Matches

[Laute]

3rd day of Summer, 513

Night has fallen when he stirs, hidden safely in the dense bushes that cluster at the edges of the pond. A sniff and he can sense no predators within immediate range, no hunters to be wary off. His hearing alerts him only of the rapid heartbeats of prey and he knows he will be hunting before the night is out.

As it is, he isn't hungry just yet and he sits up from where he lies on the ground. Turning his head to the right and he can see his slave sitting on the ground, watching the fire as it burns in front of her. In the enclosed space, the smoke is almost contained by the grove of trees they are resting in. The light flickers off her face, shadows deepening the hollow of her cheeks and giving her a gaunt look.

She looked thinner than she was in the half-light, her knees curled up to her chest. Defenseless but for the short knife beside her. At least she remembered to keep that within arms reach. His slave might have no skills in using it but he has seen what desperation does to an animal.

Rising, he can see the horse now, resting where it stands tied to a tree. Further, the mountainous region is starting and they'll have to abandon the steed. His slave looks up now, attuned to his movement. They have been traveling together for a while now--how long? Six months? A year?

It doesn't matter in the end. Her short hair sways in the wind, brushing the edges of her shoulders. She must have cut it while he was sleeping. Approaching her, he crouches in front of her, trying to see something he can never find.

Just what did his brother find interesting about this human? Her features are ordinary, her behaviour not all that different from the other slaves. A clawed hand cups her chin, tilting her head slightly as he tries to see her from a different angle.

She makes no protest, staring impassively back at him. Letting go of her, he stands up. The slave is strong, at least, not flinching from his touch.

An owl hoots nearby and he looks up at the sky. Through the net of leaves and bare branches above him, he can barely make out the stars. There is plenty of time before they continue traveling and his stomach is empty and demanding.

"I'm hunting," he informs her before he launches up into the tree. The branches are thick and large where he is and he rolls away, folding back his wings before he can hit them. Tumbling through the air, he comes to a controlled stop and brushes the underside of a branch, the rough bark scraping his knees. He hovers there for a moment, making a map of the branches above him and of routes through the web above him.

Then he is off again, flipping over the thick branch and swerving to the left to avoid another one. He isn't quite flying now--it's more of an acrobatic act with the occasional flap here and there to help him out of the grove he picked.

At the very least he's assured no one could attack them from above. A hand pushes off a branch and he vaults over the last large branch barring his path, he emerges at the top of the forest canopy.

The environment here are different than those at home--the trees larger, more ancient. There is age in this forest and in the creatures below.

In a flash he is up in the sky once more, a dark cloud searching for prey.

[Laute]

The night air was cool beneath his wings and he rose higher and higher into the sky. Reveling in the open air, he twirled and tumbled through the sky for a few minutes. After months in the city, his body tied to the earth, this was a freedom he missed. He had almost forgotten how much space there was up here. In man's world there barriers in everything, but up here there was nothing. Just starlight and the ability to fly wherever he pleased.

A cloud passed the moon, small and dark, and Laute could hear the sharp whistle of a Zith hurtling through the sky. Laughter, a grin, his brother playing tricks on him again before hurtling off.

Let's hunt together, brother, and the shadow was gone again.

Laute hovered in spot, staring at the bright moon. The cloud didn't return.

Shaking his head, he looked down through the foliage, listening carefully for the sound of prey. A rabbit thumped near a tree, too small to make much of a meal. To his right, a fox stalked a quail. Larger prey was proving harder to find, and he moved on. Behind him, the girl was still sitting and waiting and he pushed her to the back of his mind.

A heartbeat registered in his ear.

There. Ahead and to the left. A deer, slowly moving through the woods, surprisingly alone. Curling his wings in, he dived down to the tree line, unfurling his wings just before he could hit the top leaves.

Hovering, he watched his prey pick its way over the roots and rocks. Soundlessly, he entered the canopy, folding in his wings so he could easily maneuver the dense branches. The caves he grew up in were like this, and with ease he traverses a branch. Crouching, he holds onto his current branch and silently places his feet a branch below.

Keeping an eye on the deer, he stealthily made his way down to a space ahead of its path. In the shadow of a tree trunk, he sat, waiting. His body remained crouched, his knees bent and ready to spring him onto the deer.

The deer continued to trot, unaware of the danger above it. A twig snapped beneath its hoof and it paused. Laute stilled, holding his breath.

It wasn't enough. Something startled it and the creature started to run. Without a second thought, Laute dived into its path, scaring the animal even more as his claws swiped its hide. His body bumped against the earth, stunning him.

While he was an experienced hunter, the woods were still something else entirely. His claws wounded the deer but not enough to stop it. Hurt and frightened, it made a sharp turn and dashed through the woods.

Getting up, Laute tried to make his way through the woods. The trees were thick and hard to navigate, and after a few minutes he stopped. The deer was nowhere in sight and he had to stop. It was futile to continue to give chase like this. Instead, he'd have to search from the sky.

[Laute]

Soaring through the heavens, Laute paused when he heard a small wail. It came from somewhere near him, and he searched the ground as he waited for the cry to come again. When it did, he tilted a wing and banked, moving in a circle as he pinpointed the noise.

It was coming from behind him, in the direction the deer ran. Moving down, he could spot in a clearing a large ditch and the deer moving around it. It would try to climb the dirt walls, only to slide back down in a spray of pebbles and earth.

Easy prey. He wrinkled his nose at the thought, especially as it had already escaped him and would have stayed that way if not for the ditch. This was no hunt.

However, food was food, and he was hungry. Frowning, he sighed and swooped down, landing on the edges of the pit. The deer wheezed, terrified, and desperately tried to climb the bank opposite of the Zith.

His brother would never have needed to kill it.

Swiftly, he pounced on the deer, his claws digging deep into the creature's flank. Twisting and kicking, it tried to free itself, but he held it tight. His fangs crushed its neck. Pushing the bucking creature down to the earth, he applied more pressure to his claws until it slowed to a stop. Its heart beat faintly, ever so faintly, before there was only silence.

Bothered, he picked up the deer and flew into sky. Heading back to Aditi, he ignored his irritation and focused instead on gutting the creature later. There were some herbs still in the horse's packs, herbs he picked as they traveled through the wilds. He could try a different combination today, see what was created.

Just before he alerted the girl to his return, he dropped the deer in front of her. She started, bumping against the tree as she moved back, before looking up at him.

The impassive stare was back on her face. Did she hate him? He wasn't quite sure, she never let anything other than annoyance or impassivity appear when she was with him. Awe, when she saw something new, but never directed at him,

Surprise, maybe even fear, however, was new. His lips curled up into a smile as he landed on the ground.

[Laute]

Aditi returned to her position before he returned, her arms wrapped around her knees as she stared at the firing. Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched her as he cleaned the carcass.

He was sure she watching him, secretly. In the moments when he was paying more attention to the body than to her. A silence hung in the air as he cleaned, loud with the sounds of insects and memories.

They were still unused to each other. Laute wasn't even sure why he still kept her.

Using a claw, he gutted the creature carefully from neck to tail. Pulling apart the soft skin at its belly, he tried to peel off the skin carefully. Still unused to skinning animals--Zith's had no use of the fur even if humans did. A novice, he tried to use his claws at first, using them to pull and break the fur from the belly. Meat remained on the fur as he cut and after several minutes, he stopped.

A different approach was needed. Humans used a knife, and while he was loathe to use it, it would serve the situation better than his curved claws. Taking the flat surface to the fur, he slid the sharp edge under the fur and through the meat.

While he wasn't good at separating the meat from the fur yet, it was much easier to pull the fur away from the meat.

When he was done, he was left with several fur sections. Maybe Aditi could put them together into something she needed. Or maybe they could trade them instead. As they headed further north, she would need warmer clothes.

Happy he was done with that task, Laute passed some of the meat to Aditi. Her cooking skills were meager, improving slowly with each village they passed. The flavour varied with each attempt while still remaining edible.

As he gnawed on a bone, he glanced up at the sky. The moon was still high, leaving plenty of time to travel before the night was done.

Soon, they'd arrive at Kalinor.

[Flyaway]

XP Awarded:
Detection: 2
Observation: 3
Stealth: 1
Hunting: 1

Lore:
Precise Areal Maneuvering
The Freedom of Flight
Attacking From the Sky

Item Awards:
1 Deer Skin

Notes:
I noticed you mentioned herbs were collected! Be very careful consuming those herbs without knowledge of them being edible.

If you feel as though I've graded unfairly, or have any questions, PM me and we'll work it out!