Mountain Challenge

So far the red stuff was ok, and the yellowy gold stuff.  Those had both settled nicely in his stomach and even had a sweet taste.  Motto held up a shriveled brown nut-looking thing in eyed it with curiosity.  It had been about six hours since he'd woken up in an icy cave of some kind, and the fisherman could only guess how long he'd been asleep.  What day was it?  Where was it?  And was the brown thing poisonous...

A cautious sniff.  Just a faint trace of sweetness could be detected..a fig or something perhaps.  Only less figgy.  Motto gave the thing a tiny lick.  It tasted like bark.  He popped the entire item in his mouth and proceeded to chew.  He was fine with bark.  Ate it all the time as a matter of fact.  Only it wasn't bark.  

Gagging, the fishermen stumbled away from his makeshift campsite and vomited out the brown stuff, the red stuff, and the yellow stuff.  Motto was just rising to wipe his mouth when he saw it.  A flying ...knife bird?  It was large and sharp-looking.  Having never seen one before, the fishermen wondered just how far he was from Whale Island.  An astonished grunt escaped the man's throat when he realized that someone was riding the sword-beaked creature.  

"So cool.."  He murmured, his eyes following the rare duo as they descended on a distant hill.  Well how about that..  Maybe the rider could tell him the name of this place and how far inland he was.  And what colors were ok to eat.  The fisherman barreled through the lush wilderness until he reached the hill.  "HEY!" He cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered as he started trudging up.  "YOU THERE!  DO YOU KNOW THE NAME OF THIS PLACE?  IF YOU'RE NOT FROM AROUND HERE DON'T EAT THE BROWN THINGS!"

The change in temperature didn't have any impact on Haru. He had been flying for quite a while which generated enough heat for him keep warm. His thick skin also helped him keep his body's temperature up. He constantly tried to keep his body upright and not lose his balance; He would be alright but the same couldn't be said about Eneas if he did. He had started getting tired so they would need to land soon for a break. He didn't say anything, though, he believed he could go a bit longer so he will-powered through. The reason he didn't wish to land just yet was that the soldiers could be tailing them on the ground so any distance between them he could make would be beneficial for the duo.

The white-haired guy riding upon his back spoke finally introducing himself. For some reason, the man was apologetic for not introducing himself earlier. It seemed he had misjudged him; He looked tough and quite rude but now it seemed that he was a nicer man than he looked. "It's quite alright, after all, we were kind of busy with those wankers back there and I didn't introduce my self either." His voice was deeper than when he was on his original form. "I am Haru Ichiro, I guess it's nice to meet ya." He had been progressively getting tired the longer they were flying and his need for a break also grew. "We are going to need to land, I have to rest a bit. Furthermore, we need to discuss where we are actually heading."

Eneas wrote:"Hey! Let's descend right here at this mountain's edge,"

"Alright hold on tight, make sure you don't fly off." Haru folded his wings and turned his beak downwards and started rapidly accelerating towards the ground to the point were Eneas would be in a free fall state. The ground was fast approaching and it looked like the big dinosaur was about to crash. He pulled himself up and spread his wings coming to an immediate stop 2 meters above the ground. He flapped his wings and slowly descended the last two meters. "You won't believe how long that took me to actually learn to do it."

Once his feet were on the ground and Eneas was safely off his back, he turned back into his human form. He looked at the weirdo screaming at them. Who would actually call out to some person riding a 10-meter big dinosaur? He didn't say anything and let En take the initiative

Motto huffed and puffed his way up as an answer came.

"Uhm, nope. I do not know the name of these mountains..”

‘Dang it.’

“..Thanks for the heads up though. You wouldn't happen to know where a nearby cave where can take shelter would be...would you?"



The fisherman finally tromped to the place where two men stood and holding sides panting. *huff huff “Yeah. I do actually…” *huff huff “Where’s the bird...thing?” Still breathing hard, Motto made a loose hand gesture towards the pair. “Didn’t you ride in on a huge hawk beast or something? One of you?” The raven’s breaths came out in steamy puffs; his naked chest rising and falling as he stood there staring. An icey wind swept through the awkward group and Motto shivered.

“Cold! Let’s go. My little place is just over there.” He jerked his head in the cave’s direction. Without another word, Motto turned and started downward. His first step was easy enough, his bare foot smushed the fresh snow down nicely and it held. Until he lifted his other foot.

“..wwwwaaAAAA.SSSHHHHIIIiiiiiiit!” The fisherman slid for several meters and struck a bump that sent him into a violent tumble. Stunned limbs could be seen within the snowy movement until at last the man lay dazed at the hill’s bottom. “I’M FINE!”

"It's quite alright, after all, we were kind of busy with those wankers back there and I didn't introduce my self either."

Eneas nodded in agreement as to what he said. That time at the bar was indeed an interesting situation. If one person Eneas had in mind it was definitely that snitch of a bartender who caused all this to arouse. Now because of his fault Haru and Eneas would most likely attain a minor bounty on their heads. He didn't really mind this at all. Trouble for him meant more interesting opponents he'd encounter along the way of his journey.

"I am Haru Ichiro, I guess it's nice to meet ya."

"It's a pleasure to be your acquaintance Haru," he smiled as he responded. Haru was indeed an interesting individual. He wasn't your typical type of Zoan devil fruit user. He had a Zoan type of the 'Ancient' category. Something which was considered to be very rare in the world.

"Alright hold on tight, make sure you don't fly off."

Eneas held on tight to Haru's neck. He was in a free fall state but he didn't mind at all. Either way, if he fell from that height he'd get hurt but not as much as his entire body as hard as iron having trained rigorously in the arts of Léontos Thymós.

Living Stone Trait:

""You won't believe how long that took me to actually learn to do it."

"I wouldn't doubt it. Especially the size of your Zoan Transformation. It doesn't seem like an easy feat to accomplish." Eneas responded. He stood amazed how quickly the guy reverted back to his human self in a matter of seconds. Being a Zoan user must've been a nice experience. Eneas didn't really care much for devil fruits but if any chance he was to encounter one he wouldn't definitely hold back taking a bite. Just as long as it had anything to do gain further power. The goal in mind is to become strong enough to get revenge against that beast which abolished his island.

Back to the random guy who showed up at their descent...

He seemed as clueless as they were about these mountains. He didn't know the name of the mountains either however it seemed as if the man had happened to have explored them a bit. He looked a bit fatigued having climbed to reach this point of the snowy mountain. Then again the weather conditions weren't your ordinary ones.

"Yeah. I do actually…"

"“Where’s the bird...thing?"

"Didn’t you ride in on a huge hawk beast or something? One of you?”

"That's good. Could you show us the way there? It's pretty chilly out here. My body may be robust but still... it doesn't mean I completely immune to all weather conditions," he said while placing his hands under his armpits as he shivered a bit. Eneas was pleased to hear that the guy actually knew a location of a cave. It was a long day after all. They definitely needed a place to rest for the time being. This individual was a curious one at that. He kept on asking them one question after the other. "You mean him," he pointed at Haru,"Yeah, I rode atop of him. Apparently, he ate a rare type of Zoan devil fruit... I'm assuming it allows him to transform into that hawk-like dinosaur beast you describe," he responded.

"Cold! Let’s go. My little place is just over there.”

Haru and Eneas started following the man. This guy seemed very hyperactive. To a point where he even started to tumble down the hill as they descended.

“..wwwwaaAAAA.SSSHHHHIIIiiiiiiit!”

"Are you okay?" he questioned the man as he descended strategically by jumping on snowy rocks of the mountains and even using the snow to slide smoothly.

“I’M FINE!”

After a course of fifteen minutes, the man led them to a small cave located along the edges of one of the vast snowy mountains. As they walked along the narrow path of the mountain they encountered two mischevious looking individuals.

"Looks like we'll be able to ask for a high ransom from them nobles...."

"Ya-yahhhhh just as long as we have the girl in our possession"

The bandits muttered to one another. One of them started rubbing his hands together in a greedy like posture. The other's eyes had a beli sign in it. These two were up to no good. They paused for a second once they saw Haru, Eneas, and the man walking along the same narrow path towards them. "Could they have overheard our conversation?" the bandit questioned the other. They both looked at each other with a question mark above their head and immediately approached the three men before them.

"What brings you guys up here in these dangerous mountains? You wouldn't happen to have any valuables on you, would you?" the bandit questioned the three. His companion started slowly reaching towards his sheath where he held a dagger. The bandits definitely wanted to rid of them and pilfer anything Eneas and his group had on them.

[OOC: @Supermcgamer @GonProHunter Feel free to control the NPCS as you guys like after this post of mine. Our goal is to conduct the mountain challenge. So far we've only overheard them speak of having a girl in their possession. I say one of you guys create an NPC of a noble in distress looking for their daughter if you'd like. Also here are the colors I used for these bandit NPCs.

Colors mediumpurple and mediumorchid]

Island Challenge:

He quietly followed behind Eneas and the new, although most likely temporary, member of their party. He wasn't thrilled that En was so trusting of this guy. For all, they knew he could be a part of the Royal guard that was leading them to an ambush. Despite all that he wasn't worried. Past experience had proven that their military lacked the ability to tail them in the air so if worst comes to worst they could just once again fly off. Though, a cave was disadvantageous for the duo to be due to the size of Haru's full transformation. He walked up to Eneas' side and whispered in his ear: "Be careful, always keep an eye on that guy. We do not know him or his intentions. Furthermore, I won't be able to transform in the cave, so I can't save us in a case of emergency. Be vigilant."

After his little "talk" with En, he put on a fake smile and turned to the half-naked guy. "So... Who are you? I mean, what's your name? You didn't know the name of the mountains so I am assuming you aren't here voluntarily? Though, I guess we are here of our own free volition as well and we also lack that information. But anyway back to the topic at hand; Who are you?"

It must have been around 10 minutes later that they finally reached their destination. There were two people already there, talking about something. The only thing Haru was able to catch from their conversation was something about a girl but he was unable to understand what it was about out of context. He once again looked at Motto and asked: "Are these guys with you?"

Thug wrote:"What brings you guys up here in these dangerous mountains? You wouldn't happen to have any valuables on you, would you?"

"Never mind, that answers my question. En you want to take this one?" Haru kindly offered the fight to his new partner. It might seem like a kind gesture at first sight but he had different goals in mind. He could not trust the black haired dude quite yet. As a result, he wanted to keep a close eye on him and make sure he wasn't up to anything fishy. He wasn't sure if Eneas could actually handle both of them and planned on interfering if things went south but as of yet he was on standby.

"Be careful, always keep an eye on that guy. We do not know him or his intentions. Furthermore, I won't be able to transform in the cave, so I can't save us in a case of emergency. Be vigilant."

Motto was pretty sure the fruit guy was whispering about him, but flashed a habitual smile at Haru when the other had turned to him with a fake grin.

"So... Who are you? I mean, what's your name? You didn't know the name of the mountains so I am assuming you aren't here voluntarily? Though, I guess we are here of our own free volition as well and we also lack that information. But anyway back to the topic at hand; Who are you?"

“I’m Motto.”  The fishermen rubbed the back of his neck, something he tended to when he was nervous.  The words “volition” and “topic at hand” weren’t familiar.  “I’m not sure what you just said, but ..I’m not going to harm you or anything.”  He nodded while lifting a thumb at them to demonstrate his good will.

"Looks like we'll be able to ask for a high ransom from them nobles...."

"Ya-yahhhhh just as long as we have the girl in our possession"

They were nearing the cave when Motto glanced up.  He was aware of the pair’s steps in the snow and paid it little heed but the words “ransom” and “have the girl in our possession” were concerning.  When the men came into view, Motto’s gut told him they were foul and to kick their asses.

"Are these guys with you?"

The fisherman’s mouth opened but he said nothing.  Of course they weren’t with him!  Then again, the bird dude and his rider had only just met him so it was a fair question.

"What brings you guys up here in these dangerous mountains? You wouldn't happen to have any valuables on you, would you?"

"Never mind, that answers my question. En you want to take this one?"

“Wait a minute.  Before anyone takes anyone I need to know if you have a kidnapped girl.”  Motto’s hands were on his hips and his smile was gone.  “I’ll be saving her, so yeah...”  His mood became deadly tense.  “..go ahead and tell us.”  As far as Motto was concerned, his two companions and him were already a team.

The dart was flying directly towards Haru. He calmly raised his spear, accelerating it just as the dart was within reach, knocking it away. It wasn't much of a challenge to block a dart. If it was a bullet the situation would be vastly different. After all the speed at which a dart gun shoots darts pales in comparison to an actual gun. "Shouldn't you be helping your friend there? He is getting beaten up badly. Oh and by the way, attacking me was a very bad plan." He lowered his spear once again and stared down at his opponent. His body started morphing just like in the bar before. Though this time it was different, he didn't grow in size but still, his skin changed into lizard-like texture and wings. Haru came flying towards his enemy. While he was in impaling distance from the bandit he came to a stop and thrust his spear-wielding arm forward towards the bandit's chest

Haru pulled his spear back letting the bandit fall on the ground in the pool of his own blood. Eneas had yet to finish off his opponent and Haru didn't want to interfere just yet. He was pretty sure En could handle one opponent by himself. In the meantime, Haru just paid close attention to the newest member of the party for any suspicious movement while also watching the fight. At first glance, the bandit seemed incapable of going one on one with Eneas as the fight was currently one-sided but the enemy still had a smirk on his face.

Haru was not expecting the bandit to jump off the cliff. He started walking towards the cliff himself. The walking soon turned to running and that in turn to flying. Haru zoomed past Eneas and said: "I've got it." Haru folded his wings and nosedived to gain more speed before opening them again to start traveling horizontally. He was approaching his target. The gliding caused by the parachute was significantly slower than Haru's flight. Once he reached close enough to his target he grabbed him by the shirt with his talons and changed direction. He was now travelling back to the top of the cliff. It was more difficult than his descent due to the added weight and the parachute that was working against him cause of the wind.

Once he reached his destination he dropped the bandit down at the snow and properly landed a meter or two away turning back to his normal form. He took a few steps and raised his spear up to the bandit's neck. "Where is she?"

"There is no reason to. He poses no threat to us after all. Also without clothes on he is bound to freeze." He walked behind En into the cave leaving the other guy to die in the cold alone. He sat down close to the fire and with his back against the wall. He didn't get much sleep though. Eneas was sleeping so someone needed to keep watch after all the bandit did say that there were monsters around. Haru failed to keep it up all night and fell asleep a few hours before dawn.

Haru opened his eyes as soon as he heard the snake hybrid's voice. He sprung up and reached out for his weapon that was resting beside him. He took a good look at their foe. "A zoan user?" He exclaimed. Before he could act against their new opponent the cave started filling up with the mist produced by the snake. Haru tried not to breathe it in but was soon left with no other choice. He started coughing and felt tired but other than that he was alright. The mist wasn't poisonous like he had originally thought. "Any ideas?" He asked his partner hoping he had some idea.

"It's poison, not venom. Venom has to be injected into the body via something like a  snake bite while poison can work its magic through touch, ingestion or inhalation. Which means it's poison and not Venom." Haru went full out nerd for a moment over what differentiated venom from poison. "Anyway, I agree we have to finish this fast. Be warned though, I cannot use my full Zoan form inside this cave." He tightened his hand which was holding his spear preparing himself to attack.

As soon as Eneas prompted him to attack he charged in towards the snake thrusting his spear towards his opponent's chest area.