Closed Of Beast and Man[Sarai Naavah]

Rykanis and Sarai meet while out hunting

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While Sylira is by far the most civilized region of Mizahar, countless surprises and encounters await the traveler in its rural wilderness. Called the Wildlands, Syliran's wilderness is comprised of gradual rolling hills in the south that become deep wilderness in the north. Ruins abound throughout the wildlands, and only the well-marked roads are safe.

Of Beast and Man[Sarai Naavah]

Postby Rykanis Dakshata on June 10th, 2014, 3:00 am

2 Summer 514


Rykanis had not been hunting in some time, and he was eager to do so again. In part this was because he had been going out hunting since he was a child, and so it was a old custom for him throughout his life. Another part was because of how regulated food was in Zeltiva, and the thought of some fresh meat was appetizing to offset his current portions.

In Riverfall limited food had never been an issue. The city itself was fruitful and had plenty to eat, and many hunters worked from the city and brought back food from the sea of grass. For this reason and many others it was exceptionally difficult for Rykanis in a new city.

Another reason was the same whenever he left Riverfall, he was usually the only Akalak, and he almost always garnered stares and incredulity due to his size and color. This meant in some ways it was good to get out of Zeltiva purely for the chance to get away from prying eyes and stares.

Those few who did know of Akalaks were few and far between, and considering some of the stories circulating about them Rykanis was unsure if it was better when they knew what he was than it was when they'd never heard of a Akalak.

Heading out from Zeltiva and through the pass, he headed out looking for prey. He did not have to much equipment, mostly just the normal things he carried. A tent in case he needed to stay out, his lakan as always by his sides. He did not need much more for hunting, and would catch something if Akajia willed him to.

Taking in the whispers of the shadows, Rykanis extended a word of greeting here and there, exhanging pleasantries with the shadow of many a object. However though try as he might, none of them were willing to aid him in finding prey, or even in giving him any information that might lead to prey.

Rykanis resigned himself to a long day of hunting, and found himself fine with the possibility.
-You can't truly appreciate the light, until you spend some time experiencing darkness...

-The more you know, the more you learn how little you truly know, and how much there is left to learn.

-Only when you truly understand the darkness, will you not fear it.
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Of Beast and Man[Sarai Naavah]

Postby Sarai Naavah on June 10th, 2014, 4:51 pm

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Sarai had to go hunting, she was starving but she also wanted to try out the traps she had bought recently for her new job doing the only thing she actually felt comfortable doing. It was a solo thing and she was happy with that, it was less wracking on the nerves and still it helped people to hunt food for them. Her home wasn’t far off from the edge of town where the wilds stretched at the base of the mountain like a blanket, she even had a favorite spot since purchasing her cottage. Her trek over didn’t take much thought or length in time for her and the winding path she took towards ‘her spot’ was calm and peaceful.

Leather boots flopped against her calves untied while the black dress she wore clung to her petite frame as the wind blew the fabric back behind her along with the tornado of hair that hung to her lower back. Her pack of supplies hung over one shoulder and her fingers laced through the bars of a cage she had purchased for medium sized animals. She would catch more if she set up traps to do some work for her and then prowled as a leopard for other game, this was the plan anyways.

Breaching the edge of the forest she stepped more carefully now so as not to scare everything away, her feet falling in places that her eyes tracked as a quieter route then not. The petite female stopped once she was out of view of the edge of the forest and placed down the pack and the cage. First she slipped from the confines of her shoes leaving them neatly at the base of the closest tree and then she turned towards her back pack. Kneeling beside it she tugged it open and dove her hand inside to pull out a roll of thin rope that was meant for trapping animals. She had absolutely no idea what to do with it, she never learned how to trap before so she started messing around with the rope as she sat on the ground.

Looking around the kelvic tried to figure out what to do with the rope, maybe she could just tie it low to the ground and something can trip over it and become injured? That would have to do until she either found someone who could teach her how to use the rope properly or until she found a book that did so. She rose to her feet, dusted off her calves, and looked around the area until she spotted a space between two trees that was big enough creatures might walk through but not to big she’d waste her rope incase it got destroyed. Deft fingers fumbled with the rope as she brought it around the base of one tree and tied it in a tight knot, following the rope out about 5 inches from the ground she lead it to the other tree and tied it there in a tight basic knot as well. A sound of distaste settled in her throat knowing the rope was probably useless but she wouldn’t really know unless she tried would she?

Next she turned to the cage and settled it off to the side figuring she’d just use it to carry what she caught, really she brought many more supplies then she knew how to use but this was her first day with them so she figured she would figure things out as she went. Without another thought the girl reached down to grasp the hem of her dress and in a fluid motion she stripped it off over her head causing her hair to bounce with the action. Next she slithered from her undergarments and stretched slowly allowing her bones to pop and her muscles to warm up while she relished the feeling of no clothes.


Glancing around the forest to make sure she was alone she closed her eyes and sighed contently, as the breath pushed out of her lungs the young girl shifted in a ball of swirling lights. Really it was rather magical to watch a kevlic change from a human to their animal forms and as the balls of light faded a golden and chocolate hued leopard stood in its place. She was the smallest of what would be considered big cats, her body was long but not tall in its form and her tail swishing behind her was almost as long as her body. Her eyes matched that of her human form, reflecting the forest in their deep green iris’s that were kissed by the color of the sun.

Sarai stepped her front paws forward and stretched slowly with a yawn that flashed her large eye teeth and her pink tongue lolled out for the world to see. When she finally had her fill of settling into herself she started forward through the forest to find something to hunt. Each step she made was carefully placed and as she could make it however despite her silence the forest seemed quiet today and it made her tail twitch as she grew itchy for some food. She was about to turn around and head in the other direction of the woods but she spotted a very large and very dark skinned man out of the corner of her eyes.

Suddenly the leopard crouched low to the ground as her gaze narrowed onto the man and she watched him for a long moment trying to figure out what he was doing. Was he hunting? Her head tilted to one side curiously and she moved with the slow sneaking steps that were so distinctive of felines. She moved closer to him circling until she was at his back, there was no desire to attack him but she didn’t know if the feelings would be mutual should he see her so she crept closer ever so slowly. She was used to sneaking, she did it all the time in the orphanage and when she was hunting but she never usually ran across other hunters when she went out.

The leopard kept herself several feet behind him and she moved only when he did now wondering if he had found any food when she couldn’t. Who was he? The sunlight peeked through the trees and played on his skin allowing her to see the deepness of the purple that he was and that only made her draw closer until she was about two feet behind him and she laid down placing one paw over the other clearly making no actual moves to attack him. She huffed a deep breath at him, the sound of vibrating purrs pushing against her throat as she did so hoping he wouldn’t take the sound as a threat but more of a greeting. Either her curiosity over his skin and what he was doing was going to be the death of her or it would be some fun adventure. She didn’t usually show her animal side to others because they were typically threatened, and rightly so since she was a predator, but she was bored and there was no food to be found at the moment.
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Of Beast and Man[Sarai Naavah]

Postby Rykanis Dakshata on June 11th, 2014, 4:24 am

As Rykanis slowly moved deeper into the wilds and further from civilization, he had a trick up his sleeve. Or more to the point in his eyes.

One of the innate abilities of the Akalak was infravision, or heat detection. Rykanis often used it when hunting on the sea of grass, as being able to see the warm spots from animals bodies made it much easier to hunt and to detect things that were hiding.

It did not work as well with cold blooded animals however, particularly ones that were sitting still for awhile. This meant Rykanis could not allow himself to grow totally complacent or dependent upon the sense, but it was still useful more often than not. Considering they were in Sylira Rykanis doubted there would be anything that might be able to hide.

Rykanis blinked once, opened his eyes, and then flicked shut the inner eyelids that turned his normal vision into one of infravision. With that he paused in place, looking about trying to find any large heat sources. It was not a good idea to walk about while using his second sight, since the landscape and foilage such as trees was at the ambient temperature, and so did not show.

The last thing he needed to do was to try and stalk something only to walk face first into a tree. On the sea of grass it was less of an issue as there where no trees just wide open spaces. But here in Sylira it created its own unique issues which Rykanis would need to learn to deal with.

It wasn't long however before Rykanis sensed a mass of heat. It was in motion, and moving quickly, and Rykanis turned to face it. However he soon lost track of it in the trees as it jumped about. Considering its small size and speed Rykanis reasoned it was a squirrel or some other such creature. However as he paused in his roving his eyes focused on another mass of heat, a larger one than the squirrel.

He moved slowly, not wanting to crash into a tree, keeping his feet low to the ground so as to pace quietly. As he moved so did the heat source, and a quick look showed him that the source of heat had snuck around behind him. Rykanis slowly moved one hand to a lakan, keeping it ready on the hilt to draw the blade if need be. If he had to he could draw and attack all in one smooth motion, in case whatever it was jumped on him. Rykanis knew of several animals in the sea of grass that did that, but he was less familiar with the prey and hunters of the Syliran fauna.

However as he watched the motion and its gait, and saw its vague body outline, keeping low to the ground, it seemed it was a hunting cat of some kind. Or at least that was what he assumed from what little he had gathered.

However as he walked, he felt the situation was getting more and more odd. Normally a hunter would have already pounced. Rykanis was waiting for it to make a move, for it to pounce, so he could respond with a surprise attack of his own. It was simple enough tactics, to take advantage of ones foes sense of security and secrecy in order to attack them. It only worked if they did not realize they had been detected, and thought they still had the upper hand.

But this best was not acting right from what Rykanis expected of a wild creature. This was proved even further when Rykanis heard a somewhat familiar yet still unexpected sound. A purr. Rykanis mind flicked back to Riverfall, to a kelvic cat that had stalked him in town, and whom he had been friends with. Considering how oddly this hunting cat was acting, tied with his own past experiences, Rykanis wondered if this was not yet another kelvic cat of some kind.

As Rykanis thought back to the Ocelot Kelvic named Dallisetria that he had known in Riverfall, he tried to decide what to do next. If it was a wild beat, however one acting oddly, then he could still draw his blade should it attack. For this reason he kept his palm on his lakan, ready to draw it. However if it was a kelvic perhaps he could speak with or reason with it. Regardless Rykanis knew it would not hurt to try.

Flicking his inner eyelids back open, Rykanis turned to face the animal behind him. As he had assumed it was a hunting cat of some kind.

"If you are a animal, then I suppose you won't understand this. But if you are a kelvic, then you had best make yourself known. These blades aren't just for show. And I'd rather not kill a kelvic by mistake because they don't know better than to stalk me. One should not stalk something unless they know for sure they are prey, and can be bested. And I assure you I have bested more fierce prey than a kittten such as you."
-You can't truly appreciate the light, until you spend some time experiencing darkness...

-The more you know, the more you learn how little you truly know, and how much there is left to learn.

-Only when you truly understand the darkness, will you not fear it.
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Of Beast and Man[Sarai Naavah]

Postby Sarai Naavah on June 11th, 2014, 11:03 pm

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Sarai laid there on the ground with her head tilted to one side as he finally turned to acknowledge her, she didn’t know he saw her before but as he spoke to her she twitched an ear and flicked her tail from side to side. He knew she might be something else, she supposed it wasn’t everyday a leopard strode up behind you and laid down to purr for your attention so after a moment of deliberating she rose to all four paws in a swift motion. He called her a kitten. A rolling thunder echoed from her throat in response to the assumption she was a cub but then she shook her head from side to side and forced out a breath of air.

A moment longer passed as she stared at him, considering him and then she decided to shift in a bright swirl of lights. It was like watching a tornado of glowing stars and for a moment nothing else but the lights were to be seen. Then suddenly in their spot the last lights wrapped around her body as they faded away and she stood there before him with the same large eyes that the leopard had only a moment before. Her golden skin was muddled in the darkness of the forest and her crazy sand colored hair hung in unforgiving curls to the center of her back. A blush of shyness crept across her cheeks, she was not worried about being nude but she bit her lip unsure as to what to say to the man she stood before.

The frame of her body was small especially in his presence with his height and build but she took careful silent steps towards a tree never letting her eyes leave his. “I’m not a kitten.” She finally spoke in the same purring tones that warmed her throat when she was a leopard. Her fingers traced the texture of bark, chewed down finger nails trying to pick a piece off as a nervous habit so she had something to play with in her hands. “I wasn’t stalking you, I was watching you. I have no desire to hurt you.” Every word she spoke was careful and quiet, a whisper most likely but the forest was silent today so it shouldn’t be hard to hear in the space between them.

When she finally picked off a piece of bark she traced the now bare spot with her fingers and murmured words of thanks underneath her breath to the tree before she turned towards the tall dark man. “Are you hunting?” Curiosity was plain in her question and her features, her face an open book to him as she spoke. Taking a few careful steps towards him she looked him over slowly trying to learn whatever mannerisms she could pick up before her eyes landed on his lakan. She never had used weapons herself but she was always curious when she saw others with them. Sarai twisted the piece of bark between her fingers she tilted her gaze from his weapon to his face before she spoke again. “I’m Sarai. If you are hunting then how do you hunt when you’re so …big?” Really wouldn’t everything spot him? She was quite sure everything would spot him. Biting her lip again she felt her heart pound as the sudden realization came over her that if he wanted to hurt her he very well could, probably before she blinked an eye.
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Sarai Naavah
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Of Beast and Man[Sarai Naavah]

Postby Rykanis Dakshata on June 14th, 2014, 12:20 am

A small smile flicked across Rykanis face at her response to being called a kitten. Just by the fact that she argued and was angered by it told him she was a kitten. Rykanis had yet to meet a kelvic that was not a young-ling by comparison to himself.

When she chose to change shape, to shift to her human form, it did not catch him by surprise. Her actions before that had given him the inkling that she might be a kelvic. It was of course worth a momentary shock as he realized she was a girl kelvic, and so was standing before him in the nude, but his shock soon wore off. He'd been surprised by girl kelvics popping up before him in the nude before, so he was better able to deal with it than someone being "exposed" to such a sight for the first time.

“I’m not a kitten. I wasn’t stalking you, I was watching you. I have no desire to hurt you.”

The kelvic's words were somewhat comedic to Rykanis, all things considered. The first part was funny for the fact that it further proved his belief, that she was in fact but a kitten. Why else, he reasoned, would she argue so fiercely that she was not a kitten.

As for her saying she did not want to hurt him, Rykanis further found that funny when considering she was a small nude girl standing before him, while he was a tall fully armed Akalak. Rykanis found it somewhat funny that she felt she had to put him at ease. Or perhaps she was simply attempting to argue against what he said, to further say he was wrong.

However she did admit that she was watching him, which meant he had garnered her interest for some reason.

After this she spent some time inspecting him, looking him over. For a moment her gaze focused on his lakan, which he had been holding a hand near. He slowly moved his hand away, showing he was not going to pull it. Her next questions where just as blunt, and not unexpected considering he had dealt with kelvic before. They seemed to have their own rushed way about things, and in questioning people, not unlike a child.

“Are you hunting? I’m Sarai. If you are hunting then how do you hunt when you’re so …big?”

Rykanis looked back at the female kelvic, apparently named Sarai, and gave her another cursory examination before speaking.

"I am sure you had no intent to harm me Sarai. And I think while you protest it, you are but a kitten to me. Especially compared to some of the great hunting cats of the sea of grass which I have seen. Compared to them, you are but a small kitty cat. I do not mean any disrespect by calling you as such."

A small grin came over Rykanis face as he spoke, which seemed to adhere onto it afterward, not quite sliding off.

"I am Rykanis. And as for how I hunt... Well size is not everything when hunting. I do not need to by tiny to hunt. Sneaking is not about size, and even someone as large as myself can still move with grace. You consider me big, but compared to many prey are you not also big? Do you think a rabbit would find you to be miniscule? It is all a matter of perspective. True the things I hunt are usually larger, and I usually hunt in different environments than this, but I do hunt."
-You can't truly appreciate the light, until you spend some time experiencing darkness...

-The more you know, the more you learn how little you truly know, and how much there is left to learn.

-Only when you truly understand the darkness, will you not fear it.
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Of Beast and Man[Sarai Naavah]

Postby Sarai Naavah on June 15th, 2014, 12:57 am

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Sarai’s attention was once more brought to the lakan at his hip when he slowly moved away, she didn’t say a word she just watched his motions until he spoke and she tilted her gaze up to him only to frown at his first words. She didn’t know much about other cats, she never met any but she was pretty sure compared to the ones people kept as pets she was no kitten. Her nostrils flared but finally she stopped bristling when he claimed to mean no disrespect to her – it was easy to take his words at face value when he smiled after them.

“Okay then, I won’t be mad at you.” She offered him trying not to return the smile but she failed miserably as her lips suddenly turned up at the corners in a responding grin. His words made sense, they did. Perhaps he was right, perhaps he truly could be graceful and hunt with the best of them. Maybe he could even take down creatures larger than her? Slowly her feet tilted and she began a leisurely circle around him keeping close to him but also taking in his form at the same time. If he didn’t turn with her she’d stop in front of him again and look up at him “What different environments? Aren’t there forests like this everywhere?”

Chewing her bottom lip she backed up from him trying not to crowd in on his person space though really alls she wanted to do was inspect and catalogue him in her brain. Unfortunately for her she had learned over her life that most people didn’t like when others were unnaturally close. “You must be a good hunter then, to hunt large animals.” Tilting her head with her observation of him she reached up and grasped thick chunks of hair in her hands. Carefully she’d start weaving the pieces into a tight braid that pulled the hair from her face rather than hiding behind it like she normally did.

This tall stranger was intriguing to say the least and he spoke with wisdom that she didn’t often hear, wisdom she didn’t have for lack of years alive. “Rykanis….” She let his name roll on her tongue before she continued “…you’re pretty.” She blurted on a whim as she looked at his skin color which was so unusual to the people she saw every day. “It’s like … someone took a bunch of paint, mixed it together with a lot of purple and then they painted you.” She didn’t really know how to simplify how he looked to her depending on the light so she figured this was the closest she could get.

“A big, tall, painting who can hunt …” she murmured under her breath in thought before her eyes widened to him and another smile brightened her face. “…I haven’t eaten yet, I was looking for food when I found you. Are you hungry?” Her smile turned on the shy side and she chewed the inside of her cheek and rubbed a hand over her flat stomach suddenly deciding she could trust him “I’m starving. Then I can see how you hunt when you’re so big. I’ll hunt as a leopard though if you don’t mind. I don’t have weapons. I do have a cage though, you can store your catch in it if you want. I left it a bit that way …” She nodded towards the direction she had originally came from and then turned back to him and watched his expression with open excitement and just a tad of patience.
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Of Beast and Man[Sarai Naavah]

Postby Rykanis Dakshata on June 18th, 2014, 1:49 am

“Okay then, I won’t be mad at you.”

Rykanis grinned back at Sarai, glad that his short apology seemed to have fixed things. He had no plan of stopping calling her what she was, a kitten, but he was glad to hear that his explanation of the situation had cleared it up so as to not offend.

However her next comment confused him, and made him wonder what kind of schooling, if any, this kelvic had received. He knew that Kelvics were usually less scholarly than other races and more sentient beings, but to not even know that not all of the world was one land type? He found that surprising.

“What different environments? Aren’t there forests like this everywhere?”

"No, little one, there are not forests like this everywhere. Some places are of endless sand, some of mountains. The place I hail from is near the sea of grass. It is as the name indicates a seemingly endless plain of nothing but grass. Hardly any trees, just grass as far as the eye can see. That is where I grew up learning to hunt. There are far more animals and such about there than in Sylira, and many much larger ones."

As she circled him, Rykanis more by instinct than for any conscious reason turned with her, keeping himself facing her. He preferred to not let something get behind him and did not like things sneaking up on him. She did not seem to be hostile, but that did not mean he would let down his guard. Rykanis was a warrior at heart, and he did not plan to leave himself open.

“You must be a good hunter then, to hunt large animals.”

Rykanis smiled again, looking back at the kelvic.

"Well, I don't know about that. It is perhaps not as hard to hunt on the sea of grass, what with the wide open plains with much better visibility. It is harder for things to hide, and often your prey will come to you. In that case it is less about skill in hunting, and more about skill in arms, of being able to fight and win against your foes. I think in that regard I am far superior to my skills as a hunter."

As the kelvic continued speaking, she managed to once more throw Rykanis off with her words.

“Rykanis….you’re pretty.”

This sentence was ambigious, and left Rykanis uncertain as to what she meant. Did she mean he was pretty as in she was hitting on him? It would be a bit odd to be hit on by what appeared to be a naked woman. She was in fact a kelvic, but she still appeared more or less as a woman. However her next bit of speech made him believe she was not hitting on him, but instead meant pretty as in how a child might say something was pretty.

“It’s like … someone took a bunch of paint, mixed it together with a lot of purple and then they painted you.”

Unsure of how to answer, and since there did not truly seem to be a question in it, Rykanis instead decided to simply nod once and to continue on. If she had a question she could ask him directly.

“A big, tall, painting who can hunt …”

“…I haven’t eaten yet, I was looking for food when I found you. Are you hungry?”

Smiling once more at the kelvic, Rykanis nodded.

"Yes, I am hungry, that is why I am out here, looking to hunt. It seemed like a good way to get some meat. Though I am less than sure of what sorts of animals would be out here to hunt. Do you have any ideas of what might be about for us to try and hunt down?"

“I’m starving. Then I can see how you hunt when you’re so big. I’ll hunt as a leopard though if you don’t mind. I don’t have weapons. I do have a cage though, you can store your catch in it if you want. I left it a bit that way …”

"I am fine without a cage. Its not like we need to bring it back alive, so we can simply kill and prepare what we find out here, much more efficient that way. I am fine with you hunting as you wish to hunt."

Considering the food situation inherent in Zeltiva, Rykanis was eager to get some additional food to even out his diet. He was certainly used to eating much better, and this seemed as good a way as any.
-You can't truly appreciate the light, until you spend some time experiencing darkness...

-The more you know, the more you learn how little you truly know, and how much there is left to learn.

-Only when you truly understand the darkness, will you not fear it.
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Of Beast and Man[Sarai Naavah]

Postby Sarai Naavah on June 21st, 2014, 1:27 am

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Sarai paused on the balls of her feet when he began explaining the grasslands to her and the fact they had hardly any trees made her frown “Well that doesn’t seem fun, what are you supposed to climb? Nothing, obviously … since you just said it was all grass but still…” She shook her head lightly answering her own question that shot from her mouth before she could think not to ask it. Running a hand over her face she tried to imagine a sea of just grass but her attention perked at the idea of hunting different animals then there were here. “Do you have stories of these animals? Will you tell me some?”

She smiled back at him when he nodded in agreement to her paint idea, she was no artist in the smallest sense of the word but she was glad she must have gotten something right for him to nod to her words on how he looked. It was his next statements that gave her pause to consider him, he was a hunter but the way he made it sound was that he simply hunted for hunger. “Oh, I thought you were a hunter. I'm sorry I mean, as your job. Hunting is my job since I got my own home but today was just because I was hungry too…” She offered up a slice of her life like he did when he shared where he grew up and then she looked around with her lips and nose scrunching in thought. “There are squirrels, rabbits, birds of all sorts … and bigger animals like wolves and bears and stuff … my favorite are these cute little things, I don’t know the name of them I just found them recently …” she started to pull her hands apart to show an animal a couple feet long “…they have the bushiest little tails … orange-red fur and these little ears…” As she described what was simply a fox she seemed to get excited just at the thought of sinking her teeth into them.

Slowly she dropped her hands and smiled sheepishly at him flashing a long eye tooth as she did “I’ve never hunted the bigger ones, I’m small and I always am out here alone. Would you like to try one? I think the two of us can take one if we find it – I’d sure love to taste one.” She grinned at him then and without waiting for him to answer she’d begin her transformation back into a leopard. The swirling lights danced on the air playfully before she reemerged on all fours with her tail whipping back and forth and her bright eyes matching the same as her human form. With a deep purr she strode over to him and if he didn’t back away she’d circle him and even nudge him slightly in excitement for the hunt.

Her deep purr rumbled for a few seconds longer before she moved away from him and into the depths of the trees, her paws carrying her lightly over the ground as she tried to pick up a trail of something interesting that they could enjoy together. If he fell far behind her she’d circle back towards him in a wide arc all the while searching for a scent to follow, most were old and barely there to her now. During her attempt at tracking she kept an eye on Rykanis making sure he was nearby but also watching him to see if he’d pick up on any trails or hints of anything he wanted to hunt down.

It took almost a half bell before she found something that wasn’t just the typical rabbit or squirrel, she wanted something bigger because she was so hungry and she was pretty sure those small animals wouldn’t be enough for them considering his size and her appetite. She paused when she picked up the smell, it wasn’t one she recognized but she’d crouch low to the ground and flick her tail from side to side allowing her eyes to spot for foot prints and just in general to alert Rykanis that something wasn’t too far off.
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Of Beast and Man[Sarai Naavah]

Postby Rykanis Dakshata on June 23rd, 2014, 9:56 pm

Rykanis looked back at the kelvic named Sarai as she commented on his description of the Sea of Grass. A small smile cracked his lips at her odd take.

“Well that doesn’t seem fun, what are you supposed to climb? Nothing, obviously … since you just said it was all grass but still…”

Then she was on to the next topic, wanting to learn of what beasts lived there. She seemed ever in a hurry, rushing from one topic to another.

“Do you have stories of these animals? Will you tell me some?”

"Ah, it has been a long time since I've been there, and I was never a hunter by trade. Perhaps another time, when we are not in the midst of something."

Clearly Rykanis had yet to master the common tongue, sometimes still having issues derived from translations. That or sometimes he would say something, and its meaning would not quite be clear in common tongue. But then Tukant by its nature was a complex language, one which defined ones meaning much better than the common tongue and its clipped words. Of course Akalak being such a long lived race, perhaps they were simply more patient when conversing.

“Oh, I thought you were a hunter. I'm sorry I mean, as your job. Hunting is my job since I got my own home but today was just because I was hungry too…”

Next she informed Rykanis of the animals they could hunt. Much of the smaller ones would be of little use, at least singularly. However the larger ones, bears and wolves, those might offer a decent meal. Though bringing back a bear would likely be beyond even Rykanis strength. Perhaps then a wolf would be better, more manageable.

“There are squirrels, rabbits, birds of all sorts … and bigger animals like wolves and bears and stuff … my favorite are these cute little things, I don’t know the name of them I just found them recently… They have the bushiest little tails … orange-red fur and these little ears…”

Rykanis nodded, recognizing a fox, something that also lived in the Sea of Grass. They however were not something as commonly hunted, not by Akalaks anyways. There was far worthier foes to face on the open grass.

“I’ve never hunted the bigger ones, I’m small and I always am out here alone. Would you like to try one? I think the two of us can take one if we find it – I’d sure love to taste one.”

"I would not mind attempting a larger one. I'm sure with my blades I could take it down. "

As Rykanis thought on this though, another thought occurred. While they might run into a lone bear, wolves often traveled in packs, and was a group hunter like a Glassbeak. So likely if they found one, they'd be facing more than just a lone wolf.

With that however Sarai was gone, transformed back into her animal form, and racing off in a hyper manner around him. After a few more moments she would move off, and Rykanis would follow with his long ground eating steps, focusing on his feet so as to move quietly. He carefully placed his feet, one foot pressing down and sliding forward from toe first and back to heel. Then the other, and the other, a pattern repeated as he moved. He did his best to avoid any dry brush or dead twigs, but managed to find and step on several as they moved.

His gaze switched back and forth from the ground to the kelvic, making sure to keep her in sight, while still doing his best to be silent.

They kept at it like this, until finally she made a motion to signify she had found something. Rykanis nodded back at her, and prepared himself for the last legs of a hunt, to close in on something. So far he had seen little, but was deep into the hunt, the excitement racing through his blood as his heart pounded away. His right hand stayed a inch from his lakan, ready to pull it in a single motion if he needed to suddenly. For now though he was simply following Sarai on the hunt.
-You can't truly appreciate the light, until you spend some time experiencing darkness...

-The more you know, the more you learn how little you truly know, and how much there is left to learn.

-Only when you truly understand the darkness, will you not fear it.
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Rykanis Dakshata
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Of Beast and Man[Sarai Naavah]

Postby Sarai Naavah on July 4th, 2014, 7:00 pm

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The leopard’s paws pressed into the ground and her body slunk along following the scents she had picked up after she saw her hunting partner’s nod. Her ears swiveled to pick up the sounds around them but for right now there was nothing telling about what they were facing, she wasn’t close enough. With a shift of her weight Sarai broke from the path, pausing only to glance back at Rykanis and nod towards the original direction she had been heading assuming he could take care of himself. She began to give a wide circle to the scents she was following to see if she could pick up a path or to come up around one side of the animal. It wasn’t long in her circle that she picked up another scent, similar but different, following that one she found it began to curve inward towards her first trail. Pausing she glanced up narrowing her gaze on the area before her, there was a thicket of brush blocking her view and if she had been in her human form she would have frowned.

Sarai would glance to the side to locate Ryk if she could though she wasn’t too worried about him and instead she slunk further off to the side circling the two scents as she disappeared deeper into the wilds. Her tail flicked out behind her and her focus narrowed, the child like curiosity of the kelvic disappearing as she let herself fall into the mind of a predator. Drawing closer to the complicated tangle of bushes she staked out the nearby trees finding one with long thick branches that seemed to creep across what barricade between her and her prey. The scents were stronger now and along with the creatures she hunted she could smell blood now that she was closer, the blood was familiar though she couldn’t quite put her nose on the name of the creature with the scents of the others muddling it up.

Carefully the leopard rose onto her haunches and pressed her front paws into the bark of the tree, her long claws clearly meant for climbing up bark as she pulled her body up the trunk. Her back paws followed suit and her muscles flexed as she pulled herself up into the thick lower branches of the tree with a graceful flick of her tail. Repeating the process she pulled herself into a higher branch, her light weight supported easily on the second tier of branches. Each paw set in front of the other she crept along, her dark spots and golden fur acting as sunlit camouflage between the green leaves. She hugged the branch as she deftly crawled out to the thinner edges of it, each foot balancing and weighing her chance to fall or stay before she took the next step.

Wolves. She caught the brindled fur of the creatures and their long bushy tails before her eyes grazed over the muzzles and she took in their visage as she tried to decide the best way to approach them. Flicking her stare up around the edges of the clearing to see if she could spot Rykanis she waited until the wind shifted and the wolves were settled with their backs to her as they feasted on a deer together. She didn’t know if there were any more that may show up but she decided to take the opportunity and leap from the branches behind the wolves, her paws ending with a soft thump behind her. The wolves before her perked their heads and growled deeply in their throats. Sarai responded with her own more feline growl as the pair before her turned to face her, her body carried her in a circle and her ears fell back flat against her head. She held their attention as they crept forward and she backed up leading them away from their prey purposefully beginning the chase where she wanted them to go so they could get separated as long as Ryk took advantage of their current fixation with the feline.

They could take them on one at a time though that didn’t stop the leopard’s heart from pounding in excited adrenaline as she faced her first pair of wolves. The canines growled and snapped their jaws, their hackles rising as one lunged towards her and the other began to circle around her back. Sarai snarled and sliced a claw at the one lunging for her, her paw barely slapping across the muzzle of the beast while her body curled to the side and the skittered backwards. Her growling ripped through the trees and she shifted her feet to run opposite of her attacking wolf so that she could keep the second one in her line of sight.
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Sarai Naavah
Stick to the shadows and you'll survive.
 
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