[RP] Animal Kingdom

[Captain Squee]

OOC: I can't really be arsed to make a post but I have stalled on making the thread long enough, so here it is I suppose. Since it's simply a social RP I don't think I need to put out an introductory post so here it is...

/lazy

 

[Dionysos]

The creature known by some as the Gnarwhal began to descend the forested slopes of the hill of Waldmund, zigzagging downwards towards the more populated and crowded parts of the town. The existence of this peculiarly sinister narwhal had been discarded by some experts as a myth, a fabrication to explain unsolvable crimes. The Gnarwhal did not help things either, for he was a master of disguise, a trait which people had not caught onto yet. On this day Gnarwhal was under the guise of a tourist, wearing khaki coloured shorts and a green vest, with binoculars and sunglasses hanging down his chest via cords. He had arrived in the early afternoon of this same day, but now it was getting dark, and time for him to go to the pub.

After leaving the path at the end of the hill, Gnarwhal entered the streets of Waldmund and began to walk towards the pub. Waldmund, once a forest, had been undergoing major development over the past hundred years. The houses were trees, all of them big enough to house people, though some would be larger than others. In the past a great forest fire had destroyed the old town, and so in rebuilding their homes the people were commanded to plant their new houses in an orderly fashion, in rows along newly constructed streets. Due to the limited space within some of the trees, many people had to build extensions made of wood from a nearby forest, which stretched out like a garage on either side of the tree, often joining one tree to another. Over time this town had begun to no longer resemble a forest at all, but had instead morphed into a tree-themed metropolis, creating plenty of dark alleyways to suit the Gnarwhal’s needs when the time was right.

The Gnarwhal was within sight of the pub when he was suddenly knocked down onto the ground. Furiously forcing himself up off the ground, he saw two arguing neighbours, oblivious to his presence until one had pushed the other onto him. Not seeking to apologise, the badger-man ran back towards his owl-faced neighbour and punched him in the face.

“You did not have planting permission for this house! You think that I wouldn’t notice another house being planted next to mine while I was on holiday? This plot was to remain free!”

The Gnarwhal stared at them intensely as they argued, but then continued to walk towards the pub. He looked up at the sign above the pub-tree, and saw that it read ‘Brush’s Bar’. Waldmund had several pubs, but the Gnarwhal was sure that this was the correct one.

Stepping into a room full of animation, the Gnarwhal surveyed his surroundings before walking up to the bar. As he walked his attention was drawn to very talented hound-man on a piano, whom many people were also watching. Gnarwhal turned and faced the barman, a squirrel-man named Brush and the pub’s owner.

“Hey! A visitor! Not very often we get those! What can I get you?” he asked.

“Whatever you make, I’ll have it. I’m here for the full Waldmund experience”, smiled Gnarwhal.

“We welcome you! Hey, you must be just like our friend Ryan over here. He arrived in town less than an hour ago” said Brush.

Brush pointed towards a rhino-man named Ryan Noscerosh, a historical and cultural researcher. The Gnarwhal stared at Ryan for a short while and then smiled.

“I tell you what, you sit down and I’ll bring your drink over to you, on the house. Very strange to have two visitors in a single day! Sure, Waldmund gets many visitors from nearby forests, but you guys are from way out there! We’ve never seen a sea creature in these parts before!”

The Gnarwhal sat down next to Ryan, a badger-man, a woodpecker-man and a fox-man, all of which welcomed him to the table with a cheer and a pat on the back.

“So tell us… What’s your name, narwhal? And what are you here for?” asked the woodpecker.

“My name is Cetacius Scarvtusk, and I’m just travelling around. No real business. I mainly came for the bird watching from the hilltop”, explained Gnarwhal.

“Ahhhh… I seriously cannot blame you! Those bird dancers are really something.” smiled the badger-man, and the badger, the woodpecker and the fox all looked upwards, closed their eyes and smiled for a moment.

The event which they were referring to was that of the famed bird dances of Waldmund, which spectators queued to watch from the hilltop once a week. These birds were female bird-humanoids who would jump in and out of their humanoid and animal forms in accordance to the routine, carrying ribbons and scattering flower petals over the crowd. The dance included diving and looping, at times exciting and dramatic, but at others a slower, graceful and seductive manner. These dances were a popular attraction for the men of Waldmund and nearby forests.

“Did you know? I used to date one of those bird dancers”, said the blushing woodpecker-man.

“I’ve read a lot about that, but I’ve never seen it for myself. I should go and check it out next week. It’s crucial to my research. You see I’m trying to create a comprehensive history of the entire planet, travelling from town to town and collecting all that I can find out about the many cultures here” said Ryan.

“Good luck with that!” laughed the fox-man.

“I believe that it can be done. I’ve travelled to many cities, small towns and even remote villages. I hope that at the heart of everything we’ll discover that we’re all the same, not one culture is different beneath its face, only customs vary” Ryan explained.

“Well, look at us! I think we’re close to that already! A narwhal in a pub in Waldmund? Honestly, a decade or two ago that wouldn’t have even been legal!” interrupted Brush as he placed Gnarwhal’s drink on the table. He looked at Gnarwhal apologetically.

“Cetacius is more than welcome here. I’m all in favour of sea creatures visiting, or even moving to the forests. I’ve always been a fan of change, so long as it’s good change”, said Brush as he turned to walk back to the bar.

Ryan the rhino nodded, and the 5 men at the table toasted and drank up. Not noticed by anyone else, Gnarwhal only had that one drink, whereas the rest of them drank until the early hours of the morning.

“R-right! I’m off!” stuttered Ryan as he stood up from the table and walked out of the door. The other exhausted people nodded and waved goodbye to him.

“I’d best be off too. There are lots of things I want to see tomorrow!” said Gnarwhal, and he left too.

Ryan stumbled through the dark and silent streets on his way to find the Two Trees Hotel. Tired and drunk, Ryan would have had trouble at the best of times, but on this day the rhino was very unfortunate. The Gnarwhal, known to Ryan as the friendly tourist Cetacius, was stalking him.

Entering into an exceptionally dark and narrow street, the Gnarwhal rapidly rushed at Ryan and pierced the unsuspecting rhino through the back, the horn piercing his heart and puncturing a lung and then exiting through his chest. Using his immense strength, the Gnarwhal lifted the rhino into the air. Ryan attempted to shout for help, but only blood left his mouth. With a jolt of the head, Gnarwhal tossed the rhino onto the pavement, bleeding profusely as he died.

The Gnarwhal then knelt down beside the body, searched the rhino’s pockets and then picked out his hotel key. Taking off his vest and wiping the blood off of his face and body with it, the Gnarwhal then rushed in the direction of the hotel, discarding the vest at the end of the street.

OOC: Tl;dr !

I had to write all of that in one post though, as I wanted him to get a kill in on the first post.

 

[Aerius Sygale]

OOC: Starting out Crimson Wolf and Sophia characters at the forest area marked with a V on Argor's map he posted in the Sign-Up/Discussion thread.


While the expanse of trees blocked out some view of the sky, it was clear there were quite a few clouds in it, but seeing as they were white as snow it didn't seem probable that it would begin to rain immediately.

Surely this would be relief to many of the inhabitants of this land, as plenty having some coat of fur, getting soaked in a downfall of rain wouldn't be the most enthralling event that could occur...

Two creatures that are no exception to being covered in fur, are two siblings; a brother and sister of the Ferfnir species, of which one of simply describes as a 'Wolf Sub-Species, with the intelligence of a Human and the strength of a Wolf'.

Truly, they really have the combination of both a Human and Wolf's strength and intelligence, they are the best of two, and with their fur they don't get cold very easily, and with their canine features and traits, their instincts are excellent.

These two creatures of the species, two much different names, one because of what he is and his appearance, the other a more ordinary name.

Crimson Wolf is the strong brother, with a dark appearance, but good intentions and motives, and a sense of justice. How ever he may look to somebody, let it be known that his alignment is good, and his will is strong, not a mind to be wavered.

The smaller, not so strong, much more innocent and child-like of the two siblings is Sophia, whose appearance is perfectly light, with a pretty fluffy coat of white fur, and eyes as blue as the skies.

Crimson being very protective of his sister, the only other one left of the family he came from, would go through anything to ensure that nothing would endanger her very life.

Even not overly pleasant words being directed at her will have him bothered, and be defensive of her.

But for the moment unaffected by the surrounding nature, they could at this time feel more relaxed as they strolled leisurely throughout the woods, as a mild breeze could be felt, and the trees overhead swayed gently.

"Hmm..the weather is perfect today..." Crimson acknowledged, as a little gust of wind snuck through the trees and brushed through he and Sophia's fur, "Fine as this weather is, and this environment, the same view becomes old after a while... Would you care to for a change venture outside of these woods' depths, Sophia?" he asked curiously, as he looked over at his sister, who also was enjoying the weather, and was at the time looking up at the trees and the sky.

Turning her head over towards him slowly, with her head slightly tilted sideways cutely, replied "Um, sure. Yeah, we could do that!" sounding not as enthusiastic at first, but quickly changing.

"Buuut I would like to sit and take just a little more time to enjoy this nature, Wolfy, before we could be a little while before seeing this place again, possibly." she requested of Crimson, as she would, in all honesty, miss the woods after heading outside of them after being amongst them for much length of time.

Crimson was mildly bewildered by her initial response, "You really are kind of amusing sometimes in your behavior..." he said, as he had refrained from letting out a little chuckle as her attitude changed from being like Okay... and then Alright, let's go!

Now, after surveying the surroundings, he answered to her request with understanding as he had something of a fondness for forests himself, but does like a change of scenery after a while. "I respect your wishes of course, in this case I'll do the same and take a moment to take in the sights around us until you are ready to leave this behind for some time..."

"Okay!" Sophia replied cheerfully, as she headed towards a nearby tree stump to sit upon it as she gazed at the environment around them, "And thanks, Wolfy!" she added, with a grin.

Crimson, still staying nearby, remained his calm and cool self even around his ever cheerful sister.

He crossed his arms, turned his head down and to a side slightly (not tilting, think Squall Leonhart from FFVIII), then shifting only his eyes up towards her, gave his response. "...think nothing of it..."

The two of them proceeded to relax a bit longer as they sat on the stump of what was quite a large tree, probably would have been one of the biggest in the forest.

 

[Captain Squee]

OOC: I'll be starting with Sasha in the II part of Argors map, but outside of the village.

Two fox's were prancing about in the woods. They were playing around, jumping on eachother and swatting at eachother. One of them was a normal red fox, with red fur making up most of the color on it's body, and a white tip to the tail. The bottom of it's neck down to it's chest was white. It looked as if it was wearing black boots of fur.

However the other fox was a bit more unique. This fox was mostly blue, an extremely unseen color. It looked icy blue with white covering almost the complete underside. It was a beautiful fox, and the fur on her was extraordinary as well. It was long but looked maintained as if it was constantly brushed. The odd lengths of fur also made her look elegant and beautiful.

The red fox jolted off swiftly through the woods, and in return the blue fox also jolted in that direction after the red one. They met up and continued to wrestle in the grass and leaves.

This was Sasha, sh was a fonax, meaning that she was a fox like human. This was why she had such odd colors and fur. She was always finding something to do no matter what, even if it consist of playing around in the tree tops. This was just like her to do. If it was rainy, she might jump about in the rain and enjoy it. It was hard for her to be bored.

Now the red fox and gone and left, but like stated before, Sasha continued having fun. Perhaps it was time for a nap. So Sasha pranced on in the direction that she knew he place was. But of course, suiting for her, she got distracted shortly after heading off. A pretty monarch butterfly flew by and caught her attention. She leaped up and swatted at it to see how it would react. It seemed to not like this and began to fly erratically. Still, she did it again and again. Eventually the butterfly landed on a branch to a nearby birch tree. It looked so pretty on the branch...

Then the fox stood on two legs and then began to shift shapes. It turned into a young looking girl that still had fox features. She put her face up close to the butterfly and looked at it, almost as if it was a precious diamond. Her blue eyes studied as it's wings opened and closed very slowly. After a short time it flew off and Sasha couldn't help but simply watch. If only she could fly, she would love to feel that. To be high in the sky with no worries, the wind through her fur.

Now staring at the clouds in the sky, she began to daydream. Maybe someday she too could drift high like the clouds. Letting out a sigh, she then turned her attention to the previous task and decided it was most definitely time for a nap.She was running back to her place, regardless of nap time or not. She could still sleep...

OOC: Zynthreo will wait til next post...

 

[Tipsynaruto]

OOC: Ill start in forest town IV called Inarido

Clip, clip, clip

The pruning scissors moved methodically amongst the branches of the small bonsai, pruning and shaping the tree. A breeze ruffled the small leaves, carrying a crisp, clear breath of air through the high tree house. Nadesico closed her eyes and absorbed the wind, clearing her head and relaxing her body. The valley was beautiful. Her house perched on a sheer mountain side above the town. From there, she had an unobstructed view for many miles past the mist that protected the Kitsunaris. Down below, she could see children scurrying amongst the tree town, flitting between the houses on the boulevard bridges up high and the bustle of the markets. She could not help but smile at the peace that hung around the air.

Nadesico sama, it is time for your duties. We must descend down into the town.

Ah, yes yes Nana. You worry too much. I do do my work, you know

Her protege flushed and quickly bowed her head

Much apologies Nadesico sama, i did not intend to imply as such.

A warm smile appeared on Nadesico's face. How she adored Nana. With deliberate slowness, Nadesico left the red railing on the balcony where all her bonsai sat and returned inside of the house. In an instant, Nana was by her hand, holding it as if guiding and supporting Nadesico. It worried her that Nana was so subservient. After all, she was to take her position some days and not everyone would make her life easy, just like today.

The duo made their way down the mountain via the stairs that were carved into the face of the mountain. A circular tunnel was cut straight from the wall, offering a covered top with a direct view out. Nadesico made her way through the crowd, her higher social position parting the way for her. Their destination was the bar shop in the third district called "Duran". Its accounts were off and it had not paid its debts to the council as well as infringement on laws against nature and pollution. It was in the shadier side of time, quite literally, but it did not affect Nadesico. Kitsunari hierarchy was based more than just age. With her Tessen, Nadesico knocked on the screen door and stepped into the dim room. The dull drab green and mud brown that the customers inside wore contrasted the regal red and light purple the two female wore.

Ah hem. Bar master. A word if you will. I have several issues in regards to your establishment.

Nadesico stepped forward up to the bar where the barkeeper stood.

It seems you have been lodging false reports in your books as well as being behind in payment with debt from the council. However, those are not the issue i am here to discuss with. The Hyakka has informed me that you have infringed on Nature laws and is accused of severely breaking pollution laws as well. I ask you please follow me back to The Compound for further discussion.

By now, a circle of Kitsunaris have formed around the two, blocking the only exit in the building. It was an obvious sign of hostility and Nana subconsciously siddled closer to Nadesico. In response, Nadesico grabbed the small girl's hand.

Heh. You'd need more than two dainty flowers to drag "the Ox" back to The Compound. My friends can entertain you two for now.

A rough hand shot from the crowd and grabbed Nadesico by the shoulder and tried to pull her. Unfortunately, Nadesico stayed root to the spot she was at.

Ho.... You dare lay your hands on an official? Very well, shall i dance for you then?

Nadesico smiled, revealing pointed teeth before the hand and its owner burst into flames. It burnt hot. His friends scattered backwards at the quality of the fox fire. The flame burned for another second before abating, leaving the Kitsunari curled up in pain on the floor.

If you do not wish for me to burn down this shack and its inhabitants, i suggest you cooperate.

Nadesico's eyes narrowed as she snapped open her fan and covered her mouth as she fanned herself.

Now come.

The duo turned and exited the Duran, with the barkeep behind. There was no use escaping. His bar was surrounded by the Hyakka's soldiers. He would not have made one step beyond his bar before he was skewered.

Nana, watch and learn. Always be graceful and elegant. Never panic nor become flustered, even in the most dire situations.

The apprentice nodded and followed her master back towards The Compound.

 

[Dionysos]

It was now early morning, and the sun was beginning to rise. Already police had cordoned off a large section of a street and were kneeling down beside the corpse of an adult rhinoceros in his early thirties. While more advanced in law enforcement than many other nearby cultures, Waldmund still lacked efficiency, and the people knew this. The police would investigate a little, sure, but if there is no suspect within a few days then they would either give up on the case or frame an innocent. The Waldmund police wanted to be able to tell the public that they were safe, regardless of the reality of a situation, and therefore they wanted results. Fast.

“What do you think, Chief?” said a policeman, a young mole-man.

A bloodhound-man, Hubert Woofwhistle, dressed in a dark blue and gold uniform had been crouching beside the body, using his finger to feel the wounds. “A large wound on his chest....”, said Hubert.

The bloodhound gave the order, and a team of policemen struggled as they turned the rhino onto its side. Hubert then knelt closer again, sniffed all around the body, and then stood up and turned to face the mole policeman.

“He’s been stabbed all the way through. Skewered from the back, right through the chest. The weapon was sharp, and wide. A kind of sword or sharpened pole.” Hubert said.

The bloodhound liked to believe that he had an eye for detail. People joked that this was his problem, for Hubert only had one eye. The middle-aged copper had lost an eye to the Evading Eagle, a thief from years back who would fly through windows, steal valuable possessions and then vanish into the night sky leaving only feathers as evidence.

It took a decade to catch him, and Hubert was the man who nailed him. It was the case which started his career, and the reason he got involved with the police force in the first place. Mr. Woofwhistle had once been a jeweller, but when the Evading Eagle stole all of his stock, the angry bloodhound was broke, his customers angry, and worst of all his family went hungry. Forced out of his home, his young child dead, his wife divorcing him for another man, Hubert decided to hunt the Evading Eagle, and he WOULD catch him.

Dressed in black, his face covered, he waited on the streets of Waldmund at night, eyes peeled and nose active, trying to pick up any scent of an eagle flying at night. Months passed. The hunger nearly killed the bloodhound, only able to feed from remains left in the street, and he transformed from his humanoid appearance into his animal appearance as often as he could, to conserve energy.

On one fateful night, however, Hubert got very lucky. The Evading Eagle (a humanoid eagle with a human-like body shape, covered in feathers, with wings and a large hooked beak) was a very greedy creature. The bird was attempting to leave the window of a house (a window cut from the wood of the tree), but he had been carrying much more than could actually fit through the window with ease. Usually (as the occupants of the buildings he robbed were fast asleep) the thief would have no issue with eventually squeezing the jewellery-filled bag out of the window. That night, however, the hound was watching.

Leaping into the air, transforming into a humanoid mid-leap, Hubert grabbed hold of the Evading Eagle and pulled him to the ground. He punched the robber to within an inch of his life, and then emptied the jewellery bag and forced the eagle himself into it, fitting in quite perfectly, except for his head, which could not be forced into the bag. The hound tied string around the neck of the bag; tight, but not tight enough to strangle the eagle. As the hound carried the criminal to the police he quickly found that not putting the eagle in head first was to cost him his eye, for his feathered foe seized an opportunity when Hubert had to bring the bag closer to open the door to the police station. The eagle forced his neck out as far as it could go, and then in one rapid movement pulled the left eye of the hound out with his beak, laughing with his mouth full as blood squirted everywhere. Later in the day, when Hubert was discharged from Waldmund Hospital, he was stopped at the hospital entrance by a team of police officers. He was hired, and as far as Waldmund law enforcement is concerned he was very good at his job.

As the police began to leave the scene of the murdered rhino, the young mole-man detective asked “so who do you think could do such a thing? Someone who hates foreigners? Killed because he’s of rhino-folk and not of the forest?”

Hubert did not look at his companion.

“He reeked of beer. Acorn beer to be exact. This fellow has been to Brush’s”, stated Hubert.

The mole-man looked down, puzzled, and a little bit disappointed.

Hubert continued, “I think we’re looking at a bar brawl turned nasty… With swords…”

Hubert sounded as if he doubted himself with this last statement. What would Brush, or any of the Brush’s customers have a sword for? Was this premeditated? He did not show his doubt to his partner, and instead confidently plodded on in the direction of Brush’s Bar.

---

The real Cetacius Scarvtusk entered Waldmund, oblivious to the murder which had occurred the day before. He was happy, a tourist hoping to experience life in the wooded metropolis. He wore khaki coloured shorts and a green vest, with binoculars and sunglasses hanging down his chest via cords. His resemblance to the disguise which Gnarwhal had used the following day was uncanny.

The Gnarwhal was now dressed in black robes and a large helmet mask in the shape of a tree; a ceremonial costume of Waldmund which just so conveniently made his long protruding horn appear as just another branch to his tree-head. He walked through the streets with ease. People stopped and stared, sure, as it was not the right day for that particular festival, but people quickly turned away and carried on with their lives, forgetting all about him. The Gnarhwal got what he came for, and now it was time to leave Waldmund.

As the Gnarwhal left the town he spotted Cetacius looking up at the giant hilltop tree with awe. It was quite some way away from the fringes of the town, but its immense size made it visible from outside, and Cetacius was almost frozen to the spot with wonder and admiration.

Gnarwhal grinned behind his mask, then he carefully took out Ryan the Rhino’s hotel room-key from a pocket, and placed it firmly into Cetacius’ hand.

“Good luck”, said the Gnarwhal, and he continued to walk out of the town.

Cetacius was confused. He looked at the room-key for a moment, and looked back to find the native in ceremonial dress, but could not see anyone. He shrugged, put the key in his pocket, and continued to walk into town.

Walking up to a pub called Brush’s Bar he heard a lot of commotion. Cetacius watched as a squirrel-man was thrown out of the bar by a giant hound-man who towered over him. The hound then picked the frantic squirrel up and held him against the wall, his feet dangling and looking for ground which was far below him. The squirrel was the owner, Cetacius thought, for the bar was known as Brush’s, and the squirrel was dressed like a barkeep.

As the hound (who Cetacius at first thought was an angry customer, but upon noticing the blue and gold uniform took to be a policeman) tried to force information out of Brush, his teeth bore violently, Cetacius could see through the door into the chaos within the bar itself.

The tables were overturned, and police had already beaten and tied three individuals; a fox-man, a badger-man and a woodpecker-man. A mole-man police officer was yelling aggressively at all three of them while other policemen searched the place.

Cetacius could not make out a word anyone was saying. There was just too much going on for him to pick out individual words. He’d have to be much closer to hear anything, and a scene like this was not something he had planned to see up close. He began to walk away.

After Brush pointed in the direction of Cetacius, Hubert dropped the squirrel to the ground and rushed towards the unaware Cetacius, knocking him to the ground.

At 1pm the following day Cetacius Scarvtusk, The Rhino Murderer, was hung from the Tree of Justice. The inhabitants of Waldmund spat on his corpse, which was left on display for weeks to come (as both a deterrent and a reminder that Waldmund was safe once more), and many racist sea-phobic insults were hurled at the dead tourist.






OOC: It may seem as if the first murder has been solved from that, but it really hasn’t as the local cops got the wrong guy, and were completely wrong and didn't get the right clues.

Gnarwhal is currently located a short distance from Waldmund.

 

[Aerius Sygale]

Pre-OOC: Torn between starting out in either the IV spot or II spot on the map for the Brianna character, choosing II...sorry in advance for the length not being up to the set standards here, just fitting it in. ^^;

A particular Ferfnir by the name Brianna, had been within the village until she made her way a little ways outside of the village to get her own bit of space from the inhabitants of the village for a while.

'Ha, those boys are all nothing more than a bunch of pigs, it would take nothing for me to really make their heads spin.' she thought to herself with a mischievous grin on her face.

As she wondered through the forest's depth, she watched as a butterfly of orange and black colours flew by her, landing on a nearby flower that was of an interesting, blue colour. The butterfly actually looked quite pretty atop the odd, blue flower, which looked like a daisy, but with those blue petals.

Moving on, deciding to head elsewhere to meet new people (Mid-OOC: Don't really know what other word to use here...), hopefully some interesting ones, thoughts continued to enter her head as she traveled through the woods.

'They're all the same, if just once I choose somebody to approach and not always being the one approached... Do any of these animals even know restraint, or are they all completely wild? At least it is terribly fun to tease them.'

Post-OOC: The planned pathway to take from II is set as V, IV, I, then III, but this is subject to change depending on how things turn out throughout posts that are made.


Font Colour Test (ignore this)

 

[Dionysos]

The Gnarwhal, still dressed in Waldmundian ceremonial gear, rode away from Waldmund, taking one last look at the giant tree on top of the large hill in the centre of the town as he did so.

What he rode on was a horse, or rather a horse-man in his equine form. Horse humanoids these days were more often being paid to carry passengers from one forest town to another, allowing rapid and mostly efficient travel for those who wanted to commute from smaller villages to work in Waldmund. These horses were very strong, and very big, but were also incredibly fast.

What Gnarwhal was riding was not an official service, for the usual transport is heavily monitored and recorded at Waldmund with passengers needing a pre-booked ticket or pass, which had to be approved before being allowed to ride. The Gnarwhal, however, met a horse past the Waldmund stable-stop and decided to pay him privately with a considerable wad of cash he had somehow acquired. The horse took it with no questions, seeing The Gnarwhal as a holy man due to his dress, and assuming that The Gnarwhal’s chosen destination (the lake village of Holzee) was to be a trip of a religious nature, or some other form of visit. While it seemed odd to the horse that the guy in a ceremonial headdress and cloak had paid for him at all, and not got a ticket or pass from the stables, he just assumed that he was merely in a hurry, or had not known that a pass was needed before it was too late.

The horse (a large horse of dark brown colour, with a white patch on his underbelly and a white streak from the forehead down to his nose, sporting a neatly trimmed black mane) galloped onwards, through fields, over hills and in and out of woodland.

The Gnarwhal was reluctant to make conversation. He didn’t like to make conversation unless he could gain from it, or if he was playing in character in a disguise, and to him the horse was merely a means of transportation, nothing more. There was nothing to him, at least not in his animal form, Gnarwhal thought. He was just a stupid horse who had unknowingly accepted payment from a serial killer to flee the scene of crime, a crime which had seen the innocent Cetacius Scarvtusk wrongly accused, arrested and hanged.

About half way through the journey the horse, who called himself Clyde Caballus, stopped to take a break. Morphing back into his humanoid form, Clyde sat with Gnarwhal, and the whale was forced to talk to the horse.

“How much longer until we get to Holzee?”

Clyde looked at Gnarwhal, and then gestured to his face, mimicking the presence of the mask on The Gnarwhal’s own head.

“You can take that off, you know. It’ll be more comfortable to you. ‘Tis the wrong time anyway. What makes you wear the tree now? The festival isn’t for a while yet”.

The Gnarwhal pulled a disgusted face and snarled beneath his mask, but did not show Clyde.

“I want to make an impression. I’m not going there to be accurate. I want to show them what we do sometimes. If it was the right time, I’d be in Waldmund, not travelling to Holzee”, explained the Gnarwhal.

Clyde looked puzzled for a moment, but then his face relaxed as he realised that it sort of made sense. Sort of…

As the pair continued on in their journey south, The Gnarwhal grew very impatient with the horse he was riding on. He was carrying something very important; something he had acquired in Waldmund, and his reason for being there in the first place. The horse appeared to be deliberately slowing down as they passed through another wood on the outskirts of Holzee. They were travelling slow enough now for Gnarwhal to see a red fox leap out of the bushes and run alongside them, actually overtaking them before crossing in front and leaping into bushes on the other side of the small trail they were travelling on. Clyde began to turn away from the trail, something which The Gnarwhal did not expect but did not concern him immediately.

Suddenly, and without warning, Clyde made haste, sprinting faster than he ever had done in their journey to that point: dangerously weaving between trees, leaping over logs and fallen branches, and over streams and alongside the edges of steep cliffs. The Gnarwhal was now undeniably concerned.

“What the hell do you think you are doing, horse! Halt! Woah! Slow the f*ck down!”
yelled Gnarwhal. Clyde did not reply, and only seemed to hasten even more, taking clumsy steps and swerving side to side, forcing The Gnarwhal to tighten his grip to an extent which must have hurt the horse, though the large grin on Clyde’s face would betray this conjecture.

Eventually, a combination of the speed, the constant movements of side to side and the myriad branches passing overhead, all contributed to knock the mask off of The Gnarwhal’s head, also breaking off the majority of the narwhal’s horn, and he was unable to grab it as it left him. Suddenly, the horse halted and flung his entire upper body up into the air, supporting himself on his hind legs. Gnarwhal was thrown backwards a considerable distance, and lay in agony on the bed of the forest.

Clyde span around to face The Gnarwhal, and galloped rapidly towards him. He leapt once more, all four legs aspiring to fly, and in mid-air he suddenly shifted into his humanoid form once more, and landed on two feet next to Gnarwhal. Clyde heaved as he lifted up a large branch, but held it single-handedly as he ran towards The Gnarwhal. Forcing the branch on top of the narwhal’s chest, pinning him to the ground with immense force, Clyde had fury in his eyes. He breathed heavily and spat as he spoke.

“I knew it. You aren’t of Waldmund at all, sea-dweller!”

The Gnarwhal sighed.

“Ha! I figured it out, you see! I can smell a fish from a mile away. Stink! Stink! Stink! You think people will honestly believe that you’re a part of the rituals? You think they’d just let you escape?”

“Yes”, said Gnarwhal, simply and calmly.

“Well, fin-flapper, you were wrong. And now you’ve lost your horn”.
The hysterical horse-man laughed, his lips moving upwards to reveal his large and goofy teeth. A horse could appear very comical at the darkest of times, but The Gnarwhal could tell that Clyde was genuinely laughing. He joined in. The Gnarwhal laughed in a more deliberate manner, mocking Clyde.

“No. You were wrong”, said Gnarwhal.

Suddenly, The Gnarwhal head butted Clyde in the face, breaking several teeth and sending the horse stumbling backwards, still grasping tightly to the branch, though it was no longer exerting pressure onto the narwhal’s chest. Standing up, and running towards Clyde, The Gnarwhal punched him in the face, and then dived on top of him, forcing the horse to the ground and pinning him to it with his weight.

“My horn will grow back”, stated The Gnarwhal, Clyde now trembling with fear and uncertainty regarding his fate.

“And as for being let free… I am. Nobody but you knows that I and Cetacius are not the same.”

As the Gnarwhal informed Clyde of this, his eyes lit up, but in a cold manner which chilled the spine of Clyde. The strong horse knew then that his passenger was not going to be stopped easily, and he now regretted his decision to play hero and turn the sea beast over to the police for a reward.

Clyde’s fear turned into frustration, and then into anger. Raging and showing his teeth (in much the same way as he did in amusement, though his eyebrows were crossed and his eyes were undoubtedly very wrathful), Clyde picked up the strength to move his arm and slammed the branch he was holding against The Gnarwhal’s back, hard. He then grabbed The Gnarwhal by the shoulders and threw him off of him.

Standing up, Clyde adjusted his grip of the branch and yelled.

“If you give up now, I’ll run off and we can go our separate ways. None of this happened. Deal?”

The Gnarwhal stood up and smiled sinisterly.

“I don’t make deals with cowards. Not when I don’t need to”.

The Gnarwhal opened his mouth wide, wider than he had done in a while, to reveal large, glaring, carnivorous teeth; teeth unlike any other narwhal; teeth which would more likely be expected of a shark, but they were not serrated, and were not sharks teeth. Clyde’s immediate face of confusion turned to that of horror. He was frozen, and could not react when The Gnarwhal bit into Clyde’s arm, tearing a large chunk off in one bite.

The blood dripping down Clyde’s arm mirrored that of the blood dripping from the mouth of The Gnarwhal, but their faces couldn’t have contrasted more. Clyde was a mixture of agony and fear, with a hint of delirium. The Gnarwhal was ecstatic, he was enjoying himself, and to Clyde it seemed that biting his arm had strengthened the narwhal somehow, and though Clyde was right to immediately doubt this conclusion it did appear as if The Gnarwhal had in some way found himself again; he was utilising a level of strength he hadn’t needed to use for a very long time.

The Gnarwhal swallowed the large chunk of flesh he had in his mouth, and then spoke.

“I thank you, Clyde. Thank you for taking me near Holzee. I know I am nearby. I won’t be needing you anymore”

He smiled, turned away, and began to walk, deliberately north, facing Waldmund.

“You’re going the wrong way” muttered Clyde to himself in glee, thinking that the narwhal could not hear. He then tried to get away himself, quietly tip-toeing in the true direction of Holzee.

“I disagree…”, said Gnarwhal, loudly, but calmly. Clyde stopped still in his tracks. He was once again frightened.

The Gnarwhal stood facing Clyde, his horn in his hand, which he had picked up from the forest bed.

“…But now I know where Holzee is. Thanks, Clyde. As a reward, I’m going to make a unicorn out of you. What do you say? Right through your skull!”, he gestured an upwards stabbing thrust with his horn, his grin getting all the more sinister.

“Eek! Look! I’m sorry, man. You’re cool. I get you! You’re a fish out of water. You don’t get how we operate here. You’re used to scary things in the ocean; wide, blue spaces of nothing but death. You get to land and you think you suddenly belong here, but you’re scared. You didn’t have civilisations underwater. You couldn’t have your humanoid forms underwater. You see us and you fear us! You resent us! You hate us! I can help you! I ca-”

The Gnarwhal stopped Clyde’s pleading with a stab of his horn. He didn’t put it through his head as promised, but he managed to stab him through the chest. Clyde fell backwards, powerless, but still very much alive. He coughed and spurted out blood.

“Wrong, yet again”, said Gnarwhal, with no expression on his face. “I’m not scared at all. I’m exactly where I want to be, doing exactly what I intend to do. The only one who is lost is you. And it’ll take months for them to find your body out here, after your little detour”.

Clyde’s eyes began to water, and his breathing became more rapid. He kept trying to yell “no!” and “please!” but he was too frantic to express himself. The Gnarwhal wrapped his hands around Clyde’s neck and squeezed tightly. Clyde tried to kick Gnarwhal, and his punches to Gnarwhal’s head must have hurt, but Gnarwhal was unyielding and merciless. Clyde was NOT going to get up again, Gnarwhal made sure of that.

Slowly, but inevitably, Clyde resisted less and less, and Gnarwhal could feel Clyde’s life-force leaving his body. Clyde’s eyes were watered, bulging out, and his long tongue was hanging out of the side of his mouth.

After taking back the money that he had paid to the horse, The Gnarwhal was tempted to plunge his horn through Clyde’s skull to stick out like a unicorn’s horn, but decided against it in the end and yanked the horn out of Clyde’s chest, and put it under his cloak to discard of later. It would indeed be some time, he guessed, before Clyde’s body would be discovered, but he figured that it would be best if a narwhal was not implicated in this murder. He had got off the hook at Waldmund, and his cover had worked fantastically; Cetacius the Rhino Killer had been executed, and nobody was looking for The Gnarwhal now, nor did the residents of Waldmund even know of The Gnarwhal’s existence. Hubert Woofwhistle, the renowned and respected one-eyed bloodhound copper, slept peacefully in his bed that night after what he considered a good day’s work.

Holzee, the forested lake village, was nearby now, and Gnarwhal walked the rest of the distance on foot.







OOC: Holzee is forest village II. The one that Squee was on the outskirts of in his post.

Also... What the heck? How was that post nearly 1000 words longer than my last? I'm such a noob.