How many humans are there?
Starwatcher follows the trail he has found, noting that some of the others seem to be headed the same direction as him.
Tamimay simply follows along with the group.
Clalaak flies back, letting the group know what he saw.
Scyllaess makes her way north-west, seeing Starwatcher and Clalaak indicating the same direction, she knows she is on the right path.
"Perhaps if we find its lair, we could lure those hunters to it."
She says while slithering along a north-western trajectory.
Boondocks withdraws back into the woods as quietly as possible.
The he runs to find the others.
"The two-legs have a wolf trapped to the west!" he tells them.
Starwatcher perches and listens as the group gathers back together, taking in the different findings and pondering them in silence for a moment. Truth lies in the silence between breaths, as he had learned, so he does not rush to a conclusion.
Finally he speaks. "If we free the wolf, we may lay a trail from the trap to the lair Clalaak found."
"I like that plan, Starwatcher," Hoyleberry says looking at the bird. "It's very sneaky. Plus they'll attack the true target of their fear."
Makes sense. Lets do it.The hedgie pipes in
"I've been a target of the two-legs before." Boondocks says, pointing to his scarred over missing eye.
"They're dangerous, we'll have to be quick."
Starwatcher quickly lands on a branch. "Distract them!" he hoots to the others as loudly as he dares.
Tamimay casts ghost sound to make it sound as if a large party is moving in behind the humans.
Hoyleberry scampers to the group, angling to get as many people as he can within his spray zone. The skunk stamps its right hind foot and hisses, hoping the humans may get distracted and allow the wolf to escape, or give the wolf some warning that a foul odor is imminent. After a moment, it turns and does a handstand, lifting his tail before he sprays. The one-and-half-foot tall black and white animal hisses once more for good measure at the humans.
"Follow us!" he chitters in canine.
Boondocks chitters and shakes a bush, making as much sound as he can.
Scyllaes slithers over towards the trap, hoping to use her bodily strength to push open the trap, so the wolf can escape.
If the
Clalaak swoops down to help Scyllaes.
|
The humans see the skunk and shout a warning to one another, backing away. Despite this, three of the men are hit by the spray. They grimace and back off quickly.
Three of the men move off towards the ruckus being made by Boondocks, while the other three (the ones that were sprayed) head back towards the two-leg den. Scyllaes tries to open the trap and with the help of Clalaak, is able to do so.
The she-wolf shakes her leg and whimpers slightly. The leg is broken, but she will survive the experience. She whines in canine.
Starwatcher flies down. He chants a healing spell and reaches out to the wolf's injured leg with a wing.
"It will stop the bleeding, at least," he states in High Fauna, not knowing the tongue of wolves. Looking to the rest of the group, he says, "We still need to lead the humans to their true quarry."
He casts an eye over to where Boondocks is distracting them, not wanting to interfere just now.
Boondocks shrieks like a banshee and runs away.
He finds a hollow log and hides.
Wanting the humans to run in a specific way, Hoyleberry scampers here and there but generally moves away from the direction they want the humans to go, hoping that the threat of another spraying will get them to move the right way. He hisses and snarls at the humans, acting as if they are the one's disturbing him while he was minding his own business in the forest.
Clalaak takes off, ready to provide aerial recon for the rest of the animals if necessary.
|
|
The wolf does not seem to understand High Fauna, but she does get the gist of the statement, especially since her leg feels somewhat better. Gingerly, with a pronounced limp, she moves away from the trap and disappears into the underbrush. The two legs move towards Boondocks, who swiftly ducks out of sight into a hollow log. Hoyleberry does his part in steering the two legs. They gradually begin to move in the desired direction.
Eventually, with much effort and shuffling, you manage to get them to the small hovel. The men buzz excitedly amongst themselves, readying their weapons and taking up offensive positions. They knock at the door. A small, unassuming two-legs answers.
With that, the door closes and the men go back to their search.
Starwatcher quietly watches the interaction from a distance. When the humans leave the nest in peace, he waits for them to get some distance away before speaking to the others.
"Their prey hides, it seems," he comments. "Do we draw it out or hunt it ourselves?"
Hoyleberry asks his companions, "Do any of you recognize that man?" He pauses to think, while clawing the ground and leaf-litter. "They're looking for a wolf. We think it's a were-wolf. Could it be this man?"
The skunk sits on its haunches. "We can also search for traps and ruin them so no more wolves get hurt. I think we should watch this man. See what he does during the day...and night." He sniffs the air.
"Allow me to cchheck. I've picked up itss sscent from a disstancce."
Scyllaess slithers closer to the doorway after the group of men leave and the smaller man closes the door.
Scyllaess tastes the air closer to the door, trying to sense if the scent she picked up earlier in the woods is strong inside the house.
"That confirms what my nose was telling me," Hoyleberry says to Scyllaess. "So, what should we do? I think we should watch the man. Night's a-comin'. He might transform. And maybe one of us with wings should go tell the council what we discovered."
"He will be more dangerous transformed," Starwatcher points out. "Unless we plan to show his transformed form to the humanoids, it would be better not to wait."
"I hadn't thought about that," Hoyleberry admits. "How should we fight him? Lure him away from his home...but where?" The skunk grows quiet as he thinks about any nearby cliffs or caves or other geographical features they can use to their advantage. Maybe a river ford with rocks he could trip on? Or a place with thorny bushes.
"Do we have the ability to fight?"
"Maybe talking is a better option?"
"It would be difficult if even possible for us," Starwatcher states.
"To speak we would reveal ourselves. This is unwise. If we can anger his transformed form and lead it to the humanoids, perhaps?"
"I like that idea," Hoyleberry says, nodding to Starwatcher's words. "If we could steal something valuable he might get mad and chase us."