[Sweetwine Woods] Together, The Hunt Is Better

[Kali'rial]

38th Saun, 717, Very Early Morning?

Standing at the edge of the Sweetwine Woods, Kali'rial stood with her golden eyes closed, breathing deeply the scents of the woodsy grove ahead of her and letting her newly granted senses take over. Before her like a curious pull or echo, the huntress could make out all the warm bodies and pattering heartbeats of the prey animals in the woods, a blessing of her Velduris Mark.

The end of the season was just trials away, and so this would be the last time the brunette Sev'ryn would get to hunt these woods for a while, herself and the sunkissed bard leaving on Vhalar first for Desnind.

For home.

Beside her, Sarkis whined softly and put his cold nose in her palm, stirring the woman to open her eyes and look down at him with a smile.

"Sorry. I didn't realise how much I've fallen in love with Scalvoris. It's changed, so much of me. For the better of course, it's just kind of sad to think that in just over two trials the suns will have set and I'll be heading back to Desnind for the first part of Vhalar." Leaning into the stroking of her hand on his ears, the large wolf spoke to her.

"Sometimes it is easy to not know what you've got till it's left you." Chuckling the brunette nodded, before shifting to hold The Huntress in one hand and kneeling down beside Sarkis.

"Wise words my friend." Wagging his tail, the amber eyed canine licked her cheek, before letting his tongue loll happily from his mouth.

"Alright, there's something deeper in the woods. Maybe a deer, or a hafrein? It's not small, that much I know. Shall we hunt the Sweetwine one last time?" Sarkis made a little yelp of agreement, jumping away slightly and sniffing at the game paths, ready to run at her signal.

[Qit'ria]

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"Speech"

Qit'ria yawned lightly as she continued along the heavy trail she'd been following since the previous day. A small family of Hafrein deer had led her from her normal hunting grounds into this wood she didn't know existed. But she was glad to know it now. It felt like home. Not quite as big or lovely, but still, a fond reminder of a proper forest. Qit hadn't seen the family for quite some time, but she was purposefully keeping her distance. She knew they slept during the day for the most part, so that's when she'd slept too. But the odd change in sleeping habits did take a small toll on the huntress. She felt a bit sluggish, still rubbing the sleepies from her eyes.

When she'd first discovered these tracks the morning the day before, she knew them to be Hafrein, with their longer front points and small dots on the back end. Four depressions in total. She'd found four larger sets and two smaller sets. This led her to believe it was a family of six, four does possible, and two fawns, since males tend to travel alone. A large family indeed, and just one of them would do her good. The hides sold well enough, and the meat would sustain her.

She wondered what sort of uses the hooves could be. She knew bones had many of their own, from weapons and tools, to boiling in water to make a stew from the inner bits, when desperate for food, even if she'd not tried it herself yet. She promised herself that if she took down one of these deer, she'd test it out, and find a use for the hooves as well.

Gripping her javelin tight, she pushed onward along the trail, knowing she still had plenty of time to catch up before they bedded down. Barefeet stepping lightly, she saw a change in the tracks. They had been steady, straight onward, seemingly with a specific destination or purpose in mind. But now they seemed to be ambling. The hooves seemed to stop, being deeper and less spread out. Qit studied them, realizing they were pointing away from the game trail, but not actually leaving it. So Qit cast her eyes to the side, and smiled. There were bushes there, and it seemed the deer had chewed on many of the leaves there, as the close by leaves were missing, yet those away from the trail were still intact.

Reaching out, Qit took a handful of the leaves, she couldn't identify them, but still, she popped one in her mouth. Chewing it up, she blanched at the taste but refused to spit it out. It was terribly bitter, and dry, and chewy. She dropped the rest of the leaves, seeing some green, chewed gunk down below. Groaning she swallowed the leaves. Even the deer didn't like these leaves. And so, the huntress pressed onward, deeper into the wood, still following the hooves. But taking careful steps now, unsure of how close they might be, and not wishing to spook them into running.

Created by Yolande

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[Kali'rial]

38th Saun, 717

Grinning at the wolf's eagerness, Kali'rial sent him one silent word.

"Go." Sarkis immediately phased into spirit form and disappeared into the woods, scouting silently ahead and sharing his knowledge back to his bonded via the telepathy they shared. The Sev'ryn moved quickly and confidently through the undergrowth on bare hunters feet, her movements quiet as she followed her pack mate and her unique Velduris senses.

"Not deer, something bigger. Smellier. A hafrein herd, young and old. Here but-" Sarkis' commentary cut short suddenly, and the brunette felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise. There was a monstrosity in these woods, something undead and angry, who seemed think it guarded this place. Kali felt that maybe, just maybe this time if she encountered it she could probably do some damage, perhaps even kill it.

Hunt evil where it lives. That had been Karem's directive. Nocking her bow quickly, the southerner called out to the grey furred beast.

"Sarkis?! Sarkis!" Running now, the brunette drew her arrow taught and burst through the foliage where she could feel the wolf's presence, ready for the fight.

It wasn't the bone monster though. It was just another hunter. More specifically, it was...

"Qit'ria?" The huntress lowered her bow and smiled at the woman a little awkwardly.

"Apologies I thought you were something else." She looked at the spirit wolf and raised an eyebrow, watching as he looked between the other Sev'ryn and herself.

"This is a friend, a fellow hunter from my home." Kali'rial said to the wolf silently before looking back at the tanned woman.

"Are you hunting too?" She asked with genuine interest, a gleam in her amber eyes. In the brunette's opinion, the hunt was always far more exciting when done together.

[Qit'ria]

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"Common Speech"
"Xanthean Speech"

Qit'ria crept along the hafrein deer's tracks when she heard the telltale sign of pursuit. There were footsteps pounding lightly over the forest floor, brush rustling as whatever it was ran closer to her. Qit'ria skipped backward, pulling her javelin up to a ready position, putting herself partially behind a tree trunk, within its comforting shade. If she were being attacked, she wanted whatever little advantage she could get.

The foliage burst forth in front of her, and Qit'ria's arm was already moving forward to throw her javelin at whatever might be attacking her. Except... she recognized this monster-that-isn't-a-monster-at-all. It was the only other Sev'ryn woman she'd met on this island, Kali'riel. Qit'ria quickly tightened her grip on the javelin and even though her arm had committed to the throw, she allowed it to follow through as to not be injured. This led to the javelin arcing downward and spearing into the dirt in front of the surprised huntress.

For a brief moment, Qit's temper flared, both at Kali'riel for startling her in such a way, and at herself for not being more controlled, and having nearly skewered a forest brethren. Glare softening a bit as Kali quickly explained the mix up, only to lead to more questions from Qit.

"How did you think I was something else? Did you not see me before you attacked? Or ambushing anything that comes along?"

Jerking her javelin free of the dirt, she tapped it against the tree to loosen the remaining dirt, before cleaning it upon her trousers. Looking up, she caught Kali's eyes staring at seemingly nothing, before falling upon her own. It was as if she could see something Qit'ria could not. She felt a pang of jealousy, wondering if it was Kali's familiar. Qit had been seeking hers for many years and was beginning to worry she'd never find it.

"Yes, I've been tracking family of deer since yesterday. They must be close, they've started to stop to eat, and soon, seek out nesting spots. What are you hunting?"

Created by Yolande

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[Kali'rial]

38th Saun, 717

As the javelin speared down in the ground before her Kali’rial jumped back with a start, Sarkis taking corporeal form and snarling at the other Sev’ryn with gleaming orange eyes and bared white teeth. The huntress reached out and touched the wolf, sending him a silent thought to clear up the issue.

”Stop! It’s an accident Sarkis.” The wolf huffed and licked his lips, dropping the aggressive stance and sniffing at the ground between the two women. The bow wielding huntress nodded at the large beast before looking back at Qit’ria with a shake of her head.

”It was this one here, my companion as a Wolf-Walker. I sent him to scout ahead and when he ran into you I thought it was the undead beast that lives in these woods.” She said it matter of factly, as though the Bone Rattler was common knowledge. Coming up closer to Qit’ria, Kali scanned the ground around them with a slow nod.

”Could be deer, could be oh-deer. Given how violent and dangerous this place is, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s oh-deer.” Turning her amber eyes back on the other huntress, she looked distant for a moment.

”I can sense there’s hafrein in here. Bigger than deer, but not a threat. In that direction. That was my original intent.” The brunette nudged her chin to the left of them, before turning a sly smile on her fellow Sevir.

”Ahead of us though, I sense a herd of something. An adult and maybe some youngsters? I can’t tell from here if they are regular deer or something else.” Her grin was almost wolfish, complete with her Velduris Marks for good measure, the prospect of a good hunt almost intoxicating.

”Care to come with me and find out?”

[Qit'ria]

Qit'ria cocked her head at the mention of the undead creature that Kali mentioned. She snarled at the very thought of it, the undead were beyond unnatural. They truly shouldn't exist. Such a beast should be hunted and slain without mercy, it would corrupt a perfectly good forest if left to its own devices, she was sure of it. Why hadn't any of the local hunters put it down yet? To do so would be a great honor, both as a hunter, and a protector of the natural forest.

Qit'ria listened carefully, for she'd learned at their meeting that Kali had been here longer than she, so she'd know more of the creatures in this area. Oh-deer, a dangerous type of deer? That was most interesting to the huntress. Outside of self defense, typically the only time deer were dangerous were males during rutting season or females with young ones. But even then, the danger was lower than even most predators. Qit'ria hoped to see these 'oh-deer'.

Qit'ria wondered what Kali meant by sensing a herd nearby. Surely she couldn't hear or smell them? Or was this another benefit of being a wolf walker? She wrinkled her nose at the thought of being able to sense the prey magically. It lessened the hunt, she felt. But she still needed to eat, and there would still be the thrill of watching the unsuspecting prey, to take it's life so that she could continue to live, to show its brethren that she was the beast most worth being feared.

Giving a bit of a smirk, Qit'ria nodded at her Sevir companion. The woman had indicated that the beasts were nesting to the left of them, so Qit'ria looked to the sky. But this perpetual summer sunshine, coupled with being so far north, the sun rarely left its position in the sky, except to rise or set. She couldn't get a direction based off that. She'd have to improvise. Crouching down, she grabbed some of the dead leaf litter from the forest floor, and gently crumbled it in the air around. The debris floated toward the herd's direction. She shook her head, and stepped further up and away from it, and sprinkled once more. The wind was soft, but seemed to be in a gentle flow in that general direction. That would carry their scent well.

Qit'ria didn't know much about wolf companions, but she assumed that he'd have a scent to him. But she wasn't dumb enough to just crouch down and sniff at a wolf without permission. They'd need to be smart about this, or else it would be yet another hungry night for the huntress. Grabbing a stick, she cleared a space in the dirt, whispering lightly, already trying to reduce anything that could help give them away. She drew a circle in the dirt with sticks pointing out from it, "Deer." She then drew three pointed objects to the left of the deer. "Us." She drew squiggles between the two objects, "Wind blows our scent to the deer. We don't want them to smell us coming. We need to sneak around, attack from the sides."

She drew a path from their markers up and around the deer from the left, "You, Sarkis." She then drew another around to the right, "Me. I will go here. I will signal you." She did her best impression of a mourning dove's cooing. It was terrible. A bit scratchy, a bit too rushed, and a bit too sharp. But an attempt was made. "We attack them from both sides, try to stir up a panic, get what we can in the chaos."

Qit gave Kali a few moments to speak her mind on the plan. Then the huntress slipped off to the right of the direction Kali had indicated for their prey, already crouching low, her feet moving from dirt to living grass to stone, but never falling atop noisy debris. She eased around the brush, contorting her body so as to not rustle the branches. She gave a wide berth, so as to not risk her scent being caught. If she'd had longer, she would've covered her scent, but time was short. She kept her eyes toward the general direction that Kali had indicated.

Looking out over the brush, she could see large breaks in the trees, a clearing of some sort. She ignored that. Deer would never bed down in the open like that. She continued onward, until she could see the area she was eyeballing turn really dark from the extra thick canopy. That alone seemed perfect. Heavily shaded would be ideal for deer to hide in. Stalking around a tree, Qit paid attention to her breathing, keeping it soft, shallow, quiet. Peering through the trees, Qit couldn't quite make out what was there, if anything. So she waited, not yet giving the signal.

[Kali'rial]

38th Saun, 717, Very Early Morning?

Kali nodded at the plan, taking her side whilst Qit took hers. Sarkis phases into spirit form, scentless and unseen, padding to take position at the centre. When the time would come, he would spring into action and become solid mass again.

The wind blew gently, Saun’s burning suns hot on their backs. As they approached the huntress confirmed they were not oh-deer, merely regular deer. At least two does, a buck and potentially three foals snuggled down in the undergrowth. She waited for the other huntress’ signal, bow drawn and ready.

Suddenly from the sky without warning, a flurry of white wings and fur dropped onto the two does, causing the other deer to bolt instantly. The brunette Sev’ryn lept to her feet, signalling Sarkis to take down the closest of the two bizarre predators. It was a large cat, or most of it was, fluffy and built mostly for snow. On its back were two huge owl like wings, flapping even now as it prepared to leave with its bawling deer.

“Take their wings out!” She called to Qit’ria, releasing an arrow to clip the strange beasts wing. It howled angryily, dropping the deer from it’s clutches to meet the bulk of the wolf as Sarkis phased into sight.

A Pantheon, Kali has seen them perched on the rooftops in Scalvtown but never on the hunt. If they could take them down, the pelt would be worth quite a pretty penny.

For the second Patheon, it gripped the back of the second does neck, looking at Qit with a deep feline growl, ready to flee or fight.

[Qit'ria]

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Kashehino Text

It seemed they weren't the only predators out here right now. The moment Qit could see the antlers of the buck, to confirm it was a deer, the flying creatures attacked. She watched as the pair of catbirds gripped at a deer each, and began to flap their wings heavily to lift them and fly off. She heard Kali's command, watched an arrow fly, saw a deer drop from the creature's grasp. It seemed that one was much more interested in Kali and Sarkis now.

Qit'ria burst from her hiding spot, snarling at the catbird, to hold its attention. She roared in challenge, an attempt to make it think she was there for the deer. As she did so, she watched its wings. They flapped heavily downward, and rose back up like a wave. But as the wings crested, straight up in the air, nearly meeting, they hung for a moment. It was brief but it was the only time they weren't in continuous motion.

Qit skipped forward, and hurled the javelin at the beast, as the wings flapped upward. The throw was a bit higher than she'd like, but it plunged through one wing, and into the other, near to the tips. The catbird snarled and dropped the deer. Qit drew another javelin, dancing around to the side of the beast, who was attempting to extricate the spear from its wing, howling in pain.

She hurled the second javelin at the broadside of the beast. It sunk into its shoulder, but this beast wasn't build like a deer, nor was her throw strong enough. It bit into the muscle, but wasn't deep enough to hit a lung or heart. Drawing her shortsword, Qit'ria proceeded closer. The beast was wild with pain. It turned on Qit'ria. It snarled and pounced at her. She dove to the side, avoiding the claws and teeth, but was struck in the hips by its uninjured shoulder. This threw her off trajectory, and she was struck against a fallen tree hard.

The deer that hadn't run off yet, did so now, fleeing straight toward Kali. Qit'ria rolled away from the log, and faced the catbird who was turning toward her, slowly from its injuries, Qit'ria's javelins still sticking from its hide. The catbird snarled once more, biting at the air, and Qit'ria answered, slashing with her sword at nothing.

This time Qit'ria charged, getting close, and stabbed at the beast. It tried to bite back, and both of them missed the other. Qit'ria pulled the blade back, and went for a slash while stepping forward. The catbird shirked back and swiped defensively with a wing. Qit's blade bit into the limb and it screamed in pain. Qit'ria pressed forward again, when the catbird tried to bolt forward. It charged through her, tossing her aside with its shoulder, trying to half sprint, half flap to freedom.

Qit'ria chopped downward, and struck the beast in the back. Her sword embedded into the spine, and the creature lurched forward, and fell into the dirt. Qit'ria didn't relent. She leapt atop the beast, and slipped her blade under its neck, and pulled it against the skin. The skin flayed open, and the creature's blood spilled out. And Qit'ria howled in victory. She looked over toward where the other catbird and Kali were, to see how they were faring.

[Kali'rial]

38th Saun, 717, Very Early Morning?

The Pantheon and the wolf met in a flurry of teeth and claws, Sarkis’ growl a deep sound of anger mingled with that of the cat-bird. He phased again, and the beast fell through him to the ground, only to find the solid wolf on its back tearing at its feathery wings with his large canines. It yowled in pain, twisting to swipe at him with curved claws.

As the deer panicked it bolted directly towards Kali’rial, but she was ready, bow drawn and arrow nocked. Without hesitating she jumped back to let the creature pass, tawny eyes focused on the scene ahead as the pantheon wrestled with the wolf. Each swipe was met with nothing but it’s own body as Sarkis phased out and back again, the creatures pale fur now blotted with its own blood.

“To me!” She ordered, Sarkis phasing out and slipping away from the cat as it turned to leap at the huntress, claws out and ready to tear her to pieces. Releasing the string, her arrow flew with force, plunging deeply into the predators chest. It landed heavily in the dirt, sliding along with the momentum of its leap, till it came to a stop at her feet with glassy dead eyes.

Breathing heavily, the Sev’ryn looked for Qit’ria, meeting the woman’s eyes as she stood over the other dead cat. Taking a moment to catch her breath, Kali suddenly grinned at her brethren.

“By the Great Mother’s Light!” She exclaimed with a laugh, slinging her bow over her shoulder. Beside her, Sarkis rephrased and lept up to lick her cheek with bloodied tongue, staining it red. Kneeling down, she drew her blade to start skinning the cat.

Working quickly, helping the other Sevir if required, Kali wrapped the skin of the large cat up and tied it tightly. The meat she would give to Faith. It served no purpose for the huntress, and Sarkis didn’t seem to enjoy the taste of carnivore flesh.

“Well hunted sister.” The brunette said, gripping the other woman’s forearm tightly in good natured farewell, covered in dirt and gore as wild as the forest around them. Sev’ryn and huntresses both, this was their realm.

Their domain.

[Qit'ria]

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Qit'ria watched as the catbird fell to her sister in arms, and was disheartened by the deer that got away. There was a nagging in the back of her head, to not let a prey get away. She went so far as to hiss in the direction the deer ran off, but stayed her hand that was already reaching for another javelin. No. Another day. All prey within these woods would fall to her. A delicious meal to be saved and savored. Shaking out the disappointment, she drew one of her throwing knives and knelt down to the catbird.

Studying its form, she considered the best way to handle it. Kali was skinning it, but it was a bird. Sort of. But the main portion of its body was furred, not feathered, so saving the skin like one might do with birds wasn't really an option. No one really cared for finding hair in their food, not the richest merchant visiting Cally's nor the most feral of huntresses. She rolled it over onto its back, spreading its wings out away from its body. The wings were feathered, so she decided that those had to go. She pressed the knife into the joint, wriggling it around until she found the gap between the bones. And then she stabbed through it, and began sawing away the flesh.

Soon the first wing was ripped away, set to the side, and soon was joined by the other. The legs, also feathered, met a similar fate, until all the was left was head, torso and tail. She set her knife to work, cutting up from the removed limbs until the skin was flayed open. Then, holding down its exposed body, she pulled at the tail. She twisted as she did, until finally, the hide separated from the rest of the corpse, leaving a naked, pink mess behind.

She sawed off its head with her knife, and opened up its torso gently, so as to not pierce any organs. Qit'ria reached in, enjoying the squelching as she plucked each piece of offal out, and set in their own pile. She skewered the meat of the corpse onto a javelin, and used the hide to bundle up the offal as a make shift sack, tied around the javelin as well, turning it into an impromptu bindle. The wings and legs, she tied together with some of the rope she always kept on her person, holding them over her shoulder, letting them dangle down her back. Finally, she picked up the head, and was tossing it end over end in hand like one might do with a ball.

"Much good hunted, lorinïƙä'

And with a feral smile, she slipped away, heading back to her camp, to enjoy the spoils of her victory.

Translation

lorinïƙä' > lori (Forest), nïƙä' (Sister)