a sitting duck. }

[hippolytos]

Hippolytos was always one for exploring, even if he stupidly avoided the consequences of danger. Being a hunter for the Fallen Ring, exploring for new food-stuffs was, well, his chosen job. Of course, however, seeming he was, in fact, strictly vegetarian (the sight of red meat usually resulted in several hours of nausea and a swimming mind), and more-so looked for “gathering” things. As the shifter’s hooves dragged across the terrain, Hip’ barely noticed the different feeling underneath his feet, too lost in his own thoughts. Only when the beast looked up did he see he was no longer in vicinity of his ring’s territory, but somewhere he truly didn’t know. The horse’s ginger dyed ears perked up from their neutral position on his long head, swiveling to catch the sounds nearest to him. Nothing echoed back. A sigh of relief exhaled from his muzzle, and his great head shook left to right to shake out his darker but streaked mane. Now, he surveyed the scene around him quietly, the only sound drifting from his large form the sound of his breathing. Old wooden docks circled around him, and he turned his great head back to look behind him where the ground melded into man-made quality. The shifter’s dark maroon tail flicked nervously, a sharp memory panging through his head. The Carna dwell on the docks and sea.

A terrified look crossed his eyes, the whites flashing off against the saturated red of his coat. Instinctively he took a step back, hooves clacking noisily on the wood like irons. Hippolytos stopped immediately, his ears twisting and snapping to and fro, his body stretched tensely over his big boned skeleton as he stood immobilized with apprehension and fear. How could he have missed the border? Perhaps he had just been soaked up in his job – or just damn careless. Well, there was no fixing that mistake. The equine inhaled deeply, attempting to calm his alerted senses. The fact of the matter, though, was whether he would be caught trespassing or not – something he did not want to imagine. Hip’ took in another deep breath, shaking his mane out again with the still-lingering anxiety. Perhaps he should shift out – after all, their leader was cannibalistic. And most of the members were blood thirsty. And ate meat. And he was meat.

The panic swelled in his chest again.


With a quick intake of breath, he let his transformation take over, feeling his limbs stretch and shrink, the coat bristle back into the recesses of his skin, and the thick mane and tail disappearing, save for the ponytail now held on his fine head. Now human, his eyes took sharp turns back and forth, his senses finally calming down. Everything was going to be fine, he told himself. The man just needed to find his way the hell outta’ here before some hungry shifter found him standing there like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming car. If it came to that, he would run, as simple as that – he was fast in form and out, but with this, he lacked in fighting skills, though a blow to the head with one of his horse form’s hooves could easily knock out or injure someone (or something, for that matter) severely. With a brisk, reassuring nod to himself, Hippolytos walked quietly, looking for any signs of life or sound. The only problem with getting out of here was which way was out. At this point, the shifter didn’t know which way was deeper into Carna territory, which way went back to the Fallen, or which extended into new territory of the Fulsi. Great. Lost in a predator’s lair.

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[arai]

The water around here smelled funny, but it was water nonetheless. Arai knew there was some nonsense about rings and crap, but who cared? In Arai's mind, if they could chase her out or beat her in a fight, she would respect them. There were no guards to catch her. True, there was the blood she had come across. It smelled weird; coppery, definitely mixed from different bodies. It smelled old too. The principle held: this water was as much hers as it was anyone else's. Still, being out in the open made her wary. If there was anything she learned on the streets of New York, it was that speed and covertness was key. It hadn't taken her long to get here; having a built in sense of where water existed was a definite advantage. Somehow - she wasn't sure how it worked - she could taste the moisture in the air, sense it in her mouth. She heard that reptiles tasted with their tongues....this idea had more testing to do. Still, it had benefits right now. Furtively looking around, she dashed to the water's edge, hiding underneath an old rotting dock. Crouching, she was hidden in the darkness beneath the wood. Spreading her bare toes, she tested the ground carefully. No vibrations that she could feel. No one was sneaking up on her.

Dipping her hands carefully into the water, she listened and watched for any signs of attack. Nothing. This air made her nervous; it was thick with a feeling of unease. Looking down at the water, she noticed the way the light from slits in the dock played over her scales. They weren't that conspicuous: white, a bit shiny, small and smooth. It was pretty, in a bizarre, lizard-like way. Up her forearm, the scales tapered off to normal skin again. It was very pale, almost white, and tough leathery skin, but skin nonetheless. Someone would have to get close enough to touch her to be able to tell it was not normal human skin. Arai didn't let people get close enough to do that. Raising the water to her lips, she flicked out a tongue and tasted it. A second later the water fell from her hands to the earth. Baring her needle sharp teeth, she grimaced. Salty. This wasn't drinkable. It was nasty.

Then came the hooves. Arai froze, crouching lower. They were casual, not sneaky, not rushing to ambush her. They were above her. Hooves...there were horses here? Looking up, she could see the large animal above her. She had always admired horses. They were strong, fast, and generally steady beasts. There had been some mounted policemen in NY - Arai had tried to make friends with some of their horses. However, they seemed to pick up on her abnormal genes and shied away. Then something surprising happened. The horse, right before, er above, her eyes shrunk into a boy. Well not really a boy. But still. Was this a Shifter? No duh, genius, of course it is, she thought to herself, shaking her head. Bizarre. He began to walk away, looking obviously nervous. He didn't belong here, not in this 'Ring', whatever that was. Arai decided to follow him. Waiting a bit, keeping her slitted gray eyes on him, she began to follow. Her movements were quick, sure, and she kept perfect balance. Silence and speed was of the essence. Maybe the horse-boy would lead her out of here.