Junior Ranchers

Synopsis
Three months have past since the incident at The Manticores Tail. Though Team Phoenix has been reading the news papers and listening for talk, no other murders have occurred. During the 3 month period Fate and Dain each had Wendy give them a tattoo. Fate got a tattoo of a teacup on his upper arm in remembrance of Ms. Crow. Dain opted for a Giant Toad with a swamp background on his lower left leg to commemorate his transformation during the fight with Lady Vestra.

The session starts on Sept. 7th in Wilderness Survival class with Zekyrr though class this day is taking place not in the classroom, but out at the stables. Zekyrr tells the students that a prankster has apparently let some of his prized beasts out of the stables and we are to retrieve them. Nine Kangalopes have been released into the surrounding forest. The group is given some collars to place around the necks of the beasts that will make them return to the stables on their own, or they can simply herd them back without the collars. Zekyrr does tell the students that Sasha is also somewhere out in the forest, and that she may try to eat the kangalopes. They are told that she wont attack students but are given a flare to set off just in case they encounter her. Team Phoenix is then told to chose a mount to use for the hunt. Though there are 6 students there seem to be only 5 mounts. Rocko takes the Mastiff since all of the others are to big to mount it. Wendy takes a velociraptor names Dagger-Paw, and is told that it sometimes likes to give "teeth kisses". Dalius takes a gat that seems to be somewhat "special" named Ferdinand. Xand chooses a horse named Coppertone, and Fate takes a regal looking goat with a haughty attitude which he names Slim-Pickins'. Dain is left without a mount but is not worried. As they enter the forest he transforms into a Dire Wolf to assist with the hunt.

Working together Team Phoenix is able to round up almost all of the kangalopes. Dain prowled the perimeter driving kangalopes he came across towards Xand, Wendy, and Dalius who would collar them or funnel them towards the stable. Meanwhile Rocko and Fate moved off to the west to look for others. As Fate was approaching a lone kangalope, the ground starts to rumble and all of the students hear a roar and a cowbell. Out of the bushes steps Sasha! As soon as Sasha shows herself, Wendy fires off the flare that Zekyrr had provided to them. Sasha eats one of the kangalopes prompting Rocko and Fate to react trying to herd the remaining beasts towards the stables. To try and buy some time, Dain lets out a challenging howl to grab Sashas attention. The ploy works and Sasha charges Dain and lunges down to bite him. Just before her jaws snap shut, Zekyrr appears in front of Dains dire wolf form causing Sasha to bite his cloak off instead. Zekyrr looks up at Sasha and says "No!" in a stern voice, causing Sasha to hang her head sheepishly and walk away into the forest. With his cloak missing Zekyrr is now standing there shirtless, and the students see that his left arm, chest, back, and front torso are covered in small scarred hash marks. He tells the students they have done a good job and dismisses them for the day.

As Team Phoenix makes their way back to the school proper they see many people setting up decorations for the Feast of Cold-Fires, which is to take place in two weeks time. As they pass one of the bridges they see Abigail, Sigurd, and Monty standing on the bridge dressed nicely and each holding something. Abigail hold a bouquet of flowers, Monty holds a plate of cookies, and Sigurd has three daggers. Team Phoenix approaches to say hello and Rocko asks what they are doing. Abigail tells them that today was graduation day for the remedial class and they are waiting for the three new members for their team, Team Corona. The items they are holding are gifts for the new members. While Abigail is explaining, Fate who has a crush on her, is to afraid to interact with her and decides to walk the ledge of the bridge like a balancing beam in the hopes of impressing her.... It doesn't work. As the two groups talk the three new team mates arrive and they are introduced to Monica, Tess, and Jocelyn. The new members explain that they were held back in the remedial class because of a pact they had made to all graduate together. When Jocelyn failed the test for setting her partner Gary on fire, the other two girls failed on purpose so that they could graduate with her at a later time. At that point, Gary walks up and puts his arm around Monica and with a lisp says "How you doin' beautiful?" His whole manor shows Team Phoenix why Jocelyn set him on fire. He eventually leaves and the two groups continue to converse. Tess gets some mushrooms off of Wendy, while in the background Fate tries to do a back flip on the ledge but ends up falling into the water. After some general nightly activities everyone goes to bed and Rocko has a nightmare, and that is where the session ends.

Player Characters

 * Dain Sarkas
 * Wendy
 * Dalius
 * Xand
 * Fate Silver
 * Rocko

New

 * Monica Addams
 * Tess Bean
 * Jocelyn Jagger
 * Gary
 * Sasha

Returning

 * Zekyrr Kenrahel
 * Abigail Moonshard
 * Sigurd Sigurd
 * Monty Lillard