[Nyxia]

After the team assignment Far had a moment social shock, she hadn't even listened to the names of others around them. This made it a bit harder for her and Žez since the other woman could have cared less about the others. That was the whole reason she and Žez were standing out here at the edge of the town browsing though an old map the white haired woman had stolen from a near by stand. "We should wait for the others and make a plan that way Žez." Farja told Željka who was crouched in the dirt with the map across her one knee. She looked up to glare at Far for a second before shrugging and returning to the map, while Far lit another cigarette to wait with.

The silvery haired woman stayed crouched down while her partner smoked, waiting for the rest of these people to catch up to them. "Whatever you say, your the boss tonight." She told Far with a shrug, before adding. "Should we make signs, like drivers at the airport?" Her tone dripped with sarcasm as plotted out points on the map that might be useful. Like Far she pulled a pre-rolled cigarette from her own case before replacing the case in her belt pouch, lighting her's from Far's already lit one. "How long you think it'll take them to catch up?" She questioned in her usual nature. When Far only shrugged in response, she nodded towards the street and both waited.

[Thunder]

(These two don't have human forms, but they do have anthro forms, so I'll be using those in this RP.)

Flareo and Glacier had successfully signed up for the monster hunt and ventured outside of the tavern ready to find their teammates. They knew their partners' names since Z and Toxic had announced those, but they had no clue what their partners actually looked like. They glanced around, looking for anyone who might be on their team.

"What if they left without us?" Glacier asked in worry.

"I doubt it," Flareo replied. "If this monster is really dangerous, only a fool would go out alone. Here, maybe we should wait for the crowd to disperse a little. Whoever is left might be our partners."

And so they hung around the entrance of the tavern a little, watching as other groups got together and went off. As the people thinned out, the siblings began searching around for their team. Soon enough, they spotted two women near the edge of the town, one with a cigarette and one with a map. Flareo wrinkled his nose; he hated the smell of cigarettes since his Lucain nose was so sensitive, but he'd have to deal with it if these women were with them.

The brother and sister approached Far and Žez. "Hey!" Glacier greeted. "Are you two on team one by any chance? If you are, that means we're going with you. I'm Glacier, and this is Flareo, my brother." The fire-pelted Lucain waved at them.

[Indigo]

[These two have only quad forms. Just so's you know.]
"This," Naomi said, "is going to be great! We're probably going to be working with real monster hunters, you know. Real professionals, better than us! Maybe it'll give us some, like, credibility with monster hunters and then we'll be known for this stuff! And we don't even know what the monster looks like, so it could be anything!"

"A lot of people would consider that a drawback," Raleigh said.

"Why?"

"Because it could be anything."

"That's when you're the best at thinking of things, right? When stuff's coming at you without warning! You'll be great at this!" Naomi was practically dancing. "Now come on, let's go find the people we're supposed to be working with!" She scampered off in no particular direction, so that Raleigh, who had been paying attention for once, had to catch up and direct her toward their teammates.

"Hi!" she chirped when they reached the others, her companion clinging to her belt by his tail. "Are you guys team one? I'm Naomi and this is Raleigh!"

[Nyxia]

By the time she saw the approaching bodies, Far decided to toss the cigarette down and crush it out under her boot. "Yes, we are." She answered stepping forward to greet them. "I'm Farja Ciske." She greeted in return, "A pleasure to meet you both." She would have expected her companion to either let go of her own smoke, or at least look up; then she knew better. "And this is Željka." She nodded down to her friend who seemed to be intensely studying the map over her knee. She would have shaken their hands but that seemed a bit to formal even to her at that point, so she settled for a friendly smile.

Žez however didn't really bother with formalities at all, waved as she exhaled a cloud of off white smoke and motioned them all a little closer. "Yeah, hi." She gave in her usual slightly gruff tone. "So this map is a good bet to help out, but I'm not familiar with this area at all." Glancing up for the first time since they'd all gathered. "Neither is she." She added pointing her thumb at Far before replacing the cigarette between her lips. "Anyone want a go at it?" She offered holding out the map she'd "found" for anyone who might have an idea of even where they were on it to try.

[Thunder]

Flareo let out a sigh of relief. Good. They had found their group, and it seemed like their other two teammates had found them as well. Plus, Farja had stamped out that foul smelling cigarette. "It's nice to meet everyone," he greeted. "Naomi, Raleigh, I'm Flareo, and that's Glacier, my sister." The icy colored Lucain smiled cheerfully at the newcomers.

"Um, I don't really know this area either," Glacier replied, frowning. "My brother and I usually get missions around cities, not forests. We could try to figure out the map together, I guess, unless one of you two know this place well?" She turned to Naomi and Raleigh as she asked the question.

"What is it a map of anyways?" Flareo mumbled, leaning over to see the paper better. "The forest? Seems troublesome to make a map of a place that's always covered in mist..."

[Indigo]

"Raleigh knows about this place," Naomi offered. "We were here once before, not this part, and he made sure we didn't get lost."

"Oh, right." Well, sort of. He had at least managed to give the impression that he knew where they were going, and eventually he had gotten them going in the right direction, and they'd even caught up with the thing they'd been following, though it didn't do them much good. Anyway, they needed these people to think they were capable. Raleigh scanned the area around them a few times and then looked at the map, which wasn't the clearest thing he'd ever seen...no matter. He found a clump of trees that looked similarly laid out to the ones around them, and a mark that could be the tavern, and said, "This is where we are. But I don't know where we go from here. Any ideas?"

[ToxicShadow]

Luckily for the team, if any of them were able to notice it, there seemed to a be clue right under their noses. A few feet way from where the bulk of the team was standing, there was a bubbling puddle of bright red liquid on the ground. Moving away from the large puddle were several much smaller puddles creating a trail deeper into the Whisper Forest. It seemed to have the consistency of blood, however, the bright color hadn't dulled, regardless of the time it must have been there. The liquid itself had gone cold, but it otherwise seemed as fresh as when it spilled.

+

One of your team members, Nyxia, has rolled a clue.

[Thunder]

(OOC: Wasn't sure if you guys wanted to keep to a certain post order, but Toxic's post gave me a little idea for this one. xD;)

"Well that's a relief," Glacier sighed, upon hearing that Raleigh knew the area. "Though I'm guessing the map might not have much to say about the forest other than 'trees, trees, trees everywhere', unless there's special landmarks in the forest..." She squinted at the map, hoping to also make something out of it, but she wasn't really sure where to start either.

Suddenly, Flareo caught a whiff of something...strange. He didn't know why he hadn't smelled it earlier. Maybe he could only smell it now since the cigarette scent was weaker. "Hold up," he growled. "There's something around here..."

Following his nose, he turned and saw the strange, bright red liquid on the ground. "Look!" He pointed at the liquid and ran over to investigate.

"W-what is it, brother?" Glacier stammered. "Be careful!"

"I don't know what it is..." he murmured. It looked like blood, and it smelled a bit like blood, but blood certainly didn't bubble. However, if it was from the monster, it might explain the unusual properties. "It's like blood," he called to the rest of the group, "but not exactly. It's leading into the forest, though. Should we follow?"

[Nyxia]

(No Problem, I was a touch at a lost for it.)

With the knowledge that someone knew a bit about the place Žez rolled up the map and nodded a bit, debating giving it to the little reaper. She was saved from the awkward idea by the other lucain's finding something odd near to them. Like the others she made her way to see this anomaly in the forest floor, "It isn't blood, at least not the kind the villager's would lose." She commented giving a side glance to Far who nodded back.

Far had worried none of them would know much about the area, now she was just puzzled. "Yes, I think we shall." She offered Flareo, "But we should be careful, who knows what else is hiding in this fog with it." True to form she was reminded that some beasts had other help with them. As she watched Žez tuck the map into her pouch, and then fall back a few steps Far took a moment to breath deeply before following on the heels of Glacier and Flareo. "This place, it's so odd." She sighed, "Like it plays tricks on you." With that she set off behind the pair.

Žez had fallen back behind Naomi and Raleigh, giving her time to remove her hand gun from it's holder and at the same time a dagger. She wasn't sure what good either would do her if this thing was bigger than a person, but they were a bit of comfort. "We should stay on guard." She told them looking towards the puddles once more. "Just because it was headed into the forest, doesn't mean it won't double back."

[Indigo]

Naomi checked that Raleigh had secured himself to her belt, and then followed the others. Blood, or something like blood--that was a thing in the monster movies, right? Some of them, anyway. And they probably shouldn't touch it because it was probably like acid or something else nasty, and might kill them or something, and while dying valiantly on a heroic monster hunt sounds very nice in theory nobody ever wants to put it into practice. Dying of touching monster blood isn't especially valiant anyway.

She made sure her sword was secure--didn't want to drop that, she still hadn't gotten the hang of loading the blowgun--and said, "If this is its blood, won't it be less of a threat? I mean it's probably wounded or something. If it does double back it'll be weaker because of having to walk all that way with, like, a gaping hole in it or something." she paused, thinking. "Unless that just makes it angry, but we got weapons for that! With so many of us we can probably take it! That's right, isn't it, Raleigh?"

Raleigh nodded absently. He was trying to figure out exactly what turns they were taking so they'd be able to get back afterward, and was having a hard time of it. He applied his limited knowledge of geography and what he'd gleaned from movies shot on location, and was composing another map in his head which might or might not have been terribly accurate. He might have been Naomi's early-warning system, but if something did come after them he was too distracted to notice it right away.

[Thunder]

It seemed now that Flareo and Glacier were leading the group, even though they weren't the ones with the map. They made sure the other four were following before proceeding into the woods, walking wherever the trail of blood took them, making sure that they didn't actually touch the bright red substance. They saw their teammates taking out weapons, but they didn't have any on themselves. Really, they didn't need any. Flareo had his fire powers, and Glacier had her ice ones. Flareo thought to himself, though, that it would probably be best not to burn down the forest, and Glacier was probably going to be more useful since there was plenty of moisture in the mist for her abilities to work efficiently.

"That's a good point, Raleigh," Flareo said, after hearing the comment on the blood. "Though depending on how big this thing is...that much blood might not even hurt it."

"I think we should pay attention to how much blood there is too," Glacier added. "If the blood puddles get bigger, that probably means it's getting more and more hurt. But if they get smaller, then it's probably healing fast." She shivered in anticipation. "Ohhh, I hope this thing is less scary than it seems!"

As they went on, the mists in the forest seemed to get thicker and thicker. Was it their imagination? An actual result of the weather? Or maybe the monster could control the mists? Whatever it was, it was pretty disconcerting.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

((OOC - Hey guys, Toxic put me in this group, so here I am xD Sorry I haven't replied before... Bella and Melline both have standard (quad) and anthro forms, Merpsichore only has a quad form. I hope they get along with the rest of the party xD))

Merpsichore bounded through the trees, free of her leash but still wearing her muzzle. Though she was an excellent tracker, she could be a little... rough with her target sometimes. In this instance, that happened to be the band of monster hunters who had set out ahead of the trio. It was hoped they hadn't gotten too far into the forest, but she would find them, wherever they were. She had been hot on their trail, and now she let out a high-pitched whistle of excitement; they were near, she could tell...

She was thrown off track a little when a new scent assaulted her nostrils; like blood, but... different. Very different. She sped up with excitement, not heeding the commanding call of Bella and the frustrated shout of Melline as they tried to catch up with her...

Finally seeing a trail and what she presumed to be her target, she leapt in front of the group and made happy chirping noises, to alert the others to her find...

Bella strode out from between the trees to join Merpsichore on the path, and wasted no time in scolding the tracker and replacing the leash on her, to which Merpsichore whined and her tails drooped. Sending her one last glare, she strode up to (what she presumed to be) the leader of the group, and sized him up before introducing them: "Good evening. I presume you are the other monster hunters in Team One, yes? We have also been assigned to this group; forgive our late arrival and Merpsichore's impudence - she lost her head at what I assume is blood from whatever we're hunting. I am Bella, and behind me is Melline, my companion."

At this, Melline strode out of the treeline - where her camouflage was working beautifully; it was as if her fur had been genetically designed to blend in anywhere - and came to stand just behind Bella, stroking Merpsichore's head, which unfortunately caused her to make a loud high-pitched crooning sound and resulted in another of Bella's famous glares, which Melline held her chin up defiantly against, though she dropped her hand and ceased stroking Merpsichore.

Merpsichore's nostrils sniffed; she could smell more blood, leading into the forest, and she whined quietly, not wanting to anger Bella more, but wanting to carry on down the winding trail, to see what the smell was coming from...

[Nyxia]

With the arrival of the rest of the team Far nodded to them, though Žez seemed more interested in the pet or moving on, she couldn't tell which since the other woman had moved up beside her. "Hello. We could use the extra hands, I think." Far offered as Žez watched them all wordlessly, hoisting up her weapons before nodding to the new comers. With that Far waited to see what would happen next as they kept an eye out for the next puddle or any other signs while Žez began to get a better look at the goo on the ground, carefully sticking a small iron rod into the goo to see the reaction. Wrinkling up her nose as she brought up the rod to see if this stuff could cause damage or eat through, giving Far a half smirk half growled expression. "Don't mind her..." Far explained to the whole group with a slightly defeated tone.

(Fail post...sorry)

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

((It's ok; I'm going to reply because I don't think I'm gonna be able to tomorrow and I don't want to get disqualified... sorry thunder, indigo ))

Bella watched with interest as the woman dipped her iron rod into the goo. "Any reaction?" she asked, intrigued. She knelt down beside the woman, still holding on to Merpsichore's leash, to get a better look at the bubbling... whatever it was.

Merpsichore's nostrils dilates, and she gave a low, soulful whine, tugging at her lead again. She could smell more blood, and she desperately wanted to follow the trail... after all, this is what she was bred for. She whined again, and after receiving one of Bella's glares, went up to the puddle they were examining and sniffed it, then sniffed the iron rod...

Melline was blending in with the shadows again. It happened automatically; a side-effect of her colouring. She sighed, and stepped forward wordlessly, hoping to speak with the other female, the one who seemed more interested in moving forward. Silently, she walked up to her, before speaking in a low, hushed voice: "Have you any idea of what we're dealing with? And may I politely inquire as to the nature of your weapons? They intrigue me..." She hoped she had communicated respectfully enough. It had been a long time since she had last spoken to anyone other than Bella and Merpsichore, and even then, she had rarely spoken more than a few words. Assassin may have been a prestigious title, but a career that depended on hiding in the shadows had some rather big drawbacks...

[Thunder]

Suddenly, after a bit of walking, something very, very excited leaped out of the trees, making happy chirping sounds. Flareo and Glacier both jumped a little in shock, not having expected to find anyone else in the woods. They relaxed when Bella arrived and said that they were also part of the team.

"Goodness, I thought you guys were the monster for a second," Flareo laughed. "Yes, we're team one. I'm Flareo, and this is my sister, Glacier." Glacier waved cheerfully at the newcomers. "I'm glad we found you. We'll probably need all the help we can get."

Glacier's jaw dropped a bit when Melline stepped out of the shadows. She had noticed the Werecain but hadn't really seen the Werecain that clearly. "Wow, your fur is gorgeous!" she exclaimed, blinking her wide eyes at Melline. "I've never seen anything like it before!"

"Yeah, it's pretty unique," Flareo huffed, "but now's not really the time to be talking about fur." He walked over to Žez, wanting to see what she was doing. "Anything happening?" he asked.