Solo Hunting And Being Hunted

Kelski hones her skills throwing daggers and gets a more lessons than she expected.

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Hunting And Being Hunted

Postby Kelski on May 31st, 2018, 9:01 pm

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Timestamp: 89th of Spring, 518 AV


The Kelvic lounged around enjoying a break from her jeweler’s table. Jaren had her doing stupid things again and she hated it. He’d acquired more stolen gems somewhere. They were of incredible quality and set in a large cluster necklace designed to really showcase whomever was wearing them. Jaren had slammed them down on her desk as if they meant nothing or had no value and told her to ‘cut them up’ and make something lesser of them… so he could safely sell them without the original owner getting wind of it. It half killed Kelski to even look at the masterfully cut and set stones knowing that an ignorant fool just wanting to make a profit was going to destroy them.

No. Far worse… Jaren was going to get Kelski to do it.

Perfect emeralds, the largest without a single flaw or inclusion, weren’t something the jeweler was likely to see more than once or twice in her lifetime. They just didn’t happen in nature. Kelski was upset and had left the project sit on her desk, hopeful that by the morning Jaren would change his mind. By then she’d have a chance to formulate a plan to present to him to rework the gems without destroying them. So far, her mind had drawn a blank. So while Jaren was out that evening with no plans to return that night, she was going to take that opportunity to get her mind off it in hopes that her brain would clear and an idea she could ‘sell’ him would fill it.

Master Li had often said when her mind was full, no ideas would come because there was no room for them. So Kelski decided she’d trade spaces with an empty stomach and full mind and go hunting to distract herself. Besides, the rats were getting bold again…. now that the cats had all conveniently been let outside to roam in the nicer late spring weather.

The Kelvic smiled, gathered her dagger, and headed out of her room/workshop and through Jaren’s room and out into the hall. She stalked barefoot down the shabby halls, dressed in an oversized boys night shirt and not much more. It fit her like a dress and left her warm enough for hunting. Light feet carried the predator to lower levels, her knife gripped in her hand, and her eyes scanning for fresh rat sign.

The basement was perfect. There was thick dust on the floor so her bare feet left tracks that mingled with the rat droppings and the little footprints where rats had passed, sometimes leaving little spidery marks where they drooped their tails. Kelski crept slowly forward, laying one foot softy down after the other, quiet, hungry, more than willing to score a meal here that would be far more satisfying than a meal granted elsewhere.

The shadows that were regular denizens down in the dark greeted her warmly, surrounding her and chattering almost distractedly. She welcomed their company though because it meant she wasn't so alone. And speaking quietly in Makath, she explained she was here to eat... to live another day longer if she could. They fanned out, reporting back that the rats where plentiful and fat here.

Kelski smiled.

Chirping and chattering, scurrying and the general busyness of creatures with unimaginable agendas met her ears as she moved slowly forward. They were here. In fact, they were all around her. Kelski took a grip on her dagger, one that was a modified hammer grip. She grasped the dagger as one would a hammer. Then she laid her thumb along side of the blade, pointing towards the tip, instead of wrapping around the knife. The grip allowed her to fling the blade unobstructed where it should get a full forceful turn before it struck the rat.

Kelski waited, deadly, until a rather fat large male rat stepped out into her path. She hurled the blade in an instant. The blade made a perfect arch and struck the rat in its side. It gave a death cry that sent the others scattering as it partially exploded from the force of the dagger penetrating its small body and in an instant opening its visceral cavity.

The shadows cheered her on silently as the Kelvic rose to retrieve her prize.
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They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
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Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
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Hunting And Being Hunted

Postby Kelski on June 9th, 2018, 3:24 pm

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The Sea Eagle in human form hurried to her still screaming prey, picking it up by the dagger. She neatly broke the rats neck with her hand and extracted the dagger. Pulling the dagger free, she flipped the rat upside down, stuck the knife into its vent, and quickly gutted it. She ran the dagger around its little feet, freeing its skin from its flesh and pulled the skinsack off the meat, cutting off its tail and head. Then she quickly began stripping its flesh from its bones, eating the bloody mess raw. Still warm, it was delicious. Kelski made quick work of the fat body, though she hated discarding the head, tail, and entrails. Her human form just couldn’t handle them nor regurgitate the bones like her eagle form could. She left the parts laying in the corner, knowing they’d be a pungent bait for the other rats if she just waited long enough.

Stepping back, still wiping the blood from her mouth, Kelski cleaned her dagger on her shirt tail and walked further down the basement hall, slipping into the first open room. In that doorway she crouched, waiting, her stomach rumbling at the fresh meat in it and wanting more. One rat would never be enough. Ten wouldn’t be enough either. She needed more… so many more. The Kelvic knew if she remained here with the Sun’s Birth and on the diet they currently had her on there’d be nothing left of her.

It didn’t take long from where Kelski crouched, partially hidden, and quiet, for her to realize she had a lot in common with the rats that surrounded her. They were just as greedy for food as she was. The stench of blood and offal and the quiet of the hall drew the others back out into the partial light. They weren’t starved like the Kelvic was, but rats were busy, constantly moving and constantly needing food.

Even the shadows whispered… ‘that one…. that big one….’ and she nodded almost imperceptivity.

She gripped her dagger again, eyes scanning the seeming crowd of creatures all greedy to reach the bounty Kelski left them first. She dismissed one obviously pregnant female and the smaller ones that were not worth her time. Another fat male came into view, bullying his way past the others to get to the offal of what might even have been his brother, father, or son. The Kelvic narrowed her eyes, readjusted her grip, and threw viciously.

The dagger sang its death song and the rat died just as easily as the other had. The Kelvic slowly smiled and rushed forward to retrieve her prize. She gutted it, stripped it of skin, and had it consumed just as fast as the other one. Her belly rumbled happily as the warm meat. She’d consumed this one in record time, blood dribbling down her chin. This rat had been larger, the size of a cat, and her hunger had calmed once she had most if its meat down. She picked up the shirt tail that dangled around her knee and focused on cleaning the dagger.

It felt so good to be full…. the Kelvics eyes went half lidded even as the shadows tried to say something abruptly. “Nightstalker…. be warn….” Their voices were cut off as iron hard arms clamped around her middle, drawing her up tightly to a big chest. A hand clamped around her wrist unexpectedly and with a vicious yank the blade dropped as the kelvic could not simply hold onto it any longer. Laughter rumbled in her ear even as that arm released her wrist, wrapped around her pelvis, and dragged her hips up against his.

“Little bird… do you know how you look crouched in the dark feasting on rats with blood trailing down your chin?” He said in her ear. “Gods… you aren’t even dressed properly. Jaren doesn’t know what the hell he has.” The stench of alcohol filled her nose. Darvin had been drinking. And a drunk Darvin was unpredictable.

The Kelvic knew better than to make a move or even a single sound.
Image
They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
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Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
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Medals: 11
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Hunting And Being Hunted

Postby Kelski on June 9th, 2018, 4:06 pm

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Darvin’s hands roamed freely and the Kelvic could do nothing about it but close her eyes and stand there. They were deep in the heart of The Barracks and completely alone. Darvin had something of authority here if not a standing due to his drug craftings. No one wanted to get on his bad side over a slave so there was no one to defend her. Rough fingers splayed out and the iron grip around her ribs loosened as he ran his hand quietly down her body. Her stomach, always so hollow, had a slight bulge in it due to the cat sized rat she’d just devoured. He stroked the bulge almost lovingly and sighed. “You know I asked Jaren if he was going to sell you, little bird. We both know he’s been growing bored of you. He’s used your little trinkets to bribe just about everyone who’s needed bribing already.” The hand dropped lower and she stiffened as it invaded someplace it didn’t belong. He stroked her there, almost gently, before he grabbed the piercing he’d placed there himself.

“He told me he was indeed.” Darvin said, a deep rumbling laughter rolling across her neck. His beard wasn’t scratchy, but soft. Darvin tugged the piercing, causing her to arch her hips, and the laughter rumbled out harder as he ground his own pelvis into her arched hips. “And then you know what else he said?” The man whispered drunkenly into her ear. “He said I’d get first shot to buy you. That he didn’t mind selling me to you. And you know what? I won’t use you as a jeweler…. not ever.” He said with slurred growl. Hands released her piercing and thus control of her hips, and moved back up her body, where they began caressing her chest. He toyed with piercings there too. “I can’t wait for it, little bird. I know you are just a filthy animal. But by the Gods, I just know you are going to fight me and I’m going to enjoy that fight every day of my life.” The big Dragoon groaned and ground his hips against her again.

“Jaren did you a disservice placing you off limits to all of us. If he’d have just let us have you whenever we wanted we’d have never wanted you as much as we do. I’m not the only one, sweet little bird.” He whispered again, licking her ear this time and causing Kelski to shudder in revulsion, even as the man misunderstood. “Oh… you like that do you?” He said, starting to nuzzle and nibble on her ear as he spoke. His other hand was busy cupping her breasts, fondling them, getting himself more and more worked up. Kelski knew Darvin in this mood. He was either going to want to fight or petch to release the tension. And truth be told she was terrified of either.

“You see, when I get done beating some of the fight out of you…. I’m going to start selling time with you. And when I do that… I’m going to keep whoring you out until I make back every coin I spent on you and then some. No one will care that you are as skinny as a boy and your breasts are just barely fuller than a boys’ pecs. They’ll want you anyhow because people here are sick and love the unusual. They’ll pay me good money for time. And after a few seasons, you’ll be used up, diseased, and past the point of ever recovering. Its just the way things are here, Kelski. It’s not me. And it’s not personal. It’s this city. It destroys everything it touches. The Svefra signed your death sentence when they brought you here, little bird. You use or be used.” He said with a laugh, tugging her ear with his teeth one last time and pushing her away from him like he disgusted her.

When he shoved her away she was ready, lunging for the dagger, snatching it up in her grip, reversing her angle, and turning. She hurled it at Darvin with all her might, an inhuman shriek of rage clawing its way out of her throat as if it were a sentient thing with talons. She didn’t have time to think of her grip, her stance, or anything…. instinct was ruling her… she just wanted his death.

It sailed neatly past and lodged in the stone wall behind him. Darvin threw back his head and roared in drunken laughter.
Image
They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
User avatar
Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
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Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (2)
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Hunting And Being Hunted

Postby Kelski on June 9th, 2018, 5:14 pm

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Darvin shook his head, turned and pulled the dagger out of the wall, and walked back over to Kelski and handed it to her. “Your stance is all wrong. Widen your legs, lead with the leg opposite of the arm that’s flinging, so your left… loosen your hips and take a deep breath that you exhale as you throw. I thought I taught you better than that.” He said, cuffing the Kelvic upside the shoulder and then moving to stand beside her. He turned, adjusting her like a doll… kicking her legs wider, reaching out and adjusting her hips, pushing her shoulders back to straighten her stance. He wasn’t gentle but he didn’t seem to be mad about the dagger either.

Kelski couldn’t ever seem to figure Darvin out. One minute he was a predator and the next minute he was acting as if he were her good friend. It kept her head whirling, spinning, and caused her to stand there shaking with reaction. The Dragoon didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, it tended to amuse him. Kelski, was after all, one of his hobbies. And he couldn’t seem to decide if that hobby was building her up or tearing her down. He took gaslighting to a fine art whether he knew it or not.

Leaning over, he adjusted the grip Kelski had on her dagger. “First off, your grip was sloppy. You are trying to use a hammer grip which is fine for normal dagger fighting, but you want a spline grip for throwing them. It’s a sort of modified hammer that you use to throw full turns. Keep your thumb here….” He said, moving her thumb into a better position than she’d had it up along side the blade before. It needs to be on the spline of the blade. It will be more comfortable for you in the end. And if you are careful, you can actually throw better even switching to this kind of grip.” He said, taking the blade from her again, and readjusting it in her hand so that her fingers and thumb gripped the actual blade, the hilt was pointed towards the target, and nothing was being cut along the edge. This grip with stick the blade parallel with the ground surface. It gives you more thrust, but that translates into more piercing power… which means you can break the tip off. If you want your blade to get through armor, use this throw but don’t count on your dagger having a tip when you get it back. IF you have no hope of getting it back, use this grip every time. It gives you a half turn double force close proximity throw… and can save your life. You should have used it on me Kelski, and killed me if you had any sort of talent for this bladework. I understand being a dumb beast is hard… but you are trying… that’s why I’m so willing to keep teaching you.” He said, stepping back, amused.

“Well… go try it.” He said, gesturing to the rats that had already re-gathered to eat the offal of not only one but two corpses. They were ignoring Darvin and Kelski just as much as Kelski and Darvin had been ignoring them.

Kelski was full…. but she wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to learn something. She took the stance he’d chastised her for not taking moments ago, and used the horizontal blade grip he had just shown her to step into her throw, exhaling, and aiming at one of the big rats in the front.

The rat made no sound as it died.
Image
They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
User avatar
Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
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Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (2)
Mizahar Grader (1) Trailblazer (1)
Overlored (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
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Hunting And Being Hunted

Postby Kelski on June 9th, 2018, 6:29 pm

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Kelski quietly approached the dead rat as its companions scattered. She retrieved the dagger and wiped it clean. Darvin picked up the rat, and this time he skinned it, gutted it, and began to slice it in little pieces. When she saw what he was doing, she assumed he was going to eat it himself and slipped her dagger into a pocket of the oversized shirt.

Instead, he offered a slice of the still warm rat meat to Kelski on the edge of his blade. “I watched Jaren feed you by his own hand at the feast the other day. It was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He said, making a beckoning motion with his blade. His voice deepened.

“Stay on your knees. Take it… and eat it.” He said, his voice going husky in that moment. Kelski watched him, uncertain of this new game, but did as he asked, dropping to her knees and taking the meat. She chewed it quietly, eating, her wide silver eyes on him. Food was food and despite being full she would eat more.

Darvin’s expression was unreadable as he slowly sliced up the rat’s body and fed Kelski from his own hand, watching her eat with eyes that were dark and guarded. “There’s a power in this, Kelski. I don’t think you could understand. It’s the same power that comes with owning another. Jaren doesn’t understand either. He doesn’t realize how much power he has in your life. He’s slowly starving you because he’s oblivious to the fact you have more needs than an average human and he’s treating you like you are human. But you aren’t, are you little bird? You are just a dumb beast….” He said, halting his feeding to take the dagger and use it to brush some of the loose hair off her forehead. “You need discipline and direction. If left to your own devices, you’d eat, sleep, and petch just like the rest of the dumb animals out there.” He said, running the flat of his dagger’s blade along her jawline.

It was moments like this that Kelski completely shut down. She liked to think her Sea Eagle form had in and of itself a personality that sometimes rose to the surface and protected her. The bird was arrogant and full of disdain for people like Darvin. He was nothing under her talons. She watched him grow somehow bigger under the power he was trying to take from her. But she gave him nothing… no emotion, no reaction, and certainly no fear. She was past being afraid of him. He’d already done everything he could do to her other than take her life. And it was times like this her life had very little meaning. His words became a background murmur and her heartbeat took over to create a rhythm to her world that made more sense than his voice.

She wanted to fight him and she would. But Kelski picked her battles, and while she had no way to distance herself from him or grab something to block his dagger with, she did have his distraction at his lecture to use against him. Quietly, carefully, while he was petting her with his blade, she slipped her hand into her oversized shirt pocket that held her dagger. Gripping it, she clutched at it and gave him no sign whatsoever. He smiled, went to take a breath with his mind already on the next part of the condescending lecture he was going to give her, when she struck.

The dagger slid free of her pocket in a smooth motion as if she’d practiced it all her life. To Kelski it seemed like it moved in slow motion. But, it was fast… so very fast… that even the well-seasoned Dragoon didn’t see it coming. Kelski drove the blade into the nearest part of him she could reach from her kneeling position. The blade struck deep into his forearm, just above a leather armband he wore wrapped around his bicep. She was quiet about it this time… oh so quiet. And in a way, it was an utterly proper response.

Darvin howled and balled up his fist, punching her straight in the face with all his rage and pain. She felt her nose crunch even as she flew back, knocking hard into the wall across from them. Darkness closed in even as she smiled, clenching her first that still clung to the dagger, all but laughing because it was now covered with Darvin’s blood.

Continued in Aftermath.
Image
They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
User avatar
Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (2)
Mizahar Grader (1) Trailblazer (1)
Overlored (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Sunberth Seasonal Challenge (1) Power Fork (1)

Hunting And Being Hunted

Postby Kelski on June 11th, 2018, 8:51 pm

Grading
Kelski

Experience: Planning +1, Psychology +1, Hunting +3, Dagger +5

Lores: JC: Breaking Down Exquisite Pieces Into Smaller Less Valuable Ones, Psychology: Clearing Ones Full Mind, Darvin: Plans On Purchasing Her From Jaren, Dagger: Defending Against Sexual Assault, Dagger: Being Corrected On Technique By An Attacker, Dagger: Proper Grips For Throwing, Hunting: Killing Rats For Food, Hunting: Being Hunted While Hunting

Note: Your nose is broken. 4-6 weeks healing, 8 weeks better.
Image
They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
User avatar
Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (2)
Mizahar Grader (1) Trailblazer (1)
Overlored (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Sunberth Seasonal Challenge (1) Power Fork (1)


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