as written by Sentry and Script
Anjin had been careful to wade across the river without making a sound. He could have taken the bridge, sure, but that was too dangerous. More dangerous than the rapids that threatened to sweep him off his feet and bash his head into the rocks just downstream. A better fate than the nasty that slithered just above him upon the bridge.
The last few days had been interesting, to say the least. First, he'd been abandoned and then hunted mercilessly by something he couldn't even begin to explain. Something that shouldn't even have been allowed to exist. Something worse than morning breath- a terrifying thought on its own.
Breathing through his nose, the young ranger crept with his feet gently touching the weedy bottom of the river. He was making progress. Slow progress, but steady enough to give him hope. There was enough to hope for on the other side, after all. His bow, his bags, his cloak- dear gods, his cloak. It was all up a path on the other side.
If only a single, slimy stone hadn't caused him to splutter and splash like a cat tossed in a bath.
Whatever unsightly had been patrolling the bridge responded nearly without thought, stretching its head over the edge to glare at...
... at nothing.
Like the mink he was, Anjin had smartly taken to bracing his arms and legs against the undersides of the bridge, barely keeping himself aloft in a rush of panic.
____
An eagle soared overhead, casting sharp eyes down at the monstrosity below as it swept by at just below the treeline. It was all tendrils and spikes, like an unearthly mass of brambles slipping and rolling over themselves. It hurt to look at for too long, a sharp and persistent pain between the eyes as though the mind itself was protesting at what it saw. There was a maw in there separate from the snapping jaws of its several amorphous heads, difficult to spot, but every now and then the spiked tendrils would slip apart enough for the gaping mouth of teeth to be revealed.
The eagle turned in the air, a wide curve that would take it around to fly back the other way, back over the bridge. But something about the monster's behaviour caught its eye. It was exploring, stretching to search down and probe at the riverbed. What was it looking for?
Then the eagle saw him. The young man clinging to the underside of the bridge, hiding. With a loud caw that gave the distinct impression of a curse, it swooped downwards. Midair, it was surrounded by shimmering light, and it shifted.
Wings grew outwards into arms and its body stretched, until it was a human figure, not a bird, dropping from the sky. He held a modern-looking bow in his hands, already drawing an arrow of pure light from the air. He nocked, aimed, and loosed the shot all before he hit the ground, landing in the water with an almighty splash. The arrow pierced the creature's grotesque flesh, and it let out an unearthly shriek, recoiling upwards to rear its tendrils at the new arrival.
He couldn't have been older than eighteen, soft-featured and effeminate with a head of white-blonde hair beneath the red of his hood. He was dressed surprisingly mundanely, in blue jeans and a white top, over which he wore a bright red hooded jacket. A quiver of arrows was strapped to his back to match his bow.
Ari grinned, flicking his hair and waving a hand at Anjin. "I'd take the opportunity to run, if I were you." His voice was laced with an edge of nervousness, but his stance was determined and solid. He drew another glowing arrow from the air and nocked it to his bow. "The surprise round always goes better than the rest of the combat, this could very easily go downhill."
____
Anjin felt his fingers slipping long before the winged anomaly of an angel came down and started shooting at the monstrosity above, so to no end was he thankful.
"Aye, thanks. Running on water never occurred to me before!" he called out with a grin as he tucked his arms in and splashed into the river below. He slicked his hair back as he rushed to the other side of the river, but paused to look over his shoulder. "Follow me! Lead it this way if you can!" he called to the other boy.
His camp was laced with traps. Each and every one he'd made himself. If they could just lead it down the right path...
That was, assuming this guy couldn't take the monster down himself, as Anjin doubted.
____
"Got it!" Ari called, flinching as the beastly aberration dropped from the bridge into the water with an almighty splash. The current didn't seem to bother it as it began to move towards him. Being waist-deep in the water, moving quickly wasn't exactly an option for Ari in his current shape, but...
He grinned, turning towards the bank and taking one step, before he dived down into the water. Again, he was wrapped him shimmering like, and then he was gone. In his place, a fish that looked like something approximating a mackerel cut through the water like a rocket, zooming straight towards the bank. As it got into the shallows, again it shifted, and then Ari was running again in human form, splashing water with his trainers and turning to loose a couple of arrows back at the monster to draw its attention.
It surged towards him with a speed that belied its size, carving through the water without hesitation. Ari didn't stick around to watch it pick up speed, and turned to bolt after Anjin.
____
Anjin took several moments to stare after Ari as the whole transformation panned out before his very eyes. Now, he was sure he'd seen the large bird before, but he could have sworn the thing had dropped him off and flown away. Now, he wasn't so sure what his brain was comprehending. He'd heard of shapeshifters, but never laid eyes on one in the past.
Though he bolted with his current partner in crime, the amazement didn't reside. A grin plastered itself onto his face like a child who'd found a whole dollar on the sidewalk. "How?" he called back. "How'd you manage that!?"
____
"It's a demigod thing." Ari replied casually as they ran, grinning back at him. "Ever heard of Artemis?"
____
"I'm only affiliated with Sozoan gods and Losenyu spirits, unfortunately. But maybe after we get out of this tiny pinch we can talk about that, yeah?"
He tried to speed ahead, and no doubt the boy was fast. Faster than a demigod, though? That was yet to be known. "When I tell you to, just jump, alright? There's a pit ahead. Just... no it's here it's here! Jump! JUMP!"
The placement of the ditch had caught Anjin by surprise. It was hidden only by leaves and a bit of dirt, but to anyone in a panic, it was damn near invisible.
____
"Jump?" Ari questioned. He kept pace with Anjin and might well have been able to overtake him, being a literal olympian, but given that he was meant to be saving the ranger, he'd decided that would be counter-productive. He listened as Anjin mentioned the pit, and nodded.
Of course, Anjin had realised a little late that they were about to reach the pit in question, but thankfully Ari's superhuman eyesight had clearly picked it out. He jumped almost before the other man mentioned it, landing gracefully on the other side.
The creature surged onwards. Only a few moments after they'd jumped, there was a crash behind them as it fell into the pit. Unfortunately, it didn't seem liable to stay there. Already its tendrils had stretched up and planted themselves in the sides, beginning to pull its mass out of the pit.
____
"Doesn't quit, huh?" Anjin queried, sprinting on ahead. He looked to his left and right, knowing that a bulk of his traps had been set off by various nasties and wild animals in the last few days. There had to be some unsprung... somewhere...
... there!
He pointed to a large rock held up by a strained piece of rope above. "How good a shot are you?" he called to Ari. "If you can shoot that rope, duck!"
____
"How good a shot am I, he asks." Ari repeated with a grin, "Only the best shot this side of Mount Olympus, if I do say so myself."
He twirled on a foot, raising his bow and drawing a fresh glowing arrow from the air. He loosed, striking the rope dead on and severing it, before dropping down to duck under whatever it was the trap would spring.
As he was doing so, the creature had just pulled itself free of the hole.
____
As the rope severed, and Anjin dove to the ground, a myriad of creaks and groans echoed up ahead before the boulder came down to land on the creature in the pit.
"Good shot!" he complimented, reaching over to pat Ari on the shoulder. He looked into the woods, at the many intertwined ropes within the trees that were now loosening. "Oh, but don't get up yet. Figured I needed overkill."
Shooting out overhead were several flaming arrows, just barely making it into the pit, where there was a meager amount of oil, and a large amount of dry leaves.
"There. That ought to do it, right?"
____
"Hopefully." Ari replied with a nod, "I've seen the things go down to less than that before now."
As if to confirm it, the creature's spiny tendrils shuddered one last time, then lay still.
The teen pushed himself to his feet, then turned to offer Anjin a hand in greeting, smiling brightly. "Nice work! I'm Ari, good to meet ya!"
____
Anjin's head rested on the ground a moment in relief as the tendrils became flaccid and limped. He let out a large sigh and pointed a finger at Ari.
"Thank you," He pointed to himself, "Anjin." And pointed to the arrows. "Awesome."
With a slight backwards rock, he hopped up onto his feet and saluted. "I don't know a lot of people who can shoot like that in a pinch. I'd of wasted two arrows at least... and shooting's my specialty other than traps. I guess the whole... demigod thing works there, huh?"
____
"I like to think I'm just that good, but yeah, the demigod thing probably helps." Ari laughed, "I won a few regional archery championships back home before anyone cottoned on. Even still, there weren't technically any rules against demigods taking part. They fixed that, but hey, I have that now - I was so good, they had to make new rules to stop me winning."
He glanced back out into the woods, "One sec. Keep your eyes off of this unless you wanna go blind." he said, nocking another arrow to his bow and shooting it into the sky. After it broke the treeline, it exploded into a great flash of bright light. "Signalling the people I came here with." he explained, "I'm technically only supposed to be scouting. I'm with the Elysian Vanguard, if you've heard of us."
____
Anjin was immediately drawn to, and temporarily blinded by the arrow that flew up in the air and exploded into light. He blinked rapidly, then rubbed his eyes. "I would have followed your advice, but I couldn't help myself," he whined.
With his eyes closed, he scratched his head. "The Elysian Vanguard. Can't say I have... though I might have heard the name here or there."
____
"Really? They- we, sorry, were on the news a few times." Ari paused, "I suppose you probably don't watch the news. You look like the woodsy type, not the televisiony type."
He strapped his bow to his back, peering off through the trees, though there was nothing immediately apparent to indicate what he was looking at. "Long story short, ancient order that saves the world on a regular basis. Or at the very least, small portions of it, such as forests being filled with tentacled abominations. There's a group of us trying to track the source, but I'm sure someone can take the time to get you clear. Thankfully the things are spread thinly enough that we're supposed to signal whenever we find one."
He scowled and folded his arms. "Well, I am at least. Aeryn and the others just get to take them out, but apparently I'm not trusted to handle them by myself. Just 'cause I'm new. I mean, c'mon, I'm a demigod! They ought to give me some credit for that."
____
"Oh, so technically you should be getting in trouble. Though, I guess technically I killed it, and I'm not even a demigod. So blame's on me?" Anjin held up a thumb with a bright grin. "But what's going on? Why's there's monsters around?" His brow came together in a pinch, and his thumb's up turned to a point towards his face. "And... have you seen anyone around not from your group? Looks like me? White hair? Shorter? Broody?"
____
"Something's going on... we're not sure what. But this sort of thing has been happening a lot lately." Ari replied, shaking his head. "As for the man you're looking for, sorry. Haven't seen him. Was he here with you?" he asked.
In the distance, there was the sound of a tree falling over, and then a barely-audible yell of. "Fuck trees! Seriously!"
Ari folded his arms and rolled his eyes. "That'll be Aeryn."
____
Flicking his finger in the general direction of the voice, Anjin mumbled, "Interesting."
"Um, yes. He's my brother. We were traveling together- but we got attacked one night. Got split up. Haven't seen him for two days."
____
"It's possible one of the others has found him. But if not, if you take me to where you last saw him, I can track him for you." Ari said, smiling.
At that moment, a large rock slammed through the treeline and skidded into the clearing. It ploughed through the dirt until it knocked ever-so-gently against the rock that had crushed the bramble-beast, and came to a halt. From atop it, a single figure hopped down to the ground, their flowing cloak ... well, flowing with the rush of air as they fell.
Aeryn landed, and shortly after, his cloak landed - unfortunately falling askew. More specifically, landing over his face. There was a pause, and then he blew at it, shooting a gust of wind from his mouth that flipped it back into position, like he were simply blowing a stray strand of hair loose instead of a heavy cloak.
"Ahem." he cleared his throat, "Well, I was all ready to throw that rock at some tentacley monster and save you from some sort of terrible snuff-hentai-esque fate, Ari, but it looks like you uh ..." he glanced at the crushed monster, "...already threw a rock at it."
He glanced over his shoulder at the massive boulder he'd rode in on.
"Don't you just hate it when someone's wielding the same sort of massive several-thousand-ton rock as you? Talk about awkward. Redundant rockery."
Only then did he seem to notice Anjin. "Oh! Hey! New guy! Hi, my name's Aeryn. That guy there's my apprentice." he pointed at Ari. "I know what you're gonna say. I have an apprentice? What the hell were they thinking?! And I totally agree with you. I can't be trusted with a kitten, let alone a ... human-shaped kitten."
Ari gave Aeryn a flat stare. "I'm not a kitten, Aeryn."
"You're about as fragile as one."
"I'm a demigod! A demigod!"
Aeryn snorted. "Demigod of virginity." He glanced at Anjin, "And that's not a joke. Look Artemis up. He's totally a demigod of virginity."
"AMONGST OTHER THINGS!" Ari exclaimed.
"But also virginity."
"Gods damn it."
____
Anjin could hardly hold back a chortle, fist flying up to his lips. "So I assume it's like the first time... every time?" he asked. "I can't tell if that's a blessing or a curse."
He held a hand up and saluted the gentleman before him. "Anjin. I'm, ah, looking for my brother. Looks like a really edgy guy, white hair, sort of seems like a punk and a ninja? Can't miss him, I promise."
____
"I don't actually have any demi-god-like powers relating to that particular aspect of-"
"Except for super-virginity."
"What? I don't even hav... We're not discussing this!" Ari groaned, "Answer the man's question, asshole."
Aeryn blinked, "Right, being helpful. Occasionally has to take precedence to tormenting you, much as I'd rather it didn't. Unfortunately, nope. Haven't seen a guy like that around. I mean, except Ari. He's pretty edgy and has white hair."
Ari gave him a flat stare, before sighing and looking back at Anjin. "I can help you track him, like I said. Unless he vanished into thin air, I'll be able to follow his trail."
It was then that a third figure appeared on the scene, descending gracefully from the treetops. Sarael flew through the air in an exceedingly casual manner, hovering like he were stood upon an invisible platform. His robes and hair swirled around him in the air currents, and several large and leather-bound tomes floated lazily beside him, open. The elven sorcerer glanced briefly at the dispatched creature before nodding his head to Ari and Aeryn. "Good to see you have everything in hand." he inclined his head toward Anjin, "And greetings to you, stranger."
He gestured to the tomes, arcane symbols briefly appearing in the air around them as the pages turned. "I've isolated the source of the energy that these creatures generate. It's deeper in the forest, a huge concentration of it. Either there's a nest there, or a portal. Either way, that's where we should be going."
____
Anjin repeated the gesture to the elf, eyes wide. "To you, too."
The boy had seen his share of fantastical things, but never to this level. Perhaps being a poor village boy contributed to that.
Though he wanted to mention to Ari about tracking his brother, there seemed to be other pressing matters at hand. He frowned and looked towards the demigod.
"He's been gone a while. Maybe when you all finish your business, I can find you, and perhaps I can take advantage of your tracking abilities."
____
"Nah," Aeryn grinned, "We can handle the portal, or the nest, or whatever. We're not here wiping these things out for the fun of it, believe it or not. It's all to protect people, and that includes your missing brother."
Ari raised an eyebrow, but after a moment he nodded his head. "Aeryn's right. I'll help you find your brother while they deal with the source of the creatures. Come on, take me to where you last saw him. We can fly there."
Once more, the light of Ari's shifting enveloped him, and when it faded standing in his place was a marvel of mythos - a pegasus, white as snow with its vast feathered wings spread wide. Ari beckoned for Anjin to get on.
"Pff. New guy gets the pegasus treatment? You're lucky, last time Ari flew me somewhere he turned into a giant bird and I had to cling to the talons for dear life." Aeryn remarked with a smirk.
"Come on, Aeryn, let's get moving." Sarael said, gesturing at the silvis and murmuring an incantation. Abruptly, he was lifted from his feet with a yelp of surprise.
"I wish you'd warn me when you're about to do that." Aeryn muttered, but the elven sorcerer had already flown off. He sighed, gave Anjin a final wave and after a moment's hesitation to orient himself, took off after Sarael.
Anjin had been careful to wade across the river without making a sound. He could have taken the bridge, sure, but that was too dangerous. More dangerous than the rapids that threatened to sweep him off his feet and bash his head into the rocks just downstream. A better fate than the nasty that slithered just above him upon the bridge.
The last few days had been interesting, to say the least. First, he'd been abandoned and then hunted mercilessly by something he couldn't even begin to explain. Something that shouldn't even have been allowed to exist. Something worse than morning breath- a terrifying thought on its own.
Breathing through his nose, the young ranger crept with his feet gently touching the weedy bottom of the river. He was making progress. Slow progress, but steady enough to give him hope. There was enough to hope for on the other side, after all. His bow, his bags, his cloak- dear gods, his cloak. It was all up a path on the other side.
If only a single, slimy stone hadn't caused him to splutter and splash like a cat tossed in a bath.
Whatever unsightly had been patrolling the bridge responded nearly without thought, stretching its head over the edge to glare at...
... at nothing.
Like the mink he was, Anjin had smartly taken to bracing his arms and legs against the undersides of the bridge, barely keeping himself aloft in a rush of panic.
____
An eagle soared overhead, casting sharp eyes down at the monstrosity below as it swept by at just below the treeline. It was all tendrils and spikes, like an unearthly mass of brambles slipping and rolling over themselves. It hurt to look at for too long, a sharp and persistent pain between the eyes as though the mind itself was protesting at what it saw. There was a maw in there separate from the snapping jaws of its several amorphous heads, difficult to spot, but every now and then the spiked tendrils would slip apart enough for the gaping mouth of teeth to be revealed.
The eagle turned in the air, a wide curve that would take it around to fly back the other way, back over the bridge. But something about the monster's behaviour caught its eye. It was exploring, stretching to search down and probe at the riverbed. What was it looking for?
Then the eagle saw him. The young man clinging to the underside of the bridge, hiding. With a loud caw that gave the distinct impression of a curse, it swooped downwards. Midair, it was surrounded by shimmering light, and it shifted.
Wings grew outwards into arms and its body stretched, until it was a human figure, not a bird, dropping from the sky. He held a modern-looking bow in his hands, already drawing an arrow of pure light from the air. He nocked, aimed, and loosed the shot all before he hit the ground, landing in the water with an almighty splash. The arrow pierced the creature's grotesque flesh, and it let out an unearthly shriek, recoiling upwards to rear its tendrils at the new arrival.
He couldn't have been older than eighteen, soft-featured and effeminate with a head of white-blonde hair beneath the red of his hood. He was dressed surprisingly mundanely, in blue jeans and a white top, over which he wore a bright red hooded jacket. A quiver of arrows was strapped to his back to match his bow.
Ari grinned, flicking his hair and waving a hand at Anjin. "I'd take the opportunity to run, if I were you." His voice was laced with an edge of nervousness, but his stance was determined and solid. He drew another glowing arrow from the air and nocked it to his bow. "The surprise round always goes better than the rest of the combat, this could very easily go downhill."
____
Anjin felt his fingers slipping long before the winged anomaly of an angel came down and started shooting at the monstrosity above, so to no end was he thankful.
"Aye, thanks. Running on water never occurred to me before!" he called out with a grin as he tucked his arms in and splashed into the river below. He slicked his hair back as he rushed to the other side of the river, but paused to look over his shoulder. "Follow me! Lead it this way if you can!" he called to the other boy.
His camp was laced with traps. Each and every one he'd made himself. If they could just lead it down the right path...
That was, assuming this guy couldn't take the monster down himself, as Anjin doubted.
____
"Got it!" Ari called, flinching as the beastly aberration dropped from the bridge into the water with an almighty splash. The current didn't seem to bother it as it began to move towards him. Being waist-deep in the water, moving quickly wasn't exactly an option for Ari in his current shape, but...
He grinned, turning towards the bank and taking one step, before he dived down into the water. Again, he was wrapped him shimmering like, and then he was gone. In his place, a fish that looked like something approximating a mackerel cut through the water like a rocket, zooming straight towards the bank. As it got into the shallows, again it shifted, and then Ari was running again in human form, splashing water with his trainers and turning to loose a couple of arrows back at the monster to draw its attention.
It surged towards him with a speed that belied its size, carving through the water without hesitation. Ari didn't stick around to watch it pick up speed, and turned to bolt after Anjin.
____
Anjin took several moments to stare after Ari as the whole transformation panned out before his very eyes. Now, he was sure he'd seen the large bird before, but he could have sworn the thing had dropped him off and flown away. Now, he wasn't so sure what his brain was comprehending. He'd heard of shapeshifters, but never laid eyes on one in the past.
Though he bolted with his current partner in crime, the amazement didn't reside. A grin plastered itself onto his face like a child who'd found a whole dollar on the sidewalk. "How?" he called back. "How'd you manage that!?"
____
"It's a demigod thing." Ari replied casually as they ran, grinning back at him. "Ever heard of Artemis?"
____
"I'm only affiliated with Sozoan gods and Losenyu spirits, unfortunately. But maybe after we get out of this tiny pinch we can talk about that, yeah?"
He tried to speed ahead, and no doubt the boy was fast. Faster than a demigod, though? That was yet to be known. "When I tell you to, just jump, alright? There's a pit ahead. Just... no it's here it's here! Jump! JUMP!"
The placement of the ditch had caught Anjin by surprise. It was hidden only by leaves and a bit of dirt, but to anyone in a panic, it was damn near invisible.
____
"Jump?" Ari questioned. He kept pace with Anjin and might well have been able to overtake him, being a literal olympian, but given that he was meant to be saving the ranger, he'd decided that would be counter-productive. He listened as Anjin mentioned the pit, and nodded.
Of course, Anjin had realised a little late that they were about to reach the pit in question, but thankfully Ari's superhuman eyesight had clearly picked it out. He jumped almost before the other man mentioned it, landing gracefully on the other side.
The creature surged onwards. Only a few moments after they'd jumped, there was a crash behind them as it fell into the pit. Unfortunately, it didn't seem liable to stay there. Already its tendrils had stretched up and planted themselves in the sides, beginning to pull its mass out of the pit.
____
"Doesn't quit, huh?" Anjin queried, sprinting on ahead. He looked to his left and right, knowing that a bulk of his traps had been set off by various nasties and wild animals in the last few days. There had to be some unsprung... somewhere...
... there!
He pointed to a large rock held up by a strained piece of rope above. "How good a shot are you?" he called to Ari. "If you can shoot that rope, duck!"
____
"How good a shot am I, he asks." Ari repeated with a grin, "Only the best shot this side of Mount Olympus, if I do say so myself."
He twirled on a foot, raising his bow and drawing a fresh glowing arrow from the air. He loosed, striking the rope dead on and severing it, before dropping down to duck under whatever it was the trap would spring.
As he was doing so, the creature had just pulled itself free of the hole.
____
As the rope severed, and Anjin dove to the ground, a myriad of creaks and groans echoed up ahead before the boulder came down to land on the creature in the pit.
"Good shot!" he complimented, reaching over to pat Ari on the shoulder. He looked into the woods, at the many intertwined ropes within the trees that were now loosening. "Oh, but don't get up yet. Figured I needed overkill."
Shooting out overhead were several flaming arrows, just barely making it into the pit, where there was a meager amount of oil, and a large amount of dry leaves.
"There. That ought to do it, right?"
____
"Hopefully." Ari replied with a nod, "I've seen the things go down to less than that before now."
As if to confirm it, the creature's spiny tendrils shuddered one last time, then lay still.
The teen pushed himself to his feet, then turned to offer Anjin a hand in greeting, smiling brightly. "Nice work! I'm Ari, good to meet ya!"
____
Anjin's head rested on the ground a moment in relief as the tendrils became flaccid and limped. He let out a large sigh and pointed a finger at Ari.
"Thank you," He pointed to himself, "Anjin." And pointed to the arrows. "Awesome."
With a slight backwards rock, he hopped up onto his feet and saluted. "I don't know a lot of people who can shoot like that in a pinch. I'd of wasted two arrows at least... and shooting's my specialty other than traps. I guess the whole... demigod thing works there, huh?"
____
"I like to think I'm just that good, but yeah, the demigod thing probably helps." Ari laughed, "I won a few regional archery championships back home before anyone cottoned on. Even still, there weren't technically any rules against demigods taking part. They fixed that, but hey, I have that now - I was so good, they had to make new rules to stop me winning."
He glanced back out into the woods, "One sec. Keep your eyes off of this unless you wanna go blind." he said, nocking another arrow to his bow and shooting it into the sky. After it broke the treeline, it exploded into a great flash of bright light. "Signalling the people I came here with." he explained, "I'm technically only supposed to be scouting. I'm with the Elysian Vanguard, if you've heard of us."
____
Anjin was immediately drawn to, and temporarily blinded by the arrow that flew up in the air and exploded into light. He blinked rapidly, then rubbed his eyes. "I would have followed your advice, but I couldn't help myself," he whined.
With his eyes closed, he scratched his head. "The Elysian Vanguard. Can't say I have... though I might have heard the name here or there."
____
"Really? They- we, sorry, were on the news a few times." Ari paused, "I suppose you probably don't watch the news. You look like the woodsy type, not the televisiony type."
He strapped his bow to his back, peering off through the trees, though there was nothing immediately apparent to indicate what he was looking at. "Long story short, ancient order that saves the world on a regular basis. Or at the very least, small portions of it, such as forests being filled with tentacled abominations. There's a group of us trying to track the source, but I'm sure someone can take the time to get you clear. Thankfully the things are spread thinly enough that we're supposed to signal whenever we find one."
He scowled and folded his arms. "Well, I am at least. Aeryn and the others just get to take them out, but apparently I'm not trusted to handle them by myself. Just 'cause I'm new. I mean, c'mon, I'm a demigod! They ought to give me some credit for that."
____
"Oh, so technically you should be getting in trouble. Though, I guess technically I killed it, and I'm not even a demigod. So blame's on me?" Anjin held up a thumb with a bright grin. "But what's going on? Why's there's monsters around?" His brow came together in a pinch, and his thumb's up turned to a point towards his face. "And... have you seen anyone around not from your group? Looks like me? White hair? Shorter? Broody?"
____
"Something's going on... we're not sure what. But this sort of thing has been happening a lot lately." Ari replied, shaking his head. "As for the man you're looking for, sorry. Haven't seen him. Was he here with you?" he asked.
In the distance, there was the sound of a tree falling over, and then a barely-audible yell of. "Fuck trees! Seriously!"
Ari folded his arms and rolled his eyes. "That'll be Aeryn."
____
Flicking his finger in the general direction of the voice, Anjin mumbled, "Interesting."
"Um, yes. He's my brother. We were traveling together- but we got attacked one night. Got split up. Haven't seen him for two days."
____
"It's possible one of the others has found him. But if not, if you take me to where you last saw him, I can track him for you." Ari said, smiling.
At that moment, a large rock slammed through the treeline and skidded into the clearing. It ploughed through the dirt until it knocked ever-so-gently against the rock that had crushed the bramble-beast, and came to a halt. From atop it, a single figure hopped down to the ground, their flowing cloak ... well, flowing with the rush of air as they fell.
Aeryn landed, and shortly after, his cloak landed - unfortunately falling askew. More specifically, landing over his face. There was a pause, and then he blew at it, shooting a gust of wind from his mouth that flipped it back into position, like he were simply blowing a stray strand of hair loose instead of a heavy cloak.
"Ahem." he cleared his throat, "Well, I was all ready to throw that rock at some tentacley monster and save you from some sort of terrible snuff-hentai-esque fate, Ari, but it looks like you uh ..." he glanced at the crushed monster, "...already threw a rock at it."
He glanced over his shoulder at the massive boulder he'd rode in on.
"Don't you just hate it when someone's wielding the same sort of massive several-thousand-ton rock as you? Talk about awkward. Redundant rockery."
Only then did he seem to notice Anjin. "Oh! Hey! New guy! Hi, my name's Aeryn. That guy there's my apprentice." he pointed at Ari. "I know what you're gonna say. I have an apprentice? What the hell were they thinking?! And I totally agree with you. I can't be trusted with a kitten, let alone a ... human-shaped kitten."
Ari gave Aeryn a flat stare. "I'm not a kitten, Aeryn."
"You're about as fragile as one."
"I'm a demigod! A demigod!"
Aeryn snorted. "Demigod of virginity." He glanced at Anjin, "And that's not a joke. Look Artemis up. He's totally a demigod of virginity."
"AMONGST OTHER THINGS!" Ari exclaimed.
"But also virginity."
"Gods damn it."
____
Anjin could hardly hold back a chortle, fist flying up to his lips. "So I assume it's like the first time... every time?" he asked. "I can't tell if that's a blessing or a curse."
He held a hand up and saluted the gentleman before him. "Anjin. I'm, ah, looking for my brother. Looks like a really edgy guy, white hair, sort of seems like a punk and a ninja? Can't miss him, I promise."
____
"I don't actually have any demi-god-like powers relating to that particular aspect of-"
"Except for super-virginity."
"What? I don't even hav... We're not discussing this!" Ari groaned, "Answer the man's question, asshole."
Aeryn blinked, "Right, being helpful. Occasionally has to take precedence to tormenting you, much as I'd rather it didn't. Unfortunately, nope. Haven't seen a guy like that around. I mean, except Ari. He's pretty edgy and has white hair."
Ari gave him a flat stare, before sighing and looking back at Anjin. "I can help you track him, like I said. Unless he vanished into thin air, I'll be able to follow his trail."
It was then that a third figure appeared on the scene, descending gracefully from the treetops. Sarael flew through the air in an exceedingly casual manner, hovering like he were stood upon an invisible platform. His robes and hair swirled around him in the air currents, and several large and leather-bound tomes floated lazily beside him, open. The elven sorcerer glanced briefly at the dispatched creature before nodding his head to Ari and Aeryn. "Good to see you have everything in hand." he inclined his head toward Anjin, "And greetings to you, stranger."
He gestured to the tomes, arcane symbols briefly appearing in the air around them as the pages turned. "I've isolated the source of the energy that these creatures generate. It's deeper in the forest, a huge concentration of it. Either there's a nest there, or a portal. Either way, that's where we should be going."
____
Anjin repeated the gesture to the elf, eyes wide. "To you, too."
The boy had seen his share of fantastical things, but never to this level. Perhaps being a poor village boy contributed to that.
Though he wanted to mention to Ari about tracking his brother, there seemed to be other pressing matters at hand. He frowned and looked towards the demigod.
"He's been gone a while. Maybe when you all finish your business, I can find you, and perhaps I can take advantage of your tracking abilities."
____
"Nah," Aeryn grinned, "We can handle the portal, or the nest, or whatever. We're not here wiping these things out for the fun of it, believe it or not. It's all to protect people, and that includes your missing brother."
Ari raised an eyebrow, but after a moment he nodded his head. "Aeryn's right. I'll help you find your brother while they deal with the source of the creatures. Come on, take me to where you last saw him. We can fly there."
Once more, the light of Ari's shifting enveloped him, and when it faded standing in his place was a marvel of mythos - a pegasus, white as snow with its vast feathered wings spread wide. Ari beckoned for Anjin to get on.
"Pff. New guy gets the pegasus treatment? You're lucky, last time Ari flew me somewhere he turned into a giant bird and I had to cling to the talons for dear life." Aeryn remarked with a smirk.
"Come on, Aeryn, let's get moving." Sarael said, gesturing at the silvis and murmuring an incantation. Abruptly, he was lifted from his feet with a yelp of surprise.
"I wish you'd warn me when you're about to do that." Aeryn muttered, but the elven sorcerer had already flown off. He sighed, gave Anjin a final wave and after a moment's hesitation to orient himself, took off after Sarael.
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