A Quick Outing

    This far away from Sadala City, beyond the stretches of the Vegeta Region as a whole, the scene began to look more familiar to Lottus. And, as it should - the vast majority of his life had been spent in these canyons, these wastelands. Gigantic swaths of the planet that had been burned away by the war between the Saiyans and Tuffles - decades of artillery fire, energy blast detonations, and rampaging stampedes of out of control Oozaru foot soldiers that stamped the lands flat.

    From nine years old, to eighteen years old, he'd spent his days in this region during that war. Always on the front lines, and always being sent where the hardest push back came from the Tuffles. Some of those battles, he remembered vaguely. Some had been such a route, that the memories were seared into his mind as some of his platoon's greatest achievements. Achievements that he hardly cared for now. And it was during these battles where Lottus achieved mental control over his Oozaru form.

    Before the war's end, Lottus had abandoned his posting, driven to near madness from the agony splitting his skull on a daily basis; the Kingdom, his supposed comrades, his superiors - none of them lifted so much as a finger to deal with the Destron poisoning that set his blood on fire and gave him intense migraines. Well, one would have. But by then, she was already dead. And Saiyans seldomly mourned the dead on the battlefields. Emotional pain was always better put to use as a motivator to destroy the Tuffles, after all.

    He'd seen thousands of Saiyans die horribly out in this part of the world. Platoons slaughtered, spattering the stones and dust with blood and carnage. And then he'd spent roughly five years in his self imposed exile from the Kingdom. All those years, all of that death.

    It all stood in stark contrast to right here, and right now. A baby bundled and strapped to his chest, gazing around at whatever her eyes could make out in their limited range of sight.

    "There we are..." Lottus rasps, gazing down at the distant ground. His eyes fell upon a disk shaped hole in the ground that, from this distance in the air, looked very much like a void with spider webs spreading away. In actuality, it was what remained of one of the region's Great Lakes, and the spider webs leading into it were once the rivers that flowed in and out of it. Now, it was dry as a bone - but occasional rainfall sometimes partially refilled those rivers and some of the former lake - but never enough to recreate what had been lost. Still, the area was a favored territory for Saiba Beasts of various species.

    Lottus descends into the bowl, landing somewhere near a lip of the formerly massive lake, and strikes the ground with the blunt end of the wooden spear. His daughter burbles, eyes wide and trying to take in the new images as Lottus absently scratches his fingers where her back would be. Out here, the lands were not quite suitable for most life - but Saiba had managed to adapt into virtually every ecological niche possible.

    Once such example would make itself known - disturbed by Lottus' very sudden arrival, something in the ground rips itself free from the red clay! Lottus hops back, as even some of the ground he stood on began to shift and break, as a great beast makes itself known. Six spindly legs stab into the ground as the creature turns to face Lottus, and two great pincher claws snap shut and open again in warning, sounding like trees cracking with each act. Two great antennae flick along the thick carapace of the creature's back, and a pair of great red eyes and a deep frowning mouth of three rows of sharp teeth turns to the Saiyan.

    Lottus' daughter watched the entire spectacle, and he made no attempts to flee.

    "See that? That's a Rigid Kingcrab Saiba." Lottus says, grinning wide as the giant crab that was easily the size of a single story house sized Lottus up, clearly trying to determine if he would make a good meal. "Pincher Saiba grow into these, if they can live long enough. Lots of meat under that shell - but they don't taste as good as when they're still small."

    The Kingcrab Saiba suddenly lurches one of its claws at Lottus - an experimental attack to test its potential prey. Lottus squats low, much to his daughter's amusement judging by the gurgling, avoiding the claw as it snaps shut where Lottus' torso had just been moments ago.

    His eyes snap wide, and a seemingly invisible force hammers into the Kingcrab Saiba's face, sending the creature tumbling onto its back. In a panic, the beast flails, trying to fend off a potential attack at its now exposed underside. But Lottus merely straightens his posture, and watches as the beast flips back over. Not wanting to mess with whatever it was that Lottus had done, it clearly decides that this prey was not worth injury to get the meal, and it scuttles away in a loud hurry that kicks up dust clouds.

    Small, green things squeak and uproot themselves to get out of the Kingcrab Saiba's path - spiny, spikey little Saiba that had evolved to absorb nutrients from the ground, rather than by eating other creatures. Those were Cactus Saiba - a relatively common sub species. They were small, typically - even smaller than Tuffles - but he'd seen some reaching pretty good heights if they find a good source of nutrients in the soil.

    The Saiba took up some dozen, perhaps even two dozen different animal and plant groups in an ecosystem. These were only two of those examples; Saibadactyles were vicious aerial pack hunters, Saiba Raptors too were pack hunters but just stuck on the ground. The pinnacle of all Saiba species and their sub species was the Saiba Rex; a monstrosity that was capable of killing a typical Oozaru - and the stripped of flesh skeletons of Oozaru one could sometimes find were testaments to that apex predator.

    Lottus turns his attention away from the scurrying Cactus Saiba and the escaping Kingcrab Saiba, leaning his head back and sniffing at the air. There was a reason he liked hunting here - the carved riverbeds and lake bowl made the air flow differently than it would in most places - and that allowed him to pick up on scents more easily.

    "Mmmm... I smell... some lunch..!" Lottus chuckles, a glint of violent anticipation in his eyes. He looks down at his daughter. "Let's see what we can do - I'm going to make sure you grow up knowing how to hunt - can't rely on those foul smelling formula's forever, after all."

    With an approving gurgle - or at least that's how he chose to interpret it - Lottus readies the spear in his free hand, and begins to run towards a great stone archway...

---

    Had these been people, Lottus was certain he would have gotten an earful from Jagaimo or Zuqetta. Probably both. What remained of the Saiba hunting party was left in heaps on the ground... and the rock walls... and the boulders... and the pathway... and on an overhanging stone arch. Well, bits and pieces of them are everywhere really - except for on Lottus himself. Jagaimo would rip his head off if he came back with both himself and their daughter spattered in Saiba blood.

    "Not so scary, are they?" Lottus smirks, poking at his daughter's nose. "In a couple years, you'll be helping with hunting! That's when things will be even more fun!"

    Walking away from the carnage, Lottus spends the next hour or so following after the recent tracks left by the young adult Saiba Rex. He'd come across something... else out here, which looked like some kind of humanoid bug monster. It was fairly strong, which was an enticing prospect - but with Rapini here, he decided not to test his luck. It being no threat really to him didn't mean it wasn't a threat to his daughter if he decided to engage it.

    So he didn't, leaving the giant thing to its own devices. Lottus does, however, eventually come upon a rather shallow water source. Judging from it, and poking a hand in the water, he guessed that it must have rained here a day or two ago. Muddy tracks from his quarry could be seen around the water's edge, so it certainly stopped here for a drink.

    "Water's warm... not deep enough to hide anything." Lottus remarks, and starts pulling his daughter out of her coverings. "Bath time, kid. I can still smell that mess you made from before. That, or you farted something fierce. Let's get rid of that, eh?"

    He still had to be careful - she isn't strong enough to control her own motor functions yet, so Lottus dug into the mud, making a makeshift 'seat' for Rapini to lay sitting up in, and piled up the mud behind her head to rest it on. Clearly, she liked the new experience, given the squeaking and the flailing splashing. All the while, Lottus let his senses extend outwards, keeping track of anything even remotely nearby.

    But as Jagaimo had taught him - not everything could be sensed. As such, his nose was also on the lookout for anything unusual...

---

    "HAAAAAAAHHHHGH!!!" a pitched squeal reverberates through the air, bouncing off the canyon walls.

    "WHOAHOHOHO! Easy now!" Lottus snickers, holding onto his daughter. In response, probably unintentional, Rapini kicks Lottus in the jaw, actually managing to turn his head with a little loud SMACK! She was wriggling and flailing - but her eyes were focused.

    Focused, on something fluffy - some animal Lottus doesn't recognize. It was small, well, small-ish, and had a flat face with wide round eyes. The fluffy fur on its face gave it an almost oval shape, and the smattering of orange, grey, and white patterns across its furred body were clearly suited to keeping the animal hidden from flying predators.

    It definitely was not a Saiba Beast of any variant. It sat with an air of presumed superiority, or so it appeared to Lottus. A thickly furred tail swipes the rock it roosts upon, and it gazes judgingly down at the Saiyans, particularly at the squeaking, squealing thing, as if affronted that the baby was making any noise at all.

    "Eaaaasy Rapini, take it down a notch." Lottus chuckles, helping her get untangled from the cloth strappings. Holding her in the crook of his right arm, Lottus leans her forward just slightly, so to not let her head swing forward, and allows her feet to touch the dusty stones. She stares at the fluffly thing, huffing every now and then and flapping her arms - which Lottus had come to recognize as excitement. She had the same reaction to seeing Jagaimo. "You can look, but we don't know if its fur is poisonous. No touching."

    Rapini ignores him, clearly, still huffing excitedly as she stares at the creature that sat with an assured knowledge of its majesty. He wasn't sure what these things were, having not seen them before. But looking at it, he could tell there was not nearly enough meat on its bones to even qualify as a snack. Thin, triangular ears twist and turn, listening to other sounds - or probably trying to NOT hear Rapini's squeaking so loudly.

    Lottus lets his daughter watch the creature until it gets bored of the Saiyans, slinking away between narrow rocks and out of view. Rather than wrap Rapini back up, Lottus just keeps her in the bend of his arm, moving quickly as he follows after the scent of his quarry. Finally, after more than four hours since he'd left home, Lottus spots his prey.

    A Saiba Rex - this one red - moves about in a gorge.

    "Alright kiddo - back in you go..." Lottus mutters, bringing Rapini up and slipping her back into the wrappings. In that moment, she starts wriggling again, hands opening and closing repeatedly. Lottus grimaces, and glances at the Rex. "You're hungry now?"

    He quietly snorts, and reaches into his satchel, pulling out another cylinder and presenting it to Rapini, who voraciously latches onto it.

    "...Not so fast." Lottus mutters, glancing from her to the roaming red Saiba Rex. Did the different color mean anything in particular? Was it tastier, perhaps? Was it stronger? It probably didn't matter. The Rex, for its part, didn't seem to be in a rush to go anywhere; which suited Lottus just fine. He had it now - if it moved, he would just fly above it to keep track. He'd just have to wait until Rapini was finished.

    Seven cylinders later, she finally seemed to be content. Lottus makes sure to secure her as tight as feasibly without applying too much pressure, and picks up his spear. Feeling particularly mean after having to wait, Lottus picks up one of the cylinders, and hurls it at the Saiba Rex! An audible CRACK sounds through the air, and the beast roars in surprise and disdain, its great crimson eyes searching for the source of the apparent attack.

    Now amused, Lottus picks up another cylinder, and cracks that one off the beast's brow! It howls in anger, and finally spots Lottus!

    "GWAHAHAHA!! About time, you stupid beast!" Lottus laughs. It thunders at Lottus, and charges - each heavy step shaking the ground! Lottus twirls his spear in hand, and takes up a military spearman's stance, grinning ear to ear. "Let's play!!"

---

    The smell of a good campfire was always a good smell. The scent of sizzling Saiba Rex meat, searing over the fire with smoke adding to the favor? Wonderful! Lottus had taken everything he intended to use from the beast - and the rest of the corpse had been discarded some half mile away from where he chose to make a campfire.

    Only two large tail steaks cooked over the flames - the rest of the meat had been drained of blood, wrapped up, tied, and hung from a tall dead tree. All of that meat, he'd take home. Some would go to the Brawl Hole, the rest would be stored for his and Jagaimo's use. Rapini was fast asleep, snoring away as Lottus tore into the cooked Saiba Rex tail steaks. Lottus chewed without a care, when he noticed something... a glinting light.

    ...Glinting? Lottus stops chewing, spitting out gristle after swallowing down the edible portion. There it was again, that glint. And another, this one to his left up on the hill about half way... And another at ground level to his right... Lottus' eyes narrow. He'd left his scouter back at Jagaimo's... his home. He didn't need it, but now, he just might have needed to have it.

    Lottus slowly stands up, his eyes moving from one glint to another.

    "That's sunlight being reflected..." Lottus mutters to himself. "There's no crystals out here..."

    A flash - not a glint - straight ahead. Lottus' reflexes kick in, and his left hand blurs, appearing in front of his face in time to catch something. A second later, a sound like KRAKOW thunders through the air. Lottus opens his palm, and a bullet drops into the dirt.

    He had found the remains of a campfire before...

    KRAKOWKOW!! Two more bullets, but Lottus slaps them out of the air. In an instant, Lottus hurls himself not towards the shooters, but over Rapini, who was sleeping in a bundle of sticks and cloth made to make her comfortable while he ate. The instant he had moved, three more shots had zipped by where his head had been, and Lottus gathers up Rapini, keeping his back to the shooters to protect her.

    Bounty hunters? Deserters? It didn't matter really. They were about to die.

---