bare my teeth [boone]

[Ebony Lancaster]

Reclining back into the foliage, Ebony slowly exhaled. She hadn’t realised she’d been holding her breath for so long. An orange horizon was beginning to darken as the sun fell further and further away. The moon had risen hours ago, as though it was always keen to begin its watch over the world. Their world was small though, compared to the real world that continued on outside the dome. Sometimes she felt as though the Keepers controlled even the rising and setting of the sun and the moon. They controlled every other aspect of their lives; from the weather to the amount of prey and even simple supplies such as water. It was all used to abuse the inhabitants of the dome. To the Keepers, the Menagerie was their experiment and the creatures inside were their guinea pigs – their monsters. Ebony had spent the entire day making her way across the terrain to the Bellator meadowlands. It was the furthest retromorph territory from the Carna and as such it would be the perfect picking. Last she heard, they had recently changed leaders and were in a vulnerable spot. That was bad for them but good for Carna hunters eager for a raid. She was huddled just north of the lightning tree, hidden amongst the foliage and waiting for her mentor to arrive. He had insisted on coming separately; something about having to take care of other matters first. What that meant, she had no clue, but Ebony was never one to question Boone. He would meet her and he would ensure they didn’t fail in their task; that was all that mattered. Secretly, she was thankful that her shift made it easier to travel. Flying was much quicker than walking, and it meant that in certain places when you would otherwise have to go the long way, Eb could simply go up and over. It had cut down on her transport time significantly. Unfortunately, one of the other hunters that had joined them was a coyote shifter, and as a result he had arrived hours later. Bonnie had snuck her way silently into the Bellator territory, her simple owl shift not attracting too much attention. One or two of the horses may have been suspicious; melanistic owls were rare but not completely unheard of. The group of trees provided perfect cover and the horses all seemed to prefer to be out in the open which meant that Ebony was at little risk of being discovered. The rustling of leaves drew the girl’s attention to her left and her breath caught in her throat. Instinctively, her hand reached down to her shin, resting on the hilt of her knife. Thankfully, she had no cause to use it, and she instantly relaxed as Remi entered the circle of bushes. He had his hands held up in silent warning, letting her know he meant no harm. At least he had sense enough to do that much. Still, sneaking up on her was never a smart move. Years of intense training and life with the Collective had made Ebony constantly edgy and wary of everything and everyone around her. Whistling of the wind was all that floated between the pair as they sat in their little copse. Bonnie drew her jacket closer around her shoulders. Autumn was beginning to morph into winter and the night would be a cold one. Knowing this, she had dressed for the occasion. She had chosen to wear her ripped jeans and long sleeved top, covering up with her fur-lined jacket. Her floral boots were a little more conspicuous but Ebony had decided she was allowed to act like a teenager at times – superficial and materialistic. As usual, around her wrist dangled the bracelet her mother had given her all those years ago. Her hands, never bare, were covered with leather gloves. Due to the nature of her visit to the Bellator, Ebony had the intuition to keep her hair out of her face with a simple white headband. The pair barely moved as a third figure entered their circle. They each looked up, but there was a silent understanding that if anyone found them now they could take them; two against a most likely one were good enough odds. The man Ebony only knew by the name ‘Seven’ entered, giving them a small nod, before sitting down to her left. She looked across at Remi, raising an eyebrow, but he simply shrugged. Bonnie hadn’t known who their third man would be. Boone had simply said he’d send someone a little while ahead of him to do a final check before he arrived and gave them proper instructions. Seven had become a hunter only a few months prior to Ebony, but she still felt uneasy in his presence. As the minutes ticked away and the sun fell farther from them, Ebony began to feel the nerves set in. She had never usually been one to worry, especially in situations like these, but the Menagerie was a completely different place. In the Collective she’d always had the certainty of raids on the village merely being training; in the Menagerie it was real life and death. There would be no one to bail her out if she was critically injured. Whilst she was thankful that the CarnaRing always looked out for their own, she knew that the conditions of that care would only reach a certain point. Taking a few deep breaths, Bonnie closed her eyes, mentally calming herself. Her hand had absentmindedly moved to her owl charm and she fiddled with it. This was only a simple raid and Boone would be there the entire time. He knew exactly what he was doing and he had trained her well thus far. There was no reason not to trust him or his judgement. If he hadn’t have thought she was ready for this, he wouldn’t have let her come. It was as simple as that. So with a silent prayer to her mother – who she was certain had fallen as opposed to risen anyway – Ebony forced her eyes back open, a smile beginning to crawl across her features. She was ready for this. All they needed now was Boone. OOC: Random Ebony muse even though I should be studying so here, have a raidthread.

[Boone Haywood]

Large, round hooves rose and fell halfheartedly as Boone plodded his way back from the Fallen borderlands, his heart feeling like an open wound. He could still hear Maya's soft voice murmuring her goodbyes, feel the gentle tug of her little fingers on his beard as they hugged. She'd given him a kiss on the nose and told him everything was going to be OK. As if she could sense his remorse, his darkening sorrow at having to leave. The child soothed the ache in his soul, like nothing and no one else could. And it was getting more and more difficult to leave her each time, to turn his back on her, knowing she was standing there looking after him, trying to fix him with those eyes that begged him to stay, clinging to her stuffed cow Muu with one hand and waving with the other. He did not consider himself a sentimental man--at least he hadn't, not before the dome. But Maya...Maya had changed things. She was his second chance at a new life; that little girl was his to raise, to protect, to love. He would do it right, and be the father he'd never truly gotten to be on the Outside, before everything went to shit. He couldn't stand the thought of leaving her alone amongst those people, as much as he trusted them to keep her safe and relatively innocent. He trusted Adelina, the woman who had agreed to take her into the Fallen and still allow him visitation. She was close to Adison, the Head of Borders in the Carna; he'd used the kid to smooth things over. The two of them seemed to have soft spot for children, and he'd used it to his advantage.  He didn't like having secrets like this, namely because it gave them leverage over him...but some things were necessary. Speaking of necessary, he remembered that he had somewhere else to be. The whole reason that made his time with Maya possible. Right. He was supposed to be leading a raid on the Bellator tonight. He tossed glance skyward to gauge the time--he still had an hour or so to get to the Herdlands--and let out a snort as his forelock spilled into his eyes. He flicked an ear backward in frustration, making note that he'd have to get Ebony to trim it for him later. He might have her do it for him when he got there, depending on how quiet things were. But I have to get there, he thought with a sigh and a last shake of his bi-colored mane before he picked up his pace until he was heading towards the Herdlands at a steady canter, careful not to exhaust his energy reserves before the attack. With any luck there wouldn't be too much violence. He was getting too old for that shit. He swerved to dodge a tree, faltering slightly when his front foreleg sank into loamy soil. Boone let out a nervous snort as he righted himself and continued on, tail flicking in frustration. "Too old for this shit," he repeated aloud, taking a brief moment to check his direction. It wasn't long before he came across one of his Hunter's trail--a boy by the name of Seven's--subtly marked by a few broken twigs here and there and a faint scent trail. When he neared the meeting spot he shifted back, silently picking his way through the long grass to the shrove of trees just beyond. He came up behind them, stealing in with assured silence. He cleared his throat in the slightest to alert them to his presence, raising a hand and signaling for their attention as he fixed them with clear grey-green eyes. He'd cleared his face of expression beyond one of steely concentration, lips set in a thin line that revealed nothing of his earlier frustrations. "One of my sources says the Keeps made a drop near here. Bellator got a big stash, hidden in the thickets over yonder." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the vast expanse of thick shrubland a 50 or so yards behind them. Conveniently leaving out that the source was his twin brother he turned to Seven and flicked a hand up, indicating for him to speak. "Report." "Your source was right, sir. I scoped it out, saw a stash. Couldn't see no guards though." Boone nodded and turned to Ebony, regarding her with the briefest of smiles. He could sense that she was nervous, though she was good at concealing it. But he knew his mentee well enough by now to gauge her moods. "Bonnie, I'm gonna need you t' do to a fly-by. Give us a layout of the land, try to locate guards if possible; see if you can pinpoint our way in, an' our way out. Do it as quick as you can, we don't wanna be here any longer 'n we have to." ooc: waaaaat an actual Boone post WHAT IS THIS MADNESS

[Ebony Lancaster]

The trio sat in their little alcove for what seemed like hours to the teenager. As per usual, Ebony was feeling incredibly impatient, ready for the raid to begin. As her first official raid after being promoted to hunter, the nerves were beginning to surround the girl as she looked around herself. Seven’s eyes were closed, perhaps listening intently for any approaching enemies. Even like that he made Ebony uneasy and she turned her gaze to Remi instead. The other hunter was tapping his fingers on his legs in some sort of rhythm, and she found herself mimicking the pattern with her own hands. It was a good distraction from the numerous thoughts running through her mind. There were so many things that could go wrong for them but Bonnie knew that Boone would keep them safe. He wouldn’t have asked her to come along if he didn’t think she was ready. She couldn’t disappoint him. No, she wouldn’t disappoint him. Seven’s eyes snapped open and Ebony heard someone clear their throat. Smiling, she turned as she saw Boone approach, his stance alerting to them to the fact he wasn’t a threat. According to her own calculations, he was right on time, which to be perfectly honest she hadn’t been expecting. Ebony was used to her mentor disappearing on various missions every now and then and she had learned early on not to question it. There was no point in trying to get him to spill his secrets; he was too good at keeping up his mask. Likewise, Ebony was good at keeping her nerves hidden, but she figured Boone would see right through her façade. Still, she was glad that the other two hunters were clueless. Listening closely to her mentor’s words, Ebony went over them in her mind to commit them to memory. She noticed he didn’t mention who his source happened to be but once again, it was better not to question the man. Bonnie simply let it slide and turned her attention to Seven’s own report. Looking out over to the shrubland, Ebony tried to work out where the best entry point would be. The stash would most likely be hidden within the thickets at the centre, which meant they would need protection around the entire circumference. Either they’d have multiple guards around the expanse or one guard walking around the area. It seemed small enough for only one guard, but all of that would most likely depend on what was in the stash. More important resources gained more guards; common knowledge in the Menagerie. Snapping out of her thoughts as she heard her name, Bonnie looked back up at Boone. Nodding, Ebony stood up, taking a quick look out over the pastures. They seemed empty, but she would be an idiot to think no one was watching. “I’ll be back in a jiffy,” she winked at Boone before breaking into jog. As she came to the edge of their hideout, she felt her body ripple until her legs were no more and her wings pushed her upwards. Silent as the grave, the melanistic owl soared over the pasture, keeping slightly to the right, near another group of trees. At least that way it wouldn’t look too much like she was scouting the terrain. At first she saw no other creatures, but as she neared the shrubs she spied a man leaning against a tree. It looked like he had his eyes closed but Eb could tell by his stance that he was inconspicuously watching the meadow. The line of trees to her right would provide cover if they could move through unnoticed by that scout. As she came up to the shrubs, Ebony swung round and perched on a tree a few paces to the left. Looking below, she saw what she assumed to be the package courtesy of the Keepers. It was in the middle of a dense thicket, clearly for extra protection. Of course, it made her curious as to what retro creature had placed it there; clearly one with thick skin. Perhaps rumours of the crocodile retro were true after all. Stifling a laugh, Ebony moved her attention back to the shrubs. There were two guards, each circling the package at polar ends. They moved slowly, their eyes piercing the area around them. Clearly the package was important to Bellator. “Too sad too bad,” she murmured, jumping from her perch and swooping silently across the meadow again. As she moved along the left side, she noticed no more Bellator, thankful for the minimal guards. It would make their jobs much easier. Entering the meeting place again, Ebony shifted back just as her feet touched the ground. She turned around again, facing Boone to give her report. “There’s one guard just near the line of trees on the left, but if we stick in the shadows and stay silent we can probably get past him quite easily. He seems more concerned with the meadow than the supplies. The package is in those shrubs, hidden neatly in a dense thicket with a bunch of thorns. Two guards, one male, one female, circling slowly at either end. They’re all in their human form so I don’t know what shifts to expect. The drop doesn’t seem too huge so it should be easy to carry out once we can get it out of the thorns.” Bonnie concluded her report with a short nod at Boone, ready for him to give their final orders. It seemed everything was underway, and as adrenaline began to kick in, Ebony’s fears dissipated, readying her for the hunt.