RP:Beasts and Outlaws

Summary: Khitti and Meri free their olyphont once and for all, putting a stop to the outlaws that have twice captured the beast.

Desert Oasis

Communications were sent out in similar fashion as the previous instances and much like last time, Meri has requested that the rangers meet her at the remains of the village they were at previously. For this adventure, Meri has asked that they make it to their meeting point by the time that the sun starts to fall. They would not linger in the ruined village for long, they would not find the outlaws that they were hunting if they were to stay. Into the desert they would have to travel, at least the sun was setting so they would not have the heat of the sun beating down on them in full force. The signs of where the outlaws might have made their camp are minimal, the desert has a way of covering up tracks. All it took was a consistent breeze and any animal or foot prints were blown away. Still, they knew what directions the outlaw blew through the ruined village last time. They left a path of destruction in their wake and they had witnesses that were further able to corroborate what direction the outlaws left in. That gave them a good starting direction of travel. Their instincts proved to serve them well for along they would find several other signs of human life. It is possible that these signs don’t belong to their outlaws, but their search would end up fruitful. They would soon see the massive footprints of an olyphont which would only further clue the rangers in as to where they should go. The outlaws encampment would be spotted easily from a distance. There would be smoke from their fires and an olyphont that the group was quite familiar with standing tall and sticking out like a sore thumb. The encampment was by no means a tiny one. Yet they would not be squaring off with an entire army of desert bandits. By the looks of things, they could have numbers of anywhere between fifteen to twenty. This is not counting the animals that have been imprisoned by the outlaws, not just that poor olyphont. There was not much in the way of coverage offered by the desert, but the rangers were still at a distance and had the advantage of elevation thanks to a sand dune they just managed to scale. Meri crouched low against the ridge of the dune so that she can observe without being noticed. "Well I guess we could try and sneak in once things seem to quiet for the night...release the animals? Start a commotion? Then do some punching? Or...we take the more reckless and wild approach and just waltz on down there...and see what happens. I suspect it will still involve punching though..."

Khitti travelled as usual from the entrance of the desert to the heart of it--that is to say, very very fast because it’s frakking hot, okay? The sun hadn’t quite gone down yet by time Khitti’s cat set foot in the sand, so thank the gods for the Tikifhlee. Meri would be found and followed, letting the blonde lead the way. Once they arrived close enough to survey the outlaw camp, Khitti squinted a bit at them, considering the options that Meri laid out for them. “Well, you know how my planning for this type of thing usually goes--I usually go with the latter, but that doesn’t always end well. But, it’s up to you. I might not have my shadow-melding ability now, but I can still be rather sneaky.” More was considered, “That olyphont is sentient enough to know that these guys are not at all nice. If we let it and the other animals loose, it could definitely prove to be a good distraction--and they might even take quite a few out for us.” The redhead let out a hm, “I can’t decide. Both sounds fun, to be honest. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a decent fight--that whole mess with the Catalian Armada was too frakking easy.”

Meri listens to her sister's thoughts on the 'plan of action' in earnest. To be honest, Meri was sorely tempted to go with option two as well, just blaze in and see what happens. Yet nagging in the back of her mind was her daughter and her nephew. "Well, I guess if we ended up slain her kidnapped by outlaws...our kids probably would not be very happy with us..." Her mind circles back to the point that their escapade with the Catalian army proved to be far too easy. Meri wrinkles up her nose and huffs out a sigh, "I guess it is probably smarter that we try and go with the plan that involves a distraction..." And so Khitti and Meri would wait until things in the camp grow quiet. Thankfully it would not be dreadfully long, they already had the cover of night on their side and even outlaws are consumed by sleep. The fires in the camp begin to burn low, a sign that no one is fueling them with logs...probably because they are asleep. "Come on...let's creep in and set loose what we can." It might not be a large encampment, but they had an olyphont, a number of horses, some sort of large cat. A puma? It's hard to see from a distance. The point is, there is at least as many beasts to be freed as there are outlaws snoozing away in the camp. "We should be okay to split up. Free what we can free." And if either got into any trouble they should be able to easily hear that the other needs help. Baring any objections from Khitti, Meri was off, sneaking toward the camp. Part way down the dune, Meri would activate her fancy little shadow cloak. She had no issue doing this right in front of Khitti.

“Right,” Khitti said with a nod as they split up. Before she left to free the other animals, however, she addressed her own with a “You keep watch okay?” The tikifhlee let out a soft murr and soon Khitti was off. She’d spie her sister’s little disappearing act with a smirk, muttering to herself, “Show off.” The smaller beasts would be dealt with first, Khitti focusing on the ones that might do the most damage--like that cat. Khitti’s newly bought wakizashi, a partner in crime for her katana, though it was yet not named, was retrieved from its sheath on her hip and kept handy just in case something might happen. The feline was approached, the beast not too keen on Khitti’s presence, faint warning growls issued. Oh if only that calming spell of hers worked on animals. Oi. Olive-green eyes scanned those asleep, making sure that the cat hadn’t woken anyone up before she set to cutting whatever binds might be holding it. The urge to pet the cat was strong, but Khitti resisted, ever so slowly backing away from it once it’s freed, in hopes that it doesn’t eat her--Khitti had more meat on her bones these days, so she’d make a fine dinner! “Gooood kitty. Niiice kitty. I’m a kitty too. Sort of.” She whispered this, of course, and if it looked like she wasn’t food, then she’d hurry off to the next nearest animal that needed rescuing.

Khitti released the puma. Oh boy. The choice to release the animals more prone to causing damage will definitely have some results, but both ladies are itching for a bit of trouble. So will they mind? Probably not. See, that cat is hungry. Do we think outlaws have considered things like proper feeding schedules for any of these animals? Maybe some, definitely not the puma. They were planning on skinning that beast in the end anyway. It's a wonder that Khitti was not the one that the big kitty decided to turn into a meal, perhaps it was some showing of gratitude for being freed. The cat instead bolts into the first tent that it encounters..and well, judging by the screams that now fill the camp? That poor unfortunate soul is now becoming dinner. It does not seem like the feline is feeling merciful, those screams suggest this individual is being consumed alive...and waking the rest of the camp in the process. So where is Meri while all of this is happening? Well she was after the animals she has a soft spot for, the horses. Those are fairly easy to free. Their pens are opened and they are shooed out and on their way. Meri just managed to free the last of the the horses right when those screams begin to fill the air. The olyphont still remains, but both women are now going to have to deal with the fact that outlaws are starting to pour out of their tents in various states of dress and arm. Some chump wearing no pants is the one who spots a shadowy form that is Meri and begins shouting about intruders, so those who were not armed during the start of this madness are starting to take up their weapons. Happy punching.

There might be an ever-growing grin of delight on Khitti’s face. Yeah, she’s okay with this. What she’s not okay with is that pants-less moron yelling up a storm when Meri was trying her best to be all sneaky. Not cool, buddy. Hope that cat eats you. Khitti doesn’t get far enough to get to the olyphont before chaos broke out and… it’s probably for the better. That big guy wasn’t the greatest around a lot of people last time. Realizing it’s indeed punching time, Khitti summoned up flares of holy fire at the nearest outlaws, using it to blind them, their eyes long since adjusted to the darkness. And when she’s done with this? She’d start up the punching. Okay, there’s a bit of stabbing too with her new blade. Look, they deserved it, okay? The orcs in Gualon would get to have all the fun if she just let them live. Who knows what kind of punishments they have there for criminals. It’s probably worse than the typical beheading or hanging.

Yes, the behavior of the pantless moron is definitely not cool, for in addition to his shouting and raising the alarms despite Meri's attempts to be sneaky? Well then he tries to attack Meri, before he bothers even locating his pants. A sword is readily available to him though, and please remove your mind from the gutter for he is attempting to assault Meri with an actual sharpened piece of metal, thanks. On the upside, Meri is quick to locate her own sharpened piece of metal and she manages to be the one to stab him first. On the downside, all of the outlaws are awake now. Meri and Khitti will need to slay anywhere from seven to ten outlaws a piece, minus one or two thanks to an assist from the Puma. Upside, Khitti has her holy magic and being a werewolf has offered Meri a few perks in terms of speed and strength. Downside, these outlaws have some big muscles. Oh, and one of them definitely has magical capabilities. That is the one that they are going to have to fell if they have any hope of freeing the olyphont. One outlaw may have lost his life on Meri's blade, but two more are already on her and ready to fight. Khitti will be faced with much the same scenario. Both of these women are going to have to do some serious fighting if they expect to free all the animals and make it out alive. At least they won't have to worry about this particular group of outlaws trying to capture any more animals, that is if the rangers are successful and not forced to retreat.

If that olyphont wasn’t freed and the outlaws dealt with, Khitti wouldn’t be leaving. And what would happen then? They’d have to deal with a very grumpy Brand (that’s his secret though: he’s always grumpy). They’d get a whole lot more than a few stab wounds here and there. They’d get the fire--lots and lots of it. Tenbatsu Kaji was drawn once it was clear that both Khitti and Meri each had their own group of jerks to deal with, “Well? Come on then.” She couldn’t help but taunt the bad guys as usual as her katana was enveloped in that familiar red holy fire. Khitti would take quite a few hits along the way; cuts from blades and punches to various parts of her body were acquired. She’d still keep fighting regardless, but she was definitely grateful for her foresight earlier in the day, the redhead having asked Brand to have Lennier and a bottle of whiskey ready for her when she got back. To help even the odds a bit, another cat joined the fray. The tikiflhee leapt from the shadows, letting out its usual ‘mowrowr’ as it sank its sabertooth fangs into the nearest outlaw and tore it in half, then continued adding both rangers in their fight.

Khitti was fighting like a madwoman, even her trusted tikiflhee was joining into the madness. Thankfully the puma is too busy devouring the insides of one of the outlaws that it managed to slay to have one of those territorial cat moments. It's still present on the scene though, his tail is poking out from one of the tents and is twitching back and forth ever so contently. Good meal. Much like her sister, Meri is fighting the good fight. She has her sword in hand and is currently circled by about four outlaws, having already managed to fell two. A feline does not come to Meri's aid, but something else happens with her. The scent of blood is already lingering in the air, adrenaline that is pumping from the fight is starting to mix with the anxiety of the fact that they are completely outnumbered. The level headed psion begins to lose out to the more feral side of her and soon it is not the sound of weapons clanging together is replaced by the sounds of creaking and cracking. If Khitti were to manage to steal a glance, she would see that her sister is no longer in her human form but is now fighting as a wolf. There are some pros and cons to this. The cons are obviously, Meri as a certain lack of control in this form. The pros? She's a literal beast right now that is doing some serious damage with those big teeth that she has. Khitti is not going to be given the chance to dwell on Meri's current form though, she may be kicking some serious butt on her side of the fighting but she is about to toe off with that mage. Magic user against magic user. He tries to get the upper hand by conjuring up an elemental attack on Khitti, channeling a bolt of lightning and lobbing it at the redhead. Once Khitti manages to stomp on the face of this magically-inclined outlaw, whatever bindings the mage has magicked up to restrain the olyphont will vanish.

The tikifhlee comes in to play and Khitti’s minor anxiety about whether or not they’ll make it out of this goes away. Amidst the punching and hacking and slashing, she does indeed spare a moment to check on Meri--not that she didn’t think Meri could handle herself, but there was a lot of tough-looking dudes! But… she does not see the blonde…? Oh boy. The wolf is spotted and well… things… still could be worse? Why hadn’t she asked Brand to tag along? Oh, right. Because someone had to babysit Dominic and Dozla had been otherwise occupied for the day. The redhead tore her attention away from her extremely bitey sister and it was just in time for the lightning round! Khitti’s not happy about this new development. See… she’s never been good at avoiding lightning. This whole thing goes alllll the way back to just before Khitti was kidnapped by Raiez, where she and Brand were sparring and he decided to use his lightning against her! She’s not really had time to train against that in the three years or so since then. It was something she really needed to get on asap; it’s not like she had earth magic to literally ground her, after all. Khitti let loose a string of curses as she grabbed the nearest outlaw next to her and shoved him in the lightning’s direction. Those elemental attacks were likely not done and Khitti did her best to close the gap. What could she do? What should she do? There’s the circlet, but… it didn’t work so well against that Vylyra bitch and Khitti literally had not used it since. Well, it was highly unlikely that these dudes had anything to do with Kahran, so summon the circlet she did. It’s tossed as usual, aiming to do its holy fire whirlwind thing around the mage. She didn’t take into consideration that maybe this mage is as skilled as Brand. Maybe they’d have some type of shield, like he did. She hoped, at least, that even if this jerk managed to deflect it, that it’d buy her enough time to get to him and get all stabby before he got many more spells off.

The shaman-outlaw-man-thing that Khitti is currently fighting is definitely a formidable opponent. One has to imagine that it takes skill to survive out in these deserts. Still, he is no Vylyra and has no connection with Kahran. He is not able to so easily deflect that circlet that Khitti wields. The whirlwind of holy fire is not enough to completely off the mage in a single hit, but it does leave one side of his body badly charred and burned...to the point that if he was on the receiving end of Khitti and her stabbing action then she would put an end to his suffering. The bindings on the olyphont are released, the beast is free to move of it's own accord once again. The number of outlaws remaining is dropping quickly, not all of them are choosing to die in battle. Some of them are choosing to flee into the desert night rather than losing their lives. Not everyone is made for battle. Soon the only living beings remaining in the camp would be Khitti, her tikifhlee, the puma, the olyphont, and one rabid werewolf. Which means that Khitti may very well not be out of the clear yet. The last time she met with wolf-Meri, it was not exactly a great introduction and Meri seemed quite content to try and turn Lionel and Khitti into a meal. Would history be repeating itself today? Maybe, but for the moment at least...Wolf-Meri seemed happy to borrow a move from their puma-friend. All this fighting has made her awful hungry and she's got the bodies of several outlaws surrounding her. This is the one thing keeping the werewolf's attention off of anything else still living in the camp. Well. Except for the olyphont. Wolf-Meri is not so keen on trying to pick a fight with the oversized creature...and Mr. Olyphont was not so keen on sticking around now that he was free to leave anyway.

Soon Khitti was alone and soon she remembered the predicament she was still in--the very wolfy predicament. Hell, she wasn’t even sure if she could tangle with that puma. Maybe once upon a time in her vampire days, but… Both Meri and the puma are distracted, the short breather giving Khitti time to make a ‘sk sk’ noise at her cat and shoo it away with a wave of her hand. The beast wasn’t going to leave entirely, but it did shadowmeld itself, and kept to the sidelines, watching the situation unfold. Khitti’s predicament was even worse than last time, when Lionel had been with her--she didn’t have an ounce of silver on her. Her swords are sheathed and her sister and the puma watched briefly as she tried to formulate a plan. If Meri was anyone else--literally any other werewolf in the world--she’d just leave her. But, damn it… she wasn’t. Hrm. Aha! Idea. It might not be -the best- idea and she very well may get her face (and probably other body parts) mauled off, but… Khitti made her way back to where the tikifhlee had disappeared, the beast coming out of the shadows only briefly so that Khitti could get atop if before it melded again. Khitti and the cat took care to keep a wide enough distance between them, in hopes that maybe, just maybe, Meri won’t smell them. The cat and its rider would sneak around behind Meri, and Khitti would unsheath her smaller sword once more, the weapon held in such a way that she could use the hilt as an aid to knock Meri out. She’d eventually slide from the tikifhlee’s back and as quietly as possible tried to sneak up on her poor sister. This could go very well or very badly. Hey! If it goes badly, then Brand won’t have to sacrifice his bachelor status for marriage in the near future!

Things could end up going very badly for Khitti. It was challenging to sneak up many animals, if only because there senses were tuned differently. Better hearing, better eyesight, and in Meri's case? A damn good sense of smell. Working to Khitti's advantage is that the scene was layered in so much outlaw blood that the werewolf's senses are overwhelmed and everything smells the same to her. Still. Khitti is not successful in sneaking up on Meri. She gets so damn close, just another couple of feet and she might have been able to knock the distracted werewolf out. At the last moment though, the werewolf whips around and snarls at both Khitti and her tikifhlee. Fangs remained barred, growls are deep, and the hair on her back is standing high...suggesting that Meri is ready to fight if they make the slightest wrong move. This could be a repeat of the Cenril drama all over again. Except it is not Khitti that Meri ends up attacking. There is a flash of movement in the dunes that steals the werewolf's attention, probably one of the outlaws that managed to make an escape. Before Khitti knows it? Wolf-Meri is running away into the night, and fast. Maybe she is on the hunt for that outlaw, maybe she ends up running through the desert for awhile like a crazy beast. On the upside, there were not much in the way of innocent individuals that Meri could harm. The outlaws already demolished the nearest village.

Khitti ’s eyes got all wide once Meri turned around and got on the defensive. Welp, goodbye cruel world. Goodbye, Brand. Have fun being a single dad. Don’t drink too much once you find out Khitti’s dead again, okay? It’s cool. It’s fine. She had a good two years… minus the whole Venturil business. Khitti put out her hands, as if to say “it’s okay; please don’t kill me”, one hand still sort of holding onto her washizaki. “Meri… it’s time to go home… Please be a good pupper and--” Nope. Meri will not do this thing. But she also doesn’t murder her sister. This is good. But she is running away, through the desert, where it will eventually heat up again. This is bad. “Frakking hell, woman!” is shouted to Meri as she dashes off elsewhere, Khitti once again getting karma from all the times she ran away from Brand in years past. With a heavy sigh, she allowed the puma to continue its snack as she hopped back up onto her tikifhlee and headed off after Meri. She’d look for her, but wouldn’t find her. Meri’d gotten too much of a headstart and Khitti wasn’t keen on staying there until sunrise looking for her. Thankfully, Meri knew these parts well and when she reverted back, she’d be fine--albeit a bit naked. Not without a bit of worry for her sister, Khitti’d head back to Cenril. And if Meri hadn’t made it home by morning? Khitti would go back to Gualon to rescue her poor sister.