My, What Big Teeth You Have (Werewolf Hunt)

Oh dear...what in the world was I thinking? This thought had been running with alarming regularity through Cuthbert Rumbold's head as soon as the geriatric magician had hobbled into the mist-shrouded Lycan Woods. The damp was playing havoc with his arthritis, the mud had long ago soaked into his boots, and sooner or later some hulking beast out of his nightmares was going to sneak up behind him and tear his head off.

Cuthbert paused in his incessant slogging, shivering as he pulled a worn handkerchief from the depths of his robes and blew his nose. The loud honking sound that resulted echoed through the stillness of the forest, making him jump and glance around him to make sure that he had not alerted anything large and bloodthirsty to his presence. When he had assured himself that his messy demise was not imminent, the mage sighed and stared balefully up at the moon peaking through the trees. The pale orb was close to full. He guessed that he had perhaps two or three nights before time was up and the monsters he was searching for would emerge from the Lycan Woods and attack once again.

This thought made the old man's stomach sink and he shook his grizzled head. "Oh dear...what was I thinking?" He whispered the thought aloud this time as he tucked away his handkerchief. What he had been thinking, in the beginning at least, that this job was preferable to returning home at the moment. His eldest sister and his youngest sister were currently staying at his home, and quite frankly, dealing with a pack of murderous wolf-men intent on stripping his flesh from his bones sounded a lot more pleasant than dealing with those two. While this was still indeed the case, now that he was out here alone in the dark with unseen horrors stalking him, Cuthbert was thinking that perhaps he could have found a safer means of avoiding the two dragons that had taken over his abode.

Oh well...too late now...

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Cuthbert marched further into the woods, searching for something he really didn't want to find.

Word Count: 360

Katsumi checked the map she'd snagged from HQ. The woods were around here somewhere. She wanted to observe the werewolves said to roam it. Observing their movements might help her code the proper power into her spells. It totally wasn't to research things needed for her games. The Rune Knight glanced around. She had to be in the right area. Fog curled out from a nearby forest. Lycan Woods. She hoped. The mist swirled around her feet as she stomped forward.

Her fingers caressed her silver hilts, hooked into her belt. A black trench coat flapped behind the swordswoman. She'd wanted to dress in something comfortable. As difficult as LAO had been on her physique and mentality, it had been home for little over two years. Purple armor clasped her torso accompanied with similar colored greaves and vambraces. A red cross adorned each piece, both a symbol for her guild and a symbol of remembrance for those friends fallen in LAO. The unnatural stillness of the forest made her grateful for the ensemble. A sense of comfort in the creepiness seeping nearby.

A sudden loud honking noise cut through the stillness. Katsumi reacted immediately. Her hilt hit her palm. It extended into a scythe as the swordswoman dropped into a fighting stance. Her ears perked up to pick up any additional noises. Her eyes darted for any sign of the honking creature. Only shuffling reached her ears. The Rune Knight slowly relaxed. The scythe was rested on her shoulder. Another person had entered the woods? Weren't these woods supposed to be dangerous? Her teeth worried her bottom lip. Did she help them? No one would simply enter the woods without the means to defend themselves, would they? Their Intelligence stat and their Wisdom stat would have to be at an all time low to do so.

Katsumi's feet moved before she made up her mind. No matter her insistence of her dislike of people, Katsumi hadn't become a Rune Knight to stand by again. Once she made sure this person was alright, she'd get back to her own mission. "Hello?" Katsumi called out, hoping whoever it was had poor Perception and high Stealth. Then she could get out of helping without feeling to bad. "Is anyone there?" She strode forth, both hoping for and dreading the potential glance of her quarry.

WC: 392

Worriedly, Scully stood at the edge of a mist covered forest. Nervously, he had been munching on doughnuts from a box beside him out of stress, the way his legs shook was also a tell. The sight of the land in front of him clearly didn't match the one behind him nor the one he's standing on. It was more spooky... creepy. Perfect for stalking prey or an ambush. He thought to himself that this indeed was the Lycan Woods, a place for werewolves and perhaps other misunderstood creatures. Yes, Scully thought that they were misunderstood, that they were simply a victim of circumstance, to be cursed in their form when they might have been something else in a previous life, something benevolent. After all, not many can say they are friends with werewolves, and the jolly fat man does indeed want to be friends with everyone.

Though he was there for more official business, and his pleasure will have to wait after or if he's lucky, while on the job. The werewolves had become more active, feral. Abducting from nearby villages and doing god knows what to them, though he suspected they were mainly killing them. Thinking of all those lives that had to end brutally, or could begin anew. He had heard of werewolves' ability to turn creatures into one of them with a bite though old were these stories, they were never disproven... nor confirmed. To make his worries worse, he had heard that two members of the Rune Knights have gone in, both because of the werewolf activity and personal endeavors. Sweat dripped from the fat man's already sweaty face and body. He had to find them first and fast, make sure they were ok. Finishing what's left of his doughnut, he dusted off his finger with the back of his pants and walked in, the shaky legs now firm as tree trunk as he walked with assured purpose.

Having spent time staring at the forest's edge, Scully wasn't at all terrified of its insides, the smell would remind him of a time long ago before the Rune Knight's destruction when battle would smell the same, the fog would take him back beside comrades, huddled together in the darkness against dark mages. Funny how things changed but some stayed the same. Then a horn-like sound would pull Scully from his memories, and into attention. Something might be coming, or someone might need help. It was really hard to tell what with the woods being shrouded in mystery but his mind told him to approach the sound no matter what. If it was enemy detain it, if it was a friend, help them.

Carefully he walked towards the direction of the sound, staying hidden as much as he could so as not to alert others to the noise. There he found a person. He couldn't tell who they were but they were definitely human. Was it the one that made the noise? A bit brave considering where they were, so he ruled it out as a possibility. Perhaps they too were hiding from the source of the sound. As such, Scully tried to be discrete into pulling the person into cover with him. Slowly reaching out with his huge hands.

WC: 543
Thread: 1,295
@Katsumi @Cuthbert Rumbold

"Hmmm?" Cuthbert's ears perked up and he raised his head slightly, his watery-blue eyes moving back and forth as he scanned the forest. Had that been his imagination, or had he heard a voice just now calling out 'hello'? The old man held his breath and held still, listening intently as he fought the urge to sniff. Blowing his nose had temporarily relieved his congestion, but it was quickly returning with renewed malice. He had just about decided that the voice he had heard was indeed a product of his uneasy mind when he heard it again, louder and clearer this time because he was actually waiting for it:

"Is anyone there?"

Cuthbert's heart lifted at the sound of another human voice in this dread place, but it immediately sank when he realized that it was undoubtedly feminine. Oh dear...he sighed and closed his eyes, wondering if he should answer the call, or sink down into the mist that pooled at ankle level and slink away before he was spotted. Thanks to his sisters' lifelong and brutal hen-pecking, nothing was more intimidating to the old man than women. Nothing. In all honesty he would have been just as frightened to walk up to a dragon, kick it in the nose and call it a scaly bastard as he would be walking up to a woman, smiling and saying hello. Still...this was a dark, dangerous place, and there were actual monsters about. Which was more unpleasant? Mastering his fear and talking to a woman who seemed at least willing to aid him, or dealing with a pack of flesh-eating cryptids alone?

He was still trying to decide when he felt a massive paw settle on his shoulder and pull at him, sending a jolt of shock and fear through his frame. Cuthbert stiffened. Oh dear! It had happened! There was a monster behind him right...NOW! Images of a slavering beast with wicked claws and fangs looming over him, intent on ripping his grizzled head from his shoulders, filled his mind and before he knew it, he had emitted an ear-piercing shriek as he fell to the ground and fumbled for his summoning components.

"D-d-don't eat me!" He yelled, still searching for his tokens. "I-I'm o-o-old! I'm st-stringy! F-Find some young, s-s-supple victim! M-m-much better m-meat!" Dash it all! Where are my charms? He thought frantically, still patting himself down. He couldn't summon without them!

Word Count: 406

@Katsumi @Wiggles