[se] make it make sense

There is absolutely no reason for a stone golem to be in the Outer Brambles.

Louder, for the people in the back: there is absolutely no reason for it.

Fox has repeated this to himself all the way out to the area where a farmhand swears one has been spotted, as if it will somehow make it less true if he believes it hard enough. But the Hollowed Grounds has a way of yeeting all expectations and logic right into the sun, so Fox won't be surprised if the man is correct.

Speaking of the sun, given that the golems have a slight issue with the light (the crumbling to dust sort of issue), Fox is forced to start his hunt under a blanket of stars, which makes a difficult search even harder, not that anyone has stopped to ask him about it. Still, wearing a battered jacket and with his bag of supplies over one shoulder, he prowls forward.

Maybe he should have brought something to entice the golem out. What treats do they like?

Shut up, Fox.

when the lights fade out, all the sinners crawl

NOAH

It seems that Noah and Fox were given the same information. AS Noah and his family prepared to leave the Greatwood, there was a murmuring and muttering amongst the captains there as they waited for their skyboat passengers and their market goods. When Cordelia gave him that look, he knew he needed to ask questions.

Sending his family back to Halo without him was tough, but going to help keep people safe was a necessity.

Closing in on the place he had been told to go, Noah narrowed his eyes. Half shifting them, he focused in on the dark shape moving with as much diligence towards the sound as he did. Twisting his spear in hand, Noah lifted his chin and gave a little whistle, hoping to catch the man’s attention and make him turn towards him.

I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
But no one comes in and yes, you're alone

Luckily for Noah, Fox's senses are on the alert for giant golem fists swinging towards him, so the whistle in the dark is more than enough to grab his attention. Falling to a sharp halt and turning towards the noise, knowing better than to assume it's a bird, he has to squint to make out the Sentinel, but when he does he offers him a slight smile of recognition and a nod.

Sidestepping until they're more or less beside one another, Fox eyes the spear in Noah's hand and his smile grows warmer still. "This might be a long shot," he whispers, "but are you planning on hunting a stone golem with that?" He'd only met the man once and in vastly different circumstances, but something about sneaking through the dark makes any friendly face all the more welcome.

when the lights fade out, all the sinners crawl

NOAH

A small amount of relief sparked in the back of Noah's mind as Fox's face came in to view and clarity despite the harsh shadows of the night. He offered him a mirrored warm smile,a chuckle rumbling from his throat. Keeping his voice low, only enough for the Grounder to hear him, he spoke. "Shorter shot than you think." Noah arched an eyebrow towards his fellow hunter. "Rumors from skyboat captains." Noah said, affirming Fox's inquiry.

"Is there anything I should know about them? All I was told was they're bad news." He twisted the spear in his hand again, as if anticipating the golem to simply jump from the darkened wood around them. He had been told they didn't like sunlight, but Noah didn't know to what extent. It was the only thing that tipped him off to using his spear, however.

I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
But no one comes in and yes, you're alone

Grinning and feeling glad of the company as well as the reassurance of a fellow warrior, Fox nods. "Not surprised," he whispers, "something like this is unusual, this far out. They could probably see it from the ships." Continuing to prowl through the darkness with his ears honed for any sound of the creature, he's at least in a pretty good position to answer Noah's queries.

"They're stupid, and they'll batter anything they see. So as soon as it notices us, we'll know at least." Small miracles, right? "And the sun causes them to collapse into dust, hence the night hunt." Dumb or not, he's never known stone golems to willingly wander out into the light.

when the lights fade out, all the sinners crawl

NOAH

AS Fox spoke, Noah let his eyes move off of the other hunter. He didn't want them to be caught off guard as they spoke to each other. Partially shifted eyes moved across the landscape behind Fox, trying to pinpoint any movements in the dark. While his bear eyes were truly formed for hunting across the tundra and on the ice of the Sea of Glass, they were still better at night than his human eyes.

"Then this should help." Noah indicated the spear by lifting the tip of it slightly. Even in the darkest of nights it glittered as if caught in sunlight. While he spoke he kept scanning around them. In the distance, he could hear the faintest of rumbles and what sounded like rock scraping on rock. He jutted his chin out, then readied himself to fall in beside Fox.

I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
But no one comes in and yes, you're alone

"Oh?" Fox whispers, tilting his head at the spear; he can't tell what it does, but he absolutely trusts what Noah says, especially if the glimmer of light on the weapon's point is any indication of things to come. "Well, then. Let's make this a quick one, hopefully." He'd had no idea how he was going to deal with the thing other than traditional brute force or capture to wait for sunrise, so this is as close to perfect as it gets.

The scraping of stone is all the warning he needs of what's to come, the hunter nodding at his fellow warrior and taking a slow, deep breath before placing down his bag and rolling his shoulders. It's a silent transformation, as he shifts, but soon enough a fyrhund stands where the man once was, Fox prowling forward on rocky paws.

Noah is right, and up ahead on a rocky outcrop that looks as though it used to be the foundation for an old farmhouse, a stone golem drags itself across the stone. Nearby, some cellar doors stand open in the ruins, and a story begins to put itself together in the hunter's mind.

when the lights fade out, all the sinners crawl

NOAH

Noah prepared to take a step, but suddenly halted. A reminder flashed behind his eyes and he quickly took one hand off the hilt of his spear to rifle within his pocket. Drawing the vial of ink-dark liquid from it, Noah quickly crouched and placed it at the base of a close tree. It was far enough away from whatever they were going to be facing that it would be safe, and within enough of an opening for Safrin's stars to glitter down upon it.

Then, Noah sucked back in a breath and set himself to the hunt. The gnarled, craping sound grew louder as he and the fyrhund drew nearer. Noah paused for a moment, a breath, as the ruins of a house and a monster and open cellar doors came into view. You flank right, I'll flank left. Draw its attention so I can go after it from behind. Noah said, over the attuned bond -- the bond that he had no idea that the ancients couldn't draw from.

But, because Noah didn't know that and assumed he could because of his ability to shift, he slunk left just like he said he was going to.

I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
But no one comes in and yes, you're alone

Having pressed himself flat against the ground to ensure he isn't seen (not unlike a border collie at work), Fox is eyeing the golem with wary familiarity. And although he absolutely does not have a clue that Noah is trying to speak to him, hopefully the demigod will forgive him, because there's a bleak wall of nothing in response to the remarks fired out. It's not like a closed door, because that implies the existence of a door to begin with.

But what he lacks in the Attuned bond he makes up in skill and instinct, and although (in Fox's mind) Noah hasn't given any instruction, as the other man slinks left, he pieces together what he should do. Whether it's correct is anyone's guess, but he does it anyway.

Pouncing forward, Fox puts himself front and centre in the stone golem's path. It's unfair to call the noise that rips from his throat a bark, but it's a close approximation, and he unhinges his jaw to shoot a jet of fire at the creature.

when the lights fade out, all the sinners crawl

NOAH

Still not knowing that his words had met on deaf mental ears, Noah continued his pursuit. He had spent a fair amount of time with other attuned enough to know how it was when they blocked themselves off from being heard, so he didn’t press on the fact that there was nothing but echoes of his own words from his side of the non-existent bond between them.

Thankfully, the golem seemed to fall right into to their — Noah’s — trap. Fox grabbed its attention with his feral, barking challenge. Grinding stone was the only signal of it turning to face him, just as the hunter’s jaws unhinged and spewed white-hot fire towards the golem. If it could scream, Noah was certain it would. Taking the advantage, Noah used his speed to come in close towards the golem (once Fox’s fire had dissipated) and jabbed his spear at the creature’s backside. The arc of fire was brilliant and illuminating in the dark light as it sought its target.

Then, Noah’s eyes flashed briefly to Fox again, and over the silent and non-existent bond he commanded again. Cover the doors, protect any people inside! Then he poofed away with his magic, reappearing about thirty feet away and to the opposite side of the golem.

I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
But no one comes in and yes, you're alone

Maybe they can pretend it's because Fox's animal instincts are too strong in this form, or maybe Noah will just think he's ignorant, but it's at this second unheard command that their accidental teamwork falls apart. Had he vocal chords capable of forming words he might have told Noah that he doubted anyone was around; alas, the only thing he does have is a lot of teeth and fire.

And so instead of protection, Fox literally tries to go for the stone golem's throat, and it's with a slow confusion at having its ass abruptly set on fire that the creature realises there's a doglike animal fastened around its head. Luckily, fyrhunds are renowned for eating stone, and so Fox's powerful jaws make quick work of the piece of the golem in his mouth.

Whether it gives him a bad stomach afterwards remains to be seen.

when the lights fade out, all the sinners crawl

NOAH

As Noah reappeared, his eyes widened in surprise as he witnessed Fox devouring parts of the stone golem. His brows came together and his head shook just enough to rustle his hair, and the hunter’s mouth opened slightly in the surprise he felt but also as if he were going to usher another command. No words came. Instead, Noah rushed forward and sent another arc of fire from his spear, as well as summoning the deep magic within him to send his spirit stag charging for the creature.

This creature was tough, despite the two hunters going after it with a full arsenal. Grunting, Noah jabbed his spear at the creature again. It swung a heavy, stone hand towards Noah like a swinging battering ram. He had to dodge quickly to the side, his spear held in against his chest as he rolled shoulder over back, and found his balance again on his knees.

He watched as Fox continued to ignore what he had said mentally, the fire of frustration roiling up his spine adding to the fire of his magic, weapons, and his friend’s shift.

I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
But no one comes in and yes, you're alone

Luckily, between the two of them even a stone golem must eventually fall, though let it be said that it definitely doesn't go down without a fight. Like a pack of hyena circling a lion, and with fire and sunlight blasting parts of the creature away (while Fox literally chomps down it wherever he can), eventually the golem does topple to its knees - but not without reaching up and physically yeeting the fyrhund away from it in a rage.

Finding himself suddenly airborne, Fox is woefully cumbersome in this form, and so he shifts back midair and tries to twist and safely break his fall. He only half succeeds, and it's with the air driven from his lungs and his body crumpled in the dirt that he tries to shout for Noah. "Finish it off!" He coughs.

when the lights fade out, all the sinners crawl

NOAH

Noah didn’t need Fox’s command to finish the creature off. As soon as he heard the thud from his friend hitting the ground, VI’s demigod’s eyes and body burst with brilliant, licking celestial energy. Pupilless, glowing eyes turned up at the foul golem. Just as the creature reached out to swing at Noah again, the dome covered them.

Glittering with sunlight and raw, unbridled power Noah’s divine opposition covered them. It even reached Fox enough that the man would feel the wind come back into his lungs, bruises dissipate beneath his skin, and any exhaustion he felt to melt into strength and vigor. The golem, on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky. To be an adversary against Noah meant the golem faced the opposite as Fox. White hot and burning, the sunlit damage crept into every pore and orifice of the stone creature. If it could scream, the Sentinel was sure it would be.

Instead, it fell to the ground in a broken pile of stones and one mighty groan of the earth beneath it.

Noah stood, then. He slung his spear in the makeshift sheath over his back and turned to Fox. ”You alright?” he asked, simply enough.

I wait and tell myself "life ain't chess,"
But no one comes in and yes, you're alone