Welcome to Gaia! ::

As the Shifters left the forest, a lone one entered, in the form of a great, fully matured grizzly bear. It couldn't see very well, but its hearing was fine, and its sense of smell was impeccable. Moving silently, - or, at least, as silently as a grizzly bear was capable of moving - the bear traced the scent of blood left by dead government agents all the way to the river where Vee and the others had dumped the bodies, subtly dragging his hind feet to mix up the dirt and hide the footprints of a wolf and a leopard.

Upon reaching the water, the bear was enveloped in a pure glow that started out a fiery red and slowly turned into a translucent white. In the bear's place, a stocky, burly man with tousled brown hair stood. He held his chin up high, the air of command about his presence. The man turned around and gazed solemnly at the water. He could make out the outlines of the bodies, deep down at the bottom of the river. Their fellow agents wouldn't be able to find them unless they knew exactly where to look, and the only way they could find that was by following the footprints left behind by Vee and Bithiah - which he had just taken care of.

He'd been trailing the young, green-eyed girl for a couple of days now, waiting patiently for the right time to reveal himself. For a few months now, he searched in vain for her, but she had always covered her tracks too well. Only a mere two days ago did he hear people talking about a magnificent white wolf being chased by three men in black suits. He never thought she'd return to her hometown. There were too many memories there. She was a brave girl to do so.

He hadn't expected the other Shifters to pop up. He hadn't seen any other Shifters for a long while now, and was close to accepting the thought that maybe there weren't any other Shifters left. He was glad they appeared when they did and proved him wrong. He would've been disappointed if there was no one left to pass on the knowledge he'd gained in the past few years. He knew that his efforts wouldn't be wasted; those six there, they were a good group. They would be able to get the job done. He just knew it.

The man headed west, walking at a leisurely pace. When he reached the edge of the forest, he saw six figures, just little dots now, and growing smaller. He would catch up with them by nightfall if he shifted. The glow surrounded him again, and he shifted into a grizzly bear once more, lumbering at a fast pace after the six young Shifters.

Harley slammed his fist down on top of the report he'd just received that said the agents tailing that damned wolf girl had been found dead.

"Damn it!

He added the names of the dead agents to his mental list of things he owed Shifters for. The phone on his desk rang, and Harley picked it up without looking at it.

"Agent Johnson here."

"Dammit, Johnson, that's three more dead! What the hell are you going to do about this mess you've made? I gave you direct orders not to do anything rash in light of-"

Harley dropped the receiver back into its cradle without saying a word. The last thing he need was his long-winded supervisor ranting about how reckless he was. He wouldn't have sent just three men armed with light weaponry if it had been up to him, but the upper brass refused to green-light more drastic measures until the S-S case had been reviewed by a congressional committee.

After a second, he picked up the phone again and dialed, then listened to the other end ring twice before it was picked up.

"It's me. We've got three more dead. How are things coming along on your end?"

"If it isn't my favorite crotchety old man! Too bad about those agents, but hey, that's why I've been so busy headhunting, right? Things are going wonderfully over here, I've got fifteen candidates all lined up and ready for interviews."

"Good. You can start sending them in."

xxxxxA g h a v e a g h McMURPHY

As a wolf, Vee's eyes were dangerous and intense, and Dex felt the full force of her gaze when she swung her head around to meet his own adamant stare. He stood his ground, though, and firmly rejected Vee's orders. There was a moment of tense silence, then Vee blinked and shook her head approvingly. Up until now, Vee thought Dex was just a pushover, grudgingly accepting whatever he was told. Now that she thought about it, it was quite silly, the way she was trying to boss them around. Here they were, a good four years or so older than her, and her most likely the youngest in the group, and she was trying to act the leader! Her pride was a bit bruised, but mentally, she thanked him for putting her in her place.

Vee headed to her fake bush where she hid all her supplies and shrugged the backpacks on over her head. Then she glanced at the rest of the group to see if they were nearly ready to go, then headed off. She started ahead of them, but she was confident that Richard and Bithiah would catch up. She went at a fast pace, but it wasn't hurried. If necessary - which, at the moment, it was - she could go at that pace all day and night.

After a bit though, something in her started to get panicked. She felt like something was following them, closing in on them, and so she increased her pace. Most likely, it was just her own paranoia that was psyching her out, and the entire group - except for Dex and Allen, who were going at their own leisurely pace - was paying for it. She finally slowed down a little bit after the sun set. It looked like they were in a sort of forest again, but it was less dense and crowded than the last. The spaces between trees were wider - there was less cover, less places to hide.

Vee's breaths came out in ragged gasps. Richard wasn't the only one who was considering just collapsing where they stood. She started shifting while she was running, heading for a tree that she could lean on for support. However, the glow that came with her transformations blinded her for a moment, and she nearly crashed face-first into the trunk.

She couldn't speak for the first few minutes. She just bent over, one arm resting on her knee, one gripping the tree for balance. Then she sat down, back against the tree, chest heaving. It was because of her they ran so hard for so long. What a big mistake. Never, ever doing that again.

"That doesn't sound like... a bad idea.... At all," Vee half-muttered, half-wheezed in agreement. She glanced at the others to see how they fared. Not much better, probably.

"Did any of you feel like... like someone was following us?" she inquired, unable to keep the tone of guilt from her voice. Maybe she was just thinking too much and imagining things. She felt really bad now, and not just physically.

[[ooc: xD poor Richard.]]

The snake shifter, contrasting with most of the other members of their little group, was far from completely exhausted -- this mostly had to do with the fact that he was merely hitching a ride. The only movement he had to do was a constant shifting of his coils to ensure that he wasn't squeezing Dex. He wasn't a constrictor, after all.

After some amount of time, however, he got the impression that the larger animals in their group had started to move faster and faster. His tongue flicked out rapidly, tasting the air over and over again, and he got the unpleasant feeling that the trail was becoming weaker. He couldn't assess how tired (or not tired) Dex was; for the first time, Allen wished for the ability to communicate in animal form.

Additionally, Allen was starting to feel as if they, themselves, were being tracked. Perhaps not Dex and Allen specifically, but someone or something was attempting to catch up with their little group.

Perhaps they're friendly.

Allen hissed quietly to himself and shifted once more. Probably they weren't friendly. He was quietly becoming more and more worried, when, suddenly, the trail became warm again.

The group must have stopped for the night. Allen hissed once more, this time in relief.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAlexa ▫ Marie ▫ Smith



xxxxxxxxxxxx You think you got the ɓεsʈ ɸʄ ɱε?
xxxxxxxxxxxx Think you've had the ɭαsʈ ɭαuɡɦ?
xxxxxxxx Bet you think that εvεɼyʈɧɪηɡ ɡσσɗ ɪs ɡɸηε

xxxxxxxxxxxx Think you left me uӎop uəʞoɹq?
xxxxxxxxxxxx Think that I'd come ruηηiηɡ ɓαck?
xxxx Well you don't know me, cause yɸu'ɼe ɗεαɗ ѡɼɸηɡ

xxxxxxxxxx What doesn't kill you ӎαkεs yɸu sʈrɸηɡεɼ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Stand a little ȚΛLLΣЯ
xxxxxxxxxx Doesn't mean I'm lonely ѡɧεn Ί'ӎ αɭɸηe

xxxxxxxxxx What doesn't kill you ɺəʇɥɓɪɟ ɐ səʞɐw
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Footsteps even ɭ ɪ g ɧ ʈ e r
xxxxxxxxxx Doesn't mean I'm over cαusε Ί'ӎ ɡɸηe

»------------------

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx If you had been in a forest near the Indiana-Illinois border, you would've seen a bright white tiger between the dark branches of the nightcovered trees. Slowly padding along, the tiger stopped, as if realizing the fact it was practically glowing in the dark. Then, where there had stood a white tiger just moments before, a very petite girl with brightwhite hair in a messy, dirty braid down to her thighs and strikingly red eyes was standing. In a simple outfit of a black hoodie, dark navy jeans, and black Converse high-tops, she was much less easily seen than her animal counterpart. Falling to her knees in exhaustion, the girl started to search for a place to sleep. Until she smelled it. It was distant and faint, but she could smell it perfectly. The distinct smell of animals and humans all together. Shapeshifters The thought jumped around joyously in her head. After weeks of traveling, maybe she had finally found others like her. Coiling her long braid around itself and tucking it into her hood, she zipped up the jacket and stood back up, dead silent as she did so. She had an advantage of sight and smell over any wandering government agents, but that was it. No weapons. No wings. Nothing. Walking with an eerily silent tread, she followed the smell, keeping her hood pulled up to possibly hide her pale face and bright white hair that seemed to be glowing in the night. The thought of shifting back into a tiger crossed her mind, but her bright white fur would be a giant "Come Get Me" sign. So she trudged along.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxShe smelled the dead bodies before she saw them, and saw them way before any normal human would've. Three government agents in the river. And the smell of shifters was getting stronger. They had to have stopped for the night, so if Alex kept going, she could catch up to them. She crossed the river over a log that had fallen just a few yards away from where she was standing, careful to cover the tracks on the muddy ground. She got back on the trail of the other shifters and continued forward.

text speak think

------------------«

with: no one where: a forest somewhere near the border of Illinois mood: hopeful current weapon: unarmed outfit: here

ooc:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAlexa ▫ Marie ▫ Smith



xxxxxxxxxxxx You think you got the ɓεsʈ ɸʄ ɱε?
xxxxxxxxxxxx Think you've had the ɭαsʈ ɭαuɡɦ?
xxxxxxxx Bet you think that εvεɼyʈɧɪηɡ ɡσσɗ ɪs ɡɸηε

xxxxxxxxxxxx Think you left me uӎop uəʞoɹq?
xxxxxxxxxxxx Think that I'd come ruηηiηɡ ɓαck?
xxxx Well you don't know me, cause yɸu'ɼe ɗεαɗ ѡɼɸηɡ

xxxxxxxxxx What doesn't kill you ӎαkεs yɸu sʈrɸηɡεɼ
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Stand a little ȚΛLLΣЯ
xxxxxxxxxx Doesn't mean I'm lonely ѡɧεn Ί'ӎ αɭɸηe

xxxxxxxxxx What doesn't kill you ɺəʇɥɓɪɟ ɐ səʞɐw
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Footsteps even ɭ ɪ g ɧ ʈ e r
xxxxxxxxxx Doesn't mean I'm over cαusε Ί'ӎ ɡɸηe

»------------------

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Alex trudged on, her feet getting heavier, and louder, by every step. She had been doing nothing but running and searching for weeks. Now she had finally found a scent trail, and she was too tired to keep following it. She stopped for a moment, but it was too long, and her legs stopped holding her. She fell to her knees on the grassy, leafy ground. She couldn't just sleep in the open. She needed shelter. She looked around her, her above-average vision scouring every leaf, every twig, every bug, and found nothing. The shifters must've stopped, which means they have to have some form of safety With this thought, she slowly stood, unstable on her tired legs, and kept following the scent. She had to be close. She made an effort to keep her steps quieter, and her face and hair even more hidden. Her stomach was rumbling as well, and she realized she hadn't eaten anything since that stupid squirrel yesterday. Not a very good meal itself, either. So she shifted. A blue-ish glow that quickly turned pure white overtook her body, and a white tiger stood in her place once again. She veered off the trail of the other shifters and quickly locked on an injured deer. Why it was deep in the forest at night was a mystery to her, but oh well. Food is food. She stayed hidden behind a cluster of trees and bushes until the deer came near her. Then, in a blinding blaze of white, the tiger pounced, ripping the throat of the deer before it had time to make a sound. But it was careful to keep clean of blood on its white-and-black coat. In less than ten minutes, the tiger was done with what it wanted, and it stepped back. A glow covered the tiger and the human Alex reappeared. She wiped blood off her mouth with her sleeve, hid her hair back in her hood, and set off towards the shifters, reenergized.

text speak think

------------------«

with: no one where: a forest somewhere near the border of Illinois mood: rejuvinated current weapon: unarmed outfit: here

ooc: Going to camp today, so I won't be on again until Friday or Saturday. Please don't leave me behind. Sorry about having to leave right after I actually joined the roleplay.

xxxxxA g h a v e a g h McMURPHY

Vee glanced at Kiacy, who was standing to the side, staring at the other panting Shifters somewhat uncomfortably. Vee envied her, one of the two or three in the group that wasn't tired. Richard was right though; her body was going to be aching by the morning. But then again, all their bodies would be aching, with all the running they did. Kiacy offered to get anything the Shifters needed, eyeing their breathless conditions.

Vee smiled faintly. "I think I lost my breath somewhere back there," she joked half-heartedly. Her legs were starting to throb and shake, so she took a seat near the tree, back against the trunk. As she did, Dex and Allen entered the clearing, signs of exhaustion apparent on Dex's fox face. His mouth was foaming, and his eyes were already drooping. He padded over to a soft bed of moss and collapsed right there, raising his head just enough to let Allen's snake form slither off. Again, Vee felt a wave of guilt seeing Dex's state.

Upon hearing Bithiah's comment about a bear, Vee's head snapped up. A bear? Here? What type of bear? It couldn't be who she was thinking off. Absolutely couldn't be. She saw it herself.

"My prey animal instincts say we shouldn't worry and just relax."

Vee glanced at Richard and grinned wearily. "Sure it's the animal's instincts, or the exhausted human's ones?"

She shifted in her seat, groaning softly from the exertion, and slid her pack off her backpack. Inside, there were ten small cans of tuna. She took one aside for herself, then tossed a can to each of the Shifters. One can landed near Richard for when he woke up again. She'd meant to save them for emergencies, when they really needed it, but she doubted any of them had the energy to go hunting, and she didn't want to send Kiacy or Allen out. Kiacy would need the rest as much as them.

Vee sighed, glancing once more at the Shifters. "If what Richard said is true, then we needn't worry about government goons sneaking up on us for another day or two. I don't know about you all, but I'm going to spend those couple of days in dreamland. Next time we travel, I'll make sure to go at a much more reasonable pace," she said, a bitter tone creeping into her last sentence. With that, she cracked open the can of tuna and began to slowly eat.