was unlikely she would escape anytime soon, if at all. Though things were starting to seem hopeless to Ciara, the weight of being forced from her home and sold off to some... enthusiast... weighing her down, she heard a loud roar from somewhere very close, which put the three men on edge. Hoping it was a good enough distraction for her to try and escape, she began to think of ways to break herself free from the bindings before whatever made that sound got here.

[Ciara]

Ciara began sliding out of the bindings as quickly as she could, careful not to clue off Faryl or the others, who were already distracted enough by the ear-splitting roar echoing through the lightly forested lowlands. Her heart shaking, she looked around, not wanting to see what was making it. At the same time, she was oddly curious as to what it was, and what it could do. The roar was like a loud and resonant screeching, and it didn't sound like any smaller creature she knew of, but she had heard it up in the mountains occasionally, but off at a distance. As she continued to wonder, she found herself out of the bindings, but in her haste, she didn't have any way to stop the chains from clanking on the ground. Alerted to her plan, Faryl turned around, yelling, "Well, well, looks like our little cat is trying to get out of the bag, as it were! Get her, boys!"

Just as Ciara was starting to run, she heard the loud screech closer than ever, and before she knew it, a large winged beast came crashing to the ground, landing right on top of Ralph, killing him outright. The creature had the upper body of an eagle, and it's lower half was like that of a lion. The feathered portion was all white, and the razor sharp curved beak was pitch black in color. Flaring it's wings up, it screeched again, apparently claiming it's dominance over the area the camp had been set up. For the first time that day, Faryl had a look of real fear on his face, and he looked wide eyed at Clyde, who was on the verge of panic now, having just seen Ralph decimated before his own eyes. Faryl yelled out, "Clyde, we can probably take it down if we attack from both sides. You attack it from there, and I'll come over for my own strikes!"

Responding, Clyde said, "Yessir, Captain Faryl!" At that, he drew his simple axe, readying a swing against the griffon, which was now in a defensive, yet no less intimidating stance. As he prepared for his strike, he looked to Faryl, who, to his surprise, was running off towards the direction of their ship. Shakily, Clyde called out, "C-Captain? You're j-just leavin' me here to fight this.. monster!?" Faryl stopped running for a moment, almost turning around to respond, but instead just continued moving as the griffon swung it's talon at Clyde, knocking him to the ground, blood pouring from his gut.

That was more than enough to tell Ciara to get moving. There's nothing I can do to help him now... Not that I'd even want to... Damn, that Faryl man is one of the biggest cowards I've ever seen. All cocky and tough until his life is on the line. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't even make it back to his ship. Shifting back to her beast form from her position amongst the trees, Ciara began sprinting away, the only sound audible as she fled being the crunching of bones and the screams of a dying poacher.

[Ciara]

A few hours later...

Night had fallen by now, and Ciara was certain she was well away from the notice of both the poachers and the griffon. Her breathing had finally slowed to a normal pace, and she had shifted back to her humanoid form a little ways back. Now, she was headed east, knowing that the town of Hurtlepool was the closest safe haven from where she currently was. She didn't have a map, but she hoped eventually she would notice it in the distance after enough travel. Her intention wouldn't be to stay there a long time, but just enough to make sure she had truly lost the people trying to take her back to Elibe with them.

This whole time, I thought I'd be safe in the mountains, but the Elibeans seem to be finding their way up into that area more and more. What am I, or even the rest if the taguel, supposed to do if or when our homeland is overrun by settlers and poachers? I have to figure out something... Do I stay? Do I flee? To where though..? Hmm... I could find a boat to Elibe, but what purpose would I have there? If most of the humans there are like the ones I've seen so far, I'll be far from free and respected over there.

Ciara continued to play around with the thoughts regarding her future as she walked, doing so until the full moon hung straight up ahead in the starry night sky and her legs refused to go any further. Finding a large tree, she climbed up into the branches, straightening her legs out on one of the big branches while leaning her torso against the trunk. She did this mainly just in case some other beast were to come across her in the night. Being up in the tree, she might at least have a chance to act before getting eaten. Crossing her arms over her chest, she slowly closed her eyes, drifting off into idle thought, and eventually slumber.

The night passed by with very little issue, the only noise being the ambience of various nocturnal animals going about their business in the darkness. When morning rolled around, Ciara let out a yawn and stretched her arms out with a groan, almost falling due to forgetting she was up in a tree. Saving herself from the fall, she then climbed back down the tree, going around the immediate area to find some mice or other small animals to eat for breakfast, and once she'd finished, she continued on her way towards Hurtlepool.

It shouldn't be too long now before Hurtlepool is in sight. I just hope there's somewhere I can stay for a while there. I don't know how comfortable I feel out in the wild knowing that there's plenty of poachers about, since I doubt it was just Faryl abound those other two goons of his... Sigh, I suppose I'll just have to see when I get there. Worst case scenario, I could always return to Dawsbury, I suppose...

End of Thread