PM to join Wait That's Not For Hunting [Dravite]

[Duende]

　　　　"Here they come!" The snow-leopard heard the mighty roar, and the warning. Her heart leapt into her mouth, and every single muscle in her body bunched, tensed. Beneath her sensitive paws she felt the vibrations as the deer scattered. Her sensitive nose picked up their scent, stronger. She rose her large, square head to peer through the thinner heads of the grass, and those green eyes took in the approaching animals with a lust that rivaled none she had felt before.
　　　　Her gaze darted from one mass of deer to the next, she spotted the largest, and felt a click in her instinctive mind. Not that one. Within just a few chimes this occurred, til her eyes locked onto a leaner, less powerful looking buck, barely out of youth and into adulthood, less likely to win any ruts in its inexperienced phase of life, but just big enough to be worth something. Just like that the feline kicked away from her spot, and angled herself diagonally through the grass to head the buck off.
　　　　The deer, so aware of the Drykas behind them, were blindly unawares of the Kelvic down-wind and well-camouflaged. As the young, inexperienced buck drew nearer, up front and right to her, she could smell his sweat and see his wide eyes. Arching her back, she pulled every muscle inwards, and then sprung! Claws unsheathed, maw agape, her sharp incisors long and deadly. A yowl escaped her, before she felt buck-hide tear and rip beneath her natural weapons.
　　　　The herd scattered, split in two, taken by surprise. Her claws sunk into the young buck's right shoulder, her incisors sunk into his neck. Her mouth flooded with a wet warmth—blood. She clung to the deer. The young buck kept running, tossing his head, kicking out his hind feet, in an attempt to get her off. The snow-leopard pushed her claws deeper into his shoulder, pulled her maw from his flesh, and then sunk her razor teeth in again, this time finding the jugular. A spurt of blood wet her face, dying her light-beige Spring coat a glorious red.
　　　　She pumped her jaw slightly, and the young buck's blood oozed freely down its neck, its chest, its legs. The young buck began to lag, and came to a stop, labouring in its breaths, sweat soaked its back. It began to swing its head, thrashing out in circles, lashing out as best it could to get the damn cat to let go. Kahtra held on, feeling the strain pull in her forelegs, and in her shoulders. She didn't know how long she could hold on, her body unused to fighting another mass of muscle. Her green-lit gaze swung round, towards Dravite.

oocI'll be on everyday with replies this week til Sunday

[Dravite]

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Running faster than he knew how, the man's legs became almost clumsy with joy; Kahtra had managed to take one of the deer, but the young buck was giving her a fight! Dravite ran quickly, manoeuvring the grassy tussocks the deer were able to spring over as if they were nothing. Adrenalin flooded in senses, his pulse thudding loudly in his ears, singing; kill the deer, don't let it get away! Kahtra had done an impressive job picking the right animal, enough for the two of them to go home with more than they would need to feed their families or even make a small profit.

Dravite noticed the deer struggling, trying to get the large cat into a position where he could use his only weapons against her; powerful front legs they liked to beat back predators with, or worse still, and just as painful, a shock of small antlers, still developing but sharp enough to tear the snow leopard’s beautiful fur. Dravite was not willing to let that happen and lined up a shot against the deer only to falter as it jumped aside with Kahtra still holding on. He didn't want to stab his new friend by mistake. This time! The horse lord told himself and stepped forward, driving the point of the spear into the animal’s chest in an attempt to puncture a lung.

The buck’s eyes were large and frightful, showing the white that encased the large, black disks. He rasped, gave another kick with his back legs and then folded forwards on his knees, tired and quickly losing life. Dravite withdrew his spear, the end painted red with their small victory; the buck after all was better than the spring rabbits they had been hunting for. The man put his hands on his knees, looked at Kahtra and laughed breathlessly as the deer lay on its side and closed its eyes. "You did it," he smiled proudly; "I think it's only fair that you pick what part you want to take home with you, for your people."

He cleaned his spear with a handful of dry grass and set it aside to fetch his dagger. The deer was not long dead and yet it seemed Kahtra was in no hurry to let go, just like most big cats, lording over her catch like a queen; or perhaps it was the rush of adrenaline still pumping through her veins. Dravite couldn't help but laugh, having finally caught his breath. "I think it’s dead you know, he isn't going to get up and run away I can promise you that.” .
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[Duende]

　　　　There was a low rumbling in her chest, her long tail swayed to and fro, brushing the grass this way and that. Her shoulders and forelegs ached, with the tussle over they shook lightly, her maw still clamped on the buck's delicate neck. Her veins and muscles thick with adrenaline.
　　　　Deer blood was oozing slowly, mingling with deer sweat, a scent oh-so delicious to the feline. Her fur was matted and soaked, a crimson dye painted like a mask across her stout face, leaking down her thick neck and fluffy chest. Her eyes were alight with fervor. They did it!
　　　　As the Drykas spoke, the feline felt a wave of relief, tinged with amusement, sweep over her adrenaline-fueled state. She let go of the buck and its head thudded dully onto the ground. As felines couldn't sweat to rid their bodies of heat, she panted heavily. A grin split her snout then, unusually human, as she regarded the Drykas and purred lightly. Realising that she couldn't communicate to him like this, or at least, he wouldn't understand her, she initiated the change. Just as before, a glow whirled about her, as if Syna herself was transforming her from cat to woman.
　　　　In woman form the deer blood was smeared unceremoniously across her face, down her neck and breasts, clinging to the mid-lengths of her hair, staining the tips of her fingers. What a sight she must have been but the Kelvic was unperturbed by the sticky feeling of blood. It was already beginning to dry, Syna's growing warmth as the morning roamed into afternoon, darkening the colour and making it look more like war-paint than the evidence of a kill.
　　　　In woman form, Kahtra's purr was a rumble of delicate laughter, piqued by the Dryka's humorous assurances that dead deer don't get up and escape. Feeling shaky, she stretched then, even physically tired her body moved with a languid ease, her arms reaching for the heavens, and her back arching therapeutically. Her Grass-sign iterated her pleasure at their joint efforts. Fun. Exciting. Team-work. Kill. As she spoke her pride mirrored his, as expressionate with her emotions as he. "No, Dravite, we kill. We, together."
　　　　As he suggested she take her pick first, the woman's brow furrowed, and she shook her head, not understanding his meaning. She heard 'family' 'take' and 'fair'. Without asking or realising what he meant, she ended up suggesting the same back. "Dravite take. Dravite, er-" She made a motion to represent drawing a picture. She was saying he should take first as he had been the one to draw up the plan. Even among the independent feline breeds, there was a sense of hierarchy.
　　　　Her green gaze fell on the deer then, and her lips parted to reveal a grin with unusually long incisors. She just couldn't stop smiling!
　　

[Dravite]

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The transformation, though less rushed this time around, seemed just as beautiful, if not more so for the blood that painted Kahtra's jaw and upper body. The Drykas man shared in her delight, smiling at their joined success. As Kahtra waved with her hands for Dravite to take his share, the man glanced down at the deer, grey orbs fixed on the lifeless animal. The pelt wouldn't be worth much to either of them with all the claw and teeth marks dotted through it, but Dravite wouldn't mind working the pelt, if only to strengthen his skill marginally.

He crouched down beside the buck and lifted its head by the short rack of antlers. "Hmm," the horse lord hummed, sitting the deer up to inspect the hide, other than the marred neck and shoulders it didn't look to bad and was possibly still saveable if he worked carefully. He rolled the buck and pulled forth his hunting knife to cut down the length of the white belly, trying not to open up the lean sheath of muscle that kept the animal's guts from spilling out everywhere. He managed to avoid breaking it for the most part though there was quite a lot of blood bled from the deer wherever he slipped.

Dravite cut around each of the legs to the centre and the over the back and shoulders before finally tracing the rump. Carefully he peeled back the hide, agonising over the delicate, hard to remove parts; using his hunting knife to cut away the flesh that did not want to let go of the skin. Snagged here and there, but otherwise left in one piece, Dravite set the rectangular shaped pelt on the ground and carved away the left, back leg from the deer, using his hatchet to smash the hip bone so that it would release the leg cleanly. He wrapped the leg with the hide and got to his feet. This would be more than enough to feed his family while leaving Kahtra with the majority of the animal.

Hiking it up onto his right shoulder, Dravite smiled across at the woman and had to laugh. "You think you can drag the rest of him home for your people?"

Quickly he remembered that Kahtra's understanding of Pavi wasn't as good as he first deemed and repeated himself in the common tongue, or at least, the few words he had mastered. "Kahtra take deer home."

He didn't have too much more to say other than to tell her it was a good hunt and that he would hunt with her again any time if their paths happened to cross in Endrykas; though the woman probably found the words hard to interpret, most of which he didn't have an equivalent for in common. Perhaps by the next time they met, Kahtra would be better able to understand him, or vice versa. "Safe travels," he lifted a hand and grinned, noticing the difference in the length of some of Kahtra's teeth in comparison to his own, "Dawnwhisper."
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[Duende]

　　　　The Kelvic found herself yet again drawn towards the Drykas as he demonstrated his butchering skills. So much so, she crouched on the other side of the deer, elbows leaning casually on her thighs, toes making small indents in the soil. Syna felt warm against her back, too warm, the woman's skin was beginning to prickle with sunburn, but she ignored it. The harsh environment the Drykas called home would soon etch blisters and calluses and imbue a tan into her delicate flesh in time.
　　　　Before being sold and sent away from her cushy birth-home she had never seen a whole animal chopped up. That was except perhaps for chickens as a child when she had helped her mother and the other cooking slaves and servants in the kitchens, usually in return for a few meaty scraps for herself. The way his hands moved the knife was so preceise, careful, purposeful. The kelvic was mesmerized.
　　　　When he had finished, she stood with him, her brow furrowed and her head tilting to the right as she tried to decipher his quick speech. "You think you can drag the rest of him home for your people?" Then. "Kahtra take deer home." The woman chuckled and nodded as he spoke, taking in what messages she could translate. She sensed his general mood by his body language and expressionate features. She agreed, a warmth pervading her hand-signs towards him. Good hunt. "Hunt again soon, yes."
　　　　When the man raised his hand in a kind gesture of leaving, the woman dipped her head in that way slaves were taught, sign of respect. "I give thanks." And her eyes flickered alight as she turned. "Meet again, soon, Dravite Windborne." With that the kelvic paused and stared down at her share of the buck, hungrily, proudly. A warm glow encircled her for a third time that day. The change as fluid and easy as slipping in and out of a silk gown.
　　　　The snow-leopard pawed the buck, then grasped as much of its fleshy neck in her maw as possible, and began to drag it alongside her with relative ease, those broader leopard shoulders coming in handy. Her eyes aglow with excitement at the thought of seeing her pavilion's faces when she returned home with this gift. She would be sure to mention Dravite Windborne to them, and recount his excellent hunting skills.
　　　　Her thoughts already turning towards asking her Ankal permission to hunt with the man again, maybe she could earn her keep. For the first time since arriving, the Kelvic outsider was beginning to envisage a life here for herself. With those thoughts, they parted ways for now.
　　

[Naiya]

Here's what the Fox says

Name: Dravite
XP Award:

• Acrobatics +1
• Animal Husbandry +1
• Body Building +1
• Butchery +2
• Drawing +1
• Endurance +3
• Hunting +4
• Intelligence +2
• Intimidation +2
• Leadership +3
• Logic +4
• Observation +5
• Philosophy +1
• Planning +4
• Running +4
• Skinning +1
• Socialization +4
• Stealth +2
• Tactics +4
• Teaching +2
• Tracking +2
• Weapon: Spear +4
• Wilderness Survival +4

Lore:

• Butchery: Basic deer anatomy
• Dawnwhispers: Drykas pavilion with a Kelvic companion
• Common: Asking for a name
• Drykas Culture: Nudity is normal
• Hunting: Advantage of first light
• Hunting: Predators and prey have keen ears
• Hunting: Stay downwind
• Khatra: Kelvic of the Dawnwhisper Pavilion
• Socialization: Drykas customs are not foreign customs
• Stealth: Plan your advance
• Stealth: Stay in cover as long as possible
• Tracking: The print of a leopard
• Weapon, Spear: Anchor one's body for best aiming
• Weapon, Spear: Hoping for a lucky shot
• Weapon, Spear: Put the force of your body into your throw
• Wilderness Survival: Finding the direction of the wind

Award: A deer hide in common condition. Back leg of a deer.

Notes: Great thread, I awarded what I noticed, and threw in an extra point in teaching for the sign mimicry of Dravite's words and the repition in common of what words could be translated. Body Building for hefting the leg.

As usual it was great fun to read the thread, and I hope you'll let me know if you feel I missed anything or if you have any questions about the award.