Open - I'm Hunting Wabbits!

If any players were to wander down to the plains bordering the Maithe Woodlands on this particular day, they would bear witness to a most idyllic pastoral scene; an ocean of green swaying stalks bristling in the wind, dotted through with rainbow patches of wildflowers and the occasional little dent in the ground that marked the beginning of a rabbit warren.

Unfortunately, whoever was overlooking this beautiful scene would be rudely interrupted in their admiration of nature’s beauty by the sounds of scuffling feet rushing urgently through the grass and the petulant shouting of a very frustrated Faerin waving around a very large and knobbly stick. It was obvious that he wasn't even slightly proficient in using bludgeoning weapons; his wielding stance and swings were a disgrace to the entire art of bludgeon-wielding.

“OI! COME BACK HERE! I JUST...NEED TO...WHACK YOU DEAD!”

With a resounding dull *chonk*, the stick would rise and slam down into the grass, aimed at something very small and very fast that only the wielder of the stick seemed to have seen. Raising the stick over his head again with some difficulty, a clod of dirt following the head of the makeshift club out of the ground, it was clear that the little tinkerer Faerin hadn’t even come close to hitting his target.

“No…! STOP RUNNING!”

Well, this was certainly a very interesting sight. There was bound to be at least some context to this bizarre Faerin’s stick-waving and ground-pounding, though obviously none would be given until someone asked him.

 

Was this where he had first appeared? No it had to be upon the opposite of the Maithe Woodlands, but his curious mind had gotten the better of him. He had gotten bored and had gone off of the path that trailed through the woodlands, that would be how he had gotten here. It was similar to the place he had appeared, and if not for some of the various differences one might mistake it for the same place. Though this was a mistake that he would never make. He had just strolled out of the Maithe Woodlands. If there was a civilization nearby well he had yet to find it. To him it didn't matter if he found it at the moment, he could survive within the wilderness.

This place was nothing if a rather interesting playground for him. Should he find any other person within the landscape he would try to analyze them and see if they were useful or not. He couldn't do much in means of true self-defense, but he was managing with his stick. He had picked up said stick much deeper within the woodlands and it had stayed within his hand throughout the journey. Wasn't the say something about 'it was better to be prepared than to not be.' Honestly he was growing bored again and was looking about the landscape with crimson eyes in hope to find a new toy to play with. That was when he saw him. He could clearly tell the figure was male just by the way the other was waving around a very large stick. Well if that wasn't a big indicator so was the shouting from the guy.

He allowed himself to keep to the shadows provided by said woods. He was analyzing before making his presence known. It would be better this way, though just jumping into the situation without seeing what was going on... well that could be interesting. Though this could be an overall interesting one. It might actually be fun to play with this one, and hey this one had a stick too. His crimson eyes would watching slightly with interest as the stick would rise and be slammed down into the grass. Was the guy trying to whack a rabbit or perhaps a mole? It was small and fast and the guy had no chance in actually hitting it. Though the guy was determined to hit the thing all the same.

He showed himself slightly. "You know yelling at it won't make it actually allow you to hit it." He approached the other, his tone and movements showed his curiosity and slight interest in this man. He wasn't of the same race as he was, he was much shorter than his own much taller and leaner frame. Even the other's own ears were a smaller version of his own. He spun his own stick within his own hand. "Things usually are easier to hit if one sneaks up upon them." Look at him giving this other advice. He might as well play nice. A smile was on his lips, he seemed friendly enough on the outside at least. Would this person prove to be worth his time at all?

 

The dark haired Yladian stood perched on the branch of one of the last trees on the edge of the Maithe Woodlands. So far her time in this land had been quite interesting. It didn't matter that it was a game when things seemed so real. She had met one other person, so far, and, though he had proven to be a bit of an arrogant hack, she had enjoyed his company. That was a story for different times, though. The truth of the matter was, though he had walked off as if to leave her, after their encounter with a rather odd creature, she had opted to follow him, rather than continuing on completely alone. It wasn't that she was afraid to do so, either. She was simply curious to see how he might handle himself if certain situations arose and he was alone.

She had waited long enough for him to not be able to see her and had jumped back up into the branches of the trees she had originally spawned in. Using the width and length of the trees' branches as bridges to make her way through the forest, as she had followed along behind him, she had made it this far. Her steps had been mostly silent, though there was the occasional rustle of leaves. However, when this happened, she had simply stopped, leaning herself back behind the leaves of the trees and against the trunk. The colors of her form and clothing blended in with the natural surroundings, and insomuch as she could tell, at this time, he hadn't, yet, noticed her. To be honest she didn't care if he had.

She was simply enjoying the time to learn a bit more about the game and to observe the male as he faced what he found. As she had stopped to lean against the trunk of the last tree, she kept her feet firmly placed on the branch beneath her, her mossy-toned hues scanning out over the field before her. The grassy plains-like area was beautiful, to say the least, and it took her a moment to register the sound of the male voice she heard shouting out through the breeze that moved the tall grasses. She could see something bending and twisting the grass in front of the small male as he ran through the meadow, the club-like thing he was using as some sort of blunt weapon pounding the ground.

The tall grass kept her from seeing what that something was. It was an interesting scene to behold, though. That much she had to be honest about, especially since the Yladian male she had met before seemed to be heading out to meet him. Wondering what, exactly, it was that had this new male so preoccupied; what it was he was trying to kill, she watched the two for a moment, barely hearing the exchange of words between them. Her eyes occasionally darted from the two males to the grasses around them, and she gave a wide grin as she noticed one particular spot of bending grasses. It was much closer to the two, but she couldn't, yet, tell what it was the smaller male was after.

“Well, Lorelei, standing around won't help you find out, either.” She thought to herself. Giving a smirk, she jumped from the tree branch, somersaulting to the ground below, before making her way towards the two. She said nothing until she reached close enough that she knew they would hear, though she stayed far enough away that the Yladian male wouldn't be able to reach her with his damned stick. She did, however, turn to the silver-haired Yladian and give him a wide, almost wicked grin, before turning back to the other male, to speak.

“I'd be careful. It seems even the smallest of creatures can be quite aggressive here.” She said, purposely commenting as to the experience she and the Yladian male had in the woods prior. Her eyes, however, stayed on this new male, the smaller one. He had pointed ears, much like her own, but smaller, and he was quite a bit shorter. She didn't believe him to be of the same race as herself and the Yladian male. “Who and what are you, anyway?” She continued to speak, as she tilted her head at him curiously before she heard the rustle of the grass near them, and she turned her head to see what it was he might have been chasing through the grasses.

 

"Whozat?!"

Looking up from the ground, startled by the sudden inputs of two voices in his surroundings, Daedalus almost dropped his stick as @Camus Varic arrived unseen. He had been so immersed in his hunting with his own panting and the sound of blood rushing through his ears, blocking out all other noise, that he hadn't even heard the swishing of the plains grass parting as the tall man approached, spinning a stick in his hand.

Frowning at the new arrival, Daedalus gave up on whatever he was chasing, seeing as his lapse in attention had given it time to escape. He leaned on his makeshift bludgeon and breathed heavily for a few seconds before responding. It was easy to deduce that he was slightly miffed by the newcomer causing him to lose focus.

"What, so you've tried sneaking up behind a rabbit? These buggers...you think you're hidden, you think you're slick, then they just run off like...like that! Bloody things got super senses or something!"

Shaking an angry fist at the furrow of grass quickly moving away from the two men, Daedalus confirmed Camus' guess of target; it had been a nimble brown rabbit he was trying to hit, though evidently not anymore. Nevertheless, the serene smile on the Yladian's face did help with his stormy mood. Looking Camus over, Daedalus hazarded that he was probably at around the same level of experience as the lanky man.

"Name's Daedalus. Been trying to get some experience hunting stuff around here that won't one-shot me. What're you doing around here?"

Before he could get an answer though, another Yladian, a woman this time, had leaped out of a nearby tree and casually greeted the conversing men with a vague warning, then a question as to Daedalus' nature.

"Oh, hey. Didn't know there were this many of you out here. I'm a Faerin, and I'm assuming you're Yladians. We're kinda like twice-removed cousins, then."

A rustle of grass turned Daedalus' head, and he immediately raised the stick again and smashed it down hard on a patch of grass dangerously close to @Lorelei Varic's feet.

"NO YA DON'T, BLOODY RABBIT!"

 

Smiling always made everything better, it made the other not realize anything was going on. That had been his first mistake when he had first spawn, he hadn't quite gotten his mask into place just yet. He couldn't give a smile and keep it, so he had allowed one person to see how he was truly like. Though she had been surprising to him all the same. Now this new person he had stumbled across seemed like he could provide something. Half of him even wanted to help him in catching the rabbit for him. Didn't the saying go that if one did something good that the other person would own them a favour.

The other was asking if he had tried sneaking up behind a rabbit. He couldn't help but let out a soft airy chuckle at the other's males small rant upon the little fuzzy beasties. He was comical to say the least, it would help to ease his boredom just watching him try to get one bloody rabbit. Honestly, how hard was it to catch a rabbit? He had opened his mouth to reply, but there she was again. His crimson eyes didn't have to take her in to realize the change in the air around him when she had landed from her perch in the trees. To say he didn't realize he was being followed would be a lie, but he wanted to know why Lollie would follow him like this.

There she went warning Daedalus about the smallest of creatures being quite aggressive. He slightly rolled his eyes at than she was so direct in asking the other what he was. Well that was one way to get straight to the point in things. This game was becoming much more interesting now that they had truly embarked upon their little journey-- even if it hadn't taken them far just yet. "Interesting, twice-removed cousins. Ya don't say." So this games races seemed to be somewhat related somehow, he wondered what others races existed out there. Soon enough he would find them, rather or not anyone else was with him or not. A Faerin, he kept that name in his mind, it would more than likely come in handy later on.

Then Daedalus was at it again raising his stick and smashing it down hard upon the patch of grass close to Lorelei's feet. "The lil beasties aren't that hard to catch after all. Lollie and I actually encountered one on our way here. I'm not sure if they are the same type, but if ya think this rabbit is fun than you should have tried encountering the one that I did!" His voice was rising with slight excitement as he prepared to slightly retell the exciting tale. "As Lollie said , the beasties here will actually become agresssive even the prey type ones like rabbits. Who knows if this little bloody rabbit is normal or like the black rabbit that was out for blood." He had to hide his smirk at that, he was proud of the bloody thing being the way it was.

"Though where are my manners, name's Camus. As for what I'm doing here, just happened to be passing by. Couldn't help, but come and check things out when I heard your yelling. Glad I did." He seemed to give a graceful bow before the other "would you like some help, Dae?" There he went again, giving people nicknames was becoming his thing. Except Dae wasn't actually that bad of a nickname, there was so much worse he could have given the Faerin, but he actually seemed to be behaving compared to what he had done when he had first spawned.

His eyes soon landed on Lorelei for the first time. "What you couldn't get enough of me?" It was such a small but snide remark from him to her. It seemed like there were two different sides of him, and the small remark had been so sudden and that side was gone almost instantly. "I could help ya with hunting the bloody thing. Though I must ask, what will ya do once ya actually catch the thing? I mean I caught mine and waved it around a little" he didn't seem to lie about that part at least.

 

She stood there, her elongated, pointed ears twitching some as she listened to the smaller being speak. He had seemed a bit startled when he'd first realized he wasn't alone, but so far, he definitely didn't seem shy. A Faerin he had said? She quickly brought her left hand up, clenching and opening. Her palm menu popped up, easily, and she tilted her head some, as she studied the information that popped up on her screen, as she moved her right index finger to locate the section on the Faerin race. It seemed he was being truthful with his information and that, also, the Faerin were a race of few, much like her and Camus' Yladian race.

Taking a moment to finally equip the items she had from her inventory: A few pieces of armor, a short sword, and a dagger, before closing her palm menu once more, she tilted her head at the smaller male as he somewhat grumpily complained at the rabbits in the field. His explanation of how hard it was to actually sneak up on them brought a slight grin to her lips, a light chuckle passing through them as she looked the smaller male over. “Ah, he's right, it isn't so hard to do if you set yourself up right or just happen to get lucky. There's some skill to it, though. Perhaps we can help ya out some. The name's Lorelei, by the way.” She said as she watched male move to slam his make-shift club down near her feet.

She didn't move as his weapon thudded against the ground beside her and her eyes turned to look at Camus, raising a brow. She had heard his words as well and she actually thought a moment before responding to the arrogant way he spoke to her. “I just thought it would be nice if you had a little backup, should you run into anything truly dangerous.” She said, giving the other Yladian a grin. The gesture didn't quite reach her eyes, though and she turned back to look at Daedalus, rather quickly, tilting her head as she did.

“So are you after the rabbits simply for training purposes, or is there more to it? What skills do you have to train?” She asked the smaller male, as she turned back to him. She honestly had no qualms with helping him, but she didn't want to overstep his own bounds, as this seemed to be a mission that he had planned for himself, and she could thoroughly understand the sentiment of him wanting to train and better himself. It was sort of a requirement when around any corner could be any number of creature or even person waiting to attack. One certainly needed to be sure to be amply prepared.

Turning back to Camus she smirked as she heard his words, genuine humor showing in her eyes as she let out a small chuckle. “Waved it around a little?” She asked him, as she shook her head. “Is that what you call it?” She hadn't forgotten the way he had taunted her with the voracious little beast. “You know, I never asked you about your skills either? Want to share?” Her momentary spot of humor seemed to wan quickly, as she spoke. Her eyes scanned the grasses around them. She could see, here and there, spots where the grasses moved and bent, as well as she could hear, yes hear, the patter of the small feet against the ground. It was something she had begun to notice a little at a time in her short time in the game. Certain ones of her senses seemed to be heightening. It most likely had to do with her character's makeup.

She didn't dwell on her thoughts for long, though, as she began to take more notice of the movements around them. It was as if her mind was automatically picking up on the differences in sounds and movements around them, calculating distances for each one. She could tell if it was the wind moving the grass or something walking through it. She could even sense things behind her. Though she could tell there was a limit to her senses' range at this point, it was enough. Looking back at the two males, she raised a brow at them both, giving a sort of crooked smirk, before she pushed her legs against the ground and propelled herself up into the air and over the smaller male.

As she came down onto the ground on Daedalus' other side, her body landed in a sort of crouch. Her movements hadn't exactly been as graceful as she would have liked. It was obvious that she needed some bit more of training, but they hadn't exactly been clumsy, either, and she had managed to not kick him or even Camus in the process. What was more, as she stood from her position and turned back to the two, her right arm was held outstretched. It wasn't a rabbit she held in her clutched fist, though. No, dangling from her hand and slowly wrapping it's elongated body up and towards her arm was a snake; its neck area firmly held within her closed hand. “See, you never know what may be lurking nearby.” She said as she looked at them both.

 

Daedalus wiped his brow and grunted in resignation, having missed again. The rabbit was definitely doing this to mock him now, he knew it then and there. Then, the Yladian man piped up, spinning a short anecdote and telling him about a recent enemy encounter he had faced. Leaning on his stick for a rest again, Daedalus nodded, listening.

"An...aggressive...black rabbit? Out for blood?"

Daedalus shivered a little as he noted @Camus Varic's words, realizing again that nearly nothing in this world was really harmless, even in Brisshals. Prey animals, even rabbits, hostile?! What was happening to this place that was making it so dangerous?

"God...a starting area like this one...pretty hardcore, huh."

Biting his thumb, he shook his head and sighed, once again remembering how he had spawned into Terrasphere and once again marveling at how that had been lucky for a new player like him. And even so, he had needed Noah to bail him out...

"Nice to meetcha, Camus...help would be good too. I was planning on..."

He trailed off a little as Camus and @Lorelei Varic began bantering, and started up again after Camus addressed him again.

"Uh, yeah, I was planning on skinning them, then selling the pelts and meat off in one of the towns, or make some soup or something. I'm not so good at cooking though...hey, are you-"

He didn't get to finish posing his question to Lorelei, who looked suddenly incredibly on edge. Was that some kind of skill or mastery he didn't know about, or...? Then, the Yladian woman was jumping over him, causing Daedalus to yelp and reflexively duck, dropping to a squat as she landed behind him in a rather well-executed acrobatic leap.

"Oi, what's the big idea? You could have landed on me, and then...oh. Woah."

His jaw hung open a little as he spotted at last what she was holding up. That was a snake, alright, and it had been mere feet away from sinking its fangs into their ankles. The stick he was holding almost slipped from his grip before he fumbled with it a bit and then raised it defensively at the scaled creature.

"Jeez, that was close...what do we do with this thing now?"

 

Share, why would he want to share anything with his stalker. Yes, Lollie the Stalker. "Like you actually care. As if I would need backup from you. Dangerous-- I'd get along just fine." So maybe this would work out for the better. She had followed him, he hadn't done any manipulating to her and she had followed him. She called it backup, he called it obsession. Yes, Lollie was obsessed with him. He didn't blame her at all, but oh was she going to be in for a surprise.

He smirked "yes I would call it a little" he stated as his crimson eyes would focus back on the Daedalus. Seems like the Faerin didn't have any trouble with being called Dae. Sometimes he did it to be arrogant, but sometimes he just did it out of habit. Daedalus was actually was easy enough to remember, than again so was Lorelei. Lollie was just fun to call her because she was so whatever she was about it. Though she had gave him a dreadful name of his own and he hated it, he would pay her back for that of course.

"It is hardcore, but it is to be expected. Any animal can be changed-- it is the whole natural selection bit. The weak die off and the strong win. Mutations are sure to be done as the race continues to be hunted more and more. Plus we have to have some excitement no matter what we might face." He was listening to Daedalus' plans on what to do with the rabbit. It was a smart idea, if one couldn't cook-- it would be easier to skin the things and sell them for gold so one could eat.

He had started to ask a question of rather or not they were good at cooking. Cue Lollie jumping into the air in an acrobatic leap. He had heard something, his ears slightly twitching-- but he had done nothing himself. Could he cook? Well it wasn't like he had the cooking vocation, but he could get by with what he had. Skills were just that and vocations or not-- one could actually gain them through doing things. In the world outside of the game he knew how to fend for himself-- so why not be able to here.

The game was meant to work like that, wasn't it? One was suppose to adapt and grow through journeys. So cooking of some kind was needed, especially if you were a type who preferred to go about things solo like. Complaining about being landed on-- he was still and didn't care to move. If she fell, she fell. He would let her fall on the ground, but she had gotten slightly better, though her landing was off some. He watched her as she held up a snake as if to prove her point about never knowing what might be lurking nearby.

"I give your landing a solid seven at most. As for the creature, yes we get it. Things are out to get us at every turn" he stated. He wasn't afraid of the snake and it showed by him walking forward some. "Dae, you have a good idea about what you wish to do with the rabbits. I don't see why I can't help you. Catch one for you so you see how to go about it even." Would the other be able to actually do it the same way he did, but it was worth a try to see. It wasn't in his nature to help others, people were people. Though it was something about Daedalus that he couldn't help but want to see what would come out of it.

"I wouldn't say I have the vocation for it at all by any means, but I can get around. It isn't like I do poison cooking or anything." Poison cooking that could be worth something if he ever wanted to dispose of someone. He kept the thoughts to himself. He went and actually petted the snakes head. He was mindful of course so that the thing didn't bit him. His crimson eyes looking at it "she doesn't like being manhandled by you" he said as if he could hear the snake's thoughts.

"Isn't that right girl. Mean Lollie is manhandling you." There he went again with his talking to the beasties. His crimson eyes went to look at Lorelei. "Also since you asked I might as well humour you. Slash, Incognito and Beast Taming-- those are my masteries." Daedalus had asked what they were going to do with the snake. "I'll take her" not a beat lost he was holding out his hand. A small hum leaving his lips , it was different than his normal melody. This one was a part kind of hum that was more from the throat than a typical hum.

 

She watched as Dadelus moved his club as if to defend himself against the serpent she held in her hand. Her right brow rose as if she were puzzling over the smaller male's reaction. It wasn't like the thing was big enough to actually do any harm. The way it was coiling around her arm and the round shape of its eyes sort of showed that it was harmless, to an extent; not poisonous anyway, at least if the snakes here went according to any real-world standard. “I think it was more after the rabbits than after any of us.” She said as she watched the snake wrapping its long, scaly body around her arm.

Camus' words cut into her own as usual, the man was about as rude as they came, but she was honestly starting to get used to it. At the very least, his tone didn't seem to bother her so much, though that might have something to do with the fact that she had already once proven to him that she wasn't afraid to deck him, if he pushed her far enough, either. “A seven from you would be a nine from anyone else, so I'll take it.” She said as she took a step back from Camus, releasing her hold on the snake as he reached to pat the thing's head. Allowing it to curl its way up her arm, she opened her palm menu and opened the copy of the player guide there. Scanning the bestiary for the local area, she closed her palm menu and tilted her head at the two males.

Camus was offering to help Daedalus and she almost snorted out loud at the thought. Maybe that was why she had followed the pompous male. Perhaps, with what she knew of him, she was simply curious to see how he might be with others. There had been the one girl, that pink-haired one, but hell, she had apparently gotten lost somewhere along the way out of the woods. She should probably go back to look for her, but it was what it was. Maybe she had gone off on purpose. A lot of people probably did. Training herself up was something she planned to do herself, and standing around here wasn't going to do it, either.

Hearing the males speak of cooking, she smirked, slightly. She couldn't really imagine Camus doing anything of the sort, especially over an open fire or something of the like, rather than with a toaster, stove, or microwave. This world wasn't what they were used to, but it seemed, in a lot of ways, people didn't understand that. If anything it was a place built more like King Arthur's realm. Maybe that was the draw for it, for her. Maybe she secretly wanted that fairy tale type story. No, if anything, she wanted to be a knight. That had always been her draw for such things. She had never cared much for the girls in the stories, all helpless and such. It disgusted her, but there deeper reasons for that, and no one here needed to know them.

Breaking herself out of her thoughts as she heard Camus speaking once more, she shook her head, as she looked at the snake coiled around her arm, its head rested against the back of her hand and she raised a brow at the male. “She looks pretty content to me.” She said as she shook her head at him and rolled her eyes. 'Manhandling'? She most certainly was not. And then he was answering her of his masteries. He had chosen well, near as she could tell, and it explained a few things, like their encounter with the dire rabbit and the way he had been.

Hearing Camus speak of taking the snake, she simply held her arm out towards him, the snake coiled around it, still. She wasn't really going to have a use for the thing herself, and hell she figured, with his choice of skills, he would be a better choice than just tossing it aside or needlessly killing it. Looking back at Daedelus, she gave him a wide smile as she waited for Camus to take the snake. “I suppose I'll leave you fellas to it, then.” She said, waiting for the snake to be transferred before she turned to head on across the field.

Camus could handle a few rabbits for sure and it wasn't exactly a welcome she'd felt when she'd arrived. The two should be fine, as long as they were careful. She just hoped they wouldn't run into anything bigger and things wouldn't turn out too roughly for the little Faerin. She, herself, well, it remained to be seen what would happen for her, and that was part of the adventure.

 

"Mhm...I s'pose you're right. Damn...Terrasphere's AI is this advanced...?"

Musing aloud as he considered @Camus Varic's explanation of evolution, he wondered just how complex a game's systems had to be for it to be able to enforce a fully functioning evolutionary system for every animal, predator and prey. Not to mention the NPCs and environments, and other unseen interactions...

"Oh, huh...maybe I'm just paranoid. There are a lot of rabbits around here, makes sense for there to be snakes. And I'd say that's an...eight, I'll give you that. Acrobat mastery, I presume?"

Lowering the stick slowly as @Lorelei Varic reassured him that the captured snake was harmless to them, Daedalus leaned on it again, nodding appreciatively with a grateful smile as Camus agreed to help him with his hunting.

"Nice! I look forwards to working with you, Camus! How's a fifty-fifty split sound after we're done? And don't worry about cooking; I'm on good terms with a local innkeeper, I'm sure he'd cook us up something nice if I called in a favor."

He waited for a response as the two Yladians bantered with each other with the snake as the subject of their conversation, recoiling a bit unconsciously as Camus reached out and actually petted the snake. As Lorelei turned to leave after passing the snake over, Daedalus called out to her across the field.

"Leaving so soon? I'm sure there's enough rabbits here for three of us! Three trappers are better than two, or something..."

 

Paranoid, it wasn't something that he would allow himself to ever feel here. He was content here. The landscape and the beasties didn't bother him nor did the actual thought of death. Death was a funny subject, something so small could actually cause someone's death-- here or in the real world. He had become twisted, that much was for sure, and he thought that death would be an adventure. Though it wasn't like hunting a bunch of rabbits or even coming across a few snakes would be anything worthy of a death.

Though he did understand that everyone wasn't like him, how could they be. There was only one of him and just because everyone wanted to be like him (cause he was so awesome) didn't mean that they ever would be. He could imagine it now, this whole world being molded in his image. He could make something here, just because as the player his life wasn't ideal-- here it could be anything he wanted of it. Here sure some quirks showed, but other than that he had molded this character into what he wanted.

A fifty-fifty split that would work. He could press for more from the little Faerin, but he wouldn't push his luck just yet. He hadn't even seen all that the other could do, but if he could get him now and mold him-- he would be a great person to have to call. Who needed their own race, so far he had met two of them and he wanted to have them both die. One had ended up lost and the other was here after following him the whole time. He was sure all Yladians and he would probably share opposite views. His mind was a mess to say the least.

He didn't reply to Daedalus just yet, instead he was focus on the snake. He had to wonder if this little snakie would turn into a dire beast or if it was actually just a normal snake. Maybe it was a baby, that could be something. It was a small snake, going by the real world as a guide-- it didn't hold a deadly venom. Though if it was a baby, maybe this world worked differently and the snake would have a bite to it after all. He was shocked when Lorelei didn't argue with him about the snake and actually gave him the small snake.

He held out his hand so she could coil around it. Maybe saying what his masteries were had something to do with it. No, it wasn't that. It was because she believe he was so amazing and had to bend to his will. That was it! She went to coil up his him arm and instead of just staying upon his hand or arm, she went up. She was so tiny, she had to be a baby. She coiled around his neck, making sure not to apply pressure and when she was situated her little tongue would dart out to kiss his cheek. This was the first time he had smiled what would amount to a normal smile.

Lorelei was leaving, but it didn't seem like Daedalus actually wanted it. He sighed "why ya leaving, don't tell me you got tired already, Lollie. I thought you would want to be part of the action. You seemed to enjoyed being around me so much before . Don't tell me your like one of the girls who gets shy because she gave the guy she loves a present and then just runs away because she can't bare the embarrassment." He smirked , an almost cackling type chuckle leaving his lips . "So stay unless you want to be a coward and run away."

He didn't care if she bunched him again, he would pay her back for it later on. He didn't know why he wanted to keep the annoying stalker around, or why he was so happily helping another-- but hell even he couldn't be a bad guy all the time. Was he a villain? Some might think of him as, but if he had to associate himself with anyone well it would probably be Captain Hook. He wasn't truly bad but misunderstood and everyone decided to go against him. Okay so maybe he wasn't like the Captain Hook that everyone thought of. Well his head didn't work like everyone else's. He was better than Captain Hook , he was the awesome and brilliant Camus. Everyone wanted to be him, to be around him.

He was smiling by the time his thoughts had come to a halt. His hand had gone up to touch the snake's head. "Isn't that right, Persephone." She made a hissing that seemed to be agreeing but rather it was his internal thoughts or his words to Lorelei, it wasn't clear -- not that anyone could hear his internal thoughts. He changed gears, looking at Daedalus. "Fifty fifty sound good enough for me, though if she stays it can't be fifty fifty at all, not truly.So maybe the little fangirl should leave. Let the guys hunt for rabbits." This was not the first time he had showed he wasn't exactly one for believing in gender equality.

 

She nodded as she heard Daedalus question Terrasphere's AI advancement, watching as the snake moved from her arm to coil and slither its way along Camus' arm and up to his neck. As the thing curled around him, she couldn't help but give a small smile. The gesture did nothing to light those darkened, serious, mossy-toned hues of hers, but she couldn't deny the fact that seeing something so genuinely 'empathetic' in his nature was intriguing, even part of her did wish the small thing would squeeze the air from him. It would serve him right for the way he kept treating her. She pushed the thoughts away, though, as she had turned to leave, making it a few yards from the two males, before hearing Daedelus call out to her.

She stopped in her tracks as she turned to face the two, her lips moving as if to respond to the smaller male, though she stopped her words as she heard Camus pipe up as well. His words might almost have seemed genuine, if not for the way he began to tease her. 'Like one of the girls who gets shy because she gave the guy she loves a present'....Stay unless you want to be a coward'...It was a pity the character had been made with silver hair and not a silver tongue. His mouth sure as hell screwed up the surprisingly good looks his player had created. What was even more so sad about it was the fact that she had seen enough already to know that he wouldn't be so hard to be around, if he could just let go of that ego of his.

Her eyes gave a slight roll and her head turned to look towards Daedalus as she chose to ignore Camus' obvious jabs at her. The arrogant male knew her well enough in this short time to know that a coward was far from what she was. “If you'd truly like me to, Daedalus, I will stay.” She said, lifting her voice just enough to be sure they heard her, as her eyes darted around the overgrown area of the field. She still wasn't convinced there wouldn't be something worse than rabbits or small snakes to come moving through the grass around them. She couldn't help the feeling. It hadn't left her mind since she'd stepped from the trees to head across the more open area. She didn't trust the fact that they were all so exposed and the strength of the feeling had her ears flicking every so often, as it was.

Turning back to Camus, she narrowed her eyes, slightly, as she looked the silver-haired Yladian male over. He was speaking with the snake as if the creature were a friend, and she could almost swear it seemed like the thing actually moved to answer him. She showed no surprise to it. It should be expected, she supposed, seeing as he had taken beast taming. She still couldn't figure out how someone with such an affinity for animals could be such a blatant asshole, though. Didn't animals usually shy away from or dislike the 'bad guys'? Hell, even in the real world you could tell a person's personality by the way an animal reacted to them. Maybe there was something decent about him after all.

That last thought, was, of course, pushed from her mind as he opened his mouth to speak again. Every time she got close to even thinking she might be able to find a good point, he found some way to destroy it. She was beginning to believe that he simply wanted people to hate him. That only made her more determined to try and figure out something more of his personality, though. Who would actually want to make people dislike them? It was an enigma to her, and she was the type to want to learn and understand all she could about any given situation.

“Don't worry. I have no desire to take anything away from either of you.” She said, her expression changing back to that not quite complete smile, as she looked between the two. “You two catch what you can and do with them as you wish. I'll be here to help keep a watch for anything bigger and take care of my own as needed or the opportunity arises.” She couldn't help herself. She had no desire to play into what surely seemed to be an attempt at pushing her buttons from Camus, especially considering their current company. She didn't really want to leave a bad impression on Daedalus, either.

 

Immediately, Daedalus regretted the decision of calling out to @Lorelei Varic; it seemed that his innocent question had been converted into banter fuel for @Camus Varic, who had been lovingly caressing the small snake he had received earlier like a proud father with his firstborn child. Was that kind of thing a common quirk for Beast Taming practitioners?

Shifting aside imperceptibly as Camus' taunts escalated to the point of calling Lorelei a coward, he began wondering what to do in a situation like this; clearly, these two Yladians had some kind of belligerent history with each other, that was easy enough to gather. Thankfully, Lorelei seemed to be a calm, collected type, as she chose to selectively ignore Camus' words and only address Daedalus, agreeing to stay.

Daedalus actually took a hesitantly concerned step back when the snake hissed in response to Camus' words. Even though he knew Camus was a Beast Tamer and could probably communicate with animals to some degree, it was still strangely unsettling to see him talking to a creature that wasn't supposed to understand actual speech.

"Um, er...I don't think-"

As he awkwardly tried to intervene with Camus' display of lowkey sexism (as bad as that sounded), he was spared of the experience when Lorelei decided to put her foot down, stating she desired no gain from sticking around. Nodding slowly, Daedalus straightened up again, drumming his fingers along his stick.

"Oh, I see...uh, take care! So, Camus...should we get moving?"

He kicked absentmindedly at a loose tuft of grass as he waited for Camus' reply.

 

Sometimes he hated Lorelei, she didn't exactly feed into his taunting like she was meant to. She should have been ready to do anything to 'defend her honour' though it was quite clear why she chose the route she did. She didn't want to leave a sour taste in Daedalus' mouth about them. It hadn't stopped her from decking him before when they had been in the company of the pink one. So what made the Faerin different from being in the company of one of their own.

He had a lot to work on, not just his skills in fighting-- he needed to come up with a foolproof way to lead people into his trap. Now when it came to Daedalus, he actually didn't so much mind him. Maybe his hatred was more so for the members of his own race rather than other races. Personality played a big role in all of this. Daedalus was more of a going with the flow type of person, not like Lorelei at all. So maybe , that had something to do with it. Why it was so much easier to work with Daedalus, why he didn't try to constantly piss the Faerin off. He didn't even truly get why he was doing some of the things he was.

Though it seemed she was putting her foot down and not allowing him to get to her anymore. It was clear that she wasn't exactly going, but she also wasn't going to be playing along side by side with them. He couldn't quite tell if Daedalus was happy for this or not. This was made clear by his next words to them. The first part being spoken as if Lorelei truly was going to part from them, and the second to him.

Before he would reply to Daedalus he would look directly at Lorelei. "You think you're so perfect don't you. Putting on the little show , even though you clearly have to be some sort of true girl that is crying on the inside. You're free to do as you wish. Continue to follow in the shadows , you seem to be good at that. Hope you enjoy the show, princess" he said before turning away from her. He wasn't so sure of why he had chose that wording, but his tone didn't have the same arrogant hatefulness in it. It sounded different for the fact that it was. He was slowly starting to gain an ability and he would more than likely end up using said ability to his advantage.

It wasn't just his skills that needed to be trained but this ability as well. He needed to be charming for his manipulation to work on others, he couldn't show him what truly was him. People would screw him over, even if he did try to make them hate him. If he didn't become more likable than he would not have the right opportunity to move in and strike. He needed to take listens from Persephone and be more like a snake. Quiet and calculating, waiting for the best time to strike and sink his fangs in on someone. So charming was something he would need to work more towards. So he hadn't meant the term princess as so much of an insult than it being the term that came to mind. Princess was suppose to be a good term, that most people could twist to mean a damsel in distress too.

He smiled at the other "of course, moving is probably our best bet here. Day light is wasting for us and I don't think hunting rabbits in the dark is going to do us any good. Say want to have a friendly little competition to see who can catch more rabbits. Fifty fifty split still staying true of course" a light airy chuckle leaving his lips. The small snake had gone to kiss at his cheek once more. Animals could read people better than anyone else. Was this perhaps her way of approving to what he was doing? He smiled, this time being an actual one (even if it was directed at Persephone), there was something about petting her that helped him.

"Of course the competition , should you agree to it, wouldn't start truly until after a few. Gotta make sure to help you best that I can so you get a technique down. I'm sure you'll be able to catch plenty a rabbit." He just hoped that Daedalus didn't happen to find Trouble , he was still out there somewhere. He had let the black bunny go prior. Any other rabbit he was fine being killed, just not Trouble. There was something that had formed a connection with the rabbit. Though he wasn't sure if it was because of his actual skills in taming the beast or if he just could form connections with animals without truly taming them. He didn't know about his own abilities just yet to actually know this. He walked to close the small gap between them "I would stay away from black rabbits all together though" that way at least Trouble would be protected.

 

Oh, the man was infuriating. She wanted nothing more than to punch him again, to be completely honest, but at the same time, she didn't feel it would be her best course of action. No, there was definitely a chance of making a friend here and she didn't want her worst side to be the one shown off the bat. Angered and needlessly violent wasn't Lorelei's normal. Sure, she enjoyed the aspects of who and what she was. Her 'marks' would be considered artistic expression because that's how her mind worked, but to be so openly malicious, as Camus had shown himself to be, when they first met, that just wasn't her style.

She gave Daedalus a smile as she heard him stumbling over what he was trying to say, the gesture genuine, though still, those mossy-green eyes of hers held no trace of light from the gesture. She could tell the smaller male was uncomfortable; perhaps even uncertain of how to take the exchanges he had witnessed thus far, between herself and the other Yladian. His words of caution for her to take care seemed genuine, and if nothing else she was happy to know that not all others were going to be like Camus or the pink-haired one they had countered before. It was refreshing to meet someone with a hint of genuine kindness to their personality, even if the smaller man did seem more so as if he would have accepted any answer given to him.

She had turned from the two at that point, intending to find something within the grassy area that might catch her attention. She honestly didn't have any intentions of going after the rabbits or the snakes. Sure, it would be a good way to test and train her speed and agility, but so would many, larger things she was sure she could find. She'd been in Brisshal only a small while, and already she had become a bit more graceful with her movements. Her speed, even, had seemed to have picked up and that was a key point for her as well. No, what she wanted was something bigger to face too. Like the Dire Crow she and Camus had already encountered. She wanted to hone her offensive skills. She wanted a true fight.

She was in these thoughts, preparing to step away from the other two, as she had promised to stay out of their way, when Camus' words hit her ears, stopping her dead in her tracks. “Princess” That one word seemed to echo in her head. Her shoulders could be seen to visibly flex as her spine straightened and her ears flicked at the sides of her head. The sudden tension that ran through her body was something she was sure anyone would be able to feel, as well as to see. It wasn't the way he called her out.

She could care less how he thought of her or even if he believed her to be that sort of teary-eyed girl. It was simply that one word. She seemed frozen in place for a moment in time as she tried to force her thoughts to clear. “Don't break character. This isn't what you're here for. Here, none of that matters. Here it isn't real, and he couldn't know anyway. Just breathe, relax, and go about your business.” That single moment, to her, seemed to last a year, before her shoulders relaxed and she began to move again. Plastering that smile back on her face, she turned back towards the two as she heard Daedalus ask Camus if they should get moving, and Camus began to speak of him about having a competition.

It would be fun to see how the Faerin fared against the beast tamer, but at the same time, she couldn't help but wonder if Camus' abilities might be an advantage to him. She wasn't going to get into it, though. “Sounds like you fellas have it all worked out. I wish you both luck.” She said, before turning back away from them and scanning out over the area once more. Taking note of what appeared to be a larger section of the grass bending and moving, she simply smirked, before her steps began to carry her away from them, in a North-Westerly path.