The Winged Expeditionary Force had been largely defunct for a long time, not really accepting new members and barely doing anything with the ones it already had. But now, they were back in action and they sounded like they'd be a blast to Blue Raspberry! The ooze already had a habit of travelling around and fighting dangerous creatures, both in their pursuit of helping people out and their desire to see what those monsters tasted like. Going on expeditions with the Winged Expeditionary Force sounded like a perfect match for them! They could even have wings sometimes, it was like they were made for this!

All they had to do to get in was go with one of the Force's outriders and hunt a big monster that was causing some trouble out in the King's Wood. Some big Dragon-ish thing called a baloth. Easy! Along with them was a girl who looked a little Dragon-ish herself. She was nearly a foot shorter than Blue

Blue clanked along through the trees, their metal plate armor not the best for stealth, but they didn't want to go without it to face something the outrider with them had described as a "high danger level". They turned their helmeted head toward the girl and giving a small wave to introduce themself.

"Hi, I'm Wolfe."

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Prey or Predator
Participants: Exactly two
Location: Anywhere
Post Requirements: 7 post per person, 150 words per post
Reward: Entrance into the guild

Description: Outriders are skilled trackers and hunters who spend most of their time in the wilderness, living off the land and honing their skills. They are the first line of defense when it comes to the guild, utilizing their skills to collect clues and tracks belonging to dangerous creatures. You and another will join one of these outriders as they trek through the wilderness, hunting a vicious creature. However, it seems the creature was already onto you. You must help the outrider track a creature from the Bestiary whose power level is medium or higher. This includes locating things such as tracks or clues indicating its location. However the creature won't go without a fight, and after tracking it, you must now fight it! Help the outrider fight off and kill the creature before it claims anyone else!

"Good day to you Wolfe, I am called Shitakibo, or Taki to those who struggle with the name." The shaman replied. Her garb had shifted to a patterned, form fitting suit that covered nearly all of her body, leaving just her eyes, hands and feet free of it's wrappings. Yukina soared overhead, searching ahead of the group for signs of their quarry. Walking silently through the underbrush of the forest, Taki looked about for signs of the creature. According to a book in her library, as well as the guild's stockpile of information, the creature known as a Baloth was a ferocious draconic creature prone to territorial fits. 

As the group moved through the forest, Taki communed with the local spirits as her companions scouted the area. Shuna and Shion bounded through the trees, spreading the collective awareness of the group out in a large area. A sharp, shrill cry came from ahead and above, Yukina had spotted something. She signaled the others, and spread out, climbing up a tree to try and get a better look at the situation. 

Blue would definitely be calling her Taki. That was much easier. The outrider looked back with a slightly annoyed look. He wasn't here to make friends, he was here to hunt a dangerous monster and these two were supposed to help him. Talking and ruining their stealthy approach wasn't helpful. Then again, they weren't doing well stealth-wise anyways with the armored knight clanking around. The outrider sighed and ran his hand down his face. At least these two were supposed to be strong, right?

Blue looked up at the shrill cry from above. That was Taki's big owl, right? She had a lot of animals with her. Blue had never met someone with so many pets. They didn't count all the metal robot men that followed Veliky around, and Astrid only had a couple of pets along with a robot of her own.

Blue just stared blankly at Taki as she signaled to them and then climbed up the tree. They didn't understand her signaling at all. Were they supposed to learn these signals before going out on this trip? The outrider had watched her climb into the tree as well, but he didn't go anywhere. He stood with his arms crossed, looking around.

He did understand her signal. She had told them to spread out, but he didn't want to follow such an instruction. If she was climbing up the tree to scout, then it wouldn't be a good idea to spread out. She'd come back with information and not be able to share it with them because they'd scattered about and hid. They should wait for her to return and tell them what she saw. He sighed again. These two were seriously amateurs when it came to hunting. Hopefully they just weren't amateurs at fighting.

Shaking her head, the first of the crashing sounds crackled from about 50 yards away. Saplings, brush and young trees splintered and fell away. Birds scattered, wildlife took flight from all around, rushing to be out of the path of the rampaging beast. This Baloth was clever, probably having spotted the group hours or even days ago. It had set a trap, and now the group had sprung it. 

Spiked armor, green as the forest leaves, and built like some terrible amalgam of dragon and bear, the Baloth burst through the trees. It bellowed, a heavy growling sound that rattle leaves from branches overhead. Taki acted quickly, whistling sharply as a signal to Yukina. The owl dove down toward the beast, then cast Snow Flurry to cover the area it was charging through. The air turned crisp, the ground steaming as the temperature plummeted. As the snowy hunter beat her wings, she spread snow across the sunny spring forest. Piling up in great heaps, the cold and deep furrows of difficult terrain slowed the beast's charge.

It rammed the trunk of a tree in it's path, cutting through the moderate trunk with some of it's spikes before slamming it aside with it's haunches. A spray of fluffy, sparkling snow burst from around the trunk. While slowed, the Baloth still trudged through the snow, determined to make a meal of the party. It swiped and reared, swatting at the flurry before spotting the Snow Owl circling above. Taki watched as the creature squatted back, watching Yukina circle overhead. She whistled again, just in time for another shower of snow followed the Baloth leaping after Yukina. She banked away while tucking her wing, narrowly avoiding the mass leaping monster.

Landing with a heavy thud, the Baloth turned and charged the two men on the ground once again, expending energy to plow through the snow. The tree Taki had climbed began to shake and vibrate from the approaching mass. She leaped to another, lower branch on a nearby  tree, moving out of it's direct path and drawing her bow. Nocking an arrow, she readied to take a shot at it's eyes and nostrils as it completed it's charge.

"Oh shit!" The outrider shouted and immediately began running to the side when he heard the crashing and rumbling of the Baloth's approach. They hadn't found the Baloth, it had found them! He wasn't about to just stand around and wait to be eaten by the monster.

Blue also noticed the monster's approach and turned to face it in surprise. The Baloth was fast! The snow slowed it slightly, but it was just too huge a creature to bury so quickly, even with the magic of the large owl. It practically ignored all of the trees and bushes in its way, pushing them down and trampling over them. They didn't seem to slow its charge at all as it rampaged straight toward the armored knight.

Its head lowered, its jaws wide open as it came in for the kill, intending to chomp right down on its prey, but an arrow suddenly sprouted from its nostril. It let out a pained, angry roar as it continued its charge. Blue suddenly vanished, reappearing behind the Baloth as it rammed straight into the tree that Taki was perched in. The tree began to fall, and the Baloth turned around to face the knight that had teleported behind it.

---

Blink Tabard

Leaping from the tree, Taki tumbled gracefully through the air. As it was falling, she had run along the trunk and launched herself high overhead. Using new training and practice she'd been doing for the last few weeks, the shaman drew enchanted Kunai-type Ninja Stars. Sighting the monster's face, she knew the blades would probably do little against the thick hide. It was mostly a distraction, trying to sow confusion and keep the beast from being able to focus it's attacks. As the small, thin blades peppered across the beast's hide, one struck the drum-like membrane of one of it's ears, slicing it open.

Completing the acrobatic roll, Taki caught the limb of a nearby tree and swung herself to sturdy footing. Leaning her back against the trunk, she caught the returning blades in each of her hands. Shuna and Shion kept watch over the battle, giving Taki bearing to it's erratic movements. The shaman was grateful for their help, glad to share their life and companionship. As she made her way to ground, the pair moved higher in the trees. They were shadowing the Baloth's head, one on each side. This gave Taki a relative position of the creature as she repositioned to try and strike at the same side she'd just hit. It would be a slight risk, but one she was willing to take if it could turn this hunt. Killing this beast was probably something that would take her a great deal of time alone, making her hunting party all the more valuable and important to protect. 

Communing with her guardian spirits, she asked them to make ready in case the battle started to falter. Their warm, comforting presence had made keeping calm during the hazardous situation much easier.  Yukina swooped by, diving at the Baloth on the opposite side of Taki's movement. Her steps were silent as she crept through the underbrush, blending into the dense foliage as her outfit's coloring swirled and shifted to a pattern that matched the local flora. Only her crimson eyes, and a few glimpses of her bright blue scales were discernable, making her shape difficult to discern at a distance.

The Baloth let out another angry roar from the pain in its ear and turned its head toward Taki. It was stuck between wanting to attack the target right in front of it and the one that had angered it now. The outrider ducked behind a large rock, not wanting to be targeted as well. He held his crossbow at the ready, preparing to take a shot at a moment that beast seemed distracted by the other two enough for him to get away with it, but now wasn't that moment.

Blue didn't wait for the beast to make up its mind on who it wanted to attack first. The knight charged in, their hands and feet growing into wolf-like claws, the plates of their boots and gauntlets shifting to match. Electricity began to crackle between their fingers and across their armor as they took a swipe at the Baloth's front leg.

The Baloth knew who it wanted to target now as it stepped back and turned, trying to follow Blue with their jaws, but its leg that had been slashed was difficult to use, slowing its movement. The shock from the lightning made it limp, and a hissing sound came from the slash marks as acid ate at its flesh.

---

Eldritch Claws
Lightning Armor (+1 charge)

Taki was fascinated by Wolfe's fighting, watching from the underbrush as the knight expertly slashed with claws that sprang from their hands and feet. Deep lacerations in the Baloth's armored hide appeared, sizzling and charred as electricity stunned the limb. When it reared, a heavy crossbow bolt buried itself deep within the opened slashes. From the trees, the outrider had been in position for a clean shot in the opportune moment. Enraged by the pain and sudden numbness in it's limb, the creature slammed down, dropping it's bulk on the weakened joint. A jarring, wet crunch rang out as the connection severed under the unstable landing. Landing hard, part of it's forearm had splintered and torn through. 

Still quite dangerous, but no longer able to mount a charge, Taki and the others closed in. Keeping away from it's clawing limbs, Taki approached the top side of the creature where it lay on the ground. It watched her with the calculating, instinctual gaze of a predator at the top of it's territory. Coming to a stop, the shaman's clothing shifted back to it's initial pattern. There was one thing she had in her arsenal that could pierce the creature, but she'd barely learned to wield the magnificent effect. 

Concentrating, she tucked her Kunai back into their pouch. She envisioned a smooth lake surface, as a single drop of water rippled it surface and formed an elongated shape. Her arms and hands moved fluidly through the air as she summoned a spear made of water¹. While it wouldn't last forever, and did not carry the range of her other weapons, it made up for it in shear force. Her body flexed, dropping low and making itself flex like the limbs of her own bow. She let out the breath she'd inhaled as she tensed, her body snapping forward with great strain as her four arms launched the spear like a massive arrow. It soared high overhead, as Taki stumbled forward. She smacked forehead first into a tree and was dazed as the projectile sailed towards the Baloth. It was likely not a killing blow, but might have created another opening for the others to follow up on. 

---

1: Art of the Whirling Wave: Conjures a pole-type weapon of water or ice that lasts for up to three posts. When it ends, heals all allies within 30'. 

The Baloth used its remaining front leg to push itself out of the way of the water spear flying toward it. It avoided having it pierce anywhere that would cause a killing blow, moving its head and neck out of the way, but the sudden movement to the side and a lack of a limb to catch itself with caused it to fall over onto its side, and the spear sank deep into its back thigh, impeding its maneuverability even further.

The best became enraged. Even with a leg gone and a spear stuck in it, it refused to go down so easily! With its three legs, it started to stand back up angrily, its neck bending to let it look for the nearest target, which happened to be the knight running at it again with werewolf-like claws at the ready.

When Blue had seen the Baloth fall, they took the opportunity to run forth and make another attack against it. But, the monster had gotten back up a lot faster than they'd expected and the huge jaws opened wide to attempt to bite down on the charging knight. Blue tried to stop their charge, but the jaws were already descending on them. On instinct, the only thing they could think to do was try to withstand the bite.

A layer of blue slime flowed from every gap in their armor and coated them in a thin layer that hardened like a coating of cerulean crystal just before the teeth could bite down. The crystalized ooze was incredibly hard, preventing them from being harmed by the bite, but there was one problem.

They couldn't move, and they were now inside the Baloth's mouth! With no hesitation, the giant monster reared its head back and swallowed before turning to look angrily at the one who had impaled it with a spear.

---

Icicle Pauldrons

The spear reformed in Taki's hands, only this time it was made of Ice and tipped with a wicked, barbed head resembling a harpoon. Instead of hurling it, she tossed another pair of Kunai in her free hand and beckoned the creature. The small blades sliced into it's meaty tongue as it began to charge, enraging it further. As it crashed through the brush, the weakened limbs could barely move the creature's bulk. Heaving itself with a great deal of effort, the beast flung itself wildly at the shaman.

She had been on the move as this happened, positioning in front of a downed log from the beast crashing through the area earlier. As it leaped, she rolled away from it's path and scrambled up a nearby tree. Having bitten into the thick, sturdy trunk of the fallen tree, it's jaws had become stuck. It flailed, trying to claw itself free of the obstruction, but couldn't lift free of the excess mass now locked in it's maw. The outrider fired another heavy bolt, this time from one side of the creature. The broad arrowhead punched a hole in the tough hide of the Baloth, whose life spilled out on the forest floor in a steaming crimson stream.

Taki climbed one of the nearby trees, balancing her way out onto an overhanging branch. The icy spear in her hands changed form, becoming a wide blade with a fine edge flanked by a stout guard similar to a boar hunting spear. She leaped from the branch and brought the sharp blade down on the creature's neck, ending it's suffering. Using all her strength, she wrenched the heavy weapon free and dropped down from it's head. 

"Wolfe!! If you're in there, try to move towards my voice! We're going to try and get you out!" Shouted the shaman, slicing away at the creature swiftly, yet respectfully so that it might still be harvested for it's resources.

Blue slid, immobile, down the monster's gullet and into their stomach. They couldn't see a thing inside the beast, no light able to penetrate its hide and muscle, but they could hear the sounds of combat still going on outside as they were thrown around by the beast's movements.

It was an odd experience for the ooze to be the one eaten by something else. It had happened once before, but that had hardly felt like they'd been eaten since the creature that had done it was so large it had swallowed the entire boat they'd been on with plenty of room inside it to spare. Someone had even been living in there, a really weird wizard with a pet baby Krakken. That time hadn't gotten on Blue Raspberry's nerves.

But this time did. This wasn't right at all! How could they be eaten? They were the one who eats!

The crystalize goo coating melted back into its usual slimy consistency and flowed back into the armor, freeing the ooze knight to move again, and they immediately started to claw blindly at the stomach walls around them. The walls were a bit resistant to the acid on the ooze's claws, but not enough. The ooze's acid was far stronger than anything the Baloth could produce, or handle. The stomach started to fill with blood as the wounds sizzled and grew larger, Blue continuing to slash away with both their hands and feet.

Before the Baloth even felt the arrow in its side, it knew this fight was going to end in its death as it felt itself being torn apart and dissolved from the inside. The spear through its neck ended more suffering than Taki knew.

---

Flesh Rend
Eldritch Claws

Carving as quickly as she could, Taki opened up the creature's maw with deep strikes. Already the stink of bile and blood made Taki's head light and upset. Slicing through thick muscle and tendon wore the shaman down, but finally the great jaw came loose of it's flesh and dropped to the ground with a heavy thump. A sickly, sizzling substance oozed from the the throat... Taki recoiled from the bubbling tissue and stared at it. This looked like something that would happen to bird stomachs when they ate the wrong kinds of bugs. An acid or chemical of some sort would dissolve them from inside, ensuring their destruction.

She retreated from the entrance, unsettled by the smell of the acid drenched flesh. Meeting up with their outrider, the pair began to carve up and harvest the creature. Taki had a sneaking suspicion Wolfe would be rejoining them some time before they'd finished. Yukina circled out in a wide area overhead, Shuna and Shion were resting on branches overhead. Kneeling beside it's body, the shaman gave the creature a hunter's rites to lay it's spirit to rest. It's own life would fuel the futures of others, as was the fate of all who are hunted. It was unfortunate to have needed hunting such a powerful creature, but it was too destructive to coexist with. 

The outrider looked at Taki with a bit of pity. She was trying to save the guy that got eaten, but there was no way that he was still alive after a bite like that, and even if he was, it'd be impossible for him then survive inside the stomach and climb back up the throat. It was hopeless. He'd already accepted one of his companions was gone. Just a part of life when one hunted deadly beasts for a living. Now he just felt bad that this one still had hope.

He just kept at his work of harvesting anything of use from the Baloth. The hide was strong and thick. It would be useful, but skinning would take time. It was difficult to cut through and the monster was huge, so there was a lot to do. As he worked, he suddenly saw something strange.

Beneath the beast's hide, something was moving! Wet squelching sounds came from within the beast. The outrider let out a sound of surprise and retreated away, not sure what the hell was going on.

Suddenly, a clawed hand burst from the side of the beast, ripping open a gash and letting a deluge of blue slime and red blood flow onto the ground. Soaked in the same nauseating mixture, Wolfe shouted triumphantly, raising their fists into the air. At the same time, the outrider screamed in surprise and fear.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Still inside the creature from the waist down, Blue stopped and looked around, spotting Taki and the outrider. They gave a little wave of greeting and then braced their hands on the beast's side to pull themself the rest of the way out, sliding onto the ground, into the puddle of slime and blood, before quickly standing up and giving a big thumbs up with one hand and their other hand a fist on their waist.

"Wooh! We did it!"

The outrider just stared in disbelief.

While not quite so surprised, Taki was no less relieved to see that they'd all made it through this bestial hunt. Working together, the creature was harvested by the night's end. The outrider sent a messenger for pickup from the nearby guild base. All that was left to do was turn in their paperwork, go about their entrance ceremony, and begin the wild and wonderful journey towards being members of the Winged Expeditionary Force. Feeding her companions well that night, she settled in to rest until her watch and commune with her companions, and the spirits of the forest.

By mid morning, they were loading wagons along with others sent from the base. By mid afternoon, the wagons were headed off and towards their destination. Taki relaxed, taking her time packing her traveling gear and making ready for the long journey still to go. Had this group been any less nimble or quick to act, someone might not be going home today. Still, she hoped to get a chance to hear more about who Wolfe really was some day, as he was not all being shared on the surface. 

"This has been a grand and tribulated journey, but at last this chapter must give way to the next. you are both skilled hunters, let no one convince you otherwise." Said the shaman, her companions gathering round, ready to walk together back to the base. What adventures lay ahead? What wild beings might she encounter between here and there? A smile of curiosity and wonder crept across her scaled features. One successful hunt led to the start of many more expeditions, and Taki looked forward to each and every one.