Wolfsbane

[Poptart]

Poptart had just hunched over, opting to walk on the tips of his feet and his fists like a gorilla might. It kept his large size somewhat less obvious and he could move quicker and quieter like this. That is, until the weak man woke up and decided the entire area needed to know about it.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when the screaming started, dropping the man in his moment of being startled. He placed a hand over the man's mouth and stared daggers at him "Shhhh.. Humble the mouth, weak man. Loud predator is a hungry predator." his deep voice resonated. Despite how calm Poptart's voice sounded, he was staring daggers at the elf.

Poptart released his grip slowly and stood up, unsure what to do. He was far too hungry to be able to think about anything other than his next meal for longer than a minute or two. He looked over at the strong woman, deciding she was the leader and wanting to consult her. "Weak man yells. Is this normal?"

[Analisia Moonbright]

Analisia had crouched down as she readied herself to speed after the prey that was just ahead.

And then the elf screamed. The elk took off, and she growled lowly. Not a good day.

Turning around with her ears dangerously low and darkened eyes, she stalked towards Poptart and Noxus. Pushing past Dragon with little heed. She stopped just in front of the elf.

Her thoughts were sent loudly enough to be caught by anyone with an open mind, and she hoped that included everyone in the group, because she really didn't have the patience to change just to talk to all of them. The point of a hunt is to CATCH food. Not yell at it in time for it to run away....

The sarcasm dripped heavily from her statement. Turning slightly, she looked over at Poptart. Focusing in on him, she sent her thoughts out again. Seeing as this is my first trip with the weak man, I didn't know he screamed to catch the attention of prey.

Poptart had seemed intelligent enough to understand, so she didn't bother with keeping to small words. If he didn't get it he wasn't worth the effort. Snorting sharply, she moved back towards Dragon and sat with a huff. She would let Noxus explain himself before deciding that he were as good a meal as any. But if the explanation weren't good enough, she might just change her mind.

[PenitusVox]

Noxus wasn't entirely sure if he had left the Astral Plane. He felt like he was back, however, everything seemed to be in the wrong place; the trees were swaying side-ways and the ground was rushing up to meet him.
He let out another yelp as his head cracked against a stone, the pain sobering him up some. Of course, the troll's strong hand, smelling of mud, covering his mouth would have had the same effect, had he needed it at the time. The sound of hooves in the distance, coupled with the sharp gaze and words he was given, allowed him to realized the situation he had brought upon himself.

As he started to sit up, he felt the re-opened sore on the back of his head, from his last trip to the world's crust. While his hand came back with no blood, he did try to remember to remind himself to bandage it.
The Shifted Ana lumbered toward him, invading his mind, only adding insult to injury. Literally.
Sighing, he reached out for his staff, taking it from the troll who had stored the rod on his back and started to stand up. He had almost fallen again, his old injury was inflamed and angry but he powered through it. The Mote hadn't stuck around for the ride, it seems. He wondered if it waited out its contract in peace or tried to escape.

He had his book of Circles out by the time he could stand, contracting the services of the Rat and Toad spirit, gazing momentarily on the circle of the purple bat creature, still wondering where it fit in.
He sent the little spirits on their own missions, the toad to find water and hopefully fish and the rat to see if it could find any meat to be scavenged or the elk that he had, apparently, run off with his loudness.

"I do apologize to you both. And you, of course, little dragon," he said, gesturing to the creature, "I'll save you the details but do know I had a rather good reason to wail as I did. Besides, much like a newborn, I needed to clear my lungs somehow."

The toad spirit was already back, hopping along to meet him. He shared in its memories of a small stream leading to a pond with fish. Feeding the spirit with some mental energy, or Mana as the newest generation seemed to be calling it, he relinquished it of its contract and watched as it hopped away, dissolving into nothing with each movement.

"If you aren't opposed to fish, I believe I may have found us some. Please, do follow. We can camp where I am leading you." Noxus had said, not waiting for any of his companions, just limping along to the spot the toad had shown him.

[Dragon]

More than anything else, the dragon wanted food. It was understandable considering the scenario; they had found nothing but the delicious scent of fresh food, and he had been locked up in a box for nearly a day without eating. Dragons of his species, by nature, did not need to eat terribly often. A meal a day or even less was suitable to keep him active and going, but he was a spoiled animal. Over his short life he had met many two-leggeds who had increased his rations to up to thrice a day, and that made him hungry all the time no matter the circumstances.

His belly grumbled. The animal shook his body lightly as if ridding himself of some invisible dust; it was a gesture of mild annoyance toward the elf. The apology, of course, went right over him. He didn't like loud things, and the elf was not only loud, but appeared to be sprouting animals out of his hands, and such a thing was more than a little frightening to an animal that had the brain of a dog.

The anger of the wolf reached him easily, although he didn't understand her words completely. He never would, no matter how many times she sent thoughts to his head. He could only tell that she was not angry at him, but rather with the two-legged who had yelled at the food and sent it bounding and leaping away from them.

The dragon lipped his lips and looked at the furry beast beside him. If she looked for some level of understanding in his beady, gold eyes, she would find none.
He scratched his neck with his back foot and sprang up with a sort of misplaced excitement when the shape of a small animal, a frog maybe, hopped toward the elf and then hopped away.

The dragon flew off after it like a cat after a rat, his stubby legs moving just ahead of the elf and ready to pounce on the delicious frog he had found all on his own.

[Poptart]

Poptart stood to his usual height, only slightly hunched over, and watched the spirit animals with a mild interest. Unless these things were about to turn into lunch, he really didn't see the value in such tricks. The strong woman seemed to be even more upset than himself, something he made note of. Upsetting the leader of the group, he noted, was both easy to do and not recommended.

Then, the weak man mentioned some good news. Poptart said nothing to the man's promise of fish, deciding only to wait and see if his claims proved true. He took the rear as they walked and spent most of his time looking around absentmindedly. This area was quite different from where he was familiar with, and only served to make him wonder what else he didn't know.

"Why the group?" he asked, finally speaking up again. Strong woman had already mentioned this was her first trip with the weak man, and he highly doubted they were a hunting party. Only one of the three struck him as a competent hunter.

[Analisia Moonbright]

Analisia shook slightly when the spirit animals popped out then disappeared. Such things were unnatural. And smelled awkward. Eyeing Noxus closely, she allowed him to speak without interruption. Nodding slightly, she followed him, just a few steps off to the side of his feet. It was strange to allow him the lead spot, considering she didn't know if he actually knew what he was talking about, and trust was not easy to come by.

If it were possible, she would have giggled at Dragon's antics, however she managed a snort. The creature was amusing, definitely a good companion, if for no other reason than to provide some small semblance of entertainment. Her golden brown eyes glinted sharply as she thought back to the cage he had been kept in. She would see to that whenever they returned from this quest. Though at the rate they were going, they would never reach Marn, let alone their final destination.

When Poptart spoke, she dropped back to where he was walking in the group. We are journeying to a city named Zhaltev. We have been hired to find both a book and a body from a person there. I am here since the man who hired us needed a werewolf to accomplish this, and the elf was hired for his talents. Dragon tagged along. While she sent this to only Poptart's mind, she wondered if Noxus would also answer. And how his answer might differ from her own. She looked up at the face of the troll beast. Her ears twitching this way and that at the different sounds of forest and group.

[PenitusVox]

Noxus watched the dragon with a slight smile. This could prove entertaining.

He considered Poptart's words carefully before answering. They had just met the creature and while he seemed trustworthy enough, Noxus had learned long ago that even the most trustworthy could double cross you.
"We were both traveling to Zhaltev and decided to join up. The dragon likes Ana and followed her."

He lead them to a small clearing, the small stream cutting through the middle of the clearing was glittering like jewels in the sunlight. The small pond, which was near the edge of the area, seemed alive with creatures of all size and shape.

He realized that the rat spirit hadn't checked in yet, which was kind of strange. Contracted creatures of the Astral Plane aren't able to break their contract and as such, this disturbed him.

[Dragon]

The frog he chased, the dragon quickly realized was an odd little thing. It was not the correct colour for a frog. That were usually green, or maybe brown, and since he had full colour vision the predator realized that this was in fact a transparent frog that appeared to be greyish white in colour. As it hopped just ahead of him, it left behind little tendrils of smoky fog, which the dragon bit at ferociously while he kept pace with the creature. He was not a particularly agile beast, and catching frogs for such a clumsy animal was no small feat. When he finally did manage to swerve and leap onto the little frog, it escaped from his talons, slipping out from them with the ease of smoke.

The dragon growled. He ran after it like the possessed, and only stopped when he nearly sent himself flying into a stream. The toad spirit croaked in reply to these shenanigans and hopped into the water.

A few little fish nibbled at the surface of the water. There was a pond which brimmed with dragonflies and small fish attempting to capture them when they flew too close. There were the scents of many animals here who had passed through to get a drink of water. Running water always had a way of attracting all things in a forest. The dragon decided to also take the opportunity to lap water from the stream; he hadn't had a drink in hours.

[Poptart]

Poptart nodded at the strong woman's comment, choosing not to respond. That is, until the weak man spoke up. "I understand." he replied, though his voice carried an annoyed tone with it. He appreciated the woman's openness, but the weak man provided much less information, to the point that he could have been considered lying were Poptart feeling drastic. He stopped when he saw the stream, letting out a sigh of relief that rattled in his mask to make it sound like a low grumble.

"Not completely useless, then" he said, hollowly, referring to the weak man. He looked around the sticks for a moment before looking at the strong woman. "How long?" he asked. If he had time, he intended to create a proper spear to fish with. If not, well, he'd figure something out, probably.

[PenitusVox]

Noxus quietly strode beside the troll, taking in his physical prowess. A prime physical sacrifice. . . His face shadowed for a moment, clearing up when he shook his head.

Before Ana could could answer, "Not long. A night or two, maybe."

Noxus walked away and opened his book of Circles, contracting a Water Sprite. He ordered the creature to form an orb of water, entrapping a few fish within and levitate it over to a nearby flat rock.
The fish looked thoroughly confused as to why they were floating above the world they they had only seen from below.