Forest Dweller (Iggy)

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

Setia: HP = 64, PP = 47, EP = 103, Status = Fine

It had started getting colder again, which meant that winter was coming. The winter season had never been kind on Setia Alarra, the feathered creature adapting poorly to the cold and the scarceness of food making her very survival a gamble at best. Still, she had plenty of time to prepare for the coming snows. The river that the spring near to her cavern home joined into was still warm enough for her to fish in without freezing her scales off, and that was where she was now, trying to catch herself some fish.

It was as she eying a particularly juicy looking trout in an eddy right near her that the sound of a branch snapping nearby caught Setia's attention. Directing her gaze that way, she spotted a man dressed in camouflaging greens crouched in the bushes, not more then twenty feet from her. He held a bow and arrow in his hands, but the string on his bow wasn't yet pulled back, and he has staring at her with a perplexed look as he gazed at her from across the river. "What... Are you?" He said quietly, his voice more cautious than threatening.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Setia Alarra is a cockatrice. Her body is that of a human's and bears a tail like a lizard's, and her feathery soft wings and talons are that of harpy's. In place of arms, she bore large feathery soft wings. She has a modest, small bust and a curvy, slim figure. Despite her partial reptilianne appearance, her physiology is closer to that of a harpy than that of any reptile. She has short, chestnut brown hair, the scales on her tail are a shimmering green color, the scales on her thighs were an almost glistening opaline white, and the feathers on her body and wings that are opaline white, similar to the coloration of the scales on her thighs. Atop her head, amongst her soft, short-grown hair are a few feathers sticking upright, almost decoratively. White feathers grew all around her lower leg, just below the scales on her thighs, and below that were her bird-like taloned feet.

Setia lives alone in a small cave deep in the thick forests near Acheron. This isolated lifestyle is frequently hard on her, but is necessary. Her body emits powerful pheremones which attract human men, which makes it a bad idea to live in or near any sort of human civilization. It is instictive for her to run away from any human that finds her.

Another disadvantage of this nomadic lifestyle is the need for self-sufficiency. Setia doesn't have much in terms of clothing and had to make due with what she finds lying around the forest. Wrapped around her chest and nethers are small strips of decorative cloth, that just cover her erogeonous zones. She had fighting tape wrapped around her feet and in between her talons, as a simple, makeshit way to protect her feet.

Setia hums softly to herself as she makes her way to the river spring to gather food and provisions for the winter season ahead of her. Her thin strips of cloth she calls clothing didn't provide much warmth for her while she was out in the chilly air. Also, having wings for arms did make it more difficult for her to gather food. Winter was close approaching and she was on a strict schedule to gather specific food items each day. Today, she is scheduled to catch and store fish for the winter season ahead. With her, she carries an old, worn leather satchel to carry home her provisons in.

When she made it to the spring, she immediately eyes a large, juicey looking trout and gets in position to scoop it out of the water. However, she hops up startled by the sound of the snapping twig. She quickly turns to the source, her facial expression transitioning towards that of a look of panic upon discovering the human hunter. Her instincts kick in as she attempts to quickly hop into the water to dampen the effect of her pheremones and back out to start dashing away through the forest away from the human.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Spoiler

Setia: HP = 64, PP = 47, EP = 103, Status = Fine

The man stares in confusion at her as Setia jumped straight into the the water, the arrow knocked in his bow still limp even as she turned and started running away as quickly as her legs could take her. Her satchel got soaked in her desperate dive to weaken the effects of her pheromones, and but she was neither followed nor shot at as she fled from the river, at least as far as she could tell. It only took her a short while to get out of sight of the river, and of the human that had spotted her. Standing in the center of a grove of maple trees, she wasn't being pursued as far as she could tell, but it might be a risk to go back to her lair so early. She hadn't acquired any food yet either, which she knew she would pay for later unless she found some way to make up for her failure to acquire a meal.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

After much running from the strange man, Setia stops and sits down on a nearby treestump to catch her breath. Setia moans and groans as her well-groomed plumage and her satchel were both completely drenched.

"Damnit! That pesky man stopped me from filling my daily quota. Now I'm going to fall behind on gathering my food for the winter."

Setia gets up and stomps her taloned feet childishly.

"It's not fair! Not fair! Not fair!"

After her brief temper tantrum, Setia recomposed herself and got herself into a better mindset.

"Well, I guess that means I can't go home for a bit. It's too risky. I guess I'll just forage for berries and herbs so I don't end up falling behind."

Setia got up again and shook her satchel to dry it out a bit before walking about to forage for berries and herbs as planned.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Spoiler

Setia: HP = 64, PP = 47, EP = 103, Status = Fine

Following her tantrum, Setia turned to set off toward a patch of blueberries she knew was growing not too far from here. They wouldn't keep as well as some other things, but they would be a decent enough start for the day, and she could munch on some of them immediately rather than waiting to take them all home. As she turned, however, Setia found herself face to face with a wild black bear. The beast, almost twice her size, was staring at her with its dark beady eyes, and gave a low bear-like grunt that rumbled forth from its chest. It panted lightly, as such creatures were want to do, but it wasn't being outright aggressive..... Yet.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Setia freezes at the sight of the large bear. She tenses up and starts to back away slowly from the large creature, staring it straight in the eye, ready to reflexively petrify it with Gorgon's Gaze should it attempt to assault her.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Spoiler

Setia: HP = 64, PP = 47, EP = 103, Status = Fine

The bear simply stared at her, huffing, as Seta slowly backed away from it. The furry beast made no move to follow her, though it's black beady eyes remained locked on hers throughout her retreat, and the cockatrice quickly reached the edge of the clearing. And promptly tripped backwards over a log, nearly knocking herself out on a rock.

As she laid on the ground, her head splitting, she heard the bear lumbering toward her, huffing and puffing the whole way, and found the beast standing over her, staring at her curiously. It's long, flat tongue came out and licked her face, covering her cheek in slobber. It gave another bearlike grunt, and then seemed to lose interest in her, as it began lumbering off, leaving her alone. She hadn't attained any really serious injuries in her fall, and she hadn't lost any of her gear, so she was free to try and gather food once more. The bear's behavior had been odd to say the least, and following the beast would be fairly easy given that it didn't seem to be attempting to hide its presence.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Setia cries out, terrified as she stumbles backward onto the ground as she was backing away from it. She trembled in fear as the bear stood over her, ready to petrify it if necessary. She wanted to avoid petrifying anything unless it was completely necessary. The last thing she wanted to happen is for humans to realize there was a creature capable of petrifying living organisms in the forest and go on a hunt to capture or kill her.

Upon being licked by the bear, she cringes repulsively and watches as the bear runs off, leaving her face coated in it's saliva.

"Gyuh... That was... weird. What was up with that bear?"

Setia gets up and grabs her satchel and goes to scavenge for more nuts and berries.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Spoiler

Setia: HP = 64, PP = 47, EP = 103, Status = Fine

After the odd moment with the strange bear, Setia set out once more to find food. Stopping at a berry bush, she collected a fair number of blueberries in her leather satchel. She was continuing along among the bushes when she heard a soft voice not far from where she stood, speaking quietly and comfortingly; "Don't be afraid.... I won't hurt you." Turning, she recognized the man from before, his bow now slung over his shoulder as she approached her from the bushes. She hadn't heard even a hint of his approach, and now that he was closer she got a good look at him.

He was easily much taller than she was, sitting at around six feet, and dressed in full camouflage gear so as to hide himself in the woods, his clothes all mixed brown and green, with hints of orange and red to accommodate for the changing of the leaves in autumn. He was young, but also fully grown, and had a short beard of red hair growing on his chin, matching that which was cut short to his scalp on top of his head. "What.... What are you?" He asked quietly, clearly trying not to scare her off again.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Setia jumps surprised and panics, turning to see the man slowly approaching her. She starts to back away, slowly.

"Please! Don't come any closer!"

Setia was set to run away if he got any closer.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Spoiler

Setia: HP = 64, PP = 47, EP = 103, Status = Fine

The man immediately stopped, and even took a step back as Setia demanded that he not come any closer. "Alright, alright..." he said, his voice soothing. "I won't get any closer if you don't want me to.... My name's Daryl. Daryl Greyman." His hands are still held up in a non-threatening manner, and he watches her carefully, looking for signs that she would bolt on him.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Setia stands there panicking backing away from the man slowly.

"Don't follow me anymore! I don't want to have to hurt you."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Spoiler

Setia: HP = 64, PP = 47, EP = 103, Status = Fine

Daryl looked very disappointed at Setia's words, but nodded and took a step backwards. "Alright. I won't bother you again." He said, and continued to take careful steps backward, away from her. The human seemed to be allowing her to leave.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Setia runs deep into the woods zigzaging and crossing her own path before stopping to rest on a fallen log. She starts to sob slightly as she sat down on the log.

"I just want to go home."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Spoiler

Setia: HP = 64, PP = 47, EP = 103, Status = Fine

Setia, after fleeing from the fairly persistent man, found a convenient log to rest on as she sobbed. She wasn't bothered as she sat by herself, the human having apparently not followed her, and the forest was relatively quiet around her. It didn't seem like anyone or anything else was going to bother her today.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Setia wipes her tears from her eyes, as her tummy rumbles loudly.

"I'm hungry. I guess I need to find myself something to eat."

Setia gets up and resumes scavenging for food.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Spoiler

Setia: HP = 64, PP = 47, EP = 103, Status = Fine

Setting off once more, Setia had a few choices available to her as to where she wanted to search for her dinner. There was another berry bush nearby that she could try to pick, this time blackberries, but hat would put her near where she'd seen that human again. She could return to the river and try to catch a fish or two, or perhaps go to a small pond and try to catch some when they came out as dusk began to fall. Or, she could go try and nab something from a farm that grew on the edge of her forest, though that would put her at risk of running into someone else.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

It was getting dark and Setia was very hungry and falling behind schedule. The food she gathered so far she needed for the winter, amd she wouldn't be able to catch anything before night fell. She turns to the farm in desparation.

"I...I know it's against my better judgement, b-but I have no choice. I... I'll just take a few provisions and leave, I'll pay them back later..."

Setia starts to sneak towards the farm.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Spoiler

Setia: HP = 64, PP = 47, EP = 103, Status = Fine

The small farm was fairly isolated, a short trail leading from the house's front door to the road being their only connection to other civilization. Otherwise, the Baker farm was surrounded by woodlands on all sides, though the human inhabitants had done a lot of work clearing the forest for firewood and land to plant on. As she reached the edge of the woodlands around their farm, Setia found that it hadn't changed much at all. As it was mid autumn, the crops were just about ready for the harvest, and a wide field of corn stood in front of her, the plant predominantly grown in the region.

She could see the grain silo jutting into the sky, as well as the barn where the animals were housed at night and the chimney of the house over the tops of the corn stalks. She could, if she wanted to, just nab a few ears of corn, but they weren't particularly good unless cooked properly. Another field around the corn was set aside for potatoes, and the vegetable garden that stood against the house was filled with more delectable items like tomatoes and carrots, but going for the potatoes would put her in sight of the house, and going for something in the garden would put her right up next to it.

The barn was likely full by now, night having fallen in earnest just before Setia had reached the farm, but so long as she didn't disturb the animals too much she could likely take what she wanted with impunity from there. The Bakers only had a couple of cows, a small flock of sheep and a half dozen hens to care for, so the barn shouldn't be too difficult to move through without disturbing any of them. There would be a lock on the door to get past, but there would be windows on the side that she might be able to climb into.

The grain silo was probably mostly empty this time of year, the last of the stores from last year almost gone, but the most promising prospect was the house itself by far. Raiding the pantry also allowed for the most risk of being caught, however...

 

[Iggy]

Re: Forest Dweller (Iggy)

Setia quietly lurks around the farm, trying to sort out her options for what she should take. Setia groans softly to herself.

"My tummy hurts. I need food, and I don't want to have to cook it. Maybe there'll be ready to go stuff in the house. I know it's risky, but it's the only way I can get something to eat right away."

Setia quietly sneaks into the house to search the pantry.