15[20:17] The great Wyld-spun cat stalks carefully into the copse where the hearth arranged their trap. Big enough for two saddles, it curls against the treeline before its body has fully come into view, though it's hard to pull your eyes way from that second, horribly human face hanging from its throat, whose mimicked words are drowned by the low, crackling growl that is the animal's true voice. 15[20:17] It knows something is amiss... but it doesn't know what. [20:18] 4Feeling's kinda mutual for Piu, caught flatfooted and mostly frozen in place, trying not to make a sound. 15[20:21] What about everyone else? What is the rest of the hearth thinking, and what positions have they taken up prior to the attack? [20:25] 10The wings twitch involuntarily and Daizo suppresses a grunt. He's with Dryas' men, a little way back, concealed behind a thorny deadfall.  [20:27] 6Zhangyu lives like this now. It's fine. [20:27] 10For his part, he's wondering if this is a one-off mutant 10(…like me)10 or a misshapen but true-breeding kind of beast.  [20:29] 07Dryas, atop Diamond Weapon, draws a horn to her lips. Her eyes gleam in the darkness as she runs her tongue across her teeth and inhales. 07I live for this shit! [20:30] 14Be careful not to die for it too, babe. [20:32] 07She spurs the horse forward and blows the horn: with its sonorous blast, the hunt is on! 15[20:50] The cat's entire body tenses and the second mouth screams in staccato harmony with the sounding horn. Beasts scatter from the low tree branches with a chorus of angry hoots and trills. [20:59] 4Piu flies out of the underbrush like a cat out...well, like a hellion. Her fists are craggier and blockier in the fading light than they usually are and -- BAM BAM! BAM BAM BAM! -- she drops back, hopping on the balls of her feet, five swift strikes landing on the beast. [21:09] 07Dryas wheels forward on Diamond Weapon, releasing the horn - it falls to her side - as she leaps through the brush, past the beast and its assailants, shooting as she goes. Her arrow finds the creature's shoulder, burying itself deeply in the creature's shaggy hide. Dryas whoops exultantly as she rides past. [21:36] 10Daizo erupts from the brush moments later, bellowing a warcry and swinging his tetsubo in a wide arc before slamming it down—a tree shudders and topples as a ripple passes through the earth. If there's anything else in this neck of the woods, he's certainly alerted it to their presence. 15[21:41] Seemingly outmatched by the precise, coordinated assault, the beast hits the dirt immediately and can't scrabble back to its feet until everyone's upon it. But it is able to wriggle itself free of Piu and Daizo's grasps long enough to get back on its feet. A piercing, tuneless yowl comes from the cat's second screeching mouth, but the hunters are undeterred. [21:42] 10A shouting match! Hahahaha. [21:43] 4Stone mitts cover your ears well too! [21:43] 10Debate me, coward! Myaa~ [21:52] 4As the other members of her Hearth converge, Piu winds up and wallops the mean old cat!! Doesn't fully connect, but connects well enough to send it sprawling. 15[21:53] The yowling ends abruptly with a strangled yelp as the huge cat skids through the undergrowth, uprooting yalms of ferns and brush. [22:04] 10Daizo, meanwhile, is sprinting like a herd of yeddim—he passes the cat as both he and it crash through the forest, and then pivots just so… The impact of the Fist of Titans connecting with the cat is dull and meaty, but the sheer force behind it is more than enough to send it flying back to the clearning, where it lands, unconscious but breathing, before Diamond Weapon's hooves. [22:05] 10Behind him, a half=dozen trees fall, torn out of the ground by the roots.  15[22:07] The creature is vanquished, all that remains is to immantize its destruction... [22:07] 07Dryas gazes down at the beast. Her grin subsides, for the moment. This is the solemn part. The fun is in the chase, not the kill. "Well done, Piu, well done, Daizo, well done Zhangyu!"07 Her mercenaries begin scuttling out from the treeline; they bring ropes and various implements. Dryas draws an arrow and aims for its heart. Best to put it out with a single blow. [22:09] 4Piu turns away. She finds this part unsporting. [22:09] 14It's good to stay in character. [22:11] 07With a twang and a thwok, the creature's lifeblood spills out. Some of the men collect it into earthen jars - no knowing what parts of such a mutated creature might hold value later. Dryas turns her back on it and approaches the others. The men are already lashing it to broken palm branches and forming a simple sledge to drag it back to camp. 15[22:13] The trip back to camp is eerily silent. You can hear the camp well before you can see it; it seems like the cat and its hunters scared much of the local wyldlife away. [22:13] 4Piu won't whistle, then. [22:14] "Drink? Smoke?" 07She asks, rather languidly as she slings her bow around her back and lights one of her stubby, brown, cigars. "You two were magnificent! Pow pow pow pow pow!! And that drubbing you gave it, Daizo, does that move have a name?" [22:17] 4Somberly intoning: "The Avalanche Wind..." [22:18] "...Is what I would call it if I was naming Mil Montañas's finisher!" [22:19] 10Daizo's keeping a little distance from the rest of the hunting party, at least until his anima calms itself. "That's actually quite close. The proper name is the Momentary Avalanche. Although I suppose there is quite a bit of wind involved." [22:20] 07Dryas: "I had an idea. We should turn this beast's pelt into a *team uniform.* For all of us!" [22:20] 4Piu: "Yeah!" [22:21] 14Would give her something to wear that isn't Silk Shadow. Might even provide some protection, too... [22:21] 10Daizo: "I don't know..." [22:22] 4Piu: "We could make yours like, a themed sash or something. Someone always has to change it up in the group!" 15[22:22] As the beast-bearing sledge and its triumphant slayers pull into view, the camp's active guards rise up in a great cheer that wakes up most of the rest of the camp. [22:25] 4Piu will preen and pirouette, etc. [22:26] 10Daizo: "Let's at least make certain the hide is harmless before we discuss what we're going to make out of it." 10Although the only one qualified to perform a proper dissection would be Caxi. Ugh. [22:26] 07Dryas raises her arms in a magnanimous display. 15[22:27] Sadako holds open a tent flap, squinting at them past the fire. [22:39] 07Dryas: "This beast was fearsome! As you can plainly see, it was huge enough to make my horse resemble a mouse next to a housecat! But we have destroyed it, as a Hearth, with the help of all of you, our loyal friends, assistants, and servants. This was our first great triumph as a Hearth - but it shall not be our last! Now, let us feast with what we can, and sing and make merry to make up for what we cannot." [22:41] 07Dryas: "It's time to party, and to know that what we do together exceeds what we do alone. We rule!" [22:41] 10Daizo'll raise a fist to that.  15[22:41] The cheer rises again, louder and fiercer this time, and the undamaged provisions are cracked open - salted meats, fresh hot breads and buns, bright little pickles in their little foreign jars, and cask upon cask of good wine. [22:45] 07Dryas eagerly recounts the story of what happened - Zhangyu's clever plan, how the beast approached, its terrifying murmurs, and the fight to destroy it -- while partaking generously of the wine. She'll also gauge Sadako's reaction. [22:49] "Sadako! Better than a lemur, surely?" 07Dryas asks her when she catches her eye. [22:49] 4Piu will chip in here and there when appropriate to garnish Dryas's tale, but she has no desire to be center of attention here. 15[22:51] Sadako: "It's so clean... it must have been an effortless kill." [22:53] 4Piu: "Well! I wouldn't call it EFFORTLESS! But we're pretty cool." [22:54] 10Daizo is more than happy to demonstrate a few moves with his weapon. He'll even re-enact the finishing strike, but not with his house's heirloom artifact. Some foul-tasting local fruits do meet justice in the face of several pounds of iron, though. [22:56] 10That one keeps him occupied for a while, but afterwards he leans over and whispers a suggestion into Dryas' ear. 15[22:57] Around now Sadako successfully pulls Seiri from slumber, pushing a meat skewer in one of her hands and a cup of wine in the other. [22:57] 4Well done. 15[22:58] "Gosh..." breathes Seiri as she looks up at the great cat now hanging evenly from a pole for all to see. [22:59] 10With permission granted, he heads for the hung carcass of the great cat. Its mighty incisors gleam in the firelight, practically tusks at this size. It takes a little work, and more than a bit of elbow grease, but he eventually manages to draw them from the beast's mouth. 15[23:01] The wet pop that attends Daizo wrenching each great fang free is audible only to him, as the noise of the party and the cheers that rise at the sight of this feat far overwhelm it. [23:01] 14Whoa. [23:03] 07Dryas glances over at Sadako and Seiri, before crowding in towards Daizo. [23:03] 10He turns to face the crowd. "Four fangs. One for each of us. Let us keep these close to our hearts, and from this day forward be known ourselves as the Four Fangs. With these, none may doubt our bravery." [23:04] 10He can really say lines like that with a perfectly straight face.  [23:06] 10The ones he solemnly presents to Piu, Dryas, and Zhangyu are whole and beautiful. The one he keeps for himself is chipped, just a bit. Later, he'll have a hole drilled and add it to his turtle-shell-fragment charm. [23:07] 07Dryas accepts it solemnly. "The four fangs... I love it!" [23:08] 4Piu: "Yes!!" [23:09] 6Zhangyu accepts his with a raised eyebrow but otherwise quietly. 15[23:14] Sadako brings Seiri up to get a closer look at the creature. Seiri seems fascinated but quite put off her food by the sight, setting aside the skewer to run tentative fingertips over the creature's fur, and murmuring something to her companion. Sadako reaches out to do the same, and the entire corpse seizes from stem to stern. Threads pop on its bindings, and the corpse's convulsions 15[23:14] bend the sturdy wooden pole that holds it up. Fangless mouths open in silent screams as no air moves along dead vocal cords. 15[23:15] Sadako's stroking hand is lost in the bucking creature's fur. [23:16] 10Daizo: "!!" [23:16] 14... [23:17] 14With a note of slight warning in her voice: "Sadako." [23:17] "Not in front of the men." 15[23:17] The guards who have to stay sober enough to keep watch all draw their weapons, but none dares approach the creature. [23:17] 6Zhangyu doesn't bother. It's cute. 15[23:18] It's not Sadako who responds to Piu's words but Seiri, who has to wrench the other girl's arm off the ocelot with both hands, which causes the seizing to stop as abruptly as it began. [23:19] "Guards, stand down-" 07Dryas orders, belatedly. [23:19] 4Piu says nothing on that front. 15[23:19] Sadako shakes her head fiercely, but doesn't touch the great cat again. Seiri takes a step back and wipes her hands on a nearby tablecloth. [23:19] 14Piu says nothing on that front. [23:22] 10This is… concerning. If the scope of Sadako's abilities is moving beyond her own body… [23:23] "Return to your duties. Now!" 07Dryas orders the guards. "And see to it the wounded men are given an extra tot of rum, from my luggage if need be." [23:24] 10Daizo's probably still the closest to the carcass, so he'll stand watch over it. Now that the contact is broken, it's probably not going to move again, but you never know. [23:24] 07Dryas approaches Sadako and Seiri a bit gingerly. "Is everything alright?" 15[23:25] The party's cast into an odd silence but after Dryas's order someone slowly starts the drums and flutes and people return to their revels. [23:26] 6I mean, no, one of them tried to pet a cat and made it not actually come back to life in a way where you have to specify that it didn't come back to life. 15[23:27] Dryas steps into the wide gap that's formed between Sadako and Seiri as Sadako continues to stand next to the ocelot, and Seiri's stepped away. "I'm fine," says Sadako belatedly. From the faint damp smell that clings close to Dryas's ward and the sheen on her pale skin that catches the camp's lantern light, it's like she was freshly but briefly dunked in cold seawater. 15[23:27] "I didn't mean to do that." [23:29] 10Daizo takes off his helmet and sits cross-legged on the ground—a not insignificant task in a hundred ponze of jade armor, but as black jade it has a certain amount of "give" to it. "It's all right. None of us are angry." [23:29] 4Piu: "We'll come up with something to tell the men. Don't worry about that." 15[23:30] Sadako doesn't say anything else. Her face is stony. 15[23:30] Seiri: "Why don't I... why don't I put some tea on..." [23:31] 4Piu: "Sounds good!" [23:32] 6Zhangyu smiles in a manner that makes it clear he hasn't smiled without menace in years. THis one just looks kind of uncomfortable. [23:32] 10Pressing more in this moment can only make things worse. "Please do. I could do with something that won't muddle my head." 15[23:33] Seiri pours out some sweet and mellow tea for whoever wants it. The revel picks back up, but all of Dryas's retinue are keeping well away from both Sadako and the corpse. [23:34] 14Yeah, that'll happen. [23:34] 14Adds to the legend. [23:36] 07Dryas is onto her third fat blunt, imported directly from Prasadi Kush. These things cost a fortune out here. 15[23:36] Worth it, though. [23:37] 07Oh, indeed. [23:38] 4Piu will partake. [23:38] 10Later, Daizo will float the idea to Dryas that they should all play it off the next day as a trick of the light, or some last gasp of the beast's Wyld nature. Rumors like this have a way of picking up momentum. [23:38] 14Just the one, though. [23:39] 4There's an itch Piu needs scratched...14but not with any of Dryas's men. She can wait until they get back to Caedus. [23:39] "I'm really fucked," 07Dryas concedes after a while. "No idea what to do about this *cargo* I'm supposed to pick up tomorrow. [23:40] 10Daizo: "It's a little late for second thoughts, isn't it?" [23:41] "You have your contract with Nn Tloc, and in his kind of business you can't exactly go to the magistrates." [23:41] "Tell that to the second thoughts," 07she suggests. [23:43] "Fuck it. We can still have a good time, for now. Four fangs!" [23:44] "Four fangs!" 14After all, we can always kill him. [23:44] "The Four Fangs: We worry about tomorrow's problems tomorrow?" [23:45] "I kind of used up my good lines already." 15[23:45] The revel continues past the small hours of the morning and well into daylight. By midday, though, the camp is packed up, with the beast hitched for portage, and everyone makes their way out of the jungle, finding an easy route back to the border farmlands, where the crooked gradually becomes straight and the uneven crushed down as they trad closer and closer to civilization, or what 15[23:45] passes for it out here. 15[23:46] The hunting party attracted some interest on the way into the forest, but with its prize in tow crowds gather at the roadside. [23:46] 4Piu snoozes on horseback some of the way there. [23:46] 4She's awake for their adoring public, though. 15[23:50] Today Hamoji stains the sky the peculiar green that might herald a terrible storm... but the sky is clear from horizon to horizon and the sun is high and hot above. 15[23:52] NEXT TIME: Dark deals