oh, it doesn't show signs of stopping

loren

The Citadel. The crowning jewel of Halo. The seat of the rest of the Launceleyn’s power. And Jigano and Loren’s destination. They approached, and the summoner, at least, was wary as he looked at the tall wall surrounding the city? town? palace? fortress. Hopefully the nervousness didn’t spill over through the bond to the white-haired man.

As they entered into the Citadel proper, Loren glanced around, still in the form of a honey badger. Alright. We’re here. Now what? He was eager to explore the Citadel and find out more about Neron's reign (and the people of Halo). However, he didn't want trouble. Hope you don't mind if I stay shifted. Probably drawing attention to myself, but at least this way my family doesn't know it's me. At least, he didn't think they knew about his hybrid status.

Never judge a book by its cover.

Now what indeed. Jigano had chosen to shift back to his human shape as they neared the Citadel walls, not wanting to be seen as a threat. It made it a lot easier to talk to the guards and get in, for another point in its favor, and since he could talk to Loren even without being shifted he saw no problem with their arrangement. Works for me, he agreed, setting out towards what looked to be a busier area of the town arrayed within the guarding walls. Shall we see what they have for sale in their market? What wonders or trinkets or necessities were arrayed, and sort of things they used for trade or currency. They were here to gather information, and that seemed like an excellent place to start. We know they want fresh foods, but perhaps there are other things we can provide in trade as well. This should give us an idea of what they already have, and what is rare here that we might make use of if we can get it more easily in the Grounds or the Greatwood. He let his thoughts tumble along, for Loren would have already worked it out on his own, but it was still good to make sure they were on the same page.

How good is your nose? Think you can sniff out the sorts of animals they use for food here? He'd be curious if they had anything new and unfamiliar that they could add to the Flora/Fauna book that Caiside had been keeping. Damn, but his friend would have loved the chance to explore this new region...

Shaking off the brief dip into memory Jigano turned his bright blue eyes to following the flow of people towards what looked like a bustling mercantile district, the smells of cookfires and roasting food cutting even through the cold as they reached the edge of a broad street lined with shops and a few outdoor food stalls with fires burning bright to sear and scorch the breads and meats for sale to passing shoppers.

loren

Jigano’s suggestion was as good as anything Loren could think of, so he sent a pulse of agreement. Works for me. When the white-haired man suggested the summoner put his nose to work, he sniffed at the air and then the ground. He was still new to this, but he did his best to sort the scents.

Finally, he gave what he thought was his best guess. Meat, mostly. Some known to me, some unknown. A lot of this one type of bird, I think. And smoke and wet furs. Those aromas stood out above the rest of the smells that permeated any city of any significant size.

There was one in particular, that mystery avian, that got his blood singing. He began sniffing again, trying to seek it out, identify it, though mostly unconsciously. That tracks with what we know. I didn't see any fields or forests on the way in, so if I had to guess, they mostly sustain themselves by hunting game. Then they arrived at the market and he was momentarily overwhelmed as the sights, scents, and sounds bombarded him.

Never judge a book by its cover.

Jigano hummed quiet acknowledgment of the information Loren passed along from his nosy adventures, the information tallying with what they'd seen so far, and what he'd learned from Ingrid. Bird? he sent back curiously, trying to remember what Ingrid had said about birds. Some sort of scavenger, she'd implied? He hadn't gotten a name from her at the time, though now he wished he had.

Agreed. It felt good to be exploring with a fellow Loreseeker again, stretching the bounds of what they knew and confirming initial impressions with another keen mind. Hard to grow anything when the snow covers the soil year round. Greenhouses, perhaps? But those were time and material-intensive undertakings. Still, with Deimos or Remi and Loren to help they could try and set one up, if the locals would be interested in such a thing and didn't have them already.

The market was less overwhelming to Jigano, but he only had to worry about sight and sound, not smell, and his human senses were far less keen than Loren's honey badger ones. He started out down the street, nodding to people as they passed though everyone was so bundled up that it was hard to see any defining characteristics beneath hats and scarves and coats and more scarves and multiple sweaters. He had just paused near a hot spiced drink vendor to watch the transaction, trying to see what was being traded for the brew, when a shout rang out across the general hubbub of commerce.

"My ningo!" A despairing voice howled as clucks and squawks of freedom rose up in a clatter of breaking wood. For a moment people paused to look towards the source of the disturbance, a ripple of laughter and concerned calls of assistance spreading from the epicenter, but then the birds were on the move. Most were too fat to fly far, but a few fluttered up to perch on eaves while others raced between legs and boots, confused and frightened by the crowd they dodged through. Two of the snowy foul made a break right past Loren and Jigano, heading for what they hoped was the safety and quiet of a nearby alley tucked between two tall stone buildings nearby.

loren

Loren sent a pulse of agreement, though he followed it up with the mental equivalent of a shrug. There are crops that grow in the snow. Granted, they are few and far between. Still, I didn’t see anything resembling agricultural development of fresh produce. Then, though, his nostrils flared and his eyes darted this way and that as they processed everything going on around him.

Perhaps it was because he was so deep in his senses, and as a side effect of that, his instincts, that he reacted as he did as the cries rose. Regardless of the reason, when the oh-so appealing smelling and looking white-feathered birds darted past, the honey badger took over. With a snarl, he wheeled and chased after them, paws scrabbling. As the birds and him both reached the alley, he lunged for one and managed to get his teeth on its neck.

However, he hadn't accounted for the chill and the ice, so he put a little too much force into his lunge. Sliding on an unexpected patch of black ice in the alley, he slammed into a wall, bringing the Ningo with him. While he was disoriented, it batted at him with its wings, clawed at him with his talons, and pecked at him, squawking all they while. It was enough to get him to release it, but as soon as it fled again, he gave chase once more.

It. Was. On.

Never judge a book by its cover.

Well, it was a good idea while it lasted.

And to be fair, they'd gotten a solid five minutes into the market before the birds broke loose and went running by, taunting a honey badger's instincts in a way Jigano was all too familiar with. He still wasn't quite expecting Loren to lose himself so swiftly, however, and he was a few seconds late in reacting once the small black-and-white quadruped near his feet took off in hot pursuit.

Jigano had his own instincts to contend with, even in his human form, as the fox part of his heritage perked up and salivated at the happy meals on legs racing past. By the time he had himself under control Loren was disappearing into the alley, and the bard was hard-pressed to lunge after him, dodging around laughing townsfolk and disappearing into the shadows between the buildings. He shifted his eyes automatically in the dimmer light, but even so still missed the black ice and nearly lost his balance as he slid across it. Only having two arms to catch himself against the stone wall saved him from a tumble into the flurry of fur and feathers that broke apart just as he reached them.

Loren! Control the instincts don't let them-- oh, fuck it, he finished in exasperation as the badger took off after the bird once more. The ningo led them deeper into the alley, launching itself into whirring flight as the path led to a set of uneven, slippery steps descending down. It flew on a slow parabola as it fought mightily to stay ahead of its pursuers, for ahead the light brightened once more as the alley approached another street, and it seemed to hope it would have more protection there - or at least room to flee.

loren

Maybe if Loren hadn't slammed into the wall and been forced to release the Ningo, he would've let the stupid bird go. However, he had his prey now. Some deeply submerged part of him heard Jigano's call and was screaming at the summoner in a quiet, yet frantic voice to let it gooooo, let it goooooo.

However, the much larger part of him was eager for the hunt.

So he bounded forward, careful to stay away from the patches of ice that dotted the alley here. As the dumbass avian took the the skies, the Launceleyn saw his chance. He put on a burst of speed and practically skidded down the stairs, taking them as fast as possible. His goal was to reach the bottom and block off the bird's escape route. If successful, he'd lunge at it while it was still mid-air.

Never judge a book by its cover.

A wild ningo might have been able to evade Loren's grasping jaws and claws, but this poor bird had been fattened specifically for the dinner table, and it was soon to serve its ultimate purpose. Too fat to get far off the ground or flap with any speed, the honey badger was able to get below it as it fluttered down. Jigano reached the top of the stairs and began picking his way carefully down just as his colleague lunged--

--and the bird let out an outraged squawk as it was once more caught and pulled down. If it couldn't run, it woudl at least fight, though, and it struggled with a shark beak and talons to try and dislodge the mighty predator once more.

Loren! Jigano tried again, though he suspected that with the fight underway there was no way he'd get through to his fellow Attuned until the bird was dead, or he could somehow stop the ex-Launceleyn from pursuing it further. Drop it! We don't want to get in trouble for 'stealing' someone else's bird! A plea that he knew would fall on deaf ears, but he still had to make the attempt as he took the stairs at a more cautious pace in his human shape.

loren

Loren felt triumph bubble up within him as his wild leap managed to actually take the bird down. Although the ningo pecked and battered at him, his thick fur and loose skin protected him from the worst of the damage. His jaws closed around its neck, and its frantic attempts to escape redoubled.

However, Jigano’s words caused the summoner to glance up. He snarled at the bard, which sound comical through the bird in the Launceleyn’s mouth. As soon as the snarl left his lips, though, he realized how crazy it was. Sending a pulse of apology to the white-haired, Loren wrestled down his instincts. It wasn't easy with the ningo in his mouth, but he managed. Fine. You're right. Let's return it, see if we can get some goodwill.

The bird still struggled, but he held it firm. Honestly it wasn't too badly damaged. Just some deep teeth marks from his initial bite, and some gashes from when he'd clawed it to the ground. Okay, maybe it was a little badly damaged. You might wanna heal it first. There was a slight amount of chagrined embarrassment in his mind, but that was it.

Never judge a book by its cover.

The snarl was entirely expected at that point. Loren appeared to have lost himself to the honey badger's instincts, and Jigano knew better than to take it personally as he reached the bottom of the stairs and edged carefully closer to the beast and its prey.

The apology a moment later was more of a relief than Jigano had expected. Corralling an angry honey badger until it calmed down enough to regain the mind of a man again was not high on his list of ways to get mauled, and he'd been wondering how he would do it. Having Loren come back to himself on his own was the best possible scenario, and the bard tilted a wry smile at the abashed beastie. "Sounds good to me," he agreed, crouching down to check the damage. The bird was still moving, so it was still alive, at least, but there was quite a lot of red on those white feathers, and it wouldn't be kicking much longer at the rate it was going. "Hold it steady, please..." Gently went without saying as Jigano reached out to run soothing fingers over the distressed and mangled bird.

He felt the golden strings in his soul vibrate in response to the need to fix the damage he could sense, and he quickly pulled off one glove and pressed his skin to the feathers, striking a chiming chord with the magic to start it flowing, down his arm, pooling like heat in his palm, before plunging into the ningo. He calmed it first, quieting the fear that overwhelmed it so it wouldn't hurt itself further as he reached into the punctures were sharp ratel teeth had sunk deep. As it became easier to breathe the bird stopped its struggles, lying limply in Loren's jaws as Jigano moved to the gashes that his colleague's claws had torn beneath white feathers, sinking into the pale flesh beneath.

While he was healing the bird the bard gave his friend a wry smile. "First time meeting prey in your animal form?" he asked.

loren

At this point, Loren wasn’t sure he could release the ningo even if he wanted to. Still, he tried to shift so that his teeth weren’t quite at the bird’s throat, and used his paws instead of his claws to try and hold it down. As Jigano knelt, and reached for the bird, it stilled. The summoner sent a pulse of appreciation for the bard’s efforts.

It shifted to amusement at the white-haired man’s question. Second. Peter and I took down a deer. Assuming timelines and worms of course. The memory of that triumphant first hunt flashed through him, though under the circumstances he did his best to strangle the emotion down. First time getting caught off guard by fleeing prey though. Sorry. I was lost in scents and the instincts just kind of took over. He was equal parts embarrassed and apologetic, but it had been less than a season since he'd been blessed by Frey and he was still getting used to it.

Never judge a book by its cover.

"Size is no object to you, huh?" Jigano asked wryly of the honey badger, less than a full foot tall at the shoulder. "But I didn't know Peter could shift as well." The words were spoken thoughtfully through his distraction as he continued to heal the poor, battered ningo. First he closed the bleeding wounds, then he turned his attention to bruises and scuffs, bringing the bird back to full health with a gentle touch while his magic sang in his veins.

His lips quirked in understanding as he held out his hands for the ningo, indicating that Loren should release the bird to his care - and using a touch of his beastmaster ability to make sure it didn't try to flee again. "Once I would have said that I couldn't imagine the feeling... but my dragon shift does something similar to my mind," he admitted quietly. "It can certainly be overwhelming. You came out of it pretty fast though. I'm glad you didn't lose yourself to it for too long." He smiled more warmly behind his scarf, corners of his eyes crinkling as he stroked the soft ningo, assuming Loren let him have it, and stood up with the bird in his arms. "Think that nose of yours can lead us back to its owner?" he challenged teasingly.

loren

Loren sent a fierce amusement towards Jigano. Nope. Size doesn’t matter. At the bard’s question that wasn’t a question about Peter, the summoner sent the mental equivalent of a shrug. It's a recent development. There was a distracted quality to the thought, as all of the Launceleyn's attention was focused on not doing something stupid to the bird.

As he let go of the ningo, his mind filled with appreciation and understanding. However, both slipped away, to replaced with something darker. Must be all the meditation. Then, however, tendrils of guilt and embarrassment wound their way through him. The white-haired man had nothing to do with Loren's past, and didn't deserve that response. Let's just say I've had a lot of practice controlling my emotions.

With that, he padded past Jigano, up the stairs and into the unknown fate awaiting them in the market. The summoner's nose had no trouble following the bird's scent, considering how fixated he'd been on it and how the taste of its blood was still on his tongue.

Never judge a book by its cover.

"Something in the water, perhaps," Jigano murmured, bemused. For the longest time Remi had been the only Attuned-mage in the Hollowed Grounds, but in the past season it seemed like Loren, himself, Oliver, and now Peter had all managed it, somehow or another, through curses or blessings or other indications of divine favor. Were the yet others he just didn't know about yet? Something to look into, perhaps.

Another time.

The bird was healed and calmed, and Jigano turned his attention to the honey badger next. "May I?" he asked politely, extending the hand not currently full of softly-clucking ningo. If Loren wished, Jigano would soothe away his scrapes and bruises as the other man's past rose to haunt him once more. The bard remained quiet, becoming more used to these interludes of shadow, but finding that with a little patience Loren often shook himself out of them before they devoured him. "With your family? I can believe it," he murmured in agreement, trying not to think too hard about Zariah and her new position within Halo, lest speaking the devil should cause her to appear.

Whether Loren accepted healing or not, Jigano would rise to follow him when the honey badger was ready to move, retracing their steps up the stairs and back through the alley. The crowded market street was a trickier venue, with people moving quickly to get to their destinations and out of the brutal cold, but in spite of his small size, with Jigano's taller assistance to help play defense Loren would soon find that his nose could lead them back to the place where the birds had escaped from, bits of a tundra-wicker cage still on the ground to show where the break for freedom had occurred.