On the Prowl

1. Puppies & Kittens

Nose turned up in the air, Nashoba sniffed for a significant scent. He wanted to be able to find the trail and chase it to the source. When he smelled something bitter and pungent he snarled, throwing his head back to howl. Before he could even consider tracking the source on his own, Mingan and Raff were right by his side.

"It smells...odd. Maybe it's some other animal," Mingan suggested, sniffing at the air of his own accord. He's a tall and lean man with long and shiny black hair that he keeps in a band in the middle of his back. He's dressed in tattered shorts, shirtless, feet bare. His eyes are the color of coal and inquisitive like a computer.

"Who cares what it is. Regardless, this is our territory and someone killed one of ours on it. I say we go after it and end it, whatever it is," Raff protested, his light brown eyes gleaming with a challenge. Raff is shorter than Mingan and Nashoba, but a greater fighter. His muscles bunch up perfectly in all the right places and he's always ready for a fight, nothing pleases him more. His black hair sways to his shoulders.

"Now, I'm all here for revenge and all, but Lisho was probably asking for it." Mingan snorted and Nashoba's lip twitched with a smile. "Regardless, if he got killed by some tiger, it's on him. But, I'd like to know what threat is out here. I'd hate for this to become a regular thing." His eyes squinted in consternation.

"I'm still going to kill whatever it is." Raff shrugged, eyes searching through the trees.

Nashoba rolled his eyes. The forest is where they lived, him and his people, the wolves. Yet, they only lived and hunted in the entrance and outer rims of the forest. Deeper in the forest lies something else, something more feral and terrifying and Nashoba deemed to never find out by staying on his side of the forest. But whatever is deeper in the forest came out to play and now he must venture in.

"I could just do this alone," he offered.

"No, Shoba, we are with you," Mingan said, voice firm. There is no changing his mind once it's made.

"You can't leave me behind, Shoba," Raff said.

With a sigh, Nashoba nodded, heading into the forest. "Stay alert." He shut down every part of his body except for his animalistic senses, and trudged forward. So far the scent is strong but faint as if someone moves quite fast through this part of the forest. Good thing he chose the daytime to partake in this task because at night, he would hate to be somewhere unfamiliar. Although it might have been better at night for wolves have superior night vision.

Lisho always leaves behind messes. Either he sleeps with two sisters within the camp of wolves or he's dead because of some feud with whatever lives deeper in the forest. And despite how it's rude to be glad someone is dead, Nashoba is elated because now this is the last time he'll ever have to clean up behind Lisho again. Muttering beneath his breath, Nashoba stopped when the scent grew strongest. Raff and Mingan stopped as well.

"What could it be?" Nashoba whispered, flustered. It's sour and strong, burning his nostrils. He cocked his head to the side, looking around. The smell doesn't come from the air on the sides of him, it comes from the air...above...him... Weary, Nashoba looked up to find three women resting on limbs of trees.

Nashoba, Raff, and Mingan all stole a quick glance of surprise at one another before looking back up. "Would it be too much to ask for you to come down from there?" he asked, a little amused.

One of the women threw back her head and cackled so loud that it stirred the air and then she said, "Would it kill you to go back to the part of the forest where you belong, dog?" Her voice is breathy and scratchy, a little more of a hiss than an actual vocal pattern.