Beast Within (IC)

[Kattzillaa]

Mina Panja
Mina was barely even conscious to actually comprehend Juniper, Trigger, Aaquil, Ro or any of them, barely but she did on parts of their conversations. Her hair was tangled as his cascaded down Gray's shoulder as she breathed softly and spoke.

"What... What if they don't come back?" It was a hypothetical question but a very real possibility. "I mean.. wouldn't they tell us they were leaving if they had any-" A yawn seemed to cut her off before she continued. "If they had any intention of returning?"

Her speech should probably have been taken with a grain of salt as Mina wasn't with a full functioning mind as usual. All those books and knowledge she got was useful but became slightly useless when you weren't awake enough to put use to said knowledge.

Juniper Steele
Juniper glared back at her with green eyes that were darker than usual. He wasn't not emotionally attach- Whatever. It didn't matter and it wasn't any of his business what she or any of them thought. Let them think what they inevitably would. Though, being called a brat definitely wasn't on the top of his bucket list, not that he even had one.

"Im not a-" He huffed a bit with frustration. All the arguments with Trigger never really ended well for him or anyone. It just did his temper a disfavor by making him more pissy about everything so he didn't even bother addressing what she said.. "Whatever."

"His room is clean..." The room was practically a new members room. The new room smell, the perfect sheets, and everything was just perfect. They'd stand in the doorway in shock at what their life had become and wonder how the hell the odds had been against them. It was a type of clean that only hospitals held, a place Juniper would literally rather die than go to. "It's like no one was there... Just empty.... They aren't coming back and finding them will be impossible if we wait any longer."

 

[KatSea]

Simeon Fuller



Simeon should have seen this concern coming from the moment he and his wife dared to open their mouths. They did have to be honest with their employees. Two hunters had indeed, walked out. Location unknown. Status still to be determined. Simeon wouldn't let it show along his demeanor, but nausea sloshed in his churning stomach, building in his throat until it felt it would be clogged by his own tissue. This is bad. But I am not going to release this concern to them. Not yet. Not until I feel the need that...that it needs to be said. Just as long as they can be retrieved, all should be well. Why they left... "Please, I understand that this is beyond concerning. Guild members do not tend to vanish into the night without giving their coordinates. Without informing us of their intentions..." His eyes flickered around, temporarily following the canines that circled him. His nails dug discreetly into the arms of his chair, attempting to swallow down any frustration that could have bubbled to the surface.

Simeon was tired. Simeon was concerned for his agents. He didn't want for there to be a major investigation into the disappearance. Not until he was fully aware of the details. How could he place all his attention towards the recovery of the agents when he didn't even know where they had sauntered off to? He had to inform the guild, however, and the moment that the dogs sniffed and leered, the moment that his daughter began to fuss in his wife's arms with the reactions abound, Simeon stood. Pleasant, yet still distressed, he granted his guild members a small smile and pushed past to once again place his hands on his wife's shoulders, rubbing soothing circles against the fabric of her blouse.

"This must be said, however. We cannot expend the guild's resources towards a mission we are not fully aware of yet. It is...difficult, to say the least. To know that this is true. But what needs to be said is this. We believe that Bethany, I and a few higher up members need to conduct an investigation before we can include other's help. This is a typical procedure, one that we hoped would never have to be conducted. And I am sorry that it did. Truly, I am. For now, it is a day as normal as any other. I know it hurts, not knowing what happened to our friends..."

"Simeon, you did conduct a search of their room?" Adrian Lewis' voice slowly pipped up, nostalgia filling Simeon at the similar crinkle of the young man's brow. Remember. They are your idiots. Somehow Simeon's words to Adrian years ago seemed to stick to him more than the younger man. Regardless, an inch of unease was trimmed away as Adrian continued, rolling his shoulder back to push Grayson's head back into place. Grayson had been reduced to staring ahead at the wall ahead, uncharacteristically lost in thoughts that Simeon wouldn't have dared to venture into.

"Yes. As...Juniper has said. It is cleaned out."

"S-simeon, if I may..." Shawn's voice grew, surprisingly tranquil despite the heavy set frown upon his lips. Simeon couldn't tell if it was comfort or nausea that came with Gustavo's touch. "I-I think you are right. As much as it pains me to say, I think it...we need to know what we are handlin before we go in. I'm afraid rash decisions may result in somethin goin wrong. Please, I wish you the best of luck for finding our friends." Quieting down, eyes glued to his shoes, Shawn's head only peeked up at Kook's first and only word. Simeon swore he saw a ghost of a smile at such a thing.

"Thank you, McConnell. And thank you for your concern, everyone. We know how difficult times like this can be. And we appreciate your cooperation. For the mean time, as we have discussed, monster populations seemed to have increased. Mission requests have almost doubled this week and we are going to need a lot of fire power to handle it."

"Y-you don't think the increasing population had something to do with the disappearance?" Grayson questioned sleepily, thumb traveling along the bottoms of his eyes. "I don't want to point my finger in the direction of abduction because of how clean their rooms looked, but it's something to consider. It...I hate to say it, I've seen it be done before, but it's possible they just got tired and need a break. it's not the first time I've heard of someone trying to leave without telling any-"

Adrian's elbow gently jabbed into Grayson's ribs, causing the young hunter to pout and rub the newly formed center of irritation.

"We are going to look into both possibilities, mister Williams. Trust me, we will be thorough. These are our friends too, after all. They mean a lot to both Bethany and me. I hope you do not forget this and make it feel like we are the enemy. We want to find them as much as you do. It is just...a difficult time. Man power in one area is not going to help our clients. Remember. We cannot drop our jobs all at once, as much as we'd like to. God. I would love for everyone to join the search all at once. But that is going to be nothing but chaos. For now...we will give you constant updates. For now, Bethany has details on your missions. I am truly, truly sorry. Believe me. I am."

 

[WingWong]

Hematite: Jian Dai
Location: Guild Meeting
Interactions: Grayson @KatSea , Aaquil @Mobley Eats

---

Jian couldn't quite remember how he'd gotten where he was now. He remembered that at one moment, he'd been in his room, having been awoken by another guild member. Then, in the next moment, according to his apparently fault memory, he was trudging through the door to stand before Bethany, Simeon, and little Morgan.

Between those two moments? Nothing. Just grogginess, maybe a little grumbling about the hour of day, and then he was being ushered into a guild meeting.

Hopefully that was just his tendency to sleep like the dead messing with his ability to function, and nothing more concerning.

One slow, dull blink later, he watched as more and more of the guild filed into the room. He sent Grayson a small, tired wave as he realized he shared the room with him. Had he walked in after him and he just didn't notice? No, no, he definitely didn't walk in after. He'd been paying enough attention to know that. He and Adrian must have come in before him then. His attention shifted back once again as more people filed in, faces he recognized well amongst them.

Some of them were old faces he was well accustomed to, some of them far newer, but all of them were part of the guild he called home.

In fact, it looked like it was everyone in the guild. Except for….

"It has come to our attention that our...our friends here at the guild, Delilah and Hiroki, have seemed to have vanished into thin air over night. We have hoped no other pressing...rumors of such a disappearance have made ways..."

Ah, that would be why, then.

The words processed more fully a few beats later. They'd disappeared. No sign of them, no warning, nothing. Just gone.

Jian's mouth flattened into a firm line, not quite a frown, but certainly not pleased. He hadn't ever really been close to either Delilah or Hiroki. It wasn't as if he didn't appreciate them or didn't care, or that he thought that they didn't care. Quite the opposite, really. He knew they did. They just seemed to be…. Very private people, ones that would often rather keep to themselves at times.

It was something he understood well, and it was all the more reason that Jian was not one to pry into their business. He winced now, at the idea that maybe if he had pried once or twice, he might know a little more about what was going on now with them.

Maybe it wouldn't have changed anything. Maybe it would have changed everything. It was too late, now, though. Hiroki and Delilah were long gone by the sound of it, and with little to go off of towards finding them…. They may stay that way for a while longer.

The grogginess faded as the gears in Jian's mind continued to turn, and Bethany and Simeon both continued to speak. Glancing around now, he could guess last night had been a rough one for much of the rest of the guild. He'd returned from his own mission yesterday evening, while many of them were still out. And after getting a few nasty bruises looked at, he'd promptly crashed into his bed and fell into oblivion. He hadn't heard a thing all night, though clearly he'd missed out on the hunters' returns.

Actually, now that he thought about it…. How long had he been out? He mentally ticked off the hours, blinking once before it settled in. No wonder he was groggy. 11 hours. He'd been passed out, absolutely dead to the world, for eleven hours.

How everything had seemed to have changed in those hours, too. Of course, the thing that stayed the same would be the missions. The others might be more in need of rest, after whatever had apparently gone down last night, but with 11 hours of sleep, Jian was sure he could deal with whatever he assigned. Maybe after working the stiffness from his body and his mind was able to clamber out of the fog, but still.

His attention shifted briefly as more voices filled the air. His eyes moved to Juniper, something almost amused crossing his face. Still as brash as ever, then, regardless of whether or not the situation called for it. Trigger's voice joined in, and he nodded faintly in agreement. If they needed anything, absolutely anything, while looking for the two missing members, he'd be glad to help.

Then a worried voice, far softer, met his ears.

"I'm sure they'll turn up," Jian said, turning to face Aaquil with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Sooner or later, they'd find something. "We can keep an eye out, just in case, right?" he added after a beat. "They wouldn't want us to abandon our missions, even if we might want to." There was a moment of hesitation, before he rested his hand on the Argentinian's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. They'd find something, he was sure. They just… had to do what they always did in the meantime.

His gaze then returned to Simeon as he stood. Yes, they'd continue doing what they could for clients, and he hoped that they'd learn something of their teammates' whereabouts.

He hoped they found something soon.

 

[KatSea]

Two Years Ago, Jackman Maine. Delilah Wickerson.

"Do Not Go Gently Into that Good Night, Darling. Love Phil."

"Chirst...that man is...Something else." Her hand came to cup the side of her aching temple, mind swirling with new found thoughts of freedom and the space she had to breathe. God. She could finally breathe. "That only took...ten years." Her ribs rattled with the laughter that attempted to spiral out of control, quickly restrained by the raw streaks of pain that flared across her sides. Her eyes rolled back into her head briefly, nails digging into her skin as to ground herself. "Phil? Darling?" She called out, spare hand reaching blindly for the note he had left beside her night stand, the parchment easily attainable in her grasp. She reread it, once, twice, clearing her foggy head from all fears of distress.

"Ah, darling, I was not aware that you had woken up..." Her head craned painfully back to see a familiar figure int the door frame, a frown presented along his features. He was...different today. Every little detail, from his smile to the curve of his brow remained the same, but it was not Phil before, nor the Phil before that. She was not sure. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, or perhaps the realization that she was not in her right mind. But, regardless, he reclined along the frame of the bedroom, concerned etched along his features. "Good lord, I don't know how someone stays awake after..."

"Hard to sleep with hell on the brain." She replied, brow raising in annoyance as Phil approached her, resting his hand on her shoulder and leaning her back. "Mmm, Christ, didn't think I was gonna get that much of a beating..."

"Yeah. Those...heh. Those "huntsmen" are rather...hard to handle, one could say. It's a relief I was able to get you out when I did. Wasn't expecting them to put up so much of a fight."

"I mean...I don't blame them, I guess." She turned from him, unable to ignore the sudden shift of the covers over her shoulders.

"Oh? Well, it was rather rude for them to attack, wouldn't you say?"

"I am a monster, Phil. You...you know that." She grinned, wearily, before it evaporated in a matter of seconds. "Sort of deserved it."

"Ah, but who is it darling for you to assume what is a monster and what is a living creature? It is not man's job. Never has been. Which is...why I am concerned, you have decided to..."

"You told me the best way to get what I want out of the way is to do this. I'm putting my faith in you, Phil."

"Christ. Christ. You...I fear if you have faith in me you will be disappointed."

"Mm. I mean, can't be any worse than what we've tumbled into..."

"You...you weren't wrong when you called yourself a devilish fiend, Delilah." A flash of a smile creeped past his lips, his hands raking across his newly worn face to clean his eyes of exhaustion. "I promise, when you are well enough, we are gonna fix this. All of it." ​

 

[Elle Joyner]

THE HUNT FOR THE SKINWALKERS...
a collab with @Elle Joyner , @KatSea , @Kyatto , @Mobley Eats

It was official! Lucia was ready to bonk her head into the murky glass of the rental automobile and render herself unconscious into the welcome, warm embrace of God's grace and darkness. But! As tired as she was and as cramped as she had felt with the certain people that accompanied her on the trip, she was still optimistic about her outcome. Even if two of her friends had gone on an adventure without her knowing! Lucia didn't find energy to ask questions after Bethany had informed them of their immediate task ahead. Ricardo told her before she had departed not to worry about it. People used to vanish all the time from the Columbian guild. They needed to find themselves. They needed to take their aggression out on a ghoul or goblin. It...it still concerned her. A lot. Sure, Delilah wasn't the most cuddliest of hunters, nor was Hiroki always a chatter(he actually stumbled sometimes if Lucia went off on a word vomit spree, gross but it's what Ricardo called it.) But they were still her friends, after all. She would say a quick prayer for herself and her friends in the car, just to let the time go by…

While words of praise and questioning scrambled through her head, a blurry image of the task Bethany asked of them slammed into the back of her head. Middle of nowhere, Utah. A small town referred to as simply as the Reserve, known only for the clustered Indian reserves and the sacred land that scattered across the small town. The reserves had been shared among a variety of ranches, and had in turn worked in partnership. The reserves would "bless" the ranches and in turn the ranch hands offered work, food, and hospitality. Indeed, the Reserve hadn't been a big area on the map, but it was a quaint town with very little paranormal activity. Until the last two weeks. That's how it always starts! Quaint and then someone summons a hell spawn baby. Or, something like that. Either way, Lucia had a strong feeling that the reports the Reserve sent into the local guild mirrored that of Skinwalker activity. Cows were being torn to shreds, dogs went missing in the night, red eyes beaming at unfortunate passers by…

Curious, eyes barely peeled open, Lucia leaned her head against the racing car along the highway to see… "Dios mio, that can't be right." A murky blur of gray vanished behind the vehicle as it sped along, but as Lucia glanced back again, nothing remained but endless highway behind them, an occasional puff of dirt skidding past the road behind. The road from the Utah guild to the Reserve ahead felt a lot longer than Lucia would have liked.

A little sleep wouldn't hurt….

-----

"Ma'am? Ma'am!" A snort. A slight clatter of her skull into the edge of the passenger's door. Lucia's eyes fluttered open to meet the man Bethany had showed her a picture of. Bartholomew Harper. Young father with a brown, reddish scruff and a loosely button black flannel. Had just recently came into ownership of the ranch in the Reserve. The tribes had welcomed him with a blessing, or so he had been told, before the mischief had started. But, as far as he knew, those in the car were young farmhands, coming in when all of his other employees had scattered and escaped the bizarre incidents that had occurred. Lights in the sky, weird noises at night...missing cattle. From Lucia's memory, Bartholomew had a ten year old daughter, his pregnant wife currently in Arizona with family due to minor complications with the six month pregnancy. The farm life wasn't particularly comfortable for the woman. As for the ten year old...Louise, she believed, was more than thrilled about new helpers. From Bethany's reports, she's the one who heavily insisted on keeping the ranch open. Lucia's groan escaped her before she could think to hold it back...She bobbed her head in thanks to the driver, a local Utah guild member, accepting a brief shoulder squeeze before rolling down her window and slouching her arm out the door.

"Oh, lo siento mucho, ah...I get, how do you say, sick of cars?" Approaching him with an intent, false confusion in her English, she beamed at him and bobbed her head. "M-mister Harper, si? Oh! It is the pleasure!" Reaching her hand for the ranch worker, she beamed at his hearty greeting and the grateful smile he presented her. "I believe five, er, us, total?" Her head tilting, she slinked back into the car before popping the door open and clambering out. "Four, here." She pointed to the ground beneath her to prove her point, a broad smile encompassing her features. "I, er, am Maria Santos. Mi hermano, er, brother! Si, mi brother, Jamie." She jammed her thumb in the direction of the back of the car to indicate Gustavo, mischief threatening to spill from her lips. Sweet, delicate, gentle revenge. "Our, uh, lo siento…"

"Take your time, dear, you are new?" The man greeted with a patient smile, eyes examining Lucia as if to test her constitution. To see if she could handle weird things that go bump in the night…

"Si! Just moved, er, here! Need, er, pay?" Bobbing his head in understanding, Bartholomew took a ginger step back, boot sinking in deeply into the sand.

"Understandable. I appreciate your group of friends coming to help. I truly do. Get yourself time to get your stuff, I will go make sure your rooms are ready for you to stay...if there are five of you, we will keep the girls in one room and the boys in the other. Understood? You...you aren't struggling are you?"

"No!" Lucia let out a little laugh. "I hear, fine." She tapped her lips with her thumb. "Spirit is willing, tongue is not."

"I have that own issue with my native language, ma'am, please, feel free to get situated, I will be right back to direct you to your rooms." With a small, casual salute, Bartholomew sauntered back towards the ranch ahead, a pep in his step despite what he was supposedly been through. The ranch itself consisted of a main house, two storeys up, rickety but hospitable. Behind that, from what Lucia could make out, was a large open space with a pen for the cows to be handled at the end of the day. From what Lucia remembered, further down the Reserve, there was, indeed, a herd of bulls that needed to be handled from time to time. I do not understand...How does he do this himself for so long? Bethany told us that old workers had scampered off at least a week ago….

Brother...

Oh, but she was a beautiful devil.

To his credit, Gustavo had managed to maintain as professional an air as the Brazilian could manage. He was, after all, on a mission, and officially, too. Sanctioned expeditions with the team weren't the place for slapstick humor and flirtation, even if sitting beside the goddess of a woman was near mind numbing. He was focused. Attuned to the task at hand. And if she needed him to be her brother, well… for the time being, he would see only Fernanda before his eyes.

Sliding out of the vehicle, he noted their surroundings, taking careful stock of both the ranch and the cow pen. The ramshackled building seemed homey, but needed work… The kind of work Gus might've ascribed to, had he not found the guild. Their work here, however, was a different breed, entirely.

"Mi hermana… You are much improving, your English, I think." Gus remarked, before nodding to Bartholomew, "Mucho gusto. We will settle in and then we can discuss the...err… pequeño problema."

Mina had never really been to an official farm before. It was much different than the only backyard animal enclosures in Indian where the fence nearly fell over and collapsed with one touch. The animals there were less free and, well… they were much more alive at home than they were at this specific farm. Either way, she'd never been to an American farm despite how many years Mina had graced the country with her presence. She took in the sounds and sights and watched from afar as the animals moved. The thing she could most similarly compare Harper Ranch to would be a zoo for useful animals that weren't exotic and ready to kill you. On second thought… it did have something dangerous and exotic running about killing everything that's why they were here after all.

A few spanish words were thrown around by Gus and Lucia, much to her ignorance of the language. She'd only learned one word so far which was 'Si' apparently common knowledge in a lot of people. Of course, some of the words were so similar to English that Mina was able to figure them out no problema… Nevertheless she thought it sounded interesting and tried to pretend as if she understood, though she was about as confused as Bartholomew was.

Luckily for her, Mina brought one of her empty, or half empty, journals with her as she loved to write down new things she experienced. Though farms themselves weren't new she'd never been to one quite like this. She'd been keeping them since her mother gave her one at the age of five, after unfortunate events that'd never grace the ears of anyone she knew. Not that it mattered, or that's what Mina would try to convince others.

"If you don't mind… I'd like to talk about the problem now." Mina suddenly spoke up to Bartholomew while getting out of her seemingly endless thoughts. "You guys can sleep but I'm not really feeling it…" It was true. She had been getting nightmares for a few days now but didn't find it important enough to actually ask for help. So, instead, she just avoided sleeping. This mission would perhaps provide a distraction for her and help in some ways, or make it worse. (Probably make it worse)

"I'd just like to look over everything before… we consider the options." She continued while smiling and glancing at her partners. Mina was definitely more… professional than they were but way more dangerous in battle. Not dangerous… just risky and careless but for a good cause.

Kook only did a total of three things for the entirety of their ride to this--place. Yep. Some place. He didn't really know or thought to ask; it was a mission. He knew that much. Besides, too much fog was rolling through his brain. Like, the good kind of fog. What was a good fog? The kind one could see in--wait. No…. Yes. Maybe--certainly. What was he thinking about again?

Right… Honeybuns. That was it. He was kinda hungry. He should've raided the vending machine again before leaving. Too late now. Well, maybe not. He could raid something else. Soon… After a long while. Anyways, once the car finally stopped moving--

He forgot to mention the three things he did for the ride. One, bounce in place. Three, cackle on and on and on and on. Four, smack the journal out of Mina's hands--constantly--before throwing it back to her. Oh, and two--shaking the back of the passenger seat. He didn't know who was in that seat. Probably a teammate. Which was okay.

So the car stopped. Kook hopped out with gusto, nearly unleashing a "Geh!". Nah, not nearly, he definitely did. The masked man stretched his legs, a bit exaggerated, but he hated being in one place for longer than a minute. Imagine being motionless for sixty times as long as that! Awful! He vaguely registered the talking going on around him, just looking about and taking in the new environment… Animals. Yes. This was very good. Potential for lots of fun.

A ten hour drive…

Charming enjoyed road trips, he truly did. There was a romance about it, the hope that a winding road brought, the promise of discovery and adventure and new beginnings… It was poetic, in a way. But, then again, anything could be poetic given enough metaphorical background. Still--his current opinion remained.

There was no way in hell he was going to drive ten hours.

Thus, after a speedy hop from one transport chain in the New Mexico guild to another in Utah, Charming borrowed a service car and drove the rest of the way to this… unusual mission. He was not one for working with others, especially not a handful of guild members he'd never met. Generally, members of his own guild rarely worked by his side, which he preferred. People were easy enough to understand, even easier to dance around and put on their heads… but the effort could be draining. One smile at a time. That was the best way to exist.

Soon, Charming's vehicle slowed to a stop as the ranch came into view. Bigger than he expected, but what was the point of living a life full of met expectations? Absolutely none. The next thing to meet his gaze was a gathering of individuals--the other guild members, more than likely. "Ah," he sighed, twirling a dark curl casually, "More beautiful faces to meet… Bring it on." He stepped out, clearing the distance at his own casual pace and faced the group with a lazy but calculative eye.

"Oh…" He flashed a charming smile. "I didn't think it was possible, but you're even more beautiful up close."

"Sleep!" Bartholomew suddenly proclaimed with a hearty chuckle, slapping his hand over his breast pocket. "It's prime workin time now, miss. Here, how about I help you with some of the luggage and I'll tell you what sort of uh, objects of interest this ranch has had over the past few weeks. I know when I put out the request for new farmhands I promised to explain the, oddities." Pressing a clammy hand to his throat now, a clear tick of anxiety, a smile tried to pull past the dark ginger scruff. "Nothin big of course. Just, something we all need to be aware of. Here, let me help…" Even as he approached the woman who claimed her name as Maria, her hand shot up immediately and with a shake of her head, she beamed.

"No. Many of the thanks." Lucia grasped his hand warmly, giving it a prompt shake and leaving the man somewhat uncertain. "If I cannot, er, move the things, I cannot work with the best of me, no?" Stammering over her words, letting the natural red creep into her cheeks, Lucia clamped her hand at the back of her head and gave her delicately tied up hair a rustle.

"Good attitude to have, miss." Releasing his grip from the shake of her hand, his attention was quickly diverted from the newcomers to the man in the mask, his brow raised high as his eyes flickered from brother to sister, then to their friend and the car that had pulled up beside their own. Yes, there was a mention of someone from another town, but Bartholomew's attention was locked on the man with his...bizarre mask.

"Er...Hello to you all! It is good to see so many of you have jumped onto this opportunity…" Maybe Louise should go to her mother's after all...It can't be as bad as what is currently going on though...those shaman's really did give me the creeps. Nothing can be worse than what they said.

Lucia's shoulders briefly tensed at the new voice that greeted from behind, a young man emerging from the vehicle with promises of flattery on his lips. Wow. Apparently every guild had a member like this. That was alright! She could handle the sentiment for now. Skimming from Bartholomew to the newcomer, she granted both a cheery smile. "Hello, new friend! Move in, now, yes?" Head tilting, almost as if to encompass she had not even begun to comprehend what anyone but Bartholomew and Gustavo were saying, she let a rare frown plaster over her lips. "Problem, you say?"

"Er...why don't you all get your stuff in and I'll get to you on that in a moment."

"Si, si… We unpack the car first, so that our driver friend can leave. And then we can discuss the problem of not enough workers on your farmte? I believe this is what Preeti means. Eager, always, that one. A friend of my sister's from their citizenship class. And this…" Gustavo gestured to Kook with a convincing smile, "Is my cousin, Erasmo. You uh… you must pardon his look. He was in a very bad accident, back home in Mendoza. His face is… how do you say…desfigurado. The mask… this is his way of… manteniéndolo ligero. Uh… keeping light of it, is the English, I think? He doesn't speak much of it. The English. But he is a very hard worker. You will not be disappointed, I think." Gaze flickering to the newcomer, a brow rose, before Gustavo nodded, "Hola señor..."

Mina let out a soft sigh while backing down from her persistent pushing in the matter. The information would surely reveal itself later on throughout the day, or the very thing would find and eat one of them, so there wasn't much point in revealing to her overly worried friends that she was in a rush and feeling rather… anxious. That last mission seemed to conjure some nasty thoughts for the girl, ones that not many people in the gui- No one in the guild knew about, except for one. The only reason they'd found out was due to her clumsiness but a weight, even if it was a tiny one had been lifted from her shoulders when speaking of it briefly.

Her eyes seemed to lock with the horizon briefly where the sky meets the horribly scented ground that smelt of animals. She didn't mind it thought and was even used to it from her home land where animals usually roamed free. Cows specifically, an animal that held a lot of meaning with her and would do so forever. They stopped traffic and no one would complain. The creatures owned the land and whatever place they stopped at, no one would do much of anything.

Those thoughts morphed into something worse though as Gray came to mind. Gray and Hiroki… A grimace took over her soft facial features as a goopy, thick, horrid liquid filled her dark thoughts. All she saw was her two partners on that mission being eaten alive, ripped to shreds… Destroyed while she did nothing. With Hiroki gone he might as well have been nothing but a puddle of blood… Stop being so doubtful… She lectured for a moment but the thoughts ran ever forward as they turned to her fath- Her breath stopped as something ran into the back of her legs, startling her. Mina cried out and gripped the nearest thing to her while bumping into the next…. She immediately regretted it as Lucia was nudged and Gus' arm bled from the strength of her nails digging into his skin.

"Ah! I'm- Gus…" If she wasn't visibly nervous before, she was now. Brown eyes darted up to his face than back to the wound multiple times in panic as she took a few steps back. "I'm sorry!"

Instead of trying to fix the wound she removed herself from his surrounded area which was odd for her. Guilt replaced her earlier, much darker, mind games with herself as blood dripped from her nails. "It was an accident! I swear, I'm sorry!" Mina apologized profusely, her eyes downcast. The baby cow seemed to follow her throughout the whole ordeal for whatever reason.

Charming had just now noticed the presence of another man--supposedly the one who hired their services to begin with. Huh… that was rather slack of him. He'd need to pay better attention to his surroundings and falter less while in the presence of beautiful people. I swear, my affinity for appreciating beauty will be my downfall one day… A pause. I suppose I'll go down happily. There was no way he could drop that habit. Never. Either way, Charming flashed Bartholomew a smile as well and nodded in full understanding. "Hell to you too, sir. There was no way I'd overlook such an assignment; besides," his gaze momentarily roamed the skies overhead, "It's a wonderful and validated reason to appreciate life outside city limits. I feel cleansed already, by the freshness of this air and your wholesome welcome."

His smile made a comeback at Lucia and Gustavo's responses, and her merely nodded, hands clasped politely behind his back and expression unreadable at the mention of a problem from Bartholomew. The others seemed to handling dialogue with their employer just fine, so he saw no need to interject beyond what was needed or desired of him. Thus, her settled for wordlessly making his way back to his car and popping the trunk to retract a single medium-sized suitcase.

He preferred to pack lightly. Besides, he didn't have many worldly possessions to begin with. Even after all these years, his old friend's habit of minimalism still stuck to him. He made his way back over to the group, awaiting for them to unload their belongings patiently…

And then one woman screamed. A panic? Perhaps? That was rather random… Charming's lips pulled into a concerned frown and his brow pinched. "Accidents are indeed integral to our existence, aren't they," he muttered lightly before approaching Gustavo. Without asking nor waiting for permission, he gently grabbed the man's arm and examined it with a casual eye, a hum weighing down the back of his tongue. "Not terribly deep. But considering we'll be taking up residence around farm animals, you may want to keep this as disinfected and covered as possible." He looked Gustavo in the eyes, the grin making a reappearance. "But, judging by aura leaking from you, I'm assuming scratches from women is quite familiar to you." With a chuckle, he released the man and took a step back, giving him breathing room once again.

All the while, Kook was paying attention.

Well--okay. He kinda was. But not really. Only at times when he wanted to. Like when Gus touched him. Why? What was going on? Didn't matter. It was a hug! Wait… No. No, no--it wasn't a hug. Of course it was. Obviously. Vaguely.

He went to smack the journal out of Mina's hands again--oh. No he didn't. She wasn't there anymore. She screamed or something. Heh. "Gah!!" he screamed back, voice jittery with excitement. Yelling in Loops was his favorite game--to play by himself. He always lost. It was annoying sometimes, but he always came back for another round. The score was currently 504 to 507. One day…

Oh. Right. Gus. Who was disfigurado? Him? Yes. He was. And Kook. He was Kook the Disfigurado. Made him sound like a superhero. Better, a supervillain. He could do that. At the thought, a long string of cackling escaped him, trying to emulate the spirit of an evildoer. "GAHAHAHAHAHEHEHEHEH!!"

Nailed it.

Where was that fire head man going? When did he leave? Why was he here? Kook forgot because he never knew to begin with. Logic, he loved to hate it. So he would continue loving because he had so freaking much to give! With a grunt, he marched on over to the trunk of the car--no he didn't. Let's go around to the front. And hop onto the hood. Yes, that was exactly what he did. Like an animal, he scampered his way up, past the front windshield, along the roof, and slid down the back until he found himself sitting on the trunk. He beamed behind the mask. "Guh!"

Found it!

Bartholomew had to admit, despite the odd mask, bizarre behavior from some of the workers, and the overall chaos that was beginning to build in his head from the variation in employees, relief did flood his system. Good. Good. Even if Erasmo did have that bizarre looking mask...he did see stranger in some reservations, that shaman who he invited into his home a tad of a...spookier character compared to some of the locals he had seen.

"Papa! Stormy got out into the field again!" A soft, foreign voice boomed from inside the house, causing Bartholomew's shoulders to hunch instinctively. Ever since his hired help left due to the bizarre circumstances, Bartholomew had decided to keep a heavier watch on his daughter. Any sudden shout or request from her became top priority, and despite the glances from his new workers(again, as odd as they were), his concerns for them became completely forgotten.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, one second, please please, feel free to come in, I just need to go check on Louise, we will get you settled into your rooms and go from there! Please make yourself feel at home!" Scuttering back inside the main home of the ranch, Bartholomew uttered a quick prayer under his breath and decided it would be best just to put faith in the siblings and their...intriguing friends.

Lucia had released a breath she was not aware had been held for so long. Even as the kind gentleman had stumbled back into the house to care for his child, Lucia pressed a hand to her forehead. They had made it this far! Now all there was to do was to keep their cover up and eliminate the threat as soon as possible! The only thing was...Lucia wasn't quite sure where the threat was. Skinwalkers, she assumed from the description and the area, but the problem was, with this many acres of land and the time of day, she had a strong suspicion she was going to have to wait for something bad to happen before she could properly react…

A gentle bump into her side startled her from her thoughts, Lucia stumbling as Mina's form crashed into hers and latched onto Gustavo. "Ah! It is alright my friend, easy, easy easy." Placing two delicate hands on the woman's shoulders, she gave her a generous beam and a squeeze. "Two deep breaths, yes?" Now, with the new and rather...er, did Lucia want to use handsome? Maybe so, every good gentleman in the guild had caught her eye and she supposed that it was gracious to appreciate one's charm and good...she was getting off topic wasn't she.

"Ah, pleasure to meet your acquaintance good man!" She greeted, eyes glued to the slight gash in Gustavo's arm. However what had caught her off guard were the words that were spoken next, her hand gently hovering over her mouth. Oh. Oh. She was not expecting this turn of events from their fellow teammate, and it took all her strength not to burst out into giggles. And she did not, for she swallowed it down and held her tongue. Besides, she didn't want to be mean to Gustavo per say…

"I...I may have a sweater or something in the car I can use to cover it up, or there may be bandages in the ranch we can cover you up with...silly billy." Shaking her head, her attention shot over to Kook as she watched him...gracefully navigate his way from one end of the car to the other. Sweet, sweet, crazy man. Lucia always loved having him on a mission. Even if...his laughter did tend to catch her off guard.

"Ha! Good job, Ermaso, care to pop the trunk so we can get on inside? I am just dying to get to work." She paused, eyes flickering from each member. "And perhaps after getting settled, we meet and discuss plans of attack, yes?"

 

[Mobley Eats]

The Hunt for the Skinwalkers, Part Two | Interactions: Gus @Elle Joyner , Mina @Kyatto , Lucia @KatSea , Kook and Charming


"Is nothing," Gustavo brushed off Mina's apologies with a small chuckle, as he watched Bartholomew dash off to his home, "But try to keep hold of yourself…" He added, lowering his voice, "We have covers, and for now, I am Jamie, si?"

Looking to Lucia, he grinned, "No worries, Bel---ah… Maria. Is little more than a scratch." Glancing down to the beads of red on his arm with a small shake of his head, Gustavo sighed. How Mina managed every day in the field fighting monsters, he had to wonder sometimes. She was a delicate thing, that poor girl, "I will clean it when we get inside."

Turning then, to the late comer, Gus extended a hand, chuckling lightly, "You could say, in a way, I'm used to these sorts of things. Jamie Santos. You are?"

The poor Hindu female did as her friend told. A breath in through the mouth, out through the nose. In through the mouth, out through the nose. It did something to her jittery nerves… Jittery and startled like a cat seeing a zucchini. Her body didn't quiver as much and those quick breaths became somewhat even.

Mina watched Charming closely, a seemingly new person to them, as he examined Gus' fresh iwound that definitely looked like the claw marks of an angry woman. Except who could be angry at that? He was freaking adorab- Handsome… Handsome was definitely the word. A soft red color, that may not have been noticeable due to her darker skin tone, appeared on her cheeks at Charming's obviously… dirtier comment. She didn't fall under…. One of those women did she?

A wince took over her body as Kook made one of his usual loud noises, ones she was usually ready for and didn't care much about but perhaps the recent lack of sleep had something to do with how startled she kept getting. Who needs sleep anyway? Her. She did. She definitely did. That was at least one thing Mina knew for certain except the fear of what she may see lingered. A shake of her head stopped those thoughts and instead she reminded herself to pray or call her mother. Being on a farm, only one of the options was really possible: Light some incense and pray to whatever god was willing to listen. Which was very few.

Nods were her only response as she looked down and listened to the plan for today. At first she wanted to just get it over with but now she felt the need to at least solve the issue she started. "At least let me take care of it." Mina slowly approached Gus while practically begging him to let her clean his wound once they got inside the farm house, a place she hoped smelled better than the outside.

Everything about the incident would have been fine had it been in the guild where the walls were coated in a thick layer of understanding and sympathy. Perhaps… It still was here since her fellow guild members were here but still there was Charming, a hunter she didn't know, and the farm owner. She must have looked incapable now and jumpy.

Mina sighed softly while giving Gus guilt filled puppy eyes. She was determined to at least undo what she had done. "Pleas-" Halfway through a soft, almost lullaby-like, humming came from behind her causing a rather sudden turn of her body. Those eyes caught only a glimpse of a blue light that she could have sworn, by mathematical terms, was the most perfect circle she'd seen. An actual circle. It disappeared as soon as it had shown itself so she turned back to Gus, rubbing off the weird feeling she got about it, and continued giving him those guilt eyes while begging him to let her help.

A quaint group indeed… Well, Charming supposed he couldn't judge prematurely. After all, even he faltered sometimes when it came to first impressions, so he opted for turning a blind eye to the woman's babbling and flailing about around the bleeding man… Speaking of him, Charming's brow arched at the friendly handshake and returned it immediately, his grasp firm and respectful. "Pleasure, Jamie. I have a birth name, but please just call me Charming. I'll wait for you to grab your things but…" He nodded towards the ranch up ahead. "I'll head inside and wait for the rest of you lovely people."

"Geh!" Kook nodded at the suggestion from Gus. Yes. Yes. Definitely. He could do that. He'd broken lots of things before, so breaking the car wouldn't be a problem at all! He stood on the trunk, humming to himself as if examining the vehicle, giving a few experimental bounces, before cracking his knuckles. Then his neck. Followed by his spine. Oh yeah. Yep. Yep.

He raised his foot up high, muscles in his thigh flexing, and with a grunt he slammed it down--

Oh. What was that? He heard something. Was that the voice in his head? What was that called again. Thoughts. Right. Right. Oh yeah, those were a thing, but this didn't sound like a thought. Kinda sounded like a bug. Buzzing in his ear. A weird bug, at that. Good. Weird was good. The best worst thing. He should break open the trunk now.

The bug sounded like a cicada.

Cicadas were like bug dinosaurs. But not dinosaurs. Heh. He was a dinosaur bug in a past life. Watch this. The cackles suddenly devolved into a string of hums, mimicking the calls of a cicada the best he could. Kinda accurate. Good enough. Yeah--

Stomping! Right!

Raising his foot again, he tried to slammed his boot into the trunk… and pain immediately shot up his leg. "GAHAH!" Dramatically, he flopped over and off the car, smacking into the ground with an audible thud and cradling his calf. Oof. Ow. That was a dumb move--so smart. Best move.

He felt alive.

Popping up as if nothing had happened, he finally opened the trunk. Appropriately. Kook bounced in place while ignoring the sore protests gnawing away at his nerves, waiting for everyone to gather their belongings. He went back to cicada humming.

Something...well, didn't feel quite right. Lucia should have expected this from the sudden tenseness that Bart appeared to be emitting, which she didn't blame him for, he had just lost all of his workers to bizarre events, had to take care of his ten year old daughter while his pregnant wife was else where...No. Lucia didn't blame his attitude one bit. But, even beyond that, even beyond the knowledge that she knew there was a monster afoot! Afterall, that's why they were here! But even still, even with the knowledge she had of skinwalkers, something was muddled and unclear. Perhaps it was the newcomer, Charming, but a small, little trickle of cold swirled around her neck...Nerves. That's all. The little scar of the shoulder, ah yes, she did not wish to be bit again...that was it that was all. But she was fine dandy and chipper! She was still smiling with a radiance that shouldn't have been there with the situation at hand.

And yet…

A bright, flicker of orange light scampered across the side of her eye. A column? It was a colorful vortex of sort, one that Lucia could only see for a mere second. Yet, with what she could put together, with what she could understand from the brief vision. It was a solid, column of a grotesque, neon orange which should not have been as clearly visible in the midday sun. It had to have been one foot by one foot, from what she could see in the field. It was muddled partially by the wall of the main home, but whatever it was, it had solidified for a second, only to vanish the next.

A sharp whimper sounded briskly after, one that Lucia recognized as a canine, having heard the sound many times within her home country from the feral dogs that roamed. Unperturbed by Charming's introduction and Kook's success at opening the trunk, Lucia rather moved silently towards the fence and slid her foot through an opening, attempting to push herself up...only to get about half way through before being unable to swing her other leg over. Ah! Darn it! This was uncomfortable er.. "Hermano! Give me a boost, si?"

"No es nada, Preeti." Gus brushed off Mina's efforts with a small chuckle, shaking his head, "You worry over a scratch…" There was a sudden jolt and thud, as he twisted to watch Kook's awkward display with a grin, but at the sudden yelping sound and the unexpected movement of the woman beside him, Gus sobered, nearly calling out to Lucia, before she beat him to the punch.

"Si! On my way…" Fighting a grimace as the word choice she used, he crossed to where she had wandered off to, "You heard that, yes? Maybe running into the field after it… not the best thought?"

Mina's eyes caught sight of another light, this one orange though and buzzing in some way. It was similar to the last one she saw except this one was followed by the whimper of a dog. She'd never owned a dog or any pet before and neither had any of her friends… Except for Juniper but those didn't count because they were dead. Deader than dead. Dead but not dead. The point was they didn't whimper which meant as far as she knew the whimper could have been a dog's, a wolf's, or whatever animal that could whimper. It's not like the sound mattered much anyway because she thought herself insane at this point, not sure if anyone else had seen them either… Probably.

Instead of asking immediately Mina grabbed her plain silver bag from the trunk of the car. A few little trinkets swayed and jingled, depicting Hindu gods and symbols to which only she understood, as it hit her leg. It hit the ground with a thump as she took a deep breath and finally asked.

"Did you guys see that?" She asked softly while seeming a bit disappointed that Gustav wouldn't at least let her take care of the injury she had caused. A tremor ran up her spine slightly while waiting for an answer. "It was orange and a circle…" She stopped elaborating after that because if they had seen it… it'd be obvious and there was no way they'd miss the features of it. Unless she really was delusional, well… in that case she'd probably start questioning the very reality of things around her.

Similarly to everyone else, Charming caught a flicker of movement in his peripherals, an odd orange light that immediately struck him as uncommon. Of course it was. But to what degree? Supernatural. And it was his job to deal with just that. Without breaking stride or face, he continued walking but allowed his trajectory to change like the most natural breeze of wind, following behind his newest partners with a speedy grace. As he neared the fence, he shortly gave pause to take in Lucia's predicament with light amusement, overhearing Gus's comment.

He grinned. "Ah, but what can be more dangerous than a woman's touch? Whatever lays beyond this fence cannot compare. Also," With a flurry of movement and little effort, he leapt over the fence, doing his best to avoid setting off Lucia's balance, and landed on the other side. He scoured the space before him while muttering, "If a dog whimpers, then I act. They're God's greatest gift, after all. No?" He turned back around, voice carrying to the other side. "Do either of you require my assistance?"

Meanwhile, Kook also noticed the light. Big ole bright orange light.

The sun? Yes. Definitely the sun. But wait, it was supposed to be up in the sky, not down here. This was wrong… He loved it. Bring on all the wrongs and right wrongs. Never let it stop. Unfortunately, Kook couldn't even try to reach out and snag it, because the phenomenon disappeared quicker than it came. Boo. No fun.

Time to make some fun.

Still cicada humming, Kook rolled across the ground for a bit, collecting dust and dirt all over his person, before standing up. Good. Now he looked the part. For nothing. Looking right for nothing was a hard job to handle and one that only he could do. He was a seasoned veteran. A professional. No mere mortal could measure up to his dress code of nothingness prowess--

Dog whimper.

Dog. Doggy. Best animal. Best animal friend in the whole world, who of which he would gladly kill for. And it was whimpering. Pain. Not good. Kook didn't condone. "Geh!" Without hesitation, he sprinted in the direction of the sound, only to screech to a halt as he watched Charming jump over. Then to Gus. Then to Lucia--who was stuck on the fence.

Fence was in the way. And the enemy. The first of many today--he could feel it in his blood! His bones!

It was time to eradicate the problemmmmmmm!

"Gah! Guh guh gah! (Blue! Forty Two!)" Falling into the crouch of an NFL football player, every muscle in Kook's body coiled tight, eagerness pumping through his veins.

Gaze locked on target.

"Geh! Geh! (Hut! Hut!)"

He shot off like a bullet and rammed through the wooden fence like a humanoid bulldozer. An explosion of splinters and shattered planks exploded around him, though he barely suffered much damage.

"Si! It is the best idea hermano! Er, only that I am afraid if I sway I will fall flat. Hold on...I think I…" Blinking, Lucia steadied herself and let her head swing back to get a better view at the group at hand. Ah yes! This ranch was incredibly well protected, was it not? Oh, her God was going to receive a lot of prayers in the next fifteen seconds. "If there is a puppy in trouble I have a moral obligation to go protect it! That and this is our job, tonto~" Grinning at him, despite her wobbliness as one leg shot out to one side and one foot remained pinned beneath her and the fence, Lucia perked up at the sound of Mina's voice.

"Oh I saw it alright! Looked absolutely evil!" Beaming, Lucia attempted to lift one foot from beneath her over the fence...almost there...almost there… "Ah, hello there young Charming, I can name quite a few things more dangerous than a woman's touch! A Wendigo bite or a siren's call or a brother's mischief or…" A blink, a pause, and a light chuckle. He had jumped over without her! Well, she had to applaud the fact that he was in much better physical shape to accomplish such a taxing feat. Now if all she had to do was swing herself over she could…

"Ah yes a little assistance could serve…"

"Geh! Geh!" Oh the sound of sweet reli-

And Lucia found herself plummeted to the other side of the fence, remarkably catching herself by her own two feet and digging her palm into the ground before her. Blinking with a slight smear of dirt along her cheek, she gave a big grin to Kook. "Well that's one way to do it, Kooky! Crazy Kook."

Peering back behind her, Lucia squinted in the bright day sun to notice that a figure of a young girl and a dog remained side by side, soon to be joined by a larger male figure that Lucia presumed to be Bart. Slowly making her way over, she noted that the dog's front leg had been scorched of fur, but had otherwise remained unharmed, save a few burn marks up and down it's skin. Lucia pressed her hand to her lips to muffle a squeak of horror, her eyes darting from the dog to the father.

"Oh, oh no, is...he okay?"

"Think he might have just scrapped himself miss Maria." Bart answered softly, however his eyes remained glued to his daughter as her eyes remained wide and emotionless, staring ahead as if she had witnessed a ghost strolling by. No words escaped her, only her eyes would drift from the wooded lands ahead to the deep indentation in the ground. "Probably just...got spooked by the cows or something."

"Si...si...Well…"

Lucia's attention remained glued to the dog as she examined its burnt leg, slowly kneeling beside it as it recoiled and whimpered towards Louise. Lucia dared not reach to touch for the animal as it curled into Louise's leg, clearly frightened by more than just a scrape in the mud. However as she scooted, glancing up to Louise for permission as the girl bobbed her head, bright red curls bouncing. Lucia gave her a gentle smile and squinted as she skimmed her eyes along the dog's leg. How...c-c-chemical burns? She had seen this with acid from a variety of monsters when Ricardo worked but...t-t-this looked like...acid burns and marks. How in hell...She took a deep breath, glancing up at Bartholomew. "I-I think he's okay sir." The lie tasted bitter in her mouth, but she knew there was not much they could do besides clean and bandage the wound...Skinwalkers, as far as she knew, couldn't really create acid, but she was aware that a number of them could cast spells and adjust it as they saw fit...if that light was what she thought it was, then this made sense. Whatever the hell the skinwalker cast hurt the poor little pooch...and could easily hurt one of them. A hard swallow. Magic user skinwalkers weren't rare in the slightest, but in this environment Lucia felt uneasy. She had no idea where this monster even was...They liked to keep themselves hidden, she knew that, but by now they would usually handle the intruders. Or perhaps this was a game and she simply didn't understand the rules at play. Well, say no more. She'd be more than happy to learn.

"Women are not dangerous, good sir. They are God's greatest composition." Eyes flickering to the weeping scratch on his arm with an ironic chuckle, he shrugged, "Now, dear sister, let me help you, before you hurt your--" Geh! "Oh no…"

With a solid crash, Gus twisted to see Kook slamming full force into the fence. He reached to stabilize Lucia just a second or two too late, and swearing beneath his breath he held a finger up to his pseudosibling and headed for the masked man, "Un minuto, mi hermana

"Very creative, Kook… but not so much with the subtle." A hand extended to help him up, Gus's gaze twitched as from the corner of his eyes a bright flash of crimson sparked in the distance. No mere sunspot, this. Briefly mystified, Gus turned fully towards the source and like a punch to the gut, the image struck him. Eyes. Eyes staring… and a single claw, curling come-hither.

"Hoje não, Satanás…" Meeting the gaze with a fierce determination not to look away, Gus shivered as memories revolved like a rapid film projection, "Bella… Charming… come back over the fence, please. Señor… Take your daughter in the house… We all must go inside. Now."

Charming's brow furrowed at the sight of the injured dog; he couldn't quite recognize the type of burn on the poor hound's leg. As far as he was concerned, seeing to it the wound soon and making sure it was comfortable was first on the list of action. Regardless, he didn't move yet, finding it better to linger in the back of the group and scour their surroundings with a deceivingly calm eye. Nothing about this sat well in his gut and judging by the unease settling over the hunters like a blanket… he had every right to feel that way. At Gus's sudden suggestion, he nodded and finally approached the dog.

"Be still," he muttered soothingly, arms looping around the dog and lifting him into his arms, keeping in mind of the injured leg. He scratched the back of its ear for added comfort and glanced at the others, nodding. "He's right. Let's head inside, everyone. Please." As he drew closer to the house, a manic cackle boomed from behind…

Charming whipped around.

Kook was already sprinting in the direction Gus was looking and didn't show any signs of slowing down anytime soon.

"I... Should we not stop him?" Charming asked, voice hitching with a hint of concern and confusion.

"GAHAHAHAHAAHAHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH!!" Whatever words of protests, worry, or annoyance that would possibly be flung Kook's way bounced off of him like a pebble to tin. However, another fence came into view and that would block him from further investigating--

Crash!

Nope. That was a lie. Kook barreled his way through that blockade as well, splinters of wood decorating his hoodie. He looked dang pretty, didn't he? Yes. No…. Maybe. For sure. Only frequently sometimes. Either way, the present mattered and currently, Kook stood in the middle of a wood patch… And that was about it. Where was the bad thing? Gus was looking over here like there was a bad thing. He was kinda let down. Disappointed… Invigorated!

The masked man shuffled from foot to foot happily, clapping loudly as the laughter continued to build. His boots stomped with the triumph of… of… a Kook. Kook was always a winner in his book. And every other book. It was in Alexandria, too; he knew it was. Wait, wait, wait… Hold on. Stop. Rewind. Fast forward. Start ov--stop. Wait.

Fur.

In the wood patch.

Crouching, Kook blinked at the odd discovery in the wood patch, tilting his head curiously. That wasn't a piece of the wounded doggy. Not at all. It was maybe a giant moose or a Wendigo or a bearded woman… One was far more likely than the other. Now, if only he knew how to lure a bearded woman into a trap… He would figure it out later. Shrugging with a "Guh!", he stood once more and continued trotting further inside.

A hand slipped into his pockets, closing around a little Zircon stone.

"He does this sometimes." Lucia whispered softly under her breath as she winced and turned her attention towards Bartholomew and Louise, a ginger breath escaping her. "My brother...He...he and our cousin have had difficult times with pests like this before. Hermano, with how you seem, would you say that was a wolf you had just seen? They used to cause us a lot of stress and my guess is that your little dog there got scared and skidded across the grass. I've seen this before." Lucia lied between the sliver of her teeth, Bart's face twisting for a moment, as to recall something.

"I had a feelin this place was cursed…" He grumbled, shaking his head before gingerly following Gus's demand and directing his questioning daughter inside.

"Daddy I've seen a wolf around here before too ya know? I hope Lucky didn't get too scared of him!"

Lucia swallowed hard, eyes widening slightly at the girl's statement as ushered them in the open door, glancing back now at the rest of the group. Once those three were secure they could go investigate but for the meantime… "You coming in or not?"

"Daddy I think a wolf has its home nearby, is that why the calves have been so spooked recently?"

"Probably so dear, I doubt it's gonna be any harm but these nice men Im sure are gonna try and handle this…"

Pests… These weren't pests and Gus knew it. Kook, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to the danger, and as he took off Gus muttered a curse under his breath. He spared little time, giving Bart a nod before turning to Lucia, "Get everyone inside and close the doors. Lock them if you have to. Do not open them unless you know it's safe."

Twisting, he looked back to where Mina lingered, frowning, "Both of you! Inside! Go!"

Reaching into his shirt, he tugged out a chain that hung there - a medal emblem that he brought to his lips - before digging into his pocket for a solid metal ring. This, he slipped on his finger as he raced after Kook, diving through the hole in the fence in pursuit of the masked man.

 

[KatSea]

The Hunt for the Skinwalkrs, Part Three: Presented by Gus @Elle Joyner, Mina @Kyatto, Kook and Charming @Mobley Eats

Mina just watched from a distance as everything happened, she wondered at times how she even came to know these somewhat foolish and strange people… specifically Kook. They were all strange in their own ways she supposed but now wasn't the time to really think on the matter at all. Instead she just watched as things went down… quite.. Literally. The fence specifically came to mind as Kook plummeted through the whole thing or part of the whole thing.

Her eyes watched as everything sort of just happened, she stayed back a bit feeling sort of bad even though Gus had stated it was fine. It really wasn't fine in her head but no one seemed to care what she thought so she just kept it to herself. The luggage case in her hands was abandoned out of shock as they found a skin walker. It didn't seem like the ones she was used to or had seen before and what made it more terrifying and absolutely scary was that Kook and Gus has gone chasing after it like it was no big deal. She was even told to get inside like a child….

"Uh-Uh…" Mina hesitated for a couple of seconds but when Gus' voice shocked her, ordering her to go inside she made a snap decision.. A rather bad one that would surely get her in trouble later. There wasn't a way in hell that the short Hindu girl was letting two of the guild members run carelessly after a creature that could eat them without some form of healing. She could be that healing. So with that knowledge Mina ran straight through the hole in the fence, trying to keep quiet so Gus wouldn't notice her or Kook for that matter. The ragged breath that usually came out when she ran was held in.

Adventure time~. Adventure time~. Time to go on an adventure~.

Wasn't there a show called Adventure Time? Wait… Wait, wait. No. It was something more along the lines of Journey Hour. Yep. That sounded about right. Kook couldn't believe he'd made such a huge mistake! Him! Making mistakes!

…That was his job, after all--oh look. A tree. Just like the rest of the trees around him. But this one was tall, so much so that he wondered if he could touch a cloud from way up there. Was worth a shot. Many shots. Would he fall during some of those shots? Hopefully. It was time to find out. Cackling, the masked man picked out the sturdiest trunk he could find and latched onto it like a humanoid lemur. Kook always loved monkeys. They were nature's furry creations of fun and discord. Especially discord. He could get behind that. Wait, no--in front. He wanted to lead the monkeys. Be the monkey king. Wasn't there a mythology or stories about a monkey king? That was his great uncle. Yes. If he recalled correctly.

He didn't. Which was great.

Effortlessly, he scaled the tree up until he reached the highest branch and took in the view. "Gehhhhh," he said with absolute wonder. So much green. And many more animals, he assumed. And then one creature that didn't belong--oh yeah. Monster. He was supposed to look for that. But what about his honey buns??

He never bought any.

No, that was a lie.

He stole some recently, just failing to remember if he ate them yet--

Kook slipped off the branch casually. He flipped forward midway and smacked safely into dirt with a whopping thud. "Gahah!" That was fun. He should do it again, but he doubted that the pair of sinister blood red eyes staring right back at him would give him a chance to. No fun after all.

On the bright side, Gus and Mina were here to join the party! Wait, why was Mina hiding? Was he seeking? He'd already won, technically. The woman needed some practice. His hand dived into his pocket to grasp the Zircon again, though he didn't do much else besides stare as the leaves hanging over those beady eyes and kick at some rocks. He wasn't going to move juuuuust yet. That wasn't how the game worked.

Meanwhile, Charming heaved a groan under his breath as not only Gus, but Mina as well took off in pursuit of their… volatile masked friend. Gods, was it always this eventful in their guild? He didn't know if he could emotionally keep up. Regardless, he could only handle situations one task at a time (unless dire circumstances demanded multitasking, of course), so he placed his focus on the remaining member and their clients, his brow furrowed with a hint of concern. "Well… that happened. Will your comrades be alright on their own?"

As he asked this, Charming also busied himself with settling the dog down as comfortably as possible, trying to avoid putting weight on its abused leg. He cast a glance at Bart and his daughter, maintaining a level tone. He doubted letting any panic slip through would prove to be comforting for them. "Well… our suggestion still stands with the both of you. We believe it's best that you stay inside and tend to him. I'll lend a hand."

Just as the man stood, a loud noise poured cement down his spine. From above. A single, jarring moment of impact that vaguely resemble something smashing into the roof. More bangs followed before his could exhale, this time in the form of windows and doors slamming shut. He sprung towards one of the doors and nearly cursed under his breath when it refused to budge open. Locked.

Trapped.

Breathing in, Charming let his hands fall to his sides, the gravity of the motion allowing twin blades to slide out of the wrist gauntlets hidden within his sleeves. He walked backwards until he was closer to the others, especially their clients and the dog, before reaching into the collar of his shirt. He pulled out a simple silver necklace, the pendant resting over his sternum. An Italian symbol was engraved into it. There was no need to summon it quite yet… but he'd always been a cautious man. A man of love couldn't possibly swim through the currents of life recklessly, now could he?

"Rough winds today, I assume," he muttered. It was a waste of breath on his part, but he couldn't help but toss out the last ditch effort to soothe whatever nerves could be buzzing about the house. "Is your roof always so expressive, sir?" That question was directed at Bart, though he refused to stop analyzing his surroundings.

If Gods inbox could be filled, it would be set to the brim full of Spanish pleas and a variety of cussing and cursing. She would apologize later, but for right now Lucia's eyes merely flickered out the door as she set it closed behind her, knowing that the separation of the five was going to be an issue in the later part of their adventure...No. she was not going to fuss about this yet. She had Charming and two civilians to look over, yes? She balled the fabric of her shirt into her fists, took a deep breath before releasing her grip and running her hair through her tangled mess of hair. "Our companions shall be fine, dear boy. They have handled these sorts of pests before. It is nothing more than a wild dog, yes? Happens all the time."

"That...would be massively appreciated. I swear, I'm so sorry about this whole ordeal. I'm gonna sell this forsaken ranch as soon as I can…" he mumbled, glancing towards the dog before him before whistling him over. The dog, giving Charming a thankful lick, hobbled over to his owner in response and whimpered slightly as he sat before him. Bartholomews eyes narrowed and any color that had remained in his cheeks flooded from him. "Shit….not again…" he mumbled under his breath, brushing his hair from his face and glancing up at Charming.

"Please do help me, this is something a little more than I'm used to…." his head snapped up, however, at the sudden loud thud on his roof and he swallowed hard as he noticed his two employees tense as well. The windows and doors slammed shut a mere moment after the thud, and Lucia puffed her cheeks out as her entire body threatened to stiffen.

"That most certainly ...was windy." Lucia commented with a frown. "Perhaps to a living room or somewhere quiet?"

"Shit." Bartholomew cursed again, keeping it under his breath in order for his daughter not to hear. "I'm going to be frank with you, this isn't the first time the roof has been...making that sort of noise…"

A shrill, high pitched creek illuminated from above, similar to that of nails scratching along the metal. Neither the father nor daughter seemed perturbed. "This...this has to be the fifth time this week. I figured it's just the birds but…"

SLAM!

Bartholomew visibly flinched at the second loud thud. "Don't think that's what it is today...or those other days…"

As he chased after Kook, feeling the surge of the ring he'd slung onto his finger course through him, he could only pray to God that the others listened. He'd caught the stare… the hell beast, and he knew what it meant, but that didn't mean the others needed to face the same danger. Not yet, anyhow. He could get Kook back to the house, get everyone inside, tucked away and sake… and then they could plan. They needed one. A solid, sturdy gameplan. And the first part of that was keying in their host. There was no point in keeping Bart in the dark anymore. Not when it could mean the difference between life and death. He understood the necessity, of course, in being cautious… in protecting just how much they revealed or didn't reveal about a job, but pretending they were up against a couple wild coyote might, in this case, be the literal death of a man. Or worse.

Shuddering at the thought, he pressed on in time to see Kook dropping out of a tree. Whatever the hell he was doing up there in the first place, Gus couldn't fathom, but then, he rarely understood much about the masked fellow, and asking someone what they were doing, or why, when they had exactly one word (could it be considered a word?) in his vocabulary seemed like a pretty pointless endeavor. Gus spoke a few languages, some fluently, others not so much… but he definitely wasn't familiar with Kook-nese.

Slowing as he neared the copse of trees, Gus braced his hand on the dagger, tucked into a hilt beneath his t-shirt, just a cautious gesture, as he called out.

"Kook, amigo. We need to get inside, si? Not so safe out here, right--"

Ears alert to the sounds around him, Gus picked it up over his own voice… the chilling call for help. And for a second, his world turned to ice. Lucy... He'd told her to go inside, but what if…

"Querido Deus, Lu--"

Skinwalkers...

Of all their convoluted, nasty tricks, that had to be the worst one, and he'd almost, almost fallen for it. Hissing out a swear in frustration, Gus spun, not in the direction of the voice, but in the opposite direction, away from it. Misdirection. It was their greatest weapon, as far as he was concerned, but he wouldn't fall for it. Never again. Eyes scooping upwards, he spied it again… the blue orb and another curse, this one more emboldened than the first escaped.

"We gotta move, Kook!"

Mina knew something was there. Something. She saw it then it disappeared into the trees and a part of her sensed it definitely wasn't of kind intent. The blur of grey fur was quick and swift, most likely a wolf? Right? It wasn't anything to worry about she convinced herself before her eyes flew back to Gus' back, watching closely as he ran. Although she had barely been running her calves burned a bit as her breaths came out a bit quickly, it was quite obvious this wasn't something she did often. Perhaps she should though for situations like this one.

A faint voice reached her ears… it almost sounded familiar in a way but not recognized at all. All Mina noticed was it definitely bothered Gus… a lot. That's all she needed to know as her feet hit the ground silently or they wound have had she not tripped on a root and fallen onto her hands and knees. A soft cry escaped her in return, definitely alerting anyone she was following that she was in fact… following.

"I-I can explain." She muttered almost too lowly to hear, perhaps hoping they didn't hear her at all. The scraped on her hands and knees fortunately didn't bleed but stung instead as dirt lodged itself in the cuts. It didn't really matter to her as she waited for Gus' reaction, if he had on at all. All of her hoped he hadn't noticed or heard her or cared. A sense of disappointment washed over her… He had told her not to run after them. He'd told them all to go inside. Now she was… sort of regretting that. If anything happened to any of them it'd surely be her fault and she's probably get scolded for it. Oh lord… The mess of trouble she'd gotten herself in. "I'm sorry-sorry." Her voice cracked a bit nervously.

Well, if Mina was losing at this game of hide and seek before, she was definitely losing now. Yeesh! Didn't she ever play this before? But what if she didn't? What this her first time? ...Tragic. Perhaps a healthy night of spontaneous Kook Kidnapping was in order for her--

Wait. No. Other guild members didn't like that.

Perfect. He'd keep doing that, then.

And now Gus was yelling at him. Why? This was good. The goodest worst thing possibly imagined. Where was he running to? It made no sense, especially since those beady eyes were… gone. Wonderful! Was it the second round of hide and seek already? He could've sworn it was his turn to hide--no. No, no, no… He enjoyed seeking. Gave him more opportunities to break some stuff along the way.

Oh. Never mind. He found it again. Well, actually, he found the blue orb again, and it was hovering about in some brush over to the side. "Geh?" Kook muttered under his breath, wondering why the big ole furry creature with a skull face (oh hey… mask buddies!) was so intensely focused on his teammates. Why not him?? He was following all the rules incorrectly, right? Unacceptable. Rude. Huffing, Kook retracted the Zircon stone and held his close to his covered mouth, a low string of latin rumbling from him until a bright green glow emitted from it. In the next instant, a familiar and oh so fun heaviness washed over him from head to toe, the foliage and fallen branches crunching loudly under his boots.

Then he dashed forward with a maniacal cackle.

Straight into the tree right next to the Skinwalker. It wasn't that heavy of a hit--darnit. He was supposed to be a Monkey King and an NFL linebacker! The impact was so weak! Exactly like he wanted it to be! Wonderful! Kook glanced up, taking in the small shower of leaves that were jostled from the tree and falling over the monster.

He cackled some more.

That… definitely did not sound like any sort of natural bird to Charming. Despite the faint caws emitting from above, the slams steadily rising in volume did little to reassure the monster hunter. All it did was confirm his bubbling suspicions. This was supernatural. And beyond dangerous. He turned to Lucia, "We… We'll stay here. And keep close to them." He gestured to Bart, his daughter and the dog.

Christ. They were so vulnerable and if things were evolving into the situation that he dreaded… this wouldn't do. At all. Charming's gaze roamed around the living room. Couch. TV. The dog's bed… There. A pile of tools in the corner. Among the screwdrivers and nails, a pitchfork was what stood out to him the most. He quickly paced over to grab it and placed it in Bart's hands. Then, without waiting for a response from the man, he removed his necklace and put it around the farmer's neck.

"We're going to protect you… But if anything happens, you keep your eyes open and your reflexes sharp." He glanced down at the young girl, eyes and voice softening. "Stick close to your father, little one." Even as he spoke, he could feel his defenses dwindling ever so slightly. But it didn't matter. He lightly pressed a finger over the pendant and with a swift muttering of Italian under his breath, the item gave off a faint glow. There. That would have to do.

Charming whipped back around to raise both hands, his bladed gauntlets at the ready.

The creatures beady eyes narrowed at the humans before him. He had expected the man who had locked eyes with him to approach; sensing a man whose hunted their kind before. He could smell it. He knew that these hunters were nothing but trouble. And when it came to the territory in question, the skinwalker was prepared to fight tooth and nail to get it back. The flesh and fur on its skull slowly began to strip away as he crept along the shrub line, a pale, milky plate of bone replacing the once feral demeanor of its form. He had recalled the woman that the man had spoken to. There was...an affection, perhaps unrequited, but it was there and it was enough to cause the creature to loosen its jaw, releasing a call.

But it did no good to the hunter in question. No. This wouldn't do. Not at all. It's claws digging gingerly into the dirt beneath its feet, it rushed from one tree to another. Eyes milky and cold rolled into the back of its head, splaying it's claw in the direction of the hunters. Two little orbs of maroon, one of blue. How could it bear to be seen when it was already having so much fun.

The muscle around it's maw began to secede. It's teeth bared, remnants of a molded tongue lolling out of its jaw. They certainly looked delicious.

But then he saw him. A masked man. A masked man with a chilling laughter that caused even the own skinwalkers blood to freeze. It's eyes rolled back into its sockets readily, knowing its presence had been made. A grin etched into its skull as it raised to two feet, drool beginning to trickle past its jaw.

"Not...so...safe…" He echoed, voice cracking and morphing and swallowed in an inhuman cackle. It watched the three hunters before it, and without another mimic or coo, it pounced towards its target.

Lucia never wished to announce fear in the presence or something maleficent. No. She was supposed to keep her head high and a smile on, yes, a silly skinwalker was nothing more than so. Silly. But a deep nausea built into the pit of her stomach as the slams began to recede, and a loud cawing replaced it. It grew louder, and louder. It wants to come in. She realized with a shiver fluttering down her spine, her whole body tensing as she watched Charming place the pitchfork into Bartholomews hands. She watched in horror as both nodded, seeming to know this as a sort of drill.

This wasn't the first time. Not by a long shot.

"Louise...we are going to the basement and letting these lovely people handle the situation." His face went slightly pale, scratching his scruff. "I had a feeling this place was cursed and I'm not...surprised. No. I'm not surprised at all." Mumbling an apology, he grasped his daughters hand in his, squeezed it tight before leading the child and the dog towards the end of the hallway, where they vanished into the downstairs. Lucia could hear a faint click of the lock.

They have done this before

Shuddering, she clamped the back of her neck before whispering something inaudible under her breath, her shadow springing to life beside her. It's flowing arms draped around her collar, whispered sweet nothings, before readjusting effortlessly into her hands. A long, curved blade, perfectly fit into the palm of her hand.

"Ah yes, I did not realize it was Skinwalker season, yes! I was hoping for rabbits."

Another loud slam on the roof, Lucia's grip growing tighter and tighter on her weapon. "If I manage to get killed today yes? Tell my hermano that I tolerate him. Or that I said "hello."

Another slam. One. Two….The front door creaked. A sliver of it remained open. A twisted, gnarled, pinkish hand slithered through. Talons adorned its decaying skin, sleek and black and looking sharp enough to cut through class. A single talon curled.

Come hither.

Oh. The demon dog thing was moving. And towards the others, at that. Kook could've sworn the rules of the game worked differently than that--meaning that this monster was a poor team player. Unacceptable. As a Monkey King, Kook was responsible for disciplining it and putting it in its place and destroying everything else in the process.

Yes.

That sounded about incorrectly right.

The moment the Skinwalker pounced, Kook did as well with a gleeful cackle. He rammed into the creature's side with his shoulder, hoping to knock it off its course a little. He then immediately plopped to the dirt, legs crossed, chest puffed out, and arms folded like a proud monk. Kook needed some more playmates. His current ones were kinda boring. And hungry. Why were they always hungry??

He could understand that feeling, because he didn't understand much to begin with.

Anyway, more playmates! Rubbing his gloved hands together, Kook scraped at the detris and dirt before him, forming a decently sized pile. His palms hovered on either side of it, calling upon an inner peace that made every single inch of his skin crawl. Eugh! Disgusting! But concentration. Focus. He had to do this if he felt like it… He kinda did. Maybe. No? Yis! Another chant of incomprehensible noises rumbled in his chest until flickers of light danced among the dirt, sluggish and mesmerizing. They were a putrid lime color, yet it emitted an illuminance betraying its dull hue. The glow congealed within the pile and with an audible noise reminiscent of boulders rolling down a cliff, a small and gangly figure burst from the ground and clawed itself free. Kook's earth elemental unleashed a chain of clicks and chatters, beady white eyes taking in its new surroundings as thin tendrils of dust swirled its form.

Kook clapped joyfully.

 

[Kattzillaa]

Hunt for Skin walkers: Part 5 - @Elle Joyner @KatSea @Mobley Eats

The creatures body threatened to rail into the large man's shoulder as he collided, but the skinwalker found himself slammed into the tree beside him. Shaking it's mane, raising its claws towards the man who has locked his eyes with his. Its skeletal jaw creaked as a green fume threatened to escape him. The poisonous cloud rustled towards the foreign man, searing at his features before the creature noted that he shook the effect off quicker than expected. Growling, the creature raced forward and attempted to sink it's teeth into the Gus' collar bone, it's maw merely brushing against the the hunters shoulder as he ducked out of the way. The skinwalker hobbled back, raising its skull towards the sky and releasing a howl, one that was eerily similar to a human wail.


Mina managed to scramble to her feet, not caring anymore what Gus may have thought of her following. She was here now and the pungent smell of skinwalker came with it, a horrid smell too. There were a lot of things that her mind might have worried about had the giant furry human sounding beast not attempted to take a bite of Gus with gnashing teeth. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the sight, he could have died just then! Not even a second after that moment Mina went into action.

"Roshanee!(Light)" Her soft voice managed out, ignoring the stinging that came as the ink of her brushpen seeped into her cuts. Much to her frustration the beam of light missed, simply bouncing off the creatures back and into the deep woods around them. It didn't even glance at her, keeping its beady eyes on Gus. Mina bit the inside of her cheek at the failure but instead of doing something horribly drastic and idiotic she simply tried again. "Roshanee!(Light)" This one, fortunately hit. The ugly beast of a thing roared in pain while clawing at it's eyes a bit while stumbling back. If it's attention wasn't on her before, it sure as hell was now.

Mina, not having thought this far ahead, froze for a second and stared at the pained beast. Brown eyes connected with it's milky ones if only for a moment before she leaped to the right, away from Kook and Gus. It's back now turned to the two that would do the most damage she stood there, ready for anything it might give her. Her breath was heavy and her heart beat faster than usual, the only thing she thought was how she hoped they all made it out of here alive. She might as well have been staring death in the eyes and it was not a pretty sight.


So much happened in such a short period of time, that had his focus not been concrete, Gustavo might've found himself drained. Kook heeded his warning about as well as a squirrel dashing into moving traffic, and as if that weren't enough, quite literally out of the blue, Mina, in a less than dainty sprawl, suddenly appeared in the fray. He wasn't traditionally the most dependable person, where mature decisions were concerned, but he had hoped specializing in the very thing they were hunting might've given the others a modicum of trust, regarding his suggestions… Yet instead of heading inside like he'd warned, Mina had followed. He was starting to feel like Adrian…


All he needed now was for the damnable beast to--


A vehement swear escaped as Kook unexpectedly lunged for the creature, and nearly toppling backwards, Gus just barely managed to escape the noxious fumes that followed the instigation, eyes stinging, jaw locking as his nerves briefly caught fire. The beast hurtled towards him, and dancing to the side, Gus skidded to a stop, ripping the dagger from his hilt, other hand diving to find his lighter in his pocket.


"Hora de morrer, seu filho da puta feio..." He growled, swiping out with the dagger as Mina's blinding spell momentarily staggered the skinwalker's vision. He came away short, silver-edged blade skimming the skeletal face, but it was little more than a petty distraction. His free hand flicked back the lid on the zippo, flame sparking to life, igniting the small sprig of incense tucked away inside.


"Espírito do Fogo seja meu protetor. Salve minha alma desta besta do inferno..." Unlike the incident in the bar restroom, there was no gorgeous redhead to distract him from the task at hand, and from the incense, a flame spiraled upwards, snakelike, worming higher and higher, before sinking down in the opposite direction, looping, stropping along the earth around the skinwalker's heels. In the same moment, Gus dropped the dagger into the ground by his feet and raised his arm, muttering another incantation. Along the same circuit as the elemental, flames rose upwards, swiftly, forming a dome around the beast within.


Bending down, snatching the dagger again, he looked up to Mina and Kook, "That won't hold him for long and there may be others! We need to get back to Charming and Lucia and protect that family!"


Oh. This was a fun day indeed. The creature hadn't expected that many helping hands to appear, granting it and its brother one more meal for the day. And by God, they smelled delicious. The creature slammed its wings behind him, bearing its chest and sending a force of air in the direction of the door to ram it open. Beady, dark eyes skimming across the two hunters, battle weapons at the ready. Lunging forward as it extended its talons, it glided past Charming and slung it's nails deeply into the man's shoulders. Blood gleamed against the creatures claws before it used the man's weight as leverage and rammed into the female. Raising its beak above her throat, the creature managed to slam its sharp beak straight into the woman's collar, nipping at her skin and trying his best to pull it apart.


"Oh no… No, no, don't you--!" Charming cursed as the monster swooped past him, its sights clearly locked onto Lucia. He desperately tried to launch and slice with his blade, only for it cut shallowly into its disgusting hide. Regardless, it didn't slow the damn thing down, so Charming refused to do the same. He pounced and took advantage of the skinwalker's exposed back and with a hefty swing, he carved as deeply into the stem of its wing as he could. He didn't know much about them, but he knew that any bird-like being didn't fare well with an amputated wing. A second and harsher swing finally severed it, and the horrific wail that followed nearly made his ears bleed.


No matter. He still needed to get this off the woman immediately. Charming looped an arm around the monster's throat and tried to physically pull it off, but the sheer weight of it was beyond anything he could lift.


God above! If He hadn't had enough messages from Lucia, is inbox must have been overflowing as the creature raked its talons into charming before slamming into her smaller form. Yes. She would admit. She did scream. She would also admit that the worst swears in the Spanish language escaped her and would cause her mother to roll over in her grave. "Pedazo de mierda! Hijo de puta!" She proclaimed angrily, hoping Charming would not understand and worked on sliding her blade from beneath her as the creature pulled at his skin. Whimpering and cussing all the same, some release came as Charming sliced and hacked at the creatures wing, it's head railing back in utter agony. Seeing this opportunity as it gave her some wiggle room, Lucia swiftly maneuvered the blade beneath the creature. There. Middle of the abdomen. Striking it in deeply, watching as the creature squirmed and wriggled against the blade, she swiftly sliced the blade upwards towards its collarbone. Blood spattered against Lucia as she carved into the creature above her, spitting out a taste of the iron that flooded into her mouth.


"Vete al infierno! Tu fea polla!"


This. Was. So. Much. Fun!


Honestly--the best night Kook had in quite some time. Oh. Wait. Gus was yelling again--and there went a big old blast of light. Welp, Mina definitely wasn't hiding anymore, which meant Kook didn't have to seek. Good. That was the boring part of the game. The best part? Everyone knew it was the tree climbing.


Yes. Let's not do that… No. Let's do it. Shooting Gus a double thumbs up, reading the man loud and clear, he turned the opposite way to climb his way up the shoot of another massive tree. He emitted a "Gahah!" on his way up and the Earth Elemental responded with a rocky rumble of confirmation; it approached the ensnared skinwalker on heavy, thudding feet and stood in front of the fire doom. It unleashed a low hiss of displeasure as the heat licked at is dirty hide, but master's orders were orders. So it stayed, staring down the giant monster with little to no regard for the immense danger it was in.


By this point, Kook had perched himself rather high on the tree now… And just enjoyed the view. Cackles danced along the wind like an insane lullaby.

The wolf stared down at the creature coiled around its ankles in utter confusion as fire encased it. Yes...He forgot the hunters could do this. The damnable fools thought they could kill him with a little bit of fire and a small creature...It huffed through its nostrils, bringing down its claws into the snake at its feet, recoiling as it burned against his fur and receded into the skin below. The creature angrily brought its claws to the shield, scratching down against the flames despite the burning sensation against its searing flesh. This was nothing compared to the pain the hunters were going to feel when he was done feasting upon their corpses. However, a wicked idea trailed along his eyes as he raised his skull and let out a shrill, long howl that ricketted against its own bones. Its milky eyes became vibrant with life as a chuckle escaped it, the call attracting three more identical skinwalkers towards the group of hunters. Each shared a grin, their fur puffed up in fury as their lifeless eyes scanned the group ahead of them. The skinwalker within the cone of fire continued its inhumane laughter, entire body trembling with amusement.


The eerie laugh of them sent a shiver down Mina's spine, it was beyond her how something so… misformed could even have a sense of humor, no matter how twisted it was. A quick sigh escaped her lips before she took a single step back causing any leaves under her feed to crunch and turn to powder. A breeze flew through her tangled hair that was littered with the same leaves she'd stepped on. She took a breath in before letting it out and rewrote the sigil on her hand a bit too quickly for it to be accurate.

"Roshanee!" There was that word again, the one that nearly blinded the first Skinwalker. That fucker was lucky to have its eyes inside of its head at this point. It was certainly lucky that she missed once again, merely bouncing off of one of their fur covered backs. That laughter came again making her cheeks tinge red in annoyance. She really wanted the fugly things to shut up already and leave them all be. As if the gods would grant her that. Mina could practically hear her mother's voice in her ear. 'Tough luck, kid. They think you can pull through.' Instead of giving up she sucked in another breath and tried her luck again, it seemed the second time she did it.. It always worked.

"Roshanee!" This time, fortunately, it hit one of them straight in the eyes but instead of a screech or a howl of pain it simply flickered like an image on an old TV then disappeared into nothing. It didn't matter to Mina though as a flicker of hope lit inside her chest. One down. Three to go.


Resisting the urge to shout obscenities and rip out his own beard, Gus stared as Kook ascended the tree again. The shell he'd put around the beast wasn't going to hold out for long - he could see cracks forming in it already, feel his resolve crumbling as the skinwalker assailed against it. Three more had appeared, and as light exploded from Mina, Gus watched as one flickered just as swiftly from existence and a pang of irritation struck in his gut.


"They're illusions! The others! God damn it…" It didn't seem like either Mina or Kook were going to heed his advice, and he couldn't rightly abandon them, even with the mission in mind. If that meant taking out one threat first, so be it.


"Mãe da Graça, guia-me pelas chamas…" He murmured quietly, touching his fingertips to the emblem around his neck as shimmer, like heat vapor from the pavement, washed over his form. Taking a breath, he stepped forward, through the shield of flames and into the center, and lighter flicking open, crouched low, slamming the metal box into the earth at his feet. With a burst of wind, the shield flared and the cracks filled once more with molten flames.


Eyes snapping to the elemental snake, he nodded and the creature stopped its circuit around the skinwalker's feat. Rising up like a cobra and with its wide maw opening, it unleashed a torrent of fire.


The vulture was growing desperate within the home of its prey. This...this was not supposed to be a struggle. This was not supposed to be it's final day on this godforsaken earth...no. No. It absolutely refused to let its intestines be spilled along the tile floor below. Clambering with its remaining wing, it latched its talons around Charmings skull and pulled him down onto his back, a grotesque, purple tongue lolling from its mouth as energy flowed from his finger tips back towards his damaged body. With its talons still raking into his scalp, it squeezed and squeezed before smashing the hunter down beside him. Staring back towards the woman with her sword in its chest, it raked its claws into her stomach, peeling her skin back and bearing his beak downwards. He did truly enjoy when they squirmed…


Charming groaned in equal parts annoyance and agony as talons buried themselves into his curls, piercing the flesh of his scalp and squeezing so hard that he could've sworn he saw white spots exploded behind his eyes. He tried to pry the vulture's hold on him, only to smack painfully into the floor, his face taking the brunt of impact. That… was definitely a busted lip and nose. The man cupped his face while struggling to stand, the world all around him teetering from side to side. Was this the onset of a concussion? Perhaps if he'd kept hold of the shield, he wouldn't be in such horrific shape… No. He couldn't bear to lie to himself, even in this condition. No matter the benefit or cost, he would've done the same thing each time. The clients were safe.


And they would remain that way.


He forcefully blinked away some of the fog, eyes zoning in on the wound that stretched across Lucy's stomach. Christ. This was beyond anything he'd allow himself to see, to happen. The moment the skinwalker spun around, he pounced and plunged his blade deep into its torso, starting at where Lucy's slash ended and ripping upwards until metal scraped the bone of its collar. More blood and demonic wails spilled from the beast, but Charming's ears had deafened themselves long ago. With a grunt, he looped an arm around the back of the skinwalker's neck and snapped forward, flipping the massive thing into a hip toss, slamming it onto its back. Charming swiftly kneeled over the creature, reeled his fist back, and buried the blade as deeply into its throat as his strength could muster, staring furiously into sinister beady eyes. He lowered to hiss under his breath, "That's not how you treat a lady…" He ripped the weapon free, splatters of blood racing across his coat and chest.


Lucia swore her vision went dark, nausea and bile building against her throat as blood spilled from her stomach. Christ...sweet mother Mary...watch over Charming if she were to fall asleep….However adrenaline slammed through her system as Charming was rammed into the floor beside her, her eyes fluttering back into focus. Before she knew it, however, Charming had grasped the creature and knocked it straight into the tile. Despite the taste of iron against her tongue, she managed a mischievous grin and thrust herself to her feet. Slightly stumbling as she kept a singular arm wrapped around her stomach, she hobbled over to the creature with a gaping wound in its throat.


"May I, darling?" She questioned, tone sweet as her weapon degraded into two, each sliding perfectly into her palms. She kneeled beside the creature. Watching it's dark beady eyes roll around in its skull as it clawed at its bleeding throat. "If there is a soul left in your body, may merciful God show you pity. Unfortunately, that's not my job here…" She squeezed her eyes shut as she hovered her daggers over the creatures throat, ramming it deeply down until she could feel the brittle bird bone snap underneath her weapons. She swallowed hard on the taste of iron and salt as the monster fell limp, her hands covered in blood. When she gained the courage to open them again, she locked eyes with the head of the creature, picking it up in her lap and watching the darkness in her hands coil around it...capturing it...until her shadow pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, taking the trophy for itself. She peeked up at Charming with a sudden concern flashing in her chocolate hinted eyes. "Dios mios! You are drenched in blood? Are you well??"


Ooooh~


The skinwalker disappeared. Flickered out of existence like some sort of TV special effect. Or his thoughts. Those came and went. Some came back. Some never did--


...What was he thinking about?


Oh yeah! Waffles! But he didn't have any… Darn. Perfect. Just the way he wanted. Guess he needed to focus on finishing the game first. Kook hummed as he took in the fight from below, very comfortable at the top of his tree. Monkey King. He was the best Monkey King around! But still, why did the skinwalkers like to flicker so much? Did all of them do that?


Welp, he forgot to care. Or wonder.


Cackling wildly, he ripped off a tree branch, locked his sights onto one of the free monsters, and chucked the makeshift weapon. It missed, the creature sensing the danger long before it hit. Kook huffed. "Guh!"


So he chucked a second branch. Another dodge. "Gehah!"


And a third… Yet another dodge. How dare! This monster didn't play by the rules at all. Marvelous. That made it more fun! "Guhhhh…" Lazily, the man slumped against the massive tree trunk, just watching the leftover leaves and branches fall--


Oh. Wait. The other skinwalker flickered.


Kook gave pause… Then exploded with laughter again. "GAHAHAHAHEHEHEHEH!"


Mina's previous hope was destroyed as all of Kook's attacks were dodged so simply and easily. It seemed almost impossible to hit these creatures and she wasn't sure if all of them were illusions or just one or maybe two. She knew though that she'd find out in the coming minutes or the next hour… or maybe they wouldn't even make it that far. The laugh of the beasts echoed in her mind that the ring of a bell across a school yard. Her eyes focused on the ensnared on for a moment before sending yet another beam of light toward its eyes, this time it hit on the first try. If the beast wasn't blinded before it sure was now as it let out a rather pained noise.

Without even thinking Mina went to grab one of the others, stealing their energy was another option of hers. She rarely used it as it involved physical contact. Either way it was a bad idea as if it were really there she could have been ripped to shreds… Since it wasn't she fell straight through and landed on her back to see the very same beast hovering over her, letting out that familiar laugh they all shared. Leaves tangled with her hair as her heart rate picked up and beads of sweat ran down her back uncomfortably. A part of her knew it wasn't really there.. But lord, it seemed so goddamn real. She could practically smell its horrid breath and saw every detail in it's face if one could call it that. She could feel it's breath, see it's milky eyes… or perhaps that was the fear talking.


"Why are you jaanavaron(beasts) here? What is it you want?" As much as one might try the tinge of fear could still be heard in her voice and practically seen within her eyes. Despite this she still dared to look it in the eyes and ask.


"AUGH!" From inside the flaming dome, Gus stumbled back as a thick black vapor wheezed from the mouth and nostrils of the beast he was facing, the skin on his arm and hand shrinking, shriveling, as if the moisture was sucked away instantly, nearly down to the bone, pain flaring in pins and needles muscle-deep, "Deus condenou as criaturas demoníacas do amante de Satanás!"


Suddenly, there was light… bright. Blooming. Flooded the shield, and as the creature recoiled, ignoring the searing agony in his arm, Gus reacted. He was done. These damnable beasts had tried to kill him one too many times, and worse yet… they were going after an innocent man and his child. Worse than that... they'd put Lucia in danger. Mina, Gus. Hell, even Charming…


He was done.


Caring little what might happen to him, Gus leapt at the skull-faced monstrosity, arms splayed, then looping around it… It resisted, and with a howl of his own, rage burning deeper, even, than the affliction from the Blight, Gus dug into the dirt beneath his feet and pressed. A second time, he grasped the beast and with every ounce of strength he could muster, he shoved the thing straight into the burning walls of the flaming sphere. As he pushed, the snake rose up again and another volatile plume of flame erupted from its mouth, spraying at the creature on its opposite side.


"I could say the same for you," Charming sighed while eyeing Lucia. They were both completely and utterly drenched in blood, and the worst part was that he couldn't tell whose was whose anymore. Was it his? Lucy's? The skinwalker's? It was just impossible to decipher. With a groan, he staggered to his feet and watched with glassy, curious eyes as the severed head disappeared in a tendril of shadows. Dark magic had always intrigued Charming and, for the short time that he was a rookie at his guilt, he had definitely considered the magic class. Of specializing in magic at all… But he was better off with his gauntlets. Today proved that.


Regardless, he waited respectfully for Lucia to handle… whatever she was doing, before approaching her on weak, wobbly feet. He held a hand out to her. "Come… I'm not terribly skilled with medicine, but I need to at least try and do something about your wounds."


...But Gods. It was bad. Very bad. And he nearly cursed himself for letting this happen. Hastily, he ripped off strips of cloth from his clean sleeve and top, using the first bundle to clean up the mess around her injuries, before using the rest to wrap her up. The bleeding hadn't let up in the slightest, so he tried to double down on the wrapping; despite the bulky rush job, he could tell that the flow had slowed down. Mostly.


"There," Charming sighed, dipped from head to toe in bubbling exhaustion, "Hopefully this will help, love. I… can't tell you what to do. You're a professional just as much as I am. Perhaps more so with the way you carved up that thing like turkey on Thanksgiving." He tried to heave a chuckle, but it was worth thin and weak. "Either way, I'm going to check on Bart and his daughter. Do whatever you see fit, preferable with less blood leaving you."


"Do not worry about me, Charming. I am fine." She mumbled, noting his hand to help her and guide her. She did not wish to be rude, so she slipped her hand into his and pulled herself up, a wave of nausea pulsing into her stomach. Oh. God. That's right. Heh. She prayed that it didn't look like stretch marks against her skin.


She removed herself from him and closed her eyes as he wrapped the cloth around her wounds and muffled the bleeding. Her eyes fluttered back after a brief moment of the pressure turning into pain, but she merely bobbed her head in thanks and in turn, began to pull strips from her flannel shirt. She approached him and wrapped the scratches against his arms, frowning as she glanced towards his head. "It helps, dear. I am more worried about your head." She paused, raking her nails through her curls as a free droplet of blood trickled down her arm towards her torso. She grimaced. "Wash yourself. Please. I...I think I am going to…"


Her head snapped up as she heard the distant call of her fellow hunter, ice tracing through her veins. "I am going to stay here. If you need me, I will not be able to hear you. Please. Tap me if you require my assistance." She locked her fists together, closing her weary eyes as she focused on the form of her shadow behind her.


Without another word, the shadow gave her a squeeze around her middle before exiting the home and heading in the direction of the scream.


Screaming sure was fun. Look! Even Gus was joining in! Well, his sounded a tad different from Kook's but not everyone could measure up to his cackles. Those took serious skill and dedication and wild abandonment; Gus wasn't quite at that level yet. But he was getting there! Eventually! Maybe. Never always.


Yis.


Kook had been watching the battle ensue from his little spot in the tree, legs swinging back and forth casually. Jovially. He cooed and sighed in awe with every fiery flare, with every agonized howl of the monster. Oh, Gus howled too. Was that pain? Uh oh. A lot of pain, at that. That wasn't right! Not part of the game at all--


He was getting bored.


Time to play some more.


"Gaheheheheh~" Eagerly, he stood on a branch. Then squatted, arms swinging out with motion as he stretched out his muscles. And a one. And a two. And a two three four. Rinse. Repeat once more… Alrighty. He was loose. He was limber. Time for the grand finally! Kook's gaze latched on a nearby branch, this one just as massive on the one he was standing on, before seizing it with both hands. Raising his foot, he kicked violently at the base and was rewarded a satisfyingly loud crunch! Yay! He got his toy!


Time to dive bomb.


Kook crouched with the splintered weapon in hand. Paused… Then he jumped. The masked man flipped the entire way down like a graceful acrobatic, though the lunatic laughter booming from him stole away from the image completely. Faster and faster he plummeted, the fire dome quickly panning into view. Oh yeah. That was fire.


And fire burned. Like right now. "Guhah!" Kook's yell wavered with a hint of stinging pain, the sensation starting at his shoulder and crawling down his ribs. Eh, it was fine. He still got to stabby stab. With a vicious jerk forward, Kook drove the branch into the skinwalkers furry barrel chest, the sheer dropping force slamming the creature to its back. Dead.


Kook hit the ground immediately after in a three point landing… and more pain throbbed through his joints. Good. No pain, no bananas. And he hated bananas lovingly. The masked man staggered to his feet, then flashed Gus a big thumbs up, while hiding his singed arm behind his back. "Gahahah!"

 

[Kattzillaa]

Hunt for Skin walkers: Part 6 - @Elle Joyner @KatSea @Mobley Eats


Mina relaxed as all the skinwalkers disappeared, a sense of relief washed over her. She let her body lay on the leaves further while staring at the clear blue sky. Yet another mission she would live to tell the tale of and to see her friends once again. As per usual, her mother was right. No help from the gods because they knew she'd live… probably why they never helped in general.


Mina suddenly popped up, despite the soreness she felt, remembering her two injured comrades. Her eyes landed on Kook first, the most easily reached as Gus was still surrounded by fire. His wounds were gently grasped as she closed her eyes and muttered. "Sana." A sigh escaped her as they seemingly disappeared into nothing. "There you go… that should stop any pain or scars… unless you wanted scars. I can also fix your hoodie later if you like."


Despite the fight they just went through the young indian woman went into full mother mode when it came to injuries or issues of any kind. No person was left uncared for in the process. Which meant, Gus was next. "Uh… Gus could you perhaps… rid yourself of the fire so I can heal you, then we can get back to the others." Her hand hovered over it and stared at it in awe. It was a weapon but beautiful all the same, she always found fire quite beautiful with its reds and oranges… Almost like Autumn. "I'm sure they're worried."


There was no response, however, from the young man inside the flaming sphere. As the creature fell still, Gus gave it one remaining glance before he allowed both the shield and minion to disperse, each in a sudden hiss of steam, and without a word, Gus leapt over the carcass of their enemy and raced, unrelenting, towards the direction they had come from - towards the farmhouse.


Nearing the steps, something in his peripherals caught his attention and his head swiveled towards it, but a moment later it was gone, out of sight. Swearing, he dashed up, jumping over the ruined door and nearly skidding across the visceral devastation splattered across the floor, "Luce!"


Spotting her in the living room, his heart gave a throb and willing himself forward, willing himself to slow the hell down, he knelt in front of the woman, gingerly reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder, "...Lucia… Querido Deus, por favor, abra seus olhos…"


"I will…" Charming sighed, both in response to cleaning himself up and notifying Lucia in case she was needed. He didn't like the idea of leaving her alone, especially with the wounds she was enduring, but she seemed set in her decision. It wasn't his place to argue further. With a groan, he stood and staggered first into the kitchen and, without grace or care, stuck his head under the faucet, letting blood run down his face and down the drain. It was an unsettling sight. There was far more red seeping into the water than he predicted and a small, childish part of himself mourned over the flaking scabs this could bring in the future. People would think he had dandruff… No, no. Reel the thought back in. There were healing spells for a reason.


Focus.


Charming dried himself off with whatever was left of his coat (the inside of it and whatever was untouched by blood), before draping it over his arm. A gentlemanly move… and completely unnecessary, but he needed to practice poise. Composure. He couldn't afford to face their clients any other way. Posture straightening, he made his way down the hall to the basement, though a gentle wrangling with the doorknob made him realize it was still locked.


Of course it was. Why wouldn't it be? And that was likely a dumb move on his part, considering his clients were expecting some horrendous monster to come busting down the door at any moment. Regardless, he cleared his throat and called out calmly, "Bartholomew? Sir? You and your daughter are safe now. The problem has been taken care of and I do not wish to make you stay cooped up in there for much longer… Are you alright?"

God. Dear God. No. No no no no no….Lucia's head drooped towards her chest as her breathing became rigid through the eyes of her silhouette. Christ...she didn't think she would see that again. Her shadow's fingers gingerly ran across the bark of the tree in question, its hands sharpening until it could begin to carve through the bark. Lucia swallowed as the particular treasure was collected, the final snap of the bark from its tree causing her to stiffen considerably. It was a good thing she found it when she did…


Lucia jolted slightly as a hand came to rest on her shoulder, eyes fluttering open as her body swung forward, only to catch herself mid awakening. She blinked a few times as Gustavo kneeled before her, concern suddenly flooding through her as she noted his arm and overall appearance. She hopped to her feet swiftly, although staggered and placed a hand to her stomach. "Dios mios Gustavo are you alright? What the hell were you thinking??"


Bartholomew had kept Louise and the dog safely within the toy room they kept in the basement for Louise and the expectant baby. It wasn't too hard to keep the child distracted as he draped her in her favorite blanket and gave her one of the Harry Potter books to skim over. As he heard Charmings voice, however, he stiffened, unaware as to whether or not this was a good to go time for he and his daughter. Informing her he would be back quickly, he slowly tracked back upstairs and opened the door a sliver. "Everything is alright now, sir?"


Everything was alright now. The game was over, as far as Kook could tell, and he was kinda hungry. Very hungry. Was his dirt friend hungry too? Probably. It didn't need to consume anything for energy, so he needed to feed it soon. Maybe. But why?


He forgot. Nothing new.


Kook was so swamped by the thought that he failed to notice Mina approaching, let along talking. The moment she drew close to his injured arm, healing it in an instant, he jolted and scrambled back. "Geh!! Nu!" The masked man clamped onto the tear in his sleeve tightly, crouching like a cornered animal… Then he was cackling again. All intensity banished from his form.


Regardless, he made sure to keep plenty of distance away from Mina. Oh, and there went Gus. "Guhahhh! (Buh-byyyye!)" He waved energetically at the man's retreating form, before locking onto the little shadow. It just popped up. Probably Lucy's. Where was Lucy? Not there. Question answered! With a cackle, he made his way over to the same tree and plopped down next to the dark creature, then let his head meet the trunk with a gentle bonk. He was tired.


Mina got no answer, not that she expected a coherent one, to her statements but instead his reaction was to jump back. Without reason, she felt some sorrow in the action but didn't voice it as Kook just… tended to be a little stranger than the rest. They all tended to be like that. Mina thought she was pretty weird too, really weird. Weird enough not to have many friends, kind of weird.

A sigh flew into the hot air as Mina took a breath due to Kook behavior, now he was bashing his head repeatedly into a tree. The poor thing, he'd probably have a headache later. For a moment her mind wondered how on earth Kook would even manage to get back, she was ready to go back too but knowing him he wasn't. Apparently, she had no faith in his sense of direction either but it was probably the tired ache of her muscles and the exhaustion messing with her. Instead of just leaving him there to murder his poor head she managed to double knot a string to his arm then began treading back to the house. Occasionally the rustle of the trees or crunch of leaves or snap of a twig startled her, sending a flinch through her body only for soft breaths to refocus the calm feeling. This was pretty normal after a fight, feeling a bit… jumpy.


The broken fence soon came into view, making her speed up a bit in relief. It felt like forever before the fence actually approached her, letting her tie to end of the string to it tightly.


"There… in case he gets lost… Especially after hitting his head so many times." A smile graced her features as she glanced back, following the string into the distance then turning back and scampering over to the house, meeting everyone. "Kook is occupied right now." She explained before plopping down on the stairs with a loud sigh and maybe she could have stayed there a bit longer had she not caught sight of Gus' arm again, that was the main reason she came back… That and she was tired.

"Sana." With that one word his wounds and pain seemed to disappear except a scar stayed behind. She was definitely tiring as her healing usually left it scar-free but despite this fact her eyes landed on Lucia. "I can heal you if you like?" She offered and gave Lucia a very exhausted smile.



As Lucia's eyes fluttered open, and the exclamation escaped, he pushed from a crouch to loop arms around the smaller woman, holding her for a moment… just a moment before he released her, "Thank God… Everyone here is alright? The… the blood." Frowning, he shook his head, "I was trying to keep the team together… These monsters, they are better to fight when you can surround… Contain… but it came too soon and we had to fight. You… you are hu--"


With the sound of footfall on the wood floor, Gus glanced up to see Mina entering, breathing out as the warmth washed along his arm. He could see pocks of scarring still… rivulets running elbow to wrist. Damn beast.


"Thank you, Mina. Please… help her. And… Where is our fifth member? The family?" He asked, looking back to Lucy with concern.


Lucia blinked in confusion as Gustavo's arms came about her, her eyes remaining wide as her bloodstained gauze came to rest against his torso. Her gaze remained distant, her hands only briefly coming to his sides to reassure him. Only a moment. When he released her, cheeks burning with the remaining blood in her system as it sloshed in sheepishness and indescribable emotion. She took three sharp breaths through her nose, two out her mouth, the last one hitching in her throat as she placed her hand over her collar to readjust the gauze. "I am just happy you are all safe, Gustavo. I was...I found something and I need to go…" She swallowed hard, eyes flickering over to Mina as she offered to handle her wounds. And told her what had occurred to Kook.


Her eyes hooded. Any color drained from her skin. A pleasant smile consumed her features. "You two, check on the family, yes? I have business to attend to, si? Try to stay with our clients."


Inspecting both of them with a frown, she slowly excused herself from the home, hand against the gauze as she approached Kook along the fence, teeth gritted. "Dios, dame fuerzas para no pecar más de lo que ya tengo." Sliding the remainder of Kooks shadow from its place, she simply cut the string with a bland demeanor. "You are okay si? Head into the home, I will be with you shortly." She felt a cold hand slip into hers, a loving arm soon resting along her shoulders. A prickly parchment was soon placed in her hand and she bit her lip. She had a bad feeling this ranch was far more evil than she had expected.


"Shit." Bartholomew swore under his breath, hastily pushing his bangs past his forehead. "I should have figured something like this was bound to happen eventually. We've been having weird things happen for almost a month now and...I've heard rumors." His brow pinched and he glanced back down the stair well for a moment. "You are those hunter folks the native talk about aren't ya?" He huffed a quick sigh. "I knew I should have called the goddamn shaman when the first calf went missing...what the hell happened?" Bartholomew massaged his brow, as if preparing to hear a story he had already conjured in his head. Yeah. At this point, nothing surprised him. He shouldn't even get started on the goddamn portal that opened in his living room…


It was a rough month for the man.


Charming arrived back in the living room shortly after Gus and Mina appeared, along with Lucy's sudden departure. A question of concern teetered on the man's tongue, especially after recalling the woman's wounds, but he held fast as last second. Besides, Bart had questions and was clearly far more aware of the supernatural happenings going on around the farmhouse than he initially let on. Heaving a sigh while pushing back his curls, he turned to the man and said, "You're… correct. Hunter folks is a way to put it, sir." So much memory erasing was in store; that much he knew. "I don't know how eloquently to put this, aside from the fact that your residence holds some… dangerous presences. My colleague and I just disposed of one."


He then glanced at Gus, taking in the man's arm. "...And that the others have as well. We'll need to do a thorough sweep of your property while also finding a safe temporary place for you. Ah… Also, if I may?" He gingerly reached out to Bert, hoping to receive his pendant once more.


Kook didn't like being tied up.


But it happened, so that was life. And he followed after Mina like a cackling puppy, just humming along as he kicked up dirt and grass and wondering if Sel could give him a Burning Hands run for his palm. Yis. He would ask her soon. Later. Yesterday at some point.


And now he was at a fence. Mmkayyy--


No. No. He was next to a fence and no longer tied up, because Lucy showed up and freed him. "Geheheh!" Kook clapped and laughed joyously, only to fall silent with confusion. Rage. Anger. Annoyance. All radiating from Lucy. And pain. Lots of that too. Wow! What happened?! And he missed it too!


That was no fun.


"Guh?" Kook tilted his head, just skimming Lucy up and down. Then landing on her hand. "Geh!" He took her hand, stopping the woman in her tracks, eyed the tough stretch of skin between her thumb and index finger, then applied firm pressure to it. What was he doing? He didn't know, but his body did and he never not listened to his body. Sometimes. Always. Just not right now. Something told him this would help, so he did it.


Then, he released her.


And flopped back first into the dirt, his Earth Elemental friend just hovering off to the side. Bored. Boring, boring, boring. This was a lot of fun.


Mina plopped down on the floor in front of the couch with a soft groan and huff of exhaustion. Her eyesight blurred a bit as she fell into the side of Gus' leg making it apparent that she was probably going to leave the land of the living soon, not literally. Though she was tired her eyes still caught sight of something under the couch which made her rather curious causing her to pop back up and circle the couch before she reached behind it. The adrenaline from the fight, still making her nervous, helped push not only the couch but Gus, one of the largest guys in the guild, out of her way. Which was surprising coming from someone of Mina's size, she was rather small. She wasn't the smallest but she was pretty small all in all.

After pushing it using her whole body, she slipped and landed flat on her back with a groan. Nothing was there… Whatever she had seen just didn't exist. Maybe she was going insane. The ceiling looked rather interesting as she laid there, still a bit shaky from all the excitement.


"Nothing here." She muttered before standing up and quite literally throwing herself over the back of the couch to land next to Gus rather… not so gracefully. She nearly hit him while going over and she probably seemed insane as she curled into a ball next to him and let her eyes close a bit but not fully shut. The poor thing was tired as all get out but she didn't want to sleep until she knew she was allowed to.


Gus opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything, Lucia had vanished from the room and Charming and the homeowner had returned. They were still in communication, but Gus was tempted to interrupt. He had questions. Lots of questions…


And then he was being shuffled, the couch jerkily creaking beneath him. Grimacing, he stared at Mina, and as she flopped down beside him, he frowned, "Get some rest. We aren't finished here."


Pushing himself upright, he moved past Charming and Bart, to stand sentry by the door, ignoring the mess disturbingly left behind from the fight there as he crossed his arms and braced against the doorframe. His eyes remained glued to the ground, even as he spoke.


"Who owned this farm before you, Senhor?"


Hearing Kook laugh as usual melted a small amount of frustration from the young woman's shoulder, the molten emotion beginning to solidify against her back. Could one describe emotion as sticky and raw? She was not sure. Perhaps blood from her collar had seeped down to her back. That seemed far more likely. "Let's home soon Kook. I'm gonna need to, as the Americans say, go into a coma soon yes?" Her eyes flickered to the grip against her hand, his fingers gingerly yet firmly pressing between her thumb and forefinger. A moment of relief passed through her, a brief one, but appreciated, even as pulsing pain returned from her stomach. She grimaced and curled her fingers briefly around Kooks for a thank you before releasing.


"Gracias, friend. Let us head back yet?" She stared down at the bark in her hand, biting her lip. She had no idea what the inscription below meant, or whether or not if it was...She was going to need a ritual caster to look through this. Tenderly keeping it safe between her fingers, Lucia bit down sharply and made sure Kook followed safely behind. Peeking her head through the doorframe, eyes drooped and tired, she quickly piped up. "A ritual caster please?"


Bartholomew easily slipped the pendant from over his hand and handed it back to Charming, eyes threatening to close with exhaustion as he groaned and rubbed his temple with his palm. "I had a feeling there was something here. The people before us said there was nothing wrong. But the moment that woman came here offering her blessing for the land. Things started going horribly wrong. Louise began seeing the wolf in the yard, the calves were going missing, weird lights, groceries going missing moments after I put them on the counter, the portals leading to nowhere, weird crafts in the sky...I originally thought it could be aliens but uh, that makes me sound like a crackpot. I went to one of the local shamans and he told me that apparently skinwalkers were...existent. I didn't believe him, I told him my land was blessed regardless and uh, apparently, this place is haunted." He brushed back his hair tiredly and let his cheeks puff out. "In all honesty. I'm not surprised by any of this happening today. All I can do is thank you for finally getting rid of the damn menaces."


Raising an eyebrow at the man before him, he gave him a shrug. "Well. Um. We bought this place from two brothers who seemed more than happy to leave the place. They told us their father had passed away recently and they wanted a new start. Figured hell, it was a cheap price and a large plot of land. I didn't really believe in that whole haunting bull until uh, well, this."


"Guh…" Kook spent another moment watching Lucy like a curious and deranged puppy, the cogs in his brain. Slowly, but always surely. He liked chaos. Chaos was the ultimate breed of fun and freedom and living without rules. They were just binding. And made people think. That was no fun. Never. Always.


But still, there was even predictability in Chaos Theory, and that was alright.


What was he doing?


Oh yeah, wondering about Lucy. And honey buns. Oh, she was leaving. But at least he wasn't on a leash again, so that was good. "Heheheh~" He cackled and followed behind without much protest, still willing his Earth Elemental to tag along. Eh, the spell lasted a while, and he liked dirt. Sentient dirt even more. They could do stuff. The farmhouse was a lot closer than he remembered. Remembered what? He forgot. "Guhah!!" Jovially, he slipped past Lucy and leaped into the living room, arms spread as if he presenting the grandest prize of them all.


Himself.


With jazz fingers. If only they were on fire too.


After accepting the charm back from Bart, Charming then busied himself with watching Mina's… odd antics from a polite distance away, eyebrow quirked and all, before deciding it was best not to let too many questions about it bubble to the surface. Bert's casualness about the entire thing was beyond unsettling. And saddening. No one deserved to face the horrors of the supernatural, especially when they didn't sign up for any of it. "I see," he sighed before making his way to the couch… No, that was still overturned. He just remained standing. "Do you happen to recall what this woman looked like? Anything about her that struck you as especially odd or out of place?"


And then Kook and Lucy returned, the former in loud fashion while the ladder had asked politely for a ritual caster. "That I cannot provide for you, unfortunately." His arms folded loosely, brow furrowed as he looked at the woman. Specifically her bandaged wounds. He really hoped she would have that properly looked at soon. Of course, he had witnessed Mina heal Gus a bit, but she seemed completely out of commission and living in an entirely different plane of existence at the moment…


This mission wasn't merciful to anyone, it seemed.


Mina laid on the couch for a moment once again letting her brown eyes drift closed and a yawn escape her. She was tired and exhausted and felt like she was dying slowly. Maybe she would have checked on that more if Lucia hadn't come bounding back in the house, still bleeding and asking for a ritual caster. That was what Mina was. She was good at it too and she'd brought some books on it just in case.


"Lucia…. Please don't run off like that when you're so injured, let me heal you first at least." A soft frown took over her features but not much scolding came after that as she healed Lucia's wounds completely, depleting even more of her energy. Her eyes caught the slab of bark in the girl's hand causing her hand to trace the rune just a bit. "Here… let me see that." Mina definitely recognized it but it wasn't ringing many specific bells as of yet.


The bark was set on the table as Mina opened her suitcase, revealing more books than actual clothing, and pulled out just about the thickest one. It slammed on the table as she plopped down on her knees. The room seemed to get quiet for a moment, the sound of pages flipping filled the air. This was what Mina was good at and did most of the time which was apparent as she arrived at the right page in a second. The rune was set next to the page as she flipped the book around the show everyone.


"It's a witch's rune. It's used very often by witches to break spells or attract entities…. Like skinwalkers." She stated while pointing the picture in the book out and looking at them. Eyes narrowed and ran her hand over the rune one more time noticing that there wasn't any scarring or healing the tree had done. "It's only a few weeks old… Didn't you mention someone wanted to bless the ranch a week after you moved here? Could they have possibly had any ill-intent toward you or your family or perhaps the people who lived here before?" Despite her exhaustion Mina addressed Bart and still had to smarts to put a lot of people to shame which is what she did… often.


As Lucia returned, Gus watched each step, diligently, concern wrinkling the corners of his eyes as her hand found her wounded stomach and she came to rest against the doorframe. Her mind was mission borne, but he could see the exhaustion… The weariness. And it wasn't, he was sure, all entirely to do with the vigorous battle…


He understood it well… That exhaustion. It never got easier, their job and never felt like it was over.


As Mina spoke, Gus felt a weight plummet in his stomach. He wasn't a man generally given to deep feelings, and he did his best to resist the draw of anger… but something in what she said to Lucia struck him oddly, "...If you had gone to the house they would not have injuries, Mina."


Frowning, he pushed off the frame, "My advice, Senhor... Burn this damnable place to the ground and leave. There is no good here… only evil. And it is only a matter of time." Fingers raking through his hair, he stepped back, "I'm going to wait by the car… I need a moment."


Mina was surprised, she hadn't expected something so… hate filled to come from him. She felt hated while her heart ached greatly as her head went downcast. The palm of her hand turned lighter as she clenched it and grit her teeth to hold back tears.


"Oh-oh, I- Sorry."Her voice broke a bit and she refused to look at any of them as she closed to book and put it up. Healing… was that all she was good for? Had she spent years studying just to heal people or for her… friends to get mad at her for it. "It won't happen again." Instead of staying, Mina walked around to the back of the house, sitting against the wall and curling into a little ball.


"She...I thought she was one of the locals. She sorted of looked like the siblings…" He slowly gestured to Gustavo and Lucia with his thumb, frowning. "Told me her father was one of the shamans in her reserve and that she would handle the blessing because he was feeling ill. She seemed nice enough. She played with the dog and made friends with Louise while she was here so I figured...I figured she had the best of intentions. And well, I can't believe I'm saying this but...you said it was a witch rune?" Yep. Bartholomew was going insane. He was talking about witches and skinwalkers and cursed lands. And for the first time in a month. He felt utterly, perfectly, normal. His shoulders slumped in defeat. "The Navajo in the area referred to the skinwalkers as witches. It's possible one of them tried to break the blessing spell and attract another? I don't know, this feels all too crazy but after all the shit that's been happening the last month this is the only thing that makes sense…"


Bartholomew blinked at the interaction between the two hunters, leaving one of them fumbling further into his house. Opening his mouth at Gustavo's words, his face flushed."Believe me, I am not staying here much longer." he needed to move his cattle. Well the house. If anyone wanted to even buy the home. He had put life investments into this ranch and now that this place was beyond cursed...and for a moment, the man's heart fluttered. The skinwalkers were gone. For all he knew they were gone. He could sleep well that night. Just tell Louise that…the madness was over. And perhaps if Bartholomew could will it. He would be able to forget it.


Lucia's heart thudded painfully against her ribs as she entered into the home. Ah yes. She should not have left before healing. That's how it should have gone, Lucia knew, but in that moment molten frustration streamed through her veins. Job first, herself later. And the frustration streaming from her was not so much from her hunters, as it was simply the riskier failure to be organized. To construct a plan and execute it. To keep herself from almost being disemboweled. To keep Charming from crashing his skull open. Her teeth grit together. Anxiously, her nails began to scratch at the back of her neck, traveling down to hit her spine where she paused. Ah yes. A great disservice. A great disservice indeed.


Her eyes dulled considerably until Mina informed her of what the symbol was. She sat on the couch, tiredly, letting a wisp of air escape her. She should have figured. This was...not a good sign. Not a good sign. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip. "Before we leave we are going to set up a perimeter around the ranch. If there's another skinwalker or witch on the ranch we are going to handle it. If not, we are going to clean up and report back to the guild."


And then Gus' words hit her ears, a small color of surprise tinting her cheeks as her hand raked through her curls. No. No no .As much as she appreciated the release of stress that came from his words, she knew he needed to bite them back. To keep it back. Lucia did not wish to break the team now. If there was to be any scolding of anyone. If that were to be done, it would be with the report that would be returned to Bethany. But for right now, Lucia did not stop either Mina or Gustavo as they went there separate ways and merely stood. "My friends. I am afraid this day is about to get a little longer."