Home sweet home..</sarcasm>

[Rhaxta]

[[BY THE WAY, Open to anyone.]]

Numb, totally numb.
Had she forgotten to get into her sleeping sack before drifting off and gotten very cold?
It was possible...she had been exhausted after the days travels, anxious to get to her old home. She may have disliked most of her times there but she still felt homesick from the months away.

'Mothers cooking..'. As soon as she thought it the smell of food wafted up her nostrils and she smiled contendedly. And with that, her other senses landed on her like a ton of bricks.

Her searing chest, like a campfire layed in her lungs and left to engulf her. Her torn flesh around her bound wrists and ankles, the bruises around her pale skin. Her throbbing head...

''Eurgh. What on earth was I drinking last night..'' she mumbled to herself, resting her head back against the pole.

With that glass smashed above her and rained onto her, the near silence of her mind was torn, and she woke up completely.

''Shut the hell up wench 'less I give you another beating'' roared one of the soldiers, the smell of whiskey on his breath jumping up Rhax's nose and causing her to wince...and that was from six feet away.

Her eyes opened and she glared at them, four soldiers around a table littered with bottles. Droplets of blood along the floor..

~~~~

The day had started out well. Woke up before sunrise and planned to get home as soon as possible. When she got there...she was stunned.

The old town, wooden and quaint had been her home. She'd loved it...despite her father. There were soldiers piling through it every day, but eventually her and her mother got used to it. She was used to the heckling from several horny lads and her mother was used to the heavy workload (and weightload) of carrying beers.
Now it was practically a bunker..
Mud everywhere, several buildings had been torn down and some of the old folks she knew when she lived there were worn, dangerously skinny, dark rings under their eyes and visible evidence of them being hurt and beaten. They avoidied her eye, and when she had approached one of the bartenders to ask where everyone else had dissapeared he'd hushed her violently and demanded she left.
It was then it had happened, she could feel the eyes of some of the soliders on her as she left. Yet she hadn't expected them to assult her, knock her down and drag her back here.

The disgusting hovel had once been her fathers house.

~~~

Rhax made a loud, pointedly douptful noise.

''Psh, yeah...''
''You don't think I would you cheeky littl-''
''No I just don't think you could!'' Rhax cutt in. ''...Whadaya mean?'' said the man, steadying himself on the talbe after standing up to approach the young woman.
''That guy over there is much bigger than you,'' and uglier she mused to herself. ''You think he'd let you have fun when he could? I mean, he's like twice your size. He'd have to be a pushover to l-''
'I'm not falling for that, what do you think I am?''
Butt ugly. ''Er, a solider. You guys don't have to use your minds apparently..'' she said, a small knowing smile on her face.
''We do!'' the man slurred. ''We have to think about what to do in situations...like...the right things to do...''
''That's not what Galby says, apparently if you were smart you would -
''Whuh?''. The huge snoozing soldier finally caught on to what Rhax had said, sort of. ''Did you call me a pushover, Gilligan?!'' he shouted.

Rhax didn't bother to pay attention anymore, arguing would lead to punching and some bruises. OH well, as long as they were distracted. Now focusing full attention on her bound arms and legs which she had been struggling against as she spoke to the soldier.

Her hands were now drenched with blood but she still tried to untie herself, she'd need hell of alot of luck to get out of here in one peice.

[Murtagh]

"Quiet." a low voice said clearly from the doorway.

The soldiers, the ones who were at least slightly coherent anyway, looked around at the shadow there, fumbling for their swords.

"Who goes there?" one soldier spluttered.

Murtagh stepped into the half-light of the room, his face white and furious. He was dressed as a statesman, with his expensive cloths draped upon him, and the gold breastplate and plumed helm upon him. Zar'roc was at his side, fitting perfectly with his red and gold. The soldiers quickly fell into a bow. One of the more wasted ones simply fell to the floor. Murtagh shook his head slowly, and moved forward, standing between the bound girl and the soldiers.

"Please, milord. Please." the same soldier begged.

"Silence. You had your orders. You were not to harm any villagers unless directly ordered to by myself. Why (He gestured to the bound girl) is this beaten and tied in here? Do not even speak. Do you have any idea how serious this is?" Murtagh barked.

The drunk soldiers began to sober slightly, fear, at least, evident in their eyes. Another soldier crawled forward, prostrating himself at Murtagh's feet.

"My lord. We were only--"

"Having fun?" Murtagh completed the sentence for him.

The soldier looked up, his eyes wide with terror. Murtagh smiled, a cold cruel smile, and kicked the pitiful creature away from him.

"Do not beg for my forgivness. The one you should truly fear has yet to come." Murtagh said quietly.

He turned and looked down at the young woman, now bound and bleeding. His expression was hard and fierce, but his eyes twinkling with minute compassion. He kneeled before her and examined her wounds. After a moment, he reached towards her ropes and began to help her unbind them.

[Arkantos]

Arkantos watched with concern from the window of the house. Murtagh, of all people was standing right there. And where there was a Rider, his dragon was never far behind. He looked over his shoulder fearfully, watching the skies for any sign of the fearsome red dragon. Seeing nothing and confident in his disguise as one of the elderly citizens, he masked his magical abilities and shielded his mind in case that didn't work either. Tottering in, he gave a gasp of horror and anger in a suitably miserly way.

"What is going on here! You vandals have taken my grandniece while I was out! How dare you! Move aside sonny, I'll take her from here." He addressed Murtagh in a vague fashion as he procured a small knife and cut the girl's bonds. Helping her up, he glared at the Empire Rider, succeeding at not bursting out laughing at the proximity he had managed to get to him without detection. Rummaging in his filthy rag disguise, he held out a small, flat crystal to the Rider. " Thank you, stranger. I don't know how long this town could survive without some help from the capital. I want you to have this. It will protect you from enemies." He said in a dignified tone. Of course, this was a patent lie. It was actually a highly unstable crystal from Du Weldenvarden, and detonated with surprising force when exposed to magic of any kind, especially that of dragons and their Riders. He opened his mind a sliver to deliver a message to the girl's mind.

Stay quiet. You are important to the Varden. This man is a Rider, and we need to get you out of here as soon as possible. I have associates hiding outside of town. They can get you out of here. My name is Arkantos, by the way. Just think yours inside your head, and I'll pick up on it. By the way, he can read your mind too, so don't think about anything I just told you or he'll kill you and kill me much slower, and in many more unpleasant ways.Thinking this at the woman, he started to hobble out of the barracks slowly, one hand helping the girl, the other gripping the hilt of his sword, hidden beneath the rags of his disguise.

[Rhaxta]

Rhax closed her eyes to try and vision the rope behind her back, see how it was tied..it's weaknesses. No use, the throbbing up her arms were all she could feel, her hands now numb and wrists raw and bloody. The panic clouded her vision, and she began to shake, the panic bubbling in the bottom of her stomach.
A sudden wave of nausea and a leap of fury coursed through her. Throwing her gaze up to the ceiling she gasped, to anyone else it would look like some invisible specter had just punched her in the gut. She couldn't get out. The ceiling was too low for her to shake off the trapped and encased feeling. There was no escape. Rhax kept thinking once the soldiers had finished going for each others throats in a drunken brawl they'd continue with whatever they had in mind, albeit with a few more bruises.

She was wrong.

Through the blur or her head-hurt and panic, a figure. He looked like he was made from gold. Was she hallucinating? No, the space isn't that small...not enough panic for that. She trapped her gaze on the figure. Forcing herself to concentrate on that and rather than her being trapped..

More detail. A blaze of red at his side and what she had mistaken for a golden entity was actually a man in golden armor.
An important one, of course. With a helmet and well kept armor rather than the simple grey steel ones the soldiers wore.

She watched, a wicked grin slowly coming across her face as the soldiers were shouted at for disobeying simple orders. The kick in the face to the one on his knees was practically sugar on the sadists cake. As he turned to her Rhax's smirk disappeared, if he'd do that to them what the hell might he do to her? Forcing her eyes to stare hard into his, she - even through her panic-worn mind- sensed something of power in him, nothing to do with his title. In a haze she saw him disappear from her vision behind her, she tried to turn to keep an eye on him but pain sprung up her spine because of her awkward position.

Next thing her wrists were unbound, but her arms hung useless and numb at her sides.

The cloud lifted.

''...move aside sonny, I'll take her from here." . Before she could register who the man was, strong arms lifted her and supported her, her other arm lose at her side, leaving her feeling ridiculously vulnerable. Looking up into the man's face, her green eyes connected with silver.
The conversation registered in her mind and she pulled on a facade of recognition.
''Oh, hey, oh thank god..'' she said, wrapping her partially mobile arms around his neck tentatively, and buried her face into his neck, as if she'd known him for years - on the plus, hiding anymore hints of confusion left on her face.
Most of the confusion caused by the voice in her head..

''Rhax..my name is Rhaxta.''

Unsure if she'd done it right, Rhax cast a startled look back to the gent that had stopped the soldiers. ''Thank you..'' she mouthed back to the man in gold armor as she half-walked, half dragged her way to the door. A sudden pang and she felt giddyness crawl up her spine. She'd been captured by empire soldiers and rescued by a rider, now some strange man in rags had saved her from him.

''I'm confused..

[Arkantos]

Arkantos grinned as he carried Rhaxta out of the disheveled village and into the wilderness. His troops, a small battalion, was waiting in the scrub for him to return with the girl so they could get the hell out of here. His ring, hidden deeply between folds of rags and massive magical wards, finally wriggled out of its hiding place and glowed eagerly with a green light. It was eager for the ceremony to be done. It wanted out. And it had just found a suitable host. Arkantos rebuked it with his mind, and Linnea's undead avatar slumbered once more within its chamber. He started chatting aimlessly with the woman as they entered the copse where his base camp was, finally getting to the weather oddities when he stopped dead. His allies were dead. All around the camp, scenes of carnage still burned with what could only be dragons' fire.

"Oh, no.", he breathed, too shocked to say anything else...

[Rhaxta]

As they moved from village to wilderness, Rhaxta felt more at home and in-tune with her senses - both because the drug, spells or head-spin from the beating wore off, and because she simply knew the forest better and could use that to her advantage if it was absolutely necessary.

Maybe like now.

A man, randomly comes in and risks his neck to save her life without ever meeting her and saying some faction that's in the middle of some war could use her help? She was nothing spectacular, that's what was fishy.

''Hold on, wha- oh..'' she stopped dead and stared at the carnidge. Looking over to Ark she saw his expression and frowned. Taking his hand and dragging him away from the scene she hoped his mind would clear so he could answer her questions ''We have to move, and fast, but firstly, why does the Varden need me?''

[Arkantos]

Arkantos came to with a jerk as Rhaxta led him away from the obliterated camp. He broke free and ran towards his tent, disguised as a badger's hole and lying miraculously untouched by the devastation. Dragging out his saddlebags, he quickly changed without a second thought for the girl. As he slipped on his leather armor and cleaned off the dyes on his skin with a word of the ancient language, he seemed to remember that Rhaxta was there and had asked him a question.

"Hrm? Ah, yes. I am a Varden mage myself; one of the best. You, on the other hand, are an enigma. I personally have no idea who sent me, and I'm a Captain under the authority of a member of the Council. So, basically, I'm just a courier for an unknown package of an unknown value." He smiled vaguely as he strolled out with his bags and farther into the wilderness, and towards Surda.

[Kaala]

He slipped through the village mostly ignored by the soldiers and avoided by the townspeople. He was following a trail he had thought long cold. His grin turned slightly savage as he looked around, wondering which of the old fools the man had hidden himself as. A commotion in on of the more rundown hovels drew his attention. An elderly man walked out with a girl on his arm, followed by Murtagh, holding a small crystat. His eyes widened slightly as he realized what it was. Oh well, if Murtagh was too stupid to remember, Auron wasn't going to jog his memory. He slipped silently into the trees behind the duo.

Auron's eyes narrowed as he stood in the shadows of the trees watching the scene with intrest, masking his image and his power. "So, this is where you hide...Finally I can finish what I started, Arkantos!" he hissed to himself as he slid into the shadows. He began unpacking his camp and setting down his bedroll. He was in no rush, after all with Firestorm at his side he wouldn't need to. He grinned over at the large Lethrblaka tethered to a tree near by, shifting silently.

[Rhaxta]

Rhax watched as he stormed off, what could he possibly hope to scavenge from this pile of tinders? She watched as his shelter came from a badger hole, and he then looked like he'd shed about 50 years. Rhax had a vague idea that he was younger than his disguise had shown him to be, the strength in his arms and his speed had told her that much, but she'd never seen any disguise that good.
The answer came as he explained who he was. Magic user..oh no. She had to be careful, she knew that, but the awe of finally experiencing the thrill of being in the thick of things was not going to leave her reckless. ''..but, then..''Rhax was by no means a proud woman, yet she did not usually put up with disrespect, as she could find entertainment in putting people right.
However, even with being called a package, Rhax overlooked it to a more important matter.

''..then why should I believe you and your employers are trustworthy, somehow I find it hard to believe your uses for me won't be in my best interests... at all.''

Rhax suddenly felt naked, she was unarmed. Strafing to a tent she picked up a sword which had survived the burning. Granted, the metal was still warm to the touch and the leather handle was slightly singed but it was long, curved, sharp and didn't feel like a brick in her hand like most man-made swords. It'd do.

''You're bound to know more of this..'' she said lowly, her eyes following Arkantos as he wandered off. She could just dash now, if she liked. She was confident she could slip away..but then again....

After a short run Rhax merdged out of the trees just ahead of Arkantos. She held her sword in her hand, crossing her front slightly, ready. '' I'm not going to do this blind, so if you'd like to take a stab at what I'm needed for, maybe I'd consider it?'' she said, giving a grin.

[Arkantos]

Arkantos blinked and stared at the blade, uninterested in anything Rhaxta had to say. Suddenly he shivered.

"Hold on. I just felt something. Auron is here... I thought I lost him for good; that Shade never gives up!" he exclaimed, drawing his own sword and, with a word, letting white flames run up the edge. Quickly ducking under Rhaxta's guard, he disarmed her, sheathed her recovered sword, and hoisted her on his shoulders, all in one fluid movement. He didn't have time for this! Running through the forest, deeper into the brush, he went trying to find somewhere to hide, survive, and get away with out losing his assignment. The Shade must have been after the girl as well. Suddenly, with a burst of thought, he reached out and merged minds with Rhaxta, showing her the events that had transpired between himself and Auron, from the Grand Library of the palace in Uru^Baen, to the mountains in the middle of the Hadarac, and the confrontation that had transpired involving that dragon's egg...

Think about this, quickly! Is this why they need you?! He must be after you as well!

[Kaala]

He sighed as the fired burned before him, its' light casting a glow into the surrounding clearing. He laid out his bedroll and narrowed his eyes as a singed Murtagh made his way into his camp. He sneered. "I figured you of all people would know better than to touch one of DuWelden Vardens crystals." He looked the figure over and snickered at the burn marks on the humans leather overcoat.

"Quiet, Shade. I don't have time to listen to you." Murtagh sat before the fire and sent out a thought to Thorn. "Hurry Thorn, I want to catch up to that fool." He listened for a moment before shutting the laughing dragon out. "You'll need to catch up to them. Thorn will obviously be awhile." He hissed, his cheeks taking a slight pinkish tinge.

"Don't worry, Lord Murtagh." Auron reassured him. "I've been tracking that spy for quite sometime. I owe him for the trouble he caused me awhile back. I know exactly where he's going. Which reminds me..." Auron's brow furrowed as he listened.

"They're moving faster than I thought." He hissed angrily. He hurriedly packed his few things and slung the saddlebags over the lethrblaka and pulled himself up. The monster turned to look at him with it's milky pupils and hissed it's displeasure. "Stupid beast! I'll feed you later, now go!" The beast hissed once more before crouching, it's hindlegs digging into the earth as it launched itself into the air with a mighty shriek.

[Rhaxta]

Rhax yelped and automatically kicked at Arkantos's strong grip around her as she was flung, helpless over his shoulders.
''Eurgh! Well, this isn't humiliating at all..'' she said, smiling grimly. Her green eyes focused behind him as he ran, but she couldn't help keeping them scoped upwards, and her ears toned to catch the billow of giant wings. She had waiting such a long time to see dragons and that..but now somehow she found herself in the thick of it. They were being chased? She could see sod-all, she only smelt the stink of smoke in the air, presumably from the camp.

''No...'' she thought. ''..I haven't come across any of the farce here in the West since it started. I've been gone for some time..''.

Rhax stilled, though very uncomfortable with being tossed around like a rag doll. ''If it comes to a choice between me being taken by a rider, taken by this yahoo and going along by my lonesome, I'd probably go for the latter..however... ''

Rhax's eyes caught the movement on Ark's hip, her sword. Grabbing the handle, and with a sudden outburst Rhax swung her legs outwards, shifting her weight in a totally different direction. It was so unanticipated, it may have floored Ark, but considering his strength, most likely not. All she knew and cared about was her own two feet returned to the ground. This time the sword was returned to her own scabbard. ''Well, if curiousity was to kill anyone I hope it's the cat rather than me...I'll tag with you, yet understand I have legs, thank you.'' she said, striding past him, looking back and gesturing to him to lead the way.

[Arkantos]

Arkantos grinned and shook his head, jogging forward with just a little bounce in his step.

Maybe this won't be such a bad assignment after all...I haven't had this much fun bordering on danger since...but it doesn't matter. She's dead now, most likely, killed by Varden Riders, her being a Shade and all, and by all rights I should be too. Perhaps this will be my last stand...I need to pass on my knowledge if that happens...Rhax's mind was very receptive and highly intelligent; perhaps she could be a carrier, if not a student. But I should really ask her before doing anything else. I wonder if High Command would accept me being a mobile Magician's instructor; it's not like they have magic users to just throw away, and besides: the trait is being bred out of the human race like a rat with wings being chased down by a dragon. I don't think they'd ever eat rat though; I'd have to ask one of the Riders. This was the standard thought process for Arkantos, and he still hadn't realised that Rhaxta was listening in through the mental bond he had created, but never thought to close. His ring niggled at the back of his mind, eager at the opportunity to jump to a new host, but after that possesion incident, he was keeping it firmly in check. Suddenly he realized, in the growing dark, that his sword was giving off a tremendous amount of heat as well as light. He extinguished it with a word and sheathed it to gain more speed and agility. He could sense Auron's foul presence somewhere, but he couldn't pinpoint it; all the better, seeing as that was exactly where he didn't wan't to be.

"You know, Rhaxta, that you have the capability to learn magic, yes? Now, I'm going to have to protect you from not just a Rider, but a very angry and very spiteful Shade who hasn't quite gotten over being bested by me twice now. I have no idea if I will survive or not, so when we get out of range for the night, I'll begin to teach you everything I know: swordplay, assasination, ambush, stealth, melee combat, meditation, even the ancient language of the Elves, the language of magic. Will you consent to learn, though, is what I am asking. I'm sorry to bring this about so suddenly, but it is for the good of the Varden- no, the good of the freedom of the people of Alagaesia, that I ask it." He was still moving forward, still trying to flee, but now, slower, more deliberate. He looked back at her, grey eyes pleading, questioning, seeking an answer.

[Rhaxta]

Rhax smirked as he idled by, and she turned to keep pace. Before she hadn't really been paying attention to the voice in her head, but now she tuned in.. ' a shade..? I really am in the thick of it.
Her green eyes watched him sheath his sword, unsure if she should be wearisome or in awe of the odd glow. She didn't understand magicians, she'd heard many stories of magic but nothing summed up the real thing. As he began to speak her eyes focused on his, not moving away or shifting her gaze until he'd finished talking.

''Me? Learn magic? That's just asking for trouble.'' She grinned cheekily, ''Seems I'm not the only fan of mischief. . Pausing for a moment she thought of the implications..the danger, but also, the adventure. That Won hands down.

Rhax grabbed his arm and tugged gently, insisting he actually start running with her rather than dawdling.

''Of course, I will '' she said, her legs moving effortlessly beneath her''...just one question...why me?'' . She looked to him, the curiosity in her intense green eyes unmissable.

[Arkantos]

Arkantos started to break into a steady run made for cross-country as Rhaxta sped up and tugged on his arm.

"Why? To be honest...you remind me of someone I knew, a childhood friend. We would have been married, an alliance between two powerful families within the Empire, but...her father died in a far-off war, and she...she became a Shade, the consequence of studying out of a book found at the site of a mage's duel. I...I may have loved her...near the end. I even went to the side of the Empire for a time, just to be near her. But then she disappeared. I never saw her again after that. You have that same spark, though, the same fire that she always had, the eagerness to learn that burned within her, before she all but died." His eyes clouded over. In the moonlight, you could see a single trail of silver course down his face; but only one.

[Kaala]

Auron scanned the ground below him with fuming eyes. How dare that fool try to escape him again! A thought niggled in the back of his mind. "If he's such a fool, how does he keep escaping us?" The voice hissed, it's displeasure bleeding into Aurons' mood. He snarled to himself and went back to scanning below him. "He'll not escape this time..." He breathed, eyes narrowing as they caught sight of a slight brightness before it was put out. He quickly tugged on the Lethrblaka's reigns. It landed with a quiet woosh of air.

He slid off the beast back with ease and hissed. "Return to the palace and wait for my return. " He gently patted Firestorm on the muzzle before he took off. With that he silently began stalking the duo, listening carefully to their information. So, Arkantos wanted to train the girl to become a magician. Well, he'd put a stop to that soon enough. He was sick of listening to that romantic crap. With sudden inspiration he began speaking in that dark raspy language known only to shades.

"Come forth from the shadows,
Take flight from your realm,
Heed my call,
and do my bidding!"

He watched with satisfaction as a dark figure rose from the ground. Before him stood a figure made, it seemed, from shadows themselves. Auron nodded in approval before setting to work, adding bone and flesh to his nightmarish fiend. By the time he was done, you couldn't even tell the thing wasn't human down to it's very personality. It was as though it were actually a living and breathing person...without a soul.

"What is your name?" He hissed at the figure of the male before him. He looked to be in his late thirties, with slightly graying hair brown hair and green eyes.

"Samuel." The figure replied, the voice slightly raspy but still deep. "I'm a fisherman from the port city of Feinstar."

Auron once more nodded his satisfaction, a malicious grin on his face. He handed the thing a pair of trews and a rough spun shirt, followed by a pair of boots. He also handed the thing his own dagger, telling it to keep it in his boot and out of sight. With that he sent the creature off. His narrowed eyes watched through the shadows as 'Samuel' called out to the duo.

"Who goes there!"

[Rhaxta]

Panting slightly now as her and Ark moved through the forest, she listened to his explanation, and sensed him close-off slightly with grief. She knew it was never a good idea to prod too deeply into a touching issue with someone you just met - especially when you were being hunted.
She cast a glance back over him and caught sight of the slight track of moisture down his cheek. For a brief second she considered comfort, but did she even remember how? she'd traveled alone for such a long time even knowing someone as well as she knew Arkantos (which, frankly was not much) was odd to her. It was usually just her and her thoughts.
since she had been alone she had to rely on her own senses to protect her. She nearly jumped out of her skin when someone called out. An instinctive reaction; Rhax stopped dead, pulled out her sword and threw her back against a tree, praying Ark had had the same brain wave. Peaking around to try see who was approaching before they saw them, and hopefully giving her and Ark time to make a very very quick plan-of-action.

[Arkantos]

Arkantos felt Rhax's body move by instinct; her mind becoming razor sharp. Suddenly he was glad he never bothered to close that link with her mind. Moving almost by rote, he slid to the ground and silently pulled out his bow and nocked an arrow. Jumping with inhuman strength, he landed on top of a large bough of a nearby tree. Hiding himself in the shadows, he pulled the arrow taut and let it fly; it burst into white flame in midair as to not give his position away and narrowly missed some poor lost soul who was cowering on the ground. Arkantos snarled silently. An assassin! It must have been! His battle senses kicked in, and all empathy towards life was cut off. A feral grin emerged, and quietly, he jumped down onto the ground and became all but invisible among the trees and shadows. Approaching the figure from behind, he slit his throat, broke his neck, cut off his head, and removed his still beating heart from his chest. He drank the blood and swallowed the heart whole, his sanity lost in the bloodlust of the hunt.

"The first kill is mine, Shade! See what happens when you don't do something yourself; I get myself a fresh meal! I bet what's left of your heart will be deliscious!" His mannerisms slipped back out of hunter-mode, and he wiped his chin clean of the blood. He set massive wards against Lethrblaka and Shades and set up a camp silently within the wards, letting the corpse burst into flame as he walked away.

((Okay, It's now Rhax's tutoring time, so no more attacks, eh, Kaala?? Or next time I'll make it much more delicious for Arkantos to eat. ^^))

[Kaala]

He watched with slitted eyes as the two noticed his shadow fiend and went into battle mode. He let a blood thirsty grin cross his features as he knew Arkantos wouldn't be able to resist. He watched with morbid curiosity as Arkantos slaughtered what could have possibly been a regular human and feasted on its' heart and blood.

Auron smiled at Arkantos' foolishness. He knew that the human nor hunter part of his mind would be able to detect the shadows now writhing through his body. That one simple mistake could possibly cause Arkantos his life. Very well, Arkantos. For now I shall disappear, but I will still stalk you in the shadows. Do not expect to reach Surda alive..." With that he melded back into the shadows, his red eyes gleaming before being covered with a cloth. He'd give them a few days before returning...

[Rhaxta]

Rhax was looking back through the trees, eyes scoped for any movement, she cast a quick sideways glance to Ark to check he was on the ball before putting her whole attenion back to her front. Of course he was...but she couldn't help but check, considering a slow minded lump could wreck everything for the whole party. There had been plenty of accidents when she was tagging along with a group of travellers. Well, since they didn't usually know she was following it was douptful you'd could call it tagging along... You'd probably call it stalking them.
Rhax shot another glance sideways, she did a double-take. He was gone. She hadn't heard any footsteps either. Movement above caught her eye and she just caught a glance of him as he tore off.
Hell, she thought. He was faster than she'd given him credit for. Moving with him, she was careful to remain in cover; shadows, trees, dips in the earth. Pretty soon she'd caught up with Ark. His chin red with blood, and a rotten-smelling unrecognisable lump of flesh burning behind him. She couldn't help but smirk, she liked his style. ''You finished catching a bite to eat?''
she asked with a cheeky tone, the sword she'd aquired still held firm in her hand.