A stroll into the woods (Aeos/Gar/Rhea)

[Aeos]

Aeos stretched lightly. He was waiting at the gate of Aurion ready to depart. It had been a few days since their last expedition in the woods and now they needed to make a second trip in to gather some more raw supplies. Aeos glanced around he was expecting to see Gar appear any moment now. As the two of them had agreed to go together. The crisp air of the island filled his lungs and it felt good. The day looked like it could be good. Then again there were clouds in the air that looked like they might make a grey overcast. Better consult the spirits for the weather.

He took a seat on a nearby rock and quietly tapped into the powers of his dragon stone and began to consult the spirits. And although he did this several hundred times on Elibe and out on the ship. But here on the island everything.. everything seemed to be so full of energy so full of life. The spirits he tried to consult were restless and he.. couldn't really get a good read on them. He shook his head. He sighed softly. What is it about this island I swear.. Ever since he landed here he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong, but he didn't exactly feel wrong. He was feeling more energetic then ever. Hell, even the other side of him.. his more dragon side of him wasn't bothering him too much. He made a quick check of his supplies and everything seemed to be in order.

[Gar]

Gar approached Aeos jogging. He raised a hand over his head and waved to the man. " Hey there, sorry about the wait, Cap'n had me cleaning the gangplank. But I'm ready to go now." Gar slowed to a walk once he reached Aeos. He offered a hand to help Aeos off the rock and continued down the newly fashioned road out of the city. He was so excited he could hardly wait. Recently he had been cooped up inside the city walls due to his former leg injury. This was the first time he had left the city since he had landed on the island. Man oh man, I can't wait to see what else this island has in store! Gar was smiling so wide anyone could see his excited demeanor. He turned to his friend Aeos.

"So what are we looking for on this expedition? The captain said I should keep an eye out for other game, like a boar or a deer." Gar thought it would've been a good idea to send more hunters out with them, but apparently the duo did such a good job on their last expedition, people assumed they wouldn't need any help. Haha, two guys like us wouldn't need any help anyway. The pirate turned his head to the sky and took note of the cloud coverage. He was thankful for that, no one likes hunting on a hot sunny day. The road approached the forest's edge and started to become less defined. Few people had moved through the forest, but there were some tree stumps around from the woodcutters who needed wood for their goods.

[Aeos]

"Ah.. no worries Gar. Aeos spoke with some light enthusiasm in his voice. Gar's good mood was rubbing off on the Nabatan.

"You seem to be in good spirits. Thy leg fully mended I assume?" He casually opened the gate that divided the wooden walls of Aurion to the outside. He held it open out of courtesy and closed it once Gar stepped out.

"Other game might not be so bad. But my supply oft fresh herbs have run dry. Tis be mostly why I'm going out. Might try my hand at finding some mushrooms. They be easy to cultivate. But perhaps we can explore the rest oft that stream we did not have a chance to do last time." He walked along the dirt path that led away from the settlement. They made their way towards the woods. Past the small boundary of stumps that the lumberjacks had used. Past the trees that had been marked to be cut down at a later time. Aeos remembered the path to the stream before they had gotten side tracked by the boar.

"Ah look there's that log with the bee hive in it. I know a young woman a budding fire mage with a strange hair. Who's named Bee. I doth not know why her parents chose such a name.. I hope when I return to the mainland I can tell her about this place. Do you have a friend on the mainland to return to?". The small talk was nice to hear as they continued onwards. He motioned for Gar to follow him up stream. And just like before the tiny brook they originally found started to grow wider, deeper, stronger the further inland they went.

"It.. was roughly around here.. before we got side tracked by the boar. And look here be more animal tracks. Hmm.." Aeos crouched down towards the soft patch of mud. The tracks he saw disturbed him. They looked like dog or wolf prints but they were bigger then his hand. There were also other prints he could make out. A deer, a rabbit, a bird, a bear, but they seemed to be older. Possibly.. he found it hard to distinguish because of its proximity to water. And the wolf like tracks were everywhere in an erratic pattern. So it was hard for him to pinpoint exactly where it would have gone. The water made it difficult to track any sort of scent that wasn't layered in mist.

"... I.. don't.. know. But.. I think there was some sort of wolf.. or rather a pack of them that trailed by. Or a skirmish between animals..." He got up as he spoke and continued to survey the wilds around him. His finger pointed at all of the wolf looking prints and he started counting them. Something was wrong. He hadn't noticed it until now but things were silent. He quickly tapped into a small portion of his draconic powers and increased his sensory potential without revealing too much of himself. At most that changed were the tips of his ears becoming a tad bit scaely which was hidden by his hair. And his eyes becoming slightly more reptilian.

"Gar.. I don't..think we are alone.

[Gar]

" The leg's good as it's every been." Gar proclaimed strongly in response to Aeos' question. The duo continued through the forest, quickly finding the stream they were supposed to follow on their past time beyond the walls. They passed the log with the bees and abscess root, which made Gar smile thinking back on it. Aeos commented on a friend from the mainland and asked Gar if he had any of the same.

"Friends on the mainland huh? Well I spend most of my time at sea so not too many. I've met a mage woman as well along with a couple swordsmen along with an archer. Haven't seen any of them in quite some time though." Gar shrugged. Perhaps he should attempt to make more lasting connections with people from the mainland. It could be good for his fame and status. It was all he wanted after all; to be remembered. As Gar weighed the pros and cons of spending more time on land they passed the spot where they first spotted the boar. He looked to the ground around the bushes. " Ha Har. Sure is the place where that boar knocked me flat." Gar stated gesturing to an imprint in the ground where he had fallen previously.

There were indeed more animal tracks, some of which were exactly what the captain sent him out for. Deer, rabbit and something else. He saw that Aeos was also perplexed by what creature could have made those marks. "What do you think those are about?" Aeos replied that it could've been a wolf or a pack of wolves. Looks pretty big for a wolf, but that boar was abnormally sized as well. Maybe the animals on this island are just bigger. Gar chuckled as he imagined a giant rabbit. Imagine that. How ridiculous.

Gar began to continue, but stopped when he noticed Aeos thoroughly examining their. surroundings. He took to examining as well. With all these tracks around you would expect more... noise or action or anything. The only thing I can hear is the brook. Gar looked at Aeos.

"Gar.. I don't..think we are alone."

"Aye we best be on our guard." He moved down the stream a little further and noticed something from the corner of his eye. A stag with a broken antler laid dead behind a tree. He walked over and saw it's throat had been ripped out and it's body had already been eaten. He looked down around the base of the tree. " More uhh wolf tracks around this one here." They led further down the stream, in the same direction that they were travelling. Gar looked to the sky, it was dark beneath the forest leaves, and with the could coverage there was an ominous grey toned light that filtered through.

" The adventurer in me wants to press on but that may be a little foolish. What do you think we should do?" Gar was hoping they could find the source of water, but it might be a good idea to turn back.

[Aeos]

" The adventurer in me wants to press on but that may be a little foolish. What do you think we should do?" Aeos heard Gar talk but he wasn't focused on the young sailor. Instead his eyes narrowed a bit at a bush that was a few feet in-front of him. Although his senses were a dulled by the water that did not mean they weren't working. Something was here.. and that something was behind that large patch of shrubbery. Quietly he moved into a stance, one that looked like a man ready to stop a charging bull by grabbing it's horns. He lowered his head lightly and kept his arms up by his chest. His semi-slitted eyes fixated in the direction of where he could sense the thing. He tapped a bit further into his power, enough now to give him slightly pointer teeth. His finger and toe tips started to show some signs of becoming a bit segmented.

"I.. think the choice has already been made for us." He spoke in a calm almost monotone like manner. Through the little spaces in between the bushes he could just barely make out an eye of some kind. And something large.. fuzzy.. and in an instant the creature lunged out of the bushes and ran straight towards Aeos. Aeos did not expect the Doog to be so large and was knocked back by the force of it's charge. And while he couldn't tell from his current position, the Doog itself seemed to have been injured. Possibly from the other member's of it's former pack. All that Aeos knew was that was trying his damnedest to hold back the monster's mouth from taking a bite out of his throat. Part of him was glad the creature has shoved him to the muddy ground. The mud would to well to conceal his now partially shifted state. His face now showed more obvious signs of scales, there were little tufts of horns starting to poke out of his head, his hands were more claw like, and his legs though covered by pants were also more scaly. The very scaley, dragon claw like, hands of his were firmly placed on the monster's muzzle. One hand on it's mandible, the other on it's maxillary, and while the creature was biting to try and get Aeos to let go. The thick scales and nails were doing their job at keeping Aeos' fingers in tact.

"DAMNED BEAST GET OFF OF ME!" He shouted as his legs started to kick up into the monster's abdomen or chest. He couldn't tell which. He eventually hit a weak spot somewhere in it's chest which caused the creature to yelp. Which gave the dragon an opportunity to turn his arms, which turned it's head, and flip the creature over onto it's side. This gave the dragon enough time to pull himself out of the mud and throw his hood on. Covered in mud and brush he hoped that Gar wouldn't notice the changes. And if he did, well they had the nice large Doogy standing there to distract him from that conversation.

[Rhea]

With the onset of humans onto the Island, it seemed like everyone was on edge. Taguel and the less-sentient nations of the verdant isle were restless, the latter frequently straying into territories they were never meant to be in. That was where the Arbiter and her group came in. The Bear was unfamiliar with the conduct that came with treating their new invaders hometakers guests, but fighting? Fighting was something the Ursine Taguel was intimately familiar with. When word reached her ears that what the humans referred to as "monsters" were inching ever closer to the settlements the humans set up, there was only one thing to do. Track 'em down.

So now, here she was, bounding off through the woods in hot pursuit of a straggler. This was a rare treat. So infrequently did the creatures she shared her home with flee from the battle when it was clear they had no chance of winning. Rarer still did they run with wounds slowing them down like her target. If bears could grin, the shifted Taguel would be the very definition of "smiling ear to ear" right about now. This beast was a tenacious one indeed. As she gave chase, she decreed her brothers and sisters could handle the rest of the displaced pack on its own, while the lone Taguel took off in pursuit. She wanted to savor a worthy foe.

So, naturally, the beast did everything it could to shake her off its trail. Round and round through the forest the Bear galloped, blood pounding in her ears and the scent of desperation painting a path to her destination. Not long now before she would corner her prey. But then she heard something she wasn't expecting. "DAMNED BEAST GET OFF ME!"

The Bear came to a screeching halt, grass and dirt flying through her claws from her momentum. This made things... complicated. The woman stopped for a moment to catch her breath before barreling forward. There was no time to lose; someone or something was in danger! While normally it was nature's way to let what would be, be, and let that poor man meet his fate, but no one was dying while she was on the hunt. Bushes, roots, rocks, nothing stood in her way when she charged towards the sound of the distress. As she grew close, she heard two men shouting. Probably human, given how they managed to be caught by such a wounded beast. She could see two furless men were her protectorate; one wearing a hood, the other wearing a bandanna around his head the way she normally wore a headband. Strange given it wasn't raining, but she wasn't one to judge others' tastes. As long as they weren't asking why a bear decided to join in the fight, the Taguel was satisfied. With a roar the Bear jumped into the clearing. On the outside her voice rumbled in a way that didn't sound at all how bears were meant to sound, but inside she was chuckling the chuckle of someone who'd found a diamond sitting in a pile of poop.

The Bear Taguel launched into action, flipping the beast back over and just generally forgetting who her audience was. "STAND UP AND FACE ME," she bellowed at it(surprisingly, no response). "YOUR WOUNDS BELIE YOUR STRENGTH."

[Gar]

Gar quietly shook out his arms and legs as he noticed Aeos preparing for battle. Its looked as if they would have a fight in store so Gar slowly reached for his axe. He started to circle the shrub that Aeos was looking at. Suddenly, a large, furry, bloodied creature leaped at Aeos from the bush. The two fell into mud and were too far for Gar to immediately do anything. Gar approached quickly as he saw the muddy blur of fur, skin and ... Were those scales? Must've been that creature. I've never seen something like that before. When Gar made it to the fight, Aeos sent the animal reeling to the ground.

Gar swung at it with his axe, but it was quick to dodge. The doog turned it's attention to Gar, who was in a balanced battle stance. He was shifting his weight from one side to the other as he slowly closed the gap between them. The doog jumped at Gar's chest. Gar, slow to react swung a bare fist at the monster, knocking it off it's path and back to the ground. It regained it's balance and jumped again. This time it sank it's teeth into Gar's forearm. The bite felt hot, as if there was fire in the creature's mouth. Gar knew enough to not rip the arm away to avoid more damage, so he swumg his axe at the doog's midsection.

The doog released it's grip and fell back to the ground with it's new injury. Gar backed up slowly and examined his arm. Surely enough there were puncture wounds along with burns around them. A big ol' crazed wolf with fangs of fire? Great. Gar looked back to the doog which was holding it's ground and snarling at the two men. Suddenly, all that changed. The creature began to whimper and back away slowly. " Hahar, looks like I did more damage than I thought. You had enough pup?"

Gar arrogance was silenced by another sudden appearance. A bear entered the clearing and began to square off with the doog. Then something happened that Gar didn't quite comprehend. The bear shouted at it. A bear, shouted. Gar took a moment to look to Aeos. " What in the world is going on?" he whispered, turning his attention back to the fight. Gar was dumbfounded by the series of events that had played out, but it was no time to lose focus. Gar readied his axe again and circled to the doog's flank. He didn't want to get between the monster and the bear just yet, but he was thankful that the bear had showed up.

Gar looked at his injured forearm. Maybe there's some sort of venom in their bite too. I must be hallucinating or something right?

[Aeos]

It took Aeos a moment to recooperate his thoughts. He knew he couldn't fully shift. At least not in front of Gar. But the temptation to do so was great. He knew his dragon form was bigger and heavier then this beast maybe he could crush it with his weight. The creature charged forward and bit Gar. The human managed to wrangle the creature away from his body, but just as Aeos was about to charge forward for his second round did another thing come out of the wilderness. A large bear... That spoke in a feminine..voice. Aeos and Gar exchanged glances for a moment.

"We should trust the bear naked lady. It.. helping us let us help it." He spoke. Aeos voice was a bit more raspy then usual. It was harder for him to maintain human speech the closer he got to his dragon state. Gar went off to the animals flank. Aeos went and flanked the other side. Now, he, Gar, and the Bear, had the doog surrounded in a strange but equal Y shape formation. If the doog charged after one, the other two would charge at it. The air of the island and the heat of the battle was starting to get to him.

He could feel a light shiver down his spine. A wry grin on his face. He tapped a bit further into his innate powers. Now if one was to remove his shirt they would see it covered in skin colored scales. As well as a nasty bruise from the doog's initial tackle. His punches and kicks would be a lot stronger now then they were before.

[Rhea]

Whatever the scruffy looking one and the hooded one were hissing about, The Bear was unconcerned. In her line of sight, the only thing that stood between her vise grip and the doog was the span of time it would take for her to wrap the former around the latter. The rest of the Island might as well not even be there. The monster snapped from side to side, turning in a circle as it looked at its three assailants. For a moment the woman puffed and took in air, eyeing the beast's tensed muscles. A standoff. It was waiting for one of them to make a move, wasn't it? The sneaky devil was much smarter than the woman had thought. First she chased it through the woodlands, and now it was holding the three of them in its waiting game. The Taguel grinned, though in reality it just looked like she was bearing fangs. "As you like it." She chuckled heartily, kicking off of the ground and bounding towards it in a blind charge. When the Bear Taguel got close she stood up from her naturally hunched position and readied one hand to drive straight through the beast's head.

The strange woman scored a hit, but it wasn't the hit she had been vying for. At the last moment the doog slided out of the arc of her claws, the tips scraping across its muzzle but leaving it little more than stunned. The juggernaut stood on her hind legs and swiped fiercely, again and again, only to leave scratches instead. Was she tired? No, she never tired. It was just too stubborn.

The beast snarled at her, for some unfathomable reason recoiling towards the humans or rather, the lesser of two evils in its predicament. Like most beasts it relied on instinct instead of the sentient thought Taguel possessed, but even to the Mauthe Doog it was clear that its wounds were too great to be caught by the Arbiter again. It wasn't ready to give up, not yet. Not until its legs gave out beneath it would the beast stop struggling to survive. That was just nature's way. "COME CLOSER, CUT ITS EXIT OFF!" she barked to the humans, as if suddenly remembering "oh yeah, those guys exist". Maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't question the existence of a talking bear and just chalk it up to one of her home's "mysteries"?

[Gar]

Gar Aeos and the bear had the doog trapped, no where for it to go. Even so, Gar didn't act quickly, he was busy gathering his thoughts when the bear reared up to attack the doog. The monster took multiple hits from the bear's assault and it began to retreat in his direction. The injured creature was so desperate to survive that Gar nearly took pity on it. Damned thing. It should've gone down before we even came across it. Nothing was left for the creature, aside from it's demise and Gar decided to take that upon himself.

The bear then ordered Gar and Aeos to cut off the beast's exit. Without thinking about the source of the voice, Gar moved to the doog's rear as it retreated from the Bear's attacks. The doog was slowly approaching Gar, but it's head was toward the bear. Gar raised his axe in the air and brought it down upon the creature's back. The spine was severed and a dying whimper was all the creature had left. The pain in Gar's arm pulsed. That... thing. I hope it's bite isn't deadly. Gar withdrew his axe from the doog's back and focused his attention on the bear. There was much Gar needed to know before he continued. There were too many unanswered questions for him to act without provocation.

Alright then. So this here is a bear. Who can talk... Ugh reminds me of those childhood stories. Gar kept his axe drawn as he squared up with the bear. He paused to try to get a read on the bear that had helped him survive. He was clearly nervous about what would happen next. This bear can speak. I wonder if it can understand us. Gar relaxed his stance and stood up tall before he spoke. He was either going to appear to be crazy or perfectly appropriate. " Umm. I'm Gar. Thanks for... the help?" A rising inflection indicated Gar's uncertainty about the whole situation.

[Aeos]

The bear delivered several great blows to the beast. And Aeos had to fight the urge to jump in and help her with those blows. Part of him wanted to feel the creature die by his hand. He pressed forward cutting off part of the Doog’s retreat. Something about all this.. felt familiar to him. Perhaps a natural instinct of some sort.. he didn’t really know what it was. But he felt good about it. Almost happy to partake in something that felt like a hunt. As Gar delivered the final blow and the creature whimpered it’s last reality set in for the young dragon.

The danger had passed. He could stop tapping into his dragon stone and resume being his usual self. The more tranquil part of him that would have said a prayer for the doog. Something like “Sleep well mighty creature of the forest and wake up in the next life” but no. No, his thoughts were mostly along the lines of “Can we eat this?”, “Can I take this for myself?” or “Can I fight the bear now?” Aeos took a step back from everything and tried to recompose himself.

He drew his scaley hands into his sleeves and put them over his face. Ugh.. Get a hold of yourself.. He took in some deep breaths and tried to calm his himself down. Slowly he started to ease himself off the power of his dragon stone. The features of his partial transformation started to face leaving him back to his normal human appearance. Hopefully with no one really noticing. When he finally pulled his sleeves out of his face, the young dragon pulled down his hood and calmy introduced himself.

“Uhm.. Yes. Greetings.. Lady Bear. I am Aeos. And.. thankyou for.. dealing with the creature oft the wood. I.. am sorry if this sounds.. odd. But.. Are thou a native? Or are thee some sort of Forest Spirit taken form?”

[Rhea]

The Bear looked to the man who had slain the doog, and then to the hooded one. Both of them were talking to her, and both of them wanted answers. The Taguel wasn't getting out of this one. Granted she could've easily fled into the depths of the forest, but only cowards ran away from the graves that they've dug for themselves. So instead, for a moment she closed her eyes and let herself be outraged at her foolishness. She was supposed to be the one protecting them. This wasn't the humans' prey to hunt. Unless... they were far stronger than outward appearances? That was a possibility. Most people foolish brave enough to leave their wooden walls traveled in packs, like an Arbiter's group. These two didn't seem scared, or afraid, either. The one bitten was grimacing, but even he was still strong enough to stand. So, that begged the questions of: Who were they? What are they? And how tough are they?

"It was my pleasure," the Bear said, exhaling a ragged breath of frustration. "Staving monsters from you humans is what I and my siblings have been CALLED to do. As for who I am. A forest SPIRIT? Don't be absurd, EVERYONE knows there's no such thing as a spirit walking around like us."

"I am a 'native' of this country. My name's Rhea, and it seems only fitting that warriors like yourselves should know."

She lowered herself down from her hind legs, looking for all the world like just your average bear that hadn't just spoke out loud. Flesh and sinew rippled underneath her skin, and her animal features seemed to just... retract into her being. Dreadlocks that fell to her back grew from the skull of the shapeshifter, and clothing appeared to wrap itself around her from within her skin. The fully grown warrior stood from her kneeling position to tower over the other two. The decidedly non-bear woman grinned ear to ear, with wicked canines prominent in her teeth. "I'm definitely no spirit. I'm a Taguel. Now, who are YOU two, to be wandering so far from your dens? And you," she turned to the burly one who smelled of brine. "I have nothing on me for a wound like that, and I'm no medicine man. No matter how strong you are, you're not long for this world to leave a wound like that untreated. You'll have to come with me, back to your fence village."

[Gar]

Rhea introduced herself and then revealed her human form. Gar was taken aback once again. He had never seen a transformation of that sort before. After the self-proclaimed Taguel voiced her concern for gar’s arm, he finally put his axe back into the sash along his waist. “ Well, I’m Gar the uh, sailor. I came to this new land for the adventure and let’s just say I certainly found it.” Gar didn’t want to speak for Aeos, so he kept quiet and allowed the man to introduce himself.

The pirate looked to his injured arm. It looked worse now than he thought it was from when he looked at it during the fight. Gar used his bandanna to wrap his wound, leaving his head uncovered. With his good arm he ran a hand through his matted hair. “ Aye, I’m going to need to keep this from getting infected.” He looked over to Aeos. “ And just when I got healthy again too. Harhar. Maybe I’m going to have to stop coming out to these woods. Anyway, let’s get going.” The pirate was certainly more worried than he was letting on, even more so with the ominous prediction presented by Rhea.

Gar looked at the slain creature covered in cuts and bruises. Damned thing. Whatever you were, I hope your bite isn’t deadly. Gar agreed they should head back to the city as soon as possible. As he began to walk he tried to get some more information from Rhea. “ So you know about that, uhh wolf thing right? Are their bites poisonous?” After receiving the most pertinent answer he would continue to display his curiosity. Gar intently looked over the Taguel in human form. The woman was still muscular, less than the bear version, but maintained the pointed teeth and a few other animal characteristics.

[Aeos]

Aeos had some concern over Gar's arm. So he went ahead and handed the sailor his pouch of healing salve. Aeos hands were too muddy and dirty for him to apply it to Gar's wounds. It was the same salve that was used when Gar injured his leg against the boar. As the Sailor took it, Aeos was left wondering exactly what a taguel was. He had un-intentionally tapped into a bit more of his stone. Enough to lightly shift his eyes and heighten his senses.

"I.. I.." He shook his head.

"Sorry. I.. am Aeos. A traveler oft sorts. We.. wished to learn where this brook led. If it could point us to a larger water source." He had so many questions rolling around in his mind. He wanted to know more about this bear taguel he wanted to ask if there were others.. if there were dragons on the island. He wanted to show off his own shape shifting capabilities and talk about it's troubles. He wondered if the bear lady used a stone. He focused his attention back on the dead doog. Back on Elibe he managed to meet these creatures once out in Lycia. It looked different then the abominations that currently ran across the country. It smelled different. It smelled natural.. almost as if it belonged in these woods. There was no scent of decay among it.. no scent of dark magic.. no corruption.

"I.. imagine these bites are not as toxic as the ones we see back on our continent. I ..imagine it be no more toxic then the average dog bite." His voice was shaking a bit. He found it hard to keep his instincts in check.

"I.. Is that edible?" He was staring at the doog with a bit of a hungry look in his eyes. Then realized exactly what he said. He cleared his throat. Come on man! Get it together.

"Sorry. That was rude oft me. Do not worry too much for this sailor. I shall guide him back to our wooden Den. No offense Lady Rhea.. but I do not think the people oft our wooden village would take kindly to thee. Humans.. often fear things they do not understand.. and might react violently. Tis be something I have seen before. I.. am sorry but.. Tah-gu-el?" He found it hard to pronounce the word. Mostly due to a light conflict between his Nabatan accent and his dragonic tongue. That's not right.

"tag-yuel?" No damn it!

"Taguel.. ah there we go. I got it. Taguel.. be not a word I am familiar with. Tis not something we have on our lands. There.. be similar tales of shape shifting animals in our myths. Hence, why I assumed thou be a forest spirit made flesh. If I had offended the Lady Rhea I apologize." The young dragon put a hand over his chest and gave a light bow. Now that he had more of his senses in check he took note of the bear's scent. She smelled of warm fur, pine, and a light scent of something sweet. Maybe berries? Or perhaps sap? Then again he could be mistaking the sweet scent for the muddy mix of plant debris that was on his cloak. He then sighed softly.

"Part of me wishes we could stay here and have a more conversation. But thou and Gar be right. We should be heading back to our wooden village." He then turned to look over at Gar, who had bandaged his arm with his bandanna. He looked like he would be alright. But Aeos could smell the blood and light fear on him.

[Rhea]

"I've hunted dozens of these things over the years, if not hundreds. If they were venomous, then I, Rhea, wouldn't be standing here with you today." The woman chuckled at the man's naivete. Were there not monsters on Elibe like the ones that cohabited the island with the Taguel? If there were no strong beasts to tame, what was even the point of living there? "Any animal's bite can cause infections if you don't take care of it as soon as you get the chance."

"WAIT. Before we leave." Rhea shoved past the humans and kneeled at the side of the dead animal. From an outside viewpoint, it looked as though it had been mauled by some despicable being. Her handiwork was impressive, but Rhea was not a precise warrior. Much less a precise hunter. The woman knew her brothers and sisters wouldn't make use of a body in such a poor state. The bear took a deep breath then swooped down, hefting the doog's body over her shoulder like a sack. Her group already had more than enough food to go around after their hunt, and judging from the long-haired one's question, the humans would be able to use it. "'Is it edible?'" Well, duh. Anything's edible if you're brave enough. "Of course it is!! Have you never seen one of these things before? It's good meat, that's why it's coming with us. You lot send hunters into these woods all the time, but I bet none of them have brought anything like this--" The shapeshifter scooted the doog up so that its weight distributed equally, and stood up to face the two. "--home to your den before."

Rhea was about to step out of the clearing when the long-haired one stopped her short. "Eh? I've already been inside the walls of your home, silly man. I can't see how anyone could stand to live inside such a cramped den, but the traders there have many interesting metals and gems for sale, and they're more than willing to trade with us Taguel. If it worries you so much, then I'll leave once I find a good home for this beast. Only a fool would leave this here for fertilizer. Let's get a move on, Gar the sailor and Aeos the oft sorts traveler."

"And before I forget, tell me; what are a sailor and an oft sorts traveler? Are those like us Taguel?"