[Sanctuary] If It Moves And Tastes Good Kill It (Open)

[Kavala]

Timestamp: 86th of Winter, 511 AV
Purpose: Hunting
Location: Sanctuary and Surrounding Lands
Status: Open To All

They'd done hunting of another type the day before. By prior arrangement Kavala had picked up a wagon load full of supplies, namely flour, sugar, and a ton of salt all in barrels to use as food stores for her staff and family. The salt she needed in massive quantities because she'd planned to go on a hunt today and everything they brought back needed to be preserved. She'd also stocked up on extra candles, lamp oil, and some necessities the facility had been running low on. The wagon had been loaded. And on top if it all, in a small crate held three piglets, all different colors, two females and a male from three different litters. The man who'd sold her the pigs had no underground housing and was selling off his late winter piglets rather than take them underground in his allotted space and have to live with them. Kavala had found them cute, irresistible, and had dragged them home knotted carefully on top of the other supplies she had purchased - including unmilled corn and oats for the horses in case they were underground longer than planned and their hay ran out.

With those supplies unloaded, horses were saddled, spare horses were brought up and loaded with gear and everyone was armored up. They were going hunting and planning on culling most of the deer and setting snarelines to take as many rabbits as possible to augment their significant stores.

Kavala had already been out that morning, setting long lines of snares, hundreds of them she'd fashioned from fence wire in lines stretching from Sanctuary outward in a radius of about a mile. Every known rabbit trail, bolt hole, and bunny superhighway had been noted and snares set along. The thin loops of wire were harmelss enough, killing the animals quickly. They'd snare from here until the 91st, then make sure all the meat was properly stored. Either they'd eat it or it would be given to Riverfall once the crisis was over.

The main goal today was... deer. Lots and lots of deer. They wanted to take down as many as they could process realistically and still have strength to continue preparations. And so, just after the first morning light, the hunting party rode out, more than willing to pursue any game they could find.

Kavala was hunting with her crossbow, blow gun and paralytic darts, and bola.

[Kadrath Onktaka]

Just as he packed his hunting knife and placed the last saddlebag, Rath seriously considered buying Lammas off of Kavala. He was a good strong horse with a lot of potential for hunting. He wasn't a fancy rider, but as a trainer, he could appreciate good horseflesh; especially when he'd been training it for two full seasons now.

Kadrath's only weapon was his Lakan which definitely wasn't a normal hunting choice. He did however, have Fidens, Rock and Chain as some of the fastest, most lethal moving weapons in Riverfall. And that's exactly what he was trying to breed and train them for.

Sometimes a person just got too busy to focus all his time on specialized weapons or snares. It was more efficient to train a pair of animals for a mere two seasons and have them at peak performance in much less time than standard weapons. He didn't mind working hard, but working smart should always be a part of it.

All three animals had had a very minimal breakfast, keeping them keen for the hunt. Fidens watched and waited patiently, knowing this was the prelude to a hunt. Rock and Chain were slightly familiar with the process and were keyed up to get moving with nervous energy. Fidens took the lead with Rock and Chain on left and right point, respectively. The small group formed a perfect arrow shape and made the most adept use of each member.

His mind wandered unerringly to Raiha as he approached the hunting party with animals in tow. Hopefully Rock and Chain would watch Raiha's renown Deerstalkers and learn some valuable behaviors. The breed he was trying for was multipurpose, but everything about the Akinva breed just screamed custom made for taking out deer.

Physically, they had the wide strong muzzle to hold onto the throat for as long as necessary with the nose placement to still breathe freely during the take. The excessive muscle could easily pull down the largest buck as well as mentally, they had the tenacity to not let go, even if a horn tried to gouge them. And their fearlessness was hand made for feisty Riverfall deer that grew enormous and were never an easy thing to pull down.

Although Fidens already knew how to hunt deer, it would be the first time for Rock and Chain. He fervently hoped that they would gain courage, learn from and model the wiser behavior of Raiha's champion Deerstalkers.

"Miss Kavala." Kadrath acknowledged with a respectful nod of his head.

OOC :

Sorry it took so long to respond--I got caught up in so much to do!

(When Rath speaks and when Uruk speaks.)

[Levakys]

Hunting The perfect opportunity to work on a few of his skills. For one he could honor Akajia on this day by working on his stealth. The perfect setting would have been to work on this during the night sky, but he understood that life was not perfect and learning to handle life during those 'moments' was what was important. He would also get to gain some experience with his longbow. Those who had true dead aim took every opportunity they had to perfect the talent. Not many chances arose to practice aiming on a moving target, so Levakys reveled in this chance. He had made sure the day before that his arrows were sharp and his bow string was fresh and tight. Maybe he'd get lucky while he was out. Could he possibly stalk a deer and kill it with his Lakan? Levakys would definitely find out. The hard part would be his complete in experience at tracking. Unless he came upon one from a distance and unnoticed, Levakys knew he would not get the prospect during this trip. But the main contention of this trip, though any occasion to practice one's weapon was a good one, was to help supply the city before the lock down took place. The flags had been set and the vision from the Konti was never something to be taken lightly. Chevan did what was right for the survival of the people. Levakys and his father had a discussion over this very topic the night before during dinner. Levakys would do whatever was asked of him during this crisis which included vigilant prayers to Wysar on behalf of Akalak everywhere. Levakys made his way to the gathering for this hunt and acknowledged the person leading this expedition with a bow of his head in respect. He did not hold the same disposition that some might have on a female leading, it was more the reserved nature of the konti people that had him curious. he'd never been led on anything by a konti woman. He did not hold an opinion and simply put his faith in Wysar that since this hunt was for the best interests of Riverfall, that his deity would see it through. Levakys did not own a horse, so he only hoped he would be able to keep up ...

[Raiha]

It was a known fact that you had to get up early to hunt. When you did it their way, you didn’t sleep much at all.

The moon was still overhead as Raiha took Diallo, her suvai, mace, and lakan, plenty of tea in a big waterskin, venison jerky, cookies, and fruit out and went along the wagon path, dressed in her many layers. She settled herself on a hide in the snow beside the path, Diallo sitting on the leather beside her, and keeping a guard out. She exhaled, and closed her eyes, before drawing in another breath from the belly, her ribs, chest, lungs... exhale. The steady, calming repetitions of breath helped clear her head and focus, meditating, before reaching for that inner core that she needed for the bigger tasks with reimancy, that well of pure energy that she stored and contained. Akontaks had far more than they had any right to, and in her mind’s eye, Raiha sunk both hands in it to her elbows. Something had had to be done about the terrain, after all. If they were taking the wagon, they needed to be able to pass it through.

While Diallo looked on, alert and watching for any threats who might come for his vulnerable mistress, res poured off of her, floating and hovering over her like a fine mist, pulling out more and more. She exhaled, then, spreading it far out over the path, just wide enough for the wagon to pass by, and sunk the res into the snow, turning it into hot water, turning that long stretch into a muddy river that surged outwards, following the slope before running out, and Raiha exhaled again, blinking and sipping the herbal tea, munching on a cookie, recovering and replenishing her djed stores, resting, stroking the dog’s fur. Half a bell later, she got up, shaking the hide off, and headed for the next leg of the road that needed to be turned into frozen, rock-hard mud, walking over the heavy crust of snow that, while supporting the weight of her and the dog, would definitely not tolerate for horses.

She began the ritual again, and repeated it throughout the night, walking back along her handiwork before the dawn arose, and headed straight for bed, stripping off and climbing in beside her mate, too tired for once to do anything but sleep, tucking herself in alongside of him and stealing some of his bodily warmth, for once. Raiha had gotten her gear organized before she left on her nightly excursion to clear the road, so that as soon as she was up, she could get dressed dressed and geared to go. It took her a lot longer than normal to get out of bed, but given the circumstances of her nightly excursion, perhaps that was understandable.

When Raiha dragged her blue butt out of bed, she fed Yakini first before going to tend to the birds and the deerstalker dogs, to give the mare time to digest and settle before riding. She could take Uzima and Chuki out later with Rath to look for smaller prey, to catch what had been smart enough to miss the snares. She watched the birds eat, listening with satisfaction to them. The relatively peaceful scene was broken as Kiwidinok complained in her flight, demanding more. She didn’t starve the eagle, but she was keeping her hungry today. She would get prey as they hunted, turning her to more and more. Of course, that could backfire if someone beat Raiha to the eagle’s kill, because eagles had a tendency to chase others away from -their- prey, but Raiha would just have to be on her guard today.

Raiha was taking her boss pair of Deerstalkers, Diallo and Dara, and decided that Dynm was coming along as well. He needed the hunting experience, was larger than the younger females, though not quite Diallo’s size, and far more aggressive with a tenacity that she approved of. Short bow, lakan, mace - in the event that opportunity arose for a skull to be caved in - joined hunting knife, and though she didn’t expect to have to use any of them but the knife. Kiwidinok would do plenty of work for her. That was the way falconry worked. She and the dogs flushed out prey, the bird took it down, and she removed the bird from it. But if anyone accidentally shot that brown eagle, the mace would likely see action after all. She was a challenge to work with, and that was why Raiha loved it. The bird’s gameness pleased Kanikra, too, though she would never let on. Hunting, at least, was fun. Even if today was all business... it was still fun. It was all in the perspective.

After eating a good breakfast of porridge and dried fruit with more tea, she loaded up on snacks. She was going to be hungry for the rest of the day, as she knew without a doubt. Usually was after expending so much Res. She groomed and saddled up Yakini, checking her hooves for stones or shards of ice, securing her tack. She left her Firemane tied up for now in the stables. She needed to gather the rest of her things before mounting up and heading out. The young Akontak came back in to the mews, began to load up her belt under her layers of cloth with weapons before being drawn by a yelping sound from one of the flights.

Kiwidinok demanded attention.

She grabbed the massive gauntlets she needed for the eagle hen, and privately wondered about finding her a mate before this storm. She didn’t think she would be that lucky - so she would have to wait and see what came in after it, if any animals survived. There just were not enough bells in a day to do everything that she needed to do and wanted to do. Priorities had had to be organized, and finding another golden eagle, and a male, was not high up on that list unless Kelwyn was on her side. She pulled the gauntlets on, going almost to her shoulders, looking at Kiwidinok before opening the doors, extending her arm gravely to the bird perched at her chest height. The hen eyed her before lifting one foot, her awesome talons flexing, before gravely stepping up. Unlike with Kefi or Uzima, or even the little owlets she and Rath had rescued, Raiha did not seek to stroke the bird’s feathers. It required Kiwidinok to be in a more restive mood, and the bird was not interested in being touched right now. She was eager to hunt. Once she was fed, though, by the time she worked that bird into a contented state, then she could scratch and groom her. Raiha threaded the jesses between her fingers before closing up the mews and heading down, climbing onto Yakini’s back and whistling for the three deerstalkers who were ranging about, eager to go.

Raiha’s eyes were on the ground as they started out over the now-frozen mud and rocks, rendered surprisingly smooth by the cold wind that whistled overhead as Kiwidinok shifted restlessly on her arm. They wouldn’t see the deer for a little while yet, and until they did, the eagle would ride with her. She was calm, but eager to fly. She fed off of Raiha’s mood, after all, and if there was one thing that the Akontak was atop of Yakini as the Firemane moved easily under her, it was calm. “Heel,” she told Dynm, when he got a little far off, bringing him back to her, his tail wagging, pleased to be brought along with so many other people and animals. There wouldn’t be any problem flushing prey -today-. “Morning,” she greeted Levakys, recognizing him from the hunting party earlier in the season.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

Today was the day for the hunt. Unlike some that would hunt for sport this hunt was for a very different reason…a more primal reason. Even when people hunted for sport a deep part of them did so because it fulfilled a need. People had been hunting forever, all races hunted; what changed was what was hunted. But the staff of the Sanctuary hunted for survival; because if they didn’t they would perish. Anything they could do to ease the oncoming hardship was gladly welcomed.

He woke early and missed Kavala, barely, as she rode out to set snares and the like. He spent this time doing other tasks, like taking inventory of what he had to use against the herd of deer they were going to hunt down. The best weapon for the job was his longbow matched with broad head arrows coated in a paralytic. That meant all he had to do was hit something and then follow it. And out in the grasslands especially in winter there weren’t too many places to hide. Well it might be a bit of a task to find his marks once they fell if he lost sight of them. So he would just not lose sight of his prey, easy enough.

Quickly he dressed himself and then started layering on his weapons. He would carry today his climbers quiver, daggers, and longbow. He didn’t see much of a use for either gladius he owned. He didn’t plan to fight a deer hand to hand. No, he would get close then loose an arrow in them. Then if he was lucky loose an arrow in another deer. His eyes fell to his halfspear being neglected laying propped against the wall. He had only found one use for it…well tried to find one use for it on a failed spearfishing attempt in Mura. But could it prove to be a little more useful here?

His mind began formulating things he could use it for…Maybe like rabbits he could create come kind of trap with the spear. Maybe just maybe he could think of something later if he suddenly became inspired. But for now he was drawing a blank. Mostly because he had no idea how to formulate a trap of any kind. Maybe if he could get the deer to somehow impale itself on the spear? Now he was making no sense. He would just have to settle with his longbow for now. By the time Kavala came back Serrif was ready to go. Traveling light this hunt wearing his usual winter attire and his breast and back plate; mostly because he didn’t think they would be fighting bandits today. He wore his daggers in the harness and his bow in his hand. This was as ready as he was going to get for today.

With a nod indicating he was ready to go they were off. And just like that they were setting off on the prowl. Predators seeking for prey. To Serrif’s knowledge only Kavala knew where the deer were; he had no qualm following her. Especially since she had a keen eye for animals as well as the tracks they left. He was willing to place a bet that they would be more than successful hunting today. And that it was possible that this herd of deer would be whittled down to nothing at their hands. But, being that a worse fate awaited them from the storm it was more like a mercy killing than anything else.

[Nhara K'tari]

Placeholder