Rekaru Island

The sun had long since set, casting Ashen's Archipelago in both silence and darkness. Even the sea was quiet, the waves faint murmurs against the shore as Hattori moved inland to stand amongst the bamboo of Rekaru island. A long stretch of meandering tracks had led him out this way and try as he might, he simply could not recall what manner of creature had created them. This troubled him twofold. For one, how had this mysterious creature managed to work its way so deep into Ashen territory without being spotted? And secondly, just what exactly was it?

No unfamiliar scents filled the air and when he tipped his ears all he heard was the gentle clacking of bamboo stalks. He bent down a little to observe the tracks, round at the base with claw like scratches stretching out at the front. Like a prey and predator melded together. Needless to say this was wrong, everything about it deeply unsettled the Shogun as his expression tensed and eyes narrowed into thin slits.

"Speech"

Lament found that he couldn’t sleep. The full moon casting a great deal of light into his modest little den. Instead of remaining there, awake and restless, he got to his paws. Stretching, and moving down the beach. There, he found the tracks of Hattori and something else - something unfamiliar to him. Following after his Shogun led him down to Rekaru Island, where he found the other wolf examining the tracks closely.

The light of the moon offered them plenty of visibility, and the way it seemed to glow upon the ocean was strange, eerie. “What is it, My Shogun?” he asked softly, stopping near the other wolf.

"Speech"

Hattori turned slowly and noted the sound of approaching steps. They belonged to a wolf and a familiar one at that, but he kept his guard up nonetheless. It was Lament, it seemed as though he'd noticed the tracks as well and had come to investigate. Hattori gestured to the prints with his paw, then stepped aside so the Samurai could get a better look. One glance was enough to notice it was unnatural, perhaps not even of this world.,

"Have you seen these? There is no scent. Nothing. Whatever it is, it began at Nephilim and worked its way here." For the first time Hattori was unsure what to do.

The tracks stopped right in front of them, as though whatever had trod them had vanished into thin air. In its place were dozens of glowing blue orbs, bobbing slightly but keeping a wide berth from the pair of wolves.

At Hattori’s indication, Lament took a closer inspection of the prints. He sniffed the indention in the earth, checked the size to his own paw, the heaviness in the earth next to his own tred. Whatever had left the mark wasn’t a creature he was familiar with, and it was clear the same went for Hattori. “No, My Shogun, this is nothing I'm familiar with.” he apologised, moving forward to examine the strange glowing orbs.

As he moved forward, they moved away. Adding to the mystery of it all. “Whatever this was, the scent of the pack didn’t deter it. The claw worries me, it's not a claw for breaking fruit…” He frowned up at the orbs. “Are your children under watch, My Shogun?”


"Speech"

It was as he expected and Lament was quick to bring up further points that made Hattori's brows furrow. Ashen was not as large as it had once been, but they still had more than enough man power to keep unwanted visitors out. The fact that not only did it slip by unnoticed, but persisted despite all the scents lingering in the air spoke volumes. It had nothing to fear from wolves, which seemed to ring true since it had seemingly vanished into thin air. Gone without a trace.

"They are safe in the palace. My companions are on guard duty tonight." And they would continue to serve that duty till Hattori got to the bottom of this, of which he would do his best. "I want you to keep an eye out for this creature, you see or find anything out of the ordinary I trust your judgement."

With luck tonight was just an outlier, not a sign of worse things to come.

Lament bowed to the other wolf’s wisdom, knowing the Shogun would ensure the younger, more vulnerable members of the pack were protected. “Of course, I’ll keep a vigil here tonight, and see if I can discern anything new about this creature” he promised. He had been restless anyway, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep after this. The idea of something unknown in this pack that he had sworn himself to left a sour taste in his mouth.

Whatever ability that had allowed the creature to vanish might have limitations. If he had any chance of finding out what they were, he would need to stay in the vicinity of where it had vanished.

"Speech"

HATTORI

Overhead you see a bird soaring past. Wait - it seems to be glowing. Strange... You also find 1 crystal. Maͯ̐͡ybe these are worth keeping…

LAMENT

Out of the corner of your eye, you see a chipmunk scampering by. Wait - is it glowing? You also find 4 mushrooms. Maybe these are worth keeping…