BZPRPG: Kini-Nui

IC Flabbergaster

Oh i love me a sucker-

I mean WARRIOR, duh.

"You seem pretty calm despite the fact that he nearly killed you," Flabbergaster paced up to Raaka. "Reminds me of that Ko bunch, he does."

IC:

I unbuckle my backpack and toss it (well, more like heave it... darn thing must weight sixty pounds at least) unceremoniously against a nearby tree. It makes a dull, heavy sound when it lands, and there's a variety of muffled metallic clangs and clinks. Not loud, but louder than it ought to be. I'll have to repack it when I get a chance, maybe shove the climber's spikes inside the roll of trip wire or something.

I glance around the clearing, eyes glowing vivid blue in the darkness. Everything's almost eerily quiet, except for the whisper of the wind in the encircling forest. No movement, except the way the moonlight filters through the fast-scudding clouds. A cold scrawl of unease prickles at the base of my neck, and if there was any hesitation about the next course of action, it's gone now. One hundred percent.

Nothing like an old soldier's nightmares to keep him deep in Condition Yellow. Nothing.

"Trava? I'm gonna go scout the area a bit. Be back in fifteen, twenty minutes. You go right ahead and unpack if you've a mind to."

IC: Trava (Kini-Nui, Surface)

"Mhmm" Trava replied, giving the large figure in the corner of her eye and absent-minded thumbs up as she started getting her things organizes and easily available. She heard the slight rustle of leaves and underbrush as Hammerlock left. Talented, he most definitely was, but his size worked against him a little.

She scoped out a suitable spot for her tent, and got to work setting it up at her own pace as she listened to the ambience around her. It was as if whatever death grip had been hanging onto their surroundings had let go, and now the wind had space to weave through the foilage and the leaves, creating that breezy rustling she was always glad to hear. It was the everyday sound of a place teeming with life, with the crucible of predator and prey constantly in motion.

And she was here with what she considered very apt company.

"I think I'm gonna enjoy this" she thought to herself with a satisfied smile.

OOC: Hope you don't mind some unexpected company guys!

IC: Yenroot

 Fat blood-benders and calm Skakdi. The day could not get any more strange. Luckily, he noted with a wide grin, it was about over. Soon the Rahi would be more open in their movements, and he could really hunt. Best practice is actually doing it.

 The grass crunched softly as he padded up the sloping hill. Yenroot's eyes kept drifting to the ground beneath his feet, and his hat started to slide off when he heard the faint thud of something heavy, possibly metallic in nature, hitting the ground. His head darted up and his bow was drawn with great speed.

 He crept forward, staying along the edge of the forest. The weight of the sound, he figured, marked it as a body. What else would sound that heavy? And if it was a body, that meant one of those...undesirable characters were up ahead. "Hopefully," he muttered, pushing a bush out of his path, "that was their body hitting the ground, and not the other way around."

OOC: Interacting with Trava, Hammerlock(More or less.)

OOC:

Not at all, FallenAtlas!

IC:

I fade into these unfamiliar woodlands carefully and with precision, moving in dense shadow, avoiding the brighter areas where rifts in the leafy canopy spill dappled moonlight to the forest floor. Once free of the small clearing where I've left Trava, I swing outwards in a scything arc, angling westwards towards the open ground and the temple complex itself--

 
Trace unnatural movement at three o'clock, deep into right-hand peripheral--

        Adrenaline pulse--  *SWISH SPLUSH SPLUSH SPLUSH*     ! FREEZE AND ASSESS !

                  ! Initiate Condition Orange--   stand by for Condition Red !

...I freeze, not abruptly (any sharp change in motion, however slight, draws attention), but coasting my muscles to a dead halt over the course of a brief half-second. I shift my eyes sideways, tracking the trigger point-- no, the figure. Not an animal, not wind-swept vegetation, but definitely a person, possibly a male Toa or Lesterin, advancing cautiously through the undergrowth about fifteen feet away on a course roughly parallel but opposite to mine. Focused on the clearing I've just vacated, he doesn't appear to have detected my presence specifically as of yet.

If I was on my own, I'd circle and watch. Bide my time under cover of darkness, and just observe. Assess the situation. This guy moves like a hunter, lithe and quiet, and a lone hunter with unknown intentions is never someone to take lightly.

As it is, though... I'm not alone. I've got a teammate. So blah blah blah I need to stop this dude and ask him a bunch of questions and maybe (hopefully!) break his spine into teensy-weensy pieces.

I shift my weight ever-so-slightly, preparing for an instant spring in any direction, and let my voice float clear and steady, but real soft-like, in Hunter Dude's general direction. My right hand, concealed in shadow, rests lightly on the textured wooden grip of my survival knife.

"Alright stay calm, stranger. And stop moving. We need to talk. Just a few things you need to tell me."

IC: Yenroot
 
 Yenroot peeked his head over the bush in front of him. Small clearing, a bag, and...a female. Crouched. Looked like she was messing with some material, a tarp or something. He couldn't tell the species, but he would have to play it safe.
 
 Bow up, arrow pulled tight, aim. Continue moving for-
 
 "Alright stay calm, stranger. And stop moving. We need to talk. Just a few things you need to tell me."
 
 Yenroot nearly released the arrow, but he kept his grip. Lucky for the female. The male behind him though....

 "Answer one of mine first, will ya?" he breathed in reply. "That female. Friend of yours? Play nice and this here arrow will find a home elsewhere." His mask glowed slightly to accent his tone. He didn't plan on missing if he struck.

IC (Kalen):

Recently fired from his job in Onu-Koro, there was a young Toa of Iron who had taken to adventuring and observing the island he lived on. After all, when you had money enough to travel, you were old enough to do so and yet not so old as to have no fun with it, and you've nothing else to do, why not go on a trip around your homeland? Nevermind that it was a rather dangerous place, what with all the large and territorial animals, hostile enemies from a sort of 'war' long since past, and all the other threats that abounded on the island, of course. Best get out and enjoy yourself, right?

By the way, that young Toa of Iron was me, Kalen. And boy, am I just having the best time of my life!

Anyways, my trusty walking stick/unceremonial clubbing staff had found our way to Kini-Nui first of all, a place that was known to be full of Rahkshi and other fun attractions, like the Amaja Nui and the cutest big evil robot you've ever seen, named the Abettor. Still, it never used to be that common for people to come here - the old landlord was a bit of a curmudgeon who didn't like people on his lawn (neverminding the fact that he seemed to consider the whole island his lawn), but now that he's out of the picture, people come here every so often. I just ended up having the misfortune to run into a small group that seemed about to get into an altercation. There I am, just walking along, then I step into a small clearing, then I see a female Lesterin setting up camp, then a military-looking big guy Lesterin, and a Toa with a bow. Who had his weapon pointed at the girl, who was being watched by the big guy.

And, well, me.

Given the interesting circumstances in front of me, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for me to make new friends recognize that this whole adventure thing was a bad idea and that I should turn tail and run home. But no, I was already commited. Maybe I should still turn tail and run. But "No!" says my conscience. "These people are ready to fight! You should try and defuse the situation, help things out, and maybe these people can help you out if you're in a tight spot later! At least you should make Hobin Rood over there point his weapon away from the girl!" 

Thanks conscience. You're wonderful.

"You know, pointing weapons at people who haven't threatened you in any way is rather rude, don't you think?"

It totally didn't strike me at all that maybe hunter-toa-hobin-rood-guy didn't care about that. Not at all. Nope.

"Think you could point it away before somebody here ends up making a mistake that starts a fight and I end up being the innocent bystander who gets killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

IC: Trava (Kini Nui, Surface)

Trava stood up, lifting her half-emptied bag with her. The hand that'd closed around the first blunt, solid object she could feel her way to inside the pack remained tightly gripped around it as she took a moment to scan the situation.

"Toa of Gravity, crack shot through the Sanok, aiming, awaiting answer"

"Business partner would actually be more fitting at the moment" she replied calmly, in response to the bowman's question

"Toa of Iron, Tryna, seems friendlier, apparently staff fighter. Not looking for a fight, wants to avoid it."

"What he said. The one behind you is probably the one you should be watching, by the way" she continued to Yenroot. She looked over him to meet Hammerlock's analytic gaze.

Still holding onto that blunt object, what was that anyway?

"I've heard he's quite good at what he does, and that one of those things is remove people who annoy him" she declared.

Exaggerated? Yes, but not by an awful lot she suspected.

IC (Kalen):

Yay, somebody else agrees that a fight and my possible injury and death would be stupid. Nice to know that at least somebody on this island likes that whole peace thing. I mean, sure, defending yourself is smart, but if you can defuse the whole situation without any fighting at all, even better! Hopefully bowmanguy and big dude would think the same way.

"Alright, that's one vote my way. So we're two for civility, and two not yet voted. Can I have a majority, please?"

IC: Yenroot

Yenroot kept his position, and felt his muscles tighten as the third being approached. Staff-man, thinks he's funny. Yenroot swore.

Coming across the female alone was good odds. Being cornered by the mysterious male ruined that, and now the third one definitely tipped the scales in a bad direction. But who was on which side?

Yenroot swore aloud this time. "Bow is going up." He announced to the trio of....treasure hunters? Makuta hunters? Friends? Whatever they were, they had him.

The arrow fell from the string to the ground and he lifted the bow over his head. He knelt to the ground and bowed his head; an universal gesture of surrender. Hopefully these people knew of mercy.

IC (Kalen):

I sighed in relief when bowmanguy stood down, and while I wasn't sure that the big guy would do the same, I hoped he would. After all, from what I heard, he and the girl were here together, so hopefully he'd follow her lead. "So, now that we're not threatening to kill each other, what're everybody's names?"

IC: Tehlin

I patted Savina reassuringly, she tended to take things far too literally sometimes, and I didn't want her moping around for a week.

"No harm done, my face is still immaculate."

IC: Savina

"Yes it's a good thing you're hard headed!" It took Savina a moment, but she quickly gasped and put her hands over her mouth.

"I meant that in a good way." 

IC: Tehlin

I mean at least she actually caught it this time.  She's getting better.

"I appreciate the sentiment."  I glanced up, the forest was rather sparse near the temple, but it still made me uncomfortable to have to squint to see the sky.  "So, Miss Intrepid Traveler, where to next?"

IC: Savina

"Well, we came all this way to see the temple...it would be a shame if we didn't explore the interior wouldn't it?" 

IC: Tehlin

"Onward then," I announced with a touch of bravado, lowering down enough to hoist her onto my shoulders.  Hanging onto a knee, I marched forward in what I mostly assumed to be the right direction.  It was supposed to be big friggin' temple sticking out of the jungle, couldn't be to hard to find.  If anything, I'd just have to follow that general feeling of bad spooky place.

IC: Savina

Savina let out a yelp of surprise that slowly turned into a giggle as Tehlin hoisted her onto his shoulders. "Hmmm I could get used to this." 

IC (Kalen):

 

"So, now that we're not threatening to kill each other, what're everybody's names?"

IC: Trava (Kini-Nui, Surface)

"Trava, pleased to meetcha, and tanks for the help" Trava replied with a gesture of greeting in his direction, which she used to let go of the blunt object of indeterminate nature she'd been grabbing onto in her backpack.

IC:

I smirked up at her, before quickly returning my gaze forward after nearly stumbling on a piece of fallen tree that jumped out in front of me.  Yes.

"Ever been to the temple before?" I asked, moving some vegetation out of my way with the help of some elemental power, seeing as my hands were occupied.

IC: Raaka

"'Ko bunch?'" he inquired of the obese being who'd been stalking him. However, before said being could reply, the skakdi spotted something unusual in the distance. "Wait, hold that thought."

Squinting and using his infrared vision in the fading light, he picked up his pace to as fast as his injured leg could allow. 
 

It was the same Toa that the Tiokaha had been talking about - the one with the bow and arrow, now apparently threatening someone.

He limped towards them just in time for the Toa with the bow to raise the weapon in apparent mercy or surrender.

Making sure the cannon attached to his forearm was primed, he limped towards the gathered beings, making sure to keep the noticeably shady Ba-Toa archer at a closer distance than he could effectively use his bow.

"Everything alright here?" he asked.

OOC: Kalen, Trava, Yenroot, etc

IC: Trava (Crowded Campground)

Trava twisted around where she stood to regard the newcomer. A beaten and battered looking Skakdi, looked like he'd been through Karzahni itself. The way he moved, his position in relation to the only threatening character on the scene, it labelled him as a survivor, as kin.

"The chances that we're all going to keep on living at least a little longer is pretty high, that much I can say" she answered.

IC: Yenroot

 "Name's Yenroot."

 He didn't glance up, but kept his eyes on the grass in front of him. His face was covered by his hat, that began drooping downwards.

IC Flabbergaster

Following close behind, and remembering to sheathe his knife, Flabbergaster folded his arms and glared slightly at Yenroot before reverting his attention to Trava.

IC:

 

I smirked up at her, before quickly returning my gaze forward after nearly stumbling on a piece of fallen tree that jumped out in front of me.  Yes.

 

"Ever been to the temple before?" I asked, moving some vegetation out of my way with the help of some elemental power, seeing as my hands were occupied.

IC: 

Savina shook her head. "Nope, I've seen it before. I've always wanted to though, so I figured now was a good time as any!" She looked down at Tehlin's head.

"Have you ever been there?"

IC:

My eyes glint, shifting from Yenroot to Staff Boy to Cannon Vet to Other Strange Person and back again. Interesting characters all of them, as characters who frequent remote and dangerous jungle temples tend to be. I itemize and categorize, pinning Cannon Vet as the priority item of immediate concern if things inexplicably head south. Other Strange Person pulls a close second. I don't recognize his species, making him a troubling unknown.
 
I also flick a quick glance at Trava, just in case she's trying to tell me something. And apparently she isn't. Not that there'd be much to say anyhow... tense little standoffs like this happen all the time among people like us. Us, meaning presumably everybody present except (maybe?) Staff Boy.

It's our type's way of getting acquainted, like. And me, I just give a restrained sort of smile and an amiable nod of the head. Real courteous. Like a courtly bow, only I don't have to take my eyes off'n anyone I don't know, ha ha.

"Good evening, everyone. To answer your question, Toa-of-Iron-with-the-staff, count my vote as a definite one for peace if possible. To your question, O Skakdi-with-the-cannon-arm, well, there seem to be no real hostile intentions from any quarter. Merely... mutual precautions. You understand, of course."

A sudden crackle of electric humor dances in my gaze, and my smile deepens ever-so-slightly.

IC: Yenroot

 Mutual precautions, sure. That's what Yenroot was up to, but what was the Guy Behind Him doing? He just came out of the bushes...like he had been expecting somebody? Watching? Unless the entire camp was a trap and Yenroot had fallen for it, but the sudden appearance of everybody else ruined it. "Huh."

 Play along, play it safe, but keep an eye out. Something's strange here. Yenroot lifted his head slightly. "May I stand....?"

IC: Yenroot

 

Yenroot lifted his head slightly. "May I stand....?"

IC:

"If you'd find it restful, go ahead."

IC: Yenroot

Yenroot rose to his feet slowly, hands raised. He left his bow on the ground, but nudged his foot up against it. Just some insurance.

IC: Trava (Crowded Campground)

Time to play the good host, apparently. Trava shifted around to a more neutral stance, and regarded each of the strangers in turn.

"So, what brings everyone out here for?"

IC: Yenroot

Yenroot raised his head to eye Trava. "I could ask the same thing....What are you doing out here, setting camp?"

IC: Trava (Crowded Campground)

"I'll defer to my business partner on that" Trava replied, "it's mostly his project, I'm just lending a hand"

Anyone who thought they knew Trava, but actually didn't (either category could effectively count as a threatened species) might be surprised at the diplomatic tone of Trava's answer. It was one of those things she'd picked up from watching her dad that she did use on occassion. She couldn't talk her way out of a jam like she'd seen him do, but she'd piced up some pointers over the years.

IC (Kalen):

"Got fired," I replied to Trava, shrugging. "Nothing much else to do but walk around and find something interesting to do on the island. I was getting tired of Onu-Koro anyhow." Not to say that I found almost getting into the middle of a fight to be particularly enjoyable compared to living safely in Onu-Koro, but you know...it was still interesting at least. And 'interesting' was more my goal than 'enjoyable.' If I wanted enjoyable I'd go to Ga-Koro.

"So, Trava, Yenroot, and then the other two of you who have yet to say your names yet, nice to meet you, I suppose. My name's Kalen, by the way."

IC:

"Never seen the dusty old pile of rocks, well, not in person," I replied, "Which means it'll be fun for the both of us, yeah?"

IC Flabbergaster

"A pleasure." He finally spoke.

Karz what do i do now

IC: 

"Of course! How could it not be fun? We're both here!" 

IC:

"I've been called 'Hammerlock' more often than not," I say with a slight shrug, "and it's as good a name as any, I suppose. I trust I have brought it no dishonor through the years."

I pause, as if in thought, then add, "I'm here to hunt Rahkshi. Their metallic components-- carapace fragments and the like-- are fetching a premium back in Onu-Koro. Trava was kind enough to join me; although truth be told, she being by far the more intelligent of us two, I rather suspect her true intentions primarily involve inheriting my equipment if I meet... ah, shall we say, a premature demise."

Skip a beat, glance about, and grin like a... something. A Hammerlock, I guess. Which is right up there with 'self-made apex predator' and 'gentleman, but man first and gentle second' and that sort of thing.

"...And now don't the rest of you start getting ideas. I'll have you know, my iStone is specifically engineered to self-destruct if I should perish!"

IC: Trava (Crowded Campground)

"I'm flattered by your estimation of my abilities"

IC Flabbergaster

What's an Istone?

"Used to have a home up on the mountain in Ko," He said. "Until those bloody Makuta clods tore it apart."

IC: Trava (Crowded Campground)

 

"I'm flattered by your estimation of my abilities"

IC:

Actually I meant the Rahkshi would kill me and Trava would merely be on hand to loot my shredded corpse. Not, like, Trava offs me and loots my (probably poisoned) corpse.

But if she wants to take it as a tongue-in-cheek compliment (which it is, of course, but not in the way I suspect she thinks it was, or maybe the way she's pretending she thinks it was), that's fine with me. I try to avoid saying things that can't be interpreted several different ways.

On the other hand, maybe I don't. Maybe I always mean what I say. Or maybe YOU'LL NEVER KNOW THE TRUTH, ha ha ha!

...

Talk is cheap. I wink at Trava and refocus my attention on Strange Other Person who still hasn't mentioned his name. Or nickname. Or whatever.

"I'm sorry to hear that. 'Makuta clods', you say? I'd heard they'd invaded and occupied Ko-Koro..."

IC Flabbergaster

"I don't think it was because of the view." He snorted. "They probably want the whole island to themselves."