The young boy was absolutely racked with guilt as the group watched Nike’s wound with bated breath. He blamed himself for the injuries the commander had sustained; after all, it had been his fault they had fallen down the hillside and he was the one to push for exploring the cave. If anything happened to the older man, it would most certainly be the young lord’s fault. If the wound proved to be venomous or gods forbid, fatal, Timaeus doubted if he would ever forgive himself for dragging his comrade into such a terrible situation.

Either way, this would serve as a valuable lesson for the boy. Don’t rush in head first. Who knows who you could hurt in the process?

However, he didn’t breathe a word of the blame he was putting onto himself nor did he give any other purposeful sign of such thoughts whirring around his mind. The teen couldn’t shake the feeling that he still had something to prove to the others and Timaeus was afraid his fear for Nike’s condition may be seen as a weakness. Especially in the eyes of Vangelis, a man who he had heard wasn’t afraid of anything. He needed to show that even though he was younger and less experienced than the others, that didn’t mean he was of less use. Timaeus needed to appear just as stoic and unyielding as the rest of them.

Yet, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scarlet bloodstain soaking through the bandage nor could he stop himself from biting his lip in worry. He didn’t even realize he was doing it either. Not until a metallic taste and strange warm liquid trickled across his tongue. The young lord may not say anything out loud, but he was still a boy. He could not hide everything thought behind a stony mask.

That was an art he had yet to master.

When the bleeding stopped, Timaeus visibly relaxed as he breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Nike was going to be fine, the wound wasn’t poisoned. The boy almost had the nerve to crack a small joke, but Vangelis stepped forward, killing it before it was even born. As the prince examined the other injury, the boy shrunk back, eager to not get in the way. He watched intently though as the older man crouched down and in one swift motion, corrected the problem.

Timaeus let out an audible gasp as his eyes flickered between the general and the commander. “You just… You didn’t…” He quietly stammered out as he tried to rationalize what had just happened. Vangelis didn’t even warn him. He just forced the joint back into place, as if it was nothing. Instinctively, Timaeus reached up to his own shoulder, rubbing it slightly as if it was him who had felt the pain and not Nike.

Though, the commander didn’t even cry out against the agony he must have been in. Instantly, Timaeus’s respect for him increased tenfold. There was no way the baron’s son would have been able to do that.

He didn’t have much time to dwell on the situation as the group collectively decided to move on. Timaeus scrambled up to his feet and nearly missed the group of deer running away in the distance. It wasn’t anything too spectacular, but it was peculiar enough to be worth investigating on Nike’s insistence. He trusted the man enough to lead them in the right direction. “Just as long as it’s not another cave,” He said with a small grin when the commander turned to the captain, looking for his opinion on the matter. Yeah, Tim had enough of those, thank you very much.

Since Timaeus was not eager to repeat what had happened earlier, he didn’t rush ahead of the group again. Instead, he followed shortly behind Nike, leaving Lazaros to take up the rear as they descended down the rocky terrain. The wind was bitterly cold and continued to nip at their faces as they moved against it. He didn’t know how the others were fairing, but the breeze did nothing to help Timaeus conceal the chill he felt from his damp clothes from his tumble earlier. Within no time at all, the baron’s boy was shaking slightly and his teeth chattered as his body fought against the cold. He was smart enough though to keep his mouth shut and not say a damn word about the chill. Complaining would do nothing, but annoy the others.

So, Tim’s mind wandered as a way to keep himself from focusing on the cold. He thought of his home in Eubocris, his dreams of seeing the world, future battles he would win; really anything, but what was happening at that moment as he absent-mindedly put one foot in front of the other. His thought was called back every now and then as some sort of distant smell was carried on the wind back to them. “Probably what spooked them in the first place,” Tim muttered as a particularly strong scent of rotting meat invaded their nostrils, making it impossible for the boy to get lost in his thoughts.

He figured that it would soon disappear as all the other scents carried on the wind, but when the ground leveled out again it was still there. If anything it was now stronger and Timaeus could tell that there was something off about it. However, he didn’t know how wrong it was until the group came across the source of it, stopping the whole group in their tracks.

It was the carcass of a deer.

Crouching down to look at the dead animal, Timaeus pulled his chiton over his nose to spare himself from the stench of the rotting beast. His eyes glanced over the grisly scene, unsure of what he was seeing. Of course, he understood what it was; a fallen deer, a mangled hide, claw marks everywhere... This was clearly the work of one of the forest’s many predators. It was simple, barely worthy of the hunting party’s attention and yet there was something off about the whole scene and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was.

“It didn’t eat it.” He quietly muttered, more to himself more than anything else. After all, it was plainly obvious that for what was so clearly a kill by a predator out in these woods, there was too much meat still left on the carcass for it to be just that. But what kind of animal would kill, just to kill? It was monstrous, it was unnatural. There had to be something else going on here.

That seemed to be the only thing Timaeus knew for certain.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the other men reach out to examine the deer. He may not be a hunter, but even he knew that was a terrible idea. “Don’t touch it!” He warned, his eyes narrowing as he watched them back up slightly, probably confused by the young boy’s words. “Whatever killed it… there’s a reason it didn’t eat it too. There might be something wrong with it.” He deadpanned as he peered over the animal searching for any sort of signal of it being sick or otherwise ill=fated before it had been murdered. Although his words didn’t directly say it, there was the unspoken implication that the group had already suffered enough injuries with Nike’s snake bite and dislocated shoulder. They didn’t need anyone else catching some terrible disease too.

So, as the group kept a safe distance, Timaeus voiced the one opinion that seemed to be on all their minds, “What the hell happened here?”

With Vangelis being who he was, when he walked over to Nike after the bleeding had stopped and noticed that he too had another problem. Lazaros watched as the prince felt over the body of the other commander and then spat out one word...dislocated. It didn't take a genius to know what that meant. Lazaros knew there was something else was wrong with the other man just by how he was walking and presenting himself, he would have be be blind to not see that. However, after the word was spoken, the prince jerked the joint back into place. The popping sound made Lazaros's stomach lurch for a moment. There were many things the man could tolerate but the sounds of body parts popping or making noises they were not suppose to naturally make was one those things that made his skin crawl.

The prince nonchalantly turned then to Laz and spoke about the bear. Was there even bear scat down there? He wasn't down there himself so he could not speak on such matters. But Vangelis had a point. He too would not want to live among the slithering bed of snakes. "Neither would I." He more so said that to himself but did say loud enough for the prince to possibly think it was to him.

Lazaros's gaze then followed Vangelis's as he looked out over the terrain. There was a lot of land to cover and they didn't really have much of a lead to go on except a cave that the bear may or may not have been living in at one time. But one thing was certain, he wasn't there now. It seemed as the prince was thinking the same thing as the spoke that they should keep moving. Indeed, this was the only thing they could really do at this moment.

As they moved on, the scent of fire now wafted through the air. The entire party seemed to have tensed slightly as the smell. To made matters even more strange, a small herd of deer ran passed. Lazaros's gaze followed them for a moment and then trailed back towards the direction in which they ran from. What could have spooked them? Was it the fire? Or maybe they were being hunted. But than that begged the question of who was hunting them.

Niked called for Vangelis and pointed. It was the same direction in which he noticed that they were running from. So far, this was their only lead so it seemed like they were going to start there. His footfalls were light as he walked along with the group. He was careful were he stepped as to not have a situation like they did earlier.

As the group walked on, the smell of what seemed to be dead flesh grew heavy in the air. It wasn't until they walked upon a dead carcass of a deer that the scent got so bad that Laz had to cover his nose for a moment. What was even more off about the situation was that the deer didn't seem to be eaten in any way. It was clearly attacked and killed by something rather large judging by the marks in the hide, however, it seemed to have just been left there to rot. And rot it sure did.

The youngest of the group, Tim, seemed certain that something was wrong with it, as he yelled out not to touch it. Lazaros heard the words and then unsheathed his large sword and reach out with it. He poked the carcass, pointing to certain things like the claw marks. There didn't really seem to be much wrong with the deer on the outside but because of the smell, Lazaros was careful not to puncture the hide. Remains that had been sitting out for some time, even if the weather was cooler, would be rather foul smelling on the inside with all the remains.

Lazaros looked up at Nike and Vangelis, searching for some sign that they might have an idea of what was going on. However, judging by the reactions so far, it looked like this was a bear and one that seemed to also hunt for sport. Just the thought of this sent chills down the Vlahakis man's spine. Could a bear really have the mental capacity to do such a thing?

As the posse of them seemingly got to a defensive position, Nike too instinctively crouched lower as Timaeus drew and nocked his bow and arrow. The woman reached for the throwing knives she had tucked into her belt, picking up one for each hand, her eyes focused on the rustling bush. Standing in between Timaeus and Lazaros, at an angle behind Vangelis, Nike could almost feel the palpable tensity that was rolling off her companions. In a way, she guessed she should look as tensed as she felt... yet all she felt at that moment was a blinkered sense of focused on the rustling trees.

And then Timaeus gasped.

Nike was too well trained to look, but as the arrow whistled past her eyes, she bit back a small curse, her upper arms tensing as the next thing she knew, Vangelis's yell, the burst of the mountain lion from the brush and the flying of the crown prince's arrow seemed to all happen at the same time. As much as she wanted to bowl Timaeus's head over for such a rookie mistake as loosening his hold on a ranged weapon, she knew better then to do so now.

Like Vangelis, her first instinct had been to loose her throwing knives. Aiming at the beast just as Vangelis rolled out of the way, Nike let loose both of them held in each hand, one embedding itself in the side of the lion whilst the other missed its target entirely. The one that managed to find purchase in the lion's hide however, seemed to do more then just hurt the beast. The feline yowled, yet the small knife seemed to do more then just hurt him. Its shaggy coat, longer and thicker due to the colder weather seemed to protect it from most harm, yet the sudden impact of her knife on its side made it roll, disorientating it a little and throwing it off its one-aimed course to run directly at them, just enough for Nike to grab Timaeus's scruff and drag the younger one out of the way.

"Watch your hold, Captain!" was her only growl of warning, almost throwing Timaeus to the side as she dragged out another two throwing knives. The mountain lion was getting to its feet groggily then, the arrow still embedded but broken, whilst her knife it had managed to knock out of his side entirely. The golden eyes of the obviously angry lion swivelled, and settled on them. By then, Nike had managed to back away to where Vangelis had rolled, hopefully with Lazaros following them.

As if it were sizing them up, the tail of the shaggy but sleek feline lashed dangerously, large paws padding slowly as it crouched, looking for all the world as if it was ready to pounce on them. Nike knew that if the lion pounced, they would have no way out - four of them were not well equipped enough to deal with a two hundred pound, angered predator. "Injure it from a distance first. We will not be able to handle it at full capacity. Aim for its legs." It was common strategy - take out its mobility, and then it becomes an easy target. But of course, as one tried to take out two or three of its legs, one must always keep alert of its presence. "Lazaros, hang back. Your sword would be of more use when its tired and unable to move- and when the rest of us run out of steam." the Commander tossed a grin at her friend and fellow Commander, before her focus swivelled back on the lion.

Using her two other knives, she threw again, cautious of the fact that she had limited knives to throw, with only a dozen or so more strapped on the belt around her waist. She tried to aim true, and cursed again when the other knife was lashed away harmlessly as the lion swatted it away. The only one which found purchased was against the shoulderblades of the lion, only managing to anger it again, as it came charging once more, causing Nike to dive to the side as the feline aimed at them like an arrow to a bullseye.

As soon as the prince had finished speaking, there was soon a new chill on their air. However, this time it was not of the weather. This was something more primal, something more animalistic. A chill went down the young commanders spine as he stood there, unsheathing this longsword. It seemed as it was not only him that had this strange feeling.

There was soon a rustling in the bushes near them but a figure could not be made out. It was unsure what this beast was but it was now as though it was stalking them. The little party of four had now become the prey for this animal, if you could call it that. Lazaros squinted, trying to see into the bushes to see if he could make out any features of the being that lay within. However, nothing could be seen. Laz heard the young Colchian lord draw out his bow as well and ready it with a arrow. It would seem they were all readying themselves for the fight that loomed above their heads.

A quick glance over to Timaeus, he noticed the visible shake in his arms. Was this terror? Or was this merely the fact that he now had pulled back his bow in a ready position and his muscles were not trained to be held for long. There was a drop in his gut as he stood silently and watched as the mental and physical strain of the man was clear. How long could he hold out? However, soon those questions would be answered as if out of no where, a bundle of snow landed upon the lords head and took him and even Laz by surprised, causing Laz to flinch and the young man holding the bow taut to release his hold and sending their arrow lurching forward. Again, Lazaros's stomach sank as he watched it sail into the push that held the whole reason they were all nervous in the first place.

With the arrow launched into the brush, a loud roar came from inside. Laz did not flinch this time as he was prepared for some sort of reaction, he just wasn't sure of what. That is until the loud roar erupted around them. The arrow had made contact with the beast within but from what happened next, clearly had not stop nor slowed it down. But what came towards them was not a bear. No, this beast was much worst than a bear. The commander next heard the yell of the prince, confirming this. "It's not a bear!" He too shot his bow, launching an arrow into the beasts shoulder and then rolled out of the way as the mountain lion sprang towards them and charged after them.

Nike was the next to react, throwing her knives into the lions side with a few missing entirely. The ones that did make contact seemed to affect the lion enough for the other commander to grab a hold of Timaeus and pull him from harms way, for now. Lazaros had flung into action and lept to Vangelis's side, his long sword ready to swing. However, Nike began shouting out commands, telling him to stand back and ready his sword for when the beast was tired and they were out of options as his long sword would be more affect then. He gave a nod and stood at the ready. He heard the last bit of his words and returned the grin. The two of them were used to battle and the small glints of humor was a way to make a hard fight just that little bit easier.

Lazaros then noticed that Timaeus was missing. Where had the young lord gone? Did the big cat take him when they were looking? No, that couldn't be. They had their eyes on the beast since it had unveiled itself from the brush. Where could he have gone? As if his question was answered by the Gods, a glint of metal caught his eye and he looked up into the trees. Half expecting to see yet another mountain lion, he saw the man. He has perched himself up in the tree and was then beginning to shoot arrows down towards the lion. It was a stupid move but at the same time brilliant. "Good shooting! Keep it up!" Lazaros yelled up to him and then put his attention back upon the fight on the ground.

Unlike the others, Lazaros did not have a ranged weapon so he would have to wait for the beast to get into sword range. Then he would be able to wreak havoc along side them.

"Careful Nike!" Not only would he have to watch for the lion but also for the arrows being shot from above.