All:Assim's two hirelings slowly make their way back to the group at Shahab's declaration. They don't seem to have much of a desire to meet a large jungle predator while on the fringes of the group ... should Shahab be correct in his evaluation of the situation.

---

Assim: You don't notice anything particular through your eyes. Your ears continue to pick up near silence. Only a slight breeze through the canopy and the occasional creaking of the trunk of a tree breaks the silence.

Finn shrugs his shoulders. "The birds only settle down like that if something scares them. A predator hunting wouldn't be so careless. More likely something is watching us. Evaluating us. Seeing if we are worth the time and trouble. Or if Xephs are as tasty as they've heard." grins Finn at Shahab.

And Finn pauses, then moves on alert but unworried.

OOC: Manifest Inertial armor, from your previous comments NLF I assumed he was already Psionically Focused, if not, he will do so.

Kess loads his crossbow, looking somewhat distasteful at the possibility of violence.

He also directs the dogs to guard the cart, and those who stay near it.

"Keep a sharp eye out for trouble, but don't shoot if it looks like we might be able to resolve this peacefully."

He then closes his eyes and breathes deeply as he allows his senses to reach out and search for what might be the source of the disturbance in the forest.

OOC: i'm assuming he's already focused, since it makes the most sense to get focused right when you wake up. taking 10 on the check to handle the dogs, assuming i can command both as a single move action provided i give the same command. then, he will try to find whatever it is through his sighted ability.

Shahab nods at Finn’s hypothesis about the silence and chuckles at his joke about the tastiness of xeph, before he replies drolly, “Well, I hadn’t heard we were especially tasty before, but I can’t say I’m surprised.”

ALL:Kess has plenty of time to give orders to his dogs as the seconds turn into minutes. The silence in both the treetops and the forest floor continues with no sign of presence outside of the party. Although in spite of the silence, the dogs slowly circle the wagon with their tails tucked slightly between their legs. There is a mixture of slight growls and the occasional worried whimper from each of Kess' dogs. Itis clear that thedogs are used to working together, though. They circle seperately, but never leave the area of vision of the other.

{OOC: Care to discuss whether the party continues moving or pauses ... if pauses, how long?}

---

KESS: Nothing registers with the sighted ability. There doesn't seem to be anything within range to sense ...

“Maybe it’s just the forest observing us,” Shahab remarks, grinning dismissively after nothing appears. “After all, Dana did say she felt like the forest had eyes and that it was haunted or perhaps spirited ... whatever that means. So maybe that’s what scared off the small animals, and is worrying the dogs. Come on, let’s have a quick look around and then move on before we lose too much light.”

With that Shahab moves away from the wagon, leaving the current radius of Kess’ Network whether anyone follows him or not, and begins looking around for any disturbance that might disprove this particular theory.

OOC: Listen +8, Spot +8.

"If we stop to sniff around every little sound or lack there of we are never going to get anything done" says Finn.

He groans with exasperation as Shahab heads off and throwing his hand up in the air follows after him.

“Oh come on Finn, where’s your sense of adventure,” Shahab chuckles, as he begins his brief examination of their surroundings.

"Out there" points Finn down the path they were on.

Shahab glances over his shoulder with a laugh, “Well, this will only take a few minutes, then we can go find it.”

Finn, Shahab: Drawing yourself away from the group proves to be trouble. Perhaps a bit expected, but a small jaguar sized cat leaps out from under th brush and attacks Shahab with a menacing bite. [OOC: 5 damage] The cat is colored somewhat like a tiger, although instead of orange the cat's base color is light green with black stripes. It seems to waver in front of each of your eyes as the coloration of its patterning almost magically shifts with each movement the cat makes.

---

Kess, Assim: You hear a sudden rush through underbrush and what sounds like a collison of bodies. {Unless, of course, Shahab makes any noise/speech - then you hear that, too.}

Kess only: You notice that Shahab and Finn have both slipped out of the range of your network.

Shahab’s attitude quickly turns from good humour to one of pain, as he’s jumped by the jungle cat.

“Aaargh, I should have trusted my instincts,” he howls, staggering back from the blow, but despite his wound he quickly rights himself and tries to feather his attacker with a pair of arrows, feeling he can examine it more closely once it’s no longer a threat.

OOC: 5 ft. step away from the jungle cat and then loose two arrows at it; +7/+7 mwk longbow (rapid shot, point blank shot) [1d8+1; 20/x3; 100 feet; piercing]. Hit Points (21): 16

"See, if we had stayed on the path, and not gone poking about for trouble, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe we should leave the cat alone, not annoy the forest and all" advises Finn as he steps in front of Shahab to prevent the cat from leaping again.

"It figures Shahab would go and get himself in trouble. Assim comments to his other companions. Then shouts into the forest "Am I going to need to save you once again?"

Shahab, Finn: As Shahab backs away and Finn steps forward to run interference, the jungle cat crouches and prepares to pounce agian. Shahab's arrows fly straight for the cat. Although both look to impact the cat soundly, one of the arrows actually misses quite badly as the magical camoflague ability of the cat reveals that it really wasn't where it seemed to be. THe other arrow, however, hits home and the cat roars in dispute. For now the cat seems content to crouch and growl angrily at Finn.

---

Kess, Assim: Shortly after Shahab's startled outcry, you each hear the sound of an angry jungle cat. It is not the roar of a lion or tiger, but the angry cry of a cat sized like a jaguar or mountain lion. The cry is not one of injury or pain but of sheer feline anger.

Assim's hired hands prepare their weapons and look questioningly to Assim for orders.

"Ok, he's not attacking Shahab, now would be the time to back away, no need to escalate this." says Finn as he backs away pushing the xeph back as he does so.

Shahab looks quite shocked as one of his arrows misses the predator, but nods and begins to back away calmly with his bow lowered, though he’s a little saddened he’ll have to leave his spent arrows behind. Apparently he just can’t go quietly however, as he utters some parting words clearly meant for the elusive feline, “Okay, now we’re even, so if you don’t bother me, I won’t bother you.”

Shahab, Finn: The cat simply crouches lower to the ground, looking somewhat like a snake waiting for a predator to force it to strike or back away. The cat's tail sticks straight back, ensuring that it's balance is ready for any need for potential movement. The feline begins to utter a low warning growl, but shows no other signs of forcing an assault.

---

Assim, Kess: Nothing else happens as the two of you continue in your current endeavors.

Kess quickly levels his crossbow in the approximate direction of the sound. Leaving the dogs to guard the wagon, he moves slowly in the direction Shahab and Finn went reaching out with his senses, hoping to get an idea of what's happening out there. As he moves cautiously forward he calls out "What's happening out there? Head back towards the wagon, and stay together."

Finn continues to slowly back away from the cat, pushing Shahab behind him.