This Forest is my home. (open)

[Noklie Berues]

Noklie thought that Raymond would understand since he suggested hunting in the first place. Besides, he was just going to go about it the way he normally did. Being quiet and quick.

Well, I guess you could say that a weird thing about Noklie was the fact that he hunted more like a hunter than a wolf. He still used some of his wolf senses to hunt but, the way he went out it was that of just a ordinary hunter.

[Deleted]

Raymond found his mind wandering as he followed Noklie. As he looked around for something to hunt for the hungry lad, Raymond thought of all sort of things. He imagined flying in the sky with Iolani, maybe even someday hunting in the air! He imagined the Kingdom several years from now. What would it look like? It was a growing Kingdom... perhaps an age of glory was upon Avaleur.

Raymond found himself thinking more inside his head than out of it, and his lack of awareness caused his foot to slip into a trap that Noklie's had just missed, whether he was aware of it or not. His foot pulled the rope forward and it tightened around his ankle. Quickly, Raymond stopped moving, his eyes wide for a moment as he waited.

"Whew, for a second I thou-" The lad is cut of as a mechanism is heard clicking, the rope tightens and the rest of it pulls raymond up into the air, over a branch and drops him into a iron cage. He landed with a thud on his back as the top of it closed. Raymond coughed and sputtered as he tried to catch his breath.

Looking around, he realized his arrows had fallen out of his quiver while upside down. He still had his bow, but nothing to fire with... "Well shoot... now who would to this?" He wonders but then realizes that answer as he felt the bars, rubbing the fine Wolfsbane powder between his fingers... the Sidulus.

[Noklie Berues]

Noklie hadn't noticed the trap, but when he heard Raymond start to speak but then a click sound. He turned around a looked. Only to jump back as the trap went about it's way. He'd seen the cage before, the kind of cage that was set up throughout the place.

Going around it, he tried to find the lock that kept the cage closed.

"There's a lot of these things all over the place." Noklie said as he searched.

Only to remove the knife from it's sheath and bent down. He found the lock at last, taking the knife he went to attempt to get the lock off.

[Deleted]

"A lot of them huh?" Raymond says as he looks around at the cage before at Noklie. "That's not good. Probably the werewolf hunters..." He said before bending down to look at the lock.
"So you pick locks too huh? You are quite the interesting character Noklie. Anyone ever tell you that?"

He lived out in the woods, hunted, picked locks, what else did this small boy do?!

[Noklie Berues]

"I don't see why though. I've lived in this forest my whole life, I haven't see another werewolf besides my mother." Noklie said. "Nor heard of one."

Falling silent as he fiddled with the lock, it ended up breaking instead of just being picked. He had heard what Raymond said about him though. But he didn't fully understand the interesting part.

"I break them actually." Noklie said as he put the knife in it's sheath and took the remainder of the lock off so Raymond could get out. "No one else is around to say that."

[Deleted]

Raymond's heart stopped for a moment as he heard the breaking of the lock... thank heavens for cheap locks, a good one would have broken, sealing Raymond in the cage for a very long time rather than breaking off.
"You know breaking locks will sometimes just make sure you never get out of the cage right?" Raymond laughed nervously before reaching up and shoving the top over and off. He reached up, grabbed the ledge and pulled himself out, jumping onto the ground with a bit of grace.

The boy laughed and smacked Noklie on the arm, a pat of thanks. "Freedom!" He smirked, "Alright back to the hunt I guess... but hey you should really learn to have some fun sometime kid." He suggested as he walked to where the arrows had fallen and he picked them up again.

[Noklie Berues]

Noklie shrugged.

"They always broke off for me and I got out." Noklie said.

It was true. He had gotten trapped a few times in these things and he thrashed about pretty much until he managed to break the lock after trying to at some point. The pat on his arm was a strange gesture to him. However he chose not to say anything. Hoisting himself up onto the top of the cage he looked around.

"I think hunting is out for now." Noklie said. "There's nothing fun about this. This trap went off and I don't doubt that the hunter that set up the trap is far away, they most likely heard it and are coming to check on it."

[Deleted]

Raymond shrugged too, if the boy wanted to keep doing it like that than fine, but he hoped he realized that the more broken locks the hunters found, the more likely they were to spend a little more cash and get a heavy duty lock.

Raymond now had a respect for school teachers...
"I didn't mean fun in this.. ah nevermind." Raymond sighed, "If they are coming back then we need to get out of here, the Sidulus travel in groups, well armed werewolf slaying groups. You have a place to hide out or what?" Raymond asked.

[Noklie Berues]

Noklie listened to what was around them. For any far away noise. A twig snapped and he jumped down from the top of the cage.

"This way." Noklie whispered to Raymond before taking off, going fast enough to where Raymond could keep up.

[Deleted]

Raymond darted after Noklie, staying pretty close behind him as they rushed through the forest. This was getting to be a little fun. He couldn't help but smile a little.

[Noklie Berues]

While still running, he could still keep an ear out for the things around them. However, he didn't realize it until it was too late. A arrow had been released and sent flying, only to end up hitting Noklie in the shoulder!

His eyes widened with a pain but he soon ducked for cover to avoid another one. No doubt Raymond had noticed and had ducked as well. Reaching with a hand, he tried to grasp hold of the arrow. Managing to grab part of it, he made sure he had a solid grip before taking it.

[Deleted]

Raymond ducked as arrows began soaring through the air, they were closer than the two had thought evidently. Raymond ran up and grabbed Noklie, pulling him down with him as he slid behind the cover of a tree.
"Stay here." He directed as he took some wire from his pocket and wrapped it around an arrow before firing it at a tree, it lodged in deep and Raymond did the same to two others in two other directions. He gave a quick yank to make sure they would work to trip if needed before handing the ends to Noklie.
"Listen, you hear them get near, pull those up and trip em good alright?" He said before jumping up into the tree and beginning to climb it. Raymond let out a screech similar to the one earlier as he made his way to the top of the tree, covered decently but if one was to really look he would be found. The lad readied himself and an arrow into his bowstring.

[Noklie Berues]

Tossing the arrow that he had taken out of his shoulder on the ground, before Raymond had pulled him into the cover of a tree. Noklie had no reason to argue, he wasn't insane. So there was no way he was going to take those hunters on.

"Alright." Noklie said as he took the strings, waiting for them to show.

[Deleted]

Raymond also waited, and watched as the first few, the fastest in the group, slowed to a stop as they approached the tree.

"What da 'ell was that noise?"

"I dunno probably a shout from one of em. Now keep your eyes peeled, they couldn't have gotten far." The slowly neared the tree, looking in the distance for the two lads. Raymond launched the arrow deeper into the woods, it bouncing and klaking in the tree branches.

"There!" One shouted and they began to run after the noise.

[Noklie Berues]

Noklie stayed put with the strings in his hand, ready to pull them. The men had gotten closer but they weren't yet in range. Just a little closer and then, pull the strings. Listening to their talking as he waited, the blood still left his shoulder as he sat there. At least it wasn't in his back, then there might've been a problem.

They soon changed direction due to Raymond's distraction. However, Noklie didn't move.

[Deleted]

Raymond sighed in relief but it was interrupted by a shout. The men who had been tailing the others had spotted Raymond up in the branches.

"Hey! Common ya big nits! They're over there!"

Raymond hurried down, an arrow lodging into a branch near his head. Raymond huffed as he landed behind the tree.
"Alright get ready Noklie, we may have a brawl on our hands." He put the bow around his back and looked to the skies for a moment... come on..

[Noklie Berues]

"Lovely, just when I thought I could avoid something like this." Noklie replied.

The men had come and soon two of the idiots were in range of the ropes. Pulling them as fast and as hard as he could, the two idiots fell for it and ended up face planting in the ground. Sadly they were back up in a few moments when one had gotten over to them.

The man took a sword out and swung it down at the two boys. Noklie aimed to kick Raymond to the side before he would leap out of the way. Only to stand up and have one of the men go after him. Perfect.

[Deleted]

Raymond was off balance for that. Noklie kicking him? He raised his forearm brace that was made to be a decent shield but ended up rolling over, narrowly avoiding the blade before rolling back up to his feet. For a moment he questioned whose side Noklie was on?! No, no he understood what the lad did, even though he didn't think it was the most productive.

The man than went after Raymond got a swift kick to the knee before he hit his forearm to keep the blade away with one arm and grab his head with the other, he pulled it down and jumped with his knee forward, bashing it into the Sidulus who staggered back for a moment. Raymond quickly unwrapped more wire and looped it over the man attacking Noklie, pulling it toward him and down; making the Sidulus fall back and to the ground. It wasn't long before he turned and cut the wire with his blade, and many more Sidulus were on the way. Each one would probably raise in rank and also in strength.

But now, for the moment, Noklie was away from the others. The giant hawk swooped down from the sky, breaking through the small opening and gently clutched Noklie with one of its talons to try and hold him snugly, if he would allow, before exiting the trees. Raymond smirked and continued to try and battle but they would soon have the entire group there.

[Noklie Berues]

The guy that had gone after him sure was a pain. The kick was just to get Raymond out of the way of the weapon that came down on both of them moments ago. The man that had come after him had a double bladed ax, swing it at Noklie with all his might it seemed like. All Noklie could do was try to avoid the blasted thing, knowing how useless his knife would be against the ax.

Getting pinned at a tree though, he could only duck and have the ax barley hit. Even though he was a natural born werewolf, Noklie did have a few problems. Emotions were a trigger, mostly his anger and fear. This was just plain old frustarting and getting on his nervous. It was tempting, so tempting to transform but it would most likely only make things worse. The ax was lodged in a tree due to it being thick enough to where it wouldn't take anything out, only get stuck.

Giving Noklie a pretty good chance to punch the guy in the face, in which he did. However the quickly drew out their sword and the tip of it got Noklie right on the cheek bone. Okay that was it, he was ready to snap. Gritting his teeth as fangs showed up as well as claws, he was just about to swing his hand at the guy when something grabbed him and lifted him off the ground.

[Deleted]

It wasn't much longer before Raymond began to take a beating, his mouth bloodied and his eye swollen. Finally the leader of the Sidulus hunting group stepped forward as Raymond raised up his hands to try and show his giving up.

"Enough of this lad before we gut you here where you stand... any last words?" He asked as he was surrounded, a man with a net drawing closer. "You've been the one tampering with our cages haven't you? You damn coward, siding with those vial beasts!" he nodded toward the others but before they could either end Raymond's life or assure a life of slavery or something similar, the giant hawk swooped in and grabbed Raymond's outstreched hands while Raymond grabbed onto the talons. He laughed as they took off into the air, archers trying to ready their arrows but not quick enough as they were caught off guard.

"What the hell?" They could hear before creating distance between them. They flew through the air and Raymond sighed in relief.

"Well... I guess you got to fly after all."