[ORP] Shadow Stalkers HotM: Runes-driven CYOA

[fluo]

[imgright]http://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/image ... s_fluo.gif[/imgright] The zikwa hacked and coughed out a loogie the size of a crow. Gross and phlemgy, the sightless kin preened and demurred in excited tones. Apparently the readings were good, and how the closed-eyed zikwa could read was a mystery for another day. Albatross coughed and kicked some mud discreetly onto the pile of cloudy green and orange fluids.

"Right, thanks for that. Here are the crushed up cicadas you asked for." Whistling for the  furbies to get to task, Albatross took a closer look at the wood chips before the mystic zikwa's traveling companion shuffled the pieces back into the knapsack. There were glyphs she was not familiar with, but one did look like a cloud and the other a series of tall cliffs. The rest were gibberish and a sinking feeling in her gut was quickly denounced. They will find what they need one way or the other. Careful to side step the mud ball, Albatross looked to the far away moon. Something or someone was disrupting the migratory patterns of the lunar moths, going so far as to rip a few in half. Albatross was a hairy doe, and the segments along her spine stood upright with the thrill of what to come. Sensing a new hunt on the horizons, she sent out a call to nearby kin and tribe members.

While they gathered and traversed the lands, she waited and set aside supplies and refreshments. Duck jerky and brambleberries fresh off the vine would keep them hydrated and fed for days to come. And since she wasn't alone, she estimated it would take a few days tops to find their prey. Summer loomed on, the salt-tinged air warm with their comingled breath. The night smelled alive with the nearby orange blossoms and sea. Albatross was excited. There were two paths to the nearest mountain. They could go either through the dense mangroves inlet with brackish water or forge ahead on the windy path through the meadowed hills.

Should the tribe go through the mangroves or meadowed hills?

You have until Friday, May 22nd, at 8 AM EST to answer, and the majority vote will determine the next step.

[fluo]

Rules

1. Participating kin must be part of the Shadow Stalkers tribe. To join, post in main thread.

2. Kin may enter at any point of the hunt, and prizes will be raffled off at the end. This CYOA Hunt of the Month will last until 31st of May at midnight EST.

3. Participation will count toward your legendary requirements (500 words minimum) for a total of 5 RP points.

4. A new prompt will be provided every two days until all prizes have been given out.

[anemosagkelos]

[imgright]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgright] Magnolia wandered, looking intently at each path, and considering the items that might be needed to ensure life at the end of each trail. It was a conundrum of appearance--of course the meadowed hills looked easier and duller but then maybe a horde of cheetahs would be there to devour them. Oh wouldn't that provide many useful materials? It was almost too good to hope for and she rather wished that she'd brought Jealous Sky with her; the eagle could have done a fly about to see what would result in the most blood. She was severely lacking it as a resource lately; the Spirits had gone soft and motherly with the spring.

"I don't think we can hope to be ambushed by cheetahs, but we might have a chance at a feeding frenzy among caiman if we go through the mangroves," she eventually said, voice set in that cheerful and dreamy tone that took some getting used to. "I am sure most of us would survive it."

[Moonstone Dazzle]

  "M-most of us? That's, um. I. I don't-- I think." Grim stammered, staring down to his hooves. It was hard to argue, being as new as he was to the tribe, but... that wasn't the best argument. Or even a very good one. Most of us-- why put them in any danger that was unnecessary??? Grim murmured to himself, pawing his hooves at the dirt in uncertainty. Was he even allowed to argue like this? But, still...

"The-the meadow. M-might give us. A better view of everything..."

[fluo]

Albatross slanted a glance at the kimeti doe. She sure was cheery for some reason. Good spunk. Albatross hoped the enthusiasm continued.

"Don't worry, New Zikwa. There's a bevy of furbies to act as a buffer between you and the predators. They're ambush predators for the most part so if you stick together, it'll be okay." For now was the unspoken bit. But the tribe was stronger when they complemented each other's strength and weaknesses. And it was a bad look if she were to lose a kin so early in the tribe's history.

Albatross looked again at the beaming kimeti and the wary zikwa. And whistled a shrill tune. Soon enough her cheetah, Lazy Ghost, was summoned. Speaking to it gently, and rubbing the back of its ears with her jaw, she stepped back as the cheetah inched closer to the zikwa before plopping down in front of him. There. One less thing to worry about.

"We all know how to swim and what to do if the undertow sweeps us away right?"


@anemosagkelos @Moonstone Dazzle

[phoe]

[imgright]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgright]"I vote we head for the mangroves," said No Escape; she had been standing off to one side of the group, watching the zikwa cast its runes from afar. When she had approached, her muzzle had been wet and she had been chewing, most likely a snack snatched from the nest or water. She tipped her head to one side, a long wing of hair sliding over one shoulder, flashing brilliant orange against her coat. "We're more familiar with them, and it's not hard to kill a caiman, anyway. One good whack just at the base of the skull and they're dead."

[anemosagkelos]

Magnolia turned her head towards the zikwa, stared, "You can carry Nightshade, if you prefer. Or--" she stopped abruptly, head tilting until her cheek was parallel to the ground, "Apparently, you taste like lemons. The caiman and cheetah won't eat you unless you come to them in the dark with a dead fish."

Her face wrinkled, "I didn't know kin tasted like lemons. I'll have to take that into consideration, yes. Thank you, Melody." She gave a soft laugh and then a playful shake of her body before approaching the zikwa.

"Do you want to hold Nightshade?" she asked, perfectly level, eyes piercing as she nodded to the gator tooth shoved into her mess of hair.

@Moonstone Dazzle @fluo

[Moonstone Dazzle]

New Zikwa. Right. That was him! That was... him. Grim managed a smile beneath the mask of one, nodding along to Albatross's soothing. He certainly intended to stay with the group, that much was easy. He intended to reply, only to be distracted by the cheetah coming to his hooves. The smile turned to full giddy at the creature, trying not to get fully distracted from their mission. Their mission, which he was going on. Right. He was grateful that the other kimeti doe seemed to be in agreement with him, and offered her a nod.

"I-I don't. Know. If I'm good at fighting, but. A stomp! I can. I can do a stomp, I think. I'm. I'm glad to hear you, uh. Also. Want to go. T-to the mangroves."

His head whipped around to view Magnolia, and his smile turned to full elation.

"I-is. Is Nightshade. An animal?"

@fluo @anemosagkelos

[anemosagkelos]

Magnolia liked the other doe's words, tucked the thought into the back of her mind should she need some items at a later date, before the zikwa's words were spoken.

"It's my crocodile fang," she explained, shaking her head to dislodge the named item. It dropped with a thud. "It's very protective and easy to carry. I suppose you could hold Melody but no one seems able to see her except me. She's mostly cold, would that be comforting?"

@Moonstone Dazzle

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Fish and her companions arrived to the hunt with sharpened beaks and eager talons. The owl, gryphon and eagle were bloodthirsty, but not nearly as bloodthirsty as her longfurby could be. Chubs was draped around her neck like a fluffy string of entrails, and the winged hunters gamboled behind her as she approached.

“What’s this I hear about a hunt?” she said, before settling to her haunches and chewing some of the dried duck. “Hm. Well, normally I’d say mangroves, but if the thing we’re tracking lives up in the hills-“ she refused to call them mountains, for what passed for mountains near the swamp was less than a foothill where she came from- “then the meadowed hills are the smarter choice. It’s quicker, most likely, a straight shot. With the mangroves, we’d have to puzzle our way through, and if we’re tracking with any expediency, then we want to get to the target area sooner rather than later- and save our strength for the real prey. No sense gorging ourselves on the appetizers,” she posited, helping herself to more appetizers.

[Mima]

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgleft]Merry scratched meaningless nonsense into the swampy mud with her hoof impatiently, listening more with her heart than her ears. It seemed oftentimes she was more dragged into things half-willingly than given a real choice in the matter, and yet... her hooves seemed to pick themselves up with sheer excitement whenever she got the chance to really indulge in actual hunting. The stories she'd have to tell were well worth the inconvenience.

"Hmmm." She made a quiet noise of interruption as the other kin discussed the two options. While Chase lurked quietly at the sidelines, eyeing the Lazy Ghost curiously, she wondered if just the two of them would be able to scare any other cheetahs off. Not to mention, the quickest path was rarely the most rewarding.

Eventually, after letting the others speak up, she chimed in. "I'm content with either option, really. However, I think I'd pick the mangroves if I had to choose- if we're to approach via the open fields in such a large group, we lose the element of surprise. Anything could probably see and hear us from quite a distance, out in the open like that. So stealth wouldn't really be an option at all." She dipped her head to Big Fish, however. By no means was she trying to get in a fight with anyone over her choice. "But I can see where you're coming from, too. My thought is that if we can take the target by surprise, we won't need to be in as good of shape as if we're trying to take them head-on."

Plus, self-indulgently... She was thinking about all the fun things that could be stowed away hiding in the deepest corners of the forest of mangroves. She'd love to find a little trinket or two to remember the story by, and she wasn't quite sure what she'd find in the meadow beyond a couple of flowers that would die and dry before she could even make it home.

@Scaramouche Fandango @fluo

[Lirilei]

Spirits was sure he heard his brothers voice in the group and he made his way toward him, a smile on his face. "Don't worry, even if we die, our spirits will live on brother." maybe not a very comforting thing to say to Grim but, well he was spirit obsessed, so perhaps it was no wonder the fear of dying wasn't a fear at all for him. "It'll be exciting I think." which was unusual for him to want excitement, normally he was content to settle somewhere quiet and peaceful to meditate and converse with the spirits, or to spend time with his totoma mate.

Listening to the discussion around him he flicked an air a little. "Mangroves, hills... the mangroves are probably better as far as stealth, even with the issue of caiman. Though we have to be careful we don't do a whole lot of splashing as we walk, because that can be just as bad for giving us away as a wide open area can I'm sure." well sounds were loud, especially to him.

@Moonstone Dazzle

[Ravenous13]

[imgright]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgright]
Forgotten curled herself in a far corner between an old stump and a rock. She was excited, although she didn't look it; the only thing that gave it away was the occasional twitch or quiver of her tail and the growing fire in her eyes. Her ears followed the suggestions...mangrove or meadow. She spoke just loud enough to be heard.

"The mangrove would offer a lot in the way of masking our sound and our scent." Then after thinking for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly..  “What do we need to know about the undertow? I think we’re supposed to relax and go with the flow until we reach a bit to climb out… or  Swim a bit at a slant then head for the shore…its just what I’ve heard. I’ve never been caught in it.”

She was  more familiar with stalking her prey under the cover of the forest. There were plenty of times that she made it a point to hunt out in the open. It was more a challenge to herself than it was a necessity. The mangroves were a different story. Forgotten hadn't ventured far into the mangroves before. There was something unnerving about its interior. There were whispers there and she often felt that she herself was being hunted. Not every time but sometimes. Often, she would ‘see’ , ‘hear’, or sense a particularly elusive spirit in the dense shadows of the forest. It seemed to often take the form of a cat; smoky  and just barely there at times. Naturally, her instinct made her lean more towards the mangrove route. Even though she wasn’t really all that fond of it.

She could adapt to moving through the meadow. They would likely make good time although the direction of scent and their visibility would have to be taken more into account. There were less predators out in the open though. Settling back into her spot, she scratched an itch on her shoulder. This was a tribe hunt, however; personal quests aside...she was eager. Then the question was...what were they even hunting?

[fluo]

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgleft]Albatross felt a thrill go through her body at the familiar faces showing up. From the fiery doe with lusciously long locks she's seen the past few seasons to her fishing buddy from the proper mountains, a smile slipped through her calm facade. Their participation coupled with the fact that Magnolia's "Nightshade" was actually a tooth was a blessed relief. Not that she was against poisonings, but not until the hunt started! Eventually she would have to give voice to unspeakable rules like not poisoning one another just because it was another day in the swamp.

And it was great seeing long furbies once more. Her own, Many Dies, shimmied up to the totoma and pecked at her living scarf. "Chirppp?"

Albatross tested some vine she had roped between two trees for their responsiveness and strength. As she conducted a series of experiments on its resistance to breakage with branches, broken shells and sharpened rocks, she kept an ear to the reasoning for votes from the newcomers. All had their merits and brought up good points. Albatross would kill to see the efficiency in which No Escape would strike a caiman's skull true and dead with just one kick. It would be a thing of beauty she bet. Even Spirits' odd reassurance to his brother was strangely uplifting. Her cheetah, Lazy Ghost, was chuffed at the two littermates and rubbed against them both before jumping a short distance to inspect the grass colored spectral cheetah owned by the acha with restless hooves. Lazy Ghost tossed the other feline a half-rotted rodent in an attempt to play.

Happy with the strength of the vines,  she welcomed the two achas. Now that there was one from each corners of the swamp and between them all, a wealth of knowledge was right at their hooves.

"Totally valid points from everyone. We would make a lot of sound, unfortunately, with our group in water or the meadowed hills. For what it's worth, it's Spring and the swamp is teeming with life so we would not be alone in either areas. Also, perhaps selfishly on my part, if we were to go through the mangroves, fishing could be had. But salt is pretty hard on the fur once it's caked on and we don't have a spring to bathe in." Albatross gave the vine a final twang before addressing the group at large.

"Fess up. Who here is a little hard of seeing? I have some vines so we don't lose you. No, you aren't bait, I promise." Albatross offered up a large grin. Things were going well and the future was fresh with possibilities. A hunt was always a grand way of reacquainting one self with what the MotherFather was capable of and the secrets that could be uncovered.

[fluo]

Forgot to tag everyone

@Ravenous13
@Mima
@Scaramouche Fandango
@anemosagkelos
@Lirilei
@Moonstone Dazzle
@phoe