The Chanters

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Windstormugly

Eater of Time
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  1. Advanced
  2. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Primarily Prefer Male
Genres
Fantasy, Sci-fi, Magical, Horror, Nation/World
The trail was still warm, Merhapn rose from his crouched position on the overgrown forest-path, he could see the traces of the preys passage only days ago, he could smell them.
Beckoning the grunts and the two priests he had brought with him he straightened to his full length, standing more than twice their height, his tail flicking dangerously close to knocking them aside.

"We leave immediately, I want them before the weeks end. I assume you will be able to follow the track?" He gave them a telling smile, his fangs showing. There was no questioning his response if they proved incapable of fulfilling the task. The Beliefs executioner had a dreaded reputation in the whole order, for those that knew of his existence.

"One of you go get the newcomers. We are wasting time." Merhapn said. The prey was getting ahead, and he had already pursued them for days, the rest of the squad was slow, and noisy. Luckily the newcomers seemed to be of the right minds, that particular aspect would be tested in the days to come.
Hearing a faint brushing of leaves against one another the enormous man flicked a knife from within his cloak. The weapon gaining a squeak from the undergrowth. One of the grunts went to check it, nothing more than a meal sized rat. Merhapns grin split as he let out a disturbingly feline mewling. The grunt made the split decision to drop the little animal and get out of his superiors way.
Some of the newer grunts wore sick expressions as the beast-man swallowed the rat whole. The older grunts muttering his called name under their breath, "DevilsCat", the fact that he was of the Belief gave them no assurance he wouldnt see fit to eat them as well.

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A few days further down the forest-path one of its branches turned up just outside one end of a town, located somewhere in the east of the Tulahvor empire, part of a small fiefdom, not holding any importance or strategic value.
But contrary to its silent nature, the town would soon see the start of a journey that would shape the lands...

Nehlas wasnt entirely sure that was true, but he could always hope. One day the chanters he managed to gather through the Beliefs rule might actually manage a change, what with the 'Gods chosen ones' he kept hearing, though it didnt seem like it was only chanters, or even priests of the Belief, even mundane folks woke up with visions and callings. In his own case it had simply been a voice speaking to him in a lucid dream. and not a voice he felt like following either. He had enough problems. Like finding the chanters that should have been here to meet him days ago.

Walking past a few children playing in the street he couldnt fail to hear the lyrics they sang as part of their game.
It was enough to make his skin crawl, he could feel that there was power in the words, calling for someone with the voice to utter them. He knew from a life lead with chanters and chance survivals against the Belief that he would do best in never taking them on his tongue.

The old chanter hurried along the cobble walks of the town. Moving past the outer houses and shops, taking a ways around the biggest of the three churches, stopping to buy bread from a middle aged Tail woman at a bakery before arriving again at the tavern he had spent the last week at. The situation in the town had proved to be calm, he had seen no frenzied preaching or sermons by the Belief out on the streets, and innocent small talk had given him the impression that people here didnt see chanters in every misfortune or unlucky situation, nor had the Belief had any burnings or trials for as long as most could remember. But there were occasionally the hanging of thiefs and bandits, and the priests made sure that everyone knew the danger of housing the heretic chanters.

Nehlas had made sure not to use the voice, or any of his own verses for that matter. One could never be too careful in a town where the Belief had ground.
Where were those chanters?


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The chattering of small animals and the occasional birdsong made the walk through the forest a peaceful one. There were six of them, Felwonaed had met up with the other five in small villages and towns along the way, all of them on their way to a man named Nehlas that would be in a town to the east. And it had so far been a quiet journey, but he couldnt get the nagging feeling that they were being followed out of his head. None of the others seemed to have noticed.


The greenery cleared in front of them and they came to an old rope-bridge, hanging suspended above a wide gorge. They began crossing it, carefully one at a time not to make the tattered thing crumble under their weight. Felwonaed went last, telling the others to move ahead of him as he fixed his belongings.
When they were gone he looked back at the bridge and the forest-path they were following. Someone was after them, and whoever it was gained on them. Taking out a knife from his things he severed the supporting ropes of the bridge. It fell down to rest at the other cliff side of the gorge.

He catched up to the others a few minutes later, they were only a day or two from the town.

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While it was a peaceful town, there were was no lack of work for the towns-guard. At the moment a few of them were pursuing a woman who had for one part left without paying at one of the inns, and for the other having injured a few of the customers. She hadnt seemed to be from the town, and the guards thought it a perfect chance to loose a little stress. The inn owner had described her as quite beautiful.

Seeing someone that fit her description, and who ran off when she caught sight of them, the four guards renewed their efforts, passerbys getting out of their way.
 
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The woman hurried around the corner of a building and eyed the area ahead of her. She hurried forward figuring it was best to leave the town for now.

She had gotten some food and sadly forgotten to bring money but hey shit happens right?
A laugh escaped her lips when she heard the guards behind her. Now at least she wasn't hiding in fear, unkowing of what would happen next.

Starting to whistle a chant she was abrubtly stopped. feeling a strong tug in the cloak. She swung with her legs like a bell. "buu i was having fun to and all" She pouted.

Taron raised an eyebrow at Liana. "Why exactly? are you being chased by guards. This time?"
The large tauron turned around facing the guards still effortlessly holding the young woman in his hand dangling like a marionette though now with crossed arms.

"So what did the girl do this time?" His voice boomed as he eyed the guards.
"I guess i have to apologise for her as usuall the young fool tends to be reckless. Though" He then finished and looked at the guards. "It seems she wasn't the only one here who easily falls into bad intentions."
 
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The towns in this part of the world never had enough trained healers to go around, so it was common for men and women in Soranus' line of work to travel. And a good thing too. Apparently someone couldn't handle their honeybeer, because he was engaged in pressing a stinking herbal mixture to an open wound, then wrapping it in a clean rag. At least it had happened while he'd been on his monthly visit.

"Smells like my gran." The patient, a customer at the local tavern, winced as the press was pushed tight against the wound. Soranus had adjusted to the smell a while ago, and knew the same chemicals that made it stink also scoured infection from the wound. It was always a pain to gather the ingredients for this stuff, though. Still, this was a nasty looking wound, across the thigh. Not too much blood lost, but a nice way for infection to get in.

"Well, better stinking than gangrenous. Otherwise I'd be down here with a hacksaw, and you'd be down a leg to stop the rot spreading." Bedside manner wasn't always his strong suit. "How'd this happen, anyway?"

"Some tart decided to pull a knife instead of pay. Cut me - and I'm not even a guard! I heard her talking. She sounded noble-born. Thinks she's too good." The man rumbled as Soranus stood, wiping the last of the herb-mush from his hands and packing away the spare rags.

"You know, I heard a story once about a runaway noblewoman." Soranus could feel the chant beginning to swell, but pushed it back down again. "But, this isn't the time for stories, I suppose. Remember, change those wrappings every day. Unless you're not attached to that foot." He wagged a stern finger at his patient before heading outside. The last of the work done, the last few patients tended to. Someone had promised him payment and he intended to collect.

Stepping out into the main street, Soranus checked his hair to make sure his ears were covered by his mousy brown hair. He was always unhappy with the shape of them and hated to feel someone looking at them. With his hair in place, he sighted the helmet of a town guard and headed over to talk to him, in an even and brisk pace. "That's the last of the poultices. I'll need at least five sovereigns for that, before I head on to the next t- oh." He rounded the corner to see the scene that held the guards' attentions. A minotaur - a big one - holding a woman up by her cloak. This was certainly not what he'd signed on for. He didn't have enough healing salves and poultices for what might happen if the minotaur got angry. He stepped back a little, wanting to see how this would play out.
 
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Emma finished her song. The woman sat up, and looked at her in wonder. "You are the strongest healer I've ever seen, dearie. And I've seen a lot. Plus, you're voice is the most beautiful I've ever heard." the old woman crooned. Emma smiled. She loved helping people. While she didn't belong in a certain faction, she did the best she can to make the world a better place. "Why thank you, ma'am. I do the best I can." she said with a sweet tone in her voice. She got up and walked out, needing to take a walk. Emma loved her life. She had discovered her ability quite by accident when she was a little girl. She was just singing, and the plants around her had come to life, and this girl near her with a deep gash in her leg suddenly stood up exclaiming she was healed. Emma had quickly ran home and told her parents what had happened. Her parents h ad both exchanged worried looks, and then told her to not use this new-found talent, for bad things would happen if others were to find out. Later that week, her parents took her to her aunts house, and dropped her off. With a big hug, and a sloppy wet kiss, they were off. She hadn't seen them since. Now, 13 years later, Emma was using her gift for good. She didn't normally let memories take hold of her like that, but this was a special day. Her birthday. She decided to go for a quick jog to clear her mind.

She hurried around a corner and ran into a man as he was finishing his sentence. "That's the last of the poultices. I'll need at least five sovereigns for that, before I head back to Freeledge and - oh." Blushing furiously, Emma stepped back a couple paces. "I'm sorry sir. I wasn't watching where I was going. I apologize for any inconvenience." she said, preparing for the fist that would inevitably strike her. She cringed as the man turned around, but she didn't let any of her fear in her eyes. She then saw why the man had stopped suddenly. A huge Minotaur was holding a woman in midair. Fury ran through her. No woman should be manhandled like that. Emma began to sing. Her hauntingly beautiful voice singing the words of the ancient language filled the air. As she sung, the plants around her came to life. At her coaxing, the plants snaked around the Minotaurs legs, and yanked him from his feet. She continued to sing and the vines restrained him. Her voice cut off, and the vines hardened, successfully keeping this creature from hurting the young lady, but loose enough that he could break the bond. "Leave. Her. Alone." she growled furiously, her mind going back to when her uncle would beat her. No woman should go through that kind of manhandling.

Only after she looked around, did she realize what she had done. She had openly displayed her power. Foolish girl. Now you're going to have to leave, find a new home. When will you learn? she scolded herself. She quickly turned and ran in the opposite direction, hoping no one would follow her.
 
Alyssa wandered through the town trying to avoid attention, she knew she was hunted by those who were part of the belief... It was too peaceful here, she needed adventure, she needed something to do, but she knew she would have to wait for it to come to her... She couldn't risk drawing attention to herself right now, not yet anyways, turning a corner she heard some commotion, locating the source fairly easily as it was quite obvious it was a considerably large minotaur who had grabbed hold of a woman... It was odd for her, she'd never seen a lone minotaur wander into a town like that, what was it doing here? And why on Emcular would it be picking up that woman in particular like that? She was about to unsheathe her knife preparing to neutralize the beast when she heard the voice of a woman singing, the words were hauntingly beautiful yet she recognized the way the words were utilized. Could she be... A chanter? She watched as her speculation was confirmed when vines began to snake around the beast trapping it for enough time to allow the woman it had grasped to get away. What was she doing?! The belief would catch her and who knows what then! Without thinking she ran after the woman looking around, at the people surrounding her, most gave her the usual curious, and the occasional envious/lustful glance, but she couldn't be too careful, she stuck to the shadows hoping she would catch up to her before the belief spotted her. She couldn't turn back now, this was the adventure she had been looking for...
 
Emma reached her room at the inn and grabbed her meager belongings; always ready to run. She bolted out the door, and noticed she was being followed. No time to fight, better to lead the person to a secluded area where she could fight him/her easier. Not letting on that she knew about her tail, Emma walked quickly through town and out into the woods surrounding the town. She worked her way to where she knew she could corner her tail. She disappeared around a bend, and pressed up against the edge. When her pursuer rounded the corner, Emma grabbed her by the throat and shoved her against the edge of a the sheer cliff, holding a dagger to her chest. "Not a good idea to be following someone who don't want to be followed." she snarled viciously. Emma was small for her age, but she was strong. "Who are you, and why are you following me?" she demanded. "And don't you dare lie to me, or I will kill you." she added coldly.
 
Alyssa was a little surprised by this chanters skill in combat, but getting caught off guard wouldn't happen again, not on her watch... She had a feeling they were being followed so she would have to make this quick, her instincts told her to disarm this chanter and explain later but she decided against them this time... She hoped that wouldn't be something she'd regret later, she spoke calmly and quietly "There's no time to explain right now, I think we're being followed, even this place isn't perfectly safe from the belief." She spoke quickly, and tensed up just in-case she needed to defend herself.
 
Even as the girl spoke, Emma heard quick footsteps approaching. Snarling, she let the girl go, grabbed her hand and bolted. While she would kill in self defense, it was an entirely different thing to leave a person to die a cruel fate. As they ran, Emma began to sing once more. Plant life and the water surrounding them came to life once more. Branches of trees blocked the path behind the two. Water pooled at their pursuers feet an slid up to cover their faces. No amount of clawing or writhing could get the water off. It was an effective suffocation method. She didn't like killing, so she only suffocated them until they lost consciousness. She kept singing as they ran, the trees, bushes every thing plant like moved out of their way creating a path. Abruptly, a 'platform' of branches suddenly lifted them off the ground and high up in the air, hidden from the members of the Belief. She didn't stop there, she willed vines to tie this girl up, just until answers were given to her questions. Only then, did her song end. "Now. Where were we?" she asked quietly. "Oh yeah. That's right. You were following me. Who are you, an assassin? Sent by my Uncle? The Belief? Answer me!" she demanded harshly. She looked at the girls hands, which had turned purple. Oops. A bit too tight. She softly began singing again to loosen them, but not enough for the girl to escape. "There. Now you can breathe again, now answer!"
 
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Alyssa sighed a little deciding not to mess with the vines for the moment, then she looked down at the members of the belief that rushed past seemingly desperately searching for them. She waited until they had ventured a safe distance away from where she and this unknown chanter were before looking back at the chanter and speaking. "You could call me a chanter, I'm no assassin of the belief or whoever else, otherwise I would have tried to attack you back there." She said in a slightly irritated voice, she kept her cool though having had situations of aggression like this, but it was often from the opposite gender or some sort of hired hand/assassin.
 
Emma wanted to believe her. She did, really. So she decided to take the first step, and let her up. "One wrong move, and don't think I'll hesitate." she said softly. She started singing softly, and the vines retracted from around the girl. She continued until they were entirely enclosed in a 'ball' of branches, like a wooden dome, with a hole in the top for air. "We should be safe here for the night. What's your name?" she asked. "Why did you follow me?" she added, still tense, ready to strike if needed.
 
O', misty eye of the mountain below,
Keep careful watch of my brothers souls.
And, should the sky be filled with, fire and smoke,
Keep watching o'er Durins sons.
It was a beautiful day, with clear, light blue skies and a shining, yellow sun. But, Uguluthu couldn't see anything of these wonderful colors. The world around him was cool; heartless shades of blue -- except for somewhere down in the forest of the valley. He squinted large, dark eyes to make out the small, orange and red flecks that stood out between the navy blue trees. They were hunting, though their pray wasn't anything without a conscience. These men were hunting those with the innate power to chant, and to alter the world around them. Chanters. The name was simple, but the people themselves were powerful. Uguluthu knew this for a fact, for he was a Chanter as well. Or, he knew the chants, knew the words and the rhythms, but had never actually found the courage to utter the phrases himself.

A long, forked tongue flicked past the part in his hard, scaly lips, and for a brief moment, several more hues were added to his vision. He could taste the air around him, taste the smells which were then translated into colors that he could see. It was a useful skill, one which had landed him a job as a hunter, many, many times. For instance, every member of the Beliefs hunting party was male. Another flick of his forked tongue, which happened to be a strange shade of a grey-blue. Through the scent of the trees and every other forest creature, Uguluthu could see that there was a mix of species, but the man at the front was of a feline decent. "Devils Cat."

Uguluthu watched the small pack of the Belief for a while longer, standing atop his vantage point in the hills. He didn't have the eyes of the raptor-folk, so he was as close to them as he dared to be without being seen. He was downwind of them, as was evident by the soft breeze that tried to force it's way up his snout every now and then, so there was practically no way they could have smelled him. It's not like he reeked, the way that Hooves, Teeth or Fins did... Constantly. There was always a special, much more potent scent to those beast-folk.

Dark, brown eyes turned to the rest of the valley, drawing up an internal map of the trail the hunters were traveling. There was a ravine a ways ahead, and the group of Chanters who were being hunted should have already crossed it. Even still, a string of rhyming phrases came to Uguluthu's mind, a chant of protection. Scaled lips pressed together. He wouldn't dare utter those words. If he were to try and speak them, it was likely his chant of luck and protection would cause a mudslide and bury every last one of the Chanters who were on the run.

His tongue flicked out a few more times, tasting the air, feeding the information to his large eyes, before he picked up his spear and turned to leave his lookout. The tip of the spear was a simple, sharpened stone. A strip of cowhide was wrapped around the middle, where it was held, with a few mismatched beads dangling six inches from the wooden shaft. There was no logic or pattern to the way the colors were arranged, as Uguluthu couldn't distinguish between the green, blue, or purple. It looked fine to him.

Nothing made a sound as the lizard-man stalked away, nothing crunching under his oddly-shaped feet. From a ways away, he blended with his surroundings, his primary scales consisting of a dirty, forest green, and his throat, chest and abdomen being a shade of soil brown. His long, spined tail dragged along the forest floor behind him, sliding easily over the moss. It wasn't like a cats, it didn't twitch, and instead reflected a serene calm, following obediently. Uguluthu had someone, a dear, close friend to go see.

If this is to end in fire
Then we shall all burn together.
Watch the flames climb high,
Into the night.
Calling out, father, o',

Stand by, and we will watch the flames,
burn auburn on the mountain side.

@Raitoningu
 
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((Sorry about that, my internet decided to turn off before i was going to post))

Kharn spat on the ground. He hated being unable to communicate. It was just one more thing that enraged him. What made it worse was that he knew every word he wanted to say and they screamed themselves inside his head, echoing around empty memories and tormenting him. Refusing to escape and make themselves known, just to sit there eternally and drive him slowly insane. Of course, he was able to show what he meant somewhat with small chants mixed with hand gestures, but there was no way he'd be able to have a long conversation with anyone. He had no idea why anyone might want him. He wasn't exactly the most likeable of characters. And yet, he had been summoned to a town in the middle of nowhere.

At that moment, he had been trying to come up with a form of chanting that would allow him to telepathically send messages to people, but alas, it seemed not to be working. He didn't have the patience to make shouts of foreign words. The only language he spoke was the language of destruction. A small gecko scuttled along the ground before him, and he zapped it with a small jolt of lightning to see what it would do. It burnt and that was about it. He decided that he had waited long enough. He stood up, in a single motion picked up his bag and mounted it on his back, then started walking up the hill towards where the child Ug was supposed to be watching things. He always referred to Ug as a child because he didn't chant. He had the power to, and Kharn could see that clearly, but for some reason, he didn't. Maybe he was afraid that if he did he'd get caught? Well. it was too late for that.
 
@Bitterblue

Alyssa stretched a little after being freed from her bonds before answering "My name is Alyssa, though most just call me a variety of nicknames... As for why I followed you, it was partly I figured I'd try and alert you of the belief that's currently after us, and partly because I could do with working together with someone else." She paused briefly considering the fact that she'd never formed an alliance like this one before, but the idea of it intrigued her, plus she hadn't had the proper company of another chanter for quite a while... "Would you... Perhaps like to form an allegiance with me?" She asked relatively calmly, she relaxed her stance trying to convey she was no threat but she was still ready to defend herself if things were to get ugly.
 
@york
Emma was exhausted. The adrenaline rush was wearing off, and all that chanting drained her energy. She could barely move, she was so weary, it was the most she could do to prop herself up. She was lucky that amount of chanting hadn't killed her. Emma smiled gently, the more she heard about this girl, the more she liked her. Although, she had known about the Belief being after them, her anger at the Minotaur had lost her temper. That had made her lose control. "Mine's Emma. I knew they were there, anger just came over me...and I lost my temper. Hence, why I was running." she said softly, not having the energy to talk normally. She looked into Alyssa's eyes and saw the hope. She smiled again. "That would be cool. Although friends sounds nicer? We can build up to that of course." she said with a slight chuckle. Yawning, Emma lied down. "Do you mind taking first watch? I'm exhaus--" Emma had fallen asleep mid sentence, leaving Alyssa in silence.
 
Alyssa nodded silently, she regretted the fact that she didn't develop any chants for revitalization, one of those would have come in handy in this situation... Oh well, she didn't mind keeping watch for the moment, she sat back in the shelter, listening silently for any sign of a threat... She listened to the sounds of the forest around her for any abnormality, looking around every now and then just in-case someone or something much quieter was lurking around. The thing that unsettled her was that she didn't hear the presence of any animal around, perhaps it was because the presence of the belief had scared them away? Or they were too close to the village? In either case she felt something wasn't right here... But what?
 
Emma was tossing and turning. Her Uncle haunted her in her dreams.
Emma was running. Running away from her Uncle. Her Uncle thought that beating her would chase off her ability. She was just 8 years old, and had scars running down her back from the lashes of her Uncle's belt. "Get back here, Emma! Don't run away from me, or I'll double it!" he hollered. The dream changed to a more pleasant situation. Her parents were dropping her off. As she embraced her father for the last time, he changed his mind. He turned to her mother and said "I can't do this. She's our baby girl, how could we abandon her?" He picked Emma up, and put her on his shoulders. Emma squealed with glee. She missed her parents badly. She wondered what they were doing.
Emma's dreams kept changing, but it was a sound sleep. She was oblivious to what was happening around her.
 
Uguluthu made his way down the backside of the hill, weaving between the brush and the trees like the massive lizard he was. Every now and then he would taste the air, check over his shoulder to see the life-signs of the other creatures that shared that particular stretch of forest with him.

It was some time later when he finally came across his dear friend. What his eyes showed him was a tall, red and yellow and orange silhouette. But, Uguluthu knew Kharns scent well enough to know it was him.

"The Belief are closssing in," Ugluthu informed, coming to a stop on the side of the smaller hill in front of Kharn. When he spoke, the sound of his S's were long and pronounced, like a hiss.

The butt end of Uguluthu's spear was driven into the soft ground, and the tips of his clawed toes dug into the moss. The forest that they stood in was an Old Growth. There were hundreds of thousands of trees, very few of them the same height. The oldest of the trees, the very tops of them were beyond what Uguluthu could see. The forest floor was covered in a variety of foliage; moss was the dominant form of vegetation, but there were massive, curling ferns and a number of bushes, some of which were large enough to be mistaken for small trees. Off to the side of the two friends, there was what was left of a mighty tree that had fallen many, many years ago. It had become a nursery for other trees and plants. It almost looked like a completely natural part of the hillside, with moss and ferns growing up the sides and on the top of the old log.

Speaking of nurseries, some of the life that flourished just below the surface showed itself around Uguluthu's feet. In addition to the unfortunate gecko that Kharn had come across further into the woods, another slunk between scaled toes. When Uguluthu blinked, there were two layers of lid that slipped over his large brown eyes. He looked down, seeing a slightly warmer shade of purple that had crawled over him. It was a fellow reptilian, though it was so many times smaller than the lizard-man.

"Getsss of," Uguluthu hissed, lifting the long-toed foot and shaking it gently. He wasn't going to kick the thing away, but he wasn't going to welcome it onto him. So, it fell away without much complaint, landing silently among the fluffy moss which broke it's fall, where it crawled away to find somewhere else. There was an abundance of such small creatures in these woods.

"They are huntingsss the Chantersss that came through here earlier," Uguluthu said, looking back up to Kharn. "Do we followsss?"

 
Alyssa heard Emma's restlessness in her sleep, turning her attention to Emma she observed she was having a nightmare... A few mumbles that came from Emma every now and then seemed to depict different situations, none which connected to each other in any relevant way. Perhaps she's dreaming of her past? Alyssa could only guess, her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden rustling, she quickly turned to the sound realizing it just a quiet but curious Gecko coming to investigate the slight disturbance in the foliage from Emma's tossing and turning. She relaxed again and when the Gecko moved close enough she slowly reached to pet the Gecko, it was a dark green color and seeming devoid of any toxins, plus the little fellow was pretty friendly. The Gecko seemed to enjoy the attention and let itself be petted for a few moments before continuing it's journey through the shelter slipping into a few leafy branches. Then, remembering she was on watch duty Alyssa focused her attention back to listening and looking for trouble, looks like this forests wildlife was relatively quiet so it shouldn't be too hard to locate a possible threat, right? She glanced around the shelter, and cautiously peeked out of it at the forest below for a moment, just in case...
 
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A few hours later, Emma woke. Moaning, she sat up. She was sore, her muscles ached. A normal side effect. She looked over at Alyssa, and smiled. "How long was I out?" She croaked, her throat parched with thirst. She would 'kill' for some water. Of course, all the water out here wasn't clean, probably had some sort of parasite in it or something. Standing up, Emma stretched. It felt good, muscles straining and all that. She couldn't sing them down if she didn't get some water. And of course, when they had been on the run, her bag of supplies was left behind. They would have to go back and get it. She poked her head out between the branches. No way to climb down. She made hmph noise. They may be up here for a while.
 
It was that time again. Time for the children to return to school. Roan was their protector for the trip. The long trip required them to cross her master's land to the plains of the nearest town. She could only hope that the children would be cooperative today. The more cooperative the children the shorter the trip. A small patchwork of hide covered her ample chest, even though it was hidden behind a large tuff of white fur. Another small patch of hide covered her lower half. This seemed to be the custom of the human ways and she dare not offend anyone with her appearance for it wouldn't please master very much.

Once all the children were rounded up she gave a short gruff sound. A sound any tigress would make to her pups. Even though these weren't her pups she treated them like such, having watched them grow year after year. Their language was foreign on her tongue, though she could speak it to a limit. The children had learned some of her native language. For instance how to tell the difference between certain calls and sounds. They stepped off into the forest. The four children walking along the path as Roan walked next to them, sniffing the air as she went. Her ears flickered around listening for any strange sounds.

After a while of walking she gave another gruff sound telling the children to halt. Roan heard voices and foot falls that were not normal to this part of the forest. Standing in front of the children, they all held hand at this point and the one in front held onto her white and black striped tail. A soft sound came out and they all stopped. The hand on her tail releasing so she could further investigate without the children being in danger. She gave a loud growl, warning whatever was there to leave or be hurt. Ears flickered around, her head tilting as she heard voices but..... they were coming from above her. Bright yellow orbs glanced above herself before a loud audible hiss escaped her lips as she caught a glimpse of the vine ball in the sky. It hadn't been there before, ever.
 
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