Out and About - Zardyoshi

Yoshi would walk through the surrounding lands, humming softly to himself. The weather outside was temperate, but he was still thankful for his new cloak, the warm pelt keeping him comfortable and lending him a sense of safety out in the wilds. Behind him, Snow trailed quietly and he could sense the tension in each of her steps. He had found her alone and hurt, so it was no surprise she still suffered from some anxiety when out in the wilderness, even if being with a partner helped a little. Hey, I have an idea, why don't you forage for some plants in the area? I'll keep watch, but you have a better eye for this sort of thing than I do. Yoshi suggested, letting Snow go out in front of him and search the area for anything noteworthy while he scanned their surroundings, searching and listening for any possible signs of danger.

Zwardsnow:

Zwardsnow would proceed to forage around towards the east and after a short while she found some roots that she had eaten before during her survival out in the wild unfortunately only two of them were viable for consumption the others being withered it really sucked that their burrow was in the middle of a wasteland. It meant you had to adapt or die, speaking of adapting a particular monster had adapted to this harsh climate by sporting an armored shell and was currently rolling around traveling through the world in search of food. Fortunately Zardyoshi was standing watch and he would see the approaching rolling form of the Armored Tanuki, as it didn't seem like it was slowing down despite making a beeline towards Zwardsnow and the roots she was harvesting from the ground.

Spoiler:

OOC: Not for me, updated Zwardsnow's forage skill at this point.

Hmmm what the heck is that? Yoshi asked himself as he watched a strange ball of scales roll about in the wasteland. It took him a moment to register the path the creature was on and who was directly in that path. Snow was casually picking roots and looking for vegetables, humming to herself and minding her own business. She had her head down and was enthralled by her search, far too busy to notice. Yoshi took off running down the slight incline he had been atop to stand watch, waving his small hands and trying to get her attention. He yelled to her, Snow, Snow, get out of the way! Watch out! However, as he ran he realized that it wasn't working. He pushed harder, running as fast as he could, the cloak billowing out behind him as the Armored Tanuki approached. He knew he wouldn't be there in time to stop it, but maybe he could at least divert its course. As the creature rolled its way towards Snow, Yoshi leaped from where he was running and, shoulder first, attempted to crash into the rolling ball. He had no intention of stopping it, but merely knocking it off course and away from Snow before it ran her over.

Zwardsnow would look up with wide eyes but before she could get hurt it would seem Zardyoshi would jump in front of her and collide with the rolling Armored Tanuki, the collision would cause both of them to bounce off of each other with Zardyoshi being knocked off his feet whereas the Armored Tanuki was knocked out of it's curled up form though neither of them sustained any damage. Considering Zwardsnow hadn't hunted anything the entire time she was out in the wild she had never encountered this before but she was willing to help him fight it. The Armored Tanuki seemed a lot more interested in Zwardsnow for some reason but that didn't mean it was friendly in fact it would make hissing sound, before moving forward and curling into a ball again to pick up speed while aiming for Zardyoshi directly this time.

Spoiler:

Urg, friend of yours? Yoshi would say as he got to his feet, watching the Tanuki regard Snow before turning on him. Crap. Yoshi grunted, his mind whirling as the Tanuki rolled towards him. He took a deep breath and charged forward, claws outstretched to meet the Tanuki head on. As he ran, he let loose a roar...well, actually, considering his size it was more of a high pitched screech, but he was going for a fearsome roar. Whether the Tanuki changed its course or not, Yoshi would once again dive towards the beast, attempting to slash and pierce its thick hide. Meanwhile, Snow, having seen the creature unravel itself and hiss at her, decided to bide her time and wait. She moved closer to the creature, trying to intercept it after it clashed with Yoshi, her claws outstretched like small knives. She wasn't much of a fighter, but necessity didn't care for something like that.

Yoshi:

The Armored Tanuki would be started out of it's roll due to the high pitched cry emitted by Zardyoshi, it was truly intimidating and Zwardsnow would remember the last time he used that skill which was probably why he managed to win against that Black Wolf. Either way when he attacked this time he managed to strike it's underbelly due to it's fear causing it to rear up. Of course Zwardsnow wouldn't let such a thing go to waste and thus would strike as well with the both of their blows hitting in succession and hurting the Armored Tanuki pretty badly. It would cry out in pain and try to curl up again though this time it would remain in place rather than try to attack as it seemed to think that by doing so would make them unable to harm it and thus they would eventually leave it alone.

Spoiler:

Note for me: updated Battle Cry and Weapon Proficiency at this point.

Hmmm. Yoshi thought as he licked the Tanuki blood from his claws. This was more an act of cleaning himself than eating. What do you think we should do, Snow? He doesn't seem to want any more trouble, but on the other hand, he started this whole thing. Yoshi said, thinking over their options. Hmmm I'm not sure. It seems to have given up, but if we leave and turn our backs on it, it might try to attack again. Yoshi nodded, You're right, let's see if we can get in there. He walked over to the armored ball carefully, watching for any signs of movement or an opportunity for the creature to lash out at him. If it did not, Yoshi would raise his claws high above his head and come down with all of his force, attempting to slice or penetrate the thick hide of the Tanuki in any way he could.

Zardyoshi's claws wouldn't penetrate the thick armored shell of the tanuki, only scouring it's surface with some surface scratches, whereas Zwardsnow would frown before trying as well with her claws biting into it causing it to uncurl and cry out in pain before trying to bite her. Unfortunately it's pathetic attack wouldn't damage her scales and she would look over to Zardyoshi clearly not all that comfortable with killing something but at the same time willing to hold it in place for him to do it.

Spoiler:

Right then, time to die trash panda. Yoshi said, feeling a moment of regret or hesitation as Snow pinned the creature down, exposing it for him. He shook his head, no, this thing had started the fight, it had come after them. It was time for it to learn from its mistakes. Yoshi took both of his clawed hands and plunged them into the creature's exposed throat as it thrashed about. He was attempting a quick death. Just because it was the law of the land to kill or be killed, it didn't mean he had to torture the creature. Once the creature was dead, if it did indeed die from his strike, he would do his best to scavenge what he could from the beast's body. Out here, it was not only respectful to use all of your prey, but it was a necessity.

Yoshi:

The carving was done pretty quickly much to Zwardsnow's surprise considering she had just seen him learn the skill yesterday sure it wasn't the best job but it was good enough. "Are we going to eat here or are we going to head back to the burrow?" she said quickly eying they newly carved meat which was currently resting in the shell of the now slain monster. Since they had ate before they came out she wasn't too hungry but she knew that generally speaking eating whenever you got an opportunity was something to cherish when outside. Still it was ultimately up to him as she would go wherever he wanted to go.

Spoiler:

Note for me: Yoshi and Snow up to date at this point.

Huh, well it's not the prettiest thing in the world, but I'll get the hang of it the more I practice. Yoshi said, looking at the butchered shell of the Tanuki he now held in his bloody claws. It was better than nothing, but certainly not as clean of a job as he had managed with the Black Wolf. We'll eat here. I want to do some more exploring. This is about as far as I've gotten from Granny and I want to see what else is out here. Besides, we still have those roots you foraged for earlier, probably won't be that tasty, Yoshi chuckled, a deep, throaty chuckle that rattled his scales, but they're food regardless. He took the meat and ripped it in two, handing some to Snow while snacking on the other half himself. I think you should take the Tanuki shield for now. It's not much, but it's better than nothing, just in case next time I can't get to you. Snow would agree as the two shared their meal in comfortable silence, snacking on the fresh meat happily.

Once they were done, Yoshi would do his best to wipe the blood from the kill and meal in the dirt and grass. He didn't need creatures from all over picking up the scent of fresh meat and hunting them down. Snow would do the same, copying his rolls and wipes. It wasn't perfect and they were dirtier than before, but it'd do for the time being. Yoshi would look up at the sun, finding its position in the sky, he'd turn and say, Hmmm, let's head north from here, I don't think I've explored that area much. Though he would never tell Snow, he was only about 60% sure they were heading north and not south. East and west were always easy to figure out, but north and south were a bit trickier for him.

Fortunately for Zardyoshi he was actually heading north and they would keep walking through the wasteland that was their home and eventually they would notice that things would begin to get a lot more rockier and occasionally they'd see certain sections begin to have an incline. This was a sign that they were getting closer to the northern part of the Great Forest and so far they wouldn't run into anything though who knew if that would last for longer. Still with the smell of blood lingering on them it was only a matter of time before something was attracted to their scent, so Zareyoshi's dream of hunting something else was sure to come true, though he might find that he would be the one being hunted, who knew really.

Well, this terrain is a bit different than I'm used to. Yoshi thought as he and Snow did their best to scale the rocky hills and mounds they had found themselves searching through. Something about this area made his scales itch. Yoshi figured adventuring farther from home in a new land would be exciting, thrilling even, and it was, but he didn't anticipate the sense of dread and foreboding growing in the pit of his stomach with each step. As they climbed and scrambled over the rocks, he did his best to keep his head on a swivel, stopping every so often to take in their surroundings and search for possible prey...or predators. He didn't want to scare Snow, but he did want her ready. As they stopped for a moment to breathe at the top of a rocky mound, Yoshi said, Keep that shell shield close. It might be a pain to climb with but... He trailed off, choosing his words carefully, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Snow would nod silently and he could sense her unease.

He was right to be concerned and Zwardsnow knew it after all she hadn't moved far out of the wasteland because she knew the deeper she got into the forest proper the more dangerous it got for her, and thus she would clutch her new shield a bit tighter as they continued to travel north. Though as Zardyoshi climbed over another rock he would witness the strangest site in front of him namely red and blue butt-cheeks about a couple strides away all in display. They were so distracting that he initially wouldn't see the yellow baboon they were attached to, still said monster would see him turning a bit so that ti's buttocks were still in view yet it could look at him, looking at it's ass. Before it would yell out in anger at being perved on especially by an ugly ass lizard, and would turn around and rear up clearly wanting to fight and flinging something off the ground at Zardyoshi which would land with a plop right in the middle of his snout. It Zardyoshi wanted to smell anything well, it was unfortunate because he won't smell anything but shit probably for this whole encounter.

(You can control Zwardsnow for this battle)

Spoiler:

Whoa, hey, what the- Yoshi said as a fecal rocket splattered across his nose. He hunkered down, grabbing his impacted nose and doing his best to dig the dung out of his nostrils. Oh the smell! He cried out, This is disgusting, I can taste it! While Yoshi did his best to clean his nose, Snow surprisingly jumped into action. Normally hesitant, she could tell Yoshi was distracted and thus, in danger of a follow up attack. It was up to her now to make the first move and Yoshi could tag along after. Having seen the strange creature's attack procedure, Snow raised the shield high to block her chest and easily block her face if the monkey took a shot at her as she scrambled down the rocks. With her left arm holding up the shield, she would extend the claws on her right hand and get in as close as possible in an attempt to slash at the baboon creature.

Meanwhile, Yoshi would finish wiping the gunk from his nose as best he could. He'd blink away the tears that the smell had produced and begin following Snow down the rocks. She was well ahead of him, so as a result, he'd use her as a distraction while he went left, attempting to circle around the monkey creature and slice him with his own claws while it focused its attention on Snow.

The Yellow Baboon would screech in rage before reaching behind him and retrieving some more ammo from his backside before leaping upward to try and land on Zwardsnow's raised shield leaping completely over her slashing attack and throwing her off balance, while clinging on with one hand and both feet, before throwing it's poop into her eyes. Zwardsnow's head would actually rock back a bit from the impact whereas her eyes would immediately start to sting due to a combination of the fecal matter and it's intense smell. This would cause the Yellow Baboon would screech victoriously at least until Zardyoshi slashed it's back causing it to fall off of Zardyoshi's shield while she frantically tried to deal with the new obstacle obscuring her vision. It would whoop while making a circling movement wary of Zardyoshi yet completely willing to attack him and thus would rush forward on all fours towards him before leaping at his face with another screech.

Spoiler:

Yoshi bared his teeth and flashed his claws as the baboon wooped and circled. Snow meanwhile was attempting to wipe some of the fecal matter from her eyes when the baboon began charging Yoshi again. Angry now, with adrenaline pumping, she charged forward, shield held eye to block more poo shots, but more importantly, to bash the baboon with the shield and send it away from Yoshi. She couldn't see well, details were nothing but smudges, but shapes were easy enough to make out and there was an obvious difference between Yoshi and the baboon. Meanwhile, Yoshi could see Snow begin to charge out of the corner of his eye. As the baboon leaped, Yoshi jumped to the left, attempting to dodge the attack and leave the baboon's side/ribs wide open for Snow to strike and knock it out of the air. Even if Snow missed, Yoshi at least attempted to dodge into a roll that would bring him to his feet, claws ready to defend himself from another attack by the baboon.

Zardyoshi would manage to dodge and yet the claws of the Yellow Baboon would still rake against his side scratching up his black wolf pelt causing it to whoop yet again in victory before it was suddenly cut off as a shield impacted his side causing it to yelp and land a couple of feet away. It would bare it's fangs and try to circle again before reaching behind it's back in order to get some more ammo and then raising it threateningly. It was injured and it realized that but there were two of them and thus it knew it had to do something otherwise it just might die here.

Spoiler:

Yoshi was breathing heavy now, this was nothing like the Tanuki they had killed only hours ago. Memories of his fight with the black wolf came flooding in, it had seemed like ages ago but was in fact only yesterday. Snow was holding her own, but she had suffered some wounds as well. He was thankful, now more than ever, for the cloak he had made before venturing out this morning. Right then. Yoshi said, preparing himself physically and mentally. It was either going to be him or the baboon, but he wasn't backing down until this was over. Snow, he's getting more poop! Yoshi warned his lizard friend as the creature reached back to its buttocks. Snow, still partially blind, wouldn't be able to see more than faint movements and shapes, so in response she raised the shield in front of her face where. As Snow did that, Yoshi would once again let loose his battle cry before charging directly at the Baboon. However, as he charged, he would suddenly pivot and dive to the left before jumping back to his feet and running at the creature for another slash with his claws. His goal was to have the baboon hurl his feces, but miss, acting as a sort of feint. If he guessed wrong on the direction of the throw, or the baboon managed to track him, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Yoshi:

This time the exchange would go a lot better with the Yellow Baboon throwing the poop forward just as Zwardsnow raised her shield causing it to splat against it, the battle cry would intimidate it causing it to hesitate a bit so that when it did try to attack Zardyoshi it would be delayed causing it to get savaged by it's attack and wail pitfully as it's life left it's body.

Spoiler:

Yoshi let out a long breath as the monkey lay dead at his feet. Snow wandered over to him as well, doing her best to wipe the remaining fecal matter from her eyes. The two sat in silence for a long minute before both began scratching and peeling their scales. For Yoshi, it was the area around his nose, still infected with fecal bombings and for Snow it was the scales around her eyes. They peeled and shed the dirty scales, revealing raw, new scales beneath that smelled far better and carried almost no trace of the flying fecal matter. Ahhhh that's much better, I feel like I can breathe again! Yoshi said with a smile, How are your eyes? He asked Snow, They sting a bit, but I feel like I can see again for the most part. Yoshi nodded in understanding before getting up and heading over to the baboon. Right, well I'm going to see what I can get from this beasty and then we can head home. I need a nap after all that. Yoshi said as he raised a single, sharp claw and began carving his way through the baboon flesh, being as careful as possible, though he was still quite new to this. Meanwhile, Snow did her best to watch for any of the baboon's friends, or worse, new predators.

Yoshi:

Snow:

Zardyoshi would manage to carve the Yellow Baboon's fur and it seemed that he would be able to wear it as a lower covering with it's tail somewhat being able to cover the top half of his own tail if he fixed it just right. Zwardsnow would look at the sky before her tail would wag somewhat stiffly as she voiced her concerns. "If we don't head back right away chances are we'll be stuck out here when the sun goes down. It's more dangerous at night, when I used to live on my own I would try to find a hole and cover myself so that I didn't get found." she said before waiting on Zardyoshi's decision as regardless she was willing to go with what he decided to do.

Spoiler:

Huh, cool, comfy too. Yoshi said, trying to check himself out with an awkward turn. Hm? He asked Snow as she mentioned the sun going down soon. He turned his attention to the sky, as if to confirm what she was saying. Yeah, I see what you mean it is getting late. Yoshi scratched the bridge of his nose, Well, alright, we should probably get going then. This isn't a place I really want to stick around. Yoshi said, leading the walk home. Snow would search the area one last time, her senses on high alert and past nightmares reviving behind her eyes. She nodded her head and followed Yoshi up and over the rocky hills.

[/exit]

Yoshi stepped out of the burrow and into the bright world above. He looked around at the general wasteland his people had settled, his thoughts creeping back to the night before. Luckily, he had never been in such a one sided fight before. Sure, the wolf had gotten a few good cuts in and the baboon certainly had its own...troublesome way of fighting, but he had never been scared before. Nervous, certainly, there was no way of truly predicting a fight, but never scared. Last night, towards the end, as darkness crept in and his vision flickered out, Yoshi had experienced true fear. He shuttered involuntarily as Snow came out of the burrow entrance behind him.
Cold? Snow asked, suspicious.
A bit. Yoshi replied, For now, let's stick near the burrow and search around for supplies today. With only the monkey meat, we need to restock. Besides, we might find something interesting.

Snow said nothing about Yoshi wanting to stay near the burrow for the time being, but he could tell she had questions. She nodded and wandered off a bit, still within sight of Yoshi, to begin foraging for food or anything else that appeared to be of value or use in this wasteland. Meanwhile, Yoshi approached some of the trees and brush. A thought had struck him as he walked, his carving of the animal hides had been poor at best, but he figured if he practiced, maybe it would help in the future. Granted, trees and shrubs weren't exactly the same as animals, but it was worth a try. So, while Snow foraged, Yoshi got to work carving up the local flora, hoping for anything of use or value.

Snow:

Yoshi:

Zwardsnow would find some fruit with them having fallen from the top of the tree that she found them at, unfortunately it didn't seem to have anymore but this was a good find as each fruit could feet them as good as a hunt could of. She was familiar with that seeing as she had been fortunate to each fruit three times before this, it wouldn't completely fix her mood but it did brighten it up a bit. As for Zardyoshi he would find that it was easy to carve a tree and it would get him a some bark, it wasn't something useful at first glance but it could be made useful, maybe. However as he would look at the bark he would hear something and would see another Lizardkin standing on one of the branches of the tree he had carved off of with her arms spread apart and large leaves attached to her arms with what seemed to be rags. She would flap her arms a bit her oddly still shell covered head glimmering in the light a bit before jumping off the tree branch and gliding over to another tree branch and letting out a whoop when she successfully stuck her landing.

Spoiler: