The Hunter [Aras!!]

[Melissa|Tristan]

Aiden raised his head and sniffed the air around him cautiously. Nope, nothing new here. His shaggy body wove through the crowds of people in the park unnoticed. It was one of the many upsides to having a dog as a talisman, and the one that the other Innocent Elders exploited on a regular basis. No one would look at him twice, similarly to the non-clever one who was his lieutenant, the one with the squirrel talisman...either of them was a common sight in this northern Canadian area, so they were easily able to hide in plain sight.

Such was this occasion now, as there was supposedly a Hunter in the vicinity. Aiden's job? To track the person down so that the instant he or she was away from the crowds they could be taken out. Such was the way of this war, and though Aiden sometimes wondered if it was not pointless he would continue to follow orders of those above him, and continue to order those underneath him. It was simply the way things were, and as he wove through the crowds Aiden realized that despite Jo's disappearance he was almost completely and truly happy.

The petting zoo was up ahead. Could the person be there? With only a small item to scent from, Aiden didn't want to chance missing them. As he jogged along the path it was difficult not to become distracted, The many Frisbees and balls being thrown and kicked around by small children were so tempting. A belly rub would be very nice right about now. His talisman had begun demanding a break 5 minutes ago, and really what harm could it do? With this in mind the large wolfhound flopped on a comfy patch of grass and began relaxing, barely keeping an eye on the people passing by. With one final yawn, the dog promptly closed both eyes, drifting away from his problems into unconsciousness.

[Aras|Ofelia]

The thing about having a reptile for a talisman was that every time a sunny day rolled around, there would be a voice in your head clamoring to go outside and bask in the sun. Preferably on a warm, secluded rock somewhere. Sunbathing didn't sound like such a bad idea, but Ofelia couldn't be bothered to put effort into finding a secluded rock in the middle of nowhere. Or more middle-of-nowhere than Noatak was, at any rate, though such a place must be difficult to find indeed. Though her talisman would have been entirely satisfied just lazing about in the heat, Ofelia felt that that was a waste of time. Might as well get something done while absorbing sun, rather than just be a tanning lump. The mamba insisted that there was absolutely nothing wrong with that, but she just shushed it as she shoved a novel and a sheaf of origami paper into her bag.

The morning was wonderfully warm, with an occasional breeze tickling her skin. The weather put her in an unusually good mood, especially since the memory of freeze-your-feet-to-the-ground Canadian winter was still fresh in her mind. Yet another inconvenience to sharing her mind and body with a reptile. She hadn't hated the cold until she discovered her talisman, but ever since, she spent her winters indoors, curled up under a blanket and warming her hands over a hot cup of tea. The advantages of having a talisman came with disadvantages, of course, but that didn't stop her from bemoaning the fact that North America's talisman central was located so fucking far north. Whose brilliant idea was that?

Settling down on one of the park's benches, she took out the novel and began reading. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. She'd borrowed it from Aras--it was really too easy to ask favors from the guy, though she was sure he preferred lending her books to dragging her out of bars when she got too drunk--and was enjoying what she'd read so far. Perhaps she'd finish it today, if she could read without interruptions.

It didn't take long for more people to start showing up at the park, children included. Ofelia was thankful that she'd been blessed with the ability to zone out while she read, but every once in a while, a particularly piercing shriek would incite an irritated glare at the guilty party. It was during one of these interruptions that she noticed a large dog--an Irish wolfhound, if her limited knowledge of dog breeds was correct--dozing on a nearby patch of grass. Briefly wondering where its owners were, she shrugged inwardly, then thought nothing more of it when she returned to her book.

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((OOC: Sorry it took so long. Kind of forgot, durr. :B I hope by the tag in the title you were just telling me to join and didn't mean you wanted Aras-the-character in here?))

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[Melissa|Tristan]

Just as the blissful unawareness began to set in a scent reached Aiden's nose. After recognizing the scent, wishing it wasn't so and then inhaling it again on his next breath Aiden resigned himself to his task. It was the one he had been searching for, that cold, smooth smell could only belong to one person. His talisman first tried to convince him to just keep lying down and relax. There's plenty of time for that later...let's sleep for a little while longer please? Unfortunately for his talisman Aiden would do no such thing with the enemy nearby.

In fact, the Hunter -or Huntress he should rather say- was closer than he'd thought. After first pulling himself to his feet he casually sniffed the air, ambling in the right direction like he was a regular dog and had all the time he wanted. After nosing the wind a little more he realized that the smell was coming from a woman sitting on the nearby bench. Fortunately she was reading a book and did not notice his initial stare. And stare he did, for the Asian woman was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen in his life.

After closing his jaw with an inaudible snap, Aiden's mind was whirring so loudly he was surprised no one else could hear it. His mission was now almost impossible; there was almost no chance he could kill this woman. She was sitting on the bench reading her book 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea -which coincidentally was one of his all-time favourite novels- and blissfully unaware that at that moment the other side was plotting to kill her. An unconcious whine escaped his throat as he sidled closer to her, his eyes focused on her face. The closer he got to her, the more obvious it became that she was the one he had been sent to find here. And the one he had been sent to kill. Now what was he supposed to do about it?

Upon reaching her Aiden placed his head beside her leg on the bench, his height easily allowing him to put it there with no stretch at all. She still hadn't looked up yet; perhaps she was so enthralled with her book that she'd become unaware of her surroundings? Or maybe she was purposefully ignoring him? Either way it was dangerous. Surely a Huntress would know enough to not let her guard down completely. A whuffle of breath escaped the dog's mouth as he briefly considered jumping up on the bench and taking a seat beside her. The only concern with that plan however was that it would very likely give him away for what he was. Did he really care anymore though? All that mattered was that she would be safe.

[Aras|Ofelia]

Ofelia could tune out the far-off sounds--children shouting, adults shouting, dogs barking--with relative ease, but the next distraction came from somewhere nearby. Her eyes snapped up from the pages to glare at the source. It was the dog she'd noticed earlier, the large Irish wolfhound dozing on the grass. Except it wasn't dozing anymore--it was approaching her, eyes transfixed on her face. That it was a large dog was even more evident now that it was standing up, and close to her at that. Ofelia was a small woman, and though she hated to admit it, big dogs made her uncomfortable. Especially ones as large as this one, whose nose could easily reach her chest if she were standing. And she was sitting down, which only made its size all the more intimidating.

Blatantly refusing to show any sign of nervousness, Ofelia returned to her book. When the dog set its head down on the bench next to her leg, she had to look up again, raising an eyebrow. She returned to her earlier question: where were its owners? Letting a strange pet dog wander around in this town was just asking for it to get shot. There was of course the possibility that it wasn't a pet dog at all, but there were so many dogs around this place that Ofelia had long since given up on regarding every single mutt she met with suspicion. After a while, it had stopped being worth the effort, since it honestly didn't matter unless the dog tried to attack her. This one didn't seem to have that in mind, but Ofelia wasn't sure what the hell it was trying to do. Begging for a treat? There was a granola bar in her bag; maybe it could smell it. Asking to be petted? Tough luck. She never pet the dogs around here unless they belonged to someone she trusted. And that was very few people indeed.

Looking it in the eye--to a dog, it was supposed to be a challenge, or so she'd been told--she waved a hand dismissively. "Shoo. I'm reading. Go bother someone else."

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((OOC: lol Aiden.))

[Melissa|Tristan]

It was very strange, Aiden had to admit. One moment the Asian woman appeared to be completely absorbed by her novel, and the next she'd glanced up and was glaring directly at him. He cringed inwardly at her scrutinty, however the pressure of her gaze was removed only seconds later. That being said, when his warning appeared to have no effect whatsoever and her nose returned to the novel Aiden barely supressed a frustrated sigh. She didn't have a clue the danger she was in at this very second.

As it was, Aiden knew that Brady and Georgia were walking around the park, watching and waiting for his signal. Neither of them would be able to shift in town given that Brady's talisman was a falcon, while Georgia's other half was a large boa constrictor. Either one of these would cause a panic among the humans, which was the last thing the Innocents needed right now. The Hunter's ranks had swollen in recent months, gradually killing off one Innocent at a time until the Innocent numbers were so far down that the Innocent Elders had begun changing tactics drastically. The most recent of these changes reminded Aiden very much of those used by the Hunters...fear, intimidation, threats, bribery....the list went on, and the more of these changes the Elders made the less Aiden was starting to like his position among them.

This had been what was leading his actions currently. There was no way he could lead this young woman into such danger when here she was now, innocently -and unsuspectingly- reading one of his favourite novels. Even as the woman looked up again, waving him away like someone would a mangy tabby cat and speaking to him in an irritated tone he still didn't have the heart. Not only did she have a voice that most people would find unappealing, but she looked him straight in the eye as she spoke, giving him the message that this woman did not like to be messed with. His mouth fell open in a doggy grin as Aiden realized how fun it was going to be disobeying her.

Whining hadn't worked and he certainly didn't want to growl at her. Certainly pulling on her sleeve was a bad idea...he had a feeling she would punch him if he tried. He whined again from the back of his throat, lifting and dipping his head agitatedly. She needed to move, and she needed to move NOW. Unfortunately this was definitely not in the plans, and Aiden had no idea how to make her listen. Jumping up on the bench beside her -the wood made an ominous creaking sound, which he ignored- with another whine he moved slightly closer. Nudging her hand with his nose would probably end up being dangerous for his health, but Aiden didn't care. Any punishment would be worth saving a life. His nose was cold and wet, As it should be, his talisman sniffed. It had been oddly quiet the last couple of minutes figuring that the sooner Aiden got what he wanted the sooner they could lay down and nap again.

Aiden took a quick breath to calm himself. Upon inhaling Aiden caught several intriguing scents. The first was obviously he smell of the woman, and that in itself was an intriguing scent. Aside from the delicious human aroma there was another distinct flavour she was eminating. Aiden had smelled something similar coming from Georgia the handful of times they'd been partnered. It was that . . . reptilian sort of smell and the odour was very strong on this woman. If anything though, that only made Aiden like her more. From all appearances this viper appeared capable of taking care of herself. That certainly didn't mean he was going to let her though.

[Aras|Ofelia]

Instead of making the dog turn tail and head back to wherever it had come from, her shooing seemed only to make it... happy. Its tongue lolled out as it opened its mouth in a canine version of what looked like a grin, and it didn't budge an inch. It looked like Ofelia was either going to have to just ignore the dog--and it wasn't going to let that be easy, she was certain--or get up and move to somewhere else, hopefully losing the mutt on the way.

Before she could decide, the dog lost its silly grin and whined again, bobbing its head up and down. Was it bipolar or something? Her talisman, who had been languidly absorbing sun until now, lifted its head to stare at the dog. Its tongue flicked in and out as if to taste the air, but all Ofelia could smell was dog. If she wanted full access to the snake's senses, she'd have to shift, but a crowded public park was definitely not the place to do that. Her talisman seemed to be on the lookout for something now, far more alert than in had been in the past several minutes. It hadn't given her any warning signals, yet. The moment it did, Ofelia would be out of here. She was armed, of course--it was sheer stupidity to go around Noatak empty-handed--and her talisman was one of the most dangerous reptiles on the planet, but there was only so much she could do in a public place before she began to attract unwanted attention.

The cheeky mutt then decided to hop on the bench next to her, making the weathered wood groan under the sudden additional weight. Ofelia, in response, slid to the other end of the bench, dragging her bag with her. If it decided to lick her in the face while it was at it, she was going to give it a resounding smack across its nose. Closing her book with a snap, she tossed it in her bag and stood up to leave. The dog reached forward to nudge her hand with its nose. Ofelia pushed its muzzle aside with a sweep of her hand and stepped away from the bench.

Pressing her lips into a tight line, she looked straight into the dog's eyes. If it wasn't a real dog and was trying to tell her something, it'd better give some indication of what it was getting at soon. Ofelia didn't have the patience to play guessing games with some obstinate stray. "What the hell do you want?"

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[Melissa|Tristan]

Just as it seemed like Aiden might finally be conveying his message to her, she totally shut him down. Simply batting his nose away with her hand as though it was nothing. He had to surpress his talisman's instinctual urge to growl, instead shifting his massive body still closer to her. "What the hell do you want?" Aiden's face was close to the woman's now, and though it would have been tempting to lick her face just for fun he resisted this urge also.

He whined again, this time turning his attention to find something he could use to pull her along. Aiden's big brown eyes settled eventually on her bag. A grin lit up his face again and he gently grabbed the strap in between his teeth, standing up on the bench to his full height. Immediately jumping down, he whined again while pulling her in the opposite direction to where Georgia and Brady were lying in wait. No way was he letting her go that way.

Aiden paused and jerked back to her side for an instant, drawing up to his full height in order to look her directly in the eyes. "You're in danger, come on! Follow me NOW!" Unsure as to whether his mental message was even being noticed he huffed impatiently. Fully aware as he was that the mental conversations only worked when both people were in talisman form, Aiden hadn't been able to not try. This was too important not to. The big question was how to get her to come along willingly and quietly.

[Aras|Ofelia]

Maybe it was just her imagination, but the dog looked a bit frustrated--as frustrated as a dog could look, at any rate--when she pushed its nose aside. But being the bipolar thing it was, its disappointment was immediately replaced by the dumb doggy grin that had been plastered over its face a few seconds ago. Assuming this was an actual dog, it was probably one of those that were stupid to the point of being overly friendly to everyone and everything, up to and including people who were terrified of it and people who hated its guts and wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. Wonderful.

A moment later, Ofelia cursed the extra second she'd spent thinking about how stupid the dog was when it fastened its teeth around her bag and began tugging. "Hey! Damn it, let go," she hissed as she tried to free the strap from the dog's jaws. It was a lost cause, she knew--a dog of this size could easily win a tug-of-war with her. She wasn't about to give up her bag to this creature, either; her wallet was in there, and she refused to let just anybody get hold of her IDs and cards, especially in this place.

They must have made a comical scene: an oversized dog dragging a pissed-off woman behind it. Not that Ofelia meant to be a comedy act for anybody. She was about to give the dog another whack--with actual force this time--when it suddenly stopped and gave her a pointed, hard stare. She glared back at it. All right, no ordinary dog would stare so fixedly at a person unless the person in question was offering it food. And she certainly wasn't offering this mutt anything. A stare like that was just short of transforming and declaring "I'm a shifter!" Question was, why was it telling her, and what the hell did it want from her? An unfamiliar shifter accosting her in a public place and expecting her to follow--that wasn't suspicious at all.

Shooting a few quick glances around to make sure there was no-one else within hearing range, Ofelia resumed eye contact with the dog. "You must be a moron you think I'm just going to follow some strange dog--" the emphasis made it clear that she knew it was more than just a dog-- "to wherever it takes me."

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