Hunting party

The bear was sitting on a low branch, completely comfortable, as she had been doing so for an hour. her bullets and postit notes to communicate were hanging on prong of the branch, in a leather pouch. She had ample bullets, after raiding a hunters house a few years back unwittingly for some food. She breathed in and looked down the scope of her rifle. All clear. After letting out breath she, rested it on her lap and shut her eyes.

It was warm today, in Scotland's terms at least. That's why she was wearing a sports top that cut of at the stomach, and some quarter length sports trousers that were tight at the bottom.

She looked down at the shoes and gun case, fine. She looked down the scope again and caught sight of a fox. Honey took it a soft breath and looked down the sight, her steady hands holding the aim still, she fired and felt a slight recoil against her shoulder which she kept rigid to keep the aim straight.

Aloud echo went through the forest, and traveled down the clearing that she was hunting in, over a mile away.

She sighed and looked down the scope, hit. She wasn't surprised, in China the forests were denser, and she did it in the dark.

Spyridon had been strolling through the forest for the better part of an hour, just getting a feel for the place.

When he settled somewhere he liked to know it inside out. And so he had put aside a large amount of time to get to know the forest. He'd take to the mountains after he knew the forest well enough not to get lost in it.

His ears swivelled when he heard a gunshot and he began jogging in that direction.

He was curious.

She turned her head when she heard footsteps, rhythmic. Who did that? ran in the direction of a gunshot. Bracing herself for the excuses she would have to make to a teacher as to why she had a gun, or why she knew how to use it so well. She would rather avoid that conversation. She just sat and waited, enjoying the last possible last feel of the varnished butt and stock. Maybe this would be the last time she held it, ever.

As the footsteps got closer Honey gripped the gun, her only constant travel companion through out her life.

She breathed and changed position to on the branch from sitting, one leg either side, to saddle back to meet the person. She grinned at nothing, exposing her teeth. She didn't actually grow new teeth when she shifted, so she just kept her bear ones all the time. It scared people, she didn't like being feared.

Too human to be a bear, to bear to be considered human. That was just her life.

The hunter looked at the person she used to be, and who she was now. The change psychologically was astounding. Who knew somebody's morals and thought patterns could be changed in a few crucial seconds, she decided she would have this train of thought later.

When he found a fox carcass he knelt and looked it over and frowned. Gunshot. A hunter.

He muttered quietly to the dead animal, brushing his fingers over the fur gently, before standing and looking around, first the ground and then the canopy. His ears were pinned back on his head; the only indication that he was unhappy.

He could watch a human die without batting an eyelid - hell he might even crack a grin. But when an animal died as needlessly as that one had the Jinn got seriously upset.

His eyes rested on a form in a tree and stared silently at it.

Honey got of the tree and packed her stuff up, tied her shoes together and held them, her rifle slung over her shoulder, she stared down the sight for a second and saw somebody standing over the dead fox, she bagged the rifle and bullets. She was done for the day. She could cut this one up and feed it to those abandoned cubs she had stumbled upon. They were older, but still not enough to hunt. one fox for the lives of 3, seemed fair.

As she got closer she saw the man a slight but clearer, she still had to squint to see him in the distance. She felt good about helping them, they didn't care about how long the meat had been dead, Their mother had died somehow and they ate her. She suspected that there used to be four of them.

Honey started jogging, the meat had to be fresh for them. When she was about 100 meters away she got a pair of gloves on and pulled a knife and a handkerchief out of her hunting bag , held them both in her right hand as she picked up the pace.

It had been over a 4 days, that's why she hadn't hunted in her bear form and got them something less cannibalistic but She just didn't have time to spare, if they were left longer she feared that they would eat each other.

Spyridon watched the figure silently as it bustled around on the branch then slid to the ground.

At least it was heading this way.

He relaxed slightly and his ears flicked back to their usual positioning when his eyes settled on the knife in it- no, her hand.

Well, at least she wasn't leaving the carcass after killing it.

He took a few steps away from the fox and waited.

She jogged through the woods bare footed, leaving her shoes, she would get them later.

Honey was 100 meters away and she could see a figure, she could tell he was tall however not much else. A long list of explicit words flowed through her mind as she realized something. My vision is getting worse! She wasn't happy at all. She realised the balls of her feet and toes had actually turned claws and paws because of the barefooted running. Why? she thought exasperatedly, how am I going to explain this?

When she got to the clearing she flat out ignored the person, she had more things to deal with than an unhappy idealist, if that was the problem here. She peered up from her kneeling position, squinting. She could make out ears and silvery hair. Picking the carcass up with the thick piece of cloth the sunbear couldn't help but let out a low growl of annoyance, something smelled off. He'd touched it! Did the savage know no hunting etiquette?

She knew the cubs would still accept it because they were foraging animals, but it was the sheer ignorance, touching someone else's stuff was wrong. Touching somebody else's hunting efforts was effectively claiming it, she would've lost an ear for that in China.

Tying up the package she adjusted the gun on her shoulder and got onto the balls of her feet preparing to run and climb.

The Jinn watched the girl come closer silently with cold cyan eyes.

He couldn't really tell much about her. She had the smell of an animal about her. But from the animal-like features he saw he couldn't tell what animal. It was his nose that told him.

She was some form of bear. He couldn't put his finger on which type of bear but he definitely knew she was a bear.

A light snort passed him at her growl. He didn't know it was a hunt. Before she had come this way he had thought it was just a meaningless kill.

But he did feel a slight unease at the thought of touching someone else's kill. That was against his code. A cod he had followed even as a pup.

So when she turned to leave he opened his mouth and murmured softly. "I apologise...for touching your kill."

Honey gave a nod at his apology, and stopped mid way though her first stride. Turning to face what sounded like a man. She didn't know why he had touched it, maybe he had though it was a pointless kill. She hated those. the bear admitted to herself that she was to quick to jump to conclusions on that occasion.

Picking out her notebook and a pen she wrote a note Apology accepted She knew he was a jinn by smell, and the grey ears. She bowed slightly as an acceptance to his apology and flipped her notebook to a prewritten message My name is Honey, nice to meet you

She was lying to herself when she said she had no time, she did. However she knew if she got into a confrontation she wouldn't get any reward except maybe a wound or two and somebody telling the school she was an animal. Animals that acted like real animals in front of humans were tamed or destroyed.

She wasn't sure what was worse. Honey gave another lazy warm growl and in a small his direction to confirm her opinion of him were positive. It had considerably raised when he said sorry for breaking hunting conduct, now if everyone could be like that.. The meat would have to be cold to feed the cubs, the bear had a few minuets. She had to meet some new people anyway.

Finally, someone respectful. He returned the bow then read the page, squinting a little as he tried to understand the words.

He had lived in China so long that he had trouble reading English nowadays. "Yīngyǔ shì nányǐ yuèdú," he muttered to himself. He'd never admit that in a language anyone here could understand.

But after a lot longer than it should have taken, his mind processed the written words. "I'm Spyridon."

---------------------
Yīngyǔ shì nányǐ yuèdú - English is hard to read

Honey blushed furiously as he squinted at the words, profoundly embarrased, even though she would never a have known and flipped another page, she mentally scolded herself for just assuming things. but what would she do? 我知道，如此混乱。如果你想，我可以这样写 (I know, so confusing sometimes. I can write like this if you want) He spoke Chinese, she would never have known...

she wrote down the words in her mother language. She could understand it, however she would never speak it for she was incapable of speech, no matter how hard she tried.

我想我会到中国去，再次听到 (And I thought I would have to go to china to hear that again) She missed the language intensely, and she couldn't even speak it. Come to think of it, she missed the country all together, although she didn't want to go back because of the dangers. Confusing.

She hoped dearly that he wouldn't think she was patronizing him and get offended by offering to write it like that.

---------------------------
Is it Chinese Spyridon is speaking? It seems like it if googletranslate is anything to go on it seems like it. Honey is from china by the way. If Spyridon isn't speaking Chinese pm me or something and I can change the reply, If he is, ignore this note was even here.

He cocked his head to the side and watched her write.

Dread rolled down his spine when he realised what the writing was. She...understood what he had said. She knew that he had trouble reading English. "Nǐ shuō zhōngguó."

"Wǒ yǐwéi zhè zhǐshì wǒ zìjǐ hé wǒ de xiōngdì, tā zài zhèlǐ fāyán."

It felt good to be able to speak the language with someone other than his brother. Now he just had to find someone that knew A' Moqazh on the island. But what were the chances of that? He didn't suppose there were any Native Americans here. Let alone Native Americans from the Hohe tribe.

--------------------
Nǐ shuō zhōngguó - you speak Chinese
Wǒ yǐwéi zhè zhǐshì wǒ zìjǐ hé wǒ de xiōngdì, tā zài zhèlǐ fāyán - I thought it was only myself and my brother that spoke it here

Yeah, its Chinese. He lived in China for about seventy years.

Honey smiled widley exposing her bear teeth enlarged canaines and all, no longer wary or concious in front of the man as she usually was in front of new faces. He seemed alright.

我出生在中国，这是我的母语。(I was born in china, It's my mother language.) She wrote down the words perfectly, she liked the way it was just lined, instead of swirls and things that could be misread.

Not the city, oh no. The rainforest. Afetr she'd been declared unsatisfoctory to carry on the family line because of her smaller size and being too human looking, she'd found a monestary was a mile away from her home. Where she went everyday for about 5 years to help with whatever needed done, she had been taught Chinese and human etiquette there by the monks, which proved invaluable when she was cast out.

She let out a an airy broken up growl, a laugh and flipped a new page 我还以为这只是我，我应该知道更好地与这所学校比假设. (and I thought it was only me, I really shouldn't assume things in this school)

She knew he was a jinn, so she would be on her guard incase he was old, She didn't want to have to kill him if he went crazy. She'd had to do that before when a jinn, her friend, had become unhinged and obsessed.

"Zhōngguó shì wǒ de dì sān yǔyán. Wǒ chūshēng zài měiguó."

He wasn't daunted by the sharp canines that were revealed by the others smile. He himself had sharper teeth than a human. And he had seen much worse in the village that he had called his home for seventy odd years.

"Shì de, tā sìhū jiǎdìng zài zhè suǒ xuéxiào de shìqíng, shì bùshì yīgè hǎo zhǔyì," he agreed with a small grin.

He looked over her silently for a few minutes trying to guess what she was. He was more familiar with Jinn than any other species and he could identify them at first glance. She was definitely not a Jinn. Was she some form of shifter...?

--------------------------------
Zhōngguó shì wǒ de dì sān yǔyán. Wǒ chūshēng zài měiguó - Chinese is my third language. I was born in America.
Shì de, tā sìhū jiǎdìng zài zhè suǒ xuéxiào de shìqíng, shì bùshì yīgè hǎo zhǔyì - yes, it seems assuming things in this school isn't a good idea.

Third language? that confirmed he was older. She nodded and calmed herself down, why was she being so irrational today? 3 languages could be learned in 30 years if the persistence was there. It was probably the fact that supernaturals had heard what happened to all jinns, It was probably what they were well know for, going insane and killing everyone, most people knew that and didn't trust them. Honey had a difficult time trusting people anyway. She was still trying to determine his age by analyzing what he had said to her so far, while he tried to figure out what species she was.

Nobody knew what she changed into or how strong she was in her other form, which was good for her to keep them in the dark, it gave her an advantage in some cases because nobody charged into a fight without knowing what they were fighting.

He wouldn't get it unless he'd been in the rain forest and probably not even then. She was no closer to figuring his age. She would give him a hint if he asked, and then tell him. Who didn't like a guessing game?

She felt her feet shift back.

She smelled the air and found he smelled like vines and sap, it was far better than perfumes and such people bathed themselves in every morning. It was like nature. She clocked it into her head incase she needed to identify him from a distance and they option was always there, to track him, but she didn't know what reason she would she would have to do that.

He stood silently for a minute before sitting down, legs curled underneath him. He rather enjoyed Honey's silent company.

Definitely more enjoyable than previous company. Though he guessed that he didn't much mind Tony and Esha.

"Nǐ shì shénme?" Nothing like blunt, upfront questions. Spyridon didnt do subtle questions that revealed little bits of information at a time. He just asked what he wanted.

----------------------
Nǐ shì shénme? - What are you?

She smiled mischievously coming up with an idea, taking the gun off her shoulder and laying it down softly. She sat opposite him at 2 meters of distance. She swung her legs to left side of herself and gave him a small challenge, she glanced at his cyan eyes and wrote something down.

我是兽，可以是非常有说服力，熊原产于中国的热带雨林，我胸口上的马蹄是我唯一的标记 (I am a shapeshifter that can be very convincing, a bear native to china's rainforests, a horseshoe on my chest is my only marking)
一个猜测，斯皮里，然后我会告诉你 (One guess, Spyridon, then I will tell you)

一个问题，得到的答案，如果你需要它。 (One question to get to your answer, if you need it.)

She flipped the notebook to face him and figured he would be able to make one guess, just one. no huge challenge. She tapped her foot on the ground and grinned to herself playfully.

If he was wrong she would just tell him the right information, but it wasn't all that difficult. Honey had high expectations for his answer, he seemed knowledgeable to her. All he had to do was a small bit of thinking and accept the task.

Yet again he watched her silently.

When she set the little riddle before him his eyes slid shut.

Honestly he didn't have the patience to sit around solving riddles. He didn't particularly like to exert the effort it took to puzzle over the answer.

But he'd do it just to say he didn't blow her off. Lets see his brother moan about being anti-social now.

Okay, so what did he know about her?

1. She was from China
2. She was a bear

What bears lived in China?

The Giant Panda
The Asian Black Bear
The Sun Bear

There were probably more but at the moment he couldn't care to think.

Okay, so which of those had a crescent on their chest?

Both the Asian Black Bear and the Sun Bear. Well, that was helpful.

"Qǐngwèn nín de wùzhǒng tiánchōng dōngběi huò nánbù?" He'd be able to give an answer depending on her answer to this question.

----------------
Qǐngwèn nín de wùzhǒng tiánchōng dōngběi huò nánbù? - Does your species populate the northeast or the south.

She smiled slightly and hitched an eyebrow, so he did know She was thoroughly impressed. She growled from her chest, like a purr at his question.

南方，我非常深刻的印象，如果你已经不能告诉 (The south, I'm very impressed if you can't already tell) she used that test to sort the idiots out of the normal people from the people who knew what the were talking about. She knew that he'd have to ask the north-south question if he knew the different types of bear in china
和我知道你是什么东西，所以我不问 (And I know what you are, so I don't have to ask) She shifted on her hip slightly and flipped the pad to face him,

She learned all about jinns from Vicente, an older jinn that she lived with while she was getting to her feet. He was going insane though, and unbeknownst to her the HA had been looking for him for months. He attacked her one day while she was eating breakfast, the ha burst through the door. too late though, she had to kill him. It was just too easy, even for a strong man. Like he wanted to die.

That was the first time she knew about the hunters association and the jinn's curse.

"Nán? Ránhòu nǐ shì tàiyáng xióng."

That was a surprisingly easy riddle to answer. And he was glad that he had to learn about the different animals in China to be able to distinguish the shifting supernaturals from the real animals. Sometimes the HA could actually be helpful...

"Nǐ zhīdào jìn ma?" He was suprised. Though he shouldn't have been. As closed off as Jinn could be there were a few that made friends outside of Jinn.

---------------------
Nán? Ránhòu nǐ shì tàiyáng xióng - South? Then you are a Sun Bear
Nǐ zhīdào jìn ma? - You know about Jinn?

She nodded to being a sun bear, it was great being a fairly hairless animal. She wouldn't cast which sounded nightmarish.

当我被抛弃，没有他一个人把我进去，我已经死在街道上。但他是精灵，并在盛大的193岁的年龄。他的名字是维森特。 (when I was cast away, a man took me in. without him I would've died on the streets. But he was jinn, and at a grand old age of 193. His name was Vicente. A tiger jinn) A memory played in her head like a broken record player

she, as a twelve year, old in the kitchen while he screamed obscenities at -things he wouldn't even think of saying otherwiseher and tried to hurt her in his tiger form. Honey knew this day was going to come soon, so she did what needed to be done in the kindest way possible.

She would leave the body for the hunters to find, but they burst through the door and found her as she was shutting his eyes

She shut the memory out, she didn't want to relive it like she did frequently in her nightmares.

--------
sorry for the shortness

One hundred and ninety three? That was still a little young to go mad but it was a cause for concern for the Jinn. Obviously she hadn't fallen victim to the other Jinn's violence. He saw no visible scars on her. That was a good sign.

But a tiger named Vincente was nagging at him. He'd heard that combination before. He was sure he-

Ah, he remembered now... A hunt he and Mihai had gone on three years ago. He remembered it well now. He got under paid because he hadn't been the one to do the deed. He wasn't amused about that.

"Liǎng zhī láng. Yī yín hé yīgè jìn hēisè..." he muttered, eyes flicking over her face to see how she'd react to the description of the Hunters. "Hēi'àn zhōng yǒu liǎng zhǒng bùtóng yánsè de yǎnjīng."

----------------------------------
Liǎng zhī láng. Yī yín hé yīgè jìn hēisè. - Two wolves. One silver and one nearly black.
Hēi'àn zhōng yǒu liǎng zhǒng bùtóng yánsè de yǎnjīng - The dark coloured one had two different coloured eyes

She looked away, deep in thought. The wrote at her usual pace to not let on she was unnerved how he knew this. 一个蓝色，一个棕色。我怎能忘记？ (One blue, one brown. How could I forget?) She had snarled and growled at them when they appeared out of nowhere, spooking her. She half expected them to attack and kill her right there, with an empty double concentration morphine syringe in one hand and a bloody knife in the other.

She hated them at the time, not getting there in time, forcing her to do the deed herself but she was an upset at the time and not thinking clearly.

He had told her to have the morphine on her at all times, but she never realized why. So she would have a better chance at taking him down. The words he said to her when he had come to from his episode haunted her Please daughter, before I hurt anyone else..., she wasn't sure if the two hunters had heard them, or not. He had held her hand as she had delivered the blow, her father. She filed the thoughts away and turned back to see what the jinn would say or do with the information.

She wasn't going to assume just yet that the grey hunter was Spyridon, lots of wolf jinns had grey hair...

His lip twitched. Yes, he had thought so.

"Zhè shì wǒ hé dìdì." He stared at her, cyan eyes flickering over every twitch of muscle and rustle of hair in the slight breeze.

How would she react now? How would she react to knowing that he was the one that was supposed to kill the man she had been living with?

Disgust maybe? Hatred? Fear?

He was prepared for any of those.

--------------------------
Zhè shì wǒ hé dìdì - That was my brother and I

Honey gave a slight nod at his involvement. It seemed like the reasonable choice, considering all the evidence that pointed to that conclusion.

吾人明白了什么要做，即使我没有更接近接受它。 (I understand what had to be done, even though i'm no closer to accepting it.) she wrote down. 他是唯一的人曾经告诉我无条件照顾是什么，我很沮丧，尽管我知道它最终会发生，我没有准备 (He was the only person to ever show me what unconditional care was, I was so upset even though I knew it would eventually happen.) If she were any younger or less mature she would get mad at him just doing his job, but she understood that it was the best thing to do for him to go with some dignity left, it just took her a while to figure out. She couldn't be angry forever.

She just felt so lost, without him she would have reverted back to being an animal in the truest sense, no emotion, only survival. She never wanted to go back to that.

She switched topics, not wanting to dwell on her past. 所以是你的兄弟在岛上？他知道我在这里？ (So is your brother on the island? and does he know I'm here? the whole idea of him remembering her was stupid, she had changed so much.