"Knowledge? Is that like what you got when we went to Zeltiva, Lukyc?" Referring to the books he had bought for the road. Though the man was a hunter, one had to have some kind of entertainment when out in the wilderness and not doing ones work.
"No, that is reading, but it is a way to get knowledge. I think what our guest means is he is interested in obtaining new knowledge, a commendable act. I suppose we can go now, though." The man turned and headed back down the hill, gesturing for Fallan to follow them. Issy, likewise, followed, bounding ahead on her longer legs and pulling the tunic off without a thought. It was tossed into the tent before she turned towards them, her form simply dissolving into the flash of colors and reforming into that of the serval he had seen before.
She strode towards Lukyc now as he went to get a few supplies before they ventured into the marsh, the long-legged, slender body of the feline rubbing against his calf and purring noisily, sending waves of delight across the bond to him.
The tidal pony would remain at camp with their supplies. Lukyc had gathered up a few snares he could set and a string with a little bell on it. He knelt beside the serval then and gave her head a stroke, tickling the long ears much to the kelvics delight, before slipping the loop of string over her head, the bell now resting at the bottom of her long throat. When he stood, he said to their guest, "She's damn near impossible to hear in the grasses. Helps me catch up to her if she gets into trouble. The mires and quicksand can be tricky to navigate on horseback alone."
Issy rubbed her face into his offered palm then turned to peer with those bright eyes at the man. One could almost see the smile in their grey-gold shine even as she gruu'd at him and got to her feet. The collar meant work or she might have sought attention from Fallan as well, the adoration of touch too much in this state. It set her nerves alight in excitement, enjoying the leisurely stroke of a hand from head to ear to rear. Allowing enough time for a languid stretch, Issy finally slipped off past the windbreak hill and headed into the dense swamp-grass, her ears twitching and twisting with every noise.
Lukyc hung back, his crossbow ready. "We'll just go a chime or so in. Far enough from camp that the game will have settled. You won't see her until the game is flushed, though." He nodded to where she'd disappeared to, not even a twitch in the grasses above the tall cat observable.
Issy, meanwhile worked methodically, pausing to sniff or paw at something on the ground once in a while, while the pair of men were let to follow at their own pace. She could smell the must of a morning dove somewhere in here and every so often the quiet coos of it came to her hearing and she would pause, tilting her head to listen. Where was it? Thrusting her whiskers forward, she sniffed at the ground again, gauging the information the whiskers picked up carefully before altering her course and lowering herself even more to the ground. She was a good fifty feet ahead of them now and was slowly honing in on the dove. No...not dove. Doves.
Issy paused as she came to a current in the soft peat she had reached, her head tilting first one way, and then the other before she drew down low, the bell muffled against her fur. In the grass ahead she could just make out the shape of the doves, hunkered in the shadows to avoid sighting by aerial predators. But they'd left themselves exposed to ground hunters like her. Her shoulders bunched and rippled in preparation before she bounded, the bell chinking noisily and sending the bird into flight.
It shot up over the grass, the serval twisting once she'd landed to track it when the twang of the crossbow was heard. It clipped the dove and nearly knocked it from the air, causing it to drop back into range for her. Issy launched herself vertically, long front paws reaching and grabbing the dove before it could get out of range with a well-aimed swipe. Her body twisted in the air and she landed heavy on the ground, the bird twitching beneath one paw that held it trapped until Lukyc and Fallan could catch up.
THe man had shot cleanly when he spotted the dove but the bolt had missed and forced Isedan to clean up the kill. "Well then, there you have it." He said, cranking the crossbow back into firing position while heading carefully into the marshes and leading Fallan if he had chose to follow them at all.
"No, that is reading, but it is a way to get knowledge. I think what our guest means is he is interested in obtaining new knowledge, a commendable act. I suppose we can go now, though." The man turned and headed back down the hill, gesturing for Fallan to follow them. Issy, likewise, followed, bounding ahead on her longer legs and pulling the tunic off without a thought. It was tossed into the tent before she turned towards them, her form simply dissolving into the flash of colors and reforming into that of the serval he had seen before.
She strode towards Lukyc now as he went to get a few supplies before they ventured into the marsh, the long-legged, slender body of the feline rubbing against his calf and purring noisily, sending waves of delight across the bond to him.
The tidal pony would remain at camp with their supplies. Lukyc had gathered up a few snares he could set and a string with a little bell on it. He knelt beside the serval then and gave her head a stroke, tickling the long ears much to the kelvics delight, before slipping the loop of string over her head, the bell now resting at the bottom of her long throat. When he stood, he said to their guest, "She's damn near impossible to hear in the grasses. Helps me catch up to her if she gets into trouble. The mires and quicksand can be tricky to navigate on horseback alone."
Issy rubbed her face into his offered palm then turned to peer with those bright eyes at the man. One could almost see the smile in their grey-gold shine even as she gruu'd at him and got to her feet. The collar meant work or she might have sought attention from Fallan as well, the adoration of touch too much in this state. It set her nerves alight in excitement, enjoying the leisurely stroke of a hand from head to ear to rear. Allowing enough time for a languid stretch, Issy finally slipped off past the windbreak hill and headed into the dense swamp-grass, her ears twitching and twisting with every noise.
Lukyc hung back, his crossbow ready. "We'll just go a chime or so in. Far enough from camp that the game will have settled. You won't see her until the game is flushed, though." He nodded to where she'd disappeared to, not even a twitch in the grasses above the tall cat observable.
Issy, meanwhile worked methodically, pausing to sniff or paw at something on the ground once in a while, while the pair of men were let to follow at their own pace. She could smell the must of a morning dove somewhere in here and every so often the quiet coos of it came to her hearing and she would pause, tilting her head to listen. Where was it? Thrusting her whiskers forward, she sniffed at the ground again, gauging the information the whiskers picked up carefully before altering her course and lowering herself even more to the ground. She was a good fifty feet ahead of them now and was slowly honing in on the dove. No...not dove. Doves.
Issy paused as she came to a current in the soft peat she had reached, her head tilting first one way, and then the other before she drew down low, the bell muffled against her fur. In the grass ahead she could just make out the shape of the doves, hunkered in the shadows to avoid sighting by aerial predators. But they'd left themselves exposed to ground hunters like her. Her shoulders bunched and rippled in preparation before she bounded, the bell chinking noisily and sending the bird into flight.
It shot up over the grass, the serval twisting once she'd landed to track it when the twang of the crossbow was heard. It clipped the dove and nearly knocked it from the air, causing it to drop back into range for her. Issy launched herself vertically, long front paws reaching and grabbing the dove before it could get out of range with a well-aimed swipe. Her body twisted in the air and she landed heavy on the ground, the bird twitching beneath one paw that held it trapped until Lukyc and Fallan could catch up.
THe man had shot cleanly when he spotted the dove but the bolt had missed and forced Isedan to clean up the kill. "Well then, there you have it." He said, cranking the crossbow back into firing position while heading carefully into the marshes and leading Fallan if he had chose to follow them at all.
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