unregistered [Aaron/open]

[qhostqrowls]

[OOC: sorry for such a bloody intro ;v; this RP is not just for Aaron, please feel free to chuck your character into this hot mess as well. I just ask that you have a reason for being out in the woods; maybe your character is a fellow predator, or is another WSDA agent hunting for the killer? but anyway, feel free!]

The mountains were still, silent and empty. Wind rushed through the canopy of the forest, rustling the leaves, ashen boughs creaking in protest. The few animals that inhabited it were exceptionally quiet, hiding, perhaps, from the new danger that stalked the woods. It was a crisp night, and those who ventured out would find themselves growing unnaturally colder as they entered the young wendigo’s territory.

Kails breath misted from his mouth, billowing into the air as he crouched on the forest floor, surrounded by a light dusting of frost. The scene would seem magical, beautiful even, if it had not been for the mangled, half eaten deer corpse at his feet, innards spilled and eyes blank and unseeing. Curved claws ripped into it with gusto, shoving chunk after chunk of bloody meat into his famished mouth. Kail devoured the dead animal with the excitement and precision of a young wolf, that is to say, extremely messily.

Such a large meal would sate his hunger for two days, at least. Hunger was an unappeasable curse that plagued him, for each meal, no matter how large, would only satisfy him for a day at most. And then the cycle would repeat, over and over. Kill, eat, hunger.

Kail absentmindedly bit into the doe's spleen, blood trickling down his chin. It had been a messy kill, and his fourth since he had moved to the area. The dark meat was not as good as human flesh. It didn't taste bad, but nothing could compare to the taste of fresh human.

His last human had been killed a week or so ago. The man had been a hunter, judging by the outfit and gun. A weapon which had done nothing to aid the man's survival.
The search parties had been rushed out of the forest by WSDA officials as soon as they realized they had a supernatural killer on the scene. They themselves had not lingered for long, disgusted and frightened by the mauled remains. Photos had been taken, the corpse analyzed, and then taken away. Kail had been forced to watch his un-finished meal leave. What a waste.

He had been so tempted to drag just one officer off, but it had been too risky. And there were plenty of deer and raccoon populating the forest. Kail smiled through a mouthful of flesh, long fangs flashing in the dark. The deer had already been wounded, by what he did not know. But none the less, it had been conveniently, almost suspiciously, placed close to his den. The injured animal had tried to run, but his long claws had raked across its legs, slicing through the soft flesh of its jugular before it could even bleat, razor teeth tearing, biting, killing-

SNAP.

Silver haired ears shot up, swiveling around as the startled wendigo attempted to pinpoint the direction of the sound. Pale eyes, as cold and blue as chips of ice, stared into the dark. The sharp scent of blood hung thick and heavy in the air. He was nothing more then a bloody silhouette, antlers tall and pointed as he froze, much like a deer in the headlights.
Time ticked on, silence. The only movement was from the steam rising from the warm guts of the deer. Huffing in annoyance, Kail focused on his meal again, dismissing the noise to an animal or his imagination.

[MP]

Apho.

The doe's name had been Apho.

That was all Aaron could think as he crouched downwind in the sheltered, downwind thicket and watched the silver shape gorge. It was strange how easily two little syllables changed things. He had never met the doe before tonight, when the telepaths had paired them up. Like the other animals working with the WDSA tonight, she had volunteered in full knowledge of the risk, preferring this to the slow wasting end in store for her. But this did not change things. He had been responsible for the doe, had not meant for her to die. He had known her name.

Aaron eased a hand toward his pocket, careful not to disturb the surrounding brush as he went. In a slow movement, he reached for his phone, intending to activate the locator app. The doe had died quickly - before he could so much as shout a warning - and his conscience would have to make do with that for now. This creature was fast and dangerous. Wendigo, it looked like. Even if it wasn't the maneater, it should not be faced alone if it could be helped.

While one hand fumbled for the dimmed screen, the other had drawn the taser slightly from the agent's pocket. The weapon was a bright, obnoxious yellow even through the twilight, and Aaron dared not raise it further for fear of drawing attention to himself. It was a balance; protection versus stealth. He toed the line with gritted teeth, finger tapping over the phone screen as he watched the creature gorge on the corpse of the doe that had been Apho.

[qhostqrowls]

Kail eventually stopped eating, ribs still as prominent as ever as he slowly sat back, dark blood caking his arms up to the elbows. He wiped his face with the collar of his shirt, making the worn cloth even more bloody then before.
He should be moving, but for now, he would stay put, rest. His presence would scare off any scavengers. It was his kill, his food, right down to the bones.

Although he didn't feel the cold, the wendigo reached down and grabbed the bloodstained, torn up camouflage jacket he had taken from the hunter. It looked nice, and how else could he get clothes? His entire wardrobe consisted off whatever he could salvage from the remains of his kills.
The sleeves were too long, flapping annoyingly in the winter wind. The hunter had been a tall human. Kail scrunched them up his arms, growling in annoyance as his log claws snagged on the edges, tearing the fabric.

Finally getting the garment on, the young super stretched his arms above his head, fangs bared to the sky as he took a long yawn. He blinked, staring at the doe's body as he contemplated what to do with it.

The wendigo, with his unnaturally good hearing, eyesight and sense of smell, should have noticed the WSDA officer crouching so close to him, taser aimed and ready. But he didn't. He had never been hunted before, he wasn't used to being stalked. He was a predator, and predators didn't have to worry about that type of thing. 

[MP]

As he watched the creature rise and fumble with the torn and bloodied jacet, Aaron's jaw clenched. No one could miss the way the sleeves dangled, the way the jacket hung too loosely even on the emaciated frame. He always tried to reserve judgment - even for the supers with more unpleasant reputations. But no amount of excuses could deny that this looked bad.

From the looks of things, the wendigo was preparing to move on. Aaron bit his lip, debating. He wasn't absolutely sure. But there wasn't much time either.

He didn't like the idea of confronting the creature, but tailing it back to its lair was unacceptable, both by his and by WDSA standards. Supers deserved common decency as much as anyone. He reminded himself - as much as it stung - that the wendigo had just eaten. It might at least be reasoning. He thought of the locator transmitting in his pocket and took a deep breath.

Relaxing his shoulders, easing the weapon back into his pocket - although he did not let go of it - Aaron stepped into the open. Moonlight winked off the badge pinned to his jacket front as he called out in friendly greeting.

"Nice night."

[qhostqrowls]

"Nice night."
Kail immediately stopped at the sound of the friendly voice, ears high and quivering. How had he not scented them before?! He whipped around, glaring at the figure standing downwind in the moonlight. A badge glinted on the mans chest.

WSDA.

The wendigo swore inwardly.
The man had most likely witnessed his gruesome methods of eating, and had also seen him put on the obviously stolen jacket. He was acting friendly, but that was it. It was an act. He could see it in the mans face, the disgust, anger and just that slight hint of fear. But this one was mostly suspicious, careful.

He straightened slowly, arms hanging at his sides, claws ready.
"It sure is." He said carefully, taking a step forward. He tried to seem unintimidating, reasonable. The blood splattered all over him contradicted that, but he tried.
The officer didn't appear to have any weapons, and was very close, it shouldn't be hard too-

Without warning, he leapt, hoping to tackle the man to the ground and then kill him. He didn't take into consideration the fact that their could've been other officers, or that the man may have been withholding a weapon. He just wanted to kill. He could join the doe in the clearing, blood seeping into the grass.

[kilnarak]

[ Hope it's fine to drop in! ]

It was a nice night, crisp and clear. Cold, but Taconin never did care much one way or the other about the temperature. There were colder places. He had been to them. They were different than this place, though, and he was beginning to find that he enjoyed this place. There were so many delightful creatures about in the world - like his adoptive father and his father's mates and the creatures that came to visit them. The animals were interesting - not as interesting as the people, of course, their minds different, less complicated, but interesting all the same.

The young creature ghosted along through the trees, moving like a pale shadow through the undergrowth. He could be entirely silent if he wanted, hardly even needed to touch earth in the shadows beneath the trees, could slip from one to the next like flowing water if he wanted. But that wasn't how creatures here moved and he knew he was supposed to be adapting. Otherwise he might need to go back - and he didn't especially want to. He liked it here, after all.

Taconin had chosen a different form tonight. He had been watching one of father's mates, the shapeshifter, and had decided to try out a more feline form. He wasn't furred, but his pale body was smooth and soft all the same. His head was perhaps a bit too angular for a panther, the eyes black sockets, the nose not quite right and the ears a bit more like to horns. But the body was feline... mostly. Perhaps a few too many tails. Well. That didn't matter too much, did it? It had a different gait than he was used to and he found that interesting.

Perhaps he should hunt? He had little need for physical sustenance, but the fear prey felt when it fled might be tasty, perhaps moreso when it fell - but he wasn't especially hungry. Mostly he was curious, exploring his new world. He cast out his senses, searching for something interesting to watch, perhaps to chase...

... and he found something a bit more sophisticated than a rabbit or a deer. There were other minds out in the forest tonight and that was a curious thing. Father sometimes hunted trespassers out here - well, usually closer to their bunker, but still. Humans, usually. Father had forbidden him from following, and he had obeyed - he was good at following directions - but he could still taste the flavor of the hunt on father's thoughts when he returned. The thoughts that drifted to him were... similar. At least some of them. Others were frightened, sad. Interesting.

Without much thought to the matter, Taconin flowed like a shadow about the trees, moving toward the source of those thoughts. At the very least, he wanted to see who and what it was that he shared the forest with tonight.

[MP]

At Aaron's words, the figure rose slowly. The claws hung loosely at its sides, still dark with the blood of the doe.

"It sure is," came the voice, calm and pleasant. The note of false friendliness sent a shiver of primal fear up his spine. Aaron let out a breath, rolling slightly back on his heels in preparation to move - and fast.

"I don't want trouble," he said reassuringly, raising his unarmed hand in a placating gesture. "We're looking for-"

The wendigo lunged.

Aaron bit off his words with a curse as he sprang backwards. The taser was out in the same motion, finger tensed on the trigger. He hesitated - almost too long. But this was not a feint or a show of force. The frosty eyes gleamed with a killing light. ShitshitSHOOT.

Aaron fired. The darts struck the emaciated chest, but he wasn't waiting around to see if those would work. Even as he fell back, he gathered the glow of the phone to his free hand. He cast the twin lights out, held them with his magic in front of the wendigo's eyes to distract and blind. The effect would have been comical - blue lights shining under antlered brows in imitation of eyes - if Aaron hadn't been preoccupied with the claws.

As he stumbled backward to put distance between them, his leg struck on something in the underbrush. Aaron toppled backward over it with a small, unmanly shriek. He hit the ground, rolled frantically to get away from whatever had crept up behind him. His taser had fallen in the leaves, and he lunged around the pale feline to reach it before the cat - or the wendigo - got claws into him.

[tsukikoko]

Sara wandered through the trees, snuffling the forest floor to try to pick up Aaron's scent. Her fat racoon body waddled along, a peculiar short crocodile tail dragging through the leaf litter. She'd wanted to see what sort of field work Aaron took part in (discreetly of course), but she'd been distracted by a rather appealing scent in the undergrowth and by the time she had thoroughly investigated, Aaron was long gone. She hadn't managed to find him for some time. The racoon sat back on her haunches, crossed her tiny paws across her chest and huffed dejectedly, tail thumping the ground behind her. She was going to miss all the action at this rate!

Glancing around herself, Sara figured she might as well head back to the WDSA headquarters, perhaps her coworker would tell her all about it when he returned; on the proviso she could stop him running away from her. With a small grunt she pushed herself back onto all four paws and toddled on her way, only to pause when she scented fresh blood. She wasn't too concerned, the forest was certainly full of predatory species, but if a large carnivore was around she needed to be aware, just in case it decided she would make a tasty snack. She was downwind from whatever had made the kill and admittedly she was curious, just in case it was a super living out here, after all, who knew?

As she drew closer, the woman-turned-racoon could have sworn she heard Aaron's voice. Sara increased her pace, unsure at the moment if she should be concerned. If it had been her coworker, he didn't sound distressed... There it was again, a familiar tone, though she couldn't make out the words. Suddenly, a curse. Sara ran now, bursting through the undergrowth in time to see Aaron struggling away from some emaciated humanoid creature she didn't recognise; his taser had been discharged, she could see the wires and whatever this creature was, it was after him with deadly intent. Her mouth opened in a high pitched screech, the articulation of her words impossible through the racoon jaws. She charged forward and shifted, half out of protective instinct and half from the logical thought that she wanted to be bigger, stronger and coated in thick fur to protect her from those wicked claws.

The paws that landed were much heavier, attached to a huge, shaggy-haired canine. The Caucasian shepherd dog tried to barge the emaciated humanoid and push it away from Aaron, barking furiously to try to distract the creature. Her crocodilian tail was held straight up in an aggressive posture, a far reach from her usual outgoing, friendly attitude. She was so preoccupied she hadn't noticed the other figure in the undergrowth by Aaron. The dog wasn't about to let her friend be killed by some poor excuse for a zombie!

[qhostqrowls]

A grim smile stretched across Kails lips as the man stumbled backward, fear gleaming in his eyes. This guy was gonna be an easy kil-

Twin darts from a taser struck him in the chest, pushing him back with violent jolts. He hit to forest floor, twitching. The young wendigo attempted to shakily stand, do anything, but a flash of bright light disorientated him further. Shitshitshitshit-

In his panic, Kail attempted to pull the darts out, but a huge, crocodile tailed dog decided to join the fray, growling and snarling at the stunned super, pushing him backwards, away from the officer. Where the hell had it come from? 

He hissed weakly at the shepherd, claws digging into the soft leaf litter as he spasmed, the taser still attached. Frost spread out from under his clenched hands, spiking randomly with his thoughts. How goddamn high had the guy put the thing? The pain shooting through his nerves and muscles was the only thing he could focus on, curling in on himself as he bit back a shriek, hooves kicking long furrows into the soft earth.
The volts died out eventually, but Kail was still with shock. He hadn't been attacked back by prey for...around about 30 odd years. And tasering was a new, very unpleasant experience. Guns and knives were all fair and well, but being crippled by constant voltage far outranked them in the pain factor. 

He let out a groan, swiping half heartedly at the slavering canine. The weak movement paired with the dogs thick, shaggy coat meant that he didn't even scratch the creature. A hearty wallop around the head from its scaled tail knocked him to the side, but he stood, albeit shakily, clutching a tree trunk for support.

Panting, the wendigo glared at them both with gleaming eyes. He didn't want any more tasering or a face full of tail. His ears lay slick back against his head, uneasy. He opened his mouth to growl out something, but snapped it back with a click. Yelling at them would probably only mess up the situation even more, but still. He would like to give them a mouthful of choice words.

[kilnarak]

Taconin had only just arrived at the scene - a bloody deer laying on the ground and two humanoids standing over it. One of them lunged at the other, but the other spat out some sort of sparking magic and made to bolt. The other nearly stumbled into Taconin as it turned to flee, shrieking out and throwing its magic-thing into the brush. The young demon held still as the human darted around him and snatched up its shock-thing, black eyes following the man with some interest. The fear pouring off of him was delicious, but again, Taconin wasn't especially hungry.

When the human had gotten his thrown item and scrambled a bit away, Taconin languidly rose and stretched, his tails coiling like snakes in the brush. He turned about and advanced on the human, curious. His paws dripped shadow like ink as he moved, then bled into the ground when he stopped.

Something else had barrelled out of the underbrush to confront the antlered humanoid - and that was interesting, but the zappy human was closer and had almost touched Taconin. He could taste the man's thoughts and they puzzled him - beneath the fear was sadness, wanting to see a friend that was gone. Taconin grasped upon that and the demonling's pale form shifted and stretched, limbs and muzzle elongating into a more delicate set until what stood before the man was a doe - or something very like a doe, made of smooth alabaster and shadow.

It regarded the man with ink-dark eyes, it's horn-like ears twitching. You miss it. Was it yours? Taconin's voice sounded in the man's head, soft and childlike.

[MP]

Aaron snatched up his taser frantically, fumbling for another cartridge, but by the time he leveled it in defense, he was looking at a very different scene. A mass of fluff was barking fit to raise the dead, a long and very familiar tail held up behind it. Trying to keep the wendigo and the pale cat in his sight all at once, he gaped at it.

"Sara..?" he croaked bewildered. Then in a louder, more urgent tone: "That's a wendigo! Get away from it!"

He winced inwardly at his choice of words - "it" was not a sensitive way to refer to anyone - but things slipped out when someone was trying to rip your face off. For the moment, he was more concerned with the "eternal hunger" rumors and his coworker's reckless proximity to those claws.

He started forward, to haul her out of the way if necessary, but was stopped short by the pale thing as it began to warp. He sidestepped at once, eyes flickering between it and the wendigo, but this "deer" was something else entirely.

"Stay right there," Aaron warned them, trying to keep the uncertainty from his voice. "Both of you."

He edged toward Sara, motioning her first surreptitiously, then emphatically to move away from the maneater. He kept the taser trained - if slightly lowered - on the wendigo in case it got any more ideas. There were too many factors here - where was the damn backup?

Then a voice, soft and childlike, whispered in his thoughts. You miss it. Was it yours?

Aaron glanced sideways at the creature, its pitch-black eyes, trying to place it. His eyes flickered to the carcass of the deer.

"It - she..." He swallowed. "We were working together."

His eyes flickered back up to the wendigo, which glared at him from its tree. "You're not in trouble for that. Can't blame you for eating. But I do need you to come with me."

[tsukikoko]

Sara continued barking and growling at the humanoid - wendigo, she thought Aaron had yelled, it was hard to tell over her own barking - tail held up as a warning, even when it remained by the tree it clutched. She didn't trust it. Even the most voracious of predators smelt like rolling in the warm soil, nervous exertion, or even the musk of sex; but this, this thing, it just reeked of death. Her hackles bristled even when Aaron approached to all but push her away. She tried to whine a protest, to communicate that all of her instincts were screaming at them to get away from this creature, but he was insistent and eventually she had to comply. With a low grumbling and a slap of the forest floor with her tail, the large dog took a few measured paces backwards, though she still remained close and on her feet. 

Her attention remained fixated on the wendigo, but she did note the other peculiar creature in the vicinity. While an unknown, it did not give her the same intense negative reaction as the emaciated humanoid, so the brief looks she gave it were of interest and curiosity, rather than aggression. At any other time Sara would have been falling over herself to investigate the pale, shadowy creature, but right now she was preoccupied with her fear for everyone's safety and the knowledge that... she had touched that creature. Smacked it with her tail. A part of it, no matter how small, now resided inside her.

She hated it. It felt wrong.

[qhostqrowls]

Kails eyes flickered between the dog, human and pale deer thing, nervous anger building in his chest.
If he decided to take on any of them on, he would have the other two attacking. The pale creature gave off the air of a fellow predator, the human had a taser, and the shepered was some sort of shapeshifter. A fight would not end in his favor. But then again, when had something like logic stopped him? If he wanted to attack, he would, regardless of the situation.

"But I do need you to come with me."

Kails breath hitched in his throat as the officer spoke up.
"Fuck no!" He blurted out, rage blooming in his chest. This guy was instructing, commanding him. How dare this human try to tell him what to do?  His lips curled up into a twisted, sarcastic grin, full of vicious pride.
"You're gonna have to use force if you want me...to come with you." He panted, voice low, arrogant. "I'm not gonna let you tell me...what to do, just 'cuase...you have a shiny badge. WSDA, isn't it? The little...do gooders 'round these parts."

He shifted his stance, moonlight shining off his antlers and claws. He looked down at the large canine, baring his much larger teeth in a show of humorous aggression as it growled. The thing was obviously not just a dog, too intelligent and confident. Raw disgust was painted all over its face. All the dogs he had ever encountered had run off with their tails between their legs before he could so much as blink. Well, even if the man had some sort of super dog and demonic deer with him, too bad. Kail never let his prey escape.

In the fraction of a second, the young wendigo had pushed off the tree, long legs jumping clear over the dog, aiming once again at the human. The weakest of the bunch. This time, he wouldn't miss. This had to work.

[kilnarak]

Taconin lifted a slender clawed limb, then dropped it. He had been told to stay where he was and he did so, pawing curiously at the loamy earth. He was good at following directions. She was a friend? Father eats them too, sometimes. Are they friends too? His thought-words drifted to the human, more curious than anything else - the situation did not seem to distress him in the slightest.

The demonling's dark gaze flicked from the human to the dog - did their tails always look like that? - and then to the other humanoid, the one with silvery hair and antlers. Anger radiated off of that one like a palpable thing, and Taconin watched it with some interest. His form began to shift again as he watched the creature: the longer set of horns growing outward and splitting off, curving into a mimickry of antler, the smooth deer face turning more like to a skull - and a wolf skull at that, replete with long, sharp teeth.

The change was disconcerting, if one watched, but what was moreso was how swiftly Taconin moved when the wendigo lunged. The not-deer pushed into Aaron, shoving the man down as it rushed forward, rearing to meet the threat with spindly clawed limbs and a silent, toothy roar. His body reshaped itself as met the attacker, shifting and twitching into new forms. What was a wendigo afraid of? What could he taste of that fear?

Whatever it was he was becoming, Taconin didn't truly intend to harm, merely to stop. The young creature gave little regard to his own safety - he had never encountered anything that could truly harm him, after all, and knew little fear himself. Perhaps if he were bound... but he wasn't anymore and it didn't look like he would be again.

He said stay, Taconin's words seeped forth into the air, broadcast to the three of them - childlike still, but chastising and with a bit more force to them.

[MP]

As soon as the words left his mouth, Aaron knew he'd said the wrong thing. The wendigo, shaky and breathless though it was, was clearly not about to be bossed around by its intended food. Its lips peeled back from bloodied teeth.

"You're gonna have to use force if you want me...to come with you."

Aaron glowered, but he put the taser back into its holster. "I'd rather not," he said. Though his shoulders were relaxed and his voice calm, his hand edged over the gun belt. "If you come quietly, we can-"

"I'm not gonna let you tell me...what to do, just 'cause...you have a shiny badge." Came the snarl. "WSDA, isn't it? The little...do gooders 'round these parts."

Aaron leaned slightly in toward the growling shepherd, trying to nudge her out of the way with one knee. Her formidable teeth paled beside the wendigo's mocking leer. He wished she would get back and out of the way of those claws and antlers. But when the wendigo moved, it ignored the dog entirely. He realized it as the silver form lunged, and tried to leap clear of the dog and child-thing. Tried.

He was flattened with an audible gasping whoomph as the latter pushed him down in its charge. Aaron scrambled up, spitting mouthfuls of leaves, and threw himself clear of the tangle of stamping limbs and flailing claws. A hoof smashed down where his head had been the moment before as the beasts collided. The child's voice echoed in his head again, but he focused only on the wendigo. This time he'd kept his hold on the object in his hand, and as he rolled clear of the thrashing pair, Aaron had the tactical flashlight trained on the silver, snarling face.

The beam blazed across the clearing, its light so intense against the black trees that Aaron's magic almost couldn't handle even that momentary burst. The child-thing - its back to him - glared white as sun on snow, and the icy eyes glaring over its shoulder lit up like stars. Then he had control of it, and Aaron held the agonizingly bright light hovering before the maneater's face. He planned to keep it there - render the creature blind while they subdued it. But sweat was beading at his brow, and he wasn't sure if he could reliably hold the magic and close with those claws at the same time.