Hunt or the Hunted

Hunt or the Hunted
Date of Scene:	21 October 2012
Location:
Synopsis:	In the latest adventure for Reize and Riku, they got to bond over getting pricked by cactites. Wanting something a bit more exciting, Riku mentioned about hunting a Wild Saurian. Unfortunately for the pair... it remembered Reize.'
Cast of Characters:	Reize Seatlan, Riku

---

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Dalmascan Sands...

The hot, bright, and arid desert sand. Yet, it is swept into waves that offer cool winds as it is approaching night. The landscape around is pretty hilly, dipping low and more inclined.

Pink flowers arises as well as the cacti.

Speaking of which...

*DIOTDIOTDIOTDIOTDIOTDIT!*

"GAAHHHHH!!!!"

The sight of a cactoid is flying across the air.

Meanwhile, Reize is rolling along the sands, whimpering. "Owowowowowowwhyowowoww." Reize, unfortunately, faced the fate of lots and lots of needles.

Riku has posed:
Riku hasn't fared much better. Desert monsters, especially small and harmless looking ones he doesn't have any experience with. This is quickly changing however. Tiny needles have punctured all of one arm and up his shoulder.

He slashes down at the little thing, but it scoots out of the way of his strike repreatedly until a lucky kick boots it out over the sand. DIOTDIOTDIOTDIOT RIku ducks under another spray of needles as the cactus goes flying. "Didn't you just come BACK from the desert?" he teases, grunting as he pulls a few of the worst needles out of his arm.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Comical tears roll along his eyes. How painful.

Reize is pulling himself up to his feet, taking out another set of needles. "Ow ow oww..." He lifts his head up, looking over to see that Riku is not faring better than him.

Though, the older teenager comments about him getting in the desert, "...Y--yeah. Those things STILL hurt." He grimaces, then he pulls the needles out for one last time.

"It looks like this travel has made it a point to remind us how painful it is." He plucks another needles out.

Riku has posed:
Riku shrugs with only one shoulder, plucking out needles with a look of annoyance rather than pain. "Well it wouldn't be. Is there any reason we haven't taken a chocobo? I don't know much about them, but I can see where one would be useful right now." he plucks out more needles. Frown. Pull. Frown. Pull. Pull. Grumble. "I am beginning to distinctly dislike deserts."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"Chocobos would be useful..." Reize taps his chin thoughtfully, "They could give us a ride out through the area and keep us alive from most of the creatures that lurk out. They're pretty fast!" Then, the antenna hair twitches.

"...Though, they'd be eating my hair." He grumbles.

He brightens to a smile, then he looks at Riku, "Aww, come on. The desert isn't too bad once you get used to it." He frowns, "...It's not a forest, but.." He exhales a sigh, "...I miss the forest."
He quirks an eyebrow, "Hey Riku, what was your home like?"

Riku has posed:
"I guess they cost money though, and we wouldn't want them chewing on your hair. " Riku pulls a few more needles out of his arm, walking in a short circle to look out at the desert surroundings. "Didn't they say the bounty was out near that cluster of dunes? " he looks unsure, shading his eyes to look into the distance and avoiding the question. "I can't remember."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Reize can recollect everything. It is a painful process, given the fact that they grab, yank, tug, and so forth. He quickly runs his hands along his hair, trying to ruffle it back up while shaking. "Guuuh!"

When Riku looks across the desert, he will find that there are plenty of slopes around. Ways further looks like a large tyrannosaurus rex, the Wild Saurian.

Reize looks back to Riku, "Eh? A bounty? ...I don't think I recall that." He scratches his head. "Looks for details about that!" Then, he starts to frown when Riku looks off into the distant.

"...Sorry, Riku. Didn't realize." He offers a smile, "...Though, I suppose that cant be helped..."

Riku has posed:
Riku rolls his eyes up towards the sky and smiles slightly, but doesn't comment. "I checked the board on the way out here. Are you up for that?" he points in the direction of the further slopes and the wild saurian. "Looking out for more of those little.. cactus creatures, of course. I don't like being a pincushion."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"Oh? Sure, I am interested in a unty! What kind of bounty are you talking about---" Reize is turning his head over towards the Wild Saurian.

He instantly freezes.

It starts to quickly come back to the boy as to what that particular creature was. In fact, he can sure remember it chasing him and Shiki that one day. That was an unpleasant day. "It's him!!! M-m-m-maybe he won't see us... or see me. Or remember me..."

Meanwhile,

As the Wild Saurian hunches over towards the wolf, it scoops it up with its massive jaws and it chomps down on the creature, scarfing it up. As it munches along the bones, it rears its head up. It sees a couple of humans, but doesn't pay any mind to them.

But then it sees a very familiar human.

It sees Reize.
And it sees Reize.
And it sees Reize.
And it sees Reize.

A collection of memories come to mind about the boy.

Annnnd it now looks like it is stomping towards their way. It is stalking.

Riku has posed:
Riku grins at the younger boy. "Come on. It'll be fun." he calls up the sword into his hand, shifting his stance as he points to the left. As the saurian comes closer, stalking towards them he has to rock back on his heels to take the whole thing in. "Run that way. I'll come up behind it as it follows you." he doesn't seem to be at at worried about the prospect of Reize becoming Saurian food.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"Y-you sure?!" He looks towards the Wild Saurian as he is stalking closer. Oh crap, he is remembered! Reize panics, signified by the antenna hair snapping into attention and quivering.

But then, Riku points towards the left. Reize turns his attention towards here Riku poins. "Alright!" The young adventurer runs ahead, trusting Riku's plan.

Meanwhile, the Wild Saurian is looming closer towards the group, but then its head turns to lock onto Reize.

Eyes narrow.

Its feet beat against the ground faster as the large saurian charges ahead. As it charges towards the boy, it looms.

"H--hi..." squeaks out Reize, who looks at the creature that remembers him very wel.

And it roars right onto the boy's face, before its jaws open up to chomp down the ahoge kid.

Riku has posed:
But while the Saurian is entirely focused on Reize, it's relatively limited field of vision is occupied.

Riku approaches from behind, almost strolling with the sword on his shoulder while the Saurian is still walking but when it roars and gets ready to chomp down he lunges forwards racing across the sand to leap up and onto it's tail and run up the Saurian's back, slashing deep at the muscles of one leg with the sword and then attempting to bury it all the way to the hilt.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
 % It works out for Riku, really.

As its attention had been purely on the boy who gained it's aggro, it did not realize that the other human wouldattempt to attack it. Riku's spring up to the tail with the blade does make its mark in slashing the sword deep into the muscles of one of the legs.

It's eyes widen as it gives out a roar, bellowing out its pain and rage.

Its eyes settle upon Riku.

It lunges its head out, jaws opened to get a nice bite out of Riku until a boomerang pelts it across the face. It just looks at Reize with an incredelous look before it sweeps its head towards both Riku and Reize, jaws opened to try to bite the two.

Riku has posed:
Riku wrenches the sword free, flipping back onto the sand just in time for the Saurian to take a bite at him. He jerks backwards, rolling backwards into a crouch as it takes a bite at the air he was just occupying.

Digging his feet in, Riku gives an amused smile to the monster before he charges straight at them, leaping up to handspring off it's nose and catch himself on the jutting crest and spine, this time being the distraction while Reize takes a shot at it.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
The saurian is pretty angry right now. It has two meddling humans that refuse to become dinner. One of them being a dinner that left its sights week back.

Revenge shall be the saurian's.

However, this prove to be not in its favor when Riku charges to hand spring off of its nose. When he catches it along the spine, it turns around.

Its massive head twists to meet with Riku, then the jaws open in preparation to bite him.
This gives Reize the opportunity to lunge forward towards the saurian, already pulling a rope along his hand. Instead of jumping to strike it, the boy is running towards its massive leg, hooking the rope along one of its legs.

Then he springs off of the ground and stops on its legs.

It's roaring. Painfully. And it's just more angry.

Riku has posed:
Which turns out to be to the detriment of Riku because angry things hit like a train. As Riku is manuvering to leap off the Saurain again the creature bucks, thrashing unexpectedly in a way that throws him off balance.

He plummets to the sand, only preventing being smashed into jelly by a descending foot by a matter of inches and having his arm ripped off by an angry Saurian by a matter of an inch or so, angry scrapes and a few gashes appearing as the teeth slide but don't quite catch along his arm.

This happens to be the one already punctured earlier by needles so Riku is a little slower getting up than he needs. The Saurian lunges forwards and Riku scrambles backwards, throwing a handful of painful grit into it's eye and slashing at it's nose as the teeth come at him again.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"Riku!" Reize calls out after securing the rope. However, it hears the victim and it moves its head down to stare right at Reize. Both eyes widen in response before he pulls back from the jaws trying to bite againt him.

And back to Riku, the creature rears its head at Riku for the chomp, naile across its eyes by th painful grit, then the blade hacks across its nose. It gives a howl of pain and the rage.

Reize uses that time wisely to have the rope around the dinosaur. He runs along the circle, having the rope out to ensnare the monsters's leg.

When the beast attempts to twist and move towards Riku once more for another bite, its balance is loss from the rope.

And it falls right onto its face with a thud.

"Wooo! We got it down!" cheers Reize.

Riku has posed:
"Good job Reize." Riku picks himself up carefully from the desert floor, getting a potion out of a satchel in his desert clothes and drinking it as he makes a wide circle of the catch. The healing herbs, spices and magic involve take the majority of the serious wounds and starts to mend them.

He doesn't let the creature out of his sight. "I'm not familiar really with the bounty system. Do they need things alive, or in pieces?"

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"Thanks!" Reize grins, looking towards Riku once he starts to treat his wounds. It is no point in asking if his comrade is alright. He seems to be in good spirits. Well, at least as good spirits as Riku can be. "...You know." He starts scratching his head, nearing the wild saurian.

"I actually don't know." He frowns, "This is actually the first time that I have dealt with a bounty."

Meanwhile...

The saurian is still for a few moments.

Its eyes snap open.

It is awake.

Riku has posed:
"Not surprising." Riku says to himself with a grim smile. He sighs, trying to recall the board but he hadn't really been paying all that much attention. He'd had.. other things to think about. The Saurian opens it's eyes. "Well. I think this is the point where we run."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
Where as Riku is pretty aware of he fact that the saurian is awake and is not too happy, Reize is definitely not in the know. The Eternally Lost Boy is also unaware that the Saurian is starting to get back to its feet, looking over the two. Particularly the unaware boy.

"What makes you say that?"

He leans his back slightly, his head lifting up.

"...Oh, that's what..."

ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! Annnndd it is pretty angry. It is so angry, a wolf that happens to be a wolf coming by. It snaps and it chomps down the wolf.

> Wild Saurian has reached level 99!

Its eyes settle towards towards Riku and Reize.

Teeth grits, almost a grin.

Riku has posed:
"RUN." Riku shoves a hand off into the distance, back towards the small grove of Cactaur that they stumbled over on the way here.

As furious as the thing was, there was a reason why the little cactus creatures were not preyed on very easily. They were fast for one. And the other?

Well... There was 10,000 reasons for that.

He could only hope they could somehow keep the cactaur from filling THEM with needles. Maybe a large, very angry Saurian will help draw their ire.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"Crrraaaaaaappppppp.....!"

Ever felt something very ominous pass by? It's a strange presence that looms to terrorize. It's that gut wretching feeling that something horribly has gone wrong.

..This is one of those moments that the feeling strikes.

Reize quickly turns his tail and he makes a mad dash towards where the grove. "The grove we go!"

That large Saurian is running after the two, its small arm flailing as it roars and hollers.

The cacitites are having fun, enjoying their lazing about with the lack of stupid adventurers coming their way.

...Until it sees Reize and likely Riku.

Those hole of eyes narrow.

Riku has posed:
Riku digs into the sand, pushing himself with each step. He starts to laugh as he looks behind him and sees the Saurian bearing down on him. This was fun. Terrifying fun, yes-- but honest and uncomplicated.. and he hadn't used magic to dig himself out of their trouble. He had certainly been tempted.. at first with the cactuar and now here, but he had decided coming out here he wasn't going to use any.

He wasn't going to give in.. and it felt good. It felt like something normal. Which is odd, considering he was running across a desert with a giant lizard chasing him and Reize towards a grove of intelligent cactus. "Go that way" he calls out to Reize at the last second before they reach the grove, splitting off in a Y away from the Cactaur.

With any luck.. the Saurian would charge straight ahead, stomping through the grove and being pelted with needles for the trouble.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
One side, there is a Saurian.
On the other side, there are a group of cactites nearby.

Reize cannot win. His eyes are just wide, unable to believe at the luck that they are getting with both things that do not like them on different parts. With the intelligent cacti glaring at them, Reize looks at Riku as he points in one of the directions.

The boy finally gets it.

"GOT IT!"

The Saurian is moving straight ahead...

And as the two approach close, Cacti have cocked their needles like guns. That is when Reize veers off in one direction.

As the wild saurian moves closer, it then realizes...

It is caught in the middle of cactites.

...wait what?

Reize and Riku can hear the sounds of multiple needles piercing a large beast, who wails its roar in pain. It's probably the saurian equivalent of 'Ohgodmakeitstop'.

Riku has posed:
Riku makes a WIDE circle around the grove, running steadily across the sand with a ground-eatinb but not 'OH my god it's a saurian, get on the chocobo' sort of run anymore.

He moves to meet up with Reize, not looking back to see if the Saurian was following them. They'd definitely hear it if it did, as angry as it must be now.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
If Riku and Reize would turn around, they would actually see that the Saurian is fleeing from the needles all flying at its direction. It's a yipe, yipe, yipe sort of fleeing. It may be angry and rampaging, but it isn't stupid.

Oh no, it will flee to recover and mend its wounds.

> Riku is now embedded in Wild Saurian's memories.

"Woohooo! We did it...!" He grins towards Riku, "That was great thinking there, Riku! But..."

Thankfully, the cactites seemed to have forgotten about the two humans, tending to their own business.

Riku has posed:
"Yeah. It doesn't matter." Riku takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly, crossing his arms as he looks over the desert with a slightly distant expression. When he looks back to Reize, he digs out the black journal, turning to the first few pages. He holds up a picture of an island world. Tropical plants crowd the edges of the sketch, a waterfall falling over a ragged cliff. A little shack leads up from a sandy white beach to a wooden bridge that connects this island with a smaller one. What is most striking about the picture is the ocean.

It seems Riku has gone over this picture recently, painstakingly coloring the more subtle hues and shadows of the water. It almost appears to leap from the otherwise flat picture that was less carefully colored and sketched roughly. He doesn't comment on the picture, simply turns the journal and holding it so that Reize may see the drawing. "Let's head back before we get into even more trouble."

Reize Seatlan has posed:
"..I suppose not, but uhh..." Well, Reize can see that the cactites are not bothering them. That is a good thing. Granted, it is mostly because the group do not notice them or have forgotten about them. Either way, it is important that they remain unseen.

While Riku procures his black journal and thumbs through a few pages, the picture is shown before the boy. He takes the moment to observe the drawing. It's a small island.

"...That's wonderful, Riku."

There is a bit of an understanding. Was that previously Riku's home? Perhaps. It is something that is important to his friend. "Thank you, Riku..." For sharing it.

And then, Riku mentions the important part: Getting out and going back.

"Yeah," his voice is a whisper, "Before those guys notice us." He jabs a thumb towards the cactites that are oblivious of the two for now.

That is why Reize is already on the move. No sense in letting those guys find them.

Riku has posed:
Riku tucks the journal away. He looks down at his feet for a few moments, seemingly consumed with tension and his own thoughts. When he looks at Reize, he has an odd gleam in his eyes. The teenager looks back at the cactaur group and yells. "HEY. Do you think you guys would taste good in a salad?!" at the loudest possible volume he can muster. He then rolls his shoulders, giving a mischievious smile at Reize as he asks innocently. "..race you back?" already starting to run even as he finishes the sentence.

Reize Seatlan has posed:
'HEY. Do you tink you guys would taste good in a sald?!'

It is like a dischord on what was a harmonious peaceful song. A note that played in the middle of a wonderful song. It abruptly shifted the mood as Reize's face turns white.

All of the cactites face Reize and Riku.

=o=

"...C-Crap...."

As Riku gets a head start, the boy turns back, "HEY!" He shakes a fist at Riku, already running. However, Reize looks back to see those needles cocked their way like guns.

"ACK! THEY'RE READY TO FIRE!"

And the race begins. At least, with hopes of not coming back needling tweezers to get the next batch of needles out.