Polkitain is probably on watch when Doc is so is probably sleeping in his normal form away from the donkeys so they can get a restful sleep.

 Arulas would take the graveyard watch.

Sixth Sense is the single most used Psi power. I got it too.

Ethan’s body had been changed by the passage through the rift that had deposited him three hundred years in the future in many different ways. Outwardly he appeared more or less as he had before, perhaps a little bit fitter though as a NEMA Combat Medic, he had been in fairly good shape already. The mutations his body had gone through however had included accelerating his metabolism to the point where he could heal from almost any wound and as an additional side effect, his muscles never got tired, no matter how hard or long he exerted himself.

His mind on the other hand, had been affected the least by the strange interdimensional energies. While a full quarter of humanity, so far as he could determine, now possessed psychic abilities, he was not part of that twenty five percent. While gaining still more abilities might have been nice, Ethan was more than pleased with the abilities he had gained, especially in light of the fact his appearance hadn’t changed for the worse as was often the case with uncontrolled mutations.

The lack of mutation in his brain, bedsides not having gained any psychic powers, also meant he still very much needed to sleep. His muscles could perform tirelessly for hours at peak performance but his brain still needed the regular release of REM sleep. So it was that the combat medic was sleeping peacefully and soundly, completely oblivious to whatever had aroused his psychic companions or his wife.

OOC – I figure someone has to be sleeping and with Ethan’s abilities, it would make more sense to put him on last watch, the watch that just wakes up a couple hours early and stays awake until its bed time again.

Okay, Ethan and the mules are asleep. Polkatain was already awake. Nyx was the closest to the approaching creature, so his sixth sense triggered first. Then Arulas and Kalista awoke from their own Psychic prodding. Doc might also be asleep, that's up to him. Either way, I will try to keep this part short.

The wild figure halted when several eyes locked onto it. Polkatain has the best nightvision probably and might recognize the figure as the same cat from the tree which they passed while traveling alongside the river. The jaguar stood on its hind legs and morphed into the appearance of a rugged and muscular woman. The woman held up two empty hands, palms out. In rough Spanish, she spoke, "We have the same enemy. You followed the prints of the machines here, did you not? I have been tracking the riders by scent, the scent of the blood they drink. They are very close."

Hearing a strange voice, Doc stirred, he didn't make any obvious moves to show his wakefulness, but his pistols were in his hands, he listened carefully.

Polkitain yawned and plucked up a cactus to scratch his back with.

"Whoah ! is that what I look like when I change ?" he said to himself and scampered closer.

"Very nice cat costume. Yes were following the deep hoofs." he inhaled deeply to see if he could smell what she could.

Kalista translated the woman's words as she nudged her husband Awake.

Ethan was a soldier and a combat veteran at that. As a consequence, he had long ago become accustomed to sleeping just about anywhere, soundly but able to wake up fully, near instantly. That is why he was immediately alert and processing the words of Kalista the moment he felt her gentle touch.

"Very close?" he repeated softly. "Ask her if they are getting closer or moving away," he says to his wife. He was keeping his voice down and staying off of the radio. If the vampires were using robot horses, there was no reason they couldn't have radios too.

Kalista offered her husband's words in reply translating as he spoke them.

 Arulas simply chuckles. "Shifter? Well this gets interesting."

The woman who was a feline just seconds before stands still. Her eyes lock on the pistols in Doc's hands.In a few breaths, everyone is awake and staring at the strange woman.

She first turns towards Polkatain and answers, "Scaley one, my fur is no costume. What you saw was my true self."

She turns her attention to the group as a whole and continues in Spanish in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear her, "The blood drinkers split their group into two on the trail. One half went westward, and I intend to continue tracking them. The other half remains nearby. They have a lair to the south in the metal house to the west just over the next hill. Hunting them at night is dangerous, but they keep a prisoner inside. The prisoner smells still alive to me, but I do not know how long he will survive. If you move immediately -- well, I make no promises."

"Now, I will continue my hunt."

When someone inevitably looks over the see to see the metal house, this is what is seen (only at night under a red-brown moonlight). There is no body of water anywhere within sight.

"I thought well, I guess I was wrong. Your not a goat sucker are you ? My friends have warned me about them."

nice

"I eat the whole goat, stomach and all."

Polkitain isn't sure if that is better but it is more natural.

Good, that is something more like a normal predator would do. Thank you for the warning and letting us know about the prisoner."

Polkitain takes the silver ax from it's strap and looks off towards this metal house.

Kalista had been translating the owrds of the shapeshifter. When it seemed she had reached the end of her story Kalista finally spoke for herself, first in Spanish and the translating her own words. "Your hunt might cross our path. Is there some way we might identify you and any you hunt with as friendly?"

Doc relaxed his grip on his pistols, hands still near enough someone as fast as Doc could draw and fire easily. "Can't be too careful these days."

“I really have to speak with the rest of the team about dialing back on messing with the baby dragon. Sooner or later it’s going to cause serious trouble,” he thought as Polk mentioned ‘Goat Suckers’. The Combat Medic then carefully peeked over the hill to look at the ‘metal house’ and was as surprised as anyone to find a boat sitting in the middle of dry land. He wondered how the boat had gotten there. Was it a simple case of being dropped off by a random rift or was it a survivor of the Coming of the Rifts? Had one of the massive storms that wracked the land at that time deposited it here on the back of some mammoth wave? “Probably never know” he thought, then returned to his comrades to discuss what to do next.

“So we can attack it now, fighting vampires at night again and maybe save someone or wait for dawn and maybe we won’t save someone but the risk for us drops,” he says, summing up the problem they faced neatly. It was the kind of tactical problem he had always hated for it pitted the safety of his own soldiers against the desire to save civilian lives. He knew some people would argue to charge in, risks be damned. Those were usually the people not in charge for they wouldn’t have to look friends and family in the eyes to explain how their decision had cost the lives of their loved ones. The counter argument, attacking when they had the tactical advantage, daylight in this case, meant lowering the chance they could rescue the prisoner. Then they would have to explain why they hadn’t taken the risk to that person’s loved ones. Yah, he hated this type of tactical problem.

He looked at the cat lady, thankful most of her naked body was covered in fur. As odd as it sounded, it was less distracting that way. “You know the prisoner is a he,” he started, “but can you tell us anything else? Young, old, human, D-Bee, anything else that might help us?” He points to the Caduceus on the left shoulder of his body armor. “I’m a fair healer but if you could let me know what I might be having to fix up in a little bit, that would be a big help. What is a medicine to one is a poison to another,” he says.

Ethan wanted to ask more questions, like how many vampires did the cat lady think were down there but he didn’t want to bombard her with everything at once. He just hoped that he super nose knew the answer to the question.

 " Ethan you are asking the wrong question. It isn't a question of when do we attack, but rather of how do we attack." he simply looks at the twins, Polk, and Kalista. Hoping they understand while knowing that they do. "We go in to that boat as soon as we have a plan. Doc I have a pistol you might want as a backup." he holds his Thundergun out to the less exotic, but no less deadly for lack of psionics. He pats his rifle if the gunslinger asks about what he plans while range. "I won't leave someone to vampires."

Polkitain nodded to Sir Arulas and he showed his Ax.

Doc shrugs, "Silver works good, but if you don't want that fancy pistol, I'll sure use it buddy. More bullets the better."

"I can charge it up for you Doc, just let me know."

 "Not about not wanting it Doc. Just think it might give you an advantage when you need it. Plus I tend to think in there I won't be using guns very much. The fight will be close and personal."

Doc grinned, "Right, and you got your mind sword thing... I can teach you to use the pistol up close too, time permitting." Doc turned to Polk and smiled, "If I need it charged, you're gonna have to stick close buddy. Think you can keep up with Nyx and I?"

"I think so, I am a fast sprinter."

"Should we tear at the metal to get in Doc ?"

Polk realized some of the cactus was still stuck in his back and plucked it out and tossed it aside.  "Those things make good back scratchers but they are so clingy."