"Vee. (I know you wanted to just drive through all of this, but the citizens of the Beast Kingdom have a pretty big beef against things from humanoids. I almost got attacked just because I was wearing this pokeball fragment.)" said Kalin as he glanced around, walking through the moonlit forest. "Eevee. (Sooner or later a sentry will pop out and ask what we're doing. I wonder if it'd be Kar'ra or Gryff? Preferrably not Gryff. You wouldn't like him very much.)" (Eevee)

Mogwai glances around the woods "Well... I imagine they probably wouldn't take too kindly to my driving either..." Despite her apprehension at a new place, she can't deny the beauty of the place. It seems peaceful and welcoming "We'll see how much I like him when I meet him. I tend to get along well with most beastmen."

As if on cue, a blue furred wolf leapt out from the bushes and approached Kalin and Mogwai. "S-s-stop right there! St-st-state your business, or else! Bark bark bark bark!" said the nervous wolf, almost wetting itself. Just then, another voice could be heard from the bushes, "Oh for the love of..come on, rookie. We went over this. Cool the hell down and start over." (Eevee)

A second wolf then leapt from the bushes, one familiar to Kalin. "Vee! (Kar'ra! It's been a whi--oh yeah, you can't understand me..)" (Eevee)

Mogwai waves at the two wolves "Howdy. I'm Mogwai, I'm traveling with my friend Eev- err, Kalin to meet someone. Now, what's your business?"

"B-but sir! I-I get real nervous around moogles. I-I told you about that time where I--" started the rookie wolf until he was interrupted, "Yeah, yeah. Don't share your life story. But you're going to have to get over it. Now shut up and try it again!" barked Kar'ra as he looked over Mogwai and Kalin, recognizing the latter but not acknowledging him just yet. It seemed training took priority. (Eevee)

The rookie wolf sighed and took a deep breath, "Halt! State your business!" he said with a triumphant smile. "Glare, rookie! You forgot to glare!" snapped Kar'ra, sending the rookie wolf into a nervous glare towards Mogwai and Kalin. "Ugh. Damn rookies. Why do I have to do the training around here?" complained Kar'ra as he nodded towards Mogwai and Kalin. (Eevee)

"Hello, Mogwai. You must be that 'someone very special' Kalin mentioned when I inquired about his..apparal." Kalin cringed at Kar'ra's choice of words, apparantly forgetting his first encounter with the wolf. "As for my business, I guess the furball didn't explain to you. Around here, you report to a sentry when we approach you. You follow the rules, and everyone has a good time. Now then, I assume you're here to see Hypno?" (Eevee)

Mogwai nods "That's right. Kalin thinks I should meet him, and I've grown to trust his advice. So, just the standard rules then? No murder, no stealing, and in general try not to be a dick? Or is there anything special I need to be careful to do or not do?"

The rookie wolf seemed to be deep in thought, as if he were trying to recount every policy. Kar'ra nodded, "Pretty much. We have no patience for humanoids or their ways here. Remember that as you visit our kingdom. Alright then, carry on. And do make sure Kalin doesn't inadvertantly insult another badger, will you? That 'Eeveeing' of his is a ticking time bomb on some beasts." (Eevee)

With that, Kar'ra and the rookie went off towards the west until they disappeared from sight. Kalin nodded and proceeded northwards, "Vee. (He's actually the nicer one. I'm glad he showed up instead of Gryff, but really, the chances of either of them stopping us were pretty low. Hehe, looks like he has to train new scouts. Anyways, if we keep going this direction we'll see the core of the kingdom itself. But we're going to a little house just outside castle area.)" (Eevee)

Mogwai follows along "His what?" she ponders to herself, before remembering others don't hear him the same way she does "Oh, right. I'll do my best."

As Mogwai and Kalin approached the house, Kalin moved his tail and sat on his rump while he knocked the door with his paw a couple of times. The gesture was generally unnecessary, as Hypno's psychic powers often alerted him to when someone was at his door. After nearly a full moment passed, Eevee raised his paw to scratch his head. "Vee. (Huh..I wonder if he's asleep or working with someone?)" (Eevee)

Mogwai ponders for a moment and gives a few knocks herself before trying the doorknob.

"Eevee! (Hey, Hypno! It's Kalin! Um..we're coming in!)" said Kalin as he tried to stand on his back two feet and pathetically attempt to twist the doorknob. As Mogwai made a move for the knob herself, Kalin backed away to let her open it. Inside, the house looked about as Kalin had left it when he visited before, although with one major difference. Hypno was lying on the floor, not breathing. (Eevee)

Mogwai looks over at Hypno, gasping "...is he?" before rushing over to check for signs of heartbeat or injury.

"Vee! (Hypno!)" shouted Kalin as he ran over towards the lifeless pokemon, pressing his nose against his body. He could not feel any warth from it. "Eevee! (Hypno..what..what happened? I don't..Mogwai..)" stuttered Kalin as he looked towards the moogle with water in his eyes, clearly in shock. (Eevee)

Mogwai backs away from the body "We need to get out of here. We don't want to run into whoever did this. Or be loitering around here if a sentry shows up. Actually... do you know of any way to call your sentry friends?"

"..Vee. (..W-well..not really..b-but um..we should..we should look for signs left behind by the predator.)" said Kalin, not immediately sure whether or not Mogwai would know what he was talking about. In the wild, when one encounters a corpse, they typically look for evidence left behind by the predator as means of self-defense. If the predator was still nearby, they would want to know who or what the predator is. (Eevee)

Kalin began by looking around the body, not seeing any blood or struggle. "Eevee. (He doesn't seem to have been attacked, but..)" said Kalin as he began to sniff all around the house. (Eevee)

Mogwai ponders this "Hmm... that is a point. I've never walked in on someone just... I wonder if he may have died of natural causes? I'm afraid my knowledge of medicine is pretty limited."

Kalin quit sniffing for a second to look towards Mogwai, considering her hypothesis before going back to his sniffing. "Vee. (Everything smells mostly normal, but there is a unique scent here..I..don't think I've smelled anything quite like it before. I don't know how to explain it..could it belong to another creature? But that makes no sense..I didn't smell it on the way here. You'd think it'd have left behind a trail.)" (Eevee)

Mogwai shakes her head "Well, I'm afraid that's your area of expertise. I can't smell a thing. Does the smell remind you of anything?"

"Vee. (No, not really..it's just this kind of damp, plain smell. Most creatures carry a lot of scents from the environment on them, and it blends together with their unique smell. But this..there's no blend. It's just that plain, damp smell..)" said Kalin as he moved back towards Hypno's corpse, getting a good look at his face. He then stepped back a little, nervous of what he saw.

"Eevee..(Look at his face..he looks so frightened..this was not natural. But what could have done this? He has no physical injury anywhere. It's almost as if..)" said Eevee, stopping suddenly. (Eevee)

Mogwai ponders the comment "As if he was scared to death?"

Kalin pondered that before turning towards Mogwai, with a similar look of fear on his own face. "Eevee! (You don't think..the one who shattered my mind..that -it- did this?)" (Eevee)

Mogwai grimaces "I can't say for certain... but I do know one thing. You're not dead."

Kalin then turned back towards Hypno's body, resting his head on the corpse's shoulder. "Vee.. (Oh, Hypno..I'm so sorry..this is all my fault. I-I thought that Salamando would have protected you, but I guess..I guess..)" said Kalin, with tears clouding his eyes. (Eevee)

Mogwai gives Kalin a hug "Now don't say that. How is this in any way your fault? You weren't here, heck, we don't even know what truly happened here."

Kalin wiped the tears away with his paw as he felt Mogwai's hug, giving him the courage to break out of his shock. Just then, the footsteps of an animal could be heard appraoching the door. "Well, well. It's just like that rabite said. A fat, puffy moogle with a yellow pom-pom. You gonna come along quietly or are we gonna do this the hard way?" growled the wolf, who Kalin recognized at Gryff. (EeveE)

"Vee! (Gryff! It's..it's not what it looks like--oh yeah, you can't understand me either..Mogwai! Don't let him pin this on you!)" said Kalin, as his attention darted back and forth between Mogwai and the wolf. (Eevee)

Mogwai sighs and stands up " I just walked in to find the man I came to visit is dead, and I'm understandably distraught and confused. So, are you going to hear my side of the story, or are we gonna do this the hard way?"

The wolf didn't seem to acknowledge Kalin, as he was only interested in the juicy moogle before him. "Vee! (Gryff!..don't you even remember me? We'd never do this! Heck, it's not even physically possible..)" said Kalin, uselessly. (Eevee)
The wolf snarled, clearly having no patience for Mogwai's sass, "I don't need your side of the story, fatty!" growled Gryff as he lunged towards Mogwai. (Eevee)

Mogwai channels her indignation through Luna's blessing, summoning her energy whip "What kind of good for nothing guard are you? No sense of investigation! No sense of justice! And nobody calls me fat!" she yells out as she dodges to the side and cracks her whip at Gryff

Gryff yelps in pain as the whip makes contact on his hind, spiking his rage through the roof. As he turns around, he lets out a loud howl before glowing brightly for a second. As the glow dies down, Gryff could be seen as a different creature: a bipedal beast with musclely arms and thick claws. (Eevee)

Kalin's civilized senses all but disappeared as he watched the beast attack Mogwai so suddenly. He could hear the voices pouring into his skull once again. He wants to eat her. And then he'll eat you. Kill him. Protect her from him. Only the fit survives. (Eevee)

Mogwai steps back and performs an intricate, confusing dance, her whip at the ready

Gryff stopped to stare at Mogwai for a moment, not at all encited but just confused. Who'd have thought such a puffy moogle could dance?..why is she dancing anyway? Shouldn't she be like..you know..trying to fight for her life? (Eevee)

Kalin then imagined a series of cards appear before him. The first was a Jack of Jolteons, the second was a Nine of Espeons, the third was a Nine of Jolteons, the fourth was a Two of Flareons, and the fifth was a Seven of Jolteons. Kalin discarded te Nine of Espeons and the Two of Flareons for two new cards: a Ten of Jolteons and a Seven of Jolteons. With a straight flush in hand, a strange rectangular light flew out from Kalin and into Gryff. (Eevee)

While Kalin's Trump Card would not have been so deadly alone, Gryff's absent mind left him mentally vulnerable. As the card pierced into the beastman's head, his mind all but snapped. After standing still for almost a full second, the beastman fell backwards to the floor, lifeless. (Eevee)

Mogwai looks at Eevee's handiwork, slackjawed "Well... I was just gonna incapacitate him and run away, and hope everything would calm down while we were gone. Now we should probably get out of here on the double and not come back, because now we'll actually be guilty of murder. Come on."

As Kalin's primal instincts died down, he gasped as he realized what he had just done. He ran up to Gryff's body and nudged him a couple of times with his nose, "VEE! (Oh..oh no..Gryff..I..I don't..)" Before he could continue, Mogwai's words filled his ears. "Veee..(I..y-yeah..l-let's hurry..)" (Eevee)