KEEPER (Open RP)

"Aye, ma'am!" He sprouted. He hurried his way back to camp, occasionally having a small giggle with his hare tossed over his shoulder.

_____

Lou entered the kitchen, where is was surprisingly warm. He set his hare down onto the table and began cleaning it. His usual smile shrunk into a frown very quickly. "This is madly boring."
Though Lou was good at entertaining himself, he really enjoyed the rise out of others, but he can't do that alone! He was tempted to leave his rabbit there as he found something more fun to do but the image of Carmella's watchful eyes reminded him of why he should stay put. It's not often he feels compelled to do what he is supposed to.

Merle helped Gear carry the overfilled bag over to where the ingredients were to be washed, before saying farewell to him, and making a beeline for a certain bird boy.

"He-ey, buddy!" the badger kid whispered, although their cheery mood could still be heard.

"Were you fishing with Lucy? Was it fun?" They tilted their head to motion at the Jerboa girl, whose fish looked quite delicious as well (actually, they looked much better than Theo's, but Merle figured their friend wouldn't respond too happily about that)
So, instead, they decided to sit near Theo like they'd done the other day, watching the others cook.

Merle decided to hazard a guess.
"Because, uh... Jiang's not here yet? I know she's on the welcoming committee with you, right?" They blinked hopefully.
If Merle guessed correctly, maybe the bunny boy would stop hogging the fire and let Theo cook?

"I've been here forever and ever!" Earnest exclaimed, rather loudly compared to his previous statements. "Yep, sure have!" He seemed to go into a giggling fit until another child spoke up.

Earnest was pleased someone had taken a guess, his smile coiling on his face. "Correct, correct!" He clapped his hands excitedly at Merle before falling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling with a snicker. "To be honest, I didn't really like her anyways! She was always sneaaaaaaking out. Sneak sneak sneak!" He pawed at the air, his eyes wandering over to Sylvia and Lou, pupils narrowing in the bright light of the fire. His arms fell back to the floor. "But now she isn't heeeeeeeeere! And neither are the adults! So I'M the leader!" He shot himself straight up, smile never leaving. "Got it~!"

---

"It happened again," Carmella ran her fingers through her thick hair, eyes filled to the brim with concern. "Every time we come here! I don't know why the mistress insists on sending us here, to perform these ridiculous tests." Her hand fell back to her side in a fist. "Jiang is dead. The others you've listed off likely are as well." She gritted her teeth in anger. "Ridiculous! How long am I supposed to receive this punishment? I've suffered enough."

Her head snapped towards Machi, expression fierce. "As soon as daylight breaks, we are getting to the edge of this forest and waiting until the carriage arrives. We'll even walk until it meets us. We are not going to stay in these woods any longer than we have to, I forbid it." With a shaky breath, she turned back to the cabin the children were assigned to. "I don't care if I'm scolded. There are better ways to deal with our current financial situation than...this."

As the maid's suspicions were confirmed, she gave a sorrowful nod. "That is rather.... unfortunate..." She frowned as she looked over to the cabin. "The poor children don't have any idea.... And I presume you'd like to keep it that way, yes?" Machi questioned. She balled her hand into a fist a few times, allowing electricity to build up in case they had to defend themselves against anything currently lurking in the woods. 

"It's best not to dwell on the circumstances, but rather to keep or heads held high and ensure no other children..... go missing.." Machi gulped.

---

Fresh kill.... Fresh blood.... Fire getting closer....

As they sprinted through tree after tree, eyes darting in every direction for a sign of any humans or camps, they let out an aggravated groan. Why were people so hard to find? They sniffed the air again, their pupils shrinking as they noticed the stench of a relatively new body nearby. They jumped into the bushes, snapping their teeth at whatever creature laid inside.

A girl....

Their jaws dragged out a 'human' girl, if one could call her that, and they stared at her for a moment. They let out a huff as they began tearing the meat from bone. Survival is the number one priority, after all. The cold blood spilled from her body, making their stomach churn slightly as they finished gnawing on the flesh. They wanted something fresher. Something tastier...

Back to the hunt...

Theo gave Merle a quick "shhh, hold on" type of look. He wasn't trying to be rude. He was getting somewhat concerned about the situation.


Theo winced at the weird gestures Earnest was making. It was unnerving, definitely. But what bugged him the most was the idea of anyone being in charge of him. He didn't like the adults telling him what to do, so why would he like the idea of someone around his age telling him what to do? He looked at the others. They didn't seem too happy about this development either.
Then he turned back to Earnest, dropping his own cheery good-boy act.
"You're not my leader. Don't think for even a second I'd listen to you. No one else will either if you act like a total loon."

"Everything is GREAT!!!!!" Earnest exclaimed, jumping up to his feet and putting his hands on his hips as he swiveled to look to Lucy. "I'm great, you're great, we're all great! We made it, congrats! Good job, good job!" He tapped his foot steadily on the wood as thought itching for something to happen.

Another swivel towards Lou. "Oh, you better kept your trap shut, you~! You better!" He pounded a closed fist against his chest. "I've been a great leader over the years! You'll see! Carmella has been my Keeper from every set of kids to the next and I've done grrrrrrreat with every batch! Since I was seven!" He held up the correct amount of fingers as if this were clear proof.
"Oooooooooooooooooooooooh Theo! What happened to your smile?" His own was still firmly in place, but his eyebrows were pushed up in a mockingly sad expression. "I thought we were friends, Theo! Thought we were real buddies, I did. Look at the fish we caught!" He knocked over the bucket he'd placed their catch in, spilling it out over the floor. He brought one of his powerful hind legs down and smashed a large trout to a pulp with one stomp, the guts spraying out like popping a sick balloon. "Don't you want some Theo~!"


He kicked the guts in the other child's direction. His breathing was coming out a bit strangely as he rubbed his shoe in the remains of the fish. His neck made an awkward 'snap' and one of his fists shook. "Kids always wanna stand up for themselves, yes sir. I understand. I get it! Standing up for yourself is good, sure is! I admire that Theo! You did a real good job!" He became oddly still for a moment, only the sounds of the fire crackling, before he slowly moved forward toward's Theo and put a single hand on the boy's shoulder. "But ya gotta be put in your place sometime or another!"

Almost faster than one could blink, Earnest brought his right foot up and kicked Theo in the stomach, sending him flying backwards into the wall. The fire seemed to roar as the structure near it shook slightly from the impact.

"It's alright, Theo! I didn't give it my all~!"

Machi nodded to Carmella and immediately began moving towards the cabin. So many children had already been lost, she didn't want to see any more of them disappear. That would be unfortunate... Machi silently climbed the couple of wooden steps to the cabin and swung the door open, her hand opening and closing as more and more electricity continued to course through.

"Hello, Children~! I sure do hope you're all getting along~!" She chimed, her voice carrying a strangely sinister feeling as she eyed each of the children. She took note of Theo lunging at the small bunny boy and snatched him by the collar and lifted him off the ground with a surprising amount of strength. "Aaaaw, are we wrestling? How cute~!"

---

Another body.... Another meal.... still cold...

They kept their jaw firmly closed around the second body they'd found, a young bird girl with a shiny head. She wasn't exactly a tasty meal either, but the smell of cooked fish and roaring fires were near. They began sprinting, girl dragging along with them, as they could faintly make out the sight of buildings in the distance. Log cabins, surely where all this food was coming from.

As they approached camp their sprinting slowed to a crawl, the sound of two women talking causing them to kneel close to the ground as they tried to listen (and understand) what they were speaking about. Before they could get a good listen, a thump was heard from the side of the wooden structure. They growled at this and approached the structure. Yelling and bumps could be heard from inside. 

They'd need to scare them off if they were to get food...

They bit down tightly on the girl's neck one last time before using their strength to hurl the body at the wall, causing one enormous "THUMP" in hopes of scaring the people out of the cabin.