In the year he was born, hunting animals were basically nonexistent. If anything, humans were starting to hunt down the alien race that was trying to kill them. One could say that was horrible, but the humans didn't start the Great War, the aliens did. So, instead of worrying about trapping animals for food, all of Earth's resources turned toward fueling the military, their own form of defense. He guessed that one good thing came from it was that other countries started to work together just so that they weren't going to kill one another. Of course, there were insurrectionists that were willing to flip the war on its head by not only attacking the aliens but other humans in the mass amount of chaos. That had been some of the few missions that Project Freelancer had been allowed to do on top of everything else. Either way, no one had to hunt for their food when everything was being processed in large factories. No one cared where their food came from as long as they were able to stay alive. MRE's sometimes in the middle of nowhere could almost be considered to be luxuries on those that managed to get their hands on them.

There was also less of a population on Earth after the aliens did attack, decimating an entire city almost leaving nothing left. But Earth was defended and that's what mattered in the end. Washington hadn't realized how long it had been since he was on Earth, until he realized that he was indeed on Earth at this very moment. It pissed him off because everything here was different and wrong. A planet that had been at war was going to at least show signs that it had indeed been in a war. He should be seeing cities everywhere, but instead, he was only seeing one building that was the observatory. He just hoped that whatever the explosion had done to him on his ship to get him here wasn't going to be permanent and that there was going to be a way back out of all of this. He just had to have a little faith. Faith that was always fleeting. Maybe he had been a little bit obsessive in that regard on doing whatever he can to get himself back. Right now though, the armored smilodon was walking through the forested portion of the territory. It was his daily patrols.

He made sure to constantly stick on a strict schedule, a schedule that no one else was really keeping tabs on because he didn't tell anyone exactly what his schedule was. He knew that his hallucinations were getting worse though due to his lack of sleep. Part of him believed that he could overpower said hallucinations through sheer will. Which wasn't correct, but he was going to try anyway. He was working on 2 hours asleep, which he believed to be acceptable in his current state. The male wasn't able to catch scents as easily though with the way that he wore his helmet. Instead, he was able to hear what was going on, and it sounded like something had happened. The voice was unfamiliar, except for maybe one. That could be both a good or bad thing, as there was a lot to do near the borders of this place if he was going to come across other's that were like him. The lion-sized animal began to trot in the direction of where he heard the panicked voice. Had someone died?

Not like it would matter all that much to him, as he came onto the scene. The situation having concluded itself, as he looked at a cat and Suiteheart. Well, that seemed to be okay now. He still couldn't smell the scent of blood that was in the air thanks to his helmet. His golden eyes though were able to catch sight of something that was familiar. Metal. Thin. He turned his large head to look down at the snare. His heart leaped into his chest. Snares were made by humans. The armored male made his way over toward where the snare was at, using his paw to carefully lift it up and make sure that he wasn't going to potentially get trapped in it as well. "This is a human trap..." Agent Washington muttered to himself mostly, but it was still loud enough for everyone else to hear. "Are these found here quite often?" Increased human activity on Earth was a good thing. But he still didn't understand who would set a trap like this. He wasn't able to tell how exactly fresh it was. His question was directed toward either Gordon or Suiteheart, whoever was willing to answer him. He needed to find these humans, as maybe they could give him some hints as to what was happening on this planet. "speech"

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Before the first scream hit the air, Delta smelled the fresh blood. She turned, her large feet digging into the ground before she ran straight for the source of the smell. Stepping on undergrowth and weaving through the trees with celerity unusual for her size, the teal theropod tilted her head as she heard Gordon's call for help. It seemed to originate from the same place as the scent of blood, so she assumed the wounded animal still lived. Good, because live prey nearly always tasted better than scavenged carrion. She'd already taken down a large boar earlier this morning, but she wouldn't turn down a vulnerable snack.

Bursting through the trees, her feet skidded to a halt - flinging dirt and mud as her momentum quickly decelerated. She smelled the crowd of Ascendants before she got to the location, but she hadn't met Washington yet. Her lips curled as she revealed her sharp, backwards-curving teeth as she smelled the creature with a few puffy inhales. The large one smelled similar to the rest of the mammal packs - and seemed similar in species, albeit larger, than the three creatures here she interacted with previously.

And, of course, the large one's face and front-half of his body seemed covered in a shiny substance. Looking at it reminded her of the cages she knew and the humans' technology. Until now, the remnants of the human's technology in the Ascendants' territory bothered her little - due to the decrepit state and lack of familiarity with her past experiences. But this one's second skin reminded her of the humans' machines and weapons. Forgetting about the injured snack, her dark eyes remained focused on Washington's armor as she took a step closer to him.

Growl in her throat, she flexed her claws as she took a dominant stance, tail lashing behind her. This one seemed half her size and not worth the effort of calling the pack for backup. For now, she spent the next few seconds analyzing Washington's body and trying to decide what to attack; she knew the shiny human bits often proved impenetrable to her teeth. Despite her hatred towards the armor in particular, it seemed the fleshy bits provided the best targets.

[ whoot whoot ooc prompt of delta finding something shiny gave me this idea ]

Humans were always strange. From the time that he had come from, which to him was obviously that this wasn't the same time frame that he was used to, Washington heard of humans hunting the animals that were around here. Washington wasn't sure why humans were still doing that, but it was in the year of 2018. Something that he didn't really know much because that was hundreds of years in the past. The Freelancer didn't think he would have been lucky, or unlucky in this account to travel to a time that he had never heard before. The technology that they had in the first place wasn't something that was going to be helpful to him in the future. At least they had power and were capable of running some technology. A generator that he wasn't capable of accessing things to certain events from the sound of it. Washington didn't know about the strategic ways of those that lived here and why they were so adamant of protecting the generator when they were humans nearby that they could steal it off. Unless they didn't want to start anything with the humans which wouldn't surprise him. If they had any firearms the civilians here wouldn't even remotely stand a chance against them. That was another factor that Washington was going to have to see about the types of humans that lived around here. He knew how to hunt back when he was a human. But that was just because they had been on alien planets and had run out of food, meaning that he was going to have to go and get food from somewhere. They weren't about to starve to death, and some of them didn't even want to use their ammunition to kill potential food. There were those that had set up snares in the forested areas where they had been stationed, and it was from there that they would just have to wait.

Most planets were inhabited, and no one really cared about being extremely moral. That didn't mean that they were going to start eating the trapped animal alive, and instead, they were probably just going to slice the aliens throat so that they could eat it. Although with this method, they didn't know which animals to eat and what ones were basically a gamble either. Some of the marines got sick, while other's were perfectly fine. Those that were used to eating horrible stuff faired better than those that didn't get out enough. He understood why humans would start to set snares if they knew about a large group of beasts that were living out in the forest or near a former building that used to be theirs. Maybe it was a start to try and eradicate what was currently living here. A sign of what to come. Washington wasn't sure if he should warn the Ascendants of the possible dangers of such. So, he kept it to himself instead of speaking out toward those that were currently here. Washington's attention turned back toward Suiteheart when she said that the traps here weren't all that common. At the mention of hoping that this was the last of it, Washington shook his head. "When someone sets up snares they usually set up several of them just as a failsafe to make sure that they get something." After he spoke those words, he realized how strange it could actually sound to those that weren't humans. He almost sounded like he was understanding why the humans were doing what they were doing. At the question of getting the hurt civilian some water, he blinked at her for a couple seconds. It was indeed an order from someone that was higher up than him.

And Suiteheart was one of the more respected members that were here. "Oh uhh sure." Washington had been about to move to go and get the hurt female some water. But he never really got the chance to when Bastille showed up again. The soldier was quick to stand to attention, Suite's order forgotten in case Bastille gave him an order instead. And Washington watched as water formed right in front of his eyes, and he was glad to have a helmet as his jaw basically went slack. What the hell? The domestic cat basically made water come out of his paw. That wasn't possible. He had heard about the stuff that they called was 'magic', but trying to wrap his head around what was happening. The soldier closed his jaw so that he was able to question the commanding officer. "Sir, how did you do that?" Washington questioned calmly, hiding the shock that he had felt for something happening so suddenly. He blinked his golden eyes until he heard something heavy that was making their way toward them. He knew that there were raptors that lived around here. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to see them for a very long time. His head turned in the direction of Delta. Who was a bit taller than he was, but the Freelancer wasn't even remotely intimidated by the likes of a dinosaur. Considering that he was an extinct animal, it wasn't a surprise that there was another extinct animal that lived around here. He had gotten used to that at least, but everything else basically went over his head. His eyes narrowed as he basically felt the tension suddenly start in the air, and Washington moved his body so that he was directly facing the civilian.

Could it even be called that? With the little interaction he had with them, he had yet to hear any of them speak. It growled to him and noticing the way that the other's muscles were moving it looked like it was going to attack him. Well, this was just a great day now wasn't it? The armored smilodon lets a low growl escape his jaws, as he wasn't one to really be violent during his time in Project Freelancer. But that was a time ago. He had changed now. His claws flexed into the ground, as he wasn't going to be threatened by anyone and just take it. He had more respect than that. "Back. Off." Washington would growl the order, but it was obvious that his stance didn't show that he was going to back off anytime soon. When presented with a threat, he usually killed said threat. He was a soldier, after all, he didn't need to have the likes of mercy when it came to war. .The only time that he was even remotely kind was when he was dealing with his teammates. Other than that though everyone had a chance of being attacked if they said the wrong thing. What the hell was this thing going to do? He was pretty sure that the other's claws couldn't make it through the likes of the metal armor that covered his body. He knew that he probably wouldn't win in a fight, but if the other was going to start something no matter what he said, then he was just going to have to defend himself. Even if he was the height of a lion, he certainly didn't have the likes of a muscle mass to back it up."speech"

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