[QuirkyRabbit]

In the middle of the Tengel Rainforest ran a river that brought water from the mountains to the sea in the southeast. A few miles from the edge of the forest, a village had sprung up beside the river. And in that village, at a table just outside the local cafe, a middle-aged man was drinking coffee and trying to look nonchalant.

Inside though, Karma was definitely anything but. His mistress was renovating the pasture, and he had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. This had caused three small mishaps to happen in as many hours, finally culminating in the collapse of one side of the Paragon pen. That was the final straw, and his mistress had literally thrown him out of the house. And they had just happened to be over the Tengel Rainforest, so he had landed with a splash in the river. He was still drying off as he downed the last of his coffee, realizing that he was down to his last few keystones. This was going to be a long day.

[QuirkyRabbit]

"Look, I just want to know if you saw anything. It was on fire, for Xai're's sake!" Clover was at her wits' end. The stallholder just looked at her pitifully, and went back to his wares. It was market day, and these busy people had no time to deal with crazed women like her.

With a final frustrated grunt, she stormed off towards the small cafe. It was a hot day and so most of the seats were occupied, but at least the smell of home-brewed coffee provided some relief from her quest. She briskly ordered a house special and sat down at one of the few unoccupied tables outside the cafe. The awning provided little relief from the heat, but she had been on her feet since morning and desperately needed a rest. She uncrumpled the newspaper she had been holding and swiped some dust off it, slightly smudging the ink. But she didn't care. It was out there, and she was determined to find it.

[QuirkyRabbit]

Karma's eyes wandered around, and randomly settled on a woman who had just sat down as he spaced out and tried to calm down. It was already a minor miracle that no one here knew him; he had inadvertently caused a young kid to trip and another guy's chair to collapse. If this went on he'd be a walking disaster.

There was something about the woman in his field of vision that struck him as odd, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He hoped that she wouldn't turn around and accuse him of staring (which he was, come to think of it), but she was too engrossed in her newspaper to even look up when a fly landed on her coffee cup.

Anyway, sitting around was getting somewhat boring, and he had at least the rest of the day to kill before he'd be allowed back home, whatever mood he was in. He walked up and passed behind the woman's chair, at the exact moment that she abruptly stood up and pushed the chair backwards. The resulting clash caused both of them to fall over in a heap of arms, legs, and chair. Karma blinked. This was so not his fault.

[QuirkyRabbit]

Clover had just been about to set off on her search again, when this idiot had stood behind her. Now she was on the ground, in a rather ungainly position, and not only that, her coffee had been spilled when the jolt knocked it out of her hand! The man was trying to apologise, but she instead turned to the table and grabbed the newspaper. Fortunately it wasn't too badly damaged and the crucial article was untouched. Phew!

She turned around to see that he'd picked the chair up and was dusting himself off. When he noticed that she was all right, he said, "Oh dear I'm so sorry. I'll get you another coffee..." He suddenly trailed off. "Thanks," she said, "but I don't need it. I'm in a rush so please excuse me." She pushed past him, leaving him to gaze after her.

[QuirkyRabbit]

It had literally struck him when she fell on her. It was her hair! Unlike a human's, which would usually be in an earthy tone, her hair was turquoise green, and where a human's hair lay in strands hers were in shards. Crystalline green shards... just like Karma's own, though his were ringed with black bands. That could only mean that she was a Hunter too, although in human form. Karma could only look stupefied after her as she pushed him aside. Fortunately he had almost tried to buy another coffee for her when he was on his last few Keystones...

She was headed back to the market. Where was she going in such a hurry? And who was she bonded to? She seemed to be a free individual, like himself. But that didn't make sense... Before he knew what he was doing, Karma found himself running after her. "Hey! Wait up!"

[QuirkyRabbit]

Now what? Here he was again, probably to cause more trouble. Then again, he looked like a local, and it couldn't hurt to have some help on the journey. And if he turned out to be more of a burden, she could always leave him behind. So Clover turned and asked him, "What is it?"

He was breathless, but managed to say, "I... Can I talk to you?" Clover cocked her head to one side, and said, "Okay, but make it fast." But no question came; he was simply speechless. "Alright, since you're here, let me ask you something." She shoved the newspaper at him, though he still seemed to be a bit dazed. "A helicopter crash-landed somewhere in the rainforest last night. Do you know where it landed?" As she spoke, she was painfully aware of how silly she sounded. A flying companion would be better, but just as she was about to give up, his face lit up.

[QuirkyRabbit]

So it was a helicopter! Karma did recall having seen something fall through the sky last night, burning like a comet. It appeared through a gap in the clouds for only a moment, but he was fairly sure it landed near the river. He told this to the woman, only leaving out the part about his mistress' floating pasture (she liked to keep it a secret), and she smiled a little.

Why didn't he use the opportunity to ask her who she was lifebonded to? But the words had died in his throat. Perhaps when they were in a more private location... He didn't really feel comfortable asking this sort of thing of a perfect stranger.

And he wasn't listening to the other Hunter talk. "I said, could you show me where it landed?" He snapped out of his daze, and casually said, "Okay... But why do you want to find it, anyway?" It didn't sound like she was just an explorer and was just looking for the helicopter out of curiosity.

[QuirkyRabbit]

Clover thought for a while. Should she reveal her mission to a perfect stranger? But he was going to help her after all, and he might not be as willing to help if she didn't tell him everything. "You see, I really want to salvage some parts from the helicopter... I want to make my own flying machine." He glanced back briefly before leading her further through the crowds of people in the market.

Yes, she reflected, that helicopter's parts would be perfect for her latest invention. Her dream invention... a machine that would liberate her from the ground forever. There were other pets with wings who were born fliers, but being made of crystal in her natural form, even a Magistrey's wings wouldn't get her off the ground, but she was willing to try everything to see if something else would.

[QuirkyRabbit]

Ahh, his hunch was right. A flying machine sounded most interesting. As they walked north through the marketplace, Karma leading and the other Hunter a short distance behind, the crowd thinned out until soon, they reached a short fence which separated the village from the rainforest. Karma looked behind to see if the other Hunter was still following. She was, but her head was buried in that newspaper again. And she was reading aloud from it.

"Eyewitnesses reported a large burning object falling through the sky... mistaken for a large meteorite..."

"Hey," Karma said, "It's this way." She looked up, folded up the newspaper, and climbed over slowly. "Are you sure this is the right way?" Karma strained his ears to listen for the sound of the river; as long as they followed it, they wouldn't get lost. "Yeah, I think so."

[QuirkyRabbit]

Suddenly her guide said, "Can I ask you something?" Clover was still distracted by the newspaper, trying to match the vague photograph of it to the surroundings. It never once occurred to her that this stranger was leading her into the rainforest, where they would be alone and definitely very very far from civilisation, and she would probably be completely at his mercy.

She stashed the paper into her bag and looked up. Before her was not the man she thought was leading her, but a Hunter, his crystal body alternating with black and green. For a moment her heart stopped. "What... what is it?"

He looked her straight in the eye and said, "You're a Hunter too, aren't you?"

[QuirkyRabbit]

She closed her eyes. Once again Karma noticed her hair, and wondered if she had noticed his. Her form rippled as her clothes disappeared and she dropped to all fours. She shook her short mane and returned his stare. "I may as well tell you, since you have revealed your form to me. My name is Clover, and yes, I am a Hunter."

"I am Karma," he bent forward to touch her nose in the traditional Hunter's greeting. But she didn't seem to understand, and drew back a little rather than return the gesture. He looked up, confused. They were alone, so it didn't seem that she was bonded to anyone, for they usually could not separate far from one another. He thought she would be an Emerald Hunter at first, but now that he saw her colouring, it more closely resembled his, though without the black interruptions. And she seemed to be unfamiliar with one of the most basic courtesies of his kind. She was strange indeed.

[QuirkyRabbit]

Clover felt her heart pound as the strang- no, Karma leaned forward. What was he doing? At least they had discovered something they had in common, and she was now more sure that he wouldn't hurt her... right?

They continued to look at their surroundings, and at one another, until Clover couldn't take it any more and decided to break the silence. "Look, maybe it will be easier travelling this way. Four feet are better than two for trekking the jungle. Let's get a move on, I think it's going to rain."

As if in agreement, a few drops landed on her nose. She saw rather than felt them; a muted sense of touch was one of the disadvantages of being a Hunter, but at the same time it also meant that she could stand weather that would have many other creatures scrambling for shelter. She briefly wondered if Karma felt the same, then pushed the thought out of her mind.

[QuirkyRabbit]

After walking for some time, Karma asked the question that had actually led him to shift forms in the first place. "Are you lifebonded to anyone?" Clover returned his question with a look of some irritation but mostly confusion. He could read her crystalline face well, even if other species couldn't always. "What are you talking about?"

"Never mind... he mumbled.

to be edited