[Feint]

1

It was a painfully long trip to his old stomping grounds, but it was worth it.

Or, at least, it was going to be.

The formerly wild mekkayena licked his filthy muzzle as he lightheartedly padded into the caverns' entrance, nearly at a skip. He had long forgotten the secrets of Craiss, as his new family had taken up much of his focus and nearly all of his time, but a passed rumor had rekindled his ancient memories. Runes, there were, runes in the murky depths, containing secrets of old and knowledge from the people he had once called gods. If what he had heard of them was anything to be said for how they really were, those runes also contained an ancient and terrible power--a power that needed nothing more than a paw to their face to access and master.

He was giddy. Thoughts of what he could do with the arcane filled his mind and made him pant like a child in the world largest candy store. He would be the next god. He would be the one bidding creatures of his own creation to conquer in his name.

I know mekkayena originated elsewhere, but Craiss had been inhabited by Hunters, who were controlled and made by Xai're as well, so I was sort of leaning toward the idea that they visited each other frequently while Xai're was big and that this mekka hadn't come to either in forever since he was tamed. Sorry, I realized this sounded like the mekka originated in the caverns well after I posted. xD

[GrayGriffin]

The four shapes stood at the mouth of the cave, somewhat uncertain. The main focus was the man standing in the center, with a Drakel perched at one shoulder, a Bandol hovering over the other, and a Corbine bringing up the rear.

"So...our client said something about there being ancient runes here, but they're not coming themselves?" muttered Arion, the Bandol. "This is all much too suspicious!"

"Relax," muttered the Marrow Corbine, fluttering up to run her wing gently along his fin. "That's why all of us who can make it are here. And we're in constant contact with home base, as well." The man nodded, flicking at the headset he wore.

"Can you still hear us?" he asked.

--------------------------------------

"Loud and clear, Sherlock Holmes, sir!" chirped a bright voice. This voice belonged to the blond-haired mermaid with hamster ears, currently typing away at a computer. "No progress on my research, though. Akegane-sama doesn't remember anything either."

"I told you, how am I supposed to know of the runes in a cave?" hissed the Werebetta from her spot on the pool embedded in the floor. "I am a creature of the water, and have been all my life! If you see what the runes look like, then maybe I can cross-reference, but until then, I'm without a clue."

"Akegane-sama says that if you tell her what the runes look like when you see them, she might still know something about them."

--------------------------------------

"Thank you, Nutina," said Sherlock Holmes. "Well, team, standing here's not going to be of much use, so let's get going!"

"Wait!" squealed the Drakel, in a language only Sherlock and he still knew. He pointed at a shape moving in the cave. "Someone's already there, I think!"

"Who are you?" called Arion immediately. He, too, saw the shape, and while he didn't understand Watson's meaning entirely, he could deduce enough from context clues. If this creature was also after the runes, and wouldn't cooperate with them...

[38, 38, 11, 1, 1, 1]

[Feint]

2

He had merely ignored the footsteps at first, so used to them now was he. When a voice called to him directly, however, he snapped to, green with envy. These were his runes, and he did not want competition. Growling under his breath, the mekkayena turned, addressing the strangers with a heated gaze of irritation.

"What?" he snipped, "Am I blocking your sunlight? What?" His nasal bridge was folded, but he carefully kept his lips over his teeth. He was annoyed, not looking for a fight. There were bound to be plenty of what they both were after, and even though a large group such as that was bound to hog more of them, there was still no sense in getting torn to pieces over the matter.

His body language screamed it as well. Although facing them, he held his body at a square's edge angle to the strangers, ready to dash for the darkness if they decided they didn't care for his sour attitude.

[GrayGriffin]

"You can't be blocking our sunlight, silly!" squeaked Watson. "We'd be blocking your sunlight! Are we blocking your sunlight?"

"My assistant merely wishes to say that we mean no ill," said Sherlock. "We were merely summoned here by someone who wanted us to learn about some apparently magical runes in this cave. I did not realize anyone else would be here. My bodyguard overreacted."

"And he is going to apologize," added Lorisa, staring intently at her mate. The dolphin dipped his nose.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I'd still like to know why you're here."

--------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Nutina was squeaking with glee, her hand covering the headset. "It sounds like they've run into a rival of some sort!" she exclaimed. "Oh, this is exciting!"

"As long as we don't need to rescue them dramatically," drawled Akegane. "You and I are hardly suited for such an operation. And keep listening. It may be a partner in the investigation instead of an opponent."

"Aw, but that's not as exciting..."

[39, 39, 12, 2, 2, 2]

[Feint]

2

"The same reason you are," the mekkayena grumbled, a thing unhappily admitted. He could barely keep his jealousy at bay--forget it, he wasn't going to! "But I have heritage in this cave, and you don't. What are you doing here?" he growled, allowing the tip of one fang to show in his anger.

He knew better than to expect them to leave, of course, but he was boiling over green. It would kill him to watch someone else pluck up the runes one by one before he'd had a chance to, or--worse yet--claim to themselves more than what he himself could gather. He had waited ages for this chance, it seemed, and he wanted his share--and, perhaps, someone else's! Knowledge is power, is it not? He wanted all of it!

[GrayGriffin]

"I already said that we were hired by someone else to investigate this phenomenon," replied Sherlock. "However, I must admit that I was completely unaware of the existence of those who already had connections to the runes. I am a supernatural investigator, not a mercenary. I will have to have a talk with my client about this," he added, somewhat ominously.

--------------------------------------

"Hmm...not much is known about him," admitted Nutina, tapping away at her computer. "His business has a website, but it doesn't give any hints about what he is like. And the website doesn't hint at why he would have an interest in those runes either."

"His name sounds familiar, though," snarled Akegane. "Keep searching."

--------------------------------------

"Surely you would not begrudge us a simple look?" asked Lorisa, approaching, her voice soft. "We are not here to take anything away." Arion hovered behind her, ready to lash out if the Mekkayena attacked her. Watson's cheerful egging on wasn't helping his nerves either.

[40, 40, 13, 3, 3, 3]

[Feint]

3

"I don't care who hired you, these caves are not a tourist attraction," he spat, hackles raised, infuriated at the nerve of the man. How dare he threaten him and his people? The followers of Xai're had long disbanded, sure, but they still had claims to their ancestral homes! In particular, how dare he threaten to use military force on the Hunters? They couldn't leave!

"We are not here to take anything away."

That calmed him considerably. His fur flattened, and his snarl turned into a mere scowl. That was what he wanted, after all--to keep the runes to himself. He was slightly confused at the prospect of studying a rune without taking it, but he ignored the impossibility in favor of the sliver of hope.

Not that he wanted to stop berating them for it. "Oh, you're not? Please explain to me how you're going to study a rune without touching it," he snorted, half his lip curled. "Also, please explain to this man how not taking anything also applies to the home of the Hunters, and followers of Xai're. I can't believe you," he said roughly, truly offended, and set off toward the darkness at a trot, not wanting to hear the answer...

...to his first question. He wanted to believe he could have all the runes to himself, so badly!

[GrayGriffin]

"They're not off-limits to explorers, either," replied Sherlock. "We're not just tourists. I have credentials." It seemed that the Mekkayena's words had struck a bit of a sore spot for him. Watson, however, was taking the initiative, as the tiny squirrel-like creature rooted around in his shirt pocket, pulling out several cards that he waved.

"I certainly wasn't going to touch them!" exclaimed Sherlock. "The most I was going to do was draw their appearance. I have a colleague who knows quite a bit about ancient things like this."

--------------------------------------

"Should I put Akegane-sama on and have you switch to speaker?" asked Nutina.

"Don't do that yet. See what his reaction is," hissed the Werebetta.

"Nevermind. She just said no to that plan."

--------------------------------------

Arion was backing down now, encouraged by Lorisa's gentle movements. "Don't be so hasty next time," she whispered to him. He nodded reluctantly.

[41, 41, 14, 4, 4, 4]

[Feint]

4

He stopped walking and turned enough to see them over his shoulder. "Credentials, smedentials," he said, face scrunched in incredulous disbelief. Why on Evelon would they think he cared? Unless those cards were pieces of paper saying, 'Runes imprinted in the depths of the Caverns of Craiss belong to the bearer of this card,' he failed to see how they mattered.

"A sketch? What will a sketch do for you? I'm no scientist, but I can tell you that a piece of paper isn't much of a study," he snorted, nose scrunched out of jealous suspicion now. "Who hires an entire expedition league for a drawing of a rune? I think you're lying to me."

[GrayGriffin]

"We're far from being a league," replied Sherlock. "Watson is my assistant, which is often necessary for a proper investigation. Lorisa is my bodyguard, as we know these caverns can be dangerous. And Arion refused to let her come by herself."

"For good reason too," the Bandol added. Lorisa glared at him.

"Besides," he continued, "our original plans did involve attempting to use the runes. However, now that you're here, it means that we have to adjust our original plans."

--------------------------------------

"Ugh," said Nutina, laying her head down on her folded arms. "This research is useless! I haven't found anything except some restricted stuff!"

"Restricted?" asked Akegane. "Couldn't there be a reason for that?"

"M-maybe! But you know I'm no good at cracking."

"Get down and let me take a look. I might have some ideas..."

[42, 42, 15, 5, 5, 5]

[Have you got any ideas for a possible villain-type character that would hire Sherlock? Perhaps directly opposed to the Mekkayena?]

[Feint]

(sorry about that, something happened) 5

Suspicion crawled into the mekka's heart like hot oil, and he scowled.

"The second a stranger shows their face, you change your entire mind? You're lying. You're trying to trick me! Invaders! Think you can take whatever you want!" he sniffed, grasping at threads. The green-eyed monster was strong within him, but he was at a loss for what to do about it--more specifically, what to say. The explorers--well, whoever they were--really were welcome to come through there and take whatever they wanted, much like an abandoned beach. The mekkayena simply did not want them to--and that was hardly a reason to send them off.

He took a stuttering breath and said, with bravado, "Well, you can't! You have no claim on these ruins OR the runes inside of them. Tell that to your 'client', whoever they think they are!" before skittering into a hiding place, coward that he was.

[GrayGriffin]

"I have morals!" exclaimed Sherlock, throwing up his hands. "Ancient ruins are fair game for explorers and archaeologists, aren't they? But once there's someone still connected with them who's still alive, you can't just do whatever you want with them anymore!"

"But we're not archaeologists! So we don't have to-" Sherlock cut him off. "No, Watson. It doesn't matter. No matter what, we don't have the right."

--------------------------------------

"Sir! I found something!" exclaimed Nutina. Akegane was clacking her jaws excitedly. "And it's really important! You need need need to put this on speaker!"

--------------------------------------

"What is it?" asked Sherlock, already making adjustments on the headset. "One of my colleagues seems unduly excited about something..."

"There's a mystery within the mystery, then!" exclaimed Lorisa. Arion shuddered. This did not sound good at all.

[43, 43, 16, 6, 6, 6]

[I wasn't sure if you'd be okay with them knowing his name or not?]

[Feint]

6 (Sorry, I'm failing three classes so I've been working overtime trying to pull my grades up. euo Don't worry, it's working.)

"What's a moral?" the mekka grumped. "If that's another credential of yours, then, once again, I do not care. I like the rules it comes with, though," he said, significantly more eager and relaxed. He had convinced his little enemy to unveil his grand weakness--he was bound by rules. I can use this, the mekka thought. Yes, this is definitely something I can use.

But how... While his pack was still up to mischief, he had not been the planner. He always left that to the ever-creative Shetani. Everyone did. Shetani was the one who always took the orders and made them so much more interesting... He would have liked this knowledge. But right here, right now, the little green nothing had no idea what to do.

In his lack of inspiration, he decided to search elsewhere for advice. One step up, precisely. What the blue mekka, not Shetani, always did--watch and wait. He would watch, and he would wait, and he would come up with an idea. An idea so cunning, so crafty, that they would never see it coming.

The mekkayena took a few steps toward the dark tunnel, then paused and looked back at the funny human and his friends.

"Shall we?" he asked.

[GrayGriffin]

"Sure, no reason to stand around," said Sherlock, sighing in relief. At last, they had managed to calm down the Mekkayena. Hopefully, things would go smoother from here. Watson seemed much more relaxed, now draped casually around his shoulders like a fur wrap. Lorisa, too, was chirping softly in excitement. Arion was the last one left frustrated, the tips his bandages still waving in the air, making threatening shapes. Meanwhile, Sherlock tapped the communicator, putting it on speakerphone.

--------------------------------------

"BALIKRAG!" screamed Nutina, as soon as she saw that Sherlock had switched his communicator mode. "That's the real name of our client! Well, technically he didn't give us a false name, but the name he gave us generally wouldn't be associated with his full name, which is kind of hard to guess anyways! And you won't believe what he's been involved in!"

--------------------------------------

Sherlock, meanwhile, was groaning and rubbing his ear. He had pulled out the communicator, and Nutina's words were now being broadcast for all to hear. Luckily, the volume on this end was not that loud, even in spit of her screaming.

[44, 44, 17, 7, 7, 7]

[Feint]

7 (I give up. :l)

The mekkayena's hair stood on end--but only for a moment.

It couldn't be, he told himself, licking his lips to calm his thrashing heart. Balikrag was dead, he had fallen in battle. He was not there to see it, but from what he had heard, the ice lord was gone, and for good.

He was glad for it.

The panzer had done no man any good, not one. His breath cursed the land like a hurricane, and his claws felled the people like the scythe of the grim reaper himself. He was death incarnate, and the only people that followed behind him were the ones who wanted nothing of the havoc at his front. It had done his peace of mind no favors, but he had managed to outlive him--and that was his victory. He survived.

"Tell them not to shout," he said weakly, struggling to feign normalcy, "You'll call unwanted attention. Things still live down here."