Ngea cast a look his direction. "You fell from the sky." She pointed out slowly, only to tense as the sound of a howl near by reached her ears. She narrowed her eyes and rose up partly, glancing around through the branches, as though searching for something.
Seeing nothing she jumped down from the tree, letting the leaves fall from her hand. "We should get back soon. I don't like the sound of that howl." Her golden eyes cut across the wood, in this place it stretched far in both directions. If there was a pack out there, who knows what they were after. Her lip curled slightly, they'd never liked her much, in fact it was said they hated her. She raised her chin, shaking away her human appearance. She looked about, her black nostrils flaring taking in the numerous scents. A line of fur rose up along her spine and her golden eyes narrowed. What were those wolf-folk doing here?


Adlaide stood up abruptly once more. "The ship... it was caught in your planet's gravity..." She began to pace, muttering things under her breath and occasionally speaking loud enough so others could hear. "It's crashed somewhere... the technology... I could... no..." Her voice broke off and she paced once more, only pausing to lifted her head at the howl. She took a breath, shook her head then launched back into her pacing.
"Mordecai, there's a chance, just a very slim chance..." She sat down, clearing out her former drawing with the palm of her hand and started a new equation on the ground. "It broke into two pieces, the explosion would have only wrecked the inside... however the cell like compartments..." She fell back into muttering then shook her head. "But the chances it actually survived the crash..." She leaned back and growled, her eyes flashing darkly. "No... that's impossible. Especially if the gravity just pulled it into one of the objects out there... but... our pod made it."

You have liked this post!

"I came from earth," he pointed out gently. "That, and our ship had an accident..." James sighed softly at this though, shook his head. Attention soon snapped to the howl, and he perked up a bit. What on earth was going on? A hunt? He couldn't understand the howls all to well, and it made his skin itch, if that was such a thing. Perhaps that was just the wolf inside of him growing anxious. It was quite possible. He didn't exactly know how to shift just yet, and anything could possibly trigger it.

"What is it you're thinking of?" Mordecai then asked, frowning a bit. "Is all well? You...you're talking about the metal flame you called down? Or...erm, fell down in?" That made more sense than them calling it down anyway. Magic didn't exist... did it? He didn't even know the answer to that question.

You have liked this post!

("You fell from the sky." - Ngea, "I came from earth." - James, "Same difference." - Ngea. xD)

"Same difference." She muttered under her breath, glancing around before her attention once more came to rest on James. "You might want to come out of that tree, those howls could cause you to shift..." In short she was telling him to get down so he wouldn't fall and break his neck.
She paced back and forth beneath the tree, looking up into the branches ever so often. They should really get back. She didn't like how close those howls sounded. Especially when she didn't know what they were up to or what they even wanted.


Adlaide tapped one finger to her chin. "All the technology on the ship. It could be here." She could hope books survived, but that was highly unlikely. Besides, the actual chance of either part of the ship making it here were slim. The number's she scrambled to write down, they said it was very nearly impossible. The numbers were very rough, she could hardly know exactly if the pieces of the ship could make it, but still.
She glanced up. "Yeah, the pod. We fell from a bigger metal flame. It could have fallen down too. I'm just thinking... if it did make it down here, there's things on the ship that could be extremely helpful. That is, if they survived any of the explosions." She heart beat finally slowed as she began to speak her thoughts more fully.

You have liked this post!

(Lol, logic... XD)

James, after a few moments, slowly came down from the tree. He had what he wanted and needed, and they still had a rabbit skin that they could use to create a quiver or two. Cured leather was strong, after all. Saddles were made from it back on earth, and its eemed to be the same case here, too. "Well... Let's get going... I don't like this." Adlaide was still up on the little mount area, whatever it was currently.

"Well... I do recall seeing a fireball flying towards the northern ridge, but...no one goes up there..." THose who did usually never came back. Those that were lucky enough to come back often died a week later. Most people thought it a curse, but the truth was far deeper than that. After all, a secret was there that needed to be kept...

You have liked this post!

"Neither do I. Come on." She turned and trotted towards the fortified place. She paused ever so often, turning to glance over her shoulder at James, making sure he was just on her heels. Her tail tip flicked and she moved faster, a low growl rising in the back of her throat.


Adlaide nodded. "Might I ask why?" Great, it was there, but still out of reach. Unless the reason was a good one, Adlaide had a good mind to head over there and look over the wreck. That was, if there was much of a wreck to look over. Sure the ship wasn't the best build ever made, but the individual fire proofed compartments... they could still be there.
Her silvery eyes narrowed slightly and she picked up the rope, her fingers starting to weave more of the fibers.

You have liked this post!

"The truth is? No one really knows why. Those who are driven mad by it often commit suicide before we can ever ask them what went wrong," Mordecai then stated, frowning a bit. "I've personally always suspected foul play, and something afoot there that no one is yet aware of. It makes sense, though. This kingdom's boundary ends just before the ridges. They're known to most as the Cursed Foothold, silly as it sounds, but it's true. Those who do come back are, as I said, dead within a week's time."

He would have continued, but it seemed Ngea and James had returned, and with a few good looking branches as well. "Ah! Couldn't have better timing. Those howls are getting to close for comfort."

You have liked this post!

Adlaide tipped her head to one side. "Sounds like a mystery. One that needs solving." She glanced over at James and Ngea as they returned. "Heya, nice to have you back." She looked at the branches. "Bow?" She asked, quickly wiping the numbers out and getting to her feet.
Though she spoke and seemed to be fully paying attention, her mind was back on Mordecai's words. Could some poisonous gasses be leaking from the earth's crust there? Perhaps there was some civilization there, almost like Atlantis? Either way she was somewhat bound and determined to eventually be able to look over the wreckage.


Ngea nodded. "Aye, Mordecai, I don't like how close they are getting. I wonder what's up this time. Those are not hunting howls." She shook away her wolfish complexion and glanced at her sister. "How's she doing?" She asked, her voice lowering slightly as though she were extremely worried for the answer.

You have liked this post!

"No, they're searching for something. I doubt it's us or they'd have already been on top of us..." he grunted softly. "You know how wolves get when they lose something of great importance to them." Mordecai himself had been on more than one of those hunts. His attention though turned to Ngea's sister, and he gently nuzzled her. "She sleeps...but she is sick, I believe... She'll need more blood to help combat whatever they did to her..."

James smiled a little at this, nodded. "Yeah, want to make a few bows, see if we can't get ourselves up and running. We can make arrows from whatever's left over I'm sure. Stone and bone arrowheads are going to be the best bet as of current. Don't have steal, and we'll need to get feathers..." They had leather as he'd thought for the quivers. THey just needed to cure it.

You have liked this post!

(Ewh, someone put pickles in my sandwich. )

Ngea nodded and sat down with a sight. "I'll head out once the pack moved past. Did you eat Mordecai?" She asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. Occasionally she'd noticed that Mordecai "forgot" to eat. She didn't believe he could forget, for food was one of the things which always seemed to be hanging around her mind.
There were still a few shreds of meat left, enough to fill a wolf stomach. It was then she remembered that James still had her knife.

Adlaide stepped over. "Steel arrow heads?" The topic of metal made her mind fly back to the topic of the ship. Maybe even just going back to the pod, but that was so far... no, the ship was closer. It was then she decided to try and fall asleep. "Hrm, I'm finally tired. I'm going to take a nap."
She sat down near the fire then lay down with a soft sigh, drifting off as she stared into the flames and thought about all the things they could find near the ship.

You have liked this post!

(o.o Don't like pickles?)

"Hm? ... Oh, no, I haven't actually." He'd allowed Adlaide to eat, and the other one that needed to eat was James. "I can always hunt for my meal later, Ngea. They need to eat first." Mordecai had gone a long while without food before. It was simple for him to do so, really. He didn't need it as badly as the pups did. And to him, Ngea was still a pup. His attention then turned to James and his sister, watching as the young woman fell asleep, a small smile upon his features. Seemed she was finally going to rest...

You have liked this post!

(Not in my tuna fish. xD)

Ngea narrowed her eyes. "You need to eat." Her gaze swiveled to James. "And don't think I won't force food down your throat either. You both need to eat. There's plenty of meat left over." She paused and took a breath. "James' I'd also like my knife back soon. When I got out again I may need it."
Ngea's gaze wandered back to Mordecai, it was then she noticed the small smile on his features as he looked at Adlaide. She could only wonder if James had noticed. The man seemed a little distant at some times. But that seemed to run in the family, as Adlaide too seemed to disappear out of reality for a little while.

You have liked this post!

(Ew... o.o That wouldn't be good...)

It seemed to, but James had noticed, yes.... He wasn't sure if he liked it or not, to be honest. James frowned a bit at that. "Threatening exactly doesn't get you friends, either," James then commented. "You could ask." And since he was busy, he was liable to forgo food until he at least had one bow done... The man often did forget his own meals, and Addy had to remind him to eat.

Mordecai just snickered at the response given, and nosed some of the meat over. He preferred it raw, but...this would do, and so he did snap up a chunk or two.

You have liked this post!

Ngea shrugged. "Asking doesn't always get the job done. Besides, I only threaten those I consider my friends, or my enemies. But if you want to see if I would actually go through with that threat... don't test me." Her eyes narrowed as she said this and she jabbed a finger his direction. "It won't do anyone any good if they don't eat. And you James, you haven't eaten since we were at the castle. You have to be at least somewhat hungry. So, set the wood down. It won't disappear. You won't last long if you don't eat." She leaned back and glanced out towards where the howls still rung.
"We won't always have the luxury of having food, so eat while you can as much as you can." She grabbed one of the spears sitting on the ground and started chipping away at the edge, sharpening the dullness away into a sort of blade.

You have liked this post!

"Never had the luxury of having food back on earth either," James then commented. "You're not going to get me to do anything by threatening me. Ask Adlaide..."

Mordecai, sensing the tension in the area, gave a slight cough. He then nudged Ngea, and looked at her with a gentle gaze. "They are strangers, and we've yet to fully understand where they come from or their stories, dear sister... Perhaps we need different tactics if we are to gain and keep them as our allies..."

You have liked this post!

Ngea bit back a stinging remark, she rolled her shoulders then huffed. It would take her a long while to grow used to the strangers. Funny, she'd just started actually liking the siblings. She stayed quite for a moment, her body tense and her eyes flickering brightly.
It was a long while before she relaxed and then gave a soft sigh. "We just can't loose them." She said lowly, though she didn't exactly believe in all the legends and prophecies, it wouldn't hurt to hope. She carefully set the spear aside then glanced at James. "Mordecai's right. I don't understand either one of you... but I need to know you understand this one thing. I'm trying my hardest... trying to protect my people. Trying to protect their so called saviors..." She was having a hard time getting her words to come out in the way she wanted them to. "I don't know what you've been through, or anything like that." Her eyes fell and her mouth fell into a little smashed line. "In short I'm trying to say I'm sorry. But I'm essentially also asking you to try to understand my situation. You and your sister die, the people out there, all those who've survived... they won't forgive me. They won't listen to a word I say, they'll blame me. You're their only hope right now, since they saw you, and I don't want to take that away from them." She fell quite and picked up the shaft of the spear again, bowing her head over her work as she continued to chip away the dull edge.

You have liked this post!