A whole new world [Donovan, Perun, Mila, Jule, Anzu]

[Anzu]

The Bael was assaulted on all sides. There was a grating hiss as the creature fell to the pressure of blows. Anzu's thunderous strikes shook it each time as it tried to brace them. It's stability uprooted as the colossal hunting doog tore at and kept dragging out from beneath it a leg at different spots. Jule's cut had served to divert its focus briefly. Then the creature abruptly lurched with a loud hiss as Perun's Ax clashed with its bulb like abdomen. However as the large rock like earthen column uprooted and hit the Bael, Anzu realized something. These people were not fighting to hunt. They simply attempted to butcher it. At this rate, valuable meat would be lost to the creatures around him. That would not do. Anzu shouted loudly, voice booming out loudly as he suddenly leapt backwards with two strong wing-beats gaining considerable distance between himself and the spider.

"Iris. Shock it!"

--

Where a moment ago, a large white had been roosting upon a rock near Mila; A white haired younger boy now stood. White wings extended from his body in a similar fashion to that of the larger muscled man who shouted to him. Iris swayed on the back of his heels, idly, with a grin that entirely belittled any of the group fighting the Bael actually being in danger while he laughed before shouting back to his older brother.

"You told me just to watch remember, Oh great hunter?"

The laughter was cut-short by a narrowed glare from his older brother, that clearly indicated distaste for the boys humor at that moment. Iris sighed as he shook his head and spread his wings a bit. More so for comfort than practicality. A colossal pulse of light left the boys palms as he raised them and a current of bright light crackled into existence. The energy twisted and sparked as the boy chanted a soft phrase, one lost beneath the sound of lightning screeching and sparking up between his hands. Until it became a series of twisting purple/yellow bolts. Gazing at the Bael, the boy smiled quietly before launching a colossal blast of electrical energy that sailed towards the spider before blasting into it. A radiant series of sparks discharged while it writhed in pain and launched upwards from the spot it was at due to the literal shock of the thoron magic. The force of a creature of that size leaping into the air cracked fragments of the ground around it before it landed about twenty feet to the right with a thunderous crash that shook the trees it smashed against, buckling onto its side. Iris then shouted out as small currents of electricity sparked from finger tip to finger tip, a residual effect of his thoron.

"There you gooooo~! Ohh! DOOHAEE!"

----

Anzu rolled his eyes as his younger brother called out to his own "hunting" doog. Iris's hound was about as much of a hunting doog as the humans around him. So as the doog runt, tiny at a mere 5 feet in height came bounding out through pines and almost tackled the mage taguel with a series of excited barks and snarls, the older brother went back to killing the Bael. His muscles clenched, do a point where his veins were visible if one inspected hard enough. His wings beat once and sent him crashing back down into the ground near the Bael, fragmenting it on impact as Morghu came sprinting over to the Bael snarling. The Hawk Taguel grabbed the Bael's legs at the left side, clumping them together and stomped his foot more firmly into the ground as the creature writhed furiously. The frenzied monster was already wounded enough that it couldn't really formulate retaliation as its body attempted to keep up. Every ounce of strength in the hawks body went towards the act, as the Bael began to shift and slide a bit; the white hawks muscles throbbing in protest as he seemingly readied himself. He inhaled swiftly, and exhaled with a ferocious shout as he suddenly lifted the Bael by it's legs. In the back of his head, he noted the slight crack and pressure onto his shoulder as he did so, and swung his upper body with every last ounce of strength he could manage. The creature hissed wildly as it was lifted over the tall male's head through the air, only to be brought back down with a powerful slam into the ground on his other side. The ground shook and pine needles scattered as the monster was stunned.

It's legs curled up as if to shield itself from harm, its underbelly now exposed upwards and it sprawling onto its back. Anzu took to the air as it flailed, struggling to the left or right in alternations. His white wings spread outwards once before they engulfed his body even as it soared skywards. As they unfolded, his body was that of a great white hawk. A piercing cry split the air before large talons faced the wounded bael, and dove with lethal intent. The monstrous hawk crashed downwards onto the spiders skull as a burst of gore and inky thick purple blood burst outwards in a short radius. A single talon gripped the pulpified remains of the Bael's head, while the other rested aside it. The body still struggled, as if convulsing. Ignoring it however, Anzu transformed back into his human form as he turned to gaze at the humans around him.



His yellow hued eyes narrowed in gaze, wings spreading as he quietly looked at the humans that had been attempting to steal his prey. Morghu moved to his masters side in slow, heavy steps. The colossal Doog stood vigil as the Bael's corpse became still. Anzu spoke in a deep tone, one that held as much hostility as it did curiosity. Though to a degree this was undermined by the laughter in the background as Iris came walking over to the Bael corpse, now partially laying on the back of Dohae, who was biting and tugging playfully at one of the twitching legs of the Bael with tail swiftly wagging.

"What tribe are you humans from, that you would enter our woods? I'd thought that the humans knew better than to enter these lands."

His heavy brow furrowed into a scowl as he awaited their answer. His masters hostility seemingly absorbed, Morhu had started to snarl in the direction of the strangers, a pair of fangs visible like the size of literal short swords as the doogs muzzle inclined and it began to lower its head. The playful tone of his younger brother Iris picked up while a sickening crack signaled the loss of the lower half of a Bael leg, which was now being gnawed on by the smaller dog as its owner tried to pull on it as if to play tug-o-war. In which case the doog was actually slowly dragging the boy by his heels.

"Brother, I know your not that foolish. Their obviously from the large wooden house. They smell different from the other human tribes. And they look different. Except the furry human. He looks like some of the Bear. If you'd spend less time hunting and handling issues in the mountains and actually..you know..grrrrrrr!" Here the boy cut off briefly to entice the playful tugging of his hound, at which point Anzu cut him off by shaking his head and flapping his wings once in frustration. A soft gust of wind blasted out from it, yet he remained rooted in the ground.

"I get it, I get it. Is it true humans? Are you from the tribe in the wooden town that's just appeared?"

Though his fists unclenched, and he showed less aggression; his tone was just as hostile as before. As if he accused them instead of asked.

[Mila]

When the white hawk called to another to shock it Mila was left wondering exactly what he had meant by that. When suddenly she sensed and heard the voice of the other one who was perched in a tree not to far away from her. There was another white winged human who could use magic. And they can use magic too? Mila recognized the spell he was casting too. That's Thoron. That's.. some high level magic. She saw the brilliant bolt of lighting fly out of his hands and onto the bael. Then another Doog appeared. Dohgie? She shook her head. These guys had monsters.. MONSTERS as pet animals. Like a dog or cat.. while they were part animal themselves. This made no sense to the sage. The other hawk bird man proceeded to do the impossible.

Again Mila was left with a wide eyed stare at what she had just witnessed. He.. it... HE LIFTED IT IN THE AIR BY IT'S LEGS AND OH S*it! From her perspective, Donny was still inside his little fox hole. Which meant he was probably very close, if not directly underneath, this smack down between Bael and Bird.

"DONNY DUCK DOWN!" She shouted at the mercenary a few moments before the man slammed the beast down on the ground. The shock waves of the slam was almost enough to knock her off balance. Mila maneuvered the dirt again with the Gaea tome to create another tunnel. One that connected her to Donny's fox hole. This last tunnel drained her of her energy. But it did give the mercenary some means of escape since now the other two holes were blocked by bael corpse.

"HEY YOU BETTER NOT BE A PANCAKE DOWN THERE!" She shouted into her end of the tunnel's entrance. Seriously.. I can't heal pancakes. She struggled a bit to catch her breath. Arms.. feel like jelly.. chest.. feels like an inferno. Ha.. I.. need to work out some more. Oh.. good.. I can still feel things.. like pain. So.. I'm not dead. And this is real. Great. GREAT. The voice in her head spoke in a sarcastic tone. The larger hawk man had finished killing off the bael during her casting. Mila picked up her tome from the ground and wiped it off a bit before putting it back into her pouch. She pulled out the healing staff from it's holster and put the gem-less end to the ground. She used it as a walking stick. After a bit the larger of the two hawk men approached them, demanding to know where they were from. And this guy looks like he's going to be just TONS of fun to talk to. Hoo boy. She took a large breath in and stood up straight. But before she could speak the other hawk, the younger one, he spoke before she could. Oh good. The younger one can make calm logical conclusions. Makes sense since he's the magician. She took a moment to observe the older of the two hawk men. Hot damn! No. Mila NO. Compose yourself. She closed her eyes for a bit in order to focus on the more important matters at hand. The sage opened her eyes again when it was her turn to speak.

"I get it, I get it. Is it true humans? Are you from the tribe in the wooden town that's just appeared?"

"Uhm.. first off. Hello. And second.. thank you for helping with that giant Bael." She pointed to the corpse of the dead bug behind him.

"If you mean the small settlement by the shoreline then yes. We are from there.. er technically. Truth be told we come from a distant land across the sea and we are using that shore village as a port. This land is completely new to us.. so we have been tasked to explore it. We.. had no idea there were baels and doogs on the island. These.. seem different then the ones back on our homeland. Would you mind if I got a closer look at them once this conversation is over?" Okay. Good job Mila. We didn't sound completely dumb there. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Mila was doing her best to keep herself calm. Her body was a strange sort of state, a mix of nerves, excitement, fear, and curiosity.

"I.. well. Uhm.. your calling us humans. Which.. means you guys aren't human. I'm sorry if this sounds rude but who and what are you two? Also, Is anyone injured? I can heal you if need be."

[Donovan]

There was a nice sized hole in the Bael’s underbelly, after Fragarach’ attempt at shredding the beast seemed to be successful. But that did not seem to be enough to kill the monstrous creature. the mercenary crouched low in his little hiding hole, thinking few thoughts that didn’t revolve around how ridiculous this plan of his had been. Above him, more light poured into the hole as the gargantuan spider was lifted into the air, though by what, Donovan could not even begin to imagine. Sure Perun was strong, but not even the Giant could lift a creature this big.

Then the creature was being hurled back toward the earth, again, right over Don’s hole and the mercenary scrambled to make himself as small as was physically possible as quickly as possible. “Oh for fu—” the Bael crashed into the earth, sending clumps of earth onto the green clad man with a world shaking crash, “— sake.” Pitch black. Again. This day was just one bundle of fun, wasn’t it. He looked up, but couldn’t see a thing without a torch in this small little space. “How the hell am I getting out of here?”

As if an angel herself had been listening, a tunnel had opened up in front of him and he heard Mila’s voice calling out to him. It wasn’t exactly a big hole, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel and that was better than staying under a spider corpse. Progressing forward was slow work since he only had enough space to inch forward on his elbows and toes. Clumps of soil became fused with his green clothing and found their way into every crevice of his armor, but eventually he made it out of the tiny hole looking like he’d just dug his way out of a shallow grave. Which wasn’t too inaccurate.

But then the Silver tongued mercenary saw everything that was going on. Everything he’d missed. 2 men with white wings. Gigantic Doogs, one of whom was acting like a slightly more ridiculous version of Kitchi. Mila was babbling to the… bird men at about the exact speed he’d have expected the monstrologist to have been going off at. The spider twitched and jerked randomly. Donovan had seen a lot in the past year. But this... this was a whole other step all together. “The f***?”

[Perun]

And the giant bird man thing lifted the spider and dropped it right onto Donovan. Perun let out a deep yelp, then scrambled up to the fallen body after the hawk crushed it's head. The orange giant rammed his shoulder into the bael's disgusting hide, trying to lift the massive form off of his friend. It was... huge. Perun couldn't even begin to move the bulk off of the little fox hole Mila had made for the silver tongued swordsman. Mila called to Donovan, but after only a short span of moments, Donovan's head popped up from his place under the dirt, and said “The f***?” Perun sped his legs against the torn up earth, and helped to pull his thinner companion up out of his little tunnel.

"What tribe are you humans from, that you would enter our woods? I'd thought that the humans knew better than to enter these lands."

Perun was very confused. He'd just watched a man turn into a massive winged beast, and kill a beast even his strength couldn't budge. The likelihood of the band killing the beast on their own wasn't incredibly strong. However, in killing it, the bird man had risked Donovan's life, and that meant he wouldn't be getting a thank you from the big man. "Perun is being of Clan Volsungg." Perun patted Donny on the back to brush a bit of the dirt of the man's clothes.

"Except the furry human. He looks like some of the Bear." What? "Perun is not being a bear." Perun scanned the surrounding area, Mila was moving about, but he couldn't see Jule. He called out, "Jew-ull! Are you being safe Jew-ull?" Then he made out the shape of Drei. Perun hurried over to the shaman, and lifted his unconscious form over his shoulder.

[Jule]

For a moment the fog seemed to part away from the spider. A harsh light, crackling with the smell of ozone, pushed the mists to the sides and gave Jule a front row view of the shadowy figure they were fighting. It was every bit as hideous as she imagined, but it didn't have the telltale signs of "monster" that every ghoul from Elibe had written on their ugly mugs. No rotting stench, no decomposition, no limbs that bent in funny ways, no nothing. It was as though the monster was a romanticized version of what they fought back home.

Of course, Jule realized none of this, too preoccupied with the crackling lightning that forced her legs to lift from the ground. Her flight didn't last long, not if the trunk the thief crashed into had anything to say about it. Her back hit the splintered tree with a thud, but in her head she was a shooting star, tearing through the cosmos and vaporizing the planets that barred her path. Whichever scenario actually happened, the universe would never know for sure. What it did know, however, was the swordswoman was slumped down at the base of the tree, grasping for breaths that just wouldn't stay put in her lungs.

Something far away from her, maybe a million miles, shook the ground with its weight. She couldn't feel it, but the girl knew in the corner of her mind something big just fell.

More importantly: where'd her sword go? Was it still there or had it flung out of her hands? She couldn't feel her hands, much less her anything. Jule opened her eyes from the initial shock, but all she could see were flashes of light darting around the corners of her vision. The girl took a breath. Good, she hadn't died. Fingers intact? Her mind reached out to where her hands ought to be and gave them a twitch, then the feet. Nothing broken there. Her senses were definitely coming back, if only at a snail's pace. Breathing started to leave a sharp pain in her ribs, and her back felt like it had suddenly caught fire. But pain was good. Pain meant she was living, that she was stronger than whatever tried to hurt her.

"...-ull! .. you .. ..-fe Jew-ull?" called Perun's rough, beardy voice. The girl couldn't make head or hide of what he said, but his strange way of saying Jule's name filled in the blanks well enough for her. The shaken thief shimmied up the tree, her hands wrapped around the trunk for balance. Okay. Now she was upright. "Ick... Where's my.. sword?" she hacked, searching the ground. Nowhere in sight. And it was made perfect for her, too! Uuuugh! If her throat hadn't been devoid of moisture, she might have squealed in frustration.

When her eyes started to focus again, Jule shook her head, unsure if she was still seeing double. How'd they practically double in number? Was she still seeing double? "H-Hey." she choked out, stumbling into their pow-wow. Some of them seemed... furrier than normal, and not just because she might've been seeing more than one Perun. "What's going on here? Who're you all? And.. Any of you seen my sword? It musta flown off."

[Anzu]

A deep sense of unease rested within the heavily muscled older brother, and as the jade haired magic using human began to explain more of their predicament, the arbiter felt this unease convert back into the subtly boiling anger that rested just shy of the surface. He still detested this. These humans, from another land, were tasked with exploring their island? Their territories? Anzu's wings slowly extended as the man squared his shoulders. He hardened his gaze briefly and looked to each of them while quietly clenching his left fist, his tone quiet and lined in a level of caution he himself was notorious for. "Who is it that tasks you to explore lands, not your own? I would know who it is tha-"

His words fell short as the distant tones of a unique sound reached his ears. Though likely heard by all, Anzu felt a chill traverse his spine at the noise. A howl. The signature forewarning of a wolf. This howl however, was known all to well to him. The four other howls raising moments later in response to it confirmed his concerns. Immediately Anzu turned from the mage girl to the direction of the sounds, to the west. The taller, and far more serious of the doogs, started snarling as the echoing howls died off. Though still larger than most creatures the group might've seen, it lowered its head while revealing elongated fangs that still ran slick with ink like blood of the fallen Bael.

Iris turned with a confused expression, both he and his far more playful hound alien to the reactions of the other two. The smaller winged brother began walking over to his older brother, a fragment of Bael leg still in his hand while he spoke up.

"Anzu..What is it?"


The older brother scowled with a gaze of raw distaste as five silhouettes began to dance into sight through the fog. Anzu's wings flapped once, creating a small brief intense gust as he growled in frustration and turned to the humans. "Stay here. Do not leave this space." His gaze wandered to Iris before softening to the smallest of degrees, before speaking again. "Stay near them, and do not let either hound past you. I...do not know how this will go."

Turning once more, his younger brother extended a hand to either hunting hound with fingers lacing through tufts of fur and gripping lightly at them. By this point, the figures approaching had become visible. Five colossal wolves moving with surprising silence through the forest, despite their size. A snowy white wolf leading a pack of wolves all mixed shades between grey and brown. Each wolf was nearly five and a half feet in height, and the impact of their paws hitting the ground left small distinct thuds in a cacophony of tremors in the fleeting brief moments before they slowed to a halt. Similarly to Anzu and Iris, these wolves abruptly shifted forms. Only one however, stepped forwards as they configured into a human form.

This wolf, was a former friend of his, and bitter rival. Jino



With chalk white wolf ears blending almost perfectly into his spiked wild hair, the male extended his left arm in a sweeping bow before grinning. Not towards Anzu, or his brother, but the humans behind them and their fallen Bael. His right hand gripped the ornate katana sheathed at his hip as the male strode closer, fanged teeth exposed by his smirk and yellow hued eyes drifting towards everyone present. His tone one of amusement and accusation mixed in.

"My my my...what's this? Tsk..Now Anzu..you didn't ever seem like the type to fraternize with lesser beings. All that peace keeping as arbiter sure has made you soft, hasn't it?"

He attempted to walk past the taller hawk tribe male, only to find his progress halted as a colossal pale wing folded out to bar him entrance. With Anzu standing almost a full foot higher, and having significantly more muscle to his build, Jino looked almost harmless; though this in turn presenting the real threat. Deception. As Anzu turned his gaze back towards the wolf Taguel, his tone took a brutal one; large wings flapping to release an intense shockwave like gust of wind that forced the wolf stumbling backwards. The wind pressure however was only great-enough to do just this, and little else beyond feel like a moderately intense gust. "You will leave Jino. Now. "

Iris had to grip at Morghu's fur with a tighter embrace as the large hound began to violently snarl towards the wolves; the first sign of his master's aggression fueling him instantaneously. The boy attempted to shush the hound, quietly reassuring him even as the white haired wolf re-composed himself. A single hand wove through messy ashen locks and he grinned towards the humans once more before slowly unsheathing his katana.

"You know better than that Anzu. Humans in our forest? Stealing our prey? Killing our game? That's punishable by death. It is the law of our tribe."

Anzu swiftly cut him off while taking a single heavy stride closer, the tan skinned hawk snarling in response. "They are under the protection of my Tribe, and any act of aggression towards them will warrant one upon you tenfold. "

With testosterone and tension raising at ever higher rates, Anzu felt a slight twinge of frustration. Though he himself distrusted humans, and wanted them gone to what ever land they'd come from; he also found denying Jino to be perhaps his greatest goal in life. His protection as Arbiter could only extend to other taguel, and natives of the island. If however, they were guests of his village? That could be entirely different. However it...also meant..he was honor bound to show them his home. Between a rock and a hard place, in its finest form.

Iris turned to look at the humans, whispering quietly. "You all need to begin backing up. Er..please?"

All the while, Iris was slowly starting to get dragged forwards as the colossal hunting hound he was attempting to restrain snarled with ever more ferocity while slowly inching forwards with his head lowered and body poised to lunge.

[Mila]

There was a soft frown on Mila’s face. She could tell by the hunk hawkman’s body language and tone of voice that he was.. disturbed. Or perhaps simply defensive. She pulled her cloak back over her shoulders, giving her arms a chance to breathe. The weather was far to warm for her layers.

“I.. am sorry. But the village asked us too. Like.. I said we.. as a collective know little of this land. We.. knew that there were people that the first explorers traded with… That was about it. We needed to explore to learn more...and..” Mila stopped talking. She heard the tell tale howl of a wolf. At first the sage thought it to be another doog or its blue haired cousin the gyliwig. She immediately turned to face the direction of the howl with a fireball in her hand. The monster researcher was ready for whatever it was. The last thing she wanted was for everyone to be ambushed by a pack of feral monsters.

The hawkman Anzu, gave instructions to the younger hawk man to stay. Mila turned her gaze between the two of them, then to their pets, then finally back to her colleagues. She wasn't sure what was happening but she continued to be on the alert. A pack of creatures did emerge from the woods but these guys weren't doogs. These were other shape shifters. Wolf men. The white one emerged out in the open and Mila kept staring at him. A wolf man dressed in garb that seemed similar to Sacean swordsman. He even carried a katana. A wolf man that can use human weapons. Interesting. This island is full of surprises. She found herself thinking of her brother for a second as her mind pinpointed certain similarities. But she quickly dismissed that thought and focused on the wolf man and hawk man’s conversation. Wolf man is named Jino.

Much to her horror the wolf man was talking about them. And how the humans apparently violated some law of the land and how that is punishable by death. Lesser beings? Well that's great.. It’s like Etruria all over again. Her eyes narrowed slightly. She turned to look at the bael corpse. It wasn't your prey. You weren't hunting it. Neither were we.. it just sprang up on us. Jino, You didn't frikken piledrive it to the ground! If anything it's the bird's prey and prize at this point. At least.. Anzu is protecting us? Despite, her thoughts she kept her expression neutral. Her heart was racing at a mile a minute, but she kept her breathing steady, the fireball floating over her palm was burning in a consistent controlled burn.

She could feel the tension in the air. And she could see the reaction of the animals, this was a bad situation. She backed up slightly at the younger hawks request and she turned to her comrades.

“Everyone back up slowly. We seem to be in the middle of a rivals dispute. No one make any sudden movements or make any comments. We are to stay calm, keep our heads low, and stay put.” She spoke in a hushed voice, then harmlessly dispersed her ball of flame. She turned around slowly and kept watching the animal folk.

[Donovan]

As seemed to be the common theme of this cursed Island, things continued to keep going from strange to stranger. Giant spiders, giant doogs, men with wings, and now shape shifting wolves? For the love of all that is holy, when are we going to get off of this absurd rock. The Older Hawk told the small one to stay near the gang of four, and Donovan realized just how dangerous this situation might be. 5 wolf men. If they were anywhere near as powerful as the hawks might be, even a group as experienced as theirs would be in some serious trouble. The silver tongued mercenary couldn’t help but smirk at the leader of the pack calling them “lesser beings.” Turns out you don’t have to be nobility to be a self righteous idiot. The tall, white haired creature carried a decorated sword of a similar fashion to those used in Sacae. Designed for slashing flesh, not armor. Not that any of his crew used armor that could shrug off a sword like that.

When the Hawk named Anzu spoke to the wolfman, Donovan knew one thing for certain. This dispute was personal. Dangerously so. But it also meant that whatever the wolf wanted, Anzu would want the opposite, which could be the only thing standing between them all and a grizzly end. 2 hawks, their pets, and three humans versus 5 wolves. He’d seen worse odds, but not without casualties. If this Jino guy was anything like the Ilian Reaper, then someone wouldn’t leave this forrest with their life. They needed to have this end peacefully.

Mila began to whisper to them, but Don cut her off. “Mila.” He whispered, before putting his finger to his lips. Then he made eye contact with Perun, his eyes darting down to the giant’s axe shaking his head, and gestured to do as Mila’d started to say. Back up. Stay quiet. Perun’s temper was terrifying, surely, but it could make matters much worse for them. With Drei out cold, they’d be too focused trying to protect him rather than saving their skins. If it came to it, Don would try to talk the situation down, but he hoped to god it didn’t. All it takes to burn down a forrest is a single spark. One wrong word could end them all. His hand rested carefully near Fragarach. If it came to blows, he’d be sure to do whatever it took.

[Jule]

"No really, has anyone seen my sword?" The swordswoman minus her sword spoke softly, her throat drier than a desert. Delightfully unaware of the testosterone fest going on behind her, Jule poked her head out from between her companions and looked towards the edges of the clearing. Even with her eyes squinted as far as those bad boys could go, there was just no sign of it. Well, that was about all she could do short of leaving the "Big Important Meeting". The furry men weren't even paying attention to her, but it was likely that the girl would miss important info if she wandered off by herself into the woods. There was also the threat of just about every other monster on the island wanting to pick a fight with Jule, sans sword. She grumbled a curse of defeat, moving a halt beside Perun.

Oh good, there wasn't anything worth listening to. Just two sweaty, furred and feather men arguing over politics. In a weird sort of way, Jule sort of missed getting her butt handed to her by the giant bael. At least that was fun for all parties involved.

Right as she thought things couldn't get any duller, the smaller but still equally ripped birdman told them to back up. "Does this mean we can't leave now?" Jule responded in a disheartening whisper. "I wanna go get my swo-" Don put his finger to his lips. It wasn't exactly aimed at her but the message went through clear enough. Jule squirmed her away around the orange giant to get a better look at the two main competitors. Chests were puffed out, hands were clenched, even the way they spoke was as if they were daring the other to throw the first blow. It would've been exciting under different circumstances, but now that the girl was paying attention, she could feel the tension pouring off their group in waves. Even the jolly orange giant was having a hard time keeping his head.

"Hey, big cat!" Ignoring orders,she stood up on her tiptoes and hissed into Perun's ear. As she spoke, Jule attempted to pull his digits from the axe's shaft. They didn't budge an inch, even as she pulled with all of her might. Well, it was the thought that counted. "Make like Ilia and keep it cool! I can't get my sword back if you fly off the handle and get us all killed." 

It was a sad day when she had to be the diplomatic one.

[Perun]

Perun's chest swelled as he took in a deep breath. He was going to yell. He didn't know what, but it was going to be loud, and it was going to be aggressive. If a fight broke out because of his yell, that was fine by him, he knew he could count on all of them to be of some use, even Jule. Well, not Drei, Drei was still hanging over Perun's massive shoulder, but Perun could always set him down and join the fighting. Plus these Hawkmen seemed willing to back them up, or at least they seemed more than willing to go heads up with the little pretty boy with little pointy ears. If the axe of Perun had to bite, let it bite deep. He would not be discussed as if he were game on some little lord's land.

However, his companions tried to make it clear that that wasn't what they wanted. Donovan indicated that the use of his axe was a solid no, that that wouldn't be the best course of action. Well, that was one man's opinion. As if that wasn't enough, Jule whispered a pun to him. The giant was already angry, and the shrimp decided to attempt to keep him calm with a pun. That was never a good tactic when trying to keep someone from giving in to their unyielding rage. Perun did not take his axe from his belt, but he did allow his hands to drift down to the axes haft, and like iron he gripped it.

[Anzu]

"Ahhh...but you see...mighty Arbiter...these are outsiders. This has never happened before! You may be a protector of the island...but they are not from the island...are they? No..you see..now that I get a better touch of their scent...there are so many..unfamiliar things. No one from our island "

Jino started taking a few steps to the right of Anzu and backwards. His hand tracing the ornately designed hilt of his blade while the other hand moved to the sheath. Wolf like ears swiveled forwards atop the wild snow like hair that trailed with his stride. His gaze narrowed as he saw the smallest human reaching up and whispering to Perun. It was slight. The smallest fraction of movement, but it was enough to set him off. Jino's fingers flicked the blade from the hilt and he darted with blinding speeds past Anzu, racing right for Jule while unsheating his blade, intent to kill laden in his wild eyes. Feral eyes, that only a beast could contain. He moved with enough speed that even the large hounds weren't able to react right away.

---


Wolves were predictable. Deadly...but predictable. When they circled...they gauged. Measured, and looked for an attack angle. Was it all the time he'd spent competing against the wolf tribes, that gave him that preemptive sense? Hunters instinct perhaps, combined with intuition, but he knew Jino would strike. The moment the swift taguel rushed past him Anzu kicked backwards off the ground. Normally, he couldn't match Jino's speed. He'd never been able to keep up with Jino. However with his wings behind him, his strength could become speed.

A single strong wing-beat sent Anzu racing backwards even further as it propelled him back, and he pivoted his body with a muscled limb anchoring out and to the side as Jino attempted a downwards strike on Jule while her back faced him. The metal blade sank into Anzu's bicep, but hardened skin caught it just after it cut deep enough to draw blood. With a guttural snarl, Anzu pivoted his body and brought his other hand down against the side of Jino's sword. Snapping it in half, and breaking the rather basic metal blade.

Jino's propensity for making blades had not granted him much skill as a smith, because he made his blades exactly the same each time. The same material, the same style, and the same poor composition.

He carried forwards with his wounded arm, half a blade lodged against his bicep still as he brought it upwards and then connected his forearm to Jino's throat before crashing it against him. Knocking the wolf off his feet and juggling through the air, Anzu shouted furiously as he seized the taguel with both hands and threw him back to his pack.

"JINOOO, RAAAAARRGH!"

The other wolf taguel began to inch forwards only to be halted by the wild howl of Anzu's hunting doog as the monstrous beast soon began to roar and move forwards. Little Iris was left being skidded as the hound started rushing towards the wolf taguels, sent into a frenzy at the scent of its masters blood.

As Jino spun through the air, he transformed into a monstrous white wolf. His body instantly transitioning before lunging forwards and sinking his large fangs into Anzu's skin. Though his skin was hardened like armor, Jino's fangs were far sharper and as he bit into the winged taguel a violent shout of pain left the muscled male before he broke free and took to the air.

Things had degenerated. They could not stay this way.

The pain made him long for a violent frenzy. To simply destroy everything around him, but in the hanging moment before Anzu would come back down from the sky, he knew this was not only his life to be effected. He had a responsibility as an Arbiter. These outsiders, though they were human, could not be dragged into their feuds.

Morghu was halted in it's advance even as it prepped to lunge upon two of the wolf taguel. The wolves were halted mid motion to en-circle the large hunting doog. A single series of sounds brought them to silence. Anzu transformed, and first came the thunderous crash. His monstrous break shattering into the ground as he pinned Jino in wolf form down with his talons. Dust was kicked up and it was as if a small explosion had gone off from the raw power of his strike. In his true form he was at his strongest. However what halted his own hound from fighting the mongrels, was the head-splitting shrill cry that the Hawk Taguel let out. It was loud, and furious, but it was a signal for his own dog to stop. A call it knew to obey.

The dust cleared. Though the act of transforming had rid his arm(now wing) of the half metal blade with was lodged in it, a thick trail of crimson stained his left wing. Snowy white feathers darkened, and thick globules of it fell from the wing-joint. Anzu maintained his form before pressing Jino further in the ground to emphasize his ability to slay the wolf at that single moment.

However..he did not. Anzu reverted to his human form a few seconds later even as the wolf did, though Anzu stood his ground while the wolf swiftly scrambled back to his pack. Anzu whistled, speaking in a stern tone.

"Morghu."

The hound, though snarling towards the wolves briefly, slowly pack-pedaled, unwilling to expose itself to the beasts as it moved to it's masters side. Iris, now able to let it go, made no wasted time in sprinting back to the group before standing by his own hound which had maintained an impressive level of calm. A soft-hearted beast, but well trained by Iris.

Anzu locked his gaze to Jino before addressing him.

"Out of respect of a time long gone..I spare you. If you attempt such a thing ever...EVER..again..I will break you like the smallest of twigs beneath a cyclops step. Leave Jino. Keep away this time."

The previously smug wolf merely panted with a wild expression on his face before turning around and swiftly running away. His pack followed him in tow, and Anzu turned to quietly walk past the humans. His left arm was fairly mangled, with three holes punctured along the outer side and one on the inner wrist. It did not seem to bother him however. Keeping his dominant, and uninjured arm bent, he grabbed hold of the monstrous bael corpse and slowly tugged at it to ensure it was easily moveable. He pulled at it briefly, gripping firmly upon one of it's legs before turning to look at the humans. "It would be unwise to move for the wooden town now. If they catch you again..they won't be as welcoming. You...are welcome to accompany us to our village if you wish."

Painful words to speak. Were he not an arbiter, he probably would've simply left them there. However he had responsibilities. The large hound Morghu moved to Anzu's side and started to tug at the Bael as well. Well practiced in helping his master bring their kills back to their village. The seriousness of the situation however did not stop Iris from exclaiming, the boy now sitting atop the back of his doog as it paddled around quietly sniffing at the blood-stained spot Anzu had been standing. The boy was an almost entirely opposite tone of Anzu's, and it showed readily.

"Phewwwwwwww~ That could've been worse! Well! If you weren't feeling welcome enough before, I bet you are now! Heh that's just the wolves! Then you've got the rabbits, the other bird tribes, the cat tribes; their especially fun! Then there are the bears! Though..your large friend would probably fit right in there~!"

[Mila]

Mila stood there as the hawk man knocked the wolf man away from the group. It seemed that it was the slightest movement between the group of humans was what provoked the wolf man into attacking them. It seemed that some of her friends DID not do what she asked them to do. Someone moved. And she distinctly whispered not to have any of them move. She had a feeling something like that was going to happen. And it was very fortunate that the older of the two hawk brother’s acknowledged to defend them. When the wolves left, Mila let out a large sigh of relief.

“Holy Sh*t That. Was. Tense.” The sage found herself resting her hands on her knees. It wasn’t often that the sage cursed out loud like that but considering the circumstances of the last few minutes, the words were very appropriate. Mila turned to look at her human companions. They all seemed to be physically ok. The younger of the two hawks spoke to them. He was a bit more enthusiastic than his older sibling. And it seemed that there were more shapeshifters then just the hawks and wolves. If the boy’s statement was true then this island was an island of amazement. Slowly, the shock of everything started to fade, and her curious mind started to tick. She picked herself back up and stood up straight. She looked over at Perun and tilted her head.

“You think he’d pass as a bear? Oh man.. I really want to see that.” She shook her head. Mila. Manners!

“Excuse me a moment.” She bowed her head lightly at the younger hawk and doog. She then turned her attention at the the older of the two hawks. The man was bleeding from arm. She had her staff out and approached him slowly.

“Thank you. For that Anzu. I.. understand.. That suddenly welcoming outsiders into your protection was uncomfortable. As a small act of gratitude.. Please permit me to heal your wound..” She slightly bowed her head at him. The sage raised the staff in front of her for a moment. She closed her eyes and focused. A warm white-blue light emerged from the glass orb atop her heal staff and surrounded the hawk. The light seemed to find his fresh wound and stitched the flesh back together. After a few seconds the wound was gone and it was as if the hawk was never damaged in the first place. She nodded softly then walked back towards the younger hawk.

“Iris right? I.. never knew doogs could be tamed. If the one helping your brother with the Bael is Morghu.. Then.. who’s this one? Uhm.. and can I pet him?”

[Donovan]

The seconds between the wolf launching itself toward Jules and being thrown backward by the massive hawkman felt like months to the silver tongued mercenary. He’d managed to just begin to draw the howling blade of Fragarach, but knew that had he needed to fight the beast, he wouldn’t have had time to defend his small blue thief, only avenge her sudden death. It was a sobering thought. He and Perun had come so far, gone through so much with this band of misfits, yet in this place, he knew they were completely outmatched. They needed to get off the island, not delve further into her unpredictable jungles.

That choice was taken away from them, however, as Anzu offered to show them his village. And seeing how he had saved their lives twice already, Don did not feel it right to protest what he suspected was an astoundingly rare invitation. Still, he knew that there was a need for caution. Who knew what this island’s peoples viewed as insults or slights? A culture so long separated from Elibe’s was bound to have some substantial differences. Don decided to address the younger, more welcoming winged one. “It is a pleasure to meet you and your brother Iris. Doubly so that you’ve helped get us out of this… tough spot. I am Donovan, though you may call me whatever you deem fit. Mila there is prone to Donny. And the ginger Grizzly goes by the name Perun.”

There were some questions he was itching to ask. Something that he had become quite certain of the moment that they met these sentient creatures. Despite all of his reservations his curiosity got the better of him. “Tell me; how long have the people of this island been gone from Elibe? Certainly since it seems we share a common tongue our people must have had some very significant interaction." The green clad mercenary was a little confused as to how they could all speak virtually the same language and yet still have few stories with an entire species of people who can turn into animals in Lycia that were not about dragons. He knew how quickly language changed based off of the plays his mother and father had made him read as a child, so how could they possibly speak the same language after, what must have been a thousand years apart? He had one guess, but could not believe it to be true.

[Jule]

To her dismay, Perun only gripped his axe harder, albeit lower on the haft. Could it be possible that he was even more angry? Who could be mad after a pun? Taste was probably a matter of concern here.

In hindsight, tuning out a command which determined whether everyone here lived or met a grisly, grisly end was not the brighest of ideas up her sleeve. Jule's gesture was slight, but it was more than enough to set off the furred one. Before she could react, before she could even think, the man bounded towards her with a sword in his hands and death in his eyes. Even if the child had a weapon, odds were poor that she could deflect the man, much less square off with him in any sense of the phrase. In the shade of the trees, the girl could see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing but the rush of wind behind her. But the swordswoman knew it was coming. Her eyes had already instinctively opened wide in terror. Jule could sense death's icy grip reaching for her.

And she was afraid.

The wolfman's blade cut through flesh, but whoever's it was, it wasn't hers. Jule glanced behind her at her savior and stumbled backwards, her jaw hanging open. A gray mass of feathers had descended upon her, taking the death blow that was meant for Jule like it was nothing but a pesky mosquito's bite. For a moment, the entire clearing froze. The wolves knew the consequences of their leader's actions. As did the birds. They might've had a lot of differences between their two tribes, but there was one thing they could all agree on: It was GO TIME.

With a shout from the beastmen, the scene around them erupted into chaos. Feathers and fur went flying as leader fought leader, and Jule could do nothing but slump to her knees and stare, absolutely dumbfounded. So this was what the jungle was capable of. Slowly, as the pack leaders tore at one another, she swallowed her fear. Jule's eyes slowly contracted, and a bright smile peeked its way in. Surely none of the others had been afraid, since only the bird man had come to her rescue. It was only her. Besides, she couldn't be afraid-- she was Jule, darnit! She had just been caught off guard, that was all.

The brawl was over as quickly as it began, with Jino and his goons running tails between legs. No sooner than they were gone, the girl stumbled to her feet. "Hey, big... bird guys! Anju. Iris. Dogs. My name's Jule." The swordswoman puffed out her chest and crossed her arms. "Sorry that you took that hit. You got yourself hurt because of me, of all people! I prolly coulda handled it without either of us getting sliced up." Her eyes dropped. "W-Well, if I had my sword, anyway. ...I guess I owe ya one."

[Perun]

The wolf charged, at Jule. He singled out the smallest of their party and decided to attack her first. It was the mark of a coward and a fool. He should have gone for Mila or Perun himself, but he was likely not brave enough for that blitz. It boiled Perun's blood before the man had even taken his fourth step. His axe was out of his belt in seconds. However, before a scream left his lips the hawk flew at the wolf and threw him towards his companions then both transformed while the other wolves and demon dogs started to growl. The animal boys shouted at each other, or maybe it was just one, but eventually the wolves all turned around and ran away. Then Perun was instructed to follow the birds along with the rest of his friends. Fine, let them go further and further into this ridiculous island. He didn't like this feeling. He was at a disadvantage given by nature that he'd never felt before, and until he'd heard of this island that feeling was only one Perun could get from another human, who had to be better than him. Here there was just a sense that he was always going to be behind.

"Perun is not being a bear. Is being from clan Volsungg." As they all began to move, Perun adjusted Drei on his shoulder. He'd almost dropped the small quiet boy when he'd pulled his axe from the belt, but now after readjusting him he was confident the boy wouldn't fall. He was too light, he needed to eat more. "Perun cannot be being understand you half of time. Your outside tongue is not be so common Duno-ven."