[Indigo]

He would have liked to say that he was not bothered by the strange atmosphere. But that would be...imprecise, to make an understatement. Not that he was in the habit of understating things, since that too would be imprecise, but there was something to be said for the use of imprecision to make a point--though it was not something he was inclined to undertake even in his thoughts, since it tended to grate on his nerves just a little, but that didn't mean it should be completely disregarded as a mode of expression. He just wouldn't...

Oh, dear. He was muttering again.

Well, there wasn't much else for him to do in this accursed forest. (And that, he was sure, was indeed the right word.) They'd come out here based mainly on vague warnings, not something he liked to rely on, but they couldn't take the risk that there really was something out here that would cause trouble if left unchecked. He'd come in his Lucain shape because Markos had suggested it would be more suited to the terrain, which meant that he only had one gun on him, hanging from a strap around one of his wingblades, because he only owned one that could be operated with paws. And now Markos had left him here in what might be a clearing, though he couldn't be precise about that because the damn fog kept him from seeing most of it, with the promise that he'd be back shortly and with more specific and useful information. Not that Law doubted him--the man was a brilliant tracker--but why should he be forced to wait here?

He continued scowling at the trees. Not that he had much choice.

[Palenski]

Thatcher did not like the fog.

He wasn't completely sure how he'd wound up here; there were vague memories of drinking on the side of the road, on his way somewhere, and then darkness. That sort of thing didn't really happen, of course, strange kidnappings and eerie forests--except, apparently, when they did.

But what was important was not that he was in a forest he'd never seen before, not that he was completely lacking in any kind of weaponry, not that he had no idea how he'd gotten there. No, what was important was that he was completely surrounded by fog, and if there was one thing he hated, it was fog.

Couldn't see, couldn't smell, could barely hear anything because every noise was muffled. He was damp all over, an uncomfortable kind of heaviness settling into his fur, and damn if he didn't have a hangover. He did not have time for this shit.

[Indigo]

There was a thump from a few feet away, and the gun was already aimed in that direction before he realized it was Markos.

He imagined that the Wockee's eyes would have bulged, had they been visible. As it was Markos stood frozen on three legs where he'd just dropped out of the tree, and it took him several seconds after the gun was put away to relax. "Have you even heard of self-control?"

"I didn't shoot you," Law pointed out. "If we're being exact, I didn't even almo--nearly shoot you, I was merely in the process of preparing to fire a warning shot before I realized who you were. There isn't much to be upset about in that."

Markos sighed. Under different circumstances he might have mentioned that Law's warning shots usually went through somebody's head, but now was not the time. They had work to do. "I wasn't able to find much of anything," he said, sitting down on a stump in the center of the clearing. The fog didn't trouble him much, particularly considering his hearing, and he imagined that sooner or later Law would ask him to describe their surroundings. "Some tracks so scuffed they could have been almost anything, and a couple of gouges in trees that are probably someone trying to mark where they've already been, which may or may not be our target. You'd expect something that lived here to know its way around, wouldn't you?"

"Useless," Law muttered, and then added hastily, "And I wasn't referring to you, I simply feel it would have been better if our guide had given us more clear information, or if something helpful had turned up, but that is hardly your--"

"I know, Law. I know."

[Being as vague about guns as possible, lawl.]

[Palenski]

He had been wandering around for quite some time and was giving up hope of ever finding his way when he heard what sounded like someone falling out of a tree. Or something? After all it sounded like it could be the size of a person, but he honestly had no idea the kind of creatures in this strange place. He slowed his pace, just in case.

And then he heard--was that--yes, that was conversation. He moved toward it, hoping perhaps someone could help him figure out where he was and how the hell he got there.

He didn't know whether they were friend or foe but he figured, hey, what did he have to lose. Some more fog sight-seeing? Exciting. He drew closer to where he could hear the voices, and then tentatively said, "Hello?"

[Indigo]

Markos nearly jumped out of his skin. What the hell was that?! Or who, rather, since it sounded like a person. Come to think of it, nobody who was going to attack them would announce himself first, and certainly not in such a hesitant way as that. Unless it was some kind of bluff, of course.

Law was giving him that look, the one that said even he thought Markos was being paranoid. It also said he wasn't about to deal with whoever was intruding on their hunt and his friend had better get to it, which to be honest was perfectly all right with Markos. It was an arrangement they'd used quite a number of times due to Law's shooting problem.

He walked in the direction he'd heard the voice coming from, ears twitching, alert for any sign of an ambush. With so little information he had no idea how many creatures they were looking for, and any number of them could be lurking out of his line of sight or, if they were fast, out of range of his admittedly excellent vision. He moved stiffly, tense, prepared to run at any second.

But no. What he found was another Lucain.

Big orange and black fella, the most piercing green eyes Markos had ever seen. But despite this the Lucain seemed to be staring blindly into the fog. Damn wolves couldn't see a thing out here, apparently, although mostly he found it amusing rather than frustrating. Still tense--but when was he not?--Markos said, "Hi. Who are you? What are you even doing out here?"

[Palenski]

If he had jumped any farther into the air he would have hit a tree branch.

He swore loudly and his eyes strained to see who it was that was speaking to him. His fur was getting in his eyes, making it even more difficult. He shook his head to clear it away, and then he jumped again as the figure in front of him came into view.

"YOU ARE NOT A SKELETON!"

He immediately regretted it. The sentence had come out mangled. Part of him had wanted to say AAAHHH FUCK SKELETON and the other part of him realized, no you dumbass, that's just a Palowockee, not a skeleton, and then it just. Well.

This was embarrassing.

[Indigo]

Markos jerked his head backward. "Ah!—I—no, you're right. I'm—I'm not." His tail was twitching, his ears back. If he'd been in any other situation he might just have clamped his headphones over his ears and sprinted away until the combination of movement and sound calmed him down, and conversation be damned. But his sense of direction wasn't good enough for him to risk it in this place, and Law would probably get the wrong idea, which would be bad for everyone concerned.

He took a step forward. "Listen, I don't have any idea who you are, but if you don't tell me what you're doing here I'll...ah. I'll set my friend on you." A paltry threat to anyone who hadn't met either of them. But Markos wasn't good at threatening; it wasn't really his line of work, and if it were Law wouldn't need him. The Lucain was perfectly capable of handling that operation by himself.

Before Markos could say anything else, he heard someone crunching through the undergrowth behind him, and the next moment Law's head emerged out of the fog. He narrowed his eyes at the stranger, or maybe they had already been like that. Hard to tell. He spoke stiffly. "What exactly is it that is going on here?"

"That's what I was trying to find out," Markos muttered, but at least he had backup to hand now.