Bleating of the Elk(Featherline & Aleksi)

[Jarhal Treeshadow]

"I would love to have you along for the lessons, Featherline. It will be interesting." He said as he slowed down and eventually stopped. They would be fun lessons, Aleksi was 'different' for sure but a kelvic really kept you on your toes. "The males and females usually roam in seperate packs this time of year, but if we get lucky we might..."

He stopped as he saw Chural's ears pop up and twitch curiously. A short split-second later, there came the loud echo of an elk's bleat spreading over the grasslands. It was one of the most distinct sounds Jarhal had ever heard, something that you couldn't just forget. It was proud, vibrant, and deep. It conveyed the image of a huge bull elk with a rack of horns as wide as your arms could stretch. It was as good as an arrow pointing the way.

"We'll need to hurry now, that sound attracts a lot of bad attention." He quieted his voice to a whisper as he drew out an arrow and knocked it in preparation. Turning around to them fully, he spoke in a no-nonsense sort of tone. "Glassbeaks and the giant grass serpents like elk meat, too. If we get separated somehow, I'll meet you both in Endrykas."

As he gave that brief warning, not wanting to dwell too long on the possibility of all his new interesting friends being eaten so immediately, he withdrew a thin square of fine cloth woven of brown and green. He tied this behind the head so it rested over his mouth and nose as a mask. It was more of a good-luck charm than anything, but a bit of superstition never hurt anyone.

"Before we stalk closer, let me show you a few important Signs." He said to Featherline, and immediately made a sign with his hand. Coming closer and holding it up so she could see it clearly, he explained, "This means 'Go'. And this one," He went on, his fingers tangling into a new sign, "means 'Stop'. This last one means 'Retreat'. Are you both ready?"

[Aleksi]

Aleksi nodded and lightly moved her hands down her hips, grabbing a dagger with one hand and a leather strap with the other. Next to the leather strap was a large, leather whip that she carried around for no particular reason other then, well, protecting herself in a human combat.

Her eyes roamed around as she showed a couple of signs to Luc, making it seem like a sentence on which he just moved closer to her leg and kept quiet. Aleksi let her arms move back, tying her hair up so it wasn't in her way. She crunched down lightly, having one of those sick, somewhat tempting grins curl her lips up as she watched Jarhal move around.

The only thing she missed there was the thing she loved more then her life.. Tebridiar. It would be such a thrill to hunt with that little thing around, watching her. Aleksi knew how much the girl loved her tattoos, her lifestyle, pretty much anything Aleksi was so seeing her in her usual environment could have been really fun for the cutie.

Aleksi's answer was short, quiet and a bit impatient "Ready" and so was here body, tense and strong, under the leather clothing, pressing tight against her perfectly pale skin.

[Featherline]

Featherline smiled back at Aleksi. Come to think of it, she wasn't so bad. And what could she possibly do to her, with Jarhal here to protect her? Featherline decided she might as well play along since it seemed they would meet again after this hunt sometime. "I would most certainly enjoy myself, learning how to be like a human with you two at my side. I think you are both very good examples of your race." She had problems with finding the right words for this soft talk, so the sentences took some time before forming. This might very well be the first place in this world where she had reason to show gratitude.

"You are... Generous. You share your things, and I do not even have to force you." A bad thought crossed her mind as she had said that. What if they felt that she was forcing Jarhal, and now Aleksi, into giving her their belongings? Was that even a bad thing? She could use humans to her advantage if they truly feared her that much. Either way, it was best not to think about it. She could become way too soft in order to not scare anyone, or she could end up with a lot of things she did not need. Neither seemed comforting. With a grin, a facial expression she thought was a sign of great happiness, she shook the idea away and focused on what Jarhal was saying.

"Serpents, you say? Oh, how I would love a serpent in my beak." She did not catch the "giant" part of what Jarhal said, or it did not matter to her. Crouching down, she simply nodded at the explanation of the signs. She wanted to hunt now. She realized she was unarmed, but that did not matter. If she could get the chance to reach her prey at all, she might as well undress and deal with whatever awaited her from the air.

[Jarhal Treeshadow]

Not quite certain she had grasped all of that, being the flighty(ha ha get it) person the eagle-lady was, he just shrugged and followed his dog through the high grass. Here he stalked now, trying to squeeze through the stalks of grass with the least resistance while still keeping on the trail Chural made. It was not a difficult tracking job, since another bleat stretched across the plains not long after the first.

As they got closer, however, a more peculiar sound could be heard. That of horns clacking together, and as they came even closer one could hear the snorts of two opposing bull elks. There was no clear line of sight to the two animals yet, but Jarhal knew precisely what they were about to find: A brawl. The elk fought each other for all number of reasons, but the main one would always be for mating. He was not so skillful a hunter to tell how big both of them were by the noises, but he knew the skill was learned after many long years in the grasslands.

Slowing now, he turned to make sure the two women had not gotten lost behind him somehow. By Chural's tenseness he figured that they were close now, perhaps just out of 50 yards. Obviously the closer you got the better, but Jarhal was comfortable enough at shooting from 30 yards and 40 if he really had to try it.

Holding up a hand for them to stop, he came very close to them and pitched his voice lowest yet. Even this close, it barely carried to their ears.

"Aleksi, I'd like you to follow me to where I'll make the shot. Featherline, find a good spot to watch from around here. It won't be long." He looked to each of them to make sure they heard, giving a nod to the both.

Even with the little mask covering half of his face, one could tell he was not smiling. His dull grey-ish eyes were as cold as the air around them, tense as his bowstring. He was ready to kill something, and to him that was deadly serious business no matter what was being killed.

[Featherline]

Featherline stalked after Jarhal, keeping slightly behind the two to make sure she noticed everything that could happen. She shrugged as she heard the sounds of horns being bashed towards each-other. The call from one of the bulls must have caught the attention of another bull, giving the little group an advantage. With the creature's attention drawn towards themselves, they might not notice them until it was too late. They might even get one of them to kill the other, giving them a bigger catch. From the sounds they made though, she realized it was not cows they were hunting. She wondered if this animal tasted better than cattle.

Featherline seemed disappointed for not joining in the killing itself, but she realized this was best. She had no idea how to hunt like a human yet, and wouldn't do much good trying to help them. She simply nodded, and darted into the grass. She didn't go straight towards the sounds though, afraid that she might reveal her friends, but rather circled around in hunt for a higher spot to get an overview of the hunt. She didn't want to stand still though, so she had no intention of doing as she was told. For one, she would freeze before the hunt was over if she stood still. Besides, she could risk being attacked by something from behind if she didn't shift around.

[Aleksi]

Aleksi just tilted her head at the young woman after the comment about sharing. It was not a strange thing for Drykas, since they lived in a large community and especially not strange for Aleksi since she had Tebridiar now. Shrugging the thought off, she just followed Jarhal, smiling wide at the sound of horns.
Yes, it was quite obvious Luc enjoyed himself as well, hoping he'd get a chance to hunt something down quite soon, but never even for a second walking in front of Aleksi.
He seemed as a well trained cat.

When Jarhal told her to follow, she nodded and showed a grassland sign to Luc, on which she just slowed down, making sure his muzzle was shut. It seemed like she has told him to keep it quiet, since now, they weren't hunting the way they used to. There was no place for a mistake and especially not a loud one.
Aleksi didn't know much about the way Jarhal was hunting, but looking at the basics and being rather bright, she just figured out she should keep it down and wait while the man does his thing.

Nature was everything Aleksi lived for before she met Tebridiar, so seeing the two bull elks made her smile pretty wide.
Was there anything more beautiful then the animals in their natural environment?
Or in Luc's case, was there anything more tasty then two stupid bull elks fighting?