Take Two (ZardHatta's Journey)

ZardFae was never as tough as ZardGown who she had seen the skill from. Old butter memories flashed in her mind at the worst time. This monkey was going bananas and it was all her fault. Perhaps the poison berries were a bit to mean. She’d try to protect herself. ZardHatta was hurt but he wasn’t out. Seeing as the monkey was on top of his friend he’d let out a lil ol raptor screech and charged. Aiming to put the Monkey out of its misery he’d bite at the Monkey’s face. Clamping down as hard as his lil ol jaws could muster. He would have to carve his new friends. He’d never forget them that’s for sure. Wait who were these yellow bastards again?

Spoiler:

The monkey would struggle, once, twice then lay very still between Hatta's jaws. Fae looked at him for a moment in horror, but clear understanding. Had he not helped her, it could have gone far worse. With two monkeys dead and a pile of some fruit and roots still between them, the two Lizards now had a choice. They couldn't possibly carry all of this around with them deeper into the forest without some sort of pack. Would they sit to skin the monkeys here, or drag them back to the burrow for a safer place to take their time and make sure they really make something of the monkey carcasses? Or, would they completely forego the fruit and instead take the dead monkeys with them as they continued to explore the forest? Perhaps they were simply savages, only interested in killing rather than utilizing. Only time would tell.

Spoiler:

ZardHatta let out a series of labored breath. He took a beating from the monkey's. He picked up the fruit and tossed one to Fae and began to eat it. "We take the monkey's and go home. From there Ima teach you to make tools. I need to rest... To Shed." ZardHatta finished the piece of fruit and began dragging the monkey home. ZardFae understood. Eating the bit of fruit and picking up the unwanted root once again. She grabbed the monkey that had made fun of her and dragged it along the ground not caring if the body got damaged on the way back.

[Exit]

OOC: Day 7, East Forest, Afternoon.

ZardHatta and ZwardFae entered the familiar grounds of the East Forest. They instantly began to sneak through the brush. The two kept an eye out for prey. The plan was simple. Ambush an animal and eat. "So how does it feel to be a rank up?" ZardHatta had to ask and the two would begin to have some small talk. "I feel stronger. More assured! I love it. Yesterday i kept messing up. I got mad and finicky. But now. It all seems so far away." The two kept whispering to each other as they looked for prey in the midst of their stealth.

OOC: Using Sneak and Basic Language(WL)

Equipment:

The eastern forest was quiet today, a faint breeze rustling the treetops and sending leaves spiraling down around the sneaking lizards. It was actually a beautiful day, with the sun hanging high in the sky and a few bloated clouds floating lazily across the azure. However, as the lizards snuck along in search of prey, a strange noise would drift over the rustling treetops. It was faint, but clearly an unusual sound for this forest. It sounded almost as if...something was...crying? Upon closer investigation, if Hatta and Fae chose to do so, the two would come across a small clearing. In the center was a tall, old tree. Its gnarled roots dug deep into the ground, spreading out through the clearing and in its center was a hollowed out section, a space not much wider than Zwardfae that had been dug out naturally from the trees growth. The unnatural part of it all was the young human female who sat, her knees up to her chest and tears streaming down her eyes. It was clear she had been trying to stifle her crying, attempting to cry into her knees rather than aloud, but it was no use.

Spoiler:

"Hear that?' Fae had asked as she stopped abruptly. She looked around and ZardHatta followed as he to had heard it. Hatta had poked his head through and saw the clearing. The huge tree seemed so different from the rest... And over yonder. A human? "ZardGrammy says humans are dangerous. But this one is crying. It doesn't look as tasty as the rabbit... We should see what's wrong!" ZwardFae wasn't so lax with this. But ZardHatta had gotten some fruit from those monkeys. Maybe he could get food out of this one too. She nodded her head and stayed in the brush. "I'll stay here if this is a trap..." ZwardFae said as she had to worry about her egg as well.

ZardHatta agreed to Fae's action and went on... He walked into the open walked quietly over to the girl. Fae was right this could be a trap... But no one else seemed to be around. His bone club laid on his back and his shield on his arm he approached slowly. He'd speak to her. "Are you okay human?" He stopped a few feet away from the human and he didn't know his speech would be nothing but squeaks and yips to her. He looked curiously at her as he had never seen a human, or any of the civilized races. He had to be wary as the wrong move would mean someone would end up as lunch today.

As Zardhatta approached the girl, her cries had turned to soft whimpers, clearly exhausted from her sadness. The zard would notice the girl's clothes had slight tears, one of her knees was scraped and bleeding and she had dirt and mud caked in various patches. Her clothes appeared damp, but drying quickly in the warm sun of the day. While Hatta had nothing but the kindest of intentions, so far anyway, in simply asking if the girl was okay, he would inevitably find himself in front of a painful language barrier. The girl's head would shoot up as she wiped tears away, the sound of some sort of hissing or chattering reptilian noise shocking her out of her pity party. Her eyes would go wide as she found the small lizardman inspecting her. She'd shuffle back through the dirt beneath the tree trunk, but the small hollow had already enveloped her and there was little room for her to move. She scrambled frantically for something in the dirt at her side, pulling out a sharp, but short looking knife. She held it out, blade facing towards Hatta, her arm shaking with fear and adrenaline.

Get back! Go away! I'll kill you! She proclaimed, her voice cracking. The human didn't seem like much of a threat to the lizardkin, but then again, animals were capable of interesting feats when backed into a corner.

Spoiler:

It seems he couldn't understand her. He looked back over to the bushes as this human brought a knife out. Words were lost to him but the body language was there. She seemed scared of him. Well who wouldn't be? ZardHatta was becoming a fine ZardWarrior! Though he wasn't here to fight unless she got violent. ZardHatta ruffled through his little satchel. The girl he could tell was decently bigger then him but she looked frail. She looked weak. ZardGrammy said something about Dwarves were important to the tribe but she didn't match the description. He looked at her curiously as he pulled out a little root. They tried giving this to the monkey's and they weren't that happy about it. Maybe she'd appreciate it more. She tossed it over to her and cocked his head as he had a feeling that he wasn't going to make progress with the root and that they should probably go. Yet he stood there curiously.

ZwardFae stayed low in the bush, she was about to pounce out before Hatta looked over to her, signaling that it was okay. She laid low and kept an eye out for anything else that could potentially pop out. She was keeping on guard and hidden away.

The girl watched Hatta carefully, her eyes studying his every movement. The point of the knife seemed to trace his movements, following him as he reached into his bag for the roots. They rolled through the dirt and to the girl's feet. She looked at them before looking back at Hatta with visible confusion. Reaching out, she gingerly plucked them from the ground as if they might bite her. She sniffed them, looking them over like an animal before lightly touching her tongue to the end of one. She spit dirt and grime, but nodded and muttered to herself, Precipious Edimalis root. Water packed. Nutrient rich...edible. The girl said, looking up at Hatta with the last word. She took a slow, firm bite, her eyes never leaving Hatta. The root was tough and chewy, but it was food and that's what she needed right now. The girl rose, taking another bite from the root and coming out of the hollow, closer to Hatta, but still out of arm's reach.

Um...t-thanks. She said carefully, holding out the root, unsure if this beast could understand her. She found it odd how he carried himself, almost man-like with his weapons strapped to his back and the pack he had carried the roots in. How odd, yet...somehow comforting. What do you want with me? She asked, the knife no longer pointing at Hatta, but still in her hand and at the ready.

No good. He could see the woman’s lips flap but couldn’t understand her. Humans were weird. But she didn’t seem scared anymore. He smirked. Hatta would have to do some charades. He wasn’t the smartest but would Emote the best he could.  “I”, he pointed at himself. “Don’t”, waving no. “Understand.” He didn’t know how to say that one so he pointed to his ear. “You.” And he pointed at her. He wished this language barrier wasn’t there but it was. He pointed at his her again and then at his stomach. He wanted to see if she had food to exchange for his. Then he curiously cocked his head to the side. ”Food?” He yipped and squeaked at her again. ZwardFae kept watching on from the shadows. She wondered who this human was and why were they so deep in the forest. Wasn’t the forest far from the human settlement. This seemed rather sketchy. But it seemed ZardHatta had this handled.

The woman watched the strange lizard creature dance about. Some of them made a bit of sense, such as when he pointed to himself or to her. Even the shaking of his head seemed to portray a sort of no, or don't have. When he pointed to his stomach, she considered if this meant he didn't have any more food. Would that mean that he would attack her, or worse, was fattening her up to eat later? She looked at the half eaten roots and tossed them back to Hatta, where they landed in the dirt at his feet. Erm, I'm sorry. Here, you can have these back. I-I don't have anything you'd want. Just some herbs and spices. You see, my carriage was attacked. I was on my way to the town, to start a new job when the rainstorm hit last night. Some wolves attacked us and so...so I ran. I'm looking for any other survivors, or the road back home and... The girl paused in the middle of the rant, tears welling up in her eyes once more. This time though, she was simply frustrated, Oh, who am I kidding? You can't understand me. You're just some beast who's probably getting ready to eat me. She burst into tears once more. Clearly this wasn't getting very far and the day was only ticking on.

Hm. Maybe he should eat her. No that didn’t sound right. Humans were rare in the forest according to gran. Maybe she was lost. You know who would know the answers. ZardGrammy. He should bring her back to the others! Oh no he wasn’t paying attention and she began to cry again. He knew how to fix this! She cried and he stepped closer to her and unsheathed his club. He yipped again. “Here! Weapons makes me feel strong!” And he would place his trophy, his bone club into her hand. He then stepped a few steps away after the case.

He called out to ZwardFae. ”ZwardFae come here! I think we should take her home to see if ZardGrammy could help.” She was cursing in her head. He should’ve left her out of it. ”Idiot...“ She poked her head out of the bush and came closer to the two. Slowly. Humans were Wily. Hatta ran up to her and gave her some encouragement. “Come on. She needs help it seems. ZardGrammy would definitely know what to do.” Not getting the bird and the bees talk, the two didn’t know what laid in store for the woman. Good intentioned at the least. “You have a point. But I’m keeping my eyes on them!”

Hatta rushed back to the girl. Waving at her and pointing in the direction of the burrow. He walked toward the direction he went in and beckoned her to come with. He didn’t want to see the lady cry and this place was dangerous anyway. They could protect her until they got home. If only she understood enough to follow.

The girl would step back, raising her knife as Hatta approached with his club. He would hold it out to her, to which the girl would carefully take hold of it. When his hand left the club, the full weight of it would cause her arm to drop and the head of the club to fall into the dirt. She had the knife in one hand and the club in the other, but if she dropped the knife to wield the club she'd be completely at the creature's mercy. Even if she could swing it, she didn't know how to use a club, she barely knew how to use a knife for anything other than cooking. Um, urgh, hrm. She muttered, frustrated with her situation as a second Lizard suddenly appeared from the brush. How many were there? Was she surrounded and about to become a hunting party's meal?

She dropped the rest of the club into the dirt, now holding the knife out with both hands once again, this time pointing the blade at the newcomer. The two lizards seemed to be conversing now, hissing and clacking their teeth together in a way the girl simply couldn't understand. Then, the male came running back to her, motioning for her to...follow him? Like hell she was going to follow them, they were monsters! Then again...they hadn't eaten her yet and honestly, had every chance to do so. She couldn't hold off one of them, never mind now two. He had even disarmed himself, giving her his weapon. This was, odd to say the least, but then again...she knew she wouldn't survive another night out here. So when it came time to decide between certain death out in the elements or unknown death with the lizard monsters...

Um...stay right there. The girl said, stepping backwards towards the tree, her knife still out. When she reached the roots, she dug around a bit and came out with a small backpack that she had been traveling with. You walk first, I'll...follow. The girl said, motioning with her knife from Hatta to the direction he had pointed earlier. She had no idea if he'd understand, but so far they had managed to at least convey something to each other.

Spoiler:

She dropped his club after awhile. Seems the tiny knife was her weapon of choice. He chirped at her as he approached to get his club. He surely wasn’t going to let his treasure go just like that. He put it back on his back and noticed her dig around for stuff and pull out a bag. “:0” The literal face of he had made as she unearthed her stuff. ”Fae why didn’t you tell me we can find things in the ground! I need to try this later!” Hatta exclaimed as he looked back at the human and then to Fae. ”Don’t be dumb Hatta. That obviously hers that she hid. But their are thing underground.” Hatta seemed excited as it seemed the human pointed back toward the burrow and he took that as a yes.

Hatta looked over to Fae, “You should continue to hide. Just in case any prey comes up on the way back. We still need some food! I’ll lead with the human.” Fae nodded her head and went back into the bushes to sneak. He then looked at the Human girl and pointed at ZwardFae. Then he covered his eyes when he looked at the human. She’s gonna hide!” He knew the barrier was still there but his charades should have helped. He then began to walk toward the burrow and kept his guard up.

The human would frown as the female lizard disappeared back into the edge of the forest. That was...unnerving. The male who had been trying to communicate with her was now playing...peekaboo? She ignored it but continued following him, watching the trees for any sign of that female returning to rip out her throat, or whatever it was these creatures did to kill. As they walked, there was a rustling off to the right and the girl immediately turned, pointing her knife in the general direction, her body shaking violently, What was that?! More of your friends to come and eat me?! She asked as a large ball of scales and fur suddenly parted the shrubs and came rolling forward towards Zardhatta. If he did not move quickly, he would surely be run down by the strange creature.

Spoiler:

It was the beast. He recognized the scales. Fae recognized it as well. It had been a few days but the days of playing with Gown was still fresh in their head. ZardHatta would leap out of the way with his tiny shield covering his front to ensure it'd be safe. ”Fae! We’re killing this thing!” He let out an angry hiss at the creature as he couldn't forget to defend the human. He unsheathed his bone club and stood in front of the woman. He was ready to swing. Yet. He was out of actions.

ZwardFae on the other hand was still hidden. From her position it would be easy. She crouched low and would pounce from the bush onto the Tanuki's back. "This will not end like last time!" She thought to herself as she would rake her claws against the Tanuki's eyes. She wasn't thinking clearly and was being reckless. If it couldn't see where it was going to roll it'd be an easier threat to deal with.

OOC: Defending Human, Fae is trying to learn Reckless Attack

Breakdown:

The Tanuki would roll by Hatta, narrowly missing the lizardman as he jumped out of harm's way. Apparently these lizards had some sort of vendetta against Tanuki kind. As it rolled through the forest, the Tanuki would turn to circle back around just as Zardfae would launch herself onto the Tanuki's back and try to claw at its hidden face. The claws would do little, but the Tanuki certainly felt the pain and became irritated. If Fae stayed on the Tanuki's back, she would inevitably be crushed beneath its rolling body. While it wouldn't kill her, it'd certainly hurt. To make matters worse, the Tanuki had changed course and was headed back towards ZardHatta and the human. The two would need to act quickly if they didn't want to be crushed as well. Would they deflect the creature or simply jump out of the way again? After all, they could keep dodging all they wanted, but the Tanuki knew they'd grow tired eventually. It had hunted its enemies numerous times using this same tactic and considering it was still alive, well, clearly it had been working out thus far.

Spoiler:

OOC: Lol the true war of attrition.

ZardHatta would stand his ground and held up his shield in front of the human. Not caring if she ran now or not. This Tanuki needed to die. As he'd block the Tanuki he would pull his club and swing his heavy club toward the Tanuki's side with all his strength. He aimed to knock this thing to it's side so they could tear it apart. ZwardFae would try to catch up to the spinning tanuki and when ZardHatta would block the beast. She leapt and tried to topple the beast with all of her newly gained weight and let out a loud screech near what she assumed was it's head to try and get it to uncoil.  

Spoiler:

The Armored Tanuki would be struck by a much more painful attack, causing it to unravel from its rolling form. It looked around frantically, sniffing the area and searching for the source of this more painful attack. Its eyes landed on Hatta and it looked, at least mildly pissed off, as pissed off as a raccoon-armadillo can look anyway. As it readied itself to return to its ball form and steamroll its competition, a squawking Fae leapt through the air and attempted to tackle the creature to the ground. Unfortunately, her heroic battle cry was more of a bird-like squawk or squeak and her magnificent topple was a bit misjudged, causing her to simply glance off the strong shell of the Tanuki, rolling into the dirt. With this lizard closer, the Tanuki would turn and scratch at Fae's back as she attempted to get up from her blunder.

Spoiler:

ZwardFae slid off the back of the Tanuki and the beast retorted back by scratching at her. The cut drew some blood but she was fine... More then fine. She was mad now. She pointed her claws in preparation as she would attempt to jab through the beasts armor with her claws. a solid stab to it's ribs should be enough to hurt it some as she'd try her newly acquired Breath Weapon since her battle cry had failed before.

ZardHatta looked over to see if their new companion was okay, once he got the confirmation that it was okay he'd have to join the fray with Fae. He felt more confident in his swings and would come up and start beating down on the Tanuki now that it wasn't rolled up! ZardHatta ran forward and began swinging his club wildly at the beasts head!

Spoiler:

The Tanuki was successful in harming Fae, but clearly Fae wasn't one to stand for that crap. She turned on the Tanuki like a bat out of hell, stabbing at its soft, fleshy side just beneath the armor. Fae would suck in air, attempting to unleash her new breath attack, but unfortunately it would only cause her to cough, getting caught in her throat and momentarily choking her. It seemed she'd need some more practice before implementing this ability on the battlefield. As the Tanuki attempted to swipe at her again, it was struck broadside by a club across the face. Disoriented, it was unable to defend itself as a second swing was brought down atop its head. The Tanuki's world spun as it attempted to roll into a ball again, but somehow failed. Its movements felt sluggish and unlike its own, the world titling beneath it. Instead, the creature seemed to lunge shell first back at Zardhatta, attempting to tackle him and squish him into the ground to get away.

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[/spoiler]

OOC: why have you forsaken me dice lords :c

ZwardFae coughed up what felt like an ice cold hair ball but they didn’t have hair(I think) like that to make one so it must’ve been to much of her breath weapon at once. Curses. Fae was getting upset at herself again. ZardHatta was calm and collected. Fury had a nice way of clearing His mind and turning him into that apathetic killer Lizardfolk were rumored to be. Hatta put his tiny shield up as the beast lunged and was able to stand his ground from the tackle. Locked in heated combat Hatta would raise his club. A twinkle from the sun beamed down on his mighty weapon and he swung it twice at the beasts side.

Fae would let her anger flow once again as she tried to channel it. She’d had enough of this Tanuki so would retaliate as such. She ran up and stabbed both her set of claws into the Tanuki’s soft insides of its belly. She wanted this to be over. She wanted to eat this thing for Gown’s sake.

Spoiler:

Try as it might, the Tanuki simply couldn't protect itself anymore. It seemed the female had become enraged, her attacks hitting harder and drawing more and more blood than they had previously. The creature struggled to stand, struggled to roll itself into a ball and escape. Instead, it got about halfway through the process before collapsing in a heap. Its chest raised and lowered several times, large, deep breaths of air being sucked in before, slowly, silence. The creature lay dead at the hands of the bloodied Zards. The human female looked at both the monsters, their appearances deeply concerning, but their effectiveness in killing both frightful and enticing. As long as they didn't turn those skills on her, she felt safe with their ability to protect her. W-wow, um...good job. She squeaked out, remembering they probably didn't understand her so she held up a simple thumbs up to both of them.

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OOC: Woooo Rage Waifu!!!

ZwardFae fell into her blood lust and took a bite of the Greater Tanuki. ZardHatta seemed to have calm down, after all Fae and Gown were egg mates. Sisters since the beginning. He tore a piece off of the Tanuki and ate a bit of his take of the beast. “I’ll eat more at burrow. Go back into the bushes just in case. I’ll take the body. I’m in the open so if anything else comes at us you can get them!” ZwardFae would have her fill leaving a good amount of Tanuki for Hatta and possibly the human before she looked over to the human and saw the thumbs up. Not sure what it meant she gave the woman a thumbs up of her own. Back into the Shadows for Fae. Hatta would have to carve and see what he could salvage from this beast and lugged the beast over his shoulder. It was much bigger then normal Tanuki so hopefully he could get something nice out of it. He looked over to the Human and saw her give a shaky thumbs up. He assumed it was saying she was okay. Another thumbs up to the girl. The Burrow couldn’t be to far now. This would be exciting to see what ZardGrammy would go on about when he’d bring his new friend.

OOC: Fae is sneaking again. But I’m possibly back at the burrow now mod’s choice.

The human girl turned away, making mild retching sounds as Fae tore into the meat of the Tanuki, feasting on the soft underbelly of the beast. While the girl had adequate cooking skills, she wasn't usually the one who had to butcher and prepare the meat. When she picked up meat to cook with, it was already cut and prepared it never still had...fur...or glazed over eyes staring back at her. It made her shake and squirm, unable to watch Fae feed. Once the female lizard had returned to the bushes, the human continued following Hatta, though this time at a greater distance due to the stench of the carcass.

Hmm so this one walks out in the open, waiting to come across a monster...or maybe even be attacked? Meanwhile his partner, or is it his mate, lurks in the shadows to overwhelm whatever comes along the way. They clearly have some form of intelligence, even if it's barbaric. The girl thought to herself, studying the stout Lizardkin in front of her as he dragged the corpse through the forest. A few moments later, Hatta would come across a Greater Horned Rabbit sniffing at some tall grass, a mere five feet away and out of his path. Upon Hatta's arrival, the rabbit's head would shoot up and begin sniffing the air, detecting the scent of blood and death. It seemed to be debating whether or not to run.

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