The Feral War

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samanthinator

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The blade was razor sharp, honed to perfection. A soft thumb appraised this quality, causing the thumb's owner to smile. The dagger was broad bladed, wide at the tip, with a subtle narrowing all the way to the hilt. It was simple overall, no jewels or embellishments.
Cade sat on a log just outside of the commander's tent, waiting for her mysterious 'partner'. In the meantime, the woman was checking her weapons. The dagger in her hand slid back into its sheath with ease, eliciting another smile from the woman. She took pride in her weapons, and the fantastic condition of her armor. She wasn't much of a front line fighter, despite her aptitude for it.
She was, after all, a tall, muscled woman, able to carry and wield the dual swords strapped to her hips. She had a strong jaw, a sharp nose, and intense stormy gray eyes. Her hair was deep brown, so much like the feathers of the bird she could shift into. It was cut short for ease of maintenance.
No, Cade was a spy. She was excellent at it, at deception, and this was to be her biggest assignment yet. She'd admit...she was excited. Infiltrating the enemy's camp would be challenging, and she was more than ready for it.
 
A man emerged from the tent. He was tall, only slightly shorter than her. He looked her up and down, ran a hand through his short, grey hair. He had a sly face, like that of a fox. Which is what he turned into. A fox with Grey hair. Unusual, but it's what he was. "So. You're the one, eh? Alright. I'm Skro. You know what we're doing, right? Good. Let's go." He spoke quickly, leaving no room for reply. As he walked he picked up various things. A pack of supplies, a map, and a few other supplies. He stood at the edge of the camp. "You ready?"
 
Well, he was direct, she mused, following him through camp and picking up her own pack on the way. The brown bag only had a few clothes and some tools in it. Nothhing personal or embarrassing, she wasn't the type to have that. Cade nodded to his question about her readiness once they reached the edge of camp. "Cade," she replied, offering a hand. It was embarrassing that she didn't know the man, yet, even though they technically worked together. She decided to remedy that.
 
The man grumbled and shook the girls hand. It was... light. "Avian?" he asked her. He figured she was, but best to make sure.
 
"Yes. Clever," Cade remarked, smiling. "Yourself?" She'd assume fox, based on his appearance. Better not to voice that and be wrong, however. He didn't seem to be much of a socializer. Oh well. She'd make do. He was far from the worst traveling companion she'd had, anyways. Not even remotely close.
 
He nodded. "Fox. Don't worry, though. Haven't had a taste for birds in ages. I prefer rabbits. Now come on, I'd like to get to a point where we can set up a camp by sundown. We can socialize on the when we stop to rest." He Let go of the bird woman's hand and turned, walking out of the camp, towards the dense forest that kept their little village hidden.
 
Chuckling softly, she followed him. The thought that he assumed could actually eat her was amusing. Maybe he could, but not without getting a few scars in return. Cade was tempted to change forms, but he likely wouldn't be able to keep up. Not in the forest.
 
He looked up at the sky. It was a little past noon, and the sun was setting rapidly. "We'd best get a move on. Keep up." He did a little hop, and burst into a sprint, his feet lightly hitting the ground, the only part touching would be his toe area. He made it to the tree line in seconds, and dashed amongst the trees, keeping an eye out for a clearing.
 
Ah, hell. She was flying. Taking a running jump, Cade burst into her hawk form. She was a black hawk, and a bit large for the species. The difference was only a couple of inches, but it was noticeable. Of course, many of her kind were different sizes in their animal form. Gliding through the trees, she landed on a branch ahead of him, illustrating that she'd be able to keep up just fine.
 
He looked up in time to see her on a tree. "Alright, smart-ass." He adjusted the straps on his pack and lept into the air, coming back down as a fox. Averagely sized, he would blend in well with a crowd of natural foxes, aside from the dark grey fur. He sprinted through the forest, dashing through the underbrush before reaching a small clearing about a mile into the forest. He shifted back to human form, and set his pack on the ground. "We set camp here." he called to Cade.
 
Cade dropped from a tree, landing on the ground in her human form. "Good, my wings were getting tired." She was unused to flying for long distances, or for long periods of time. Just quick scouting routes here and there. She set her pack down as well, glancing around. "Sleeping on the ground, then?"
 
Skro nodded. "More than likely. You should come and sit, we have time to chat now." He pulled a few pieces of meat from his pack and began to eat them, waiting for the avian to come sit with him. He held a piece out to her. "Want some?" he asked.
 
"Hm. Didn't see you as much of a chatty person," Cade replied, sitting down near him and accepting a piece of meat. "Thanks." She ate the piece, considering whether or not to make a fire. Deciding against it, she looked at him. "What do you want to talk about, then?"
 
He chuckled a little at her remark. "I'm not, but I figure if I'm going to work with you, I may as well get to know you. Strengths, weaknesses, the like. Help me figure out what I need to concentrate on doing to be able to watch your back without seeming like a pest." He ripped off another chunk of meat with his teeth, chewing it. "First, we should probably make a fire. Not a large one, but enough that will keep us warm."
 
Cade chuckled softly, nodding. "I'd just thought about that. Should we got out and get some wood?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows. She had flint in her pack, and there were always her knives if that didn't work. At least they'd be able to just grab some dry branches from the surrounding forest. Chopping wood was something she absolutely detested doing.
 
Skro nodded. "Good idea. We'll gather some wood from the forest floor, and build a fire with it. No need to chop down trees. Besides, that would lessen our cover should we find trouble. I'll go this way. you go that. We'll meet up back here." He said, pointing in different directions.
 
After pulling out one of her knives, Cade nodded and walked off in the direction specified. Finding branches was easy enough, and she loaded an armload of variously sized twigs and branches. She set them down in a pile, then carefully sorted out the kindling from the heavier, larger branches. You couldn't just start by burning the big stuff, after all.
 
Skro followed suit, leaving and returning with a large group of various sized branches. He began to sort them, placing the kindling in a central pile and larger branches off to the side. "Think we have enough?" he asked her.
 
"For tonight? Yeah." Cade pulled out the flint from her pack, setting some of the kindling in a small pile and trying to light it. After a few tries, the sparks caught and they twigs quickly became a small fire. She fed it with the branches until she was satisfied with its size. "So, how'd you get involved with the war?" she asked, looking up from her work.
 
Skro looked up at her from the slowly growing fire as she asked about the origin of his involvement in military affairs. "It runs in my family. My father was a spy, his father was a raider at the beginning of the war, and before it his father was a soldier, as was his. My bloodline has been in service since before the war. I sort of.. inherited it, I suppose. It's practically what I was bred for. What about you, Cade? Why are you here?" he asked.
 
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