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<blockquote data-quote="projectdaedalus" data-source="post: 654033" data-attributes="member: 8846">The Joy of the HuntJackson Flaherty took one look at his Elven companion and wondered if this was really the wisest thing he could be doing.&nbsp; After all, he had just purchased that Simpsons Season 2 Boxed Set on DVD, and sitting in a nice warm living room in front of the TV seemed a much better place than crouched on a snowy rooftop with a crazy Russian elf.Ivan released the safety on his IMI Galil Sniper Rifle as he slightly adjusted the sight.&nbsp; &quot;You can never be too careful with the sight, my friend,&quot; the elf said as he meticulously tinkered with the adjustments.&nbsp; &quot;It is lifeline, or perhaps I should say deathline to target.&quot;&quot;Yeah,&quot; Flaherty replied, &quot;I get it.&nbsp; What are we doing up here again?&nbsp; I'm freezing my ass off.&quot;Sitting back for a moment against the air conditioning unit behind him, Ivan looked at his human ally.&nbsp; &quot;I have been knowing you for six months now, da?&quot;Flaherty still couldn't get over the Russian accent.&nbsp; &quot;Yeah.&quot;&quot;You are not one to complain about weather,&quot; Ivan said.&nbsp; &quot;Maybe you get too old for these things.&nbsp; I know the humans age quickly so I better to ask now than to find out later.&quot;&nbsp; The elf went back to looking down at the street corner through his scope.&quot;Nah man,&quot; Jackson replied.&nbsp; &quot;I just -- sometimes you go off on these wild goose chases, y'know.&quot;&quot;I am not hunting goose,&quot; the elf responded, not getting the colloquialism.&nbsp; &quot;It is dark elf I am after tonight.&quot;Ivan saw something through the scope, and Flaherty saw the elf deftly move his right hand to the trigger.&nbsp; Jackson looked down to the street and saw three gang-bangers gathered near the lamppost on the corner.&quot;You're looking for them?&quot; he asked.&quot;No,&quot; Ivan replied.&nbsp; &quot;They work for dark elf Siagath.&nbsp; I look for him.&nbsp; He is in big trouble, I think.&nbsp; Even at night, he is afraid to go out.&quot;Flaherty scanned the street for anything else of interest.&nbsp; It was pretty deserted.&nbsp; &quot;So what are you going to do, shoot them?&nbsp; I don't think that's going to get you any closer to this Siagath.&quot;Two more gang-bangers appeared, bringing the total at the street corner to five.&nbsp; After a minute, a white Chevy van pulled up, and all five men jumped inside.&nbsp; The van pulled away, down the street and out of view.Ivan sat up and started to dismantle his weapon.&quot;So that's it?&quot; Flaherty asked.&nbsp; &quot;We came up here to watch some guys get in a van?&quot;&quot;Now, he is alone,&quot; Ivan replied.After they climbed down from the tire store, the pair went back to Ivan's truck, and the elf put his sniper rifle in the back.&nbsp; Ivan picked up his M4 assault rifle, and closed the tail gate.&quot;Do you ever use the sword?&quot; Flaherty asked, looking at the weapon in the sheath on the elf's back.&quot;When mood strikes me,&quot; Ivan replied.&nbsp; &quot;We go now.&quot;&quot;Wait,&quot; Flaherty said.&nbsp; &quot;We don't have a plan.&nbsp; I need to have a plan.&quot;&nbsp; He was hesitant to follow this elf into certain danger without so much as an idea of what was going on.&quot;Plan is to sneak into apartment building and kill dark elf Siagath, da?&quot;&quot;I don't know,&quot; Jackson replied.&nbsp; &quot;Things are never that simple in my experience.&quot;Ivan looked at Flaherty, scanning for a hint of doubt.&nbsp; &quot;If you want to stay here, I understand.&quot;The elf took off running toward the other side of the street, barely making a sound as he went.&nbsp; Flaherty thought about it for a moment and then followed.&nbsp; They ended up next to some overgrown foliage near the wall that surrounded the abandoned apartment complex.Flaherty unholstered his .44 Magnum revolver and held it in two hands.&nbsp; &quot;I've got a wife and kids to think about,&quot; Flaherty whispered.The elf was silent as he peered into an empty parking lot beyond the wall.&nbsp; There were no signs of activity.&nbsp; Ivan worked his assault rifle's grip into one hand, and crouched at the edge of the wall.&nbsp; He beckoned his human friend to follow, and took off again, this time aiming for the western half of the apartment building.Flaherty followed, and after scampering across the open parking lot, flattened himself against the wall next to Ivan.&nbsp; The elf peered around the corner toward the northern side of the parking lot and saw nothing.Just as he was about to take off again, Ivan caught something out of the corner of his eye.&nbsp; He held up a hand to Flaherty, indicating that they should not move.&nbsp; The elf pointed toward the sidewalk beyond the parking lot, and Flaherty saw a group of people coming toward the apartments.&quot;Who the hell are they?&quot; Jackson asked in a whisper.&quot;I do not know,&quot; Ivan replied in the same hushed tone.&nbsp; &quot;But maybe we abandon mission for now.&nbsp; We need to go now before they see us.&quot;Ivan took the lead again, rushing across the parking lot to a section of wall on the southwestern corner of the complex.&nbsp; The group they had seen entered the parking lot, and Flaherty could barely make out anything other than their numbers - between 8 and 12 of them.&quot;They've got some balls.&nbsp; Not even armed,&quot; Flaherty remarked.Apparently, Ivan recognized them.&nbsp; &quot;No need for weapons,&quot; the elf answered.&nbsp; &quot;We must leave immediately.&quot;The pair fled the scene, and made it all the way back to Ivan truck without being spotted.Jackson holstered his revolver and gave Ivan a terrible look.&nbsp; &quot;Are those what I think they are?&quot;Ivan nodded as he opened the tail gate and put away his assault rifle.&quot;Should we tell Daedalus?&quot; Flaherty asked.&quot;Nyet,&quot; Ivan replied coldly.&nbsp; &quot;Siagath is mine to hunt and destroy.&nbsp; I will not involve others.&nbsp; Not yet.&quot;Flaherty and Ivan drove off, avoiding the apartment complex and whatever was going on there.&nbsp; On the way back to his house, Flaherty wondered what drove Ivan to hunt orcs and dark elves, and realized he might never understand his friend, the hunter.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="projectdaedalus, post: 654033, member: 8846"] [b]The Joy of the Hunt[/b] Jackson Flaherty took one look at his Elven companion and wondered if this was really the wisest thing he could be doing. After all, he had just purchased that Simpsons Season 2 Boxed Set on DVD, and sitting in a nice warm living room in front of the TV seemed a much better place than crouched on a snowy rooftop with a crazy Russian elf. Ivan released the safety on his IMI Galil Sniper Rifle as he slightly adjusted the sight. "You can never be too careful with the sight, my friend," the elf said as he meticulously tinkered with the adjustments. "It is lifeline, or perhaps I should say [I]death[/I]line to target." "Yeah," Flaherty replied, "I get it. What are we doing up here again? I'm freezing my ass off." Sitting back for a moment against the air conditioning unit behind him, Ivan looked at his human ally. "I have been knowing you for six months now, da?" Flaherty still couldn't get over the Russian accent. "Yeah." "You are not one to complain about weather," Ivan said. "Maybe you get too old for these things. I know the humans age quickly so I better to ask now than to find out later." The elf went back to looking down at the street corner through his scope. "Nah man," Jackson replied. "I just -- sometimes you go off on these wild goose chases, y'know." "I am not hunting goose," the elf responded, not getting the colloquialism. "It is dark elf I am after tonight." Ivan saw something through the scope, and Flaherty saw the elf deftly move his right hand to the trigger. Jackson looked down to the street and saw three gang-bangers gathered near the lamppost on the corner. "You're looking for them?" he asked. "No," Ivan replied. "They work for dark elf Siagath. I look for him. He is in big trouble, I think. Even at night, he is afraid to go out." Flaherty scanned the street for anything else of interest. It was pretty deserted. "So what are you going to do, shoot them? I don't think that's going to get you any closer to this Siagath." Two more gang-bangers appeared, bringing the total at the street corner to five. After a minute, a white Chevy van pulled up, and all five men jumped inside. The van pulled away, down the street and out of view. Ivan sat up and started to dismantle his weapon. "So that's it?" Flaherty asked. "We came up here to watch some guys get in a van?" "Now, he is alone," Ivan replied. After they climbed down from the tire store, the pair went back to Ivan's truck, and the elf put his sniper rifle in the back. Ivan picked up his M4 assault rifle, and closed the tail gate. "Do you ever use the sword?" Flaherty asked, looking at the weapon in the sheath on the elf's back. "When mood strikes me," Ivan replied. "We go now." "Wait," Flaherty said. "We don't have a plan. I need to have a plan." He was hesitant to follow this elf into certain danger without so much as an idea of what was going on. "Plan is to sneak into apartment building and kill dark elf Siagath, da?" "I don't know," Jackson replied. "Things are never that simple in my experience." Ivan looked at Flaherty, scanning for a hint of doubt. "If you want to stay here, I understand." The elf took off running toward the other side of the street, barely making a sound as he went. Flaherty thought about it for a moment and then followed. They ended up next to some overgrown foliage near the wall that surrounded the abandoned apartment complex. Flaherty unholstered his .44 Magnum revolver and held it in two hands. "I've got a wife and kids to think about," Flaherty whispered. The elf was silent as he peered into an empty parking lot beyond the wall. There were no signs of activity. Ivan worked his assault rifle's grip into one hand, and crouched at the edge of the wall. He beckoned his human friend to follow, and took off again, this time aiming for the western half of the apartment building. Flaherty followed, and after scampering across the open parking lot, flattened himself against the wall next to Ivan. The elf peered around the corner toward the northern side of the parking lot and saw nothing. Just as he was about to take off again, Ivan caught something out of the corner of his eye. He held up a hand to Flaherty, indicating that they should not move. The elf pointed toward the sidewalk beyond the parking lot, and Flaherty saw a group of people coming toward the apartments. "Who the hell are they?" Jackson asked in a whisper. "I do not know," Ivan replied in the same hushed tone. "But maybe we abandon mission for now. We need to go now before they see us." Ivan took the lead again, rushing across the parking lot to a section of wall on the southwestern corner of the complex. The group they had seen entered the parking lot, and Flaherty could barely make out anything other than their numbers - between 8 and 12 of them. "They've got some balls. Not even armed," Flaherty remarked. Apparently, Ivan recognized them. "No need for weapons," the elf answered. "We must leave immediately." The pair fled the scene, and made it all the way back to Ivan truck without being spotted. Jackson holstered his revolver and gave Ivan a terrible look. "Are those what I think they are?" Ivan nodded as he opened the tail gate and put away his assault rifle. "Should we tell Daedalus?" Flaherty asked. "Nyet," Ivan replied coldly. "Siagath is mine to hunt and destroy. I will not involve others. Not yet." Flaherty and Ivan drove off, avoiding the apartment complex and whatever was going on there. On the way back to his house, Flaherty wondered what drove Ivan to hunt orcs and dark elves, and realized he might never understand his friend, the hunter. [/QUOTE]

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