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 Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:18 pm
Situated as it was near the edge of the blasted lands, the Imara territory was always at risk. Few Imara younglings were foolish enough to wander off into the bad places, but occasionally things wandered OUT of the bad places... and it was these nasties that Kain was on the lookout for. There hadn't been any of the twisted-creatures sighted in several seasons, but strange tracks had been spotted on the outskirts of the Imara lands. Kain didn't know what the creatures were this time, but he did know that he didn't want them trespassing in his homeland. Twisted-creatures brought nothing but trouble.
His muzzle low, Kain trotted along, alert for any signs of the mysterious intruders. It was already late in the afternoon, but he had just set out from the Imara dens. The intruders, whatever they were, only came and went at night. Kain would find them, and if it seemed possible, he would chase them all the way back to the blasted lands they came from. The thought of actually entering the dead zones frightened him, but Kain was stout-hearted and loyal to his clan. He just hoped that if he had to hunt the twisted-creatures into their own territory that he wouldn't become one of them himself.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:24 pm
Felawni was already out on the plains and had been for hours - the ladyship took her job as territory guardian so seriously she practically live on her paws at the edge of Imara lands. She kept to the most far flung edges of their lands, having little fear of the blasted lands and little want to interact with her own clan. She was odd combination of loyal soldier and terse loner, but it made her a good, unquestioning sentinel in the end so no one really minded.
She stopped for a moment to sniff an odd conglomeration of tracks and then gazed out towards the most poisonous heart of the blasted lands. For once Fel hoped that her judgement was wrong.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:59 pm
Raeros sniffed around as he wandered around towards the borders of the Imara clan. He'd left again, as being around the other cubs annoyed him. Rae liked being alone without the constant irritation back at the dens.
Raising his head to the afternoon winds, Rae enjoyed the quietness. He mulled over random thoughts, not noticing that he was now wandering around the edge of the clan territory, and that the blasted lands were just ahead. Twitching his ears lazily, Raeros discovered that there were hyena tracks in the sand. He finally seemed to snap back into reality, and took in his surroundings. He knew this was a bad place to be, and turned quickly to head back to the dens. He stopped as he spotted a figure ahead, and with a sniff discovered it to be Kain.
Was the squire patrolling the borders again? Raeros trotted towards Kain, giving a small yip.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:06 pm
At the cub's yip, Kain jerked his head up and whirled. When he saw that the approaching cub didn't seem to be in trouble, Kain relaxed slightly. His mission had put him on edge.
Even though he was relieved to see that Raeros was all right, Kain wasn't very happy to see him. This was no place for a cub, especially not with unknown nasties from the dead zone prowling around. Kain sighed, growling slightly in frustration. In the time that it took him to escort the cub back to the den, the sun would be down and any time advantage lost. "Hey! What are you doing out here?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:12 pm
Fel's ears twisted behind her, catching the cub's bark and an adult male response. Company. Grand. Still, if there was a cub she'd best go make sure it wasn't the one who had left the confusing tracks she was standing over. If she was lucky, she could get a nose full, report, and be on her way without too much fuss.
Trotting back a little ways into clan territory and then turning left, she spied Kain and a cub she was unfamiliar with. Good. Boded well for her strange tracks theory. The only down side was that if the squire tried to keep her there any longer than she wanted to be she'd have to pull rank, and Fel had never be a fan of that. Ah well. Hopefully the male could be trusted to take her report back so she could stay out on patrol.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:21 pm
Rae pawed at the ground guiltily. "Er... the other cubs were being mean again. I just thought I'd like some fresh air... guess I didn't look where I was going." He could sense Kain's disapproval.
"But I was just about to head back!" he said quickly, ears twitching . "I...um..." His twitching ears had picked up another sound off in the distance. Turning his head around, Rae spotted a female hyena. One of the ladyships? He wasn't too sure. But another adult joining them? Rae's tail whipped around uneasily.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:30 pm
"Mean, eh?" Kain sighed. "Well, I can understand the urge to wander. But it's dangerous out here," he said sternly. "There are bad things, evil things afoot." Distracted by Raeros, it took him a moment longer to notice the ladyship than it should have. A moment may be all I have if I find whatever's running through here, he thought grimly.
Felawni. Kain knew her, but not very well. It seemed that the female was almost always out on patrol. As a hyena who spent most of his time either watching out for cubs or hunting, Kain saw very little of her. He did know that she was a serious, dedicated 'yena, which was something he approved of. With Felawni at his side, his chances of finding the intruders tonight -- and getting back home with his hide intact -- were much better.
There was, however, the problem of Raeros. Kain thought that the cub was intelligent and capable, but how capable could any cub be of tracking down twisted-creatures out of the blasted lands? They could gobble him down whole.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:36 pm
Giving Kain a quick nod, Fel trotted up to the cub and sniffed him. Damn. Different smell.
"We've got some strange tracks back that way, very edge of the lands." she said, tossing her head to indicate the way she'd come. "Looks like a cub got snatched and taken into the bad parts. Doesn't smell like one of ours, and it's probably dead by now anyway. Smells a day or two old."
Report finished she wanted to leave, but couldn't help feeling at least a little curious. The squire didn't usually do patrol duty. "What brings you out here? Shouldn't the little one be in the dens?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:48 pm
Rae glanced curiously at the female 'yena. She seemed like one of the serious types. Not someone to be messed with. He listened to what she said and looked at the borders, frowning.
"Is something out there? If I'd known how serious this was, I'd never have come out here..." His head drooped a little. Rae hoped that he wouldn't be reprimanded too much. "Um... you do seem to be heading out a lot these past few days. Are those nasty things moving into the clan territory now?" He gave another uneasy twitch of his tail as he thought it over.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:58 pm
A cub taken? Bad news, even if it wasn't one of theirs. "I've seen the tracks myself, out hunting." Kain glanced at Raeros to see if the cub was getting frightened. If he wasn't, he should be. "The problem's a lot worse than you think. Whatever they are, they've trespassed far into our lands." The scarred female was an admirable border guard, but Kain couldn't worry about offending her now. No matter how the beasts had slipped past her, they had to be taken care of.
"As for this little one, he followed me out here," Kain said wryly, looking down at the cub. "I left the clan today to hunt these intruders myself, but if I have to escort him back I'll lose the time I gained by coming out here before nightfall." Though Kain was frustrated, he kept his tone light, not wanting to take it out on Raeros. The cub hadn't known, after all.
"We think that there may be bad beasts out here, raiding our territory," Kain said, dipping his head slightly to speak to Raeros. "I don't know if you've ever seen them, Rae, but there are strange and terrible beasts living in the black lands. Twisted animals, sick in body and in spirit."
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:06 pm
Fel turned her head a bit so she could look at the cub more with her good eye. The one near the scar across her muzzle saw things a bit blurry, but she'd never actually tell anyone that. Odd, he looked a bit like Kain...
Tresspassing far into their lands? Fel growled under her breath, cursing bloody clan politics. "I've been on the other side of things training up some of the ladyship hopefuls instead of out where I should be. Orders from Naghibu."
Not that it was the colorful baroness's fault - she should have been out here doing her job. Blasted loyalty to orders. "From what I've found the cub snatcher is working alone, probably a rogue from the whiffs of poison that come off his tracks. What have you seen?" On the alert, the ladyship's preferance to be alone was buried under her sense of duty.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:15 pm
Rae gave another look at the ladyship, feeling a bit worried from her information. He shifted his weight from paw to paw. Raeros wanted to get back to the safety of the dens, even if it meant squabbling with the other cubs over various minor things. Yet he knew this would throw off Kain's plans, and so he stayed silent.
Rae gave a curious thought at the term "rogue". He'd heard it before, but never really looked in to the matter. He supposed now would be a good time to find out.
"...What are rogues?" he asked.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:08 pm
"Working alone?" Kain wrinkled his muzzle in thought. "I've seen several sets of tracks, all running together. I think there must be more than one, though I'm not sure how many. The tracks I saw were clustered around an old kill, farther from here. Farther into our territory." His speech made, Kain lifted his head to stare off into the badlands, ears pricked forward. The sun was swiftly approaching the horizon, sunset well on its way. Soon the things would come back.
Though he could see that Raeros was upset, Kain had few words of comfort. "Rogues are hyenas that have wandered too far, spent too much time in the dead zone." He skinned his lips back from his teeth at the thought. Rogues. Kain had never met one up close, and he didn't want to. "They come back twisted -- not in body, like the creatures born in the dead places, but twisted in the mind somehow. They are evil beasts."
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:28 pm
Felawni watched Kain's actions, picking up more from them than his words. He was gearing up for something.
"We've seen different things, then. Is there time to get the cub out of harm's way before we have a battle on our hands?"
The old soldier kept the anticipation out of her voice, but couldn't hide it from her muscles. Shifting on her feet as a slow build up of adrenaline began, Fel let her nose and ears warn her of coming danger if they found any. She didn't look for fights, but had enough experience protecting clan lands to get ready for one in advance.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2006 5:40 pm
Rae gave an involuntary twitch at Kain's words. Twisted in mind? What sort of things out there could cause something like this? He frowned and glance at the badlands again.
"So... whatever comes in our territory... we can chase it away, right?" he asked hopefully. Rae looked around himself.
The sky was almost fully dark now... Would the bad creatures be coming out soon? Raeros edged a bit closer to Kain.
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