Mary-ann Sullivan - Female - 7 - Human - mentions: Elizabeth Winters

Mary-ann had taken only taken a few steps outside of her house and she was already seeing people. For most of her life, her mother always had kept her sheltered away from most people. She didn’t understand why her mother prevented social interactions with many. It had stunned her social growth, making her somewhat introverted. Her mother seemed obsessive over the idea. Her mother would always tell her that when she got older she would be able to go out more. It all depended on who she grew up to be. Mary-ann didn’t know that her mother really meant what she could grow up to be.

Due to Mary-ann’s age, she was unable to be identified as anything but a human. Yet her mother worried, as she herself had been a shifter. Hannah worried that her child would end up slaughtered by a hunter once she came of age if she was going to turn out to be a shifter. Lucky, that wasn’t Mary-ann’s fate. On the other hand, it would be bold to assume that fate would be one her side forever. Mary-ann didn’t know that her mother had been discovered by a hunter just mere hours after she had left for the market. Mary-ann would never find her mother, whom she was currently out searching for.

Down the dusty road, she spotted a young adult lady walking down the street. Mary-ann wasn’t entirely sure what to do. She understood that a young girl like her wouldn’t normally be out on her own without a parent nearby. She wouldn’t if she could scoot by without being noticed or questioned about this. It didn’t seem like she would be able to, as even though there was plenty of room on the path, it was wide open. Surely she was to be noticed. Then a thought popped into Mary-ann’s head. She had been worried about accidentally getting lost, so maybe this was only something that would be useful for her. She could ask for directions, just in case.

That was if she could manage to get the words out.

Tallinn found Sabine's antics quite amusing, although she didnt' show it. However, she would be lying if she claimed she didn't straighten her posture, raise her chin in a soldier - like manner when the mare had mocked him. Sabine had been attempting to lighten the mood - and despite all, she had. At Sabine's question towards Sam, Tallinn couldn't really help herself.

"Oh, careful. General Sam is far to dignified to spare some simple soldiers any sort of information." She quipped lightly, amused light dancing in her dark eyes, her wry sense of wit emerging. She tensed suddenly, then buried her playful attitude. She couldn't afford to be so lighthearted - not when danger lurked near.

Never the right time, Tallinn. You know you can't ever be like them - stick with me.

His voice was clear, sharp, as if he was still there. She curled her hands into Sabine's coarse mane.

He's right. He's right. I'm not enough - he's right.

The thought had worn a circular track in her mind - whenever his voice rang in her head, some sort of negative comment followed. It was something inascapable. Have someone tell you the same thing long enough - you are nothing - you do begin to believe it.

Tallinn turned away slightly, falling into a nervous silence.

Samuel Brooks - male - 20 - game hunter - arctic wolf - mentions: Mike, Tallinn, Nyx, Sabine, Artem


He chuckled when Sabine started mocking him; his smile growing when Tallinn joined in, "its Great General Sam soldier" he replied.
Though he knew they weren't safe and that Tallinn was hurt right now he felt like it was okay to joke around; Nyx was keeping watch after all.
"Its a cave by the base of the mountains behind a waterfall" he finally answered them.

He'd found the cave when he was small, exploring the land with his father and grandfather, he'd been twelve at that time and the second he found the cave he shifted for the first time; his bones changing shape and fur growing all along his body. One second he was a boy still waiting for his growth spurt the next he was a juvenile arctic wolf.

The cave itself was more of a cleft in the rocks behind one of the waterfal rivers that fed into the Fellborn lake, it was deep, moist and dark, but safe. Its where he and brought Nyx when their parents were murdered; it was best the hunters didn't know they were the children of two pure blooded shifters; no matter how much it hurt to leave them. The bodies were gone by the time they came back; he didn't know if the others had burried them or if the hunters had just thrown them out into the lake; still didnt know.

"I might have some bandages there for emergencies but everything else is at our house in Fellborn" he said, remembering how much blood Tallinn had lost from the hunters knife.
He shifted Mike's weight to his other shoulder as he looked up to the sky; Nyx was flying overhead silently sometimes doubling back, but usually just gliding above the trees.

The stout female carried herself towards the wooded tree line. The deep snow had left her breathing heavily however she was on too good of a trail to give up now. Just ahead, She thought, large tracks of bull elk lead her into the trees, there was a stream ahead, he was going to get some water. The wind was in her face, she was down wind. Perfect. The blonde thought with a grin. Laying her hand on the dark wood of her bow, she pulled it up and over her head with one quick motion. She crouched and began to move forward quietly, the only sound to be heard was the occasional exhale and the snow crunching ever so slightly under her light feet. Soon, the large bull came into view. He wasnt old, his deep tan coat sticking out against the white snow. He drank peacefully. Tove pulled an arrow from a secret quiver under her white coyote skin, she knocked and drew back. Just as she had done many times before, she aimed just behind the shoulder and about six inches from the bottom of the chest. This provides the perfect heart shot.

Tove too her time to skin out the elk, praising the animal for having many luxuries such as a thick winter coat that could be made into a blanket, fat that could be stored for future cookings, and lots of meat, to provide for those in the community. After getting the pelt off, she laid it nicely onto the fresh snow, folding it to make a rectangle then rolling it up and tying it off with a string she kept in her leather armour. After gutting, and skinning the elk, it was finally light enough for her to carry, barely. Straining, she managed to get the elk over her shoulders, careful not to forget her bow as she picked it up with her single free hand and began to make her way back to the village.

The fimiliar sight of Jeffry caught the bright blue eyes of Tove as she made her last effort into town. "Tove! Nice to see ya there! Looks like you got quite the load there, let me help you!" The bald man spoke as he rushed over to assist. He grabbed the elk carcass from toves shoulders and assisted her with carrying it to the butchers table. Tove nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, a weight being literally lifted off pf her shoulders.

"Thank you Mr. Mills." She offered a small smile as a bag of sausage was handed to her.

"Here, I made this from the hare you killed a couple days ago." The man said as he turned to the elk. "Well, best be getting to work, wouldnt want all this good meat to go to waste." Jeffry said as he took his large knife and began hacking away at the carcass. Tove nodded as she turned and walked back into the streets, headed to go see the fletcher.

After his quick steal of some meat from the town he trotted away breaking into a run when an arrow flew into the snow beside him. The pads of his paws easily grew cold and right about now he wished he was in his human form. Eventually he made it far enough in the woods were he could stop and eat without being found by a hunter. Bowing his head to the ground he gently set down the slab of meat. The taste of the meat on his tongue as he carried it here was making the animal in him take over. Thinking about it maybe that’s why they started killing the shifters. They began to get scared that the animal side of their bodies would take over and kill everyone. Though it was rare that the animal take over.

Finally he took a bite out of the side of the meat chewing quickly as he wanted to satisfy the hunger that ate away at his body. Even with the first swallow he already felt less lightheaded. It took a few minutes to completely eat all the meat and by then he could tell some hunters were tracking him. Licking the blood off his muzzle he let out a low growl as a stick prodded into his bush. It was time to play.

Instead of running away he grabbed the stick and yanked it. The sound of footsteps stumbling and a sudden thud told him his plan had worked. Jumping from the bush he didn’t stop moving knowing that if he did they would strike him with their arrow. Clearly they didn’t think he was a shifter since there were commonly wolves around the area. After a bit of running around and biting their ankles they began to turn and run back towards the village. Crouching down Jack pushed off his haunches and leapt onto one of the hunters digging his teeth into his shoulder. They both slammed into the ground and Jack was sent rolling a couple feet. He was vulnerable.

After getting to his feet Jack made a break for it knowing he shouldn’t anger them anymore. It was after a french minutes of running towards his territory that he slowed down. Finally after days of starving his body was welcoming the food in his belly. He felt rejuvenated after just one feeding. Slowly he brought himself to reality knowing that winter was almost over he was going to be more visible and hunters would come in larger groups. It was going to be hard to hunt since they came out in the morning and afternoon just like the hunters. If he was to hunt it would be at night and doing that was risky if he was to go after a big animal. Maybe he should investigate that group of shifters. They might be useful as a source of getting food. As for friends he didn’t care for those.

Sabine smiled at Tallinn's comment to Sam. She could feel her mood lighten, like horses can know their rider's emotions. Sabine would never admitt it... But she kind of liked having a rider. It made her feel like she had a partner, someone who always had her back and could depend on.

.

When Sam finally answered where they were going. A cave behind a waterfall. She smiled, that was a very good hiding place. She wondered which of the siblings had found it- Nyx or Sam.

.

They finally came to the waterfall and Tallinn slid of Sabine's back with a thanks. "No problem" she replied and then shifted back into her human form. A tall girl with bouncy red hair and green eyes. She wore a dark cloak with a large hood that barely hid her brightly colored hair, some light leather armor and vambraces, over a forest green tunic and dark brown breeches. "I think I have some salve in my satchel, let me check." She said and began digging through the satchel at her side. "Found it! This should go nicely with the bandages you said you have, Sam." She said with a smile.

.

With that, she looked around at the cave, it was definitely well hidden. You could only see the entrance at a certain angle, and even then it didn't look like there was anything back there, unless you knew it was there. She gave it an approving nod. "So which one of you found this? You or Nyx?" She asked Sam, continuing to look around.

.

She breathed a content sigh. It was good to be back in her human form, she loved being a horse, but she liked her human form better. She wished she could have shifted during the fight and whipped out her twin blades. Her two small, light swords were her best friends, the ones she spent the most of her time with. Combat practice, was her favorite thing to do all day. She usually ventured far into the mountains to train, making sure there were plenty of boulders and obstacles in her way so that she could learn to be even more agile.

Laark Umbra / F / 19 / Hunter / Mentions: Village, Sadina, Sam

Laark was keeping a steady pace. Mainly because she didn’t want to reopen the wound on her chest. Her daggers were jagged for a reason. Meant to create multiple wounds within a swipe, and a higher chance at hitting something valuable in a body when impaled. Yet there was one dagger missing from one of her sheathes. These daggers were custom made especially for her. She looked behind her, cursing under her breath. She couldn’t go back, not yet. Maybe tomorrow, if they didn’t notice her dagger was there. It’d be hard for any of them to hold it, anyway. As stated before, even the handle was meant to fit Laark’s slim fingers. Yet the question still hovered over Laark. Should I give him away? As she walked through the forest, she’d usually apply her weight on one hand as she leaned against a tree. Her wound seemed to be getting infected despite her efforts. She’d have to convince one of the villagers to fix that too.

The lifted the bandage to reveal the wound, deeper than she had realized, pink veining around the edges. “Shit” she winced as it stung against her chest. She had to have a reason to retreat from the battle, she didn’t want Sadina making any more questions. The village was some good ways away, it’d take her a while to arrive there, especially at the pace she was going. As she trudged along through the thick pines, she found herself admiring its peace. The sun had its luminescent rays shining through the needles and pines, creating odd figures of light that danced across the shadows of the ground. Her heterochromatic orbs drifted towards something that caught her attention especially. A bundle of fungus, odd mushrooms sprouting from the roots of a tree. She walked over, bending down to clasp her hand around one of their delicate stems and pluck it from its bunch.

The heavy stem and odd sprouting cap had confirmed her suspicions. These were Death Caps. A fitting name, they do cause death. She started to gather the bunch and stuff it into another empty pouch. I could brew these up into a liquid, Thought Laark. Perhaps she could create her own poison rather than trading off the last of her wages to strangers for a 50/50 chance of getting something real. Maybe she could even sell some. Laark smirked at the thought of making a living by mere mushrooms. Holding out her hands, she rushed to the nearest river. Wash them. she thought. No one knew yet, but they could be poisonous by touch. She rushed to a large river, placing her hands in their freezing liquids as she forced them to rub against each other. She opened the bandage, peeling it from her wound and dipped it into the water, placing it back onto her infected wound. She had to bite her lower lip to keep from squealing in pain. The freezing cold touch against the warm burning wound felt somewhat relieving, yet painful. She drew in and out shaky breaths before flipping her hood back, to reveal her features once more.

It was good to feel the fresh breeze ruffle her hair back as she stood upwind. She dug around in her satchel to find a pair of gloves and slipped them on, warming up her hands. I’m almost at the border, make it to the border. Laark started to pace her stroll faster, she intended to fix her wounds and cloak.

He caressed a nearby tree,its rough bark doing nothing but providing a smooth brush to his already calloused hand. He was in a good chunk of the forest,its unruly aroma infiltrating his nostrils as he passed. Connor felt his stomach growl. A low,angry growl that made him look down with hooded eyes. He intended to visit many more people after this, though thoughts of turning around and making his way to Michael's bakery was a constant thing in his mind. He failed to understand why this mans bakery was farther out than the rest. The only reason why he knew it even existed was because he'd sometimes see him on the street making a delivery to those who asked for service. Often he'd hear the mans name being spoken in gratitude. Shay. A small smirk curled onto his lips at the thought of pursuing the almost untouchable man for friendship. It's just something about a challenge that really gets Connor determined.

-

His gaze filtered through the trees,observing their cascading,luminous shadows. He wasn't the slightest bit afraid. Connor is a guard, he isn't supposed to be afraid. Why should he when he has such a powerful shift? He often thought about how lucky he is to be granted a shift of a cougar. His father was a buck deer and his mother a cougar,like himself. They were quite a weird and sudden match up but what does it matter when it comes to love?

-

Connor glanced behind his shoulder, the market was still visible, as well as the lining of tall houses. It wasn't all of Fellborn but it was part of it. He turned to his front once again, though his vision enhanced at the distant figure of another person. He didn't exactly know of it was Shay or one of those raggedy hunters but he was still on his guard. For the first time today he shifted, the feeling of transforming was mutual and..quick. He wasted no time in lowering his head, his ears perked and his gaze containing a glint of mischief.

Connor lurched his frame forward, his paw steps almost silent as he was careful not to kick any rocks or snap twigs. His fur was a mere blur as he advanced on the figure. He'd only abruptly halt once he noticed the signature semi long hair and build. Not to mention the smell of sweets. Connor paused,his frame atleast right behind the man. He shifted from his cougar form and back into his human form, a false, innocent grin on his face.

"Hi there! Thought you were someone else."

He spoke lightly,his eyes slightly squinted in subtle embarrassment.