An arrow was notched, slowly being infused with futon chakra. Calm blue eyes watched the scene before her; at least five men surrounding a small girl tied to a chair. Even at this distance, she could hear the child's words, and a small smile crept its way across the female's face. Death was indeed coming, but she was here for one man only; the leader of the group, a man by the name of Yen Hoshi. It would seem that he'd earned the ire of Fate's wrath, and so Kindred was dispatched to collect his debt in blood.

Lamb could see this man in the midst of his brethren; a faint glow surrounding his body as he roughly held the child's chin. The glow about his body was proof enough for her; all of their Marks bore a seal upon their body as part of their contract with Fate. It was how they were able to determine their marks from other people, allowing them to see through henge and other forms of trickery.  The masks of the Kindred would not be deterred.

Given the darkness of this moonless night, it would be hard to pick out female watching them from roughly 30 meters away, hidden away in the brush. Her bow was ready to be used – the arrow ready to end this man's life in an instant. But, she would need to draw him out, to get him into the open so that she could make her shot. She could simply just murder everyone present, and collect her Mark that way, but that was sloppy. It was unrefined; it was something her partner would prefer no doubt. But her preferred method was to leave those who were not marked alive until it was time for them to be taken, if she could help it. But what would cause them to be Marked for death by Fate?

When one was unable to or refused to uphold their end of the bargain made with Fate, the debt was passed to Kindred. When the debt was passed to Kindred, the price was always the same; your life. The price of breaking an oath was high indeed.

For the moment, she would wait, her bow at the ready to end this man, and quite possibly all of his friends should they interfere. Her partner should be in his position soon enough, ready to run distraction for her...

WC = 403

Ah yes, another hunt, another Mark; exercise he gladly undertook. If he was lucky, the sou would flee, run and try to escape from his Fate, which would free him to chase. He hadn't had a good chase in many a sunrise, and that made him... anxious, overly energetic, bored. A bored Wolf was a bad thing, for everyone but Lamb. She found his twitching, whimpering boredom to be amusing, usually. It made it easier to handle, when she was amused. Finally, though; it was time to end his boredom, and the need to hunt sang in his veins; he was very nearly physically vibrating from the energy threatening to rip his body apart if he didn't spend it. The running helped, some; it released just enough energy to make sure he didn't actually rip himself apart from the inside, but only just barely. He needed to hunt, he needed to move, to run and rip and rend and tear and chomp and chew and claw and howl. It was in his nature to do so, and his nature was strong.

They had a method, however; Fate was no unkind, and even to those that doublecrossed him, he gave a choice. Met a merciful death at the tip of Lamb's bow, or suffer horribly in Wolf's jaws. It was fair, this choice. To be Marked, you must make a bargain with Fate, and if you fail to uphold your bargain, you die. Simple. This man, this... boss, as he called himself; he had failed to uphold the bargain he made with Fate, and Fate had called in the debt. He had no reason to care what the terms of the deal where, and what had driven this man to renege on his debt; all he cared about was the chance to hunt.

At the moment, he was circling at a wide distance; maybe 50 meters or so from the edge of the firelight. At this distance, he could close in and attack in an instant, however that was not the plan. No, he was to run interference, as the common said; he would distract and lure the Unmarked from the camp, so that Lamb could move in and do her work. He wanted nothing more than to rend the entire camp until it was little more than a massive pool of congealing blood. Good times.

As he approached the start of his next circle, he lifted his head to the skies and cupped his hands to his mouth, releasing a piercing howl that was a perfect mimicry of an entire pack of wolves. The nature of the howl was such that it sounded an echoing chorus, the very sound of hunting wolves, and very close to the camp. Enough to scare those inside, anyway; the wolves of this region where well known to be massive, and had no fear of humans. Humans where routinely on their menus, infact, so the sound of a hunting party would strike fear into the hearts of all within earshot. His sheer speed would make him appear as many in the flickering light of the fire; which was exactly what he wanted. It meant that more would follow him; and depending on how they acted... he may just get to feast tonight.

WC: 552

Perfect. Wolf always knew the best route to take with his distractions. It is was why she always left it up to him to determine how to divide and conquer. His mimicking of the wolves of the area was devious, but that was just how Ani's mind worked. His howling would drive them to fear. Fear caused men to think irrationally, to fumble and become foolish. These men, they were filled with fear; their voices were cracked with it, and the air reeked of it.

Foolish men were easy prey. Such as the three men who attempted to wander away from the safety of the flames to seek out and kill what they believed to be a pack of wolves. The Lamb would wait in ambush, keeping still as the men first drew closer. With each step they took, her bow would draw tighter, the futon infused arrow prepared to go.

Whisper Shot:

In the stillness of the night, no one would hear the arrow flying through the air, aimed perfectly at the furthest man's knee. As the appendage was raised to take a step, the arrow was released to lodge itself into its target directly, causing  scream to ring out into the air. But it would soon be joined by another as Lamb took advantage of the confusion to draw another arrow, infuse it, and release twice more. Each subsequent shot was aimed at the knees of the other men walking in the darkness, and each shot would hit true.  She knew the screams would not last long; but they would last long enough. Long enough to plunge the remaining two men further into their fear, and make them more foolish. But as true to her nature, she was required to offer her Mark his end.

“The Masks of the Kindred seek you, Yen Hoshi!” Her voice rose out of the darkness, crystal clear and with purpse. With the echo of the thier location, it would be difficult to pin her exact location, not that she was worried. “You have defied Fate, Yen Hoshi. You have been Marked. Do you choose the Lamb, or the Wolf?"

[403 + 355 = 758 WC]

A second howl, then a third; each from different positions across the shadowy night. He was able to throw his voice perfectly, making it sound as if there were dozens of wolves floating around the inky blackness. He was far away from the fumbling goons, half way across the camp and at the furthest point from where he released his first howl. From here, he was circling back, moving wide across the edge of the camp and moving back so that he was in the best position to begin hunting the Marked man, depending on his choice.

His sharp eyes had noticed the small child; she was pure and clean and innocent, and he couldn't fathom why she was with these goons. Why would they take a child? Why bother? Maybe she was worth coin? Who knew, men were strange beasts, and he had never understood them. He was too much of a beast, really; humanity was a mess of stupidity and contradiction. However, he wasn't heartless; he had never been a sadist, not truly. He only hunted those that were Marked, those that endangered him or even worse; committed the sin of endangering Lamb. Those who defied Fate must pay with their lives; those who endangered his life paid with their screams; those who risked the safety of Lamb paid with their sanity.

He was in position now, sliding through the shadows silently as his large bulk allowed for; finding a comfortable spot to crouch at the ready, hidden from sight but his line of attack clear and open. Should the man run, he would chase. Should he meet his end with dignity, he would stay. Simple. Easy.

WC: 281

281 + 552 = 833

"Wait! Just wait a minute... Why not strike a deal? The child, the cat girl, she's worth a lot of money. Her father hired me to find her and kill her, but we were going to sell her when we saw how adorable she looked. Let me sell the child and I will give you fifty percent of the profit if you let me walk away! What do you say? Do we have a deal?"

Typical. Those who were hunted usually attempted this; to try and bargain their way out of their fate. Very few accepted their fate willingly, and it seemed like this man would not. Lamb would almost smile at the proposal, but she did not. But, his proposal it stirred something within Lamb; Ina, the woman behind the mask was angry. This was not normal irritance at the situation, but rather a deep-seated hatred that would soon manifest itself into something terrible. She'd been sold off as a child to help ensure her family did not go hungry in the winter; and while she had never resented her father for doing this, she did come to hate the man to whom she'd been sold to.

To him, Ina was no more than than a piece of meat for him to devour when she grew older. The time the girl spent with him was horrible to her; he was constantly touching and feeling on her body as she grew. Even though Ina eventually escaped and became Lamb, she still harbored resentment towards those who would sell others as slaves.

Whens Lamb spoke next, her voice and her heart grew harder. “Money has no meaing to the Masks of the Kindred. There will be no compromise, Yen Hoshi. Your life will settle your debt. Choose your fate; Lamb or Wolf.” Once more, the choice. His method of death was up to him; To choose the Lamb would mean for her to put him down swiftly with an arrow: an accepting of one's Fate. But to choose the Wolf would mean to defy Fate until the very end, and a joyous chase would ensue for Wolf to claim his prize.

What would it be? What would Yen Hoshi choose?

[758 + 369 = 1127 WC]

Soft growls, the urge to race in and start ripping faces off was high. He had never lived in the outside world; not this body and face and mind, not really; he knew all about it, had memories that pre-dated any chance he could have had to make them, but they where his all the same. The very concept of slavery, human or otherwise, appalled him; it always had and it always would. It was so... tempting, so very, very tempting; but there was a system, a method to the madness of their methods. However... just because he couldn't race in at this exact moment didn't mean he couldn't do anything at all. No... he was... interested, in a way, in the child. He could be almost fatherly, in some instances; a long sitting skill set from generations of Wolf beyond count.

As it was, the shadows where his dearest friend, second only to his Little Lamb; and he used them to his advantage. A final series of howls, used to cover his tracks in a way; so long as they where believed, and there was no reason not to, anyone would believe he was very, very far away from where he actually was. A ploy, decoy. He was moving until he was behind the tree that the little child had hidden in; relative to everyone else, anyway; he was still in the shadows and hidden perfectly, and that was fine. That was the point. He was still in a great position to charge and hunt if it came to it, however he was also in position to cling to the tree; he was massive, heavy, but supremely strong; he was able to climb the tree like a gecko would, his bulk hidden and yet wrapping around the trunk easily. He was moving up to check on the child, his curiosity and a strange urge to Know, to See, to Understand; one of his odd moments of intuition; something about this child was different, and he needed to know why.

Peeking around the bark of the tree; he used the confusion to duck his head into the hole she was hiding in, getting the first real look his weaker (relative to Lamb, anyway) eyes had of the child; noticing instantly the horrifying state the child was in and nearly ripping chunks of bark from the tree as he tensed and fought the urge to explode into savage fury. "Peace, child. The Masks of Kindred will not harm an innocent, without provocation. Remain here, and you will be safe."

With a snarl of rage directed entirely at their Mark, he removed his head and dropped to the ground, hunched over and moving like a wolf stalking through the night. He was moving to the very edge of the shadows, so that his eyes would shine in the firelight and his soft, angry growling could be heard. "Make your choice, Manchild! You have defied Fate long enough!"

WC: 500

500 + 833 = 1330

So, he would choose the Lamb? Very well: it seemed that Wolf would be denied his chance to hunt tonight. Not that it mattered very much; thier hunt would be completed tonight. A small smile formed under her mask; this was what she lived for, afterall. Taking her marks from this world.

The body would rise in the darkness, another arrow notched in the string of the bow as she would make her way forward. She would continue moving until she could be seen in the light of the campfire, hovering on the edge of light and darkness. She must have a strange sight; a small figure in all white, save for a black mask with the visage of a Wolf upon it. "You have chosen the Lamb, Yen Hoshi. You will die by my hand. Your friend, however... is free to go. His time has not come yet." Simple words. There was not much for her to say, it was the end of formality. Lamb would raise the bow and draw back on the string; the target was this man's heart. His death was meant to be swift and painless, ended by her arrow.

"Good night, Yen Hoshi." And with that, the arrow was released.

[1127 + 206 = 1333 WC]

Such painfully wrong logic. Oh, Lamb was by far the more gentle of the pair; he was savagery incarnate most of the time; but his savagery was born of passion and need and fixation and want: it was not savagery for the sake of being savage. He was a beast, but he was also a man; while more beast than man, that was the point of his being. Kindred was a balance of the two extremes; the logical, gentleness of Lamb, and the beastial fixation of Wolf. His passion was born of that fixation, once his mind locked, there was no changing it; and one of his oldest and strongest fixation was Lamb.

The Mark had made his choice, and Wolf was not needed here, not now. Once a Choice was made, it was final; her arrows would end the man, and that was fine. He would hunt another day, there was always a new mark, and a new chance to hunt. He seemed to fade back into the night, the glow of his eyes vanishing instantly when the decision was made, and he was long gone before the arrows would be flying. It was simple for him to move in the darkness; darkness was his first and oldest friend after all, it was not an obstacle to him, it was an ally and partner much as Lamb was.

Something in the depths of his scrambled mind; down where he Knew things that he could not Know but always did and always would; there was a Voice that called to him; the same voice that called to him to sing the Deathsongs and Foreversong and to be with Lamb and love her with the ferocity of a beast as he always had and would forever; it called to him now with a different directive.

The child. Take the child. Save the child. The child is special. The child is important. Take the child.

He did not question this voice.

Moving back toward the tree, he was climbing up the rough bark and hanging his massive frame from it without effort or care; he was the master of this Night, and none would survive a challenge of that dominance. Into the hollow he stared, an expression of curiosity on his animalistic visage, "Child, come with me. I will keep you safe. Your tormenter is dead, my Lamb has seen to that. You are free now. Let us take you to the village, if you desire, or you may stay with us. Both are acceptable."

WC: 425

425 + 1330 = 1755

Judgment was passed. Yen Hoshi lay dead, an arrow protruding from his heart. Such was the fate of those who chose their death by Lamb; their end was swift and peaceful.

Lamb seemed to not pay attention to the male whom was screaming about the death of his sibling. It was... lamentable, but it was the price that one paid for reneging a deal with Fate. If he was not prepared to to embrace the consequences of his actions, then he should not have committed to them.

Their work here was done. The men laying in the dark, crying and screaming about being shot in their knees – they would survive if they received medical attention soon enough. In the distance, she could hear howls; the sounds of actual wolves. They would be here soon. If these men did not leave soon enough, they would be a meal for the pack. No amount of fire would save them unless they happened to set the whole forest on fire. The wolves in these parts were the size of horses, and were unfettered when they smelled a meal.

Such was fate.

Lamb would step back away from the fire, turning and moving away from it. As she did, she gave a sharp whistle that would pierce the night air; a signal to her dear Wolf that it was time to leave. She would sprint off in one direction, away from her intended destination; in case the man whom she'd left unharmed decided that he was feeling some kind of way and that he wanted revenge. If he were to chase her, he would find himself following a false trail, one set purposely so that the little Lamb could escape to her rendezvous location and meet her dear Wolf.

[295 + 1333 = 1628 WC]

"Worry not, child. Place your arms around my neck and hold tight, I will bring you down. I promise I will not bite." He gave her the chance to decide if she would hold to him, before moving toward the ground. The remaining, mostly unharmed member of the party was fumbling nearby, close enough to to notice someone moving through the shadows, anyway. He was framed by the thin light of the fire in the distance; however there was not enough detail to tell whom he would be.

"Oi, help me kill these bastards! They killed my brother! We can kill them, and still sell the brat."

Hahaha! Wrong person. Even with the child on him, if she was; he was supremely fast, efficient, and ready to kill. Which, well, he did just that. The moment his mind was fixated on something, there was no turning back; the Voice told him to protect the child, she wished to stay with them for the moment, that was enough for him.

"You had the chance to leave in peace, manchild. You have squandered that chance, now."

A moment before the man had time to realize he'd spoken to the wrong person, he was choking on his own blood, as his throat was now in Wolf's mouth and being chewed on with relish. It was no hunt, but it was a kill, and that was good enough for him. The man would survive for a few, painful, agonizing moments before blacking out from pain and blood loss; he was a dead man and food for the wolves now anyway.

He was long forgotten.

The massive male was running, silent and quick, as if he was moving across a perfectly flat, empty field. The forest was no obstacle to him, even with a passenger he would move just as quickly and efficiently through the space. He would meet with Lamb far away, at the predetermined point. There was little chance of being followed, but better to be safe. After many long minutes of silence, they would reach the rendezvous, likely a few moments behind Lamb; he was fast, but she was faster; and she'd had a slight head start. "My Lamb, the other... misstepped." A simple explanation. If she asked about the child, he would explain then; he always did things that didn't make sense to either of them at the time, but they always worked out in the end.

WC: 410

410 + 1755 = 2165/1950 SPD E0-D3

She'd arrived several minutes before her dear Wolf, perched high up in the trees. She'd spent the time breaking down her bow, keeping hidden and quiet. She knew Wolf would be along soon enough, but for the moment, she would keep herself busy. This particular hunt was easy; by far one of the easiest they'd completed together.

After several moments, she could hear the sounds of someone approaching. It had to be her dear Wolf, but it sounded off. As if he were moving slightly slower...

Blue eyes were turned in the direction the sounds were coming from; soon enough, Ani would appear, carrying the small child from the campsite. An eyebrow was raised beneath her mask

"My Lamb, the other... misstepped."

She had expected this to happen; people were rarely rational when their loved and friends were killed in front of them. Nothing she could do about it now; more than likely, this man that Wolf was referring to was now dead. For the moment, Lamb would turn her attention to other things, namely the child that was clinging to Wolf's back and watching her. “And her, my dear? You brought a souvenir of the hunt?” Her voice was not judgemental, but rather held traces of amusement. Her dear Ani often did things like this, taking small odds and ends from their hunts to remind him of the best ones. He othen did strange things without thinking, ad Lamb loved him for them.

But this? This was something different. This was a live child, and not an inaminate object that could be stored on a shelf in their quarters at home.

[1628 + 272 = 1900 WC]

He reached upward as the females spoke, lifting the child from his back and gently setting her down on the ground in front of him. He knelt down, taking her chin in his hand and lifting her head a bit to check the lip; he could smell the hints of blood and raw flesh, and it concerned him enough to want to check. His voice was amused when he finally spoke himself, you could almost see a tail wagging on his form, even if he didn't have the appendage (yet), "My Lamb, the Voice told me to take her. It said to keep her safe, and I shall. She will like the temple, and I can easily hunt for extra food to keep her sated. No one will complain. No one ever does, when the Voice tells me things."

It was true enough, it was long accepted that Fate spoke to Wolf in his mind, or at least, that's what everyone assumed. Fate had never contradicted anything the Voice told Wolf to do, so the assumption was just accepted. "Child, we know not your name. I am Wolf, she is Lamb. We where only told to hunt our Mark, we did not know he had human cargo." Human enough, anyway. He was a canine through and through; but he had no issues with felines at all, he'd kept a few of the mountain cats as pets in his youth, and they had gone on to become strong, happy protectors of the temple. He was confident in his ability to keep her healthy, happy, and safe. He had no doubt, he could have no doubt; doubt was not something he was capable of really.

WC: 286

286 + 2165 = 2421

1950/1950 SPD E0-D3

471 Remaining

The female asked if Wolf had brought back a souvenir of their hunt and Sicarius could pick up something that sounded like amusement more than any other emotion she could currently place.

"Weeeee!~", she said with a giggle as she was lifted up off of Wolf's shoulders and placed down on the ground. She watched calmly as he knelt down and took hold of her chin as he looked over the injury to her split lip; for the moment she stopped poking at it with her tongue so that it could be properly looked at. Quietly she listened as Wolf explained to Lamb that the Voice as he called it told him to take her and to keep her safe. He then mentioned a temple and food, but she was more focused on this Voice he had mentioned instead of anything else.

In a very child like and cat like manner she tilted her head a bit to the right curiously. "My name is Sicarius.", the latin word for Assassin: something her mother had named her as she too had heard the same voices that Sicarius herself did - and they had told her to do so. "You hear a voice in your head too? So do I!", she asked suddenly, still unable to let that particular topic go. Most people thought hearing voices made them crazy, yet here was someone who was fully admitting they heard someone talking in their head too. Curious kitten was curious.

Word Count: 251 + 2,655 = 2,906

"My Lamb, the Voice told me to take her. It said to keep her safe, and I shall. She will like the temple, and I can easily hunt for extra food to keep her sated. No one will complain. No one ever does, when the Voice tells me things."

It was true enough, it was long accepted that Fate spoke to Wolf in his mind, or at least, that's what everyone assumed. Fate had never contradicted anything the Voice told Wolf to do, so the assumption was just accepted. Lamb herself had no reason to distrust what Wolf said; she believed everything that spilled forth from her dear Ani's lips.

"Child, we know not your name. I am Wolf, she is Lamb. We where only told to hunt our Mark, we did not know he had human cargo."  As Wolf introduced her, Lamb would offer the child a small curtsy by way of greeting. Beneath the mast, the amused expression was still upon her face as the child began to speak for herself, introducing herself as Sicarius. Lamb remained quiet as the child questioned  Wolf about him hearing voices; if this child was indeed hearing voices as she claimed, and Wolf was explicitly told to take her with him, then this was a strange situation indeed.

Something struck her as odd about the child; her cat-like features were very pronounced. Lamb was about to question Sicarius about these when a chorus of hows broke through the darkness of the night. It would seem that pack of wolves were closer than she'd though.  With a small nod to Wolf, she would leap back up into the trees above them. “Come. We must leave quickly before... they arrive. We can talk more once we're home.”

Without another word, Lmab would take off into the night, heading back towards the Hidden Temple.

[1900 + 310 = 2210 WC]
SPD E0 - D3 2210/1950 = 260 remaining WC
PER E0 - E2 260/225
-Exit-

"I do, little one. I hear a very special Voice, one that you may meet one day soon. He speaks to me, even when I am not in His presence." That sounded extremely... religious, but it wasn't; he just didn't have the time or the inclination to explain it differently. He knew the wolves were close, he could smell and almost see them moving through the shadows. He had no fear of them, they did not challenge him, as he was stronger and in all honestly, a stronger alpha than their pack leader, so by all the laws of the pack, he could easily just say 'screw it' and challenge the alpha for dominance if they tried anything. He could always use some new pets.

Now was not the time, sadly.

"Kitten child, let us leave before the wolves attack. They may make a play for you, as you are small and they would see you as an easy meal. I would prefer not to have to kill them for that." He was leaning down in a position similar to a wolf himself; his arms where extremely long in relation to his body, and his bulky frame was oddly limber, making it possible for him to move on all fours like a large canine himself. It was another one of the quirks that made him Wolf, versus just another berserker-type hunter. "Climb upon my back, wrap your arms around my neck as before. We shall be home soon." He waited a few moments for her to climb upon him before starting off; leaping into the trees and starting after Lamb at nearly the same speed she was moving. The child was not heavy, but he did not want to risk her being pulled off of his back by the sheer force of wind drag, so he was moving a bit slower. It wasn't as though he didn't know the way home, after all.

-Exit-

WC: 329

329 + 2421 = 2750

1950/1950 SPD E0-D3

800/750 REA E0-D0

The sound of wolves howling in the distance caused the child's ears to swivel in that particular direction. Sicarius wasn't exactly fearful of the wildlife around, but she knew the wolves to be larger than normal and incredibly dangerous. She was all on board with the idea of getting out of the woods before the wolves came sniffing around after the fresh food laying around.

"Oh, no, no, no! Kitties are not food!", she said simply, in a rather serious sounding voice. She climbed back onto Wolf's back without hesitation, wrapping her arms around his neck just as before: she had no intentions of sticking around and risking becoming dinner for a pack of hungry wolves. Besides, she was curious as to get the chance to see this temple, very curious indeed. Plus, it would give her a chance to ask many more questions: she had allowed the topic of Wolf hearing a voice in his head to drop given the situation, but that didn't mean she forgot it - no, she was quite curious about that too.

"Weeeeee!~", she would exclaim as they left the area, giggling all the while.

[Exit]

Word Count: 193 + 2,906 = 3,099
Speed D2 -> D3: 3,099 - 450 = 2,649
Perception D2 -> D3: 2,649 - 450 = 2,199
Reaction D2 -> D3: 2,199 - 450 = 1,749
Strength E2 -> E3: 1,749 - 225 = 1,524
Strength E3 -> D: 1,524 - 300 = 1,224
Strength D -> D1: 1,224 - 325 = 899
Strength D1 -> D2: 899 - 400 = 499
Strength D2 -> D3: 499 - 450 = 49
Remaining: 49