Wolf On The Range

Shiruba had quickly found out that training for better working with animals was going to be more than learning to better ride her Peko. But that had not deterred the wolven cait sith. If anything, it had enticed her farther. Better understanding animals and animal behavoirs would be of benefit to a Hunter who spends much of her time in the wild. Thankfully some of her tasks allowed her to go back out in the wilderness she enjoyed. Being couped up somewhere stuck on one train of thought was the thing about the 'strange moods' that concerned her a little, but this was not one of those.

Right now Shiruba was moving about the ranch, helping the ranch hands with their various chores checking on and feeding the animals. This was the part of her training to better care for whatever animal she may be taming for herself later.

The temperatures are still relatively low across Yamato, with spring still months away. So, Rylen still finds himself back at the Ranch, preferring to spend his winters among the comforts of home rather than at the far edges of distant battlefields. The Pooka exits the farmhouse, wearing a thick jacket and with his hands shoved into his pockets.

He knew very well most of the comings and goings around the Ranch, though sometimes, certain people still managed to surprise him from time to time. Today, though, he seems relaxed at the sight of those working.

Still, his eyes settle on Shiruba. As of late, tensions between the Alliances have been... interesting, and as the wolf represented her people as much as Rylen his own, her presence draws with it an extra level of curiosity. Then again, unlike some others, Rylen tends to share information freely. Crescent Moon is, afterall, the new player training guild.

"Seems like you're starting to get a feel for the place." He comments, "Though I can sense that wanderlust." Rylen smiles in that charming way of his, "I'm starting to feel a bit cooped up, myself. Hopefully the weather turns soon."

Shiruba's attention is on work, but one of those perked ears still swivels when she hears Rylen speak up. "Hello Rylen!" she replies cheerfully, then turns back to doling out feed. Though the current instruction was less on the food, and more on the process of determining what and how much to feed various species. "Learning how animals often prefer some variety in their diets, just like people." Her tail wags a few times. "... And yeah. But when I go out to do observations in the wilderness, it helps take care of that desire."

The colder weather doesn't seem to bother her too much. Though she is wearing the winter jacket that Gwen made for her, that has actual sleeves and longer coat-tails to protect her legs, rather than her usual hunter's vest.

Goldenblade walks onto the ranch from the entrance, her academy is nearby, and if not greatly used, it's kind of nice, and she can spend her spare time, such as it is, fixing it up. But, it's slow there, not a lot going on. So she hellos the ranch, "Hello!" and will head on over to where Rylen and Shiruba are.

She's got a new sort of cloak on, it appears to be a woven mat of grass and earth. Not very stylish. And her face is ... bruised? Though on closer inspection, it's not black and blue, it's brown and green. -That's- a new style of makeup. Not very popular. Except like among Delta Force types.

Rylen lifts his fingers to his mouth, giving a whistle which calls over one of the pekos out of the yard. Moko, his own personal mount, is one of the more well built of the beasts, having trained alongside an Adventurer for over a year now. He reaches up, scratching the bird along one cheek.

"Variety is good for an ideal diet, but when working in the wild, it's important to find out what sort of things appeal to a beast. Enough so that it can override training, or fear, or aggression." He whispers, as if it were a secret, then swipes his inventory.

A orange fruit drops into his hand, recognizable as a persimmon. "These are Moko's favorite." The bird is immediately alert, eyes following the fruit as Rylen holds it. "But it varies from animal to animal."

And then a very strange animal, indeed, shows themselves. That being Goldenblade. Rylen looks over, brows lifted, distracted from his brief lesson by the outfit and makeup that his guildmate is wearing. "And good day to you, Golden." He hesitates, as if trying to find the right words. "That is... some interesting makeup you're wearing today."

Uta passes by, riding on her peko, also wearing a long winter coat that Gwen made for her and that definitely tastes like coat (no special reason why she would know, really).

The bird is pretty quiet; he seems to be mostly exploring around, given how it just paces around the premises without any hurry, and occasionally stops to cock its head at something. Due to his slow pace and relaxed attitude, even an inexperienced rider like Uta can just make sure she's sitting and keeping her feet into the stirrups, and be confident enough to let go of the reins and do something else with her hands.

In the case of Uta, she's holding a wooden bowl with one hand, and scooping up its contents with a wooden spoon in the other hand. "Mmmmm. Soaked crackers. I'll never get tired of those." She leans over and offers a spoonful to her mount. "Want some, Not Stolen?"

The bird's beak hovers over the utensil, then turns away, uninterested. "Oh, well. More for me-" She interrupts her comment when she notices the group, and abruptly raises one hand to wave at the three of them: "Oh, people! Hey!"

Luckily it's the hand with the spoon.

Shiruba nods her head as she listens. Gives a bob in the direction where her own Peko is resting, after they took an excersize trip around the riding trail earlier. "Tradewind mainly munches on leafy greens. But we may of just not come across a specific tasting fruit he prefers yet. Though he's never complained, either. Yojimbo will gnaw on pretty much anything vegetation, but I've already learned Bun-Buns aren't picky by nature, as they have to eat whatever is where they can avoid predators." She'd kept her entrant in the spring bunny race as a 'vanity pet' as one would put it in MMO terms.

Her attention turns to the new arrivals when Rylen's does. "Good morning Goldenblade, Uta." She pauses. Squints a little more at Golden. "... Is that camoflauge?"

Goldenblade nods to Rylen about interesting makeup, chuckling. "From any sort of distance, or in cover," she explains, "it's very hard to identify that someone /is/ a someone if you only recognize a piece or a sliver. It doesn't make the right shape in your mind. Or so I've been told. I'm working out the details the hard way."

Looking over to Uta, she smiles, though it might be hard to tell, and waves. "Hey! Throwing around your bowl of ... what -is- that?"

She nods to Shiruba, "It is, indeed, exactly that. I'm developing camouflage as a tactic to improve my hiding skills."

Back to Rylen, she asks, "You've got some people around your ranch, more than I have at my academy, so I was wondering if I could do some training here? I'd like to try some hiding, and they, all of you, really, can let me know when they spot me. I'm trying to hide more effectively. I hadn't planned when I started on being a sneaky person, but I've been sort of thrust into the role. So if I'm going to do it, I'd like to do my best at it."

"Ahh, yes. I would suggest trying a variety of fruits with your Peko if you have the chance." Rylen suggests, trying to drag his attention bak to the matter at hand, at least momentarily. "It might help with a burst of speed at the right moment, or to encourage them on a difficult task." As for the bun-bun, Rylen coughs with a wary expression, "Well, Bun-Buns will flat out eat just about anything, plant or animal. Luckily they aren't as dangerous without a herd."

As Uta arrives, Rylen gives a bow in her direction, "Your eminence." Because he always addresses her in strange formal titles.

For once, though, it isn't Uta's antics that are the most distracting, but Goldenblade's. "You're more than welcome to practice, both on the people or the animals, so long as you don't trouble them while they are eating." Rylen explains. "But I'd stay away from the monster barn unless you want to come back minus a few fingers and toes. Most of the monsters we stable here aren't too fond of being snuck up on."

"That's cool Golden. I've seen some of the Lander hunters do similar, rub mud on their faces. Or... ah..." She ahems softly after making a slightly grossed out expression. "... because the smell maskes their own scent." It's disgusting, but it's true.

Then she cusps a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "Mmmm. I've not really tested more than what's commonly available, you have a good point. I know promising him some extra fronds did help encourage him to focus on the races. We may have to experiment more when things start coming into season again."

She then gets a different track of idea, brightening her expression. "Oh, Golden, you could hide for the people training their companions as tracking animals!"

"Soggy crackers!", Uta beams at Goldenblade. "The real deal, mind you, not the menu-crafted imitation. Sec..." She stuffs a last spoonful in her mouth, and as she chews, she flicks her hand, performs some flourishes with her spoon to navigate her menu, and finally confirms. The spoon and bowl shimmer away, and this allows Uta to grab and pull the reins.

She jumps off her ride, whom she proceeds to tie to a nearby pole, after which she heads to the rest of the group. "Good morning, Shiruba!" She turns to Goldenblade. "So... uh... we're playing advanced Hide and Seek?" She beams. "I'm all for that!"

When Rylen addresses her as 'Her Eminence', she straightens her posture, without skipping a beat or interrupting the fluidity of her walk (but slowing it down a bit to make it more ceremonial), she tilts her chin slightly upwards, and replies, in a posh accent, "So, I am some sort of top-tier religious figure now?" She waves her hands in some sort of made-up blessing gesture. "All faithful stand now!", she announces, statley and melodic, vaguely Gregorian in intonation. "Please welcome her eminence Uta Furore, the High Priestess of Melma, Goddess of Slimes!"

Goldenblade nods gravely to Rylen. "No sneaking up on monsters. That makes a complete sort of sense. You know, I hadn't even considered trying that, for that reason and a few others, but now I will definitely not. Lions and tigers have a very painful way of telling you that you've been found. Just verbally is all I'm looking for."

She nods to Shiruba about what the hunters do. "Animals /are/ more sensitive to scent, so that's a consideration for hunters. I'd like to avoid it, if I can. I'm more worried about sneaking up on people, I supppose."

Uta brings up a good point, "What -do- menu-crafted soggy crackers taste like? Probably like a 4-course meal with filet mignon and three types of wine." She nods slowly to Uta, "Indeed, advanced hide and seek is a very good description of what I'm attempting."

"Just be careful with what you rub on yourself. I'm no expert, but I'm sure there are some things out there that can't be good for you." Afterall, there were plenty of plants that were harmful to people if used as camouflage.

"Stealth really isn't my forte. So I don't have much advice there." He shrugs, but offers a smile none the less.

"You could always try teaching your Peko a seek command." Rylen suggests to Shiruba. "They aren't as good at it as say, a cat or a dog, but just about any animal's senses will be a bit better than ours, and reading their body language can help you with your own tracking and searching attempts."

Then, to Uta, he just breaks out into a grin. "Well, we must always aspire to greatness, right?" Then, with a puzzled expression, "I thought you worked at a restaurant in the real world?" The idea of a place serving soggy crackers in reality, seems to make his nose twitch. "Or... is this another experiment?"

"Even just having another set of eyes in the field is helpful," Shiruba agress with a nod. "I've had to 'fake it' from time to time while tracking in the wilderness, but I am far from anything you'd consider for sneak up of shank someone. Ambush tactics have their place, but if that's the case, I'd rather draw them into a trap, or a location I have an advantage in."

Her tail wags with casual contentment. Training was important to keep up, but it was nice to take a break and spend some time with her friends. "Oh, Rylen? Have you heard about what the animals in the new region are like? It's really something."

"Menu crafted anything just... has no special taste," Uta explains to Goldenblade. "'Soggy Crackers' is just a metaphor, how some of us interprets the lack of proper taste, but actually, what is really going on is that menu-crafted items have no particular flavor. No matter whether they're food or not food. I did some research on the matter." She pauses for a moment. "...You don't need to know the details."

"Yes, but I just waited tables," Uta replies to Rylen. "I didn't really cook anything," and then she frowns. "And even if I were a cook in the real world, well, I have no Cooking stills in ETO, so... I'd probably still suck anyway, no matter what my real world self was like." A sideways glance is offered to Shiruba and Goldenblade. "Funny how such things work, huh?" She taps her chin in thought, then she goes to reply back to Rylen. "No, the stuff in the restaurant was pretty good. My penchant for soggy crackers is a leftover from the first days after the Apocalypse. Everything was so insane and maddening that being able to eat something that tasted the way it looked seemed to bring a splinter of normalcy into my life. To me, it's become the... uh... gastronomic equivalent of a security blanket? If that makes sense?"

To Shiruba's last comment, Uta hurries to add, "Oh, yes, and wait until you hear what the /monsters/ are like!"

Goldenblade nods to Rylen, "Yeah, there's wierd stuff all around. I'm trying to keep it relatively normal. But I've asked about what cosmetics are made from, and going from there. Though, I guess, historical cosmetics were made from some bad stuff, too, so I may need to think a bit harder on this...."

She smirks to Shiruba and admits, "Each class has its own specialties. Sneak up and stab isn't my /main/ focus, but it's in my wheelhouse, so I want to do it well." She's no ninja, but she's not bad at sneaking.

She nods gravely as Uta explains what does and doesn't taste like soggy crackers. "I see." As far as monsters go, she wonders, "What -are- the monsters like?" Well, if Uta feels it's important, she should find out.

"Mmm." Rylen seems to consider the question, and then shakes his head, "Honestly, I haven't heard much about the new region. I've got too much to take care of back home to worry about traveling beyond the borders of Yamato." He chuckles, seeming amused by that.

"I suppose that I'll get over there at some point, but once the ground thaws, I'm likely to end up back in Ninetails, working against the undead." It had been the focus of some of Crescent Moon's efforts for a while. "Still, elaborate? What's so special about the animals there?"

At least Uta's comments offer him some relief, since he did promise to go to their restaurant if they ever got out of this strange world. "Aye? Well, we all need something like that, I suppose. I'd rather not go back to what I used to eat at the beginning, it... wasn't pleasant."

Shiruba briefly makes a face at the discussion of menu food taste. Or lack of therefor. "It may be your security blanket, but it was pretty bland. So glad people figured out how actual Cooking works." The wolfgirl really likes her food. It's how Gwen usually bribes her into doing things, after all. You live most your life under a mother that's constantly micromanaging your diet and obsessing about you being able to attract a decent man in adulthood, you develope a taste for the things you couldn't have easily. "I did have a part-time job in a coffee shop for a time," she joins in. "It was an internet cafe. Then became a hangout for console players during the dark days of online restrictions."

Then her attention jumps to Rylen when he confirms they haven't been to the Palace Lands yet. "They're like you took the parts of two different stuffed animals and made one plushie out of them," is the best visual comparison she can come up with. "We've seen rat-seagulls, we have to contend with beaverbears daming up a river to get fresh water. There was a large griffon, which are a combination of two animals anyways, but that just makes sense when everthing else is a combination. It's really interesting! I've observed a few to study how the combination affects their behavoirs before I came back to Yamato." She's still an explorer at heart, so getting to reaccount some of her experiences gets her in an even more chipper mood.

"Oh, I apparently am good at sneaking," Uta replies to Goldenblade. "Comes with being a Spriggan, apparently? I personally don't notice anything strange with the way I move, but a lot of people seem startled when I arrive and greet them. Must be a thing that comes natural."

"I've been inspecting both animals and monsters. From a safe distance, of course."

Uta nods along with Shiruba as she explains, confirming what she said. "Seems like you got better information than I. All animals I've inspected were named something hybrid like Tigerduck, Ratgull, et cetera. But I don't claim to have inspected all of them..."

She clears her throat, and leans closer. "Now, the monsters," she begins, lowering the volume and even the pitch of her voice, even if slightly. "It seems like that it's only Dire Beasts wihch are hybrids. All other monsters appear not to be." She, once again taps her chin and looks away in the distance. "I really need to publish this information in the Journal of Applied Slimology..."

After trailing off and staying silent for a few seconds, she resumes, "...I need to start publishing a Journal of Applied Slimology..."

Goldenblade nods to Rylen about travelling to the Palace Lands. "I've got a lot going on, myself. I sailed over with Wake, because I wanted to help her on the voyage over, because I'd heard it was hard, but then I sailed straight back." On the boat with Shiruba, she's pretty sure, as they both came back to Yamato at about the same time.

She blinks at the double-animal descriptions, and hrms. "I wonder if the next place we visit will have 3-part animals?" She can only shrug about gamers and internet/console cafes, they were never a part of her life. As far as food, she sighs a bit, "My wife was a good cook, but my mom made some of the best stuff. My wife never made like meatloaf or anything." Meatloaf not being a particularly japanese dish. "But I've done enough jobs away from home that I know what it's like to fend for yourself. It's a bit frustrating that without certain specialized professions, you can't do -anything-. I mean, I'm no professional cook in real life, but hotdogs and beans, or grilling a burger is not /hard/." She's a barbecue cook.

She hrms to Uta about being good at sneaking. "But you're a spriggan, so naturally stealthy? I see, then. But if you don't have any interest in using it, I guess it doesn't much matter. I'm ... differently motivated, I guess." She's new to gaming, she's used to just playing the cards she's been dealt as hard as she can, not in picking and choosing just certain aspects.

"Interesting." Rylen's brows furrow as he takes in their various explinations of the unusual animals. "I wonder if Pekos are any different over there." He looks to his companion, who squawks once and then ruffles his feathers.

"If you manage to capture any smaller animals, see if it's possible to bring them back. Not just to study, but... also just to see if it's possible." He lifts a hand, stroking at his chin with a thoughtful expression.

As for cooking, Rylen just laughs ruefully, "I was never much of a cook. In the years before the Flash of Death, I had a nutritionist team and never really worried about it. Afterwards... I made due with what I could manage for my sister and I." He shrugs, "These days, Xander mostly does the cooking, though it usually ends up a bit burnt."

Shiruba shakes her head a bit in response to the question. "Haven't seen native Peko yet. But I've caught glimpses of Bun-Bun in the woods while hunting for food, and other than like everything else being higher level didn't appear any different.... The levels will make it hard, but maybe can try to snag something simpler, like the rat-gulls that tend to loiter around the camp."

She snickers a bit. "Is burnt food more, or less offensive, to a Salamander?"

"Still, " Uta replies to Goldenblade, "I'll be glad to help you with your Sneaking if you so desire, Paula!"

Uta mumbles about the discussion of real food, "I need some real food myself. Soon. But I'm not sure I'm ready for fashion, yet. Might need to fortify myself first. With soggy crackers."

"I don't think I've seen a Peko yet," Uta replies to Rylen. "But they're probably Pekogrunties or something. I should go look for one next time I'm over there." All nervous, she begins to pace, hands behind her back, head held low. "I wanted to take some home some local monsters for studying, and possibly bring back some Dire Beast hybrids to a certain customer as a special treat, but all those monsters are all out of my league. I wonder if this is a feature of the game, or-" She perks up. "Wait a minute..."

She slaps her forehead. "A bug!"

She runs around, gesticulating wildly to nobody in particular, mostly thinking out loud. "Of course! When Pela Clarpuff was taking care of her Herbology Mujou, she showed me that insects appear to be monsters. Tiny little HP bar and all. Now, I wonder, if I were to look for a dire ant-snail or something..."

Goldenblade nods about Rylen's cooking experience, or inexperience. "I see," she says. "I'm not looking to be expert. But the soggy crackers were getting very old. And the Landers knew all the time, they could have just said." She sighs. She smirks about burnt food, and says, "I spend way too much time at the Cresent Burger, myself. But I'm amused at how active the self-proclaimed full-time-gamers turn out to be, in the game. I guess it's easier to be active when you're in good shape. I know I'd gotten slow in real life, but I'm much more agile here." Though being seventy-five was one element of slowing down.

She hrms about trapping animals in the new continent. "Sounds like it ought to be easy, but I have no idea how you'd do it. That'd be an animal handler thing, I guess. Grunty burgers are entirely satisfying, but who knows what new will come out of the new continent?"

She nods to Uta, laughing as she calls her Paula. Uta's the only one that does that. It's confusing sometimes. And then Uta's off on some other puzzling tangent, that Goldenblade just sort of watches to see what will happen next.

Shiruba just stares at Uta for a long moment as she goes off on a tangent, but by this point you just kind of accept that as Uta and move on. So she nods to Goldenblade. "Yeah, it would be." Then glances off in the direction after Rylen. "I think that's what he was implying, to help my training. Having to deal with some very unorthadox animals. As for food stuff, I know Merek is trying to find cocoa, or something similar to it. I've been busy with the expedition itself and trying to still keep a tab on Guild things here so I haven't paid as much attention to the culinary side of the trade company right now."

Uta is just off in a corner now, walking around in circles and rambling. She eventually end up in front of Not Stolen the definitely-not-stolen peko, and begins to lecture him. Gesticulating and everything. The Peko looks... if not interested, at least curious. But it's probably all the movement that causes him to follow Uta and cock his head in various directions, eyes following wherever the Spriggan is at the moment.

Goldenblade eyes Shiruba at the mention of Merek. But she says nothing. As to Rylen's departure, she nods slowly, and says, "Anyhow, he's given me leave to practice my hiding, so that's good. Hopefully I can become a more useful infiltrator. I had hoped to run some scouting missions, but the results were ... both simpler than I expected and too complex to perform." Seeing Uta wander off and peering for a moment, she asks Shiruba in a whisper, "Is she -talking to- her peko? Can it understand her?"

Shiruba leans over as Goldenblade whispers, and replies. "More like it's following her motions. For most birds eyesight is their strongest sense. I doubt it -understands- the meaning in anything she says." One of the many things she's learned since she started working with animals more closely.

Shiruba takes a moment to check some stuff in her inventory. Nope, she doesn't have any actual fruit to test with onhand at the moment. Will have to check a market next time they pass through a town. She turns her attention back to Goldenblade. "Do you teach any defensive moves at your Academy? I recently did training for my Shield skills, but my repitoir still lacks rounding out."

Goldenblade ahhs to Shiruba at the mention of following motions. "I guess that makes sense. I still feel stupid riding a big damned chicken, it's why I've got a horse for when I need. Pekos are faster and more agile, but you look like an idiot riding them." That's the old man behind the mask showing through.

As far as defensive moves with shields, she says, "You're in luck, I've got two pretty good shield moves." She will describe Brace for Impact and Black Shield. "The first one's more useful, the second one was more experimental."

Shiruba looks impressed despite the bit of Peko dising. "You found a horse here? Wow!... I mean, I know they exsist in Yamato, but I've never seen anything other than monster Dire varieties and Were Fangs. Landers certainly seem to prefer Pekos or Grunties. I don't mind." She gives a short whistle and her own jots over to her, and she gives the side of his head a light ruffle and pat. "Besides, Tradewind here won two Peko Races and we placed second in another. I'm certainly not going to give him up just because I'm learning to ride better for myself."

She listens to Goldenblade describe her techniques, and nods her head. "Experimental is okay. I could probably make some good use out of it. I just might come look in on that when I've got more of my time for training free again."

Goldenblade nods about the training when time is available. "If you don't find me at my academy, leave a message, I'll be in and around. WIth any luck, they won't find me," because stealth training, "but I'll check back pretty frequently." As to finding a horse, she says, "The Landers found it. They're rare, but ... well, just like in real life, they're not /hard/ to manage. They don't do /much/ better than Pekos. Pekos are faster, and with just two legs, they accelerate faster and are more agile than a horse. You're higher up on a horse, so better visibility, by just a bit, and ... well, everyone uses Pekos because they /are/ better. I just can't make myself do it. It's weird that with all this ..." she gestures at the world in general, "that riding pekos is the one thing I can't bring myself to do. But ... there it is." She shrugs.

Shiruba nods. "Nothing wrong with doing what you feel comfortable with, Goldenblade." Shiruba takes a few steps around to the side, grabs the reigns and hoists herself up onto Tradewind's back. "I'm going to ride into town, follow up on Rylen's suggestion of trying different fruits, if we can find any available. I'll talk to you later Golden!" She gives her mount a light spur with her heels and the duo bound off for the barnyard exit."

Goldenblade looks around as everyone has left, pops smoke, and vanishes. Well, sort of. There's an earth-shaped lump on the ground where she had been, which is sort of a clue.