Mistaken Identity

[Vortimo]

{Closed to Facemouth.}

The afternoon was high, the sun bringing the canopy above them to life with a verdant light that glowed as if green fire was stretched across the sky. The birds were singing, sweet twitters coming together to make a forest symphony that the friends listened to. Kris and Faolan sat by a burbling stream, where they'd just built a small fire on the rocky banks. The smell of cooked fish was still clinging to their clothes, and hands, and despite his large size, the Draconian was patting his belly appreciatively for what the meal had done. The fish they'd managed to catch from the fast-moving spring water was so different in texture and flavor from the swamp-bred animals they normally ate. As much complaining as Faolan had done about the size of the morsels, their taste had more than made up for it.

Now the Draconian yawned, his strong jaws opening to reveal rows of sharp teeth, and a few tears sprang to his glittering black eyes. She could hear the sharp crack of his spine as he stretched, and began to look up and down the trees for a perch that would support his heavy frame. Kris also let her earthy brown eyes be pulled to the canopy, squinting to bring the veins of branches into better relief.

"So much is different here," she said with a small sigh when she found nothing that would serve as effective beds for them. The pair had been slowly getting used to sleeping on ground level in the past month since they'd left Dheathain, but they still searched in vain for higher, safer places to sleep each time they set down. Old habits were hard to break, and sleeping among the treetops was all they had ever known.

"Wasn't that the point?" Faolan asked sleepily as he stood and began to forage through the brush for more of the sweet berries they'd been picking at random throughout the morning. "You wanted to see more than the swamps."

His gentle reminders brought a smile to her face. He was right, of course. She often forgot how much more mature her friend could be. They'd left their home to find the world, to see what other cultures were out there. Her parents stories of the vast snowfields of Salvar, the beauty of Raiaera, and the harsh gritty reality of Alerar had kept her in wonder at the world since childhood. Why had she started at Corone? She'd been wondering that for a few days now, as they toured the Countryside and the great city of Radasanth. It was probably because it had been the cheapest ticket to buy, and one of the few places her parents had never seen. If this adventure didn't last as long as she wanted it, she would at least have some unique stories of her own to tell.

Thoughts of her parents came rushing in, and as she relaxed on the grass, she let them come. She missed them every day, along with Ruarc and everyone they'd left behind. Her eyes studied Faolan for a moment. He greatly resembled his father, with a strong jaw and the glittering of scales that were a pale green that reminded her of the moss that clung desperately to the exposed roots of the great trees back home. He even had the same mischievous glimmer in his onyx eyes, and Kris was greatly comforted when he noticed her glance and flashed her a toothy grin. Ruarc and Faolan were the best of her friends, and with his son here, somehow she could feel Ruarc's calming presence in her life.

It was then that chaos came, in the form of a whirring arrow. It rushed through the brush, striking Faolan in the chest as he foraged among the bushes. He gasped in surprise, but even before the girl could stumble to her feet, the Draconian went down among the blueberries. The great Drac gave a small moan of pain, and their peace was shattered. As Kris backed up to her friend, her eyes searching through a strand of curly hazel hair, her hands found her bow and began to knock an arrow.

The attacker in the woods might have a good reason to bring Faolan down, but would he live to explain himself?

[Facemouth]

It was high noon that found the burly hunter reclined against a large oak. Everything about his posture spoke of laziness and relaxation, just another ordinary person enjoying the warmth given by the blazing sun overhead. The birds twittered joyously, and the wind gently rustled the leaves in the trees and the bushes. Everything was calm and serene.

Jarvis Harland felt nothing calm or serene. Despite his posture, he was always in a state of constant readyness. His dark leather vest creaked softly as he shifted his body to allow easier access to his 6 inch steel hunting blade. His bow and quiver were leaned against the tree an arm's length away. Oh yes, if anything came at him, he was ready. 10 years of living in nothing but wilderness had taught him to be ready, and wary. It was eat or be eaten. Strangely, he wouldn't have it any other way. He enjoyed the wild, the constant struggle to survive. It kept his wits sharp and his senses sharper still.

He sniffed the air, and smelled something akin to lizard skin, a sharp, metallic smell with a pungent undertone. The corners of his mouth twitched into a smile, as his violet eyes searched for tracks. He was downwind from what was generating the scent, and that could only mean his quarry was along the river. "The hunt continues" he muttered to himself.

He had been hunting for 3 days, and three nights. This was the fourth day. Over the past few weeks, Jarvis had been discovering an alarming amount of corpses throughout the woods. Deer, foxes, even a bear. At first Jarvis thought there was a renegade hunter in the area, killing for the fun of it, but that had changed when he spent a night at the roadside inn, The Sleepy Maiden. He had heard the innkeeper muttering about dead horses and loss of business, and could not help asking about it. The inkeeper described a large, lizard-like beast that was killing off his customer's horses. "It's happened three bloody times now! If this keeps up, i'll be out of business faster than you can drink your ale!" he had said to Jarvis. Before he knew it, the inkeeper had hired him and two others to track down the beast, and kill it. Jarvis didn't care about the money really, but more about the loss of game in his hunting grounds. And so, the three had set out.

Jarvis sniffed as he remembered how he got into this mess. He was nervous, and it made him twitchy. The night before, his two partners-in-business went out foraging, but never returned. Of course, Jarvis spent the night searching, but could only find a piece of ripped cloak with blood on it. Shaking that memory from thought, he got to his feet. Grabbing his bow and slinging his quiver over his back, Jarvis made his way softly down river. Above him, slowly circling, Zypher kept a sharp watch for trouble. He felt safe enough with that knowledge. A hawk’s eyes were many times better than a human's. Though Jarvis never would claim Zypher as a pet, the red-tailed hawk was never far off and was always around when Jarvis needed him. Jarvis had saved a single eqq of five from a couple of hungry raccoons a year or so ago, and nursed it into a full grown hawk. It wasn't long before the hawk was helping Jarvis catch small game and hunt larger game.

It wasn't long before Jarvis came across a small camp, seemingly empty. A couple of canvas tents dominated most of the area, and a small campfire blazed, but that was all he could see. This puzzled him. The smell was coming from this camp, and Zyphers anxious twitters let Jarvis know that his quarry was nearby. Pulling his camouflaged parka closer around his body, Jarvis slowly made is way around the left side of the camp. As he moved around the tents, his quarry came into view. It was just as the inkeeper had described. Jarvis watched as the large lizard-beast pulled its lips back, revealing a row of razor sharp teeth. It was hunched over in the low bushes, digging at something it seemed. Jarvis deftly raised his bow and pulled the string back to his ear, an arrow nocked and ready. Steadying his breath, he sighted in on the lizard's chest and let the arrow fly. The bowstring made a snapping sound, which was followed by a dull thud as the arrow toppled the large beast. Quickly nocking another arrow, Jarvis stepped out of the brush and walked swiftly towards his kill, keeping his bow trained on the still form on the ground. He barely even noticed the young woman, so intent as he was on his target. Without turning, he knew the girl had her arrow trained on his back. "I would put up that bow if I were you, young missy. Even if you do put me down, i've a friend who can claw your eyes out of your skull before you can ready another arrow," Jarvis growled softly. He started to get the feeling that the young woman meant to defend the injured lizard-beast. Gentling his voice, he explained, "There has been a large lizard killing horses at a local inn, not to mention killing game in my hunting grounds. Me and two others have been hired by the innkeeper to take down this thing. I am the only one left." Nodding towards the still form on the ground, he added, "that beast matches the description given by the innkeeper, and is the only lizard large enough that i've seen that can do what has been done." Zypher gave a soft twitter, as if to remind Jarvis that he was keeping watch.

[Vortimo]

((Sorry it took me so long. I'm an ass and if you'd like to yell at me, do so.))

"What have you done?" she whispered as she kept her arrow steadily trained on his back. Though it was true she and Faolan had brought down many a beast and bird with their arrows in hunting, she'd never killed a man before. Her heart, however strangely it was beating, was emboldened by anger. The Draconian that had grown beside her to be more than friend, countryman and Dheathainen was one of the most gentle people she knew. The accusation of these atrocities was a false one. They'd been warned before they embarked on this strange journey that Lady Justice acted in strange ways in the other countries, and now she was seeing just how Corone deserved it's mark as a nation of people quick to act and slow of thought.

"You've downed the wrong predator," she said more steadily than before as she lowered her bow a hair. No longer was she sighting on his heart, but instead on his spine at the base of his legs. She'd rather paralyze than kill, and if he made another move towards her fallen friend, she'd not hesitate to do what needed doing. Faolan was long-winded in his monologues of why he would be prepared to risk his life to protect her. While she'd never been so flowery in her prose towards that end, she knew she felt the same way. "Back away from my comrade before I make short work of you. You may have an ally near who blinds me, but not before I ruin any chance you ever have of running or rutting. Lower your weapon or I swear on the sun above that you'll never piss standing up again."

She took a soft step to the side, her eyes moving for only a fraction of a second upwards to the trees. There was a bird up there that hadn't been frightened off by Faolan's roars of pain, and she recognized the raptor's call. There were similar hawks and eagles in Dheathain and they were formidable things with eyesight to envy. As the great Draconian again groaned, her heart ached for him. With another arrow sighted on him, she wasn't sure if she would be seeing him again any time soon. From where he'd fallen, he managed to turn his head enough to watch her through the pain, the lips that curled over his dangerous teeth stained purple with his noontime snacking. She sighed, raising her bow again to the man's upper back before she spat at the hunter that had brought such pain into her camp.

"If he was eating horses, do you think he'd honestly be nibbling on berries!? This is your last warning. Lower your arrow or I will kill you."