The Hunting Grounds IV: Drops Contain 0% RNG

[Recaiden]

Well, it's not written to help an outside audience's understanding, but there are plenty of notes here and there.
Mostly on how the latest prototype was 'immediately hostile, terminated'. Seems like it's being tested in various environments, atmospheres, heats, etc. to try to get a certain response.
Test results on how hazardous the 'mesh' has been to living things, exactly. Apparently it's a strong carcinogen in addition to the hostility.
There's an easel board with some ideas for future experiments written out "Undead proximity?" "Conflict?" "Need a new source - Non-repetition? - Monopotency?" "Grey Philosophy?"

[Ironsmith]

[The Machine]

Okay, so this was something alive, or at least a decent approximation of it. It was hostile, implying some degree of intelligence; nothing suggested sappience, though. Animal-like, perhaps? The notes mentioned a source, so this seemed to be either naturally occurring or created by someone else entirely; likely the latter, since carcinogens that potent tend not to be products of nature.

On the whole, Haia came to the conclusion that this "mesh" was probably as dangerous to her as it was to Hunter. Granted, she didn't have to worry about cancer, but none of the rest of this thing's attributes relied on her being organic. There was also every possibility it was smarter than her, which could be a problem if it ever broke free.

She backs away from the tank, deciding she knew enough about what was in here to avoid allowing Hunter to come to harm. It would be better not to disturb anything.

[Recaiden]

Excellent inferences. It is alive, it is intelligent, and it is artificial.

Since Haia doesn't disturb anything, the mesh remains totally inert in its tube.
This place isn't so insecure that just reading the notes could set anything off.

---

Upstairs, Hunter is putting her armor back on.
"Haia, I forgot to ask, how are you powered? Do you need rest, or recharging, or fuel?"

[Ironsmith]

[The Machine]

Haia comes up the stair when Hunter calls. "My capacitors require recharging every few months." She hums a moment before responding with a question of her own. "What is that mesh downstairs? How did you come to possess it?"

[Recaiden]

"Okay, shouldn't be a worry for a while then." Hunter narrates, nodding.

"Ah, you saw it. It's a machine, electronics I mean, with very small parts, almost fluid."
"I rescued it from a warzone. Well, that's where I got the design, anyway. Those are all copies. Inferior copies, I suppose."
She shrugs. Reverse-engineering alien technology isn't easy.

[Ironsmith]

[The Machine]

Haia blinks, humming to herself as she processes this. "...You brought home an AI designed for use on a battlefield?" She asks, looking over Hunter. There's a little lilt in her voice, as though there's something special about this line of inquiry.

[Recaiden]

[The Machine]

"Well, I don't think they were designed for combat." Hunter is wrong about this. They definitely were intended for combat, it's just the first set she found was defective.
"More that it was pressed into service there. But yes. I kind of bring home lots of things." Such as Haia!

[Ironsmith]

Haia shakes her head slowly, looking at Hunter with cold, unblinking eyes. "That is extremely dangerous." She says. "It is generally hazardous to your health to bring home a strange AI you found on a battlefield." She taps her chest emphatically. "I am not designed for combat, either, but when we met I was still able to subdue you, and possibly could have killed you if my protocols demanded it. An AI deisgned for battlefield use should be avoided for that reason alone."

[Recaiden]

"There's more important things than winning a fight."
Hunter says, shrugging.
"And the danger was not as much as it seemed. But I do get into a lot of dangerous situations, which I understand you're going to warn me about."
"But don't worry too much."

She stands up and approaches the door. They have a superconducting coil to get, after all.

[Ironsmith]

Well, if Hunter wasn't going to take Haia's warning seriously... there wasn't much she could do about it, really. Ahe couldn't exactly threaten Hunter more explicitly (that would be counterproductive) and she didn't dare mess with the mesh herself. For now, all she really could do was go along with the mission. "Affirmative. Let us go."

[Fenric]

[Something New]

(( FISHING FOR A HUNTER :D

No, not "Hunter", though she'd do.))

There is a terrible noise. As if someone combined a fox's screechy growl with the grumpy sqwak of a ... rooster? No, no... that's just too wrong.

But now there is a poor unforturnate statue of an NPC hunter frozen clearly in the act of swiping at something perhaps mid-calf height with his sword. His stone trousers are pressed against his right leg, pinched as if bitten, with two small holes in each side.

[Recaiden]

It's time for something new!
Or in other ways, something quite old.

Someone notices the noise - how could you not, so distinctive and strange as it is? - and there's a there's a distant howl, a couple of howls, actually, and then a voice. "Hey, guys, wait!"

The first hunter to come close is a white wolf with a long scar distorting the fur of its front left leg, seeking through the air for scents and heat sources.
Around it, the air grows cold. Where its paws fall, leaves wither and patches of ice form.
Seeking the source of the sound, it finds...is that a statue? A brand new, unnaturally warm statue, that practically looks and feels alive?

[Fenric]

Indeed: rapidly cooling to ambient temperature but still notably warmer, the statue is astonishingly detailed and lifelike. And in the soft dirt, the tracks are puzzling to say the least... one set would make one think a raccoon or perhaps opossum but where the hind-feet should be they are instead far more distinctly bird-like.

There is no other notable sound nearby - this is the Hunting Grounds, so silence is not to be expected.

[Recaiden]

The wolf circles around the statue, curious.
Possums are good to catch. Raccoons are a little trickier. Birds...birds could be anything.

Better follow the tracks.

[Fenric]

Following the tracks!

They zig-zag back and forth across the soft ground in the manner of a hunting fox: frequently changing speed and occasionally pausing. The scent is relatively fresh and still the strange combination of fox and chicken mentioned before, with an unmistakable undertone of magic if the wolves can detect such things.

It seems to be heading for a small stream that can be heard bubbling away up ahead.

[Recaiden]

It was just here. Want to catch up before it gets to the stream, if possible.
Plus, chicken is a type of bird they know what to do with.

With the white wolf following the trail, two other wolves have caught up: smaller, darker furred, no obvious scars or weird aura of cold. They're prowling around to each side while generally making their way towards the stream.

But the scent of magic, in and of itself, they don't really notice.

[Fenric]

lap, lap, lap, lap, lap *pause*
lap, lap, lap, lap, lap *pause*
lap, lap, lap, lap, lap *pause*

Whatever it is, it has reached the stream and is getting a drink just up ahead. The thick brush on the stream bank makes visibility quite poor indeed but whatever it is, it seems to be colorful: black, yellow, red, greenish-blue, rusty brown and dark brown can be seen in patches through the leaves.

[Recaiden]

Oh, that won't do. All those colors, hidden in the brush like that?

There's a pattern there.
While it drinks, the wolves slink and maneuver. When it pauses, they pause too.
The white wolf makes her way downstream a bit, while one of the darker wolves gets closer to the mysterious chicken-fox animal...and finally rushes towards it while growling and snapping and making plenty of noise.

[Fenric]

Some coloration is camouflage, some is a warning... (And the Rhode Island Red is probably human meddling, but I digress)

With a startled yip-sqwak-screech, the creature jumps and runs away from the noise: startled more than frightened but for the moment, fleeing.

[Recaiden]

They think they have the creature right where they want it.

If it flees upstream, the other dark wolf will pounce on it.
On the other hand, if it flees downstream, the white wolf will spring towards it.
And if it heads into the stream, a wave of burning cold will sweep down to try to freeze it into the water's surface.

[Fenric]

The startled creature emerges from the brush and sees the white wolf. It's reaction, however, is anything but "turn and flee". With a feral scream, it bares its teeth and charges: fully channelling Keiko's "Imma bite you!"

[Recaiden]

Uh-oh.
The fox flinches back but-
You know, it's not that big. We're gonna bite it first!

[Fenric]

The baleful creature charges up and does a twisting duck and the last instant, looking to plant a chomp up high on the white wolf's lef while presenting an easy but highly expendable target in the brightly colored feathers of its tail.

SCREEEE!

Should any tooth touch flesh in the slightest, then the wolf may very well join the unfortunate NPC hunter on the ethereal plane.

[Recaiden]

The wolf's teeth close on the colorful feathers while ducking itself low, but the monster still manages a scratch.

At once, there's a nice statue of a wolf. There's also an eruption of ice all around it, flickering blue light cold enough to burn...but it doesn't last long.

Those two darker wolves are still chasing closer, as well.

[Fenric]

The uncanny thing screams in pain and rage as it is burned by the supernatural cold and cut by the edges of the ice. Hearing the others approach, the creature uses the new-made statue as cover, chittering and clucking angrily and flicking it's colorful tail.

[Recaiden]

The two wolves split up, and move to surround the foxatrice, circling around the statue.
A confusing statue, certainly. It seems like it's one of them in shape and smell, but it's empty, and so still, stiller than death-
But their prey is right there, that's whats important.

Behind them, back in the trees, heavier footfalls can just be heard.

[Fenric]

The strange creature keeps up a continued screachy snarling and snaps its jaws threateningly at the wolves and flicking it's tail erratically. Through it all it keeps close to the statue to prevent any flanking and waits its chance to turn these annoying wolves to stone so it can get on with its day.

[Recaiden]

What does it do with its day when it's not turning stuff to stone?

The wolves keep their distance from the snapping twisting monster, but they feel they've got it more or less cornered. Just need to wait for the right moment to pounce.

And then, the fourth hunter shows up. It's Anima! The wolf-woman (2/3 giant wolf, 2/3 human) pads up with a scowl on her face.
"Guys, we had a plan. And the plan was not to run off after the first thing you heard!"
She lifts her hands and precisely swirls them around each other, commanding the nearby plants to entangle the fox. And maybe also the other wolves. Could keep them from getting into any more trouble ahead of schedule.

[Fenric]

Hunts mice and small birds and dragon hatchlings and cockatrices... naps under bushes... looks for other foxatrices to make more foxatrices with... the usual sort of thing.

The creature is so focused on the wolves, it doesn't notice at first: even shaking one paw free from the plants before it belatedly notices that the plants are moving a lot more than they should!

It screams in fright and rage, and bites at the plants to no effect at all. Its struggles rapidly diminish as the tangling plants do their work, and soon it's only able to be noisy. But this it does to good effect, screaming and sqwuaking and screaching and generally making quite the racket.

[Recaiden]

Oh, fair enough, little monster.

Now, that noise could attract something much worse than a foxatrice. Kind of like it originally attracted them. Better do something about it quickly.
What Anima does is get a pebble from her pocket, and throw it at the tangled foxatrice, and as it flies through the air it returns to being a fairly large rock, still moving just as fast.