Hounds Will Hunt [zeis, search!]

[zeis]

K'huna wasn't feeling the pressure yet. He had spent his entire life in good health, and for the past three years he had trained himself to be tested as every other rider did. Forged by fire, or xymokoxi if one preferred. He breathed great deep slow breaths as he ran, and summoned all of the quickness he possessed to stay on the thief's tail. This was not a life or death situation, so perhaps he didn't have adrenaline to provide that extra burst of speed, but he was determined enough to write this wrong. He zigged when his prey zigged, and zagged when the man zagged, never quite losing sight of him.

He tensed a he ran when Niraan reached the wall and scrambled over it, and he steeled himself for the leap he'd have to make and the impact. The redrider didn't slow much as he neared the wall either, flinging himself upon it and scrabbling up the side with a snarl of effort. He flung himself over the walls edge, and landed with a crunch of his boots before taking off after Niraan, barely losing time. The thief may have been tiring, or perhaps simply growing impatient. His twisting path was growing more tangled, and perhaps more desperate.

~~~~~~~

Canph watched Kenii squirm with curiosity. He had never had the opportunity to pounce a human, to catch them and trap them like he did the cattle he regularly fed off of. Their sense of fear was nothing like the wild feelings that rolled off those herd beasts. It was deeper, more complicated. It somehow... felt wrong. It didn't please him, didn't amuse him. The feeling made him feel sick to his stomach for some reason. He wondered idly if it was because this boy had whatever it was that made him appealing, that it felt so unsettling to see him in danger. His feathers ruffled, and that curious almost catlike stare turned more into a shifty glower.

He could feel K'huna's exertions in his head, and the pounding of his rider's heart made his own beat a bit faster. The chase was going well, from what he could see of the pursued through the eyes of his life mate. The simourv would have liked to have run K'huna more ragged, just for kicks, but not that he had the second thief he was no longer enjoying this game quite as much as before. His ears flattened against his head, and with a low growl of annoyance his massive head darted forward toward the boy. Kenii saw his death rushing at him and screamed as he turned away, lifting his arms to shield futilely shield his head and vitals.

However death didn't come to the boy, as Canph deftly and with great care closed his beak around the boy's black cloak, trapping him in it like a sort of cradle. The red lifted him up with no real effort, and was relieved to hear the boy's screams tail off in a general feeling of confusion. Grateful for the momentary silence, he pushed himself to a stand and tensed on his haunches before leaping back into the air. The boy clung to the cloth for dear life, too tired after a while to yell against the wind.

[Kilnarak]

Niraan hissed a curse as he ran - he could still hear pursuit behind him, closer than he would have liked. Maybe the man hadn't been lying when he had mentioned his... tenacity? His lips curled into a silent snarl and he put on another short burst of speed, using the momentum to vault onto another short unfinished wall - he didn't carry the motion over the side, however, instead he paused just long enough to leap onto a nearby low rooftop, and then continued his flight along the new, higher path. He hoped the change in venue would lose K'huna, but he doubted it - the man was too close on his heels. At least, his new choice in ground favored him more - he definitely had a lighter step, and knew what to look for to avoid the traps of rotting board and shingles that were scattered about this section of the city.

He glanced back briefly as he ran, trying to see if he could spot his pursuer, but he turned his attention back to the path ahead quickly enough. His eyes cast down to watch for pitfalls, he did not spy the red giant rising from his meeting point - not yet, at least.

[zeis]

K'huna admittedly was surprised to see the man leap nimbly onto the roof tops, and gave a whuffing breath of annoyance as he ran. That particular move may have turned this in his favor. A slip of there meant a possible bone breaking fall, and while he was confident and well practiced in balancing a rotten roof could spell the end of the chase. Canph! To me! Without hesitation he pulled himself up onto the wall, and barely took the time to judge the distance before making the leap to the same rooftop the thief had. His eyes glanced cautiously back and forth between his prey and the boards beneath him, skirting around the same areas his quarry did.

Canph sent a wave of assent and annoyance in response, as he was already headed in that direction to begin with. K'huna was just lucky that he was feeling tired enough with this chase to help him catch the one he was chasing on the roof. He already had the one with his rider's things, and really that was all their bargain entailed. He easily spotted their running and jumping forms on the broken down rooftops, and glided swiftly toward them with one mighty flap of his wings. His eyes scanned the area in their path for somewhere to land, and found it in a small grassy common area. The red back-beat with his wings a bit, slowing his pace to a hover as he moved to intercept the running Niraan and kicking up great clouds of dirt and dust. It was a tight squeeze, but the red settled down and turned his great accusing eyes on the approaching thief. Kenii hung dazed from his beak as though cradled in a hammock, looking confused and at a loss from shock.

[Kilnarak]

The thief was made rather abruptly aware of their mark's partner - the giant red simourv - as the creature flew near upon him, its wings momentarily blotting out the sun's light. Niraan skidded to an abrupt halt, making a short startled yelp of a noise before fell back beneath the onslaught of dust and debris the creature's wings sent up. He didn't recognize the bundle that was Kenii, not at the moment, he merely stared wide-eyed at the monster that was suddenly blocking his path.

Niraan tensed, remaining frozen a moment longer, then made a sudden about-face, turning back toward the pursuing K'huna and lunging suddenly at him - it was a desperate move, but he didn't really care at the moment about beating the man, merely getting past him. Of course, neither did he really care at the moment if he did some damage in his flight, either. He was so startled by the creature's sudden appearance, he didn't think to draw his knife - it was likely for the best, however, given the circumstances. His primary concern at the moment was to get away, and then regroup with his brother.

[zeis]

K'huna did not cease chasing after Niraan, even as Canph sailed down from the skys and made a heavy landing to bar his path. He closed his eyes briefly to shield them form the dust, and then became abruptly aware of the thief trying to push past him. That wasn't going to happen. He squared himself and tackled the slighter man, throwing the both of them off balance and rolling perilously close to the edge of the roof top. K'huna pinned the man roughly beneath him, slamming his shoulders down into the rooftop to stun him, and rushing to grab and pin his hands while he recovered.

Now here they were. K'huna hovering over Niraan holding him down, hair wild, and breathing just a little heavily as he caught his breath from the chase. Ridiculously, he felt some sort of irony in this situation. Hadn't this actually been what he wanted, in some way? He scowled down at his prisoner with contempt, and confidence. "You chose the hard way. Didn't I goddamn say I'd catch you?" He growled, and whipped his head back a bit in an attempt to get hair out of his eyes as he glanced briefly at the second thief. "How many innocent people have you pulled that stunt on? Leeches, both of you."

The redrider may not have been a particularly nice man, but he respected and upheld the laws of Pohono. Laws which were crumbling under the threat of Koxi, but also because of criminals like Niraan and Kenii. He had been willing to let them go if they gave back his things, because he understood that people fell on hard times. He could not forgive an unrepentant criminal. He was just about to ask Canph to call a guard when the red spoke up in his head, his voice mock apologetic. Oh, I forgot to tell you. He began, giving K'huna pause as he continued. Completely slipped my mind. These two... They may be the maggots you think they are, but I like them. He let that sink in a moment, and watched with grim amusement as his riders back tensed. I think Eceph's chicks would, too...

The man narrowed his eyes at Niraan, scrutinizing him like some insect that badly needs to be squashed. He could not see what Canph was talking about himself, he never could have. He had never questioned it much before now. Bringing them to the Eyrie sent up a red flag in his head, but it was not his choice to make, and not his job to judge them. This was the one matter in which he had to trust Canph completely. His grip tightened on the man's hands, trying to get his undivided attention as he spoke, raising his voice so the other boy could hear clearly. "Alright, listen. Since you screwed up that first choice, I'm going to give you a second one. And if you're smart, you'll make the right decision."

"My red has taken a liking to you two. Says that you could be simourv riders if you play your cards right. So!" He growled, before continuing. "You can either get on his back and come with me to the Eyrie as a candidate for a simourv egg..." He paused, allowing that option to sink in. "Or I can take both your sorry asses to the guard, and I can show Canph here what happens to thieves in Sayaie."

~~~~~

Kenii came out of his daze in time to become aware of some type of struggle going on near him. His head craned to the side slightly, afraid to move too much lest the great beast drop him. At this point, he had reached his astonishment maximum, and wasn't surprised by the sight of their mark outwrestling his brother. Still confused and frightened, he spoke tentatively in a lull of sound after the man had pinned him. "... N-Niraan?" He lapsed into silence afterward, unsure of what to think of anything at this point especially the man's so called choice. How could he decide what to do if he wasn't even sure what was going on anymore? How had things gone so wrong so fast?

[Kilnarak]

Niraan hit the roof with a muffled grunt as the air left his lungs, kicking and flailing and clawing at the man who had knocked him down with a particularly animalistic fervor as they rolled near the edge of the roof. It failed him in the end however, as the heavier man pinned him down before they fell to the dusty courtyard below, trapping his arms so that he couldn't fight back as effectively. He continued to struggle for some moment longer, trying to jerk his hands free and snarling vehement and rather ragged curses up at his captor. He couldn't keep that up long, however, tired and panting to get his breath back - Niraan finally fell back, glaring suspiciously up at their mark-turned-captor.

Under different circumstances, he might have taken some enjoyment from the scenario he had gotten himself into - and a corner of his mind distantly told him as much, faintly amused - but at the moment the threat of 'giant-bird-monster' overruled it. Still, he managed to laugh breathily up at his captor as the man gloated, his lips peeling back from his teeth in something that might have been a grin, or perhaps a snarl. "An' now y' caught m'. Wha' d' y' intend t' d' with m', hm? I s'ppose y' don' wan' see m' den now, haa?" He sneered slightly as he spoke, and gave another sudden jerk, trying to break free. "Bet y'd rather feed m' t' tha..." and here he cursed rather colorfully "... monster over there, mm?"

He snorted lightly, scoffing as the man chastised him for his thievery, finally turning his gaze away from the K'huna. He turned his head to the side, glaring instead at the bird and it's bundle - it was then that he noticed the red hair peeking out of the cloth (a cloak, really) and realized just what it was the bird held. He tensed momentarily, his expression falling flat, calculating, and then he turned his attention back up to K'huna, a broad cheshire grin spanning his lips. "Don' y' know, hunter? Y' were th' firs'," he crooned, then laughed again. "Don' b'lieve tha'? Well, wha' use 're numbers? 'll give back wha'ever y' wan', an' more, 'f y' let m'... 'ccomplice g' free?" He squirmed again beneath the man, although he wasn't trying to get free this time around. He wasn't entirely sure this ploy would work. But it was worth a shot, wasn't it?

Briefly, Niraan thought it might have been working - the man seemed to be considering something at least. But then he tensed and glared down at him, and Niraan realized that his attempt at bargaining had failed. He flinched slightly as the man tightened his grip on his wrists, hissing softly then falling quiet as he listened to the growled proposition K'huna had for them.

"Th' hell's the catch?" he replied, after K'huna had finished, resuming his suspicious glare. 'Come with me and go get giant... bird-dogs, or go rot in a cell, your choice' - it wasn't much of a choice, and it sounded too good. There had to be a catch to it, and he curled his lip slightly as he thought on it. The man was trying to play them, and he didn't like it.

Niraan tensed briefly as he heard Kenii calling to him, but he didn't look toward his brother, instead continued to glare up at his captor. "'m arright 'nii," he answered the boy's calls finally, calling back without looking. "Y' sit tight, yeh?" He wasn't sure what else he could say - he couldn't do anything to help Kenii, not right now, not as he was. "Wha's th' catch?" he asked K'huna, again, his voice dropping lower so Kenii couldn't hear. "Y' give us false hope an' work us like slaves? Y' go on all righteous, but y' ain' any better 'n us," he growled, tensing again.