[Maelstrom]

Ylva narrowed her eyes in suspicion as the glow among the strangers dimmed. How had they realized they were there? A moment later, she had her answer; they had approached the strangers downwind. Ylva cursed - a rookie mistake like that could have killed them if the strangers were unfriendly. It would have killed them during the war - but Ylva preferred not to think about the war. Ever. They had lost, and she had lost with them. It was over, done with, never to be brought up until nights like this when the cold made her scars ache.  The cursed shielupe looked sideways at her new partner and made to stop her.

"Slow down, girl. They've spotted us; if we get in a scrap we don't want to be winded."
"But we don't know that they want to fight -"
"We don't know if they don't want to fight either. I want you to live long enough to teach someone else like I'm teaching you, child, and being too trusting gets you killed."

Accalia said nothing and the two continued forward at a slower pace. Ylva shook her head; sometimes she despaired of teaching the girl. She was a naturally talented battler, but her naivety often got in the way. Could she ever remember being that young? Ylva was barely into her prime physically, but mentally she felt a thousand years old. The glow brightened again and the cursed barely suppressed a growl as a voice rang out. Shooting a glance at Accalia to signal quiet, Ylva stepped forward.

"We don't want any trouble. We observed a disturbance and came to investigate. We're caravan guards bound for Aldrect."

A howl interrupted, and then a roosken rushed over babbling nonsense. Did these people just let their crazies wander around? At least Accalia had let her handle this...or not...

"Disappearing Kasuga? Oh, poor thing. Did he not have his medicine today?"

Ylva wanted very badly to muzzle her partner in that moment. Unfortunately, the mistress probably wouldn't allow her to. Darn.

[Kitsune_Beauty]

At Jello's words, Lumos instantily went into panic and darted back onto the hill to look. The roosken stayed with his ride, hopping back onto Rapshir's back. "Medishin?" Jello said, glancing at Rapshir questioningly. The treasure shrugged before turning to the two sheilupe. "We were just out here working our kasuga for the winter harvest. My name's Rapshir, he's Jello, and the beacon up there is Lumos. Our kasuga are-" "RAPSHIRRR!!" Lumos abruptly cut him off. "Uhh...Excuse me, ma'ams." Rapshir said as he quickly caught up with his companion.

Sure enough, all of the kasuga were gone. No scent, no trail, no hint that they'd even been there. Rapshir's mouth fell open in shock. "I told you! The wind blew them away!" Jello bawked, still panicy from what he'd witnessed. "Your sure that's what happened?" Lumos asked, getting close to the bird's face. Jello nodded matter-of-factly. Lumos groaned and his glow dimmed slightly. "Vylor's gonna kill us."

[Maelstrom]

Slightly bemused, but mostly relieved that the strangers had misunderstood Accalia, Ylva watched the strangers rush around. When Accalia opened her mouth again, the cursed shielupe trod on the Purine's paw and glared at her. The girl had done enough damage for one night, no need to tempt chance a second time.

Okay, so apparently there really were kasuga, or all of them were crazy. The roosken, 'Jello', did seem a little off his rocker, but the albie pair seemed sane enough. Ylva preferred the 'all of them are crazy' theory, but was forced to conclude that somehow kasuga really had disappeared into thin air. When the biolune albie called out, sounding panicked, she nudged Accalia and both shielupes followed Rapshir.
"Does this have anything to do with the howling noises earlier?"
__________________________________________________________
"The guards have been gone a long time."
"Even if we went after them, would we be able to help them?"
"I don't know. But the longer we stay here the more likely it is that something might come after us. All the predators get more desperate when it gets colder."
"The tuskow are nearly exhausted. We won't be able to go much farther before we have to stop."
"Then we'd better start walking and hope the guards didn't go to far."

[Kitsune_Beauty]

Rapshir had begun pacing thoughtfully in front of the sheilupe. Jello bounced contently on his back. "Okay, there's virtually no way my skills can help us find them...But the main question is how in the name of the mighty Zu'Hai did they dissapear? And...Where did they dissapear to?" Lumos was still in a panic. He trotted around, nearly hyperventilating, his glow fluctuating like a cuddlefish. "We're dead...No, worse! We'll be on the streets in the Slums! Scrounging for food! Eating slickies and rotten things from the garbage! Having cruel humanoids kick us around! Little girls wanting to take us home and play dress up-" "Lumos!" Rapshir cut in sharply, "Just shut your yap for a minute!" Lumos hushed, but remained in his jittery state.

Jello had calmed a bit, but was still a bit ruffled and nervouse. What if Lumos was right? The canines would be on the street if Vylor blamed them, but he'd most likley end up part of someone's Christmas dinner. He fluttered off Rapshir's back and stood before the cursed sheilupe. "You look like you've sheen alot of shtuff in yer life." the bird inquired, carefully choosing his words, "Either of you gals sheen or heard anythin' like thish? Petsh blowin' away on shpooky nightsh or actin' shtrange?"

[Maelstrom]

The more that she watched them, the more relaxed Ylva grew. Though she did not doubt that the albie pair were capable of a good fight if the time came, they lacked cruelty or a thirst for battle. Perhaps Rapshir trusted far more easily than she would have in his place, but Ylva was a caravan guard. It was her job not to trust those she met, so she supposed he could be excused on that account. How easily Rapshir exposed his weaknesses; it made her inner soldier cringe, but Ylva ruthlessly suppressed that part of herself.

Tilting her head Ylva checked on Accalia. The girl looked like she wanted to go calm the hysterical Lumos, but she held herself back. Good, it wasn't proper and it wasn't their job. Perhaps the child was learning something after all. Besides, it was just too amusing. She couldn't recall seeing an adult male act like a frightened little girl before. This 'Vylor' person she had heard mentioned a few times must be harsh.

Seen alot of 'stuff'? Oh yes, she had. Ylva attempted to smile, but she doubted it would fool anyone.
"Yes, you could say that." The bitterness in that statement was strong, and Ylva tried to soften it before going on,"I have traveled the Plains many times. A very long time ago, so long that we don't even know their name, an ancient civilization lived here. You can still see the ruins of their cities, scattered around the plains. Most don't visit them, for the same reason the caravans avoid them: strange things happen around them."
Accalia hesitantly decided to contribute. "The younger guards tell a story to the new recruits, to warn them about the ruins. A guard was once chased by a serraptor pack into an old watchtower. He spent the night listening to them try to break down the door, but in the morning everything went quiet. The guard thought the pack had left, so he opened the door. The serraptor had been turned to stone."
Ylva looked Rapshir in the eye. "I do not know if the ancients' ruins had anything to do with your disappearing kasuga, but nothing surprises me anymore when it happens in the Vast Plains."

[echolisp]

Chikura stood to the side, alarmed by both the disappearances of the herd and the appearances of the sheilupes. At this point, she hung in a delicate balance where if she met too many people, there were too many witnesses; also, if she left, she would be foolishly deserting her only chance of safety for at least one day. She decided to stay, but her guard was up to the highest point of awareness, and she vowed to catch her tongue. She watched as Jello inquired the newcomers about strange happenings, and she was suddenly aware of several folktales and myths that had been told to her by her dam when she was a wee lass. Some silly story about the plains' spirits that was supposed to frighten children and teach them to be obedient.

She turned suddenly to the bird. "Jello! I recall something my... keeper told me as a child, I think it may explain this." Clenching her teeth, she fought to remember the details of the legend. "I think it had something to do with these Plains' Spirit type of things, and they came from a very long time ago, an old country long lost or something so other. Reputedly, they satisfied their hunger on small children, but when they were worked up, they often spirited away larger animals. My... keeper often said to me- 'Chikura, it shan't be wise to go out of doors on this froightening night, the Plains' Sprit's eatun you up!'" She laughed, but it soon gave away to silent horror as the leebra realized she had just given her true name away.

[Maelstrom]

The shielupe pair, caught off guard, studied the bleached leebra for any threats. She seemed to be harmless and had interesting information to add to their own knowledge. But she smelled nervous, almost afraid about something; Accalia already liked the girl but Ylva was less certain of her intentions. And from the horrified look on her face 'Chikura' had given away something that she hadn't wanted too. The elder sheilupe flashed a questioning look between Jello and the girl, but turned her head when she faintly heard the distinctive creak of wheel axles. The rest of the caravan Ylva and her partner were supposed to be guarding came into view, the Tuskow moving slowly.