Lanny Zelkovii

Cruising at a good clip down 99, and probably going a bit faster than he ought too, Lanny was considerate to have the windows up in his Bronco. If there was anything he learned from Sheryl, is was that girls with long hair didn't appreciate having the windows down while driving fast, unless their hair was secured in some way to keep it from lashing at their face and creating a million little knots and tangles. Instead, he had the ac blasting to combat the roiling heat of the afternoon summer day. "Brian's gonna give me a call back later, as soon as he talks with the Indian. Until then, I thought we could scout around the base of the mountains."

From 90mph, the Bronco stepped down in gears as the speed dropped off, while Lanny took note of the various mile markers they were passing. "Just... ah, there it is! I haven't been here in ages, but..." The young man hit the brakes perhaps a bit too hard when he spotted one of those 'No-Maintenance Roads' that were basically long runs of dirt and ruts that were kept up only by the simple task of people driving down them to smothering out the weeds. "...oops, sorry about that." He grinned sheepishly, "Didn't think we were that close yet. Alright... hold on now." From the smooth pavement of Highway 99, the Bronco was now bouncing along the dried dirt that was rock-hard and deeply pitted. The deteriorated path led away from the main road and down along a little niche in the mountainside, which eventually looped back around to meet back with the main road at another point. Lanny stopped the vehicle about half way along, mindful to park in the shade of some giant trees so that they would have to clamber back into a 110 degree car with scorching seats when they were done hunting.

Cassidy

She continued to notice the little things that he did and didn't do to ensure her comfort as they traveled, and continued to favor him with a smile every once in a while in wordless thanks for his consideration. Even his apology when he braked too hard so suddenly was noted, and she took the opportunity to assure him that she hadn't been harmed by the sudden stop.

The bouncy ride was slightly uncomfortable, but then Cassidy was a hard-core girl... she could take the rumbling ride and not break a sweat or appear in the least bit nervous. So she rode companionably with him, chatting pleasantly about this and that thing of no importance, until they stopped. "Couldn't hurt to get a head start," she answered him waiting for him to get out so that she could slide along the seat and get out his side, since the road dropped of dramatically on her side of the vehicle.

Lanny Zelkovii & Others

Her smile alone was reward enough, even though the little actions he took in chivalry were mostly just what he was use to doing. Of course, though he was still far from admitting it, part of these curteous efforts were done in an almost sub-conscious effort to impress her. "The more the merrier, I say. Ha, I can't wait to see the fireworks when we let all these guys loose on their land." Stepping out after grabbing a few large potato bags that he'd grabbed from a friend's house before setting out on 99, Lanny took a moment to look over the terrain around them. "Watch your step out here. This place is a little bit tricky..." Lanny peered over the edge of the deep slope they were parked next too and let loose a long whistle in exclamation.

Known for its abundance in feline life, the rocky slopes were also home to a great wealth of reptiles. Namely the slightly more cold-tolerant species of diamondbacks, but the thermals provided livable space for even the tropic varieties, as made evident by the two young serpents who were watching the humans from a sunning rock a few yards away. "Should we warn the others?" Monsoon questioned his brother, not sure whether he wanted to abandon the lovely warmth of the rock to skitter through the mountains right now.

"It's hard to tell from this far away... that one has something in his paws." Maelstrom replied, coiling up a little bit. The two were of impressive size, for not being even a year old yet. And considering their hybrid blood, half of cobra and half of mamba, they were a formidable duo.

Cassidy

She had to let out a bit of laughter at that, and perhaps that was why her habitual grace abandoned her... well that and the heels, which weren't really suited to this terrain. One foot went down fine, but the second heel caught on the edge of the truck as she moved to get down, sending her pitching wildly forward and making a grab for the truck door in an effort to keep from landing in a completely graceless heap in the mud.

Lanny Zelkovii & Others

Seeing the lady suddenly pitch forward, Lanny almost tripped himself in a clumsy dash forward. Catching himself and regaining his own balance, both arms shot out to catch the falling Cassidy and keep her both from getting hurt, and ruining her garment and hair in the mud, "Woah, are you alright, Cass?" Wiry and slender built as he was, Lanny spent a fair amount of time at the gym, and was far from a pushover when it came to physical strength. It took little effort to hold most of her weight until she might get her shoe unstuck and her feet back beneath her. "Yeah, high heels... maybe not the best shoes for snake wrangling?" He teased lightly, not even noticing that there were two potential items of interest just a short distance away. His only thought right now was on Cassidy.

Cassidy

It was probably a good thing he caught her, because her grip for the door completely missed. Grabbing hold of his forearms in a too-tight grip for just a second, she managed to gather her feet under her with his help, and soon was standing under her own power once more. Unlike how most girls might have arranged this little charade to get close to a fellow, this had been an honest accident. And the second she was upright, she loosened the hold she'd taken on his arms, which had been the only indication that she'd been slightly frightened of the fall, one of the few fears she had. But her face was still just as even and controlled as she answered him, "Well, I can fix that," and proceeded to rest one hand on his shoulder so that she could reach down and take her shoes off. Swinging them from two fingers, she tossed them back into the truck, and then offered him a more brilliant smile. "Thanks, Lanny. I- oh look!"

He hadn't spotted the two relaxing snakes, but she did, and immediately pointed behind his shoulder, breaking the moment before it could really begin. "Those have got to be some kind of weird hybrid... I've never seen anything like them before, and I've lived around these parts my whole life."

Lanny Zelkovii & Others

Being the guy that he was, Lanny had almost been tempted to make another quip about carrying her, rather than have her walk barefoot around. However, whatever he would have said was grounded when she caught sight of the two hybrids and pointed them out. "Think they're poisonous?" He spoke in a near-whisper, as if afraid speaking too loud might frighten away a creature that had no external ears. "You know... I got the bags to put them in... but how do we get them in the bags?" Suddenly realizing this rather potent lack of foresight, Lanny took only a few steps closer to the rock before stopping.

Cassidy

Adopting the low tone that he was using almost instinctively, the girl answered him, "I don't know... knives and light fingers are my specialty, not snakes. I just know the kinds I've seen before." She put her brain to work for a moment, and then muttered, "Probably gonna need a long stick... longer than they are, 'less you wanna get bit. If you can get 'em scooped up on one, you might can drop 'em into the bag." She said this very quietly as she cast her gaze around for a branch that might suit.

Lanny Zelkovii & Others

Lanny too began to send his eyes roving the nearby area, until they landed on a likely branch. Sneaking to the side and splitting his attention between the two basking snakes and his target, the teen worked a length of a cedar branch up from between two rocks. A quick scout around the near area produced a second such stick, which he offered to Cassidy as he returned to her. "Here goes nothing..."

"I think they see us." Maelstrom hissed, laying perfectly still against the rock.

Monsoon wasn't so sure, "Nah, we haven't moved at all. Just lay still, and they'll walk right on by us."

Cassidy

Reaching to take the stick from him, Cassidy at first looked quite awkward with that long pole-like thing in her hand, for long daggers were the lengthiest item she'd ever wielded. But she was admirably adjustable; it took her a second experimenting with it to determine that an overhand grasp worked better than the underhand one she used for knives, and she swung it experimentally about herself a few times to familiarize herself with its weight and movement. Finally, she moved back to a basic overhand grip again, and muttered softly, "On your count, sir."

Lanny Zelkovii & Others

Eyes wide and palms beginning to sweat with anticipation, both excitement and fear of being around the serpents, Lanny began to move forward, 'I'll get the one on the right. 1..." The stick was raised slightly, as he moved for Monsoon.

"Seriously! Look, he's got a stick in his hand! We really ought to move..." Maelstrom edged, flicking out a nervous tongue to catch the humans' scent.

Monsoon continued to lie perfectly still, only flickering his tongue now and then to taste the air, "Easy, Mael. Humans can't see very good. Trust me, just keep still."

"2...." Lanny drew closer, now getting his stick aimed on the motionless hybrid. "3... woah!"

Maelstrom had had enough, and reared up with a hiss. His light belly was exposed brilliantly against the darker backdrop of his darker upper scales, as his neck flattened out into the typical hood of the cobra, "Back off, human!" A fake snap was thrown at the stick, causing Lanny to flinch and draw back reflexively.

Cassidy

Unfortunately for Maelstrom, when he struck a fake snap too close to Lanny, she reacted without thinking. Reflexes that had taken years to hone came quickly into play as she danced forward gracelessly through the mud and swept her stick at the main part of the snake's body to sweep him up and away from his perch, and more importantly away from them. And that was the part before her brain caught up with her reflexes. Just as quick, she was hopping back away, muttering, "Oops... force of habit. Sorry."

Lanny Zelkovii & Others

"Waahhhh!!!!!" What air wasn't knocked out of his lungs from the blow was expelled in a hiss of surprise as his twisting body sailed in a graceful spiral through the air. His landing was not nearly so graceful. Bouncing sidelong off of another rock and dropping in a dazed heap on the ground, Maelstrom lifted his head slowly and tried to make sense of just where he was in relation to the enemies.

"Wow! Wicked move, girl." Lanny complimented with wide eyes and a half grin, watching the serpent sail safely away from them and bounce off a nearby rock. Not wasting a moment, Lanny was jogging towards the befuddled hybrid, finding it rather easy to slip a stick beneath his coiled body and lift him haphazardly off the ground. A moment later, he was being slid into the bag.

"Mael?!" Seeing that the 'lay still' ploy had been wonderful blown by his brother, Monsoon was rearing up and flattening out his hood at the would-be predators, "You want a piece of this?! I'll teach you humans, come on!"

Cassidy

With the first snake taken care of and bound up, Cassidy readjusted her grip on the stick and muttered to Lanny, "That's actually a knife move, but I guess it works pretty well with staff, too." And that much said, she'd darted forward again, jabbing fakely at the second snake a couple of times before coming again from the side and attempting to sweep him as well, but up into the air to lessen the number of steps in the process of getting him into the bag.

Lanny Zelkovii & Others

Monsoon struck fiercely at the stick, brandishing his impressive set of fangs and hitting the mark at least once, to leave a glisten trail of venom over the rosy-colored center wood. "Ha! Come on, human! You're not quick enou- aaack!" Monsoon was slung into the air with a calculated swipe, twirling once before crashing back down. Lanny brought his stick into play now, sweeping it under the dazed reptile and adding him to the bag with his brother.

"Hey, we make a pretty good team, don't we?" He grinned, holding up the writhing back, and being mindful about keeping the end of it twisted about so that neither of the serpents could get out. "At this rate, we'll have an army to set loose."

Cassidy

Now if there was anything Cassidy knew about snakes, it was their dangers, as Johann had repeated these over to her with great vehemence when once she'd innocently asked him about his fear of them. Among them was the fact that it didn't matter how good a fighter you were; if the got in a glancing blow, the poison would take you down. Period. So she knew to keep her hand on the back end of the stick so as to keep her fingers from wandering into the venom. And to answer Lanny's words, she offered a grin. "I'll toss 'em, you bag 'em."

Dakota & Others

The cougar, her son Klondike and her second-in-command Austin were conversing with some of the Rebels at the moment. Blue Moon and Zahavi the tigers, Runt the hybrid canine, and Toxic, Bleak and Sway, the young fierce snakes.

It was Klondike who noticed the humans. "Look. Intruders." He whispered to his mother.

Dakota growled at the sight of the group. She prowled forward, her eyes trained on the intruders. "Get out of my territory or else." She knew they couldn't understand her words, but her body language should get her message across.

Without warning, Austin, a clouded leopard, circled around and launched himself at Lanny, trying to chomp down on a limb.

Lanny Zelkovii & Others

The cougar's growl had Lanny abandoning all notions of a response to Cassidy, and instead jumping to action. Dropping both the bags and the stick, he took a decisive step closer to her, putting an arm out in front of the other in a protective display as he motioned for her to back up, "Oh, shit... that's a big cat." The other hand was just reaching for his pistol when a smaller but still all-too-dangerous feline suddenly burst out from another direction. Lanny only had time to lift his gun and fire random, wild shot before the feline plowed into him. By some miracle, he'd moved his hand quick enough to avoid getting it caught between the jaws just yet, and proceeded to send a the butt of the pistol swinging for the cat's head...

Cassidy

This was one time when his chivalry was not appreciated as he took away her maneuverability, something she needed to strike with either the stick or her blades. So with a mental curse, she pulled her Ladysmith from out of the back of her pants and took careful aim for the massive side of the beast, giving herself a broad target to hit that was a decent distinct from her comrade as she moved to slip from behind him so she could exercise her more useful weapons.

Austin

Austin landed next to Lanny, and before her could move, he was hit in the head with the pistol. He managed to stagger away before Cassidy could get him, though.

The bullet went straight into Blue Moon's thigh. His purple-blue, black-striped fur was soon stained with blood.

Dakota, Zahavi and Klondike circled the group. Klondike, a huge cougar/snow leopard mix, launched himself at Cassidy's side, while Dakota and Zahavi kept an eye out for any quick moves from the humans. If all went well, the big cats would drag their prey into the cavern.

Lanny Zelkovii & Others

With colorful exclamation kept fleetingly in the recesses of his mind, Lanny was hauling himself to his feet almost as quickly as he'd been tackled down. He didn't have time to figure out where Austin was going, as Klondike took Cassidy as his target.

After first taking a random shot at the three circling them, in the hopes of scaring them off, he spun to meet the hybrid's lunge, taking another crack shot at the giant cat in mid-air. Whether or not either of these shots hit, Lanny was moving in closer and firing off another round as close as he dared too while being so close to Cass.

Cassidy

Even if Lanny's shots didn't do much damage, they still afforded her the time to lash out with her feet at Klondike, before leaping back from him, out of his immediate range, and letting off another round of shots at his broad side. And that was when she finally had enough room to wrestle a dagger out of one of its places and wield it in her other hand, to slash at any unfortunate creature who came too close.

Klondike

Klondike took a bullet to the shoulder. He stopped for a moment, growling and snarling madly, but soon launched himself at Cassidy again.

Zahavi, a Siberian tiger, easily the biggest of this particular group, took up the task of trying to rid Lanny of his gun. He bounded forward and snapped at the man's arm.

Meanwhile, the snakes were lurking through the brush. They were soon joined by Kavik, an eastern brown snake. The fierce snakes were especially dangerous, their species being able to kill 100 adult humans with a single bite, and the victim would drop dead in as little as 45 minutes. It was too bad for Cassidy and Lanny that the snakes blended perfectly with the terrain.

Lanny & Others

Using his years of experience in gun handling, and knowing just how able Cass was with blades and agility, Lanny led the young woman in a hasty retreat back to the vehicle. And just as soon as the two were in, he slammed the doors closed and threw the vehicle into reverse, making a quick escape from the savage pack that had assaulted them.

"Cass, are you alright?" Craning his upper body about to get a look at the rough terrain they were reversing in, Lanny's voice was slightly shaken with the rush of adrenaline and the general shock of being assault by wild animals.

Cassidy

More shaken by the close call with the big cats than she'd ever admit, Cassidy was sitting tensely in the seat beside him, looking back the way they'd come, her dagger still clutched in one hand. She was quiet for a long time, until finally Lanny spoke to her... it was then that she tucked her blade and her Ladysmith away in their proper places and turned a smile at him that was completely calm and neutral. But her eyes held the lie that neither face nor voice would betray. "I figure I'll be sore in the morning - that thing that tackled me was bloody huge, and it weighed about a half ton. Got a couple scratches, maybe-" It was hard to see blood on her black outfit, but the tears of claws through her shirt were easily visible to Lanny from his position, and she hugged her side with that arm as if she was sore. It wasn't really too bad - nothing that a few bandages and a week or two wouldn't fix, but he might notice that her hand came away from her side stained with a touch of crimson that made the wound seem far worse than it really was. "-but I'll be okay. I've fought on worse than this You?" That was where her concern lay, really - she knew for a fact that the only wound she had was the scratches in her side, and that was nothing to worry about. She couldn't see any immediate bleeding on him, but then half of him was turned away from her as he backed down the road. She wanted to be sure he was okay too.

Lanny & Others

The bronco continued to bounce along in reverse, navigating the uneven, narrow-trailed terrain and somehow not loosing grip and skittering down the steep slope at their side. "I'm good, just a bruise or two." Lanny replied assuredly, though he could already feel the sting of a few minor abrasions on his back and left arm. "Man, I... I never quite seen anything like that before!" With the initial flee-or-fight drive wearing off, the young man had to grin a little, his bright eyes widened with the thrill of it, "They say the animals here are a bit strange, but would you have ever guessed being attacked by a pack of cats?"

As he was putting a lighter note on their harrowing ordeal, they finally came a swath of trail that opened out on either side in a shallow field, allow Lanny to turn the Bronco about and park it. It was then that he let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I think our snake hunting is officially over for now; at least in this area." Lanny noted, and let his gaze fall to the shreds in the other's shirt, taking time to better assess the injuries now that they weren't fleeing from their attackers, and looking a touch concerned, "Ouch... we'd better get those treated."

Cassidy

She had to smile now, both with the assurance that he was okay, and over his comment as to the novelty of the event. A tiny bit of innocent, light laughter shook out of her, and she returned, "Definitely a story to tell to your grandkids when you get old and funny... and one of those ones they'll never believe past about age five." She let out another round of quiet laughter as they backed up the rutted road, letting herself be enveloped in this lighter end of the conversation.

It was only once they had pulled away out of the woods and parked that Lanny's concern solemnified the ride, and she quickly moved to put off his worry. "Eh - it looks worse than it is. It's the kind of thing I take care of at home all the time. If I can't reach it, Johann'll get it - speaking of which," she murmured, as her pocket vibrated. Rummaging through it, she came up with her cell, and flipped it open. "Hello? Hey." There was a half-heard murmur on the other line, and then she answered flippantly, "A field on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, where are you?" More muttering, and the genuine smile she'd been carrying altered to her everyday one, and she answered, "Alright, alright. I'll see you in a few." Hanging up the phone, she turned to Lanny. "We should head up to the Night Club - Johann's waiting there for us, says he's got some information we could use for our cause."

Lanny Zelkovii

Being the chivalrous fellow that he usually was, Lanny would have been more insistent about her wounds. On the other hand, he knew Cassidy was a gal that knew how to take care of herself, and he wasn't going to offend her say on it and press the matter too much. Instead, he chuckled at her comment and nodded in agreement, "I've got a niece out in Spain who just loves to hear these kinds of tales. I told her one of these days I'll get a picture of these animals and prove that her uncle Lanny isn't as crazy as she thinks he is."

Laughter aside, he went quiet to let Cass talk on the phone. Interest perked his expression when she ended the call and informed him of Johann, "Really? Well then, I'm curious to hear about this." Shifting the rugged vehicle back into drive, he pulled back onto the road... but not after a quick look in the rearview mirror just to be sure they didn't have any followers.