Tove felt the ground sink a tad as a presence appeared beside her, she felt her counterpart take a seat beside her worn body. She left of a peaceful and unnoticable smile as the river lulled her asleep, She listened to the birds and river as her mind went dark then silence.

-

The man from the clearing, Coal had reffered to as Max, was present in her dreams once more. He was younger than previously seen, more youth seen to his face and build. A small Yak present with him this time. They were standing in a burning town, her father, in his large bear form, appeared, his eyes wide with fear as he eyed Max. Something told her that max had caused the town to burn, Tove recognized the town, it was the town she had grown up in before her mother sent her and Bo up north to Fellborn. Tove twisted in her sleep. How could this be? Tove showed clear discomfort in her face as she slept, but couldnt seem to wake herself up.

-

Her father charged Max, Max quickly retailiating with a quick swing of an ax to the shoulder. Tove flinched again in her sleep. Her father fell to the cold, dirt ground. Weakened and defeated, he accepted this as Max finished him. The man sheared her father of his pelt, wrapping it around himself like a prize, her fathers claws, and his teeth. Before Tove awoke, he turned and looked her dead in the eye.

-

Panic and fretting, Tove woke, tears coming down her face. She breathed deeply and quickly, as she fretted. The scent of other shifters filled her nostrils. Tove looked to Coal, hoping he hadnt noticed her shocked spell.

"Awww, cone on. You take all the fun out if you don't get hurt. Ya know, I actually like near death expeirences, especially when I nearly die of blood loss- it just keeps life from getting boring, right?" Sabine joked even more sarcastically. Sarcasm was one of tge ways Sabine could throw off tensions, at least from herself anyway. She trotted a few yards before stopping and looking back over her great white shoulder at Tallinn and Nyx. "You're sure you don't need me, right? Just call out if you do, cause horses have pretty good hearing, especially on a windy day like this." She said before setting out.

.

She set off at a brisk trot, trying to follow the scent as best she could, but honestly, the way the wind was blowing, they could be anywhere upwind from her, and the wind would still blow their scent to her. She wondered where Sam was, if he was still back at the cave waiting for them, or if he had set out in his own.

.

After a few minutes of trotting, a different scent caught her attention. She lowered her head and sniffed the ground. A large, musky odored animal had passed through here not to long ago. She sniffed again. It was some sort of hoofed mammal, but not a horse, more like a cow. Sabine couldn't quite place the exact scent, but she guessed it could have been a sort of ox. Then she froze as she found another scent with the ox-ish scent. This one was all too familiar. The Hunter from last night. Sabine cantered away from that spot, carefully making sure her hoofbeats were light and didn't make too much noise.

.

When she thought she was far enough away from the Hunter, she breathed a sigh of relief. Facing him again so soon after last night's events was not something Sabine wished to do. Her horse ears pricked forwards as she heard something not too far off. Voices.

.

She shifted back to her human form, and walked a little closer. Then she stopped. Whoever they were, she didn't want them seeing her sling and knowing she was hurt. Show no signs of weakness. That was one of the first rules when it came to fighting. She took her sling off, wincing slightly, but she was surprised at how much better it felt than last night. The salve was working.

.

Sabine shimmied up a tree, and closed in on the voices. She saw two people in conversation. One was a female shifter, Sabine knew of her, but she hadn't formally met her. The other person, a man, wasn't a shifter, but he was probably just a normal human, and not a hunter. But she hadn't seen him around the village, and still, you never knew, and besides, some normal humans still acted as spys for the hunters. Sabine watched them for a minute, she couldn't catch exactly what they were saying though. Soon, the female shifter sat down, and the man sat down next to her, rather closely, Sabine noted with a raised eyebrow.

.

"Hello there." She said (Obi-Wan Kenobi style) as she dropped down from the tree above. "I do hope I wasn't interrupting anything important... Or mushy." She said with a wry smile. She didn't know why she had suddenly decided to show herself, especially in that manner. She was mostly curious about the man, she hadn't seen him before, and ahe knew everybody in the village. It was a small town, everybody knew everybody, except for this guy.

-

Tive looked to him, the honestly brutally rolling out as she spoke, "No, no im not." She was broken, her heart had hurt physically. This dream had hurt her. She didnt know what to believe. The sudden thud of a girl dropping from the tree caused Tove to shift, almost instantly. Her leopard took a widened stance behind Coal, ears pinned, teeth barred as Coal handled the situation, flirting away. Tove rolled her eyes. Boys. Toves tail swished back and forth angerily, she clearly showed her discomfort of the girl standing before them.

-

Her blue eyes never missed a beat, this girl was a shifter, it was clearly smelt. She had heard of this one before, she was a scout, Tove had seen her before as she was hunting. While Tove tried her hardest to distract herself from the nightmare she couldnt seem to escape. A low growl escaped her lips as it came flooding back. She closed her eyes and bowed her head, shifting back to human. She rubbed her temples, attempting to get the vision out of her head.

-

"Why." She looked uo to the girl, taking a completely different tone than Coal had. She didnt want to come off as rude, however, both parties were tired and Tove more than likely will not sleep again until her nightmares are resolved. She needed to go see Bo, he might have some sort of remedy. Tove looked to Coal, scanning his dashingly handsome features as he flirted then she turned her attention back to the girl. "Mushy? The only thing thats gonna be mushed is your brains in the ground if you do that again." Toves tone was harsh, her eyes piercing into the girls, her body tensed.

Sabine let out a small chuckle. "Hmmmp, clearly" she said, sarcasm clear in her voice. "It seems do do even more wonders for you attitude." She shot back. "As for why I'm here... I was passing through when I saw you, and I told myself 'ya know, I don't think I ever saw that guy before, I should drop in and say hello.' And myself told me, 'yeah that's a great idea, and so is drop. Emphasis on drop' ". Sabine said, slightly proud of herself for thinking of that.

.

She looked to the girl, who had instinctively shifted when Sabine had dropped down, but now she had shifted back. Okay, so odds are, he's probably not a hunter if he saw her shift and he's not doing anything... But I still can't be to sure... She thought. She had to go to great lengths to restrain herself from saying 'easy there, kitty' at the female's harsh tone, but she still smirked slightly as she imagined what that would bring. Instead she tried to put aside some of the sarcasm. "I'm not scared of you, and I don't think you'd find it that easy anyway. Why am I here? Honestly, I guess just out of curiosity." She answered, surprised she was able to keep her tone from showing any smartness, and her toungue from quipping any witty remarks.

.

She instinctively felt her side for the comforting feel of her dagger hilts, but alas, they were all gobe except for the ones in her boots. As soon as I get back to town, I'm going to the Blacksmith. She thought. She missed her weapons.

Coalstin || 19 - I think. || Male || Hunter/Tracker || M: Tove, Sabine

Coal winced as Tove answered him. Of course she wasn't alright - it was clear her dream had deeply rattled her. He was about to answer when the girl dropped from the tree. He got engaged into conversation with her, and resolved to see if he could help Tove later. The girl's words were sharp and sarcastic - in that sense, Coal was reminded vaguely of himself. It was fun - her witty, snarky comments - it kept him on edge, anticipating her next move.

Beside him, Tove shifted from her feline form to her human form. The young man flinched, only slightly. Instinctively, his mind had been wired to attack. A shifter meant danger, according to his long hours of rigid training to be a hunter. But logically, he knew she meant no harm. Logically, he knew he could never live with the blood of innocent people on his hands. In his heart, there was something - he couldn't bring himself to harm Tove, not in the slightest. Whether shifter or not, he would never hurt her. Which might not be such a popular resolution among his regiment. Coal had been brought to the army to track prey and shifters a like - not murder.

It was clear Tove had been put on edge - her defensive words were a clear warning. Coal saw the other girl bite back a witty remark, and instead answer simply - she had been curious.

"Curiosity killed the cat," he answered reflexively, then paused. "But not the dog," he continued, winking at her cheerfully. Coal saw her reach for a dagger that was not there.

"You know, it's not the most comforting thing when someone reaches for a weapon. Really makes you feel safe." He quipped, clear blue eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

-

Tove watched as the female reached for a daggar that seemed to be missing. "Good choice." She smiled with sarcasm, She removed her bow from around herself, looking for an arrow but it seemed to be missing. She thought quickly and reached to grab one of Coal's, she knocked on her bow and held it pointed down, carefully waiting for the fiery females next move.

-

She didnt particualry like this red-headed female, she seemed rude and uncalledfor. Tove was in a bad place and the best thing for her to do right now was to get her mind out of it. Her blue eyes looked to Coal for the next move, hesitating. She kept her hand on the string of the bow and kept it pointed to the ground. She listened as her friend bickered with the girl, watching as he drew his crossbow. She watched as his expression went from playful to serious, his eyes narrowing. Tove turned her attention back to the girl. "I think you should return to your friends." Tove spoke, her words stern but with concern. "It'd be the best, for all of us." She looked to Coal then back to the girl. She could tell Coal was tired, he needed sleep, and he was starting to get irritated, especially since the girl decided to make an agggressive move.

Maximillian Trujillu / M / 28 / Hunter / Mentions: Artem, Yarene, Bo, Tove

Max finished digging a big enough grave to match the man he had killed. He dragged the corpse into the hole and quickly covered it back up. Patting down the soft soil, he took a large branch and stuck it down the end of it. Then, he ripped off the fang necklace that he had taken from the boy’s father and wrapped it around the branch. He dug the letter ‘S’ with a crossed ‘x’ through it. Max always did this when he killed a shifter, it marked that the grave was a shifter grave. But this time, he left the teeth due to his previous encounter.

He stood up, stretching out as he brushed the dirt from his hands. Looking around, he observed the area. Small, hare tracks led its way around a few shrubs. He got out his arrow, moving silently towards it. A sudden rustle and the hare hauled ass towards an escape route. Max was quick and flung his ax in the way, decapitating its head from its body in a smooth and quick manner. He tossed the head and picked up the dead hare by its legs, walking back towards the cave, picking up a few sticks for a fire along with way. He entered the cave, seeing Artem sat down he sighed. “Finally got used to it?” Max huffed, hanging the hare by its foot to the top of the cave, draining its blood.

He walked towards Artem, then uncuffed him. “You’re free to go, I’m sure you know the reason for this but try your best to avoid hunters now. If you run into one, just say you managed to escape,” Max gathered the chains up and brushed it into Yarene’s saddle pack. “You’re free to stay for our little feast if you wish,” Max realized he said ‘our’ as in the yak and him. He brushed it off, Artem probably thought Max was some lonely old man who talked to animals like his only friends. He finished draining the blood from the hare, then skinned it. It was a large plot of prey, big enough to give Max and Yarene plenty of satisfaction unless the boy decided to join in.

While it hung, blood still slightly dripping from it, he clattered the sticks onto the ground, letting it thoroughly bleed out while he started up a fire. He laid a dry piece of plank onto the ground, with some dry thatch and started to twiddle his large hands against a slim stick, circling it around until steam decided to form. By then, there was just enough heat to catch the thatch on fire. He cupped his hands around it and gently blew into it. Once it was strong enough, he fed it more sticks. “There we are, a fire!” Max grinned, looking to Yarene, he knew she wanted some of the food.

Yarene Isen / F / 18 / Hidden-ish / Yak / Mentions: Max, Artem

Yarene, deciding between the decisions of knock him out or… just wait to shift back. Artem was too quiet… even around a yak. Shouldn’t he be attempting to escape? Was he that wary of Yarene? I do play the yak card quite well. A mental smirk formed as she tossed her head in boredom. She saw him sit down, which was odd. She expected him to attack her. She flinched once he looked towards her. She just tried her best to act like she didn’t notice, due to the mounds of golden and fawn locks covering most of her vision.

A wave of relief washed over Yarene as he shrugged the idea off. Only if Max allows me-but does Max need to know..? She shook the thought off. She couldn’t do that to him.

She just stared at the boy, hoping time would past-but it didn’t. She wanted to reply- she really did. Come on Maaaax. She was growing bored, insanely bored. He was just too quiet to talk to-not like she could talk to him anyway. Like her prayers have been answered she heard footsteps. Not just any, those heavy steps belonged to Max. Her head perked up, but she didn’t move. She saw him unhook the chains and place them into her saddle. She was growing quite fond of having someone tumble after her when she ran.

Yet she figured that Max would do this. Set the boy free. As he started to work on a fire, she could only mentally chuckle. Usually, Yarene would do this-her slim hands would make it easier to start a fire. She locked her eyes on the hare once more. Drool practically making its way down her lips.

Ren Yo / M / 20 / Tradesman / Mentions: Nala

Ren felt the gusts of wind carry his crimson liquid blood down his thigh as it flung from his toes. He didn’t want to land again. He didn’t want to shift back. He didn’t want to look at what happened to him. He heard a whistle, following Nala and the rest of the herd at a slow pace, to keep up. He heard her whistle, this time signaling that she was slowing down. She got bandages out. Crap. She was right there... He didn’t suspect she’d be moving any time soon until he was bandaged up, so unwillingly, he swooped down and shifted back.

He winced in pain as he landed. Looking at the materials-he had no idea how to apply them. He grabbed onto the cloth folding it on his fingers before placing it back. “Er…” Ren rubbed the back of his head. He realized his hands were coated in his blood-and now he just filtered them through his hair. The color of his head and hair were just about the same, so he’d have to bathe it out later.

“What’s this used for?” He pointed at the herbs. He probably seemed like a helpless child-he was. Yet, he wasn’t going back now. He was already committed. He placed his hand back on his side wound. “I may have just been nearly shanked to death, but this never really happens,” His exaggeration and sarcasm peered through as he forced a smile.