The Warped

[White Wolf Guardian]

*White jumped off and followed after Kiral, turning around to watch Mahi to see what she would do in reaction to his last comment about her sense of direction* "Well... she usually knows where she's going, asking her if she does if memory serves usually produces an irritated or at least redundant form of positive response. In summary I'm sure she already had an idea of where Kiral was going the moment he hit the ground off the carriage." *He watched as Mahi approached silently and confirmed his assumption* "I bet Kiral will learn to listen to her more." *The wolf dragon chuckled to himself and stretched, letting his wings flex to their full length* "I have a feeling I won't have much room where we're going in thick greenery for my wingspan, so might as well enjoy a stretch."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Kiral smirked, At least I won't have to be babysitting. And he led them out towards the east, through the brush and then through the thick forest, though out of sight, he maintained surveillance on the main road that they were running parallel to, just in case of anything that might be trouble or a blessing. The day was long, but Kiral preferred it to be so because it meant no trouble. It was uneventful, but it was safe. "The carriage carried us quite far. If we don't get into any trouble, we'll make it to the next town by midnight-ish."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Mahi didn't exactly like the smirk she detected on Kiral's face but she followed along silently anyway as they moved along parallel to the main road. She pushed branches out of her way if they ever ended up in her path through the brush and thick forest. When Kiral finally spoke again, Mahi didn't like hearing that they would be on the move until midnight when they would reach the next town. She didn't really care for staying up late and adding on the fact that they were moving at a quick pace which would tire her out.

[White Wolf Guardian]

"Good, I think these brambles and trees are trying to eat my wings. I have no idea how birds could live with all these damn tree limbs getting in the way." *He patted at his folded wings* "Being large in close environments sucks, but it's better than the alternative on the main road." *Blood and dead bodies flashed in the back of his mind* "I hate having to kill people." *He fought to justify with his conscience while trying to not trip on a tree root or fall in tall grass, finding a way to change the subject within himself* "Hmm... I wonder how much land is unoccupied out here, it's amazing to think of a time where territory is still uncharted and nobody is familiar with some places...and another to actually think about being in it." *He worried about Kiral's sense of direction a bit* "I really do hope he knows where he's going, like right now is a bit of a claustrophobic place for me because even if I wanted to now I can't fly with all these trees so thickly put together."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Kiral grumbled at the long trek, but the reassurance of safety kept him going. At nightfall, he grew even more cautious, familiar with wild animals being more active at night. "We gotta be more quiet now, guys. I'm sure at least you carpenters know that wild animals are out on the prowl at night. Especially-" He cut himself short, upon hearing some twigs snapping in the distance. Kiral held up a hand to stop White, putting a hand back to stop Mahi when she walked up to him.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Mahi stayed alert to the sounds around her, ready to pick up on any sounds that weren't coming from their little group. She was trying to be as stealthy as possible by detecting things on the ground with her "sight", but it was still possible for her to not notice something and step on a twig or something. When Kiral cut himself off, she had already heard the twig snap. She reached out to touch Kiral's hand that was extended out to her to make her stop, putting her hand on top of his and gently pushing it down as a sign to show him that she knew to stop walking.

[White Wolf Guardian]

*White froze instantly upon hearing the snapping of a twig* "We're not alone." *He looked around in the bushes feeling very uncomfortable while Kiral held up his hand to signal the group to stop* "This reminds me of that one part in the first Jurassic Park movie where the girl runs for the breaker room while one guy stays behind with an SPAS12 shotgun waiting for his enemy to show itself. Unfortunately it didn't end well as the apparent distraction was a trap and he was killed by the hidden opponent. I hope this is a wild animal and not something of intellect in this scenario." *He watched Kiral to see what he planned to do while listening to the environment*

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

From beyond the trees and down the road, the sound of indistinct voices started coming closer. Kiral took out his weapon as a gun, and readied himself. He didn't want to fight anymore if he can help it, but he will if he had to. Through the thick brushes, Kiral could see a large, fully wooden carriage, and a loud voice could be heard from within. The carriage stopped just on the other side of the trees and brushes from them. "I don't give a (censored) what happened! You were supposed to kill them on sight!" Suddenly, a loud bang and a hole emerged from the carriage. The headless body of a soldier fell out of the carriage, the top of his armour and flesh torn and destroyed. Suddenly, the muzzle of a shotgun stuck out alongside a hand and a shirtless human in camo BDU's stepped out. He wore tall, black boots, a head band, and had dreads, though he was clearly not of African decent. "Lardass! You're in charge of these (censored) of soldiers, now! And if you or any of your men fail us again and come back running, expect me to fill you with more lead than that (censored), Farwell!" The man jumped onto a horse and rode with one hand, while his HS10 was at the ready against his right shoulder. Kiral had held his breath when he had seen the man and his weapon, not letting it out until the man and the soldiers were completely out of sight. He nearly gasped heavily for air as he collapsed against a tree, "That old bastard. He brought back military personnel. Son of a bitch, this is going to be impossible."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Mahi listened intently to the carriage approach and the voice that was shouting from it. The bang from the shotgun being fired made her muscles jump within her but outwardly she remained still as she continued to listen to and "watch" the man. She didn't relax her body or move until the man and the soldiers were gone out of her earshot. When she was sure they were gone, she let her body relax. The main thing on her mind, oddly enough, was not concern about the people being military personnel, but who the guy with the shotgun was supposed to be, whose name he shared. The guy sounded like he had Kiral's attitude but she didn't think that that necessarily meant that he was the other Kiral.

[White Wolf Guardian]

"Holy shit! What are we going to do now? How on earth are we going to fight gunmen? All we have are medieval weapons. This is going to be suicidal like The Last Samurai movie. Didn't Filadius think about this before he put us here? Goddammit this is terrible." *He thought to himself as he put his hands on his head covering his ears* "What are we going to do now Kiral? Warn the other group? Surely they don't realize the gravity of the situation as of yet... I hope." "It would be really bad if they were already captured or dead, then we're screwed."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Kiral sighed, "I don't know, but I doubt we're going be able to find them, now. Best thing we can do is to go on and hope for the best." But I really don't know what the hell we can do. That guy's shotgun is (censored) huge, and that low boom just tells how powerful that damned weapon is, but shotgun shells don't even make marks like that bullet I found in the wall. Goddammit.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Mahi listened to White as he spoke. She could tell he was panicking about the whole thing just from the sound of his voice as he asked his questions. Directing the attention of her ears to Kiral, she listened to what he had to say on the subject of what they should do only to hear that he didn't exactly know what they should do. It didn't really surprise her that he didn't know what they should do, and her and White really shouldn't have even expected him to have the answers to their issues. Beside the point, she was ready to move on.

[White Wolf Guardian]

"Crap, even Kiral doesn't have a plan. I swear the further we paddle down this muddy river, the less watery it gets. Filadius did not tell us about military personnel having modern guns. Oh there is so much now that could go terribly wrong." *He pinched his nose and asked Kiral* "Perhaps there is a cache of guns somewhere nearby?" "I can only hope so, because you don't bring a knife to a gun fight." *His ears folded at the thought of fighting a gunman with a shield and a hammer* "Whatever the case, I would like to be moving now and not standing here."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Kiral scoffed, "Like that's ever going to happen. Let's just move our asses and go." He holstered his weapon and continued on along the path, careful not to be seen by the main road. Not too soon after, Kiral sat down and sighed, "Okay, I'm at my limit. Let's just pick up tomorrow morning. If anything I'm pissed at that old man for, is taking our backup food, that bastard."

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Mahi stayed silent as the conversation between White and Kiral was finished up. When they started moving again, she didn't move very fast but still kept up with the two guys. She was glad when Kiral stopped and decided they were done for the day. Sitting down as well, she leaned back against a tree and pulled her bag off her shoulder. She pulled the piece of bread that the child had given her and started nibbling on it. Her eyes shifted around just as a regular person's would when they were examining the area they were in, but in the shadows of the dense trees, her clouded-over eyes looked kind of eerie.