The Hunt of the Peryton (Hunting Group Only)

[Hayyel Crawford]

She had heard of a terror in the Hunting Copse. A larger creature had come to the group of trees and was preying upon the smaller monstrosities there. She had even seen it with her own eyes through the telescope. It had been a rare ribbon-tailed Peryton, beautiful but dangerous. It was a shadow that lurked in the darkness, waiting for you to come close enough that it could run you down and feast upon you. But this one was a lone male, without a herd and so Hayyel had gathered a large group of six Hunters and was planning on taking the beast down. It was too dangerous to have roaming so close to the Village. It's wings could launch it onto the platforms, and Hayyel just couldn't risk having such a creature around.

The day was a good day for hunting. The air was crisp and clean, the wind barely blowing so it wouldn't carry their scents down to the winged deer. She, however, would be able to track the buck, her sense of smell was much better than that of a deer's. The sunlight was slightly covered but there were enough rays that it would lend to the weaker eyesight of the other Hunters. The ground was not slick with moisture, instead it was firm and dry. Perfect day for a good hunt. She moved down the ladder, her leg had healed almost perfectly now, it had only taken three weeks. There was still a scab but it no longer caused her to limp and she moved with the fluid grace of a predatory cat.

She jumped the last two feet, pushing away from the tree trunk and landing easily. On the ground in the entrance to the Hunting Copse, she waited for the others to join her. Scenting the air, she paused, her body stilling completely. She sifted through all the wonderful smells of the forest. The sweet smell of rotting leaves, the smell of soil, and the smell of warm blooded little creatures scurrying about. Then it came at her, strongly, the heavy cloying scent of the larger musk of a mutated animal. The dusty scent of bird feathers and the musky scent of deer are rolled into one strange combination. The buck wasn't close but she could already feel the adrenaline washing through her body at the thought of the Hunt.

Words: 403
Muse: AWESOME ^-^
Song: Blow me Away- Breaking Benjamin

[Reyshi Nylecoj]

Reyshi shuffled toward the Hunting Copse as her eyes surveyed the platforms and the sky. Dressed in loose dirt brown trousers with a matching shirt and vest she appeared as if she was pleading not to be noticed, but with everyone around her wearing some form of expressive coloring she stuck out like a nail just waiting to be hammered down. Her sneakers, brown and worn down from years of extensive use, needed to be tied as the laces swung about and made a hollow—but no less obnoxious—clunk sound when they came in contact with the platform. She tripped on one but continued onward, her hand checking the leather holster at her hip to be sure she had her dagger.

She had agreed to take part in the hunt for a dangerous monster that was in close proximity to the village and though she disliked killing Reyshi could not stop herself from volunteering to join the hunting group. For reasons unknown even to herself she had agreed to go with the lead huntress as soon as she was offered the position, but she was having second thoughts the closer her feet lead her to her destination. Not being an experienced hunter she could cause the monster, the name of which she had already forgotten, to flee or attack one of her colleagues unnecessarily so was it such a grand idea to have come? Would they be better off without her useless company?

A slight gust of wind hit her, taking with it her careless thoughts as she reached the Hunting Copse. Kneeling down she tied her shoe laces as her father her taught her long ago with an animal she was unfamiliar with. The procedure was idiotic, because for what reason would a rabbit go around a tree only to flee into its burrow? Reaching behind her Reyshi tied her messy hair in a low ponytail so it would stay out of her way, stray hairs sticking out at odd ends, before touching her quiver and making sure she had a surplus of arrows for the hunt. Bow held firmly in her left arm she carefully descended the ladder and waited at the bottom as her eyes scanned the forest. She gave no greeting towards the one who had invited her, seeing no reason to strike up an unneeded conversation as they waited for the remainder of their group.

[Noble]

Greg was next. He had found one of the other child caregivers to take over for him. He was no stranger to the hunt, but not as experienced as the true hunters for sure. He respected teh true hunters but knew where he stood with his job. He had found a forest green button up shirt to wear for the hunt, black jeans fitting snugly agianst his hips ending at brown sneakers. Even his black hair worked with his earth-tone clothing, which spiked fragments he ran his hand through as he hurried over the platform. A few of teh later young ones waved good bye to him as he passed and he gave them a wink as he hurried on. His bow was slung over a shoulder, his katana was slung across his other shoulder under the bow in easy reach. A soft leather quiver of red fletched arrows bounced soundlessly agianst his hip, their feathers the only bold color on his person.


Finally he reached the ladder and wrapped a hand around the railing, climbing down swiftly and dropping down the last few rungs. He stepped away from the ladder and joined the two girls smiling at them then turned to watch the ladder. There were a few more coming right?

[Zeven Cross]

Zeven walked through the village with his hands in his pocket and had a focused look on his face. As he walked people in the streets went inside their houses or hid in alleys. When he finally came to the ladder he took a deep breath and started climbing down it. Zeven's perverted side was gone and replaced with his serous side. He could feel his heart beating fast as he continued down the ladder. Zeven was ready to cover the ground with the creatures blood and a wicked smirk appeared on his face as he thought about it.

When he was off the ladder he walked slowly to the group and stud next to Noble and just stared off into the distance not making a single sound. Zeven had no problem taking orders from the lead hunter but if the monster started to annoy or make him angry he would stop following orders and let his rage take him over. Zeven's fists began to tighten up in his pockets as he thought of the many gruesome ways to kill this beast.

[Reymayla Baxton]

Her usual spot in the tree remained empty, a light breeze rustled the weaker branches as it sat waiting for Rey’s return. It called out whistling through the leaves as though it were a loyal friend wishing her well, but she was long gone. Her feet landed gracefully, they made an arch to prevent her ankles from taking all of the impact. A move that most hunters learned early on, to preserve the body one had to practice. She wouldn’t let small jump end her job as a hunter, no. But she had seen this happen, bodies twisting the wrong way, a lack of self control. Ignorance could be bliss but not when a life was hanging on the end of that line. To follow order could help you to live another day, Rey thought of this as she tugged on her boots. They had been waiting at the base of the tree. Without them she could almost picture her toes curling and bending at impossible angles. Yes, it made climbing and running easier, but she’d rather save her foot when hunting something deadly. This wasn’t some miniature beast that could be crushed with a rock. She was going to take precautionary measures until she knew what she was dealing with.

Rey was ready to follow the leader, and help in any way possible. She wasn’t powerful in her strikes but she was swift. Taking her dagger out, she held it up into the light. It was right balance falling into her hand as though it was a part of her. She could hit any target without even thinking, but this came from years of practice. She wasn’t born with this gift, but she made it her own. Every day she spent hours measuring distances and making the right calculations. She adjusted her body, and learned how to twist and tense her body at the right moment. This is what she lived for, and it all felt right. Rey didn’t need a side to choose, as long as it maintained the constant feeling then it fell right into place. The rest of the work would come much later. Slipping the dagger back into her side pocket, Rey took off at a quick pace. Her boots weighed down on her and she could feel the difference. They provided a comfort that wasn’t quite right for this sort of mission, but they would have to do.

Leaving the forest her foot caught hold of a low sweeping branch, she is used it to propel herself forward up into the trees. Soon her hands were reaching up and grabbing onto one branch after the next. Rey’s body would swing forward and land, her knees bending over before pushing off once more, she didn’t even hesitate. Her sense of direction alternated as she worked out the trail, Rey already knew where to go and could feel the vibrations of the forest. Maybe it was something that arrived with the beasts, but you could always feel it. The forest seemed to carry a constant tune saying, “I am here now.” Feeling a burst of wind against her face only surged her efforts to reach the hunting copse. Rey turned it into a game, her fingers weaving about and drawing the energy around her. A shadow that was once hers grew in length. Its body stretched out as Rey fell to the next branch, a figuring forming to mock her own. Hair lifted as though caught by a breeze sent from a shadow world.

It jumped and bounced around her, daring her to race. A crescent smile formed on her lips, her own creation amused her. She controlled it like a puppet, and soon Rey was chasing after it like a light at the end of the tunnel. It would take her straight towards her destination, and when it did Rey could see the shadow land in the hard packed earth. She wasn’t the first to arrive but preferred it that way, as a hunter she liked to watch and take in her surroundings. Then her body leapt forward, and she found herself descending to the forest floor where she took her place among the others. “Sign me in.” Then she leaned her body against the tree letting her head fall. Her dark hair covered her eyes, and Rey slipped her hands into her pockets. There she waited to start the hunt, not talkative or eager. She was there, just exsisting.

[Hayyel Crawford]

Hayyel glanced up as the others arrived. They came in quick succession of each other, so she didn't have to wait long. She smirked as she counted them, five others, six including her, that should enough to bring down this creature. She leaned down and drew two curved daggers from her combat boots. She had two other hidden in the sleeves of her red and black leather jacket. Each was a foot long and wickedly sharp, they rested in hands comfortably and gave her a sense of strength. Pressing against her back, in a specially designed belt were three throwing knives, these were no longer than five inches.

The Lead Hunter walked in front of the others, observing her hunting pack. Not all of them were hunters. But most had the skills she needed. She began to lay out the plans, "I will lead us to our quarry. But I expect everyone to be ready to speak up if they see it. I will be leaning on all of you for support while we hunt this Peryton. It will be dangerous so for anyone whose not up to it, now is the time to leave. I want you all to be aware of each other, the last thing we need is someone breaking a leg because someone else accidentally runs into them." She spoke the truth, coldly her gaze surveyed the others, this was no time to sugar coat things. Now was the time to be brutally honest.

"Now, I see that we all have our weapons. are we ready? Do you have any questions?" she shifted her arms crossing in a way so that the knives she held pointed outward. She was impatient, but waited, the aura of the hunt that surrounded her leached out. She was sure the others could sense her desire for the chase. She loved the animals, or at least what they used to be. Now they were just a way of living, of keeping herself from going insane when she needed to run and become that predator that she was. It was hard not to smile when she killed them, because afterward she knew she would regret it. It always pained her afterward, how much she enjoyed the thrill.

Words: 376
Muse: Really Good ^^
Song: So Cold- Breaking Benjamin

[Reyshi Nylecoj]

Glancing around as everyone arrived Reyshi’s eyes took in their appearances, each person as different and unique as the mutated animals they hunted. She was well aware that some were hunters, but also that there were a few, like herself, that had simply been recruited for the gruesome job. She counted at least three hunters, which meant half of the group were not trained for combat. Would they weigh the others down? Shaking her head at the thought once more she vowed not to be a burden as she glanced at the men, particularly the tall spiky haired one. He was unnerving, that one, and she didn’t want to be stationed anywhere near him. His appearance sent a chill down her spine that she ignored and moved her attention to the next person, who seemed rather…lovable, albeit tall. The women all seemed pleasant, but she wondered what everyone’s powers were. Could they control theirs?

Her attention shifted as Hayyel addressed the group. Watching her stance and tone Reyshi knew that the lead huntress was impatient and asking questions would be ill advised, but needing an answer she spoke up for the first time, “Hand signals?” A simple sentence, but she had always shortened them so they were still understandable; no one needed to hear her voice drag on and on. Her voice, soft at the moment, was carried to the ears of her companions by the soft wind as she rubbed her eyes that begged for a nap even though she’d had a good night’s sleep. She stood straighter to prevent this knowing that she needed to be fully alert for the task at hand, and that she would be sent home if she was lollygagging like an idiot.

[Noble]

Greg as well let his eyes drag over each member of their group, memorizing clothing and stances. It would help him recognize movements in the bush if they were separated. He planned to waste no arrows to the air or other things in the forest today, his trained marksmanship would guide him most of the way. The katana he had was just a back up, a weapon he trained himself with for if a creature was too close to be hit by a bow and arrow. He shifted his weight and brought his brown eyes back to the leader and shook his head after the other girl asked her question. Other than what she had stated he needed no information... well maybe one, but he figured trophies could be figured out afterward. He had heard about the ribbon feathers that served for a tail and thought of how Dede would enjoy one of them, maybe the green one?

A hand reached up to run itself through his hair again to clear his head. Trophies would come after everyone was safe and the beast down, besides he didn't need the thing, it would just look pretty in the area his sister and he shared. It was time to get this hunt on the road.

[Zeven Cross]

Zeven was there still staring into the distance but then sensed someone looking at him and his head turned to Reyshi slowly when she started looking at the lead hunter. Then he looked at the rest of the female members of the group and noticed how each girl here was freaking gorgeous. Zeven let his perverted side out for just a little bit looking at the girls legs, eyes, hair and breasts but then his lustful thoughts quickly left his mind when he heard Reyshi say hand signals.

He saw a couple of boulders next to him and walked over to them and placed his hands on them. As soon as he did that a violet colored light came from underneath his hands and he started pulling out chunks out of the boulders. The chunks started morphing in his hands and finally transformed into rock like daggers that were sharp as hell. "Yeah these would do nicely for now." Zeven said to himself and smiled slightly in a twisted way. He then turned his body around and faced the other members while the boulders he touched had medium sized holes in them and had a little bit of violet colored sparks appearing out of them from time to time.

[Reymayla Baxton]

This was the normal procedure for most hunts, and to sum it all up the rule of the game was to survive and win, or be killed. The game was easy enough for her to follow, she rarely ever made mistakes and when they did occur it was only enough to grab her attention back into the moment. Other members soon joined in, a few were hunters but many were just along for the ride. Rey lifted her head exposing eye that landed on the leader, it was a questioning look. She didn’t want to have to end up babysitting anyone just because they were too slow to react. The hunt was a matter of focus that intertwined with the hunter and life around them, you had to be quick. A moment of hesitation was never in the job description. But she trusted the leader that all the members here were capable enough, if one died it wouldn’t be her problem. It may have sounded bitter, but Rey didn’t want any more death to befall on their village. There was too much of it, leaking in from all over. That last thing they needed was the body count to rise and risk losing more people. The village was struggling already, the seams willing to break at any moment.

She would let the hunter instinct take over and participate, but from a distance she would keep watch, but only with the leader wished it. Otherwise it would just slow them all down. The shadow returned, but this time it found a place on the forest floor. It mimicked her own movements at her command, but occasionally it would look around at the group curious as to when they’d be off. Rey lowered her gaze once more, but she still knew when someone was watching her. Eyes darted up and locked on the target who was taking in every female body here. A laugh of disbelief tumbled from her lips but she didn’t bother to speak at all. It was true, she was a quiet individual who believed that speaking only wasted time. As a hunter she spent her days watching movement and body language, it told her everything she needed to know. A familiar body walked over to a series of boulders and preformed a trick, one that neither impressed nor amused her. Instead, Rey turned her back on them and walked to the opposite clearing. Here she listened to the forest around her, and Rey’s shadow leapt a few feet in front of her.

There were thousands of sounds raining down on them, snapping twigs, disturbed leaves, and movement elsewhere. All of them belonged to creatures she knew of, but Rey wasn’t trying to find them. She was trying to pick up on a new sound altogether; it would clash with the rest leaving it out of place. One thing didn’t belong here and she would find, Rey felt it and knew it was out there. And in turn it felt the groups presence, it knew the game had already begun. Turning around on her heel, Rey walked back to where she had originally been standing. A hand looped down and retrieved her only dagger, in practice she spun it around, weaving the grip between her hand. Her own eyes flashed upwards to meet the leaders one more, letting her know it was out there and it knew of them. This was not something to be voiced out loud, not until the leader was ready. The last thing they needed was a bunch of over eager members getting to ecstatic about the whole ordeal.

[Hayyel Crawford]

She watched the others observe each other. She let them get comfortable with everyone, or at least as comfortable as they could get. Zeven went and got his weapons and she watched it almost with a bored expression. As soon as she was sure that everyone was ready, she caught Rey's eye. She had noticed the look, she too knew the Peryton was near by, she could scent it, hear the cloven feet carefully moving through the forest. She looked up at Reyshi's comment about hand signals. Of course she wouldn't know about the art of the Hunt. Hayyel had completely forgotten about the Hunter's who weren't technically schooled in the way of Hunting.

Nodding at Reyshi's question she smiled sheepishly, "Of course, I totally forgot that you weren't a Hunter. Sorry my mind is ahead of me. The hand signals will be easy enough to figure out, we use simple stuff, like pointing to certain people and telling them which way to go. It should be easy enough to figure out once you get into the flow." She stretched her shoulders back and leaned down to touch her palms to the forest floor. It was a smooth and easy body manipulation for her.

"We are going to be running a lot, so everyone stretch really well, while I pinpoint the direction of the Peryton," she inhaled deeply again, noticing that the breeze told her the Peryton was in the East side of the Hunting Copse. She glanced behind her and after giving them ample time to stretch out the kinks in their muscles she headed off without another word. Her eyes trained ahead of her, not even bothering to look down as when her feet touched the ground she could sense through the bottom of her feet, (which were covered in thin soled combat boot so she could sense the ground) every little bump and root. Every now and then she lifted her nose to inhale the scents. She was at least going in the right direction.

Her gaze switched over to eagle sharp, searching through the trees for movement.


Words: 360
Muse: Good
Song: If I Die Young- The Band Perry
OOC: Simmy is now out of the Hunt, she will be gone for a month due to health reasons

[Noble]

Greg watched teh other boy look the girls over and rolled his eyes. Why did so many boys do that? Maybe it was because he worked with children, but while he found women attractive, Greg never really felt the urge to mentally undress every woman he saw. He smirked at the answer to the hand-signals, simple as usual. That was good. He arched his back and let the molecules around him rub together, a slight ripple of heat serounding his body and loosening his muscles as he arched his back into the warm air. He did this not to show off but to losten his muscles faster. He reached down and touched teh moist ground beneith him and felt teh rest of his body relax into teh stretch, telling himhe would be ok for running, he padded foreward after the lead hunter, his long legs letting him keep up with her at a nice pace, melting into the scenery around them. Sure he wasn't trained but he had been on a hunt or too before, he knew how to spread out, in eyesight if one looked around, and behind the leader slightly, knowing she would know where their prey was.

He watched the others as well, recognising their positions, registering them as they fell into place. It was good to be out, he thought, his heart pumping, his feet on soil, and the leaves silently brushing his legs. Yes, it was a good day for a hunt.

[Zeven Cross]

Zeven saw how everyone was stretching and sighed. He didn't want to stretch he just wanted to hurry up and go kill, mane and slaughter the beast they hunting for but he just gave in and stretch like everyone else and while stretching he had a feeling that almost everyone there didn't like him. "These people...i can sense that most of them don't like me already. That's ok i don't care the only reason why im doing this is to protect Alice and the other kids. These people can go to hell for all i care." He said to himself fueling his rage witch he can use for the fight.

That whole time Zeven continued to think negative thoughts making him more anger and thought about how the fight might go down. Will it be a easy fight or a hard one? Who will be the one to do the final blow? Will someone get badly hurt and will someone die? All these thoughts rushed through his head and bothered him very much as he continued to stretch and got ready for battle.

[Reyshi Nylecoj]

Reyshi nodded as she listened to Hayyel speak, taking in the information that was being given. She’d only gone on a handful of hunts in her life and none were as serious as the one she was currently in so she paid close attention to the instructions that seemed simple enough. Intertwining her fingers so they resembled a zipper she began to stretch her body, warming up the cold and stiff muscles that would have to be used for running and shooting her arrows. As she stretched the sickly sounds of bones cracking was heard, mostly from her fingers as she cracked her knuckles to get them comfortable. It was an old habit and one she could not break, but she knew that some people hated the noise like no tomorrow and even thought it was disgusting. Being merely a noise that was completely natural she could not see the reasoning behind that as she stretched her leg muscles in preparation for running.

From time to time she glanced at the others, watching how they stretched and taking in their clothing; it wouldn’t bode well if she mistook them for the Peryton once they set off. Watching the blonde that unnerved her she was surprised as he walked over to a boulder and made a weapon out of it, but didn’t show the emotion on her face. Had he not brought his own weapon? Rolling her shoulders (these were always stiff) she watched with slight amusement as he seemed to pump himself up as he stretched. This man, though a bit creepy to her, was truly interesting. Perhaps there was more to him than his creepy exterior, as she was sure there was to every else.

But there was no time to dwell on that thought. Finishing her stretches she fixed her gloves so they covered her wrists and walked after their leader. Her strides were unusually steady for her but she was trying not to tip over or step on a twig for it would alert the prey. She wondered how the hunt would play out, would they succeed or fail? Worse, would they fail with some casualties? She could accept failure quite easily but failure with death? That was unacceptable to her so she focused on where her team members were so she could easily take instructions from them or alert them if she saw the beast.

[Reymayla Baxton]

Everyone in the small group had formed their own definition of stretching, there were even a few who didn’t bother. Rey had stretched on the way over, letting her arms swing and bend as she had moved through the trees. Her muscles had tensed and relaxed, a sure sign that she was ready to go. Now however, she was focused on mental stretching. She had to let her mind flow and be at ease, Rey knew what was expected of her. But it was still important that she readied her mind for any possible injures and quick reactions. Adrenaline was a friend of hers, she soaked it up into her pores and used it as a weapon. It never fueled her fears but her strengths, it helped to push her forward and that’s exactly what she needed. This took her a few minutes, she found herself in a Zen state focusing on one train of thought. Once she was finished, Rey flexed her fingers testing her own reflexes. Her own toes curled in her boots, anticipation for what was to come surged through her body. They would win, failure was not an option here. It was a test, just as every other disaster had been and they would prevail above it all.

Her eyes flickered over to the leader who was warming up, they were all the stretches Rey had learned. They were fluid and graceful motions to steady the mind and body, but as Rey looked around she almost felt like laughing. Other members seemed almost goofy in their movement and stuck out when compared to the leader. Rey let her back rest against the tree once more, the bark was already warm from her body heat. A vibration of tension curled around the area, her own shadow absorbing it as a warning. She looked up to the same guy who’d been scoping out the young women earlier, anger flowed from him like a river. Rey almost wanted to ask him if it was worth it, but she kept the thoughts to herself. Anger, while it could be used as a weapon was a very dangerous matter. One could easily make a mistake or over-correct a situation. When at a heightened level it destroyed everything in its path, there had to be a reason the leader let him join. He could easily lead to their deaths if he couldn’t control himself..

She looked up at him trying to search his eyes, she never once looked away. It was a questioning look, and mixed in with some confusion. Were his intentions noble, or selfish? Not that Rey cared, but she liked knowing about the people who she’d be working with. Her fingers twitched beside her waiting, Rey was almost becoming restless, but still she could find nothing to say. Words had always failed her, but her eyes asked everything she needed to know. They expressed what she was feeling or wanted to say, and that was good enough for her. Without another moment of hesitation, Rey moved with everyone else. In one split moment they were running along, the hunt had begun. But Rey felt vulnerable on the ground, and soon she found herself up in the trees keeping everyone in sight. Her red jacket moved in the wind. The only color that alerted them of her presence.