[Nexus] The Hunting Grounds 2: Murdering is Magic

[Aric Kale]

Aric reaches with his shield arm and clasps his cloak as sweat starts to bead up on his forehead. He starts to poke at the bush with his spear when the sapling catches fire! He instinctively ducks behind hos shield and jumps away, now at a diagonal angle from the bush.

[Recaiden]

As he ducks back behind his shield, the source of the heat and the flame is revealed as a massive wolf jumps from the bushes, with flames spilling from its mouth and trailing in its footsteps. The beast leaps towards Aric, trying to hit him low and knock him down, and hoping he is distracted for a moment by the blazing tree.

((Here is a relevant image I found, but with rather less fire than is present here. The wolf is white, and additionally has a scar down its left from leg.))

[Aric Kale]

Assuming the creature is not silent as it makes its leap, Aric will turn from the tree at the sound of the wolf and lower his shield, simultaneously stumblimg back in an attempt to make some space between them.

[Recaiden]

As it is not silent, the wolf lands in the space where it had hoped Aric would be, and starts to circle around him, growling, looking for an opening.
Before it's even touched the ground again, a blast of flame goes out towards his shield, testing its strength. A few moments later, the blaze on the sapling dies down, becoming only a smolder.

[Aric Kale]

Aric Kale regains hos steady footing, circling opposite the beast. The warrior presents his shield, made of the same material as his spear, and lets the flames dance around the shield's edge. If there is magic behind the wolven flame, the blaze should rebound from the shield and towards it's creator. Aric waits to see what happens...

[Recaiden]

The fire arcs off the shield and flow back towards the wolf, where they rejoin the other flames without causing any sort of harm. It growls in evident frustration(at that moment, the sapling blazes up again and the heat flowing off the animal intensifies for a moment), but continues circling. Where the creatures steps away from, flames continue to burn, and it's possible that Aric will notice that's it's trying to build up a closed loop of flames on the ground around him.

[Aric Kale]

Aric makes note of of the wolf's immunity to flame, the blazing sapling, the circle of fire and the the intensity if the flames coming off of the wolf in its anger...
Aric will back away from the creature, the sapling, and the circle, and attempt to retreat to a small clearing, about 10 feet around.

[Recaiden]

When Aric goes to back away, it charges at him, making one attempt to get hold of him by some arm or leg not covered by the shield, and trying to race past him to the clearing if it cannot.

[Aric Kale]

Aric is bit in the leg and will then attempt to repeatedly smash his shield into the wolf's thick skull...screaming in a mixture of rage and agony.
Yes. this was the man who was humming a bouncy tune not five minutes ago...

[Recaiden]

It's amazing how being bitten by a wild animal will make you more violent and angry.

The wolf takes the first hit from the shield with no real response save to bite down harder. It really doesn't seem to be as hurt as it should be. But with the second blow it releases him, and before the third hits it has staggered away, at least a little bit hurt and looking dizzy.

Aric might find that flames are still playing about the wound on his leg, magically sustained like what he deflected with his shield, but still scorching hot and painful. But he might have gotten the wolf off before it could call up its power.

[Aric Kale]

Yup, beast mode activated.

Aric gets up, leaning on his left leg, and attempts to stab the wolf in its head...repeatedly...
in a bit he'll come off of his "high", but for now...heh.

[Recaiden]

Aric finds the head hard to hit, but does catch the animal in the side, causing a painful if not terribly lethal wound with his first hit. The spear thrust is met with an intense heat, probably not enough to do damage to the weapon, even if it weren't absorbed.
It's jumped away after that, a little warier of him.

[Aric Kale]

Aha! A hit!
Aric chuckles, he might just have a chance after all! And then he groans as his leg reminds him it's still there...
No heat is absorbed and Kale seems to become more wary as well, slowly and painfully approaching the Wolf. He starts to speak in a soothing manner,Hello there, you are both might and fierce, not many can injure me as you have... Just what are you up to Aric?

[Recaiden]

The wolf can't smile. But it would. It draws a little further away and raises its ears slightly, less eager to fight. It hasn't seen prey that talked for a long time.
Although its scar might suggest otherwise, not many injure it either.

But a few words will not disarm it completely. It's still waiting for an opening when it can lunge in under the spear.

[Aric Kale]

My name is Aric of House Kale. It is a Noble line. But many say nothing is truly so noble as the Wolf. Do you have a name?

Aric sits down cross-legged, his shield on his arm and his spear across his lap.

[Recaiden]

It had thought that maybe it shouldn't eat this one, and it seems like that's really the case. A name. It hasn't used a name in...it gives up trying to count and settles on 'a long time'. The wolf nods. It does. It considers sitting down, but it is wounded, and conflicted. Maybe it should just eat him after all.

It doesn't tell Aric its name. It can't talk.

[Aric Kale]

Alright, you don't speak common, that makes sense. Do you.mind if I cal you Hunter? It seems fitting. Aric is actually quite relaxed, as canines can sense emotions/hormones, The Wolf should be able to tell that Aric is enjoying himself. Despite the burning in his leg.
Are you alone? Is that common?

[Recaiden]

The wolf sits down, the bloodlust fading from it as a bit of time goes. It nods, it does mind that, and stands, going towards the ruined sapling. It indicates the flakes of charred wood and ash that have gathered at the base of it. The flames around it pick up, painting a vague picture in response to the second question. It seems to show others, waiting outside the Hunting Grounds. Then the flames flow onto the charred little tree and consume it entirely.

The little trails of flame from the battle are starting to gutter out.

[Aric Kale]

Hmm, alright, I won't try to think up a name for you...
You do have a pack, I think, or you did. And you seemed to have calmed down. We are both fighters, though I believe you are mightier than I. In my land you eould have much respect and have many legends about your kind. The FireWolf.

[Recaiden]

The wolf shakes its head slowly to the sides. It was trying to communicate its name. The flames are also, seemingly, trying to correct him. Many many wolf-shapes appear in the flames. Exactly three are suffused with a sort of nimbus that would be the fire itself.
The wolf paces over and stands by Aric, running forward a short way and then back. There are other things to hunt and be hunted here, no?

[Aric Kale]

Aric thinks for a moment, then it dawns on him. Your name is Ash,sn't it? But there's more? Something else is coming?

Little Timmy fell down a well? lead the way Lassie!

[Recaiden]

The wolf nods, and looks around.

In a moment, Aric should be able to note what it has. It's getting even colder than it first was, too rapidly to be normal weather shifting.

[Aric Kale]

Aric chuckles, then he shivers as the weather takes an unexpected dip...interesting. Aric stands, weapons at the ready. Do you smell anything, Ash?

[Recaiden]

The wolf shakes its head and whines softly. No. Nothing to smell. But there is something there. Ash turns and starts walking, fairly quickly, to the south, looking back to Aric.

[Aric Kale]

Hmm, peculiar...Aric follows the follows the wolf, feeling oddly unsettled.

[Recaiden]

As they go along, the cold follows, and a mist is starting to settle down on the forest around them. The wolf moves more quickly, with less concern for if Aric can keep up.

[Aric Kale]

Aric moves faster to keep up, glancing backwardsoccasionally to see if there's anything behind them. He's really starting to miss that cloak...

[Recaiden]

There's nothing behind them, but he may catch a glimpse of something ahead of them. It might be the fact that there's snow falling there. And now it's falling here, too.

[Aric Kale]

Snow? Sure, it's the Forest, but it wasn't that cold... Aric really misses that cloak...
grr...
Aric continues to follow, tightening his grip on the spear. His normally jovial attitude seems to have disappeared with the warmth.

[Recaiden]

A wave of heat flows off of the wolf, which might help Aric a bit, and it tries to keep him warm.

Then they come upon just a wall of ice, stretching between trees ahead of them, clearly unnatural.