Midday and the sun is beating down but thankfully mostly obscured by the thick canopy overhead. The trails have their fair share of tourists and hikers, all out making the most of the clement weather. The sounds of nature crowd the ears, birds calling overhead and the forest echoes with the calls of other wild life. The city seems so far away here, the only real visibility of man-made structures coming when one gets over the top of the hills but for now, this forest feels like it is a long way from civilization.
The one thing that does distract from the otherwise untouched nature of this forest would be the vivid signs that are posted here and there, helpful pointers which show the way to the city and towards other trails and activities that people might want to participate in. Groups of tourists hang around at map postings, the fitter ones arguing with the others about where to go next, most option for a trail that heads back to the city and the comfort of her bars.
Conni is hiking the trail with a friend, the Nordic Blonde happy to be out of the direct sun and grateful for the exercise. She's dressed in her preferred jungle outfit, a grey camisole that sticks to her chest in the heat, a pair of sturdy-looking shorts with a thick leather belt at her waist, her battered but serviceable hiking boots and a backpack which has her artist tube fastened to the side. She's paused by one of the signs, her staff in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. "We're almost there, just think of the bars, it'll get you moving quicker." She flashes a grin at her friend who is just a ways down the track from her.
Aolani is coming up the trail with an armload of tree - a sapling, to be exact. She's wearing a bright spring green t-shirt that says Kauhane Nursery on the front, one corner of it tucked into the waist of her old, beat-up denim shorts. The bronze-skinned woman with the silken dark hair is puffing a bit from hauling her baby up to its new home, so she's grateful for the chance to pause and greet Conni and her friend on the path. "Aloha 'auinala, Conni! Aloha!" She shifts her tree to her hip to offer the pair of women, and a couple of passing tourists, a wave. "Isn't it a beautiful winter day? It's just perfect for planting. And with all the rain we get on this side of the island, everything is going to be so green!"
Bellowing laughter echoed through the woods as Akhlut lifted Nala over a bush and set her back on the trail. "How else are you going to get your sea legs?" The man himself was dripping wet from hanging out in one of the many waterfalls and streams that came off the mountains in the area. He had stepped into his work boots as he crashed through the bush adding a few small cuts to his bare legs not covered by his carvas short. Dabbing his face and beard with his shirt, he clicked his tongue as he listened to his surroundings. "Why bother with paths if it means avoiding most of the forest? It's like going to the market for a particular fish rather than catching and consuming what is provided." Shaking out his shirt, he pulled it over his head and pushed his arms through the holes. "Why must everything be so divided?"
Jane is the one following Conni, her dark skin sheened with sweat and her baggy T-shirt sticking to her. With long trousers tucked into her hiking boots and a walking staff in one hand, she's got a backpack slung casually over one shoulder. "We're almost there if you want to go straight to the nearest bar," she points out to her friend, smiling broadly. "I thought you wanted to go /hiking/, not for a short walk and a long drink!" The others on the trail - or crossing it - get nodded to politely, and greeted with a cheerful, "Aloha!"
Nala laughed brightly as she was hefted over and bush and set onto the trail. She'd dressed in a lovely, lilac colored, sarong style, dress that wrapped around her body, but did so loosely enough that it flowed open every so often to reveal the army-green bikini she wore under it. The uneven hem of the dress reached down to just below her knees and the top of it wrapped around her torso to come to a tie, halter style, around her neck, matching in line with the halter style top of her swim suit. Her shoes were a simple set of thong-style sandals in bright orange, completely at odds with the rest of her outfit. The obvious dampness from their excursion to one of the waterfalls nearby had her swimsuit soaking through her sarong, and all of Nala's long hair was drenched and dripping down her back. She seemed particularly happy, though. "I don't mind, Ak, it was fun. I just didn't want to ruin the pretty new things mom picked me up when she went to the big island last week." Watching Akhlut pull his shirt on with an obvious, rather appreciative eye, she clicked something in the back of her throat at him and waggled her brows at the same time for added effect.
It wasn't until Aolani had come close to introducing Nala to the branches of her infant tree that Nala noticed there were other people around. Her bright, blue-green eyes shimmered in happiness as she turned her attention to spy not only Aolani, but Conni and Jane as well. "Aloha 'auinala, everyone! I hope you're enjoying our beautiful day?" She waited until Akhlut came out of the bushes entirely onto the path before she reached over to thread her fingers through his and hold his hand. "It's been such a wonderful afternoon to go see places I hadn't shown Akhlut yet!" Pure joy radiated from the woman, like she'd found the best surprise in a box of Lucky Charms, ever.
"Aloha Aolani. I hope you have a permit for that tree, folks round here can funny if you just take them." Conni smiles warmly, doing her best to contain a chuckle as she spots Aolani tree smuggling. The sounds of laughter have her looking over, the form of Akhlut being hard to miss and Nala coming into view as she is lifted over a bush. "Ah, I don't think you've met these two." Conni says with a grin to Jane as she approaches. "The big guy is quite capable, as is his mate. Anyway..." Conni turns to regard her friend. "What's wrong with a long drink?" She turns as Akhlut and Nala approach, waving to them both. "Aloha! It is a wonderful day and we figured some exercise in the country would be fun. I am however starting to feel homesick...or bar sick, one of the two."
Aolani shifts to look around the sapling in her arms to grin in the direction of Akhlut's booming voice and Nala's cheerful counterpoint to it. "You have to get lost off the path a little bit," she agrees with the mountain of a man, "And it's a perfect day to see the hidden gems of Ahupua'a 'O Kahana State Park, that's for sure. There's a Lehua grove not far that's just stunning," she tells Nala with a wink. The ponytailed, half-Filipina Hawaiian woman laughs at Jane's remarks to Conni and winks. "You can really work up a good appetite for a nice cold brew in this forest, especially if you go off-roading. Make that short walk to the long drink a little bit more vertical, at least." Finally Conni gets lightly bapped with sapling branches as Ao laughs again. "This tree is going in, not coming out. My parents own a nursery that works with the Division of Forestry. We're helping repopulate a grove that had some parasite trouble. And this is tree number 9 I've hauled up here. Careful I don't put you and your friends to work!"
Akhlut wove his fingers in with Nala, offering a wide grin to the individuals around him. "Aloha everyone. It's a good day for hiking." The man nodded as he pulled down the tail of his shirt. His tongue clicked in his mouth and his attention hung on the woman attached to his hand. "Angering mothers is the last thing we want to do at the moment." His eyebrow arched as he stared at Aolani's tree, it was a look of confusion as he glanced side to side to other people as wondering if everyone is supposed to have a plant.
"Nothing wrong with a long drink," says Jane. "Better after a long hike, though. And yeah, I'll buy barsick - homesick, not so much. I mean, who could be homesick here? Except maybe people from where it's cold and flat and boring." She winks to Conni, then turns to Aolani with a grin. "Did I hear that wrong, or were you telling us to take a long walk off a short cliff?" It sounds as though she's joking, and the grin confirms it. Akhlut and Nala get another nod, and a broad smile. "My friend here says you're capable, I'll take her word on it. Nice to meet you."
Nala chuckled and shook her head to Conni. "I don't think anything here looks much like anything anywhere else, unless you've got a bunch of rain forest where you started out life? If so, this is a perfect place to feel comforted by old and new, since some of the plants here don't even grow outside of Hawaii." She looked at Jane then, smiling widely to the dark skinned woman that shared the trait of brilliantly colored eyes. "Oe oe maikai loa! Your makuna must have been amazing people to give you such a beautiful lense to see the world through. I'm Nala, this mountain is Akhlut." Nala motioned to herself and then to Akhlut for introductions, then looked over at Aolani with a broad smile. "How many more do you have to bring up today? I'm sure Akhlut and I could help and make it lighter work. There's really nothing better to repay Oahu's kindnesses than giving back to her and making her healthier." Idly, while speaking, Nala reached out to gently stroke the small branches of the tree in Aolani's arms, her touch delicate and oddly reverent. Her bright eyes focused on the leaves of the small tree for a moment and she seemed to slip out of attention to the entirety of everything else, her other hand gently swinging Akhlut's like she'd started singing in her head.
A group of tourists make their way down the path, all of them kitted out for a jungle expedition and quite clearly regretting dressing up so much. Pausing by one of the signs, the group of sweaty, moist tourists stare at the map for a moment, take out their canteens for a refill of much needed water and then head off again, muttered curses about their 'host' trailing in the wind behind them.
Was she lost in the woods? Or had she just stepped off the trail for a while? It doesn't seem as if she cares, one way or the other, what with the cheerful smile on her face and the way she waves a greeting to the crowd that seems to have gathered. She's dressed casually enough - shorts and sneakers, a little tank-top and a hoodie/windbreaker that both leave her midriff bare - and has a rather longish bag slung over one shoulder. "So this is where everyone went!" she calls out, "Hello there! I thought I heard noises, but no, I said, it's probably just parrots. But what the heck, parrots that talk have usually at least been -near- people, so.... and voila! No parrots!" She takes a look at the back of the group of tourists, shakes her head, and shrugs. "Looks like it's going to be one of those days..."
"Ah! I think I remember you mentioning something. Did you get down to that marsh for the replanting? It all got a bit strange there the other day but I think you did well in not assaulting that Clover woman." Conni grins as she looks to Aolani, taking a moment to have a last swig from her bottle of water before putting it back in her backpack. "Aloha Akhlut, Nala. It's good to see you both. I think I'll skip on the tree planting but I will buy you a drink if I see you later." Conni waves to the new arrival, it taking a moment before she recognises her. "Hello again, I don't think I caught your name last time we met but yes, this is where we all hang out now."
Aolani nods in firm assent with Akhlut. "There is never a good time to anger mothers. It never ends well." Jane gets a wink of one almondine brown-and-amber eye. "I would never suggest such a thing...unless it's either a very, very short cliff in the vertical sense, or a middling one with a deep, calm pool at the bottom. In that case, I highly recommend it - it's the rush of a lifetime and very rarely does the road rise up to meet you in such a literal sense. It's like flying." Her lips quirk in a wistful smile at that.
Ao grins back to Nala and angles out the hau sapling's branches to show off a couple of tiny buds. "The Hau trees give this forest its name. And for letting us traipse through her boughs, the least we can do for Hau'ula is make sure her namesake is thriving. I will -absolutely- take you up on that, I saved the heaviest trees for last!" She laughs brightly and shifts her baby tree to her opposite hip so she can wave to Haruka. "Aloha 'auinala! No parrots that we've seen, but plenty of other birds to hear our secrets and carry them to whoever keeps such things," she greets the newly arrived girl cheerfully.
She nods to Conni, heaving a great big exhale of relief. "We did, thank Laka. And thanks to a -lot- of help, we managed to replace enough flowers to fill a basket and more. Remind me to send Wren a fruit basket. In retrospect, stopping her before hand would have been simpler."
Akhlut's eyes remained on Aolani's shrub even as he spoke, "I saw a man get out of his vehicle, lay a towel out on the front and sunbath amongst the other waiting vehicles. All are capable in their own way." His mouth curved into a wide grin, and his attention was still on the bush. He clicked his tongue twice, a long gutteral vowel holding in the back of his mouth. "It is a sad day to not have my shovel to dig holes for your plants to live in. I can make due with my hands." He gave a repeated nod to this idea, a curl appearing on his upper lip. "It is an excuse to get dirty which means an excuse to get clean once more." His eyes moved to the tourists and rose his hand in greet, "Ahola, fellow forest walkers! It's good to see others have forgot their plants as well."
Jane looks from face to face to face, smiling. That smile broadens at Nala. "Thanks! Yeah, my makuna were kinda something. I'm Jane." She then steps back to the side to let the cluster of tourists past. "Aloha, folks!" Tourist-greeting duties complete, she eyes Haruka with some amusement. "Polly wanna cracker," she says, straight-faced. "Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!"
Nala blinked, drawn from her momentary reverie by some stimuli or another, either people talking to her or the fact that she moved her fingertips and realized she was holding Akhlut's hand. Either way, her eyes moved up from the tree she'd been aparently mesmerized by and she looked back at the group, a warmly curved smile on her lips. Seeing Haruka come up near them and talking, Nala offered her a greeting of "Aloha, 'auinala! What a beautiful day to look for parrots! That's a great idea." She nodded sagely and glanced up, trying to see if she could spot any parrots amid the myriad of other birds that flitted about on the regular in the forest. "None here, no, we'll have to keep looking."
Nala turned her gaze back to Aolani and winked. "Maybe while we bring up the rest of the trees. We could conscript another helper to make even lighter work and be on a bird search at the same time." Conni's offer of a drink later had Nala's attention for a moment, and she nodded to the tall blonde woman. "A drink later is always good, especially since we'll want to be finding something to eat after the long day out here. Akhlut finished the last of the snacks only an hour after we arrived, and we had to make do with a couple of things we found along the way after." Her smile and nod was then for Jane, as she agreed with her statement about her parents. Abruptly, a bright laugh came from Nala then, though whether it was for Jane's words or Akhlut's it would be hard to tell. She leaned against Akhlut slightly and squeezed his hand before looking up to him, the rather impressively built woman looking small next to the mountain of a man. "Don't worry, Ak, I bet she's got a shovel you can use, it won't be as good as yours, I'm sure, but it will be better than just hands."
The forest has gotten a bit quieter all of a sudden, birds seem to be veering off and even the usual chorus of insects has stopped. This goes unnoticed by most passing on down the trail, tourists passing this way focused on their maps or the signs that lead towards the city. Overhead, it starts to get a little darker as the clouds roll in, the cover providing some relief against the heat but doing nothing for the humidity.
Haruka chuckles lightly as she falls in with the little crowd, letting the tourists go on their way without a second thought. "Hullo," she offers to Conni. "Nice place for it. Bit open if it should rain, though. Considered setting up a gazebo?" She offers the girl her hand. "I'm Haruka. Pleasure to meet you." After the exchange of greetings, she turns briefly over to Aolani, sharing a cheerful smile. "Guess I'll have to find my lunch somewhere else, then, hm? Know any good curry shacks? Or places to hunt for pirate treasure?" The last, of course, with a grin for Jane. Then, as the forest quiets, she quiets as well, her hair shifting slightly as she casts her gaze about at the wood around us.
"I'll give him a hug next time I see him, with that and the lift home I certainly owe him a few favours." Conni smiles as she nods to Aolani, the Dane then frowning for a moment as she is distracted by something. "Did anyone else feel that?" She shudders and rubs at her arms, her gaze sweeping the nearby forest and then looking to the others. "That felt...off." She looks to Aolani, then Akhlut and Nala. "Do you have any erm...personalities operating in the area? That was a lot of power that was just used...I think." Shrugging out of her backpack, Conni unstraps the top and then rummages around inside until she finds what she's after, pulling out a thin but sturdy looking jacket which she puts on, relief visible on her face to have found some warmer clothing.
Aolani chuckles and starts to answer Haruka about Curry House something something...but falls silent a moment and listens, her head swiveling an almost-unnatural degree around as she turns her full attention on the direction of the sound. "I think..." she slants her gaze to Nala and Akhlut, "That shovels won't be necessary. Someone is already digging." Her brown-and-amber eyes narrow and she holds her sapling instinctively closer. "The forestry guys are all off today." She answers Conni's question with a solemn shake of her head.
The stormy sky lightens faintly to the east.
Akhlut rolled his shoulders, muscles twitching across his frame. His lips formed around a low whistle that dropped into silence. "This land doesn't know this sort of Cold. Better to give it nothing to cling to." The man released Nala's hand to grab the tail of his wet shirt and pull it back over his head, using it to wick away the moisture from his arms and legs before dropping it to the path. A meaty hand pressed to Nala's abdomen, "Your dress is better left to the shore, Nala." His eyes scanned the woods and settled on the north. A growl rattled his frame as he took a couple of steps before scanning the ground. "I am missing my shovel more and more..." The man snarled as he picked up a pair of deadfall, testing them against one another until one crumbled and he nodded to his newfound club. "Shelter or fire. Choose." The mountain of a man strode into the woods to the north, his grip twisting on his log.
Jane's grin for Nala doesn't get so much cut off as locked in place. Her head tilts back as she looks up, and then she's looking round as though she's trying to spot something while shivering. "Huh? Oh," she says to Haruka, distracted. "Yeah, I know a ton of good curry shacks. And if I knew where to dig for treasure, it's not like I'd be saying, right?" She hefts her walking staff absently, the piece of wood going from helpmate to weapon. "Looks like he knows where we're headed?" she says to Conni, more a question than anything else.
Any thoughts Nala had of a merry bird-chase, or even tree planting, seemed to slip free of her mind as a shiver overcame her and she moved her free hand up to rub her opposite arm. She looked at Conni, some sense of longing for a moment as she watched the woman pull on a jacket. "You know, I've never really had to carry my jacket outside. I usually only wear it inside because of the AC. But... Yes. It's definitely colder." She shrugged softly, then answered the question, "I don't think I know anyone doing anything up here. I'm never sure though, I've met too many people." Slight worry furrowed her brows as she looked at Aolani, then turned her gaze the direction the plant-bearing woman had been focusing in. "Is that where the grove is? I thought it was further up trail?" Of course, when Akhlut made the sound at her, Nala stiffened, watching him for a moment as he found himself a club, Nala nodded after the touch to her abdomen and undid the tie of her sarong while stepping out of her sandals. She used the already dampened sarong to dry off a little more and then squeezed her long hair rather solid and harshly with it, getting rid of as much dampness as she could, before she set the garment to the ground on top of Akhlut's shirt. Clad only in her army green bikini, Nala reached her well muscled arms up over her shoulders and started limbering them as she turned to follow Aklut. She made a single click and allowed her gaze to travel along beside the trail as she went. Spotting an item that made her lips curl into a wide, pleased, smile, Nala ducked down a bit, reached into a stand of bushes, and pulled out a shovel. Hefting it, she couldn't help the chuckle from leaving her lips. "You mean like this one, baby?" The makeshift weapon was then hefted in a couple of different ways for her to get use to it while she followed her mate up the path.
It's getting cold now, the cloud cover overhead not helping matters at all. From the north, a flurry of snow blows between a gap in the trees before melting just as quickly as it appeared. There is movement in the bushes ahead and then a scream, a male's voice that goes on for a few moments before being cut off rather abruptly. There are other noises then, people for one and they can be seen also, some bursting out of the undergrowth and running at a dead sprint.
Rain falls in wind-lashed sheets at dawn.
Haruka drops her pirate joke rather flatly, in favor of concern that Something is about to Happen. That's definitely not good. She's already looking around when the others start looking for weapons, she can wait for that until she knows a little more about what's going on... right now, she needs to - well, never mind, screaming definitely isn't good. Especially with people running back down the trail, clearly running -away- from something. She spins out of the way of the onrushing crowd, before she can get trampled, pausing at the side of the trail until they've passed... then she starts -towards- the screams. ... Yeah, quite possibly slightly insane, but hey, it happens. Might be a good idea, though, to get off the trail, and take advantage of the cover of the woods, before approaching what's probably Bad News.
"Lunch might have to wait..." Conni says, glancing to Haruka. "I think we...oh shit." She stops mid sentence, the noise from the path ahead giving her pause and then she watches the reactions of those around her. "Ah, it's like that then. Okay." Rolling her shoulders a few times, Conni quickly strips out of the jacket she put on only moments ago, stuffing it back into her backpack and then taking just a moment to sling it over her shoulder. Once the pack is in place, she reaches over with her right hand and flips open the top of her artist tube, pulling out a length of steel which she screws onto the top of her staff. With a look over her shoulder to Jane and the others who haven't yet gone ahead, Conni grips her staff in one hand and then charges ahead into the undergrowth, aiming to find the source of the screaming.
As soon as the snow starts flurrying down the path, Aolani turns and stashes her sapling in the shelter of some bushesh. "Nala, I need to borrow your sarong," she informs the already retreating figure of Nala as she builds a makeshift tent to keep the snow from hitting the baby tree. "I hope that scream was someone stepping on a mountain apple," Aolani says, apparently not realizing that talking negates the purpose of creeping up the pathway, which she was trying to do.
Akhlut gave Nala the T-800 stare as if the woman had just said 'Down low, you're too slow' as she pointed out the shovel she had found. A growl rattled inside the man's ribcage as his eyes scanned the forest with contempt. He threw his head back and bellowed, "You mock me, Forest!" And all that contempt washed away in rolling laughter. "Though you provide for my mate, so we are even!" The laughter came crashing down, leaving a vicious and toothy grin in its wake as he looked back to the others. "Conni, you'll need more than your jacket." Pointing his club towards the screams, Akhlut growled, "Someone try to guard their flanks. I have a date with the Heart of Ice!" The man had no time for stealth, or small trees for that matter, as he let out a thundering warcry and went crashing straight towards the center of the cold with his club in hand.
"Wait, /snow/? Here?" Jane's shock is almost palpable, but it's soon over. When people start going in she smiles and takes a step forward, then grimaces at the sight of fleeing tourists and exhales. "Conni, I gotta look after the haole," she calls, then takes off after them, hefting the staff as she runs. Haole-herding, the latest extreme sport - complete with occasional cliffs.
Nala laughed brightly, Akhlut's statement bringing the supreme amusement it deserved before she cleared her throat. Looking behind herself, she used her shovel to point in the direction Akhlut charged. "I follow him. Be cautious of waving branches and shovels if you're coming in, too." And then, the bikini clad woman let out a strange, gutteral sound that ended in an upwhistle, something that shouldn't come from a human throat, and rushed off after Akhlut. Her breaths were deep, filling her chest to ensure she had plenty of oxygen to the muscles she'd soon need, and if anything, her focus was like a laser with those bright eyes of hers. She didn't let Akhlut get far ahead in his surge, and was only a solidly waved shovel's length behind him to make sure that she didn't get caught in his arm and weapon movements, nor he in hers.
Jane heads for more populated areas along the Windward Coast.
You have stumbled into a small grove, a little ways off from the trail that many of the tourists have now begun running down. Some thirty yards across, there has been recent works here to plant saplings while some older and diseased trees have been cut down, their trunks still visible and yet to be removed. Gathered at the far end of the grove there is an older tree with a trunk easily a yard across, it branches reaching into the skies. From the base of this great tree and radiating outwards, there is frost, getting lighter the further out it gets. The trees nearby have frost visibly creeping up their trunks and branches and cracking and popping can be heard as the sap within starts to freeze and expand.
At the base of the tree there is a huge wolf, although the word 'huge' quite possibly doesn't do it justice. Standing almost five foot at the shoulders, his fur is of the cleanest white, almost making him stealthy in the snow if it wasn't for the constant movement. A large hole has been dug into the base of the great tree and the huge beast is in the process of trying to drag an unconscious tourist down below. It's all for naught though, the creature is too large and the hole too shallow for it to make real progress. There are other snow figures near the tree, much smaller than the alpha or this pack but still looking mostly like wolves, they're also digging at the base of the tree, mostly looking inwards for now.
Furious winds drive rain into the ground at angle. The morning sky is slate grey.
This may be the tropics, but snow and ice are no strangers to Haruka, not after enduring Norfolk winters. Still, she's really not dressed for it, but then, who is? Physical activity will keep her warm, certainly. And it -has- distracted her from her attempts to be stealthy. The way she's crashing through the woods can't help but be noticed by all but the most focused of beings - which it would seem the wolves rather are. "Looks like they're busy with something," she mutters to herself, though someone nearby might hear.
The third of the wolves, previously unseen, comes bursting out of the undergrowth, charging straight towards the largest target there. Charging over to Akhlut, it barrels into his side and then uses the shift in his momentum to grip hold of one of his legs with its vice like jaws. The grip is painful but not terribly so, a seeping cold spreading out from the beast helping to numb the area a little. It yanks at Akhlut's leg with jerking movements of its head, backtracking now and pulling him towards the tree and the others of its pack.
Peter heads for more populated areas along the Windward Coast.
It's 'game on' once Conni enters the glade, the Valkyrie eyeing up the situation and then acting quickly. Raven black wings pop from her back as she lets go of any spare will she was using to keep them there, the reason apparent as she lowers her spear, aiming it at the wolf that now has a hold of Akhlut. Electricity coarses through her veins and down her arm, the tip of the spear glowing an almost blinding white before the Valkryie mouths a word to release the pent up energy. A wrist thick bolt of electricity arcs from the top of her blade, hitting the wolf square between the shoulders, a smoking furrow and a scream from the beast letting her know she has hit her target.
Aolani creeps into the clearing, but upon seeing the icy white wolf tear into Akhlut, the time for subtlety has past. She confronts the wolf attached to Akhlut, charging up to the frozen base of the tree and raising her voice so everyone can hear. "You do NOT belong here, Fae beasts! You are not welcome here - take that message back to your Wintery Queen if you wish, Cu Sith. You DARE bring your winter and ice and /death/ into the garden of the Goddess of the Lehua groves? She who gifts life? You defile her forest with your very presence!" Furious, Aolani growls and gives her message time to sink into to those keen FaeWolf ears, and instead shouts instructions to her companions. "They're trying to build a lair in My Lady's grove! They're going to build a nest of death here. Stay away from the tree, they drag you to the cold to take the fight out of you...LIKE COWARDS!" The last big was definitly directed at the Cu Sith. "Goddamn Libras."
There is a low rumble as the bull-sized wolf stops its digging and ignores the slowly freezing tourist at the base of the tree. With a roar that causes ice to fall from the trees, it charges to wards the Dane, trying to barrel her over while snapping at her arms and legs. Managing to sink its mouth round a free hand, it gets a rap on the snout from Conni's staff for its troubles, the creature backing off to reconsider its options.
Akhlut's charge was halted as an ice wolf smashed into him and latched onto his leg, drawing a growl from him as he stare at the wolf. The man tilted his head, flashing a wicked grin at the wolf. "Do we know each other from somewhere? You look familiar." Laughing like a madman, the man tightened his grip and the club to smack the wolf at the base of its skull to daze. A split second later, he grabbed the wolf by its scruff, "We may be related, you and I." The man rolled on the ground with the wolf that refused to let go of him. "Off amarok!"
Another of the smaller wolves charges towards Nala, seeking to protect its packmate and to further weaken the attack. It follows the same tactics as the others, latching onto Nala's leg with shocking force and then it starts to drag her backwards, closer and closer towards the cold, it's head yanking at her leg fiercely to get her moving.
Coming into the small hollow the Cu Sith had taken over, Nala was immediately hit first with the devestation they were heaping onto the once beautiful, serene land. Her anger came in the form of righteous fury as she screamed at the creatures "HOW DARE YOU!? On her land?!" Almost unsure where to strike first as there was so much wrong with the picture in general, she saw one animal grab hold of Akhlut and let out a cry of dismay. She was midway through bringing down the shovel onto the back of the dog's neck to break it free of Akhlut when the next pup bit onto her own, bare calf, and caused her to let out a cry of pain while the swing of the shovel went wide and only struck the frozen earth. "Hewa malihini!" She yelled down to the dog that had her flesh pressed between its teeth. When it jerked her towards the cold, her feet slid on the ice as she was brought closer, making her bare her teeth in a make-shift snarl at the creature.
The tourist is still moving slowly, his skin going pale and the blood from his wounds slowly freezing. The three wolves have now all turned on those who have intruded on their den, the bull sized one pacing in circles as it tries to find the next angle for its attack. Akhlut is slowly but surely being dragged towards the tree, the beast gripping his leg weathering all blows in its determination. There is a third wolf, off from the others and also circling, working to shadow the alpha wolf as they seek out another target. As time goes on, it gets colder and colder within the confines of the glade, the frost continuing to creep up the trunk of the huge old tree, more popping and cracking can be heard as the ancient tree protests.
The sudden explosion of violence doesn't really take Haruka by surprise. Sure, she'd considered tweaking the wolf's tail. And she still sort of wanted to. But the opportunity was well and truly ruined to make a proper prank of it. On the other hand, if she could derail whatever they were doing.... yeah, that might work. Maybe if she gets that poor schlub out of their hands... let's see, is that a... yeah, maybe. She takes a moment to figure out what she needs to do to best disrupt their working, without getting directly involved in the fight.
The wolf that had a hold of Akhlut's leg seems to reconsider its options, the last blow to the head adding to a stack of injuries that were really starting to annoy the beast. Releasing its grip, it backs away slowly until it is within the shadow of the alpha wolf, the bull like creature providing it with a level of cover against the foes assembled before it.
Now that the beast that had a hold of Akhlut has let go, Conni directs her attention to the one that is gripping Nala, the Valkyrie turret of doom leveling her spear for another blast. Seeming not to tire, Conni draws on her power, her staff crackling with electricity before she unleases the blast, a thick bolt of lightning that singes the fur on the beasts scalp, adding the stench of burnt hair to the list of problems.
Aolani notices the other wolf retreating to the giant alpha to regroup. "Not. In My Lady's garden," the silken haired woman tells the massive beast before running...straight at it. She throws herself onto the ground at the creature's feet and spreads her hands to touch the earth beneath them. Aolani wrenches open a gateway into the Nevernever beneath the alpha wolf, which both she and the giant white beast tumble into before the ground seals over them once more.
Akhlut rolled away from the ice wolf as his leg was released, and the man got his legs back underneath him. Grinning at the frost on himself. "This is a terrible waste in so many ways." The man was grinning up until the lightning cracked a second time and his attention was drawn to Nala and the wolf on her. Letting out a roar, his work boot tore across the icy ground as he brought his club to bear on the creature. The blow connected drawing a yelp for the beast and Akhlut screamed at it. "GET OFF MY MATE!"
The wolf that has a hold of Nala, finally manages to drag her to within the borders of the big tree at the edge of the forest but seems more than a little put out when she doesn't seem overly bothered by the cold. There is a muted whining noise as the wolf looks up to Nala, confusion evident in its eyes as it tries to figure out what is going on. Letting out a muffled growl it shakes her leg around, possibly figuring the item is defective in some way.
Nala relaxed slightly through the shoulders as the dog on Akhlut gave up the grip on the man's leg. It freed her attention to turn to the wicked ice dog on her own, which she looked at with a whithering stare, her own blue-green eyes like chips of angry, southern sea burning her in face. "I'm going to make your teeth into earrings, you jerk." The cold around her had intensified so much so that when she spoke, her breath came out in a thick plume of white and slowly tendriled away from her on eddies of wind that picked their way through the trees. Lifting the shovel up over her head, she swung it down in a heavy arch with the thick muscles of her arms and back standing out clearly. When her shovel hit this time, it was with the sickening sound of flesh separating and then bone liberally crunching. The blade of her shovel had firmly planted itself into the spine along the vertebrae just above the creature's shoulder blades, and when Nala pulled the spade back, it was almost harder to take it out than it was to put it in. An indication of a good, solid, hit, as far as Nala was concerned, and her lips were spread in a wide, fearsome grin as she let out a sharp, violent sound of victory.
There's just the two wolves, the deadly cold and the tourist to worry about now. The wolf that has a hold of Nala's leg is starting to seriously reconsider its life choices, the loud crack when the shovel bit into its shoulders providing something more than just a nagging pain. The other wolf is also now pacing in an irritated fashion, the loss of the alpha doing nothing for its confidence and the beast staying within the outskirts of the 'zone of cold' that its lair is providing.
Haruka has watched it all. And she isn't happy. Everyone's fine with fighting the wolves. And they do seem to be being jerks. (The wolves, that is, not the people.) And yeah, that one girl dragging the big one into the hole in reality was kind of cool. But everyone is forgetting the poor tourist, lying there freezing to death.
Everyone except Haruka, who's already sprinting across the frozen ground by the time the portal fades. She ignores the wolves and the fighting, except to dodge out of the way of anything that she might trip over... or if she herself might trip one of the fighters. The people, that is. She doesn't care about tripping the wolves.
Which finally brings Haruka to the poor abandoned tourist, who she throws herself at, wrapping herself around him and shivering at the chill. Hopefully she can warm him up a little. And the ice on the ground is rather convenient at the moment, since it lets her keep her momentum going as the two of them slide across the clearing. As they get to the dirt beyond, she rolls to put herself on the bottom, so as not to aggravate the man's wounds with the friction, as she carries him out towards the edge of the boundary of Winter.
The third of the wolves, the least badly injured at this point, starts to back away, closers to the hole they were all digging earler. Looking to Akhlut, Nala and Conni, it lets out a deep rumbling growl which slowly turns into a whine, the wolf looking to its packmate for a moment before diving towards the hole under the tree, a soft 'popping' sounding it's exit.
With one of the wolves gone and the other almost dead, Conni lowers her spear, the Valkyrie letting out a long sigh as the worst seems to be over. She raises an eyebrow as she watches Haruka ride the tourist out of the danger zone, someting that she can honestly say she wasn't expecting to see when she got up this morning. "Is he still breathing?" She asks as she approaches the tourist, quite unable to remove the grin from her face at his unusual exit.
Akhlut stared at the retreating wolves, offering them a slight nod. "It was a solid effort this day, but we can't expect a feast for every meal. And thanks for the snow. I have missed it." The man waited with club in hand for the another to join the rest of its pack and leave the place before looking to Haruka and the tourist. "We should move to a place where the frost doesn't touch us. It is worse to thaw and refreeze than to stay frozen. If you haven't the strength to carry him to healing, Nala and I will take turns until it is so." Laughter rumbled from the man, "You've done well." A grin formed on his lips as he scratched at the ice forming in his beard. "Conni... Your aim is clearly improving."
The last wolf finally lets go of Nala, leaving behind a fair bit of blood on her leg which is probably not all human. Not having the energy to growl but simply to whine, it limps the way of the other. Making its way painfully towards the tree, the is a moment of scrabbling as it struggles to get under a particularly troublesome root before there is another pop and it disappears from sight.
Nala watched the wolf leave her, glancing down at her leg, then focused her eyes on the wolf. Crouching down, she pointed at it as it left and snarled darkly "I let you live, next time, I take my earrings as promised if you so much as harm a thing in my view." The promise made, Nala pushed herself up to standing and looked over at Akhlut, her eyes going along his leg to see if it was alright, then up to his face with a grin. "It was good, and dangerous." She turned her gaze along the surrounding area, her smile fading to a frown. "The girl was quick, when she took the wolf with her. I hope she made it through alright, I don't know how to follow to make sure here." Taking a long, slow, breath she hefted the shovel over her shoulder and started to walk carefully out of the frost her feet were currently settled in. "If you need help, yes, we'll be more than happy to carry the man." Her statement was made to Haruka, and then Nala smiled over to Conni and winked. "At least I don't have to scrub Akhlut's back for singed flesh marks tonight. Much appreciated, Conni."
Haruka hugs close to the man, sharing what body warmth she can, not caring what anyone might say while they stand around congratulating themselves on winning the fight. "Hey, come on. This guy's gonna need a hospital pretty damn soon. Like, yesterday." She waves to beckon the others over. "Somebody figure out how to break whatever they were doing, the rest of you help me get him to a doc." It isn't over until the butcher's bill is counted....
"I think he's just gotten better at dodging, it just took the right motivation." Conni cracks a wide grin as she looks from Akhlut to Nala. "It was a good fight, if a little odd. I've never come across their kind before." Stepping forward, Conni crosses over into the cold zone, turning to look back to the others as she does so. "I'm going to look for Aolani. That was a very angry wolf that she pulled through and it could be bad for her there. I'll hopefully see you all at the bar later? If not, sing my ballards and drink some mead in my name." Turning back to the rough direction of the tree, Conni slashes downwards with her spear in a quick motion, leaving a rent in the world between this one and the Never Never. She glances through the hole for all but a moment before diving through, the rift sealing up behind her.
Akhlut shook his head, "I never learned to bend the weather to my liking or otherwise. If the island doesn't clean it up, then it wants it to stay cold here." A growl rattled in his throat, "Move him before you try to warm the man. You'll just cause blood to move to his skin and drop his temperature." He gave a nod to Conni, "Don't stray too far. Its pack could be larger and assume you're at the end of your stamina and easy prey."
"Be safe, Conni!" There was a quick call as Nala continued walking towards the fallen man, all while Nala's brows rose as she came closer to Haruka. She sighed in relief as her feet were no longer in the process of solidifying and were touching soft, damp earth that was no longer so cold it threatened to freeze her through and through. "We already offered to help, stop being so melodramatic." Her words to Haruka weren't spear-tipped, nor cold, but were more breathed out as she crouched down and wrapped her arms around the guy Haruka had rolled on top of her. "Come on, brah, let's go." Rolling the man a bit to disentangle him from Haruka and get him supine, Nala managed to position him so that he could be carried much as a bride on her wedding night and stood without even the slightest wobble of legs, the defined musculature of her frame tensing obviously beneath taut skin. "I've got him, if you two want to walk ahead of me to move branches out of the way? We cab pick up the sarong I took off earlier from where Aolani is using it for her plant. It'll act at least as something slightly warmer than the wet air, right? For a blanket?" And with that, the footsteps started carrying herself and the man in her arms toward the path out of the Forest.
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