[Akida]

She had walked out of the tavern after Toxic and Z gave them their groups. From what she understood, there were only three others who weren't in her group so figuring out who her teammates were wouldn't be very difficult.

She took a deep breath of the air outside and looked toward the forest. As usual, so said those who had visited before her, it was very misty. At this distance, it didn't seem to move much but who really knew... The woman turned toward the tavern entrance when she heard soft footfalls behind her. It was that shielupe. Toxic had called him her partner but she couldn't really blame her since he sat beside her and hadn't said anything.

He approached the woman standing just outside the tavern quietly. From her scent he could tell she was a lucain in human form. If he could take on his human form things would be a bit easier, but he was in quite the predicament currently.

Someone, or something, had used magic to transfer his soul to a new body. This body wasn't capable of doing a simple trick like taking human form so he decided to remain quiet. He wasn't capable of telepathic speech, so anyone who didn't know him wouldn't really have anything on him and Todomé preferred it that way.

The red-haired woman in navy blue coveralls looked down at him.
"I know you. Your smell at least."
Everyone who had stayed in Akida's home had the opportunity to meet all others residing there. Even if it was only once. She shoved her hands into her pockets, leaned down to him and looked him over quite closely.
"Can't you speak?" she asked him quietly. The strange look on her face would make a child shake in his or her boots.
Todomé stood staring up at her blankly.
"Ah well," she straightened up and looked toward the others leaving the tavern. "We might as well get this party started!"

She put one of her hands to her mouth and signaled the others over. She adjusted her cap a bit as she spoke to the approaching group.
"Oh-kay! Team four! My name is Sa'ala but yall can call me Sal for short. This here is..." she paused for a moment.
"Well I don't know his name and he doesn't seem to speak, so we'll just call him "Guy".
Todomé looked up at her but shrugged. He could physically speak, he just didn't want to or need to for the while. They both waited for the rest of the group to introduce themselves.

[Utterly.]

Out of the tavern she went,followed by a somewhat short male.Both of them had taken a mental note of who was on who's team,and the girl's nerves had been calmed.For now at least.

"Why,there are quite a few people aren't there,Nozu?"She owned no voice of her own,and so she spoke directly into people's minds.She found it better that way anyways.
"Yes...but they all appear to be off and about.Finding the group shouldn't be too hard."
"Sure.I'll be on the lookout."

Anyone who knew Nozu knew he couldn't see a bug several inches from his face,even if he wanted too.Nor could he smell.Or taste.How perfect.
Well,there's no wonder behind why we stick together.

The girl grabbed her partner's-who was apparently Nozu-hand.He gave a struggle and snatched away from her.
"I can sense which direction you are going in.Just walk."He gave a sweet smile that held bitter resent behind.Like a mask,the girl thought~

After several minutes, of walking,she spotted a woman in overalls with fiery hair.
She titled her head a bit.Was she beckoning to them?Ah,there's no time for wondering,she told herself,of course she is! A quick walk was all it took to reach the woman,and Nozu was close behind.Good thing his sensitivity was abnormal.

"Hi there Miss!"After she learned the woman's name,she introduced Nozu and herself through a telepathic voice.She tried to make it sound as friendly as possible to hide her nervous breakdown inside.She never ventured much,let alone talk to people she'd never met.Well,now I'm going to get over this shyness.
"I'm Dual,and this short teenager here is Nozu.You say your name is Sa'ala?"She paused for a minutes breath before channeling more words."Well that means we are here to report to team four!And before I forget,hello Guy."She smiled and shot her mesmerizing eyes towards him.
Dual watched as a few other poured through  the doors."So we shall wait,"Nozu said softly.He always had a soft voice,and it made him preferable to be around.

They both stood by each other and waited for the others to arrive.

[Akida]

Todomé simply sat and watched as the other three introduced themselves. He dipped his head in greeting as Sal introduced him with such a...simple..name. He looked around for a few seconds before returning his attention to the small group in front of him.

"Wonderful. nice to meet you Dual and Nozu."
She looked over the pair before nodding to herself. An odd pair they were but why not. For starters it was the season of weirdness if that counted as a reasonable excuse.

In her mind she was going over possible ways to prank the members in her team. So far only simple things came up. She shook her head trying to clear the simplicity away but with no luck. She wrinkled her face in an odd way just before asking Dual and Nozu about the rest of the team.
"You two wouldn't happen to know where the rest of our team is would you?" She began tapping her boot as she crossed her arms.

Todomé simply turned toward the forest trying to make note of land marks and such. The ever-lingering mist rolled about silently and even spilled out a good distance from where the tree line began. For a fleeting moment he thought about his tails and whimpered once, very quietly, to himself for a fleeting moment. Hopefully none of the others had noticed.

[Utterly.]

Dual cocked her head.Her gaze wandered towards the door ,where people were filtering in and out,to find an answer.Bah,it was no use.
"Hmmm....I don't see anyone familiar.Maybe they're still lingering inside?"She looked towards Nozu. All he did was shrug, which produced a small frown on her face."That's not helping," she shot at him.
With as small sigh, Nozu replied with an unusually patient voice."Well I can't see anyone, nor can I recognize a new aura from a person I haven't met."
That was the plain truth. He could sense an aura around him, whereas he couldn't identify them without getting to hang around them for a little while.

Nozu was already catching on to Sa'ala and Guy's aura. They were unique in a way, especially Guy.

Only, there seemed to be a sort of sadness wafting from the  red,black, and white Sheilupe . Nozu just didn't mention it.

"Maybe waiting just a little while longer would be good. I have a feeling that they'll come around sooner or later." Dual piped in a positive voice.That's not quite normal, she thought feeling the worst of herself.
She usually wasn't that cheery.Knowing herself, Dual would've said something like, "oh well" or "I don't think...".

Nozu sat down on the grass beneath him, and attempted to kill time."Shall we think up a small brainstorm of ideas for our hunt?"He was  looking towards Sa'ala and guy. A few quick outlines whilst waiting for the others couldn't hurt, could it?
"We could get the others up-to-date when they arrive."

[Jessari]

 

The door of the tavern swung open, releasing the sounds of a struggle happening just inside. After a moment, Face exited, the fingers of one hand twisted in the fabric of Murdock's shirt collar. Murdock stumbled after him, both hands grabbing at the door frame as he tried to remain inside. Failing that, he flailed both hands toward the tavern while protesting loudly.

Face, trying to juggle the communicators and the rifle, along with his uncooperative friend, rolled his eyes. "Murdock, for the last time, they are not the God and Goddess of the Hunt, and even if they were, I sincerely doubt that any self-respecting deity would agree to bless a yo-yo!" How long would he hang onto this schtick, Face wondered. Murdock tended to swing back and forth between fantasies and personalities, and apparently today he'd chosen to be a hero with a 'deadly yo-yo', on a god-deigned mission to slay an evil beast. As long as he didn't go running off on his own, Face was fine with babysitting him.

It wasn't so much that he resented having Murdock as a partner, nor did he mind the mission they were on. No, his frustration came down to, as always, money. They weren't being paid for this mission of mercy, and that grated on Face's nerves. The team couldn't survive simply on the dew of the universe; they needed money for food, supplies, gas for the van, and many other things. And, he had to admit, he simply loved counting it. But Hannibal had directed him and Murdock to come here and participate in the hunt, and no matter how he might complain, Face was inarguably loyal.

Murdock stopped his struggling and crossed his arms across his chest. His head dropped in dejection. "We're doomed, Face. Without their blessing, I may very well be incapable of accessing my weapon's true powers." Without so much as a glance at their traveling partners, he sank down to sit cross-legged in the dirt and covered his face with his long-fingered hands.

Face turned to the rest of their group with a friendly, apologetic smile on his face. "Sorry about the delay," he said. "Have I missed anything? And, er, would one of you like to take charge of the second communicator?"

[Akida]

Todomé's ears pricked up as a commotion came from within the tavern. The doors burst open and a man was dragging another by his clothing out and towards the group. He stood and watched as the two struggled for a moment, one trying to go back inside shouting something about a..yo-yo?

Sa'ala looked up at the noisy men approaching them. She let out a sigh and shook her head then greeted them as the crazy one sat down in a huff without so much as a "hey."
"I'm guessing you two are with us. I'm Sal, that's Dual and Nozu, and this is Guy. Not his real name but he doesn't seem to speak so we'll go with that."
As she introduced them she motioned to each when their name was called.
"We haven't got much time for formalities as we're behind. We can do that on the way into and through the forest."
She adjusted her cap as the man with the rifle offered the second communicator to the group.
"We were just about to start planning so you haven't missed anything really. And if no one else wants it I'll take it."
She gave Nozu and Dual a chance to say if either wanted charge of the other communicator.

"I was thinking maybe we could walk in a line, like when a search party is looking for someone. That's pretty much what we're doing anyhow, but we're looking for something. I suggest we keep as closely as the trees will make it possible with the strongest on the ends."
She didn't quite care if they would like this plan or not, but it was a suggestion they could start with.

[Utterly.]

((Sorry for short,crappy pose:/ Have to logoff really soon))
Dual and Nozu both snatched their heads up as a loud ruckus occurred at the tavern door. They both guessed they were thinking the same things, more so or less.
A....yo-yo?A magical yo-yo?And a face?
Nice... a deadly yo-yo.Sounds fun!
They simply looked at each other, Nozu  with a small smile and Dual with a raised eyebrow~

"Hey there you two."Nozu had beaten Dual to the introduction as Sa'ala motion to them. Dual gave him a sharp,quick jab in the ribs without looking at him.Errrm...nice,but you won't get away with it for long. The smile on his face cracked and grew larger.Why were they acting so much like siamese twins? They even answered at the same time as the man offered the device.
"I'm fine."
"I'm fine."
Dual looked towards Sa'ala.Nozu tried to, but couldn't quite pinpoint where she was.He shifted his gaze to Sal's feet instead.

The only time they seemed to disagree was when Sal mentioned an idea for the hunt.
"I believe that would be an ok idea.Staying near each other seems critical in this forest,"Nozu said while adjusting his spectacles.Dual,unlike her partner,frowned."What if we come to a clearing?"

Nozu ignored his partner and turned towards the newcomers.He said softly,"what do you think?Any suggestions?"He lazily sat his head on his knees and waited.

[Utterly.]

He caught himself dozing off. Good thing Dual was there to give him a snip on the ear.Even she was a little groggy.
Nozu yawned quietly and looked at his team mates."Are we walking beside the treelines?" He looked at Sa'ala."Or did we choose something else?"
Dual looked around with a dubious expression."How long were we asleep?The hunt's not over,is it?"

Both curled their knees to their chin.And seemed to have the same question; why was everyone so quiet?
Maybe he needs a little more time to think.
Hey, what about clearings?Ahhh, forget a' bout it.

[Jessari]

"Nice to meet you," Face said in a genial manner as the others were introduced. "I go by the name of Face, and the man crying into his hands here is Murdock. He's a little, uh, different, but he's a good man to have by your side in a pinch."

A hand patted his ankle. "Thanks, Face. Means a lot to me." Murdock, despite Face's crying comment, had uncovered his face and sat cross-legged on the ground observing the others with a child-like curiosity. "You're an awful big guy, Guy," he noted, looking at the canine with respect. "Do you know any tricks, Guy? Like fetch, or-"

"Uh, Murdock," Face interrupted, tapping his friend on the head, "I don't think now's the time to be talking about games. We have people counting on us to take this job seriously." He tossed the second communicator to Sal, and nodded in approval of her plan. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Since we have the communicators, we should probably take opposite ends of the line. Kinda keep the group connected?"

((Sorry about the wait, guys! ))

[Akida]

She caught the communicator and eased it into one of her many pockets. Overalls, at least hers, came in handy for that sort of thing.
"Nope. We'll be in the forest. We wouldn't be able to see anything if we just walked around the tree line."
She turned to the man called Face.
"Face huh? Interesting. Well we should get moving. When we get into the forest, you hold one end and I'll hold..."

Todomé interrupted her with a nudge. He knew he was stronger than her and the other two. These new guys on the other hand he wasn't so sure about yet. He hadn't been sitting with them long enough and the time for sitting was over.

"Okay... Guy here will hold the other end. These two and I will hold the middle."

As Sal and Face talked, Todomé turned the question over in his head.
Fetch? You've got to be kidding me... If he'd had this correct body he doubted anyone would ask him such a question....then again Face did say his companion was "different."

"If we have any objections speak now guys." she paused for a moment.
"Wonderful. Let's move. We've been on our butts the whole time."
She lead the way to the edge of the forest and entered it slowly. She didn't want to lose them with just the first step.

[Akida]

(Withdrawing)

What she was trying to avoid, in fact, did happen. Not too long after they entered the mangled, tangled treeline of the forest, Sal lost sight of her teammates. Luckily, Todomé was right behind her and seemed almost as confused as she. She turned to exit the way she came but....which way was that? She stood and looked at all the angles for a moment. She made up her mind and motioned to the shielupe behind her.

She found a hidden trail of broken twigs and swirling mist. She didn't quite trust the mist as it was part of the reason many others got lost in here. She eventually found her way out. Todomé, who was following her quietly was a bit impressed at her tracking skill...or what little she did have. He stepped ahead and sniffed the air. It was different from that within the forest. He lead the way back to their starting point: the tavern in the little town. Sal hadn't even tried to use the communicator she'd received earlier. Oh well. She shrugged. It was amazing her temper hadn't skyrocketed this time. Her plan now was to head home and soak in a nice, hot aromatic bath.. That is, if home was closer than one of Mira's bath houses...