Suspicious People

Suspicious People
Date of Scene:	09 October 2012
Location:	Fluorgis, The Old Kingdom
Synopsis:	Avira manages to find Skoll once more, and is dragged onto a tiny excursion.
Cast of Characters:	Skoll Ulfang, Avira

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Avira has posed:
Avira has been thinking a lot lately. She saw the red-haired man...but had been too whupped at the time to do anything about him. Not that the red-haired man was doing anything world-threatening-he's still mighty suspicious! Except, well, Skoll was suspicious in his own right. Suspicious and also still very intriguing, being a real werewolf and all.

So once again, the hunt is on. This time, Avira's a little more informed and knows that Skoll was probably on his way to Fluorgis at some point since he was following Ivo around. Rather than a stake-out, Avira is busy trying to play catch-up.

Normally she'd be doing this on a chocobo too but quite recently she dropped all her money to help a spike-haired kid foot a huge restaurant bill. There was no money left to rent a chocobo. While she can move reasonably fast, travel on foot like this was nonetheless exhausting, leaving her panting in the hot sun on her way to the city.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Cut to Skoll, not moments ago having floored a large heartless panda with the help of Reize, Zia, Sammy and Shiki - and having escaped in silence. After all, he'd transformed into a real werewolf to do so, and is rather secretive about that whole bit. Not due to his own desire - note. But, having transformed back again, the young man is now wandering the desert with something in his pocket. An order from ShinRa for some specific shipping!

The desert is nice to travel through for right now, his hands behind his neck and his eyes set to the horizon. He looks rather casual, with not a single scratch on him. Not that Avira would know that he'd just been in a fight one way or the other. As usual, when roaming the desert, he's bare chested. But this time, he's even flung his jacket over his shoulder in order to stop himself from overheating, and is using his other hand to drink some water.

Avira has posed:
While Avira doesn't have the super hearing or super smelling abilities Skoll has at his disposal, she can certainly spot something shiny in the desert. Something shiny, such as the many chains Skoll sports dangling from his pants and jacket. It's actually a bit of a surprise to her to spot him out here already-and alone no less. Maybe he only occasionally followed Reize and Ivo around. Maybe deep down inside he was a...

...lone wolf.

For the moment, Avira actually puts some effort into trying to sneak up on Skoll again. She carefully checks for wind direction and keeps herself below it as she approaches. Her arrival is as silent as possible-not hard to do when it comes to sand. However...visibility is a problem. There's nothing to hide behind out here and her clothing doesn't camoflage against the dunes well enough. Skoll will likely notice her before she arrives. But when she does, her greeting is cheerful enough. "Hello again, Skoll!"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
This time, Skoll seems to be far more alert than last time. Maybe it has to do with the fact that she tried to catch him in a desert before. Perhaps it's the adrenaline that is still running through his body. Or maybe it's just the fact that he's not immensely distracted. While she manages the wind thing, his sight picks out 'movement' in the desert. Sandsteps are hard to hide in the sand - even in the desert. Especially when so recently made. He actually ends up stopping before the girl comes out this time.

"'afternoon." The wolf comments, looking at his waterbottle, and then ends up hooking it on one of his chains. "Nice to meet you again. Heading into Fluorgis, I presume? I was just heading out myself."

Avira has posed:
Avira immediately notices that he's stopped. Were this some kind of sneaking game, a big red exclamation point would appear over her head. When he stops, she stops, only for a few seconds, in which Skoll greets her back. Moving regularly, she saunters around to his field of vision.

"Yes, actually. Hope to catch up with a few people there. You being one of them...in fact.." she sounds slightly coy, but as enthusiastic as before. "So it's good I caught you here. Desert travel on foot isn't the greatest. Anyway...since we're both headin' in opposite directions, I'll try to make this quick."

Her enthusiasm cools just a little. "So uh...you clearly have experience with tracking and stalking and similar skills like that. Think you could, um, show me a thing or two someday?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll nods his head and shifts his hips a little to get into a more relaxed stance, and moves one finger over one of the chains at his side - a nervous habbit? Or perhaps just a quirk? "Looking for Ivo and folk? I presume." He recalls her attempt at weasling things out of the knightly young man. "They've founded themselves a little HQ in Fluorgis. Need to gather money it would seem." Skoll glances over behind Avira, as if something might be behind her, before he looks back to her.

"Glad you caught me then. Yes, I have experience with tracking and stalking. I'm sure I could teach you some things. Now's good for me if you want, but I'd have to drag you away from Fluorgis - and who knows how long it'd be until you'd be able to get back." Huh?

Avira has posed:
"Yes...Ivo and folk." Well that confirms it. Might be for more weaseling since Ivo never got her that drink-or it could be for something much more sinister! Avira doesn't seem interested in expanding on that little objective at the moment. "That's good to know." Meaning she could count on reliably catching Ivo there in the future.

Perhaps spurred by paranoid habit, when Skoll looks over her shoulder, Avira pauses to do the same. "What? Right now?" she looks confused, likely expecting such future lessons to be in a forest or something similar based on Skoll's previous comments. "Just how far away would you be dragging me?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Behind her shoulder, she might see a couple of Heartless 'wandering the other way'. And when she look back, Skoll puts a finger to his lips, as if telling her 'shhh' or 'this is between you and me'. As if there was something special between these two that garnered him to trust her. In truth, it's just that he doesn't want her blabbing. "As for how far I'd take you. Hrrrm... well, I'm not entirely sure how far that would be for you. Quite a ways I think. Depending on if you can catch a transport or two."

The man shrugs his shoulders. "Perhaps days. Perhaps minutes, depends on if I'd give you a 'ride back' in a ways." He pauses for a moment, and then walks alongside her - until he's standing shoulder to shoulder. His chest facing the same direction her back faces. One of those mysterious things baddies do sometimes without realizing it. That, or it's just his bad-boy image. "It's up to you."

Avira has posed:
Those Heartless she hadn't even noticed before too. As if magnetized, her hand immediately falls upon the hilt of the Spine and stays there, even though Avira sees the Heartless moving away from them. It was just as she observed before-they were departing from Skoll. Pretty interesting, really, since Heartless would usually attack her whenever she was in range, making this a strange little inadvertant experiment.

"...I trust I can find my way back somehow." Avira says, deciding the Ivo Issue can wait. It's not like her life revolved around the man HA HA THAT WOULD BE SILLY yes.

As he starts to step past her, then stops, at that point she notices that she hasn't let go of her still-sheathed weapon yet. "Alright." she doesn't turn to face him, but she does let her eyes slide over to view him from their corners. "Let's go, then."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Let's go then." Skoll repeats after her, just as a large portal of darkness suddenly presses out from him and envelops the two, giving access to a strange... corridor - a corridor that presses away the darkness and goes through to another place. "Follow me." Skoll whispers. "And don't tell Ivo. I don't think the youths of the Shard Seekers would understand. They're... young." Suggesting that Avira is adult or otherwise more mature than them. Maybe it's the whole hunter thing.

Skoll steps through, and waits for Avira. While within, she might feel her mind perhaps growing just a tint darker - her heart too. Just that slight bit - almost unnoticable. Thoughts hiding at the edges of one's mind becoming just that little bit more pronounced. Skoll goes straight through to the other side, until the two finally step out... into a dark forest. Thorns here and there. This place is night - a moon and stars in the sky... and an owl hooting.

Avira has posed:
That was not expected. While no stranger to the portals that have come and gone throughout the fragmented world in recent days, there was something inorexably different about this particular one. It wasn't just the fact that Skoll made it appear at will, which neatly explains how he disappeared that one time, it was something that was inside it.

A strange, glassy-eyed expression settles on her face for a few seconds once she steps through. "..that..." she says afterwards, "..what was that? It reminded me of...n..nevermind." Noticably more on edge and a little bit jarred by the sudden transition from what was daylight seconds ago, she looks around rapidly. "Where is this?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"That was a portal. Plain and simple. Only... rare people can open those." The youth comments, "They are not a thing to speak of to others. I trust you won't tell anyone else." Skoll slowly looks around, sniffing the air audibly, and then looks back at the girl as the portal disappears behind them. "This is the forest of the Beast. It is rumored that this entire forest is run by a large beast. But what's more, wolves live here. And where there are wolves, there is prey."

He motions a hand towards the left of her and points in that general direction. "Try moving through that path. And try not to make a sound." He then grabs something from one of his pockets, and reveals a little bell. "I will ring this each time I can hear you." It's a simple path, with twigs here and there, and some plants in the way.

Avira has posed:
"...right." Avira says uneasily. That was something else that felt a little like the time her city was swallowed and shattered. This is, wisely, not pointed out for, as Skoll says, it's not a thing to speak of, "Urm, no, no I won't spread that around. Don't worry."

There's slight intimidation on her face at the talk of beast and wolves, but Avira manages to keep a lid on it for the most part. As a hunter, she should be able to deal with a few wolves. When Skoll points out a supposed path, Avira tries to look but can barely make out anything in the dark. The instructions are simple but she doesn't start off right away, taking those few moments to let her eyes acclimate to the lower light. Gradually, she can see the details in the path ahead and starts to move.

Focusing on her feet, she seems to be able to avoid stepping on crunchy things...only for enroaching branches to smack her arm when she's not looking up.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"A true hunter gets to know the lay of the land before they hunt. So take your time." The fact that she's patient enough to actually wait and let her eyes get used to the darkness is enough to slightly impress Skoll. Unlike her, his eyes were far more easily acclimated. But still - as she steps out into the path and stats moving through, indeed - branches start catching her - and each time...

Ting.

It's a cute little chime, something you'd expect from a cat's collar or something. "Widen your eyes. Take in all the light you can take in." Skoll comments.

Avira has posed:
As a werewolf, Avira assumes Skoll also sees in the dark much better than humans. For her, the best she can do is adjust, which she knows will happen eventually. Skolls words seem to point to just that, in fact, reinforcing that her choice was certainly correct in this case.

The bell, while adorable, is slightly disheartening to hear since it did indicate a mistake in her movement. Patiently, she moves slower than before, pausing to check both below and above before each step. The next branch in her way is gingerly taken between her thumb and forefinger and pushed aside. Another one is too big to move, forcing Avira to crouch down.

Thanks to what she usually wears, though, this results in the faint creaking of leather.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Jingle. "Here's another hint." Skoll then suddenly calls out. "If you know you are going to be forced to make a lot of consequtive sounds - use something to misdirect the target. Throw a rock through the forest and let it rustle the leaves elsewhere, then quickly make the movements you need to make - keep it short and quick. If you are lucky, the target, will be startled only by the initial sound, and look in its direction... and see nothing. But that needs synchronization and rapid movement."

Skoll pauses a little, and then begins to follow Avira. He moves quietly, until he finally halts at the big branch that is too big to move. "And know that you can cheat. I was only listening, not watching." And so he moves around the big branch into the rest of the forest, and moves around the obstacle.

Avira has posed:
A small huff escapes her after the second ring. It's not straight up frustration-no, Avira clearly has a little more patience than that. "..rapid movement will have to wait." Avira says quietly, pausing suddenly and straining to listen to something.

After a long moment, allowing Skoll to catch up easily, she starts to move again. She will stop, watching as Skoll steps into the forest to evade the previous obstacle. A small smirk is offered in response to this before she moves on.

Over a fallen log she goes, this fairly silent. Past a few enroaching brambles, quiet again, though the thorns do get into her skin, she manages to catch them halfway and gently push them back out. This still leaves her with cuts on her arm afterwards. Her progress remains slow, but as time wears on, the illicits fewer 'ding'-able offenses.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll silently follows her for the most part. But other than the dings - she may note that now and again, even he makes a mistake. Mistakes are impossible to avoid in a forest this thick after all. But what's more interesting, is how the sounds seem to come with a natural flow of the forest. Like they are part of the sounds in the forest, rather than being made by someone 'disturbing' it.

After a while, the wolfman finally catches up - a long silence leading up to this fact. He suddenly pops out from some bushes next to her, and just 'casually' ends up walking besides her as they come to a clearing. There, right in front of them, is a massive castle. A giant wall and a metalic fence block entry to it. "Some say they hear cries from this castle sometimes. Nobody ever dares to go inside. Even I know better than to enter this place..."

He pauses for a moment.

"But it'd be rude to break and enter one way or the other. You're doing well so far - by the way. Think you are starting to learn anything new, or just...~?"

Avira has posed:
After some time, Avira too notices the sounds that Skoll makes. It helps to think that her own abilities to hear and notice this sort of thing was growing stronger. Maybe it was just that she was so focused on noises that it was easy to hear any noises now, whether or not they came from her. Eventually, she does realize that his sounds are remarkably like the others of the forest.

There's only slight startling from her when he pops out of the woods next to her. To her credit, she doesn't reflexively try to clobber him with her weapon, but the surprise does creat a dingable offense or two. The sneaking becomes a bit more relaxed, though Avira still takes great care to not step on anything noisy.

"Looks imposing..." Avira remarks, tilting her head up to take in the whole structure. "Does anybody know who it belonged to?" The question is so soon discarded-Avira wasn't exactly interested in breaking into a likely haunted castle either. "Oh no, Skoll, I'm pretty sure I am. Being quiet in a forest isn't easy, especially when you can't see everything very well. You really have to take it slow...and cheat if you need to." Her nervousness? Gone. She's grinning so she's clearly enjoying the challenge.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Nobody knows." Skoll answers. "At least, nobody in the nearby village. They don't really like to talk to strangers though. Smalltown folk and all." The creature pauses, sticking his hands into his pockets and looking aside to Avira. He then nods his head.

"Do you know what one of the tasks is that my people often were taught? When our parents thought we were ready to become the hunters instead of the hunted?" He asks, without expecting an actual answer from her. "They'd leave us in a forest just like this. And told them - 'hunt the hunters, only then can you become a true hunter yourself'." He pauses, and then suddenly opens a portal, and steps through it.

"I don't think you are ready yet - so don't worry. I am not going to leave you behind. You still have to learn... come on, we'll head back to Fluorgis. I rather not you'd get lost. Not without some supplies. But next time... next time, maybe I will bring you here and see how well you survive and find your way back."

Avira has posed:
Predictably, Avira shakes her head, all the while hooking her thumbs into one of the leather belts around her waist. Of course she doesn't know, but 'answers' anyway, if only to show that she's paying attention to what he's saying. But that answer...his actions...

Her eyes widen and she whirls to face him, obviously assuming that he's going to leave her here to figure out a way to get back. It would be a delightfully cruel but hardcore form of training. Fortunately, he reassures her that this isn't going to happen.

"Whew." she sighs, "Skoll, you really had me going there for a moment. Give me a little warning before that does happen, okay?"

Bracing herself, she follows after him into that portal.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Of course. If I gave you no warning, you could not possibly mentally be prepared. After all, you'd be left behind in a forest that dark..." He pauses for a moment, and then adds; "All Alone."

The werewolf then grows quiet again and leads her to the end of the corridor of darkness, but remains within. "This is your stop. Fluorgis. You know where to find Ivo and the bunch - they're easy to find. But remember..." He puts a finger to his lips. "I do not lie, but I am okay with not telling people certain things. As this will not harm them in any way." He explains.

The werewolf waits for the girl to leave the Corridor of Darkness, before he lets the portal close behind her. He had other places to be.

Avira has posed:
"...yeah that would..." Avira starts, getting that glassy-eyed look again. It seems almost to be a look of terror on her face. Bad memories, maybe? "...awful." Experiencing whatever this is as she walks through the corridor of darkness doesn't seem to help the matters much either. When she steps out on the other side, she seems slightly shellshocked but lucid enough to hear Skoll's words.

"It won't come up, I promise." Avira reiterates to Skoll. After a beat, she waves to him, but it might be too late.

"...interesting." she comments to no one in particular, "...interesting indeed." Only then does she realize that she didn't bring up the red-haired man. Whoops. Well, there would be next time.