[Pyris]

Acane simply nodded, not particularly interested in anything other than what she should call him.  She followed him as he began to move, keeping his pace with ease. Her eyes ran along the edges of the ground, making sure she didn't find herself in anything that the fenling may have laid down.

They pressed into the underbrush and Acane was guessing they were probably in for a wait.  She'd never done a stakeout with another being before.  At least not one that was alive.  She glanced up towards Rook, wondering idly if there was some kind of etiquette in it.  If there was, she was probably going to screw it up.

Socializing was not one of her strong points, either.  In fact, she'd be likely to say that perseverance and fighting were her only strengths.

[amapup]

If Acane was expecting a stakeout by the snare, she was mistaken. Rookie forged ahead into the jungle, nose to the ground. He ignored the leaves and branches that pressed against his sides. It wasn't the most comfortable way of traveling - certainly not in this heat - but the thick brush should protect them from surprise attacks and hopefully poacher traps, and hide them from sight to some degree.

He did stop a few times, to check the scent or cautiously detach himself from a prickly plant. They were travelling roughly parallel to where the human's tracks had doubled up on themselves. Rookie was rather eager to discover what the man had been up to out here. And if anything had been left behind that the fenling could scavenge, even better.

The presence of the kuhna behind him was strange and unfamiliar. Despite initiating the pact he was a lone crusader, and spending prolonged time with others was an oddity for him, much less collaborating together. Was there some sort of interactional etiquette he was supposed to follow? He glanced back occasionally to ensure she hadn't stumbled on a branch or fallen behind. The size difference didn't help either. Once he caught himself about to lead her through a too narrow gap and had to adjust their route to avoid getting separated or having her crash through the space like an elephant. It didn't occur to Rookie to explain to Acane what he was doing or why, and the hovering silence was only natural for him, a common feature of his missions.

[Pyris]

Acane was not particularly graceful.  Sure, in the midst of a fight her movements were smooth and fluid, sometimes even beautiful.... but not while trying to follow a small golden fenling through the underbrush.  She winced as one of her tails got caught in a prickly bush and a branch that her head had pushed aside snapped into her wing.  

She wouldn't say she was being a complete clutz or making a tremendous racket, but Rook seemed to be at home where he was, while she was most certainly not.  She idly wondered what they were up to, eyes scanning the ground ahead so as not to trip.  She debated on whether or not to ask, but spent most of her focus on keeping up.  She nearly ran into him a couple times when he stopped to sniff about, but otherwise kept up fairly well.

The silence stretched on, a mixture of comforting and nerve-wracking at the same time.  Finally, her curiosity got the better of her.  "What are we doing?" she finally asked out-right.

[amapup]

Rookie stiffened as the kuhna fumbled into him, his fur on end. Couldn't she see where she was going? This was the second time! As Arcane's paw lifted an angry golden tail swished out from underneath.      
 
He was ready to turn around and give her a glare when the query reached his ears. "What are we doing?" Drat. He'd forgotten to keep her in the loop. Rookie looked back towards her. "Following the trail your -" no, stow the sass. They needed to get along, couldn't he remember that? "-the human took. See what he was up to." He cocked an eyebrow,  as though to be sure Acane had no more questions. No matter - there was barely any time before he was refilling his nostrils with the scent of his prey. The overlapping trails were nearly the same age now. Rookie seemed to barely address Acane at all. "And we should almost be -"

The sentence was left unfinished as he dove ahead behind a clump of ferns.

[Pyris]

((I don't know why I didn't get an email for this.  Sorry about the lateness.))

Acane's ears flattened in frustration.  She wanted to snap at him, but if he could hold back, so could she.  It was fairly obvious that neither of them were accustomed to company.  As he paused, Acane's ears picked up a faint sound of movement, causing the fenling to leap into a group of ferns.  Following his example, she slid quickly into a bush behind her, grimacing as pricklies imbedded themselves into her course fur.

Her eyes scanned the area closely, feline vision helping her see in the shadowed edges of the trees.

[amapup]

There was a rhythmic clang, the sound of something repeatedly brushing against metal. The fenling cautiously poked his nose through the ferns, ignoring the tickling sensation of the leaflets against his muzzle. A couple yards away the steel of a mesh cage glimmered back at him. Rookie twitched an ear. Left by the poacher no doubt. And they had barely bothered to disguise the trap either. He couldn't see what was inside of it, but a strong sniff found the smell of ripening fruit. A Rengosett perched on top of the cage, peering over the edge as it repeatedly swiped at the entrance with it's paw.

Rookie gritted his teeth. The cage itself wasn't much use to him - it was bulky, couldn't trap humans and was difficult to dismantle. He didn't trust the intentions of any potential buyers he might sell it to either. However - he would heavily deny having a soft spot, but the hunter didn't want to watch some hapless creature falling in the poachers trap. His two eyes scanned the trees, and a tail squeezed tighter around the pearl he was carrying. No sign of people. No premonition of danger.

Rookie stepped halfway out of the ferns, his gaze fixed firmly on the monkey ahead. "Hey you! Scram!"

[Pyris]

On one hand, Acane also didn't want to see the Rengosett get trapped, either.  On the other hand, she'd wedged herself into a prickle bush for a Rengosett.  One of her tails twitched a little in irritation, but she slowly began to untangle her paw from the branches to step out just the same.  Her eyes flitted about the area, skimming it for danger.  Brambles pulled at her fur as she took a slow step forward, tugging her wing out of a particularly nasty patch.

The forest was relatively quiet, a fact that more unnerved her than comforted her.  Just as she got her head and two paws just outside the bush, her tails flicked into a cluster of branches and pulled out a large patch of prickles with it.... still attached to her fur.  A low grumble came from her throat as she paused to see if Rookie would also remove himself from his hiding place.  He seemed to think it safe enough to attempt shooing the unwitting creature atop the trap.

She saw the fruit sitting in the bottom of the cage, fairly well ripened.  That meant that it had been there for quite some time.   It may be time to check the trap for the humans again soon.

[amapup]

The Rengosett looked up blankly, one hand still stuck between the bars. Rookie grit his teeth even harder. He was blowing his cover for a stupid monkey. If only it weren't to late to back out. "What are you, an idiot? Get out of here!" Rookie grabbed his knife in a tail. Apparently the unsheathed weapon was enough for the monkey, as it gave a short screech and darted away. The fenling sighed as he resheathed the knife. The trouble he went through... Probably should have let him get trapped. But he knew in his heart of hearts that no creature deserved that - except perhaps the monsters that set them.

The screech wasn't good though - there was no telling what kind of attention it could attract. At this proximity the pungent smell of the fruit was even harder to ignore. Best to be quick, work fast. At least with this kind of trap he should be easily able to tell if there was anything here for him. He approached the cage, doing a quick examination around the edges, then of the surrounding underbrush. A quick glance up a tree - was there anything there? No - then "Aha!"

A cloth sack had been roughly shoved under a bush. Rookie gripped the cloth in his teeth, tugging it out of it's hiding spot. He also looked up for his partner, to find the kuhna had not fully left the bushes. Was there a reason she hadn't come out yet? His expression hardened as he swiveled his ears around. No strange scents, but even the insects were relatively silent. Had the screech caused this? More reasons not to dwadle. He gestured to Acane, carefully watching her movements. And why was she in a prickle bush?

[Pyris]

As Rookie began searching about, Acane wound up pausing and just watching him, momentarily forgetting her own predicament. As he pulled out a pouch and glanced at her with an unreadable expression, she began to step the rest of the way out of the bush.

Pricklies still clung to her fur as she parted with the clinging branches, eyes going over her clumped fur with a sigh.  She'd just have to leave them for now.  She skimmed the trees again, the quite of the trees making her slightly uncomfortable.  "It's probably almost time for them to check back," she stated simply, her voice nearly monotonous by default.  "You check the bag, I'll keep an eye out," she muttered as she stepped up  to the tree behind the trap.  Crouching, she leapt to the tree, clawing her way to a higher vantage point, but not high enough to be so easily spotted by a human with their poor eyesight.  

Having brown fur that matched the tree trunk helped. Her tails twitched before wrapping around the tree as well, her wings and ears pressed flat against her body as she got as close to the trunk as possible.

[amapup]

Rook nodded at her suggestion. "Good thinking." Especially with all the racket that monkey had just made it was good to stay vigilant. He watched long enough to see Acane leap up the tree before returning to the sack, his body almost disappearing completely inside as he investigated the contents of what he'd unearthed.

The poachers hadn't left behind much. A lock for the cage and a pack of bullets, neither of which Rook had any use for. His lip curled in a snarl at the sight of a worn leather muzzle, muffled yelps and screeches echoing inside his head. Smuggling live animals, poachers couldn't risk discovery of what was hidden inside the false crates of produce being delivered to market. Rook stifled the impulse to rip the thing to shreds. There wasn't time for that. If today's mission went well, he could guarantee that it wouldn't get used again.

A wallet with a couple of IDs, nothing meaning anything to him. The kuhna was looking for someone the poacher knew... His eyes fell glittering upon a pack of cigarettes, though he wasn't lucky enough to discover a lighter to go with them.  At least he had found something worth his while. Gripping the wallet tight in a tail Rook re-emerged, pausing a moment to inscribe a reminder of the location into his pearl so he come back later for his prize. Some say it's a crime to steal; to Rook that depended who you were stealing from. He was pretty sure this one deserved it. He nudged the sack back into it's place and approached the tree where Acane was on guard.

Fenling bodies were not designed to climb trees. Despite his expertise it was now his turn to look the fool as he clumsily scrabbled onto a lower branch, snapping his hat in his jaws as it nearly tumbled to the ground. He glanced enviously at the sharp claws of the feline just above him. If he hadn't watched her climb the tree he doubted he would have seen her, the dark bark of the tree an almost perfect match for her scar-marked fur. "Is this any use to you," he mumbled around the cloth brim, holding the wallet up to Acane with his tail.

[Pyris]

Akane adjusted her position to lean toward the presented wallet and reach out to take it without scratching her companion. She flipped it open with her nose, ignoring the urge to wrinkle it as the smell of human filled her nostrils.  Inside was money, some cards that she didn't bother looking through, an ID of someone she didn't recognize and a photo of the wallet's owner and the man with the scar on his face.

While the person who owned the wallet wasn't who she'd been tracking, he also knew the man with the scar on his face.  "It's not his, but," she said quietly, offering the wallet back to the fenling, "I think he might be traveling with the guy I've been following.  They're both acquaintances of the man I'm... looking for."

Her tails began to twitch, out of eagerness or frustration, she wasn't sure.  Gold eyes did a quick scan of the area as she spoke, making sure no one snuck up on them.

[amapup]

"Hm", he murmured in reply, accepting the wallet. He gave a quick glance again to the photograph Acane had been studying. So that was the scar-faced man... Rookie couldn't identify him, but the face had some familiarity. At least he knew who she was looking for now. The photograph might prove useful for interrogation.

He stuffed the wallet into his belt with a tail, his gaze wandering warily across the junglescape in front of him. He kept his voice low. "It's been long enough...." Rookie's ears shot up as he stopped, straining to listen. What was that faint noise he heard, coming from far away?

A human shout.

"Showtime," he growled a little louder. Rookie leapt off his perch, bracing himself as he impacted with the ground. A shake of the fur was enough to dispel the excess momentum. "Let's go," he said for Acane's benefit,  flipping his hat back to it's rightful place on his head. Adrenaline was already beginning to course through his limbs, and his tails twitched in anticipation.

((Thanks for waiting so long!))

[Pyris]

The fur on the back of Acane's neck fluffled up on instinct, her amber eyes turning slightly more yellow as she leaped from the tree, neatly landing on her paws and scanning the area.  Finally, something she was good at!  All her recent time had been spent doing things she wasn't particularly skilled in and it was quite frustrating.

Humans tended to be more difficult to maneuver, but she found her smaller size was actually an advantage.  Her ears remained alert, but she quietly paced a few feet away from Rookie, watching to see if he planned to seek out the humans or wait for them there.

((It's cool!  =D))

[amapup]

Now was the time to act, while the enemy was still surprised. With Acane on his heels, Rookie set off at a brisk pace towards the trap. This time he stayed on the wider paths through the underbrush, both for speed and the benefit of his new companion. Passing the bush full of fur clumps had made him internally wince, sparking a mental barrage against both himself and the young kuhna. How could he let such a mess get left behind? Couldn't she be more careful? They couldn't afford to keep making such basic mistakes. So he ran through the wider gaps, scenting the air furiously as they went, hoping his nose would be enough to alert them to any danger their increased visibility might expose them to.

Not much at first... then sweat. Human sweat and adrenaline. Fresh, hanging in the still jungle air, not as stale as the tracks they had followed. The smell continued to get stronger and more familiar as they approached, their own scents from earlier weaving in and out. The man's shouting was starting to become more distinct. Now Rookie could pick out other scents; day-old coffee, leather polish, exhaust fumes from a truck that hadn't passed emissions in decades. Before the man came in sight Rookie knew who it was: the rowdier of the two poachers he'd been tracking, the same that had come through earlier.

Rookie slowed now, flattening himself to the ground and creeping cautiously under the cover of a low-growing fern. He motioned for Acane to do similar. Remaining invisible was now crucial. This close to the clearing now they could see the poacher. He was cursing, crying "What the hell!" as he swung a hunting knife wildly at the rope that held his right leg aloft. His head still half-rested on the ground; Rookie had not made the trap high enough to lift him completely off the ground.

Rookie tensed, his mind racing. Now was the time to act- it wouldn't be too long before the poacher managed to free himself. But Rookie had also gotten himself burned in the past, rushing in too quick from the adrenaline only to be ambushed from the side. He took a last large draw of air through his nostrils. Was the other poacher here? Was anyone else here?

[Pyris]

((Sorry.  I have been struggling with some weirdly recurring pneumonia.  T.T  It involved me mostly eating drinking warm food and cocooning while watching tv.))

Acane stooped low beneath the underbrush, her body nearly flat to the ground.  She watched the surroundings, ears listening to the sounds around them, alert.  She readied her body to move, claws lengthening and steadying her breath.

She idly wondered if she should go in first before Rookie took a deep breath; scenting the air most likely.  She was ready to brawl; it was her best skillset, after all.