The Hunt Goes On (Ao) [c]

[Jessie]

Returning to Kabal City empty handed wasn't as glorious when a raging Dwarf is at the steps awaiting your return, lunch in hand. Especially if hunger had taken its toll upon your own stomach, and that of remaining shocks still siphoning through your entire body, like an advanced defibrillator.

It had been the next morn since the encounter between the Magundi, Mithos taking a nap in the plains before traveling much further, his body still limp from the events that had occurred. He may have not retrieved the stolen goods, like he had promised. Not did the elf show much justice towards the culprit. But it wasn't a waste. No, not at all. He had finally found someone of a match, someone who knew how to fight back, and not hesitate. And this excited him.

Two noons passed their way into the Cycle, welcoming the 17th morn of the sixth cycle of this year. Body well rested, a small sack of survival gear (including that of sterile fruits and water), and armor rested against his tanned skin, it was time again for Mithos to disappear from Kabal, and venture outward into the realm of Aedai, in seek of something more than work.

While he could expect jobs on the way, cutting through the regions all the way to possibly Ithofith, this was not his main purpose of expanding his scenery. While currency was always nice, the elvaans' mind had been set upon the Magundi since the seconds-tied battle. Not only resting over his two day period, he had also considered more of the draconic's attacks, and attempts to scurry this time. It had already been proven that his tail was a strong point, as well as his gifted element. But to pinpoint the right time of day, where shadows stood at their peak, the advantage would be his, regardless.

Noon began to set in the horizon, the Elf standing at the gates that led outward into the sea of plains, the Namos border nothing but a green etch into the view. He would begin his search there, and continue forth, until reaching a new lead.

[mourninglife]

While Mithos had been resting for several days, Ao had been doing the same, except that he had been busy gathering food for himself. Luck had shifted into his path and he was able to find a good buck to take down with minimal trouble. Afterwards, he had been eating and drinking, attempting to get his body back on a healthy track.

However, that was not without exercise in form of regular flights, runs, and pretend fights with a tree. Yes, he did this often to keep his fighting skills up, hence the reason why he was actually able to take the elf down. His mind wandered onto the subject of the elf and pondered on his elements. He didn't see any of that due to the fact that the hybrid had owned his own attacker under a minute.

He had a feeling he would see him again and that he would be somewhat improved, if not a little reckless. Maybe not. Only Fate and Lady Luck could decide on such flimsy things like that.

At the very moment, the draconian being was far up in a tree, sheltered by leafy branches as he slept with his arms, legs, and wings dangling and his body on a thick branch. He snored lightly, absorbing the sunlight rays when they were at the highest.

To be honest, he would have been easy to compare to a cat due to how he was acting right now.

A bird suddenly landed in front of his sleeping face and chirped noisily as it ruffled its feathers. It spun around and decided to screech into his face, starling him awake. It took off, chirping in a chuckling fashion, before the hybrid could even attempt to swat it away.

"Damn birds..." Ao muttered as he rubbed his eyes. He let out a loud yawn, showing off his white fangs, as he pondered on what to do for today.

[Jessie]

While the Jungle sat in the horizon, it was comparable to that of seeing land on a boat. Captured by the eye, until you noticed you've been swimming for three days, the image not getting much bigger. Aedai, drawn to scale, was a fairly large place. Regions, depending on their weather, could take days, even cycles to explore through until you pop out the other side into the next round. And Kabal, the largest of the regions, had just that greater effect.

Nightfall had fallen once again, twisted, towering shadows coming out from the moons' light. This was the part of day Mithos lived for. Intertwined between each footstep, a thin rising of dark matter rose, the same impact one would have with a dusty tile. Expect, this was no dust. This was nothing new, a routine on midnight strolls for the Elvaan. The shades would come to a rise, and slither between his feet until called upon, taking the form of some deranged creature on a leash, a flick of the wrist to order its' commands. And this temptation only grew the larger the Namos Jungle became.

Out of spite, the lanky man rose his arm to his side, still trotting forward as smoke-like mass formed next to him, briefly taking shape of a shadowy mutt. When its' form became complete, a sharp howl emitted from the hollow body, a glimmering snarl as it looked to its master and continued to follow his steps, the dark matter licking from the mutts' legs like that of a flame. This had been one of the tricks that Mithos trained himself over the years of his uncaring mother. Manipulating creatures like this, from small to even that of a bit larger than what stood at his side, this was his gift. Though he still strained with control during the day, even with shadows at his advantage.

Another half a meter of travel was recorded in the Elvaans steps, as the obstacles of the growing jungle were becoming that of thick vines, roots, and even that of the occasional rock. Naturally, all things you wouldn't find in an open field. The canine shade still in its' masters' grip, mass began to thicken for itself, the translucence phase slowly becoming solid. The deeper the shadow surroundings, the stronger the beast became, the jungle showing off for being the natural habitat for any beast. Another advantage marked on Mithos's list, had he run into Ao soon.

[mourninglife]

Ao glanced around and realized he was still safe. This was wonderful! Another day doing his daily routine with no concerns of dangers due to the fact that some animals seemed to avoid him. Perhaps they had some sort of innate fear towards dragons/drakes. This didn't matter to him at all.

Soon, the sun dipped down below the treeline, causing all creatures to note it as they started their journey back homes or to remain out in the clusters of trees. As for the hybrid, he had decided to climb a tree and jump from one to other to prevent from being scented, in case if that elf had decided to bring along a hound or some sort of creature that had excellent sense of smell. True, this made him look paranoid, but it was better to be safe than sorry at all.

He eventually found a good tree and settled down for the night by sleeping within crooks of three branches. His tail never entwined around his body, only curled up close to his torso area, while his body simply curled up. His wings moved to cover most of his body, exposing some of his head to the elements. Within such a comfortable position, he fell into slumber peacefully, snoring lightly.

The moon and stars eventually came out to shine upon a lone figure that was approaching the jungle rapidly. The eerie howl emitted from the dog-like shadow scared some night creatures and they stared at the elf as he strode into their territory. None dared to attack him, for they seemed to understand they would die if they attacked.

Ao had simply slept, the howl too far for him to hear within his slumber.

[Jessie]

The thick smell of vine and moss eroded the atmosphere. Eyes of creatures hiding in the shadows of the trees and other structures, the light sound of movement against the leaves scattering into the night. Even small, light hoots of winged creatures in the trees. And none of this bothered him.

Mithos had known well enough, that his 'pet' was enough warning for anything to cross his path, be it too brave or too stupid. Unless the beast was capable of understanding and any intelligence of flanking, the result would be the same: death. A gentle breeze brushed past the limbs of the canopy, the cooling touch upon the dark skin calm, yet moist. One of the flaws of the Jungle. Another, being that the towering trees were full of unpredicted casualties, and required the most attention.

In brief spots of the Jungle, the aura of the moon seeped down to the dirt, revealing only portions of the dangerous territory. The beast might have been stupid, but the acts of nature were smarter, and more trickier than even that of a humanoid. Poisonous vines and fruits that grew as if to supply, even the lightest of brush against one of these infected creatures, the risk between life and death. But again, this was no matter Mithos had worried, unless it came down to his unsheathed hands and face.

It was well worth almost three quarters of a mile into the Jungle now, Mithos's patience becoming reckless, the mutt wired unknowingly to his wrist pulling and tugging, wanting to break free to something of more interesting matters. Had this been just another mislead in his judgement, thinking he would find the Magundi so close to where a bounty of an angry Dwarf sat upon his horns?

[mourninglife]

True to the elf's thoughts, the beasts kept their distance around him but they stared at him with their varying sized and colored eyes. It was as if they were attempting to guard nature from the lone threat and to figure him out. No one usually walked through such a dangerous jungle without a purpose, be it for food or merely to pass through to reach to other lands.

Silent wings flapped through the night as the owls and other bird-like night hunters searched for their preys. Soft noises emitted from all creatures and nature, through the purpose of this was unknown. Soft breezes blew through the trees, rustling all leaves to add in the music of the night. Then, all went quiet.

Ao woke up from his dream in a calm fashion and glanced around, breathing softly. The sounds returned, masking him from the elf that was probably now walking underneath him. He glanced downwards, out of habit, and saw his attacker walking with some sort of a shadow. He slowly unwound himself, stretching in a way as he carefully climbed down the branches, keeping close to the bark.

His tail twitched as he prepared some sort of an internal electrical charge that did not require lights around his body. He soon found the lowest branch and quietly dropped to it, crouching in cat-like fashion as he stared at the elf. His emerald eyes remained upon him as he prepared to strike, placing his hind paws upon the sides of the branch.

Once his electrical charge reached the maximum limit and his legs ready to propel himself from his hiding place, he leaped from it and lighted himself with electricity, aiming to head-crash into the back of the elf. The armor he had donned on would surely conduct the electricity much faster this time.

[Jessie]

Had it not been the sense of the mutt, Ao just might have had the timing perfect to knock Mithos back into an unconscious state he had previously done before. However, at the snapping of twigs, light peddled feet leaping into the air, the noise alerted the shadowy hound, its' instant twist in posture, enough warning to the Elvaan there had been trouble.

Like an agile being of his own, Mithos darted a few paces forward, avoiding the readied attack from the Magundi, while the Shade perpeled in the opposite direction, shaking off the impact like dust, its concentrated, almost solid form staring at Ao with matching crimson eyes.

"Well, if it isn't...Ao, was it?" the Elf called out in a tease, stretching his arm outward and wiggling his figures in a motion, requesting that the shade come forth. With steps that echoed with an eerie shudder, the hound walked towards the drake halfbreed, only stopping with few paces to spare in distance. "Your electrical attacks caught me off guard, I must admit. But let us be frank, I am after you due to your robbery. But I could honestly care less of the fortune. I'm more concerned of carrying your dead weight back with me to the City in mere title." His voice toned to an all so matter-of-factly, the thoughts of returning with a beast Ao's size a notation of a much more deserved check, than 20 coins the Dwarf could spare.

[mourninglife]

Ao stared at the Shade that had accepted the impact and shook it off like it was almost nothing. True, that electric attack wasn't at its fullest power so it wasn't that strong to shock a Shade. He let out a low growl at the canine being before directing his sights upon its owner when he heard him speaking.

The halfbreed did not respond to his suggested question, for it could have been a rhetorical question. Instead, he moved backwards when the Shade walked forward. His emerald eyes darted up to the elf's face in disbelief. Kill him for nothing more than a title and possibly money?

He let out an enraged snarl just when the sparks started to crackle throughout his body. This wouldn't scare them, this he knew. However, he had to do something to ensure that he would survive for tomorrow. No more being a nice guy, it seemed like that way to the hybrid.

"If you can." Ao stated simply before charging up to at least halfway to the full power. He stood there for a moment before rushing around, now using his drake speed to possibly dodge any incoming attacks or to simply confuse them. His first target was that canine-like Shade and so he would attack like a drake.

The hybrid ran towards the black shadow and flipped gracefully, allowing his tail to come down, crackling with deathly electricity. He didn't care if he struck or missed, for he had lot more within him than just this. His main concern was preserving his energy for fleeing if things turned into the elf's favor within this fight.

[Jessie]

The shade howled in anguish as the tail cracked upon its form, the electricity driving from it distorting half of the hounds' existence. Although, it was to be expected, and Mithos had already planned for further execution. From the moment Ao started to run towards the shade, the Elf had managed to put together a plan, that very well involved getting rid of his first pet.

Not a moment too soon, the entirety of the shade vanished in front of Ao, dispersing back into the darky mist that had created it. And behind the Mag? Stood an exact replica of what he had just destroyed, seeping red hues set, in the distance, Mithos's left arm in an angle to look as if he was holding the beast back. "I'll give you a hint, Halfbreed. You cannot run." With the Jungle and its towering canopies above, it created the perfect battlefield for the Elvaan, as long as the darkness was in his view, the ability to manipulate the ground below them, to very much avail.

He then began to dig at the side of his armor with his right hand, the shine of two slim daggers making their way into view.

[mourninglife]

Ao smirked at his success in ridding the Shade and thought the elf had no more plans left. How sorely mistaken he was when he noticed the confident stance remaining there. He was momentarily confused as to why he would be overly confident until his attacker moved his left arm in a motion to hold something back.

If he couldn't see anything in his vision, then that meant something was behind him! He whipped his head around and soon spotted the crimson eyes that belonged to the canine-like shadow, the very same one he had defeated. His emerald eyes darted back at the elf, growling slightly at his words.

While the jungle was indeed a perfect battlefield, regardless of the time of the day, for the elf, the drake halfbreed knew his way around it as well. But how could he use his knowledge to his advantage? He could not run into the darkness out of fear that his attacker would surely use it to kill him. He slowly realized why he could not use his element when they first fought.

Light was his weakness and lightning was a part of that great element. However, he could not master that part yet, for he was much more of a fighter rather than a mage. At the very moment, it was dark, almost to the point where no one could not see anything, except that the soft moonlight filtered weakly through the thick layers of leaves and branches.

The weak light that reflected off the elf's armor and onto the daggers alerted Ao. He let out a snarl and quickly moved to a different stance that would surely allow him to move in a direction he chose. Once the daggers were fully out of the armor, he moved to a tree and quickly scaled it with skill, jumping from a branch to another branch until he got to the top.

He glanced downward and promptly spat out a weak, uncharged lightning bolt before proceeding to chop down the thick layer of leaves and branches. He had to do this quickly before the elf could summon more shadows to aid his first canine-like Shade. His tail ripped through the branches easily, snapping any thinner branches out of the way and chopping down the thicker ones down to the ground, where it would surely impede any progress of his attacker.

[Jessie]

Observing the drake's expression and darting of crisp, emerald eyes, Mithos couldn't help but chuckle, his right arm down to his side limp, still holding the steel weapons. "You can always give up, make this much more easier on the both of..." But before the last word could make its way out of his mouth, the man had scaled onto the tree next to him at incredible speeds!

A bared snarl of shock emitted from the Elvaan as he took a step back, monitoring exactly what Ao was doing. Ripping leaves and twigs? He couldn't be-!

"You ignorant fiend!" the Warlock shrieked, lifting his dagger-equipped hand up above his shoulders, before flinging them upwards at the halfbreed, aiming for that obnoxious tail of his. Well, that is what Mithos seen it as, providing to be the biggest nuisance of the creature. As soon as the metallic slims left his grip, he then twisted his left arm, commanding the mutt shade to move from the light, as its' translucence form was returning, dimming.

The mutt wasn't even the appropriate shade anymore for this scenario, that the Elf needed some creature of either power enough to start shaking, even collapsing the tree, or something with wings. Sadly, even as his middle ages, he still couldn't control half of his abilities. A ground beast it is.

Looking over his shoulder, he tugged both his left and right hands at the darker shadows of the Jungle, a thick mist forming as deep, violet hues formed around the face for eyes. Heavily thumps for each of the four limbs powdered into the ground until the figure was close enough to the moon light Ao provided, to get a justification on exactly what the beast was. Standing at equal height of its' master, this was much more than a mutt, a deranged khimara, possibly. The fictions of a mutt, lion, and other nonexistent bone structure revealing the physical border of the creature.

With both hands, Mithos began his puppeteer work, each movement provided by his wrist or fingers, a reacting movement from the beast, as it threw its bi-pedal stance at the tree like a bear, and began to claw away at the sides.

The Warlock knew well that what he had been doing was out of his favor, the completeness of the tree gone, providing more light than the drake anticipated. But if he could get Ao out of the tree, possibly even that of injured... he wasn't going down without a fight.

[mourninglife]

As the halfbreed ripped through the branches like his life depended on it, he never heard the soft whizzing of the daggers flying through the air. He was alerted to the daggers when one of them had struck a falling branch. Luckily, the impact was more than enough to render the dagger useless as it fell to the ground until it was thrown again. However, as for the second one, it had successfully hit his tail, but, thankfully, it had hit the scaled area, providing less damage to the dragon to a mere scratch.

He let out a disdainful snort at the short feel of the blade scratching his scales. It was nothing compared to what he had experienced during his travels with his father! He simply continued to rip through the branches, moving around as much as possible to keep himself safe. At least, he did think the treetops was safe until he started to hear some deep, reverberating thuds that echoed ominously throughout the jungle, now scaring off all the bravest creatures from the battle.

"What the f-" The draconian being started to say as he spun around to try to locate the odd thuds, only to see some sort of monstrous Shade. What was the elf thinking? Yes, he understood his attacker wanted to take him down so badly for something worldly, but wasn't this too much now? He took a deep breath and shook himself. No, this was something attackers would do, should they wield the same element the elf was wielding at the moment.

All of the sudden, that thing threw itself at the tree, causing it to shake madly, forcing Ao to regain his footing within the tree as he stumbled a little. He heard loud splintering noises and glanced down to see the destruction of the tree's sides by that monster's claws. It was clawing too fast for him to get out of the tree safely.

As he ran, flipped, and pounced his way out of the tree to the skies, the tree suddenly gave way by creaking loudly from the weight of the Shade and the clawing motions before finally giving out a loud, cracking or splintering noise. He let out a small shriek of fear as he jumped and spread his wings as quickly as he could within the rumbling tree. At first, it seemed like he would get out of this unscathed, but Fate had other plans.

"Augh!" He screamed as some broken branches managed to give him a series of nasty cuts across his torso area and some of his right hand, leg and wing. Luckily, it did not rip through his wing so he kept on flying, bleeding somewhat from his new cuts. He glanced at himself with whatever light he could see with and let out an angry snarl. That Shade...!

"You..." The drake man rumbled as he attempted to charge, only to flinch at the electricity dancing across his wounds. He let out another snarl and growled, deciding to just do this fight at long distance. He began to charge as best as he could with the electricity sparking and dancing across his body and let out a somewhat strong lightning bolt at the Shade. Afterwards, he flapped his wings as best as he could as he cringed at the burning pain from his wounds. He needed to clean them out and allow them to heal before fighting like this again.

That is, if he could wrap things up as fast as he could with his wounds impeding him.

[Jessie]

The Elvaan man continued to throw his arms restlessly at the air, each fluent motion controlling the beast and its' merciless strikes. As the tree began to gave out, the cackling of splinters and years of nurtured roots began to pull, sounding like that of a dying animal of its own. The commotion, vibrating throughout the perimeter of the Jungle, caused the nearby wildlife to flee in terror, the scene becoming much more than just dangerous.

At the sound of the drake's cry, Mithos looked above, a twisted grin upon his thin cheeks as the Shade continued to mimic its' masters gestures. "Come now, Halfbreed! We both know this was over before it began!" the distorted voice of something much more vile than a mere merc crowed. Eagerly, he tossed his arms into the air, as if to welcome Ao to his very own demise.

Though, deep irises sunk upon the injured frame above, to witness the sparks of frustration igniting from the maroon scales. The drake was preparing another lightning attack-! A distinct smack between his clenched teeth, Mithos bolted out of the range of his pet, turning back at the very moment only to shield his face from the debris of the lightning strike that had flashed the area of which the beast stood, eliminating that of the darken existence.

This was going to be much tougher than he had expected, the opposing element causing him the most of trouble when dealing with Ao. He needed to find a weak point... Thats it! The drake had already been weaken... if he could just drain him out with more puppets until he falls...

"Well played, Ao! Now lets' see round three!" the slickness of his voice much more than the norm, his attitude and deeper ego getting the better half of his conscious. Flinging up his right arm, a thin, humanoid shade appeared, this time with eyes of endless white. It looked nothing more than a mannequin wrapped in black mist, with a distortion of purple hues.

[mourninglife]

Ao watched as the lightning lit up the section of the jungle with bright light as it worked its way through the darkness that made up of the bear-like Shade. Just as he expected, the monstrous Shade faded away into darkness after the lightning had struck it. He silently thanked the gods for this easy victory and glanced at the elf to see what he would do this time. He noticed his attacker was watching him, as if he was analyzing his condition.

Whatever he would come up with, the drake halfbreed would go against it with his favored element! The stinging pain reminded him he could not fight for long and should flee as quickly as he could. The option of fighting or fleeing faced him once again. What to do...? His choice was no longer a choice as the elf had decided to send out another Shade.

He glanced at the Shade, studying its shape. This one would become problematic if it was not dealt with quickly. He supposed its best attributes would be the speed and that was something he would be lacking at the moment due to his wounds. Nevertheless, hadn't they been fighting, he would find the Shade to be creepy.

"What are you doing this time...?" The draconian being muttered, attempting to come up with an idea. With the pain shooting through his body, he would have some trouble firing off electricity this time. Also, if his guess were to be confirmed, he would be like a sitting duck on the ground. He let out a groan as the pain clamped down on his body once more, causing him to stop flapping for couple seconds.

That's it, he had to get on the ground to prevent any further injury. He flapped around the exposed area before attempting to land down on the solid ground. Before he could do so, he closed his eyes to focus through the pain and proceeded to set up an electrical dome around himself. He let out a small groan of pain and breathed deeply to help lessen his thoughts on the stabbing feeling.

[Jessie]

The crooked smile of the Elvaan man continued to hold its place as his glare held to Ao's injured state, watching him as he landed and the dome of light emit from his being. Through the translucence of the lightning and mirrored light of the dome, it was an obvious expression of pain he could see on the drakes face, the sheer will of staying alive possibly the only thing keeping the man conscious...for now.

He took this moment to his advantage, the ability of the humanoid shade following its part as it separated into multiple images, surrounding that of the dome several paces away where shadow still existed. In this process, the Elf disappeared from sight, taking a sprint into the trees until he stood behind the draconian Magundi, awaiting for the right moment.

When the Dome collapse, he would take this chance for round two of a counter attack from behind. He was weary of the tail that caused him so much trouble before, but he knew well enough that this was probably Ao's last trump card before exhausting himself into a dormant state. All to his advantage, as he had planned from phase one...

And there it was! The surrounding Shades and their hallow, pale orbs stared down at the halfbreed, in means of intimidation as the rustle of the grass below echoed from the Elf's dash, a mild jump in the air as his thin form clashed upon the scales of the drake, dagger in hand as if a repeat from the past. Struggling, Mithos brought himself below the beasts' horns, his lips not far off from his ear, "You will not be getting away this time, Mag..." He held the dagger across his throat as he had done before, pressing at the scaleless portion of his neck, causing a small slice into his velvet skin. "You were a fun challenge! Something I haven't had in a very long time... but well endured! It saddens me it will all come to an end so quickly!" his cackled voice howled, insanity rolling off his tongue like venom on reptile fangs. It was the border between a madman and warlock, a terrible triumph between the two.