Everyone followed Mort's gaze to watch the kid running off on her own. A collective exasperated concern settled over the assembly; clearly they couldn't let the girl annihilate herself. Most of them, starting with Zahir and Gallia, moved to try and stop her. Talic of all people flinched, instinctively trying to hide himself in a surge of panic, which Mort found more than a little interesting. He couldn't be scared of armed strangers, since he just waltzed into a gathering of them four strong. Since Mort couldn't in good faith suspect an allergy for teenagers he guessed that Talic might just be on the lookout. [i]Bad nerves ain't a good look for you, big man,[/i] he thought, but he said nothing. Saying rude things to strong, selfsure people accomplished nothing unless one managed to be both a loner and masochistic at once. The correct response, Mort so often found, was silence.

At that moment there came a noisome sound from the woods. While unmistakably the bellow of some animal, it belonged to no creature Mort knew, and given his occupation as a well-traveled hunter that boded ill. [i]How close?[/i] he wondered, though unable to tell. Sound could carry a long distance, but he would have been happier had he not heard anything. Though determined to slay the Beast, facing off against it under the cloak of night was tantamount to diving face-first into hell. A ferocious predator would have every advantage, and its would-be hunters none. They might not even see it as they got picked off one by one. The logical course of action seemed so obvious, so taken for granted even, that when Ardonne approached and asked about it he shot her an [i]are-you-serious[/i] sort of look.

“Nah, we're planning to stumble through the dark and hop straight in its mouth. Just figured it'd be the...polite thing to do, you know.” He removed his darkened glasses, now a distinct liability with the sun going down, and slipped them into an underarm pocket. Judging by Ardonne's look, both in appearance and apparel, she'd never seen or had to prepare for a serious fight. Mort took a deep breath as Heddwyn offered that yes, in fact, the group ought to make camp outside the Beast's domain. For some reason he seemed to be looking at Gallia, as if the gone-soft stood as an authority on the matter. Mort had assumed from the beginning that the makeshift team would be making camp together; such a bonding activity could be the only possible justification for gathering right before sundown, the worst possible time to initiate a dangerous hunt. For the sake of the newbie Heddwyn explained that camping together would also increase the team's understanding and solidarity. Mort, meanwhile, took a quick hike around to scope out a spot. 

A couple hundred feet away from the main path, and even farther from the edge of the trees, a number of large rocks lay in close proximity atop a knoll. They looked worked, probably by people breaking off stones to use for the cairns. Regardless they provided some security, as well as natural chairs, and the knoll beneath them gave anyone there a vantage point from which they could see the surrounding terrain. [i]No surprises[/i]. The number-one rule for picking a spot to camp. A location needed to be either so secure that no intruders could breach it, or far enough away from cover so that a watcher could spot any threat before it got too close. Who knew, after all, if the Beast roved beyond the confines of its territory after dark. “That's a fine spot,” Mort said, pointing it out. No doubt anyone else with substantial wilderness experience under their belts would say the same.