While they flew over the darklands and into the night, both Swift Fox and Frost Ferret tried to gain some sleep, even though the saddle wasn't exactly conductive to a good rest. Dusk Rat, on the other hand, was much too occupied with making sure that Brook would not freak out and fall to relax.

As such, she was the first one to notice the creature that suddenly appeared behind them; however, soon enough the kraans noticed that a new member of their species had appeared as well, and started to shriek in greetings, the sound harsh and ear-piercing enough that it awoke the two sleeping Magnakai.

The newcoming Kraan didn't answered to the call with the same enthusiasm, though; it seemed scared, and when it came closer, they could also see why - it was carrying two loads. The first was something that looked remarkaably like a body, if an horribly deformed and mutilated one, and was clutched tightly into its claws; however, clearly the real problem for the beast was its rider.

It was evident that the monster was unhappy with whomever was standing over its saddle, but it wasn't actually doing anything to try and drop the passenger - apparently, the beast was too worried that a sudden movement would make it lost the prey in its claws.

And there we are, back to the game! A new situation presents itself; I'd like reaction posts from everybody, then the scene should develop from there.

I wish you all to have fun! ^_^

This message was last edited by the GM at 20:10, Thu 07 Mar 2013.

Whatever was driving Swift on had made it difficult for her to sleep at first, although the sheer mental fatigue of the frantic battles they had been in recently finally overwhelmed her and she lapsed into a somewhat restless sleep.
Anyone within hearing range would still hear her occasionally muttering what sounded like someone's name in her sleep, as if experiencing some kind of nightmare.

The sound of the Kraan woke her up immediately and she quickly looked around for the source of the sound, her hand instinctively dropping to the hilt of the Jade Spike.
Her abilities had been severely weakened from her exertions in destroying the camp and its surviving inhabitants, so her usually sharp night vision failed to pick out anything other than the Kraan and the two unidentified forms on it.

Quickly she fumbled for her bow and one of the normal arrows from her quiver, glancing around to see where the others were as she hastily nocked an arrow and aimed into the darkness towards the shadow shape of the Kraan, watching to see if it was moving to attack...


OOC: Assuming we're all on separate Kraan here?
Is the other Kraan close enough to hit with a bowshot?

What's the wingspan of a Kraan, again? Since they're big enough to carry both a Kai and a large wardog the size of a Mabari hound, they must be pretty large. So I doubt we'e close enough to be able to talk to each other. Plus the sound of the wind rushing past us as we move is likely to just carry our words away even if we try to shout.

I will rule that if you shout, you can talk to each other, since otherwise there wouldn't be much interaction possible, and this do is a game. If it bothers you, Dusk Rat, just assume that your Hunting discipline allows all of you Magnakai to shout stronger than a normal person would be able to. :)

The kraans have a pretty large wingspan so you're enough apart from one another, but you're still within sight, even if not close enoguh to clearly see each other faces, especially in the dark. So you can hit the Kraan with the bow, Swift Fox, as it is a pretty large target... but you would not be able to hit the rider, or a specific place on the kraan's body.

OOC: Are Swift and I getting the benefits of sleeping or did we not get proper rest? I'm going to add my End and WP on to my character sheet, but let me know if I need to take it off again.

It was little surprise that getting closer to Argazad should come with the risk of other kraan approaching them, but Frost Ferret suddenly snapped out of his weariness and took a sharp interest in the creature that neared them now. As far as he could tell, it was too troubled in some primitive way to be aggressive, and its wings largely obscured its rider from view, but Ferret was anyway most interested in whoever or whatever it held in its great talons. He used on hand to shield his eyes from the freezing wind whipping past and tried to focus on seeing the limp body better.

I thought I'd explained early - you don't get a proper rest, so you only get to recover one of the two - either END or WP, but not both. You pick what, though! ^_^

Also, not sure if I pointed it out, but to make sure, the Kraan is approaching from behind you - whereas Azgazad should be in front of you, if you're going the right way.

OOC: Sorry, yes, you did explain about bad sleep earlier - I got muddled between the CS reroll and the WP. I'll knock the End back down.

Right. So, I think if Dusk wanted to post, she would have by now, so...

Despite the Magnakai's reactions to its approach, the newly arriving Kraan didn't seemed scared; as for its rider, while it was still too far away and to dark to distinguish well, the Kraans closing a bit the distance made it possible to make out that it seemed slumped over the saddle; whether that was because it was dead, sleeping, or just trying to be harder to see, the Magnakai could not determine.

Swift hesitated for a moment, squinting into the darkness at the approaching shadowy form of the Kraan and its rider.
The temptation to shoot it down quickly persisted, but she would prefer to avoid having to fight if possible.
She would need her strength in Argazad, there was more than her own life at stake there...

The indistinct shape of the Kraan drifted closer and closer.
Was its rider trying to see who they were?
Better to kill it now than to take the risk...
Her fingers tensed on the bowstring, pulling it back to full draw, ready to send an arrow towards the Kraan, hoping to hit something vital and bring the creature down quickly before it or its rider could react.

Anyone watching her closely may have noticed a sudden flicker of light from the gemstones in the diadem she was wearing, although it was gone again almost immediately.
Swift's eyes widened as if she had just noticed something odd about the other Kraan or its rider.
She lowered the bow, gently releasing the tension from the bowstring and stared at the slumped shape of the rider.
"Shark?" she suddenly called out...

Um...I did post...I was waiting for an answer to the private query I made in that post...

...you're right, I missed that PM, Dusk Rat. My fault; I'm sorry.

There was a long silence from the other Kraan, but then a weak yell echoed back, "Swift Fox? What in kai's name you doing up here mate?" the figure peeked its head up, looking across the sky at them. Bloodied and mangled, even in close quarters it may be hard to tell exactly who was behind them.

Swift slung the bow over her shoulder and returned the arrow to her quiver before squinting into the darkness again.
The momentary clarity of vision had faded again leaving her staring at an indistinct shadow of the flying creature and rider, as well as the nightmarish glimpse of the remnants of the creature it was carrying.

She hesitated a moment then called back.
"Travelling to Argazad.  How about you?"


OOC: Yay, welcome back Sharky! :)