Down with Poachers
[Mehen] -----------------
There were poachers out there. That had been all that anybody needed to tell Anik, and he had already been in the saddle. They had to go set tokotas free, and kick some poacher ass. Honestly, he'd kill him if he could- but he was sure the authorities wanted the men alive.
He had Vincent with him. The curly was a bit unpredictable, but in the end Anik figured he had his best shot with him. Vincent was fearless, bold, and he had toughed through a lot. Nux was too panicky and most of his other tokotas were too stubborn, or too gentle for this.
In this matter, he only trusted the curly for some reason. He was the least likely to be hurt he thought, given his uncanny ability to stay ahead of luck. It would be okay. Carefully he turned to his partner. "We should be getting close, you ready for this?" They were in for a rough fight he was sure, and he wanted to make sure everyone involved was going to be ready for that. Not that he doubted the skills of rider or tokotas.
[Cantbreakthis] -----------------
Trouble.
Alaina had been busy on her own the past while, keeping away from Anik for the most part in order to focus on her tokota pack. Things were a mess – she’d gotten rid of a few of her tokotas and was bringing in more slowly, so it was necessary she focused on this for a bit.
That was until news that there was a poacher, at least one, that was in the area. It was certainly troubling enough that she was quick to get Steele saddled up and ready, moving to easily slide on. She wasn’t alone with the albino female – there was a little ever persistent toki along for the metaphorical ride. Riley was one of her new additions and was both brave and forward like her brother… plus she was smaller and would have an easier time getting through the undergrowth if it came to that.
Tactical necessities.
“Always.” For a moment the woman perhaps almost looked excited, a wild eagerness burning in her gaze that mimicked the fierceness of Steele as the albino shifted only once beneath her rider. While this wasn’t what she lived for she hadn’t been in a decent scrap since coming here and let’s face it Alaina… she certainly knew her way around a battlefield and then some.
“Are you?”
[Mehen] -----------------
Anik had sensed she was avoiding him, and he worried about that. Had he done something wrong? Hearing she'd sold off a chunk of her pack had worried him, even though he knew she would be sure they went to good homes. Still, he missed his friend, and he longed to be able to do more with her.
Maybe not under these circumstances but well, beggers couldn't be choosers he supposed.
Vincent shifted under him as he looked over at Steele, and down at the toki. This small one he didn't recognize, but she smelled vaguely familiar. He knew her brother at least, and that was enough to calm him just a little bit. He could tell the riders were on edge though.
"Good." Anik smiled, still a bit nervous. "Yeah...I'm ready. These poaching bastards are going to pay for what they're doing." He couldn't stand this type of person. Thieving good for nothings. If only he knew Alaina's past better. Whoops.
"You sure your toki is going to be safe during this?" She was small, and could likely take less hits. Not to mention the fact that she'd be a target due to her desireable nature, being a toki after all. Little things were so popular!
[Cantbreakthis] -----------------
If asked Alaina would simply have said that he always did something wrong – it was just his way. Just how that was her own way – but for the most part she’d simply been so busy. Too busy to even consider heading on out there and do even the simple things… she’d simply sent Russell on out there in her place instead.
Good experience for the boy in any case.
Fearlessly Riley moved to go nose to nose with the unfamiliar curly. Perhaps it came from her small size but she really did share in Pickle’s boundless fearlessness… she was just a bit more on the calmer side when it came down to things. Less prone to careless antics.
“How badly are we going to hurt them?” Blunt words. “Will we be taking the interrogation into our own hands or leaving it to the authorities? I have my gear.” Well that was probably certainly… ominous there. It was all in the saddle bag strapped to Steele’s side and almost as if sensing her handler’s agitation the albino female shifted from side to side a little bit, ready to get moving.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about Riley.” The little toki looked up and over towards the woman at the mention of her name before she moved forward a little bit, away from the new curly in order to get a good scent of their surroundings. “At the height she’s at she’s in perfect range to teach any poacher who tries to lay their hands on her an invaluable lesson.”
Alaina was grinning there, all teeth.
[Mehen] -----------------
He would be hurt by that. After all their successful hunts, he didn't think he did things wrong. They worked well together, she was his friend and he missed being out with her. Sure the others were nice too- he liked Russell and Korbin, but Alaina was his partner. What was he supposed to do without her company?
Vincent wuffled happily as he bent down to lick the little toki. She was certainly cute, and bold. Her fearlessness only bought her brownie points in both Anik and Vincent's books. Still, the curly thought he prefered the other one- more mischief.
"Bad enough to make a point, to incapacitate, but we need to leave them for the authorities. Much as I want to hurt them worse....I don't want the cops on my tail for excessiveness." He could always use his other form later to maul some poachers. Who would believe they'd encountered a hyena out in the arctic anyways.
"Er...gear?" He looked confused at that. What the hell had she brought?
He laughed at the mental image of just where the toki would be aiming. "Ouch. She sounds like she'll handle herself then. I'm hoping Vincent gets in the mood for some of his antics." That would show them. Using the curly's chaos for good, rather than nuisances.
"Let's go." He nudge the curly forward, taking a rough lead, but not staking a claim to it. If Alaina wanted to go ahead of him, she could.
[Cantbreakthis] -----------------
Everyone did things wrong. It was a fact of life – no one and nothing was perfect after all. Anik almost certainly fell within that. Alaina was just merciless in pointing out the fact… besides, it was better for everyone if she continue to keep them well at arm’s length.
Really, the man would be just fine without her.
Riley was definitely bold enough, wasn’t she? She had to be in some ways. If she didn’t then the much larger tokotas probably wouldn’t have even hesitated to either overlook her or bully her needlessly around. The lick from the curly brought a little snort from the small toki before she moved to lick him back, willing enough to be friendly with him until pushed otherwise.
“How pitiful.” Now maybe that couldn’t be unexpected from the woman rider – she did like taking things into her own hands and handling problems herself after all. There were always ways around it and she knew them, but it was still better off that her companion continued to not know what she had once done.
“If we are not handling it then it’s unimportant.” Which might be an answer in and of itself to the question present. Either way she moved to guide Steele along after him, allowing for him to take the lead. He had more information on this than she herself did after all – it only made sense that she allowed this.
[Mehen] -----------------
Anik didn't think that was better. She could have friends if she just let them in, people who were genuinely good and wouldn't just ditch her. He didn't do that to people, not ever. It just wasn't something you did to people after all. He liked her, and he wanted her close.
Of course, being a small toki like her probably meant she had to be a bit pushy. Bold too of course, brave enough to stand her ground around bigger tokotas. Vincent was glad to find her friendly though, he liked friendly.
"Hey if you wanna come back and kick some poacher ass bloody when I'm not around, go right ahead. I'm not going to stop you." He laughed. He knew he would be chomping poachers that night himself. "Just....let's handle these guys legally." He paused. "Unless they try to shoot us...or actually shoot us. Then I'm not responsible for what happens in self defense." He shrugged.
Still, despite her dismissal he was curious. He stopped though when he smelled something, undetectable to the human nose entirely. "Trap to your left, mind your step" He said abruptly, providing warning for her.
If she navigated away from it, they would soon find themselves overlooking the poacher's camp, cages full of tokotas lining the back of it, all of the beasts looking miserable. Vincent growled low, snorting as he came to a stop, waiting for his orders. "Ready to teach these assholes a lesson?" Anik asked his partner, looking at her with a grin.