Field Trip (Jaeden & Sam)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sam would have to admit that he wasn't the keenest trapper. His people had been hunters more than trappers, and so using snares was new to him.

"I just bought the ones I saw..." He looked at the snare. "I suppose this could work either way. Should we start with the easier one and move on to the lifting snare next time? Or, well, I have the bird snare, too, so we could do a lifting one with this... and a regular snare for the bird..."

He left it up to Jaeden; he was the teacher, after all.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden chuckled slightly, shaking his head. “No, we’ll go with a regular snare. Considering our time frame, it’ll be wiser.” Jaeden answered motioning towards the choke point for Sam to place his snare. “We’ll only get three bells sleep if we spend extra time making lifting snares. After all, there’s no telling how long it will take to bring down an Elk once we find one.” Jaeden then waited patiently, observing how Sam set his snare and where, his gaze occasionally slipping up towards the sky to check the suns positioning, noting the time. With any luck, they would be able to set all their snares before coming across any elk tracks. This way the snares would have time to catch something during their hunt and field dressing of the animal.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"There," he said finally. It wasn't pretty, but it looked like it would hold. He wanted to watch Jaeden set a few before he set his bird snare. There was something to be said for an observe-and-copy method of teaching sometimes.

"How's that?"

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden slowly leaned forward, overlooking Sam’s setup for several seconds. Soon, he gave a quick nod before pushing himself from the tree. “That’ll work.” Jaeden said before motioning Sam further on. A few bells would pass by as the two of them made their way through the forest. Same would notice that Jaeden was causally making a circle the more they walked, rather than heading strait out in one direction. Such kept their traps not too far a walking distance from the camp itself, allowing them time to check the traps and collect them or any prizes they housed before days end, provided it didn’t take them to long to find an elk. Shortly after laying their last trap, Jaeden paused before a familiar set of hoof prints in the ground. A slow rub was given to his chin as he examined them for a short time. They were fresh, but small. The elk itself wasn’t likely past it’s second year. He slowly gazed over his shoulder at Sam for a moment before looking back to the tracks. It would have to do, considering they only had one day to hunt with, and it was a better way to break Sam into the hunt itself. “Alright,” Jaeden then said with an exhale, slowly standing, “we’ve got tracks for our hunt.” Jaeden then stepped aside, thumbing Sam towards the tracks. “Let’s see if you can follow them,” Jaeden said offering Sam his bow and an arrow. “If you find him within two bells, you get to take the first shot.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

At the challenge, Sam stopped thinking over the bird snare he had set, trying to figure out anything he could have done differently to improve its efficacy. But now there was a new fish to fry, so to speak, and so he accepted the bow, half drawing it once, twice, and then a full draw to get a feeling for its tensility. Satisfied he took the single arrow from Jaeden's quiver and crouched down to examine the tracks.

While this wasn't the grasslands of Cyphrus, he had been paying attention to Jaeden's previous instructions and things were coming back to him now. His hunting had been mostly a matter of luck of late, but now he was going to learn to do it right.

Once he had gotten the sense of direction, he looked down the path and put his fingers into one of the tracks. He wasn't sure he could tell if the dirt was warmer for the passing of the animal, but it was good to get into the proper habits.

"That way," he urged.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden slowly followed behind Sam as he observed him following the tracks. His hand slid out another arrow from the quiver, tapping the end of it along his leg lightly. He would keep one out for the time a second shot would inevitably have to be loosed. As Sam continued to follow the tracks, Jaeden checked them himself, dipping his fingers into the center of one of them. The track was still a little moist at it’s center, the edges of the track dried and cracking slightly. The track wasn’t that old, but it wasn’t that fresh either. Gazing over the area a little further, Jaeden soon spotted some droppings of the elk. There was no smell in the air of such, but it too didn’t look that old. Chances were that the elk passed by the area about a bell or two ago at the most. Unless something spooked it along the way, causing it to flee, it was likely Sam and him could find it within the allotted time Jaeden gave him. “Lead the way Sam, and keep an eye out for bush snakes. They linger around in this area.” Jaeden informed, keeping his hand near the hilt of his long sword for any sudden surprises.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Oh, good," he muttered, of the bush snakes.

Now that he had the trail, he tried to pick up speed without losing it or stepping on something that would bite him. He wished Horse could be with them, but Horse wasn't dainty enough a stepper for this sort of work. In any event, Sam was getting the skill back a bit.

He paused and crouched again to see if anything was changing.

"I think we're getting closer," he murmured, then up and hurried along until he pulled up short and pointed to the elk grazing. When Jaeden just nodded, he pulled the bowstring back to his ear in one deft motion and sighted along the length of the arrow until it was aimed to the best of his abilities at the elk.

And then he let fly.

[Jaeden Kincade]

The twang of the bow shouted out for a split second as Jaeden watched the arrow fly from the bow in Sam’s hands. His bow looked so much more impressive from the observer’s perspective. It sort of amused him to think of all the times he fired the bow himself, but only saw the arrow flying, and not the bow in use itself. Immediately after the arrow was loosed, Jaeden tapped another arrow along Sam’s shoulder, alerting him to it’s likely necessity. Indeed, the arrow would be needed as the first shot flew strait into the Elk’s foreleg, causing a shriek from the animal and a sudden run as it took off on a northerly course. “Alright, we’ve got it wounded, but not finished,” Jaeden said before gripping Sam’s shoulder when it looked as though he were about to give chase. “Slowly. The less we chase, the less it will run. Hunter’s track, after all.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

"Shyke," he muttered, taking the arrow, nocking it, and waiting, watching for the elk to settle so he could take another shot without the added complication of movement.

He nearly vibrated with the tension between his good sense and his compassion; he did not want the elk to suffer unduly. When Jaeden released his shoulder, he half-stepped for a better angle, aimed and let loose again with a muttered prayer to Caiyha to ease the elk's suffering and to feed the men. Sam, at least, was getting hungry.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden observed carefully as the second arrow was loosed by Sam, this time flying strait and true before piercing the elk through the neck. The elk stumbled forward, running for a short distance more before it began slowing it’s pace to a sluggish walk. Finally, it fell to the ground, it’s body twitching slightly. “Hmm,” Jaeden said simply, with a hint of approval in his tone as he began walking towards the fallen Elk. The Elk’s legs continued to twitch slightly as they approached. Jaeden stopped about ten feet from it, observing it’s movement for a moment before his slipped his hand to Sam’s shoulder. “Nice shot, looks like you nicked the bones along it’s neck.” Jaeden then slowly reached behind his back, pulling out his knife. “Wait here, just in case it can still get a good kick in.” Jaeden began circling around the elk until he was behind the animal as it laid on it’s side. Cautiously approaching, Jaeden held his knife out to his side, his hand not far from the hilt of his sword in the event he would have to drop his knife and switch to the longer blade. With no sharp movement seen, Jaeden eventually knelt down in front of the Elk’s back, hovering over it for a moment. Then with a quick swinging motion, Jaeden plunged the blade of his knife into the Elk’s chest between it’s two forelegs, the tip penetrating deep until it found the heart. It took only a short time after that for the elk’s chest to stop rising and falling, showing that it’s breathing had stopped and that it was now dead. Pulling the knife free, Jaeden slowly stood up, looking over the kill. “And that’s a successful hunt,” Jaeden simply remarked then before looking to Sam. He slowly held out the knife to him, a smirk on his face. “Ever field dress an animal yet?” Jaeden then simply asked.