Shroom huntin'

[Firon]

Some people enjoyed charging headlong into their opponents, swinging whatever over-sized hunk of metal happened to be handy at those who stood in their path. Firon found that those sorts of people had considerably shorter lifespans in the end. No, he would much rather achieve his goals through subterfuge and stealth if at all possible. That was why he was out wandering about in the forest in the middle of the night.

This might be due to his heritage as a drow that he preferred to do things under cover of darkness. After all, he could see nearly perfectly in darkness, while bright light such as sunlight burned his eyes.

The reason for this particular excursion into the forest was to hunt down those tools that made his job much easier to accomplish. Mushrooms, along with other poisonous plants and animals were critical to his chosen profession.

[Kojo]

The drow was noth the only creature that used the cover of darkness as a tool. Such creatures where numerous as the stars. One creature in particular really didn't belong in these woods. A cat, that was about the size of a wolf, covered from head to tail in black spots on a solid black coat, and who's golden-green eyes pierced the darkness as well as an owl's crept through the trees.

The night life of this forest was far different than that of the night life of the Jungle, and Kojo was amazed by his new surroundings. Technically he was hunting since his encounter with Orca he still hadn't eaten more than nuts and berries and he really wanted some meat, not to mention the weather was only getting colder and he needed to thicken his hide and wear a second one so he could keep warm. But as he tried to hunt every thing seemed to distract him and as his paded feet stepped into a small clearing and he saw what looked like another dark skinned human his hunt ended when his curiosity got the better of him.

Kojo decided to watch this person. He looked human-ish except for the longer ears. but he didn't quite smell human either, and his stealth was far better. maybe even than this leopard form. but he wasn't competing he was just hoping that in this instance, as he snapped a twig that he had miss, that his curiosity didn't kill this cat.

[Firon]

For whatever reason- call it intuition if you wanted, Firon felt that he wasn't alone anymore. Maybe it was nothing. Yet, Firon hadn't come along this far without learning that it was often wise to trust those gut feelings. Now, instead of scanning the ground for mushrooms, he was slowly examining his surroundings, attempting not to let whatever was out there know he was on to it. Casually, a hand found it's way down into his belt, where his dagger was sheathed.

Then, he got confirmation. Hearing the twig snap, he spun on the spot. Whipping the dagger at the location he heard the noise coming from, he hoped to make a quick kill. He could investigate the source of the noise after it was dead. Pity he didn't have time to apply poison to his weapon before throwing.

[Kojo]

There are times that he really loved the black panther form. The disguise his fur provided was unmatched in the night. And this was one of those times. The Elf was damn acurate the lg that had snapped the twig now had a gash in it, the throwing dagger was stuck in a tree right next to him. He growled involuntarily at the pain. He had no way of communicating other than what the animal had at its disposal. Before the man with pointy ears could come after the sound he shifted into a dark blue and bright orange frog, a Poison Dart Frog. his skin secreted the most deadly natural toxin in the world, but more than that he was now smaller and more difficult to catch, even with his injured leg, or even notice.

[Firon]

He assumed his aim had been true. Whether or not he had hit the target was irrelevant, the growl he got as a response to his throw was sign enough that he had at the very least made it close to his target. It also confirmed that there was something stalking him.

After drawing another pair of daggers, he froze in place, not wanting to make any sound or movements to alert the beast as to his location. Eyes slowly scanning the forest, he waited for it to make the first move.

[Kojo]

This person was being really aggressive and this really unnerved him. He needed to get to higher ground. He hopped to a tree and thanked the spirits that frogs didn't express their pain through vocalization. He slowly made his way up the tree until he reached a tree branch, then he hopped to a branch that made it so the trunk of the tree was between him and the drow. He then shifted into a macaw with bright red, yellow, and blue feathers.

Clearing his throat as best as he could he began to speak in a loud raspy voice. "SQAUWK! Who are you, and what are you doing?" He asked as best he could if the elf through a dagger now it would hit the trunk of the tree instead of him so he was less afraid, plus he had wings if he moved to much he could just fly off.

[Firon]

The moment he heard another loud sound, this time from up in the branches nearby, he hurled another dagger. with a solid 'THUMP', he could hear that it had become lodged in the trunk and likely not found it's mark. Though that very well might have been a good thing, for the noise that had alerted him was the sound of the creature speaking to him.

"Who are you? What do you want? Show yourself!" He spat at the night. He wasn't particularly thrilled about their little game of catch. If the creature had been able to speak this whole time, why had it not done so sooner?

[Kojo]

Just as Kojo had expected. The dagger hit the tree instead of him. "Put away the blades and I'll show myself. SQUAWK! *Whistle*" Assuming the drow put down his weapons he jumped from the branch he was on and landed on a log infront of the drow his bright plumage standing out against the darkness. "I'm human... a shifter." *whistle* he stopped to catch his breath, "Curious about you." He had to speak in single breaths because his vocal pallet want exactly full with no lips a beak, and tiny vocal chords."

[Firon]

Firon did not do as he asked. Now he had a dagger in either hand, preparing for an attack that did not come. Positioning himself to strike the position where the creature landed, he was still willing to let it get off a few words of explanation before he struck.

"Assume the form of something more human-like, then we can talk." He spat out at the creature.

[Kojo]

Kojo, seeing as he was the one that was unarmed, and presumably at the mercy of this being. He did as he was asked and became human. is skin was as dark as the elves, only Kojo's skin was a bit more brown than black, he had a tree climber's body thin and agile, but strong. He wore a deer hide vest and deer hid shorts the went to just above his knees. The gash in his leg was now more apparent and was bleeding through the shorts But he ignored the pain he could heal later.

"Again I asked what exactly are you?" Kojo asked "And, Please, lower your weapon I mean you no harm." he requested but this person seem like he was of the mind to keep his weapons.

[Firon]

Firon tried to think back briefly as to whether the being had asked him what he was yet. No. He had asked who he was, and what he was doing. He had also expressed general curiosity about the drow. None of which was asking him what he was.

Still, not completely relevant. The man seemed unarmed, so Firon relaxed his guard slightly. Not completely, as the man had shown to at least posses some sort of magical talent. For all Firon knew, if he sheathed his weapons he would get a fireball or two hurled at him.

"I am a drow." He responded simply, "You are a human, I presume?"

[Kojo]

He nodded, "Yes, I'm human, and new to this land. I've never seen a Drow before." He said truthfully. he shifted the way he was sitting and then asked. "So what is it you where doing before I distracted you? I do not mean to pry but when you find a new species you can speak to it's easier to ask then to watch, which was probably my mistake. I should have made my presence known, you are a fantastic marksman by the way." he said feeling like he was talking a little too much.

[Firon]

"Drow live underground more often than not." He said. He felt it was fine if the man knew some general knowledge about his race. It was nothing important that he couldn't just learn from heading to a library for a few minutes of light reading. "The surface world is not often where you would find one, though there are plenty of exceptions. Myself, being one of them."

Firon smirked when the man commented on his skill. Pretty much anyone enjoyed being complimented, even if this man was probably just sucking up to him to save his own skin. "I am a decent shot, even in the dark. This is true. My kind can also see quite well, even in pitch blackness, which helps for living in caverns below the surface. Now, you could show how impressed you are in a more tangible form, such as retrieving my thrown daggers for me."

[Kojo]

Kojo looked areound and thought a moment what would be the best. "I can do that." He said He then shape-shifted into a chimpanzee. Not very different from a human at all seriously it was as if humans and chimps where 99% similar. The thing was a Chimp was better at climbing. So he turned toward the tree he had come down and jumped up, and immediately started climbing grabbed the dagger which was wedge pretty tight but no match for the chimp's strength He then climbed down and grabbed the dagger that was in the other tree near the ground. He then walking with daggers in his fist and his knuckles to the ground back to the Drow.

He held out the blade s in his palm and became human again. "So, are those mushrooms you where collecting edible or poisonous, I'm seriously trying to learn this forest's plants. I come from a land where if you eat the wrong thing it just might eat you back."

[Firon]

Firon flinched slightly when he shifted forms again. He still wasn't completely used to that sort of thing. Still, he refrained from hurling another dagger at the man, he wasn't that twitchy, he just came from a society where every other person wants to stab you in the back and loot your corpse.

Snatching the blades back after the man retrieved them, he quickly sheathed those ones, though still keeping one ready in his hand. Just in case. "Why does it matter what kind of mushrooms they were?" Firon spat at him. He wasn't pleased how many questions this man asked and suspected his motives. Who did he work for?