From above the treeline glided a figure as darkness had crept into the landscape to provide cover for the nocturnal hunters, and huntresses. The sound of insects filtered the air in their  final attempts to find a partner, keeping the woodlands and plains very much alive, and awake.

Helanaii's glowing hazel eyes scanned the planets surface from a distance for a prey animal to feast upon, so far nothing was quite satisfying enough. An auroch was what the beast had a craving for that specific night.

The flight was just about silent as she cast a great black shadow in the sky, passing over the lighter hues of softly lit stars and lighter purple clouds against the dark canvis. Any stargazers may of have noticed, perhaps they blinked in confusion, but who would come to think much of it?

The wind had died down quite a bit which allowed Helan to glide easily without too much fuss with going against the current. 

Now she had escaped a short wooded area and swooped above the plain. A short distance away stood a slumbering herd of enormous black beasts, exactly what she was hoping for.

The reptilian beast tilted her snout to the heavens and pumped her four wings quickly, climbing a large height distance in very little time. When she was but a mere dot in the sky, she used her strong vision to lock onto a single plump snoozing Auroch. Helanaii collapsed her wings to her side and felt her body began to torpedo down. She kept her wings slightly away from her body while plummeting, and controlled herself to the single target. 

The timing was absalutely perfect; as soon as the female opened her taloned toes, her hind legs came into contact with flesh. Her claws sank around the spine and she ripped the animal away from the herd. The beast stood taller than half of her height, but her double set of wings made such a large hunt possible. 

A few strong strokes and she was airborn again. The bull made one surprised cry to break the peaceful night before two 10 inch sickle claws sank into the ribs, crushing them along with piercing any organs in their way. The prey went limb in her grasp.

She landed a distance away, at the treeline of a small of woods and she began to tear into her kill with satisfaction. 

[[Sorry for the late reply; I was quite busy]]

The crocodile listened to the man explain, nodding when he agreed at times. He spoke that he didn't seek what an Orc could have.
"Azuk is a murderer." Tavor explained, seeing Sebastian's slight hesitation to take on the orcs. "And a bloody thief. He was in the Hanging Gardens, but when the hunt was started, and hunters came for him, he had escaped. He fled to these plains with a low yet strong guard, not attracting attention. He fled secretly; even his own Orcs didn't know he had left. Azuk stayed in an old warehouse somewhere here, but after the Orcs retreated to their dungeon, he left, but he couldn't go North. Too many hunters, I think, so he stayed here. He is here. Close."

He raised his head and looked once again at the blue sky, and the sun was still high, shining upon them. But his attention was quickly caught by a disturbance; a rustling in the tall grass close to the camp. It was certainly an animal, alright, but it was not a boar. It was something much smaller than these boars which he had seen, and the sows were most likely at the nest taking care of the piglets. Certainly not a boar or a sow. A brief while passed and the noise was not repeated, so the crocodile relaxed, deciding that whatever's in there is not a threat. Most likely a cat or some other small creature, he thought.

He turned his attention once again to Sebastian. His stare was hard, cold, steely, reptilian. The eyes of a predator, one who can easily kill without mercy. The eyes of a vicious crocodile. "What do you say ? Kill the orc, take the drachen, maybe slay a few enemies here and there ?"

He thought about the gem. The lost drachen of Sot'eron. It was a dragon, small in size, snake-like, with a long, twisting body and four short legs with three clawed fingers each. It was trapped in a green gem, like amber or emerald. It became a myth that was forgotten, but when spoken of, it is said that the drachen is still alive, and that his eyes move, watching the dungeon below the once-was tower. They say that the drachen can be freed. But of course, the crocodile had no intention of freeing the creature, even if it was alive, nor of keeping it trapped.

Drachen. Versed as he was in various bits of lore, the name was familiar to Sebastian. Indeed, he recalled having read or heard about it in passing. He never had given the legend much thought though. Precious gem or not, why seek after something that may or may not contain something alive? Many Dragons possessed a vibrant intelligence that made them quite a pleasure and wonder to cross paths with when they were friendly; but when they were hostile…
Creatures that were magically contained within such maddeningly minuscule (and obfuscated) prisons were likely put there for good reason, with few exceptions. If Tavor simply wanted possession of the gem as a matter of pride - fine. Bash would have no part in releasing what it contained, if the legends were true.

"Very well," Sebastian concurred as he rose to his feet. He began to gather his effects, so as to stash them in the ruins near where he had descended. "It sounds as though the world will be better off without Azuk in it. Crafty as he is…for an Orc…and if he knows anything about this fabled gem, then perhaps he will have more of value for my time than I previously gave him credit for. I will join you, Tavor."
Though he possessed senses his companion did not, and vice versa, Sebastian could not help but give a second glance around after Tavor's attentions had perked up. He dismissed it as well, and slung his pack over his shoulder.


A sharp, distant cry cut short made Sebastian freeze in his steps. Whatever gave such a call of distress sounded large. He glanced knowingly at Tavor. No doubt he had heard it too. Wordlessly, he hastily scattered their fire's logs, doused them with water from his own canteen, and smothered them with dirt. "If you know where we are going, lead the way," he quietly urged. "I trust something more fearsome than what we will face is on the hunt."

Sebastian patted the dust from his hands on his trousers and reached into his inner coat pockets. Upon withdrawing his hands, he tightened the gauntlets he now wore. They were elegant in design, modeled after many a pair of dragonscale gauntlets. They were crafted from some other material, however - mythril, silver, or some sort of alloy containing them. At first glance, the armored gloves looked like they could belong to a full set of mail; but these were without a doubt the gloves of a pugilist. They were mostly very flexible, with chain, and metal scale overlay. There were strategic points of reinforced plate on the wrists, across the spiked knuckles, and on the sides of the hands, so as to deflect small weaponry in melee combat. The fingers were pointed with sharp claws.

Flexing his fingers in the gauntlets a few times to adjust, Sebastian lowered his pack in a bush behind a rock wall. He sauntered silently behind Tavor, keeping close. "Let's go."

(OOC: Sorry!! I got really hung up with this busy week! Also, I thought it was night.)

The sleek beast shredded into the flesh with her sharper tipped beak, making quicker work with the auroch. It wasn't long before she was crunching down onto the last bits of bone with the powerful jaws that sent out the sound of crunching snaps for a slight distance.

A breeze began and drifted the warm scent of a once glowing fire into the narrowed slitted nostrils. She began to inhale deeply, expanding her snout with each huff. Lazily the female brought her heavier head around to the direction of the wind, now the smoke struck her head on, and she decided to investigate.

Rising from her relaxed position, the female began to creep forwards, not quite prowling. Her heavy feet made contact with the ground, receiving deep thuds as her weight was massive. Her beady eyes darted around and kept alert of movement while the scent of ash became stronger.

Her pace increased and it wasn't long until the heavy reptilian had trotted to the pit, her wings bouncing as she did so. Helan slowed down and bent her muscled neck to scattered pieces of burned wood.

She turned the pieces over gently with her beak and claws, extracting the smell of man. 

A sneeze emitted from this lazily mannered creature, quickly followed by the release of her wings as she shook her loose skin violently. Helan sort of just plopped down beside the fire pit and preened an itch in her feathers, deciding where to go from there.

Aspect sat still and watched the interaction between the two men. She perked her ears forward as they discussed what she assumed was a mythical gem. She listened intently as Tavor described the legendary stone, sparking particular interest in that within the gem itself was a living dragon. A living creature, frozen in stone, and yet still alive. She didn't know how this could be, but she was curious about it now. She crept forward a little bit so she could hear better. 

Suddenly she heard a loud, bellowing cry that she recognized as coming from a large cow. She ducked down instantly, hiding her small body in the grass. Something was hunting nearby and she quickly flicked her ears down. She heard the cow once more and then it's call was abruptly silenced. She didn't need anymore knowledge to know that the large animal was dead. She didn't know the identity of it's killer though, she hadn't heard any wolves or other canines in the area. Nor any bears, and she knew that the boars wouldn't challenge a full gown steer.

She kept her eye on the men, and when she saw them start to pack up and leave, she morphed into a slender tree fox and followed after them. She kept a good distance away from them, her small body blending in well with the ground. Her small, fragile paws made barely a sound and her tail flicked back and forth behind her, like a small banner. She didn't have any desire to run into the mighty hunter that brought down the cow, so she would stay with the men.

She perked her ears forward as she kept an eye on the men further down the trail. If they looked back, they would see her. But she doubted whether that would matter much, she had nothing to hide and she hadn't stolen anything from them. She would stay a fox for now and not give away her shape shifting abilities. 

Tavor heard the cry of pain and surprise coming from a distance, cut short, but didn't acknowledge it. He moved alongside Sebastian, silently. There was a slight rustling in the tall grass once again. Alright, now he was sure he heard it.
"Indeed. This land has changed quite a lot. There might be beasts that we want not encounter."

His eyes glanced backwards, silently, smoothly, catching sight of a tail in the grass. That was an animal, all right. It was a small one, and posed no threat. Even if it was aggressive, which would be much less likely, the two can take it down as easily as a pack of hungry wolves attacking a wandering lamb.

"Azuk may or may not know of the Drachen, and I do not know if he does. But what else would bring him here ? He has other places in which he can hide, but perhaps because these ruins are visited by none but wild beasts. Either way, he must be slain before he can cause any more… Conflict."

He paused for a moment, walking in the tall grass.
 "The bounty on his head has been removed, however, so I can assure you that we'll be free to do whatever we will with him."

Then he spoke in a low voice, but he did not stop moving. His voice would barely reach Sebastian's ears.
"I believe we are being followed."
Tavor stopped after a few paces, and dropped to his knees, inspecting the disturbed earth before him.
"Heavy creature. Metal, I believe. Azuk may have passed here."

There were a few footprints, going Northeastwards. The rest washed away by rain or animals. The crocodile's eyes silently scanned his surroundings. A few broken low branches. So either a bear has been here, or something else, bulky as well. Most likely the Orc leader, unless he was very mistaken indeed, and it was only a large man in armour, which was far less likely. He let out a low grunt as he rose once again to his feet.

A slight breeze lifted itself, causing the beast to become much more of a stilled figure. The searching ceased when her snuffling snout pushed the grass aside to reveal an ash scented trail leading off into the bush. The larger eyes narrowed while her crown was lifted, staring off into the distance. With a signaling blow of air through her nostrils, the behemoth slowly began to shrink in size until the once monstrous being molded into the more slender figure of a dark haired woman. Four wings still kept, however their length and width had melted into a mass that would suite the smaller body.

Helanaii was crouched over the trail. It took only a short while to pick out the scents from the heavier irony paste of blood that littered the area. These travelers were a messy bunch. The woman lifted herself, and brushed off the more ragged dress that clung to her lithe frame. Only one oddity stood out, a larger swollen stomach. This left her dress tighter around the middle, but it didn't seem to bother her one bit.

With a gently brush of her hand she pushed her deep oak hair from her face before continuing down the trail of the fire travelers. The grass was higher than her head at some points, other sections it was up to her waist. Only a minute into her journey did she come across an older scraggly tree that reached quite a bit above her shorter height. Helan approached the gnarled trunk and changed out her human-like hands and bare feet for a more reptilian appeal. Talons sank out of her nails, and enormous claws and feet replaced her own. With a short leap she sank her newly acquired climbing gear into the bark and shimmied up. It only took a short moment before she was bouncing around on the thin top-most branches. Her wings were unfolded while they balanced out her much heavier body. The woman placed her flattened hand to her forehead to act as a visor while she scanned out the horizon. Of course she could of have just flown, but after eating she was much too lazy.

In the distance she spotted figures appearing and disappearing throughout the grasses, they were small, but her excellent vision could see many details about them. One, lizard-like figure, seemed to be leading the way. They were in a bushed area, dead shrubbery stretched around the grasses at this distance. 

Seeing as it was unlikely she would be reaching the fire-maker quickly on her tiny little human feet, the woman removed her hand to her forehead and crouched on the thin branch while the wind picked up once more, she was now upwind of them. Her scent was strong, a muskier odor that would make a horse uncomfortable. It was unlikely the average nostril would be able to pick her up from the longer distance. After a short period of bouncing up and down again, Helan was beginning to feel slightly queasy. She lifted her lighter grey-brown wings into the air, closing shut the reptilian hands on their joints, and waited for another gust of wind. It wasn't long before she was practically torn off of her perch. One easy beat of her four wings, and the woman was now air-born.

She dipped down from her weight at first, touching the tops of the grasses before she began to give a constant flighty beat into the air. Slowly beginning to rise, she allowed the wind to do the majority of the work. Her body was high enough now where she saw the small bizarre group turn into much smaller figures, but she dared not drift to high up in case she lost sight of them.

This was a silent hunter that now closed the gap quickly between herself and her goal. Helanaii swooped down lower to the Earth now, for she was directly above them. Lower, lower, and lower still until the four-winged woman was only a mere 10 ft. above them. If they hadn't noticed her yet, they were blind fools.

She tipped her wings downwards while she continued to circle them like a vulture. She made sure that her eyes never left them, from above everything was made visible. A black haired man, a crocodilian man, and from above she could see the much smaller companion in close proximity. Or perhaps it was just a curious little fox. 

After two complete circles, the woman ceased her harassment and brought herself lower, landing with a thud and spewing up a cloud of dust from the powerful beats of her wings. She folded them neatly like a wise old bird and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear once more, eyeing the pair with abnormally radiant green irises, wide-eyed and alert. Her voice was soft and gentle, and she figured she probably had the appearance and sound of a Siren, or Harpy. Usually people did not respond favorably to either. Hopefully they wouldn't be too quick to add judgement. Her focus drifted back to the main reason why she even cared about their existence; a scent of lingering smoke drifted to her nose. Helanaii pushed aside her impulse to remain silent and forced out a silk-woven expression.

"Greetings."

Sebastian did not possess a nose like Tavor's. That did not make his perceptions blind to the presences that orbited he and his companion, however. He took note of the rustling in the tall grass long before it had been mentioned. It was a small animal, no doubt. It did have a strange sort of energy to it. Then again, most things in this place did, so he thought nothing of it. He reached out telepathically. No words, or compelling imagery. He projected only feelings. Animals understood those, despite many opinions to the contrary. Abstract ones were projected - of warmth, of welcome, and comfort. The creature would either be spooked by the sudden mental invasion, or become more bold. Either way, that would be one distraction gone.

It was the larger presence he felt that slightly unnerved him. So much so, that he had not quite been paying attention when Tavor voiced his tracking assessment aloud.
Answers to what it may have been were brought to him immediately. Sebastian was already gazing upward when it came into view. The light of the dusk sun caught in its wings as it glided lower.
"Tavor…" he warned in a hushed tone, Autumn eyes never leaving the sky.

Roc was the first word that came to mind. That would explain the sound of the large animal crying out he had heard earlier. The shadow that passed over them was far too small to be one that he had ever seen though. They were massive birds. Sebastian stood perfectly still, even as the figure swooped dangerously close.
He shielded his eyes as the thing landed. The beating of its wings scattering dust all about, and his coat billowed in the winds they generated.

A…woman? Interesting.

He'd read descriptions of harpies, but she did not quite fit the bill. Atavian, perhaps? Whatever she was, she was not hard to look at. Which may have been an odd thing to say; but he had always been a bit odd, finding beauty in things most would be repulsed by. Beastfolk and half-breeds of many kinds had always appealed to him like any regular human or elf would. He could appreciate many different forms without prejudice, because that was not what was important to him in forming meaningful bonds and deals with another sentient, man-like being. It was substance.

"Top of the evening," Sebastian replied to her casually. "What curiosity was it that led you to us?"

She seemed civil enough. Thus far. If she wanted to attack them, she could have done so from the air. Sebastian kept his wits about him though, just in case. He focused his energy, ready to transverse beyond the treeline at a moment's notice.

Aspect followed the pair for a short while, enjoying the sudden quiet in the woods after the slaughter of the mighty bull. They walked slowly through a bright patch of woods along the trail and flecks of light was able to flicker down between the leaves and appear on the ground in front of her. She smiled. They reminded her faintly of large stationary fireflies and she enjoyed pawing at them as she walked by. She flicked her tail back and forth and shook her head as a large leaf brushed one of her ears.

She froze as she saw the shadow of something large fly over head. She saw the two travellers she'd been stalking stop and stand still and she realized that is was not something as mere as a bird or a bat. She ducked for cover under a log so she'd have some sort of cover while she triggered a rapid transformation. Great Dane. Her body changed quickly into the form of the large dog. Her black coat shimmered in the light as she walked towards the two men.

As she grew closer to them, she felt the wind from giant wings fly above them. She stopped a short distance away from the men and stood stiffly as she watched the creature descend down. It was a large dragon, that changed its shape to that of a woman. She had four feathered wings and clawed feet. Aspect inspected her closely and her erect ears were perked forward. She smelled of smoke and charred meat. She was likely the creature that had slain the cow a short time ago. When she spoke she nodded her head and glanced at the men when they to responded to her greeting.

Tavor rose and turned around as Sebastian greeted the newcomer. He studied her for a brief moment, opened his mouth to speak, then shut it, giving a nod. His eyes caught something, and he turned his head to his right, spotting a large canine. Something about this animal was familiar…

He approached the dog slowly, with only his staff in his hand. He noticed the white mark on the dog's forehead, and relaxed. He recognized her.
"Long time no see."