Closed Hunting in the grassland (Khida)

[Gieren]

Spring, 20th, 513 A.V. Gieren was moving away from the city of Endrykas, stepping lightly through the grass, feeling the cool air against his back as he started to disrobe. He was out of sight of most of the people from the city, but close enough he could still see it so he would be able to make his way back. He was heading out to do some flying and hunting, eager to feel the freedom that went with being hundreds of feet above the ground. He removed the last of his clothes and set them to the ground in a heap then stepped away from before closing his eyes. In a blur of light, Gieren’s human form was replaced with a falcon whose wings immediately spread open to their full width and began to flap strong and steady, lifting the bird above the grass. Positioned in such a way that the wind blew from behind, Gieren left the wind do the majority of the work in helping him gain flight, ushering him forward and higher. Quickly the ground seemed to fall away from his feet. In a few minutes time, Gieren was soaring through the air, hundreds of feet above the ground, his wing outspread so the wind and air thermals rising from the ground could carry him along easily. With his height steady and the air doing the work for him, his eyes started focusing on the ground, looking for any disturbance on the ground that would betray the location of prey, maybe a mouse or something much more filling along the size of a rabbit. With his head rotating along the line of his neck, switching eyes to which one looked at the ground, he circled lazily, watching, mindful of the city in the distance. There! He saw it! Something moving through the grass in short bursts, trying to blend in with the moving grass. Flying out and around in a wide circle, Gieren watched again, waiting for the small sign of where the creature was. After a moment he saw it again, this time following it was he started coming in lower, going back and forth, approaching it from behind. Closer he drew to his prey, his wings folding back to increase his speed, his talons coming forward and open. He was right on top of the small rodent now, his talon closing shut…on nothing. The creature had swerved to the side, clearly not an amateur to this game. That was okay, Gieren was not an amateur and did not give up easily. Quickly he started to climb higher, circling around in wide circles to track the rodent easily, starting to line up behind it again for another run.

[Khida]

It was a fine day for flying, Syna's light steady and warm upon the earth, heating the air to spiral upwards in thermals which the peregrine had sorely missed throughout the cold season. Khida rode one now, a dark blot soaring on the high air, the grasslands stretching away in her sight like a verdant blanket drawn over the ground below. His camp hardly disrupted the grasses, small and self-contained as it was; but she knew where to look for it, and that made the difference. The city of tents was diminished to a bare handful of dots at the edge of her vision, distant and all but beneath notice for the moment. Rather, she had to herself the vast, all-encompassing expanses of sky and Sea -- and, far smaller, her own idle thoughts, musing on the possibility of an afternoon hunt of her own. Those thoughts were disrupted by the appearance of another falcon below, point-winged shape swooping in from the edge of her vision towards some quarry in the grasses. She wasn't sure what it hunted, but from the hunter's approach presumed some sort of small mammal. Regardless of what it was, however, the falcon hunted in what Khida considered her territory, that area close to the hunter's camp -- and that required a response. The peregrine broke from her thermal to glide above the brown falcon, separated from him by a good deal of altitude but roughly aligning with his flight path. She called down at him -- kek-kek-kek-kek -- in alarm and warning, notifying the strange raptor that she didn't appreciate his intrusion. That would make him aware of her presence, spoiling any chance she had at ambush, but raised the chance of him retreating peacefully -- which was to be preferred.

[Gieren]

Gieren was closing in again on the rodent with Syna behind him, casting his shadow forward over the small creature, adding to the ominous aura of behind hunted. He was sure he would have it this time, a delicious snack and treat to add to this wonderful day. His talon was about snap shut in a piercing grasp when he heard the call from above him, the 'kek-kek-kek-kek of another bird. Dismissing his prey, Gieren rotated his head sideways to look up, scanning and finding the source of the call. There above him was another falcon, one of similar size with a light gray underside and dark marks all across. The newcomer, at least to him, was pacing him easily from their height, watching for Gieren's reaction. Clearly he had inadvertently moved into another falcon's territory, most likely one that belonged to a member of Endrykas. Flapping his wings, Gieren pushed himself higher and faster, not waiting for the hot air currents to carry him slowly. Even though the bird was of similar size to him and he knew he would be unlikely to best it in a fight, he was not going to back down either. Gieren was, as much as he could be right now, a part of the Endrykas city and he would hunt around them as they moved. As Gieren gained on equal altitude with the falcon pursuing him, he opened his beak and responded with a single, longer call, a -kiy-ee- that issued defiance and challenge to the intruder of his hunt. At the same time he spread his winger fully and banked around quickly, lining himself up on a horizontal path towards Khida, ready to fight if she did not back down.

[Khida]

OOCSorry, Gieren! Clearly it's my turn to be delayed. Work landed on me with both feet for a bit there. It hasn't entirely let up, either, but I'll try to keep it from interfering again. The other falcon was a kind Khida didn't recognize in the specific, but his body shape was unmistakable. So too was his departure from the hunt and his climb upwards towards her. It was nearly her size, suggesting neither of them would have an advantage in either maneuverability or power, or in speed of dropping towards the earth. Though she didn't think about it in quite those specific terms: only the sense that they were evenly matched. Given that, the peregrine was not about to sacrifice the advantage of height she already possessed. As he climbed, she did the same, always turning to keep one eye on the opposing bird. Khida called another warning to him, this time using a different pattern -- high-pitched, strident kak-kak-kak-kak -- one which would hopefully convey that it wasn't just a matter of hunting. This was her home ground, her nest, that she was defending and if he continued to press the matter -- well, she wasn't going to simply give up. Though there was nothing at all suitable in the immediate vicinity for a falcon's nest. No cliff ledges, not even trees -- only the low shape of a tent detached from the city, tucked almost unobtrusively into the grasses. But she'd given enough warnings. Coming about to face the other falcon, Khida bent her wings in and dropped, adjusting the angle of her tail to keep herself on track for the second raptor. It was a harassing dive, meant to make him shy away when she pulled out just overhead -- but she would follow through on its implied threat if she had to.

[Praetorian]

Your Diligence Has Been Rewarded! Gieren Hunting +1 XP Interruption! Preparing for an Aerial Battle Different Falcon Calls Khida Intimidation +2 XP Intrusion! Preparing for an Aerial Battle Different Falcon Calls Notes : Short but interesting thread! Sorry it did not progress further! Have any questions, comments, or concerns? Feel free to message me.