The Mighty Hunter [Solo]

[Isette]

1st Spring 511 A.V.

It was a cool night with a delicious southern breeze. Through the mist and the trees, one could occasionally make out the calming twinkle of stars. It was a perfect night for hunting. Isette’s ears perked at the sound of leaves rustling. It made her pause, but not for long. There was a distinct difference between noises caused by wind and noises caused by small animals. Wind was slower, more gentle, and (of course) it only existed as long as the breeze. Animal noises were quick, scattered, and somewhat harsh. It was those noises that Isette sought out. The feline was terribly hungry. For once she had left her skyglass pendant at home along with her clothes. She did not expect to need them in her feline form and the pendant would only get in the way. It was rare for her to go anywhere without her treasure, but getting the dangling cord caught on a branch was not the best way to catch a meal. Isette had learned that the hard way during her very first hunting attempt. It was a mistake she only repeated if she did not have the time or energy to return all the way home before a hunting trip. The Kelvic’s sharp claws dug into the rough tree bark as she propelled herself upwards. She always felt more relaxed when she was up high. And this tree was her tree. It had her scent on it. Rather than climbing all the way as she sometimes did, the feline decided to stay on the lower end of the tree. It would be easier to spot the scurrying creatures from that area. From there, all of her senses were alert. Her eyes reflected the dim light so that they almost seemed to glow, her nose twitched hopefully, and her ears were sensitively responding to the smallest disturbances. Nothing. Isette was disappointed. The weather was nice. Perfect, actually. The night should be alive with activity, but she wasn’t sensing anything. Her tail flicked with annoyance, but she knew she had to be patient. Her prey was out there, she only needed to find it. Silently, the cat padded across a branch and jumped to the next tree, her black fur blending easily into the shadows. The night was still young and Isette was determined. One way or another, she would find her prey, track it, and devour it.

[Isette]

Nothing. Not a flying squirrel, not a shrew, not a mouse. Isette felt as though she were missing something. Was she just not paying close enough attention? She paused in her current tree and tried, once more, to take stock of her situation. There was no reason for the night life to be hiding, but saw, heard, and smelled nothing strange. Wait. What was that? Isette’s nose twitched, but the little moving leaf north of her and the wind carried its scent away. Interested, her ears perked forward. It was a skittering noise. A mouse? It sure must be small to hide under that leaf! The feline climbed down, slowly, so that she could investigate the source of the skittering. She padded lightly, careful to keep herself from stepping on a crackly leaf or a twig that was just the right size for a good snap. She got low, her ears forward and her tail down. Still she couldn’t pick up a scent. Isette opened her mouth and breathed in, tasting the air. There. Something odd that she couldn’t quite place. The scent was too faint. Probably because the wind was helping to mask it. But it was distinctly not a plant smell. The leaf skittered again. Isette pounced and felt triumph flush through her as she caught the leaf easily between her paws. The Kelvic dug her face and nose into it, interested in seeing her prize. Oh. Apparently it had been the wind after all. Triumph was quickly replaced with disappointment. She should have been more aware. If the leaf stopped moving when the wind did, then there was no animal. And always wait for a confirmed visual before taking the pounce. If there were any prey creatures in the area, many of them would likely be aware of her now. So then…What had that odd smell been? Isette opened her mouth and tasted the air again. It was still there. Probably further north. Should she follow it? There was no reason not to. The feline was hungry and if she expected to catch anything at all then she would have to keep moving. This little flood of embarrassment had made her too conspicuous. Annoyed, Isette climbed back into the safety of the trees and continued her way northward, towards the odd smell. She consoled herself along the way with pictures and images of delicious things filling her stomach.

[Isette]

The more northward she went, the stronger the strange smell became. Now it came with a prickling feeling of familiarity that she couldn’t quite place. Squirrel? No. Perhaps a shrew? Isette didn’t think that was it either. Well, it was something. At this point, Isette was being driven as much by her curiosity as she was by her hunger. She padded forward, following the smell intently. The sort of animal it was didn’t really matter. It was the only thing she’d sensed so far. It would have to do. Isette was not in a position that allowed her to be picky. Her nose led her to an opening at the base of a tree. It was a rather large opening. Too large. The feline paused and sniffed the entrance, just to make sure. Yes. That was definitely the smell she had been following. Her tail twitched as she studied the area. Prey creatures usually dwelled in smaller areas. Perhaps there was a whole family of prey creatures! The scent sure was strong. Fresh. But what if the smell belonged to something more dangerous? It wasn’t fox. Isette knew that much. What other creatures lived in dens such as that? Curious, she stuck her head in. Oh. Isette’s fur bristled all over, puffing her up to twice her size as she caught sight of the badger family living within the den. Mommy badger was not at all pleased to see her. The creature swatted at her, making Isette back up, and lunged. It seemed really mad that she had intruded on their family. And badgers were mean. The beast seemed intent on making sure Isette was no longer a problem, so the cat wasted no time in running away. Luckily, badgers could not climb trees. She raced up the nearest one and didn’t stop climbing until she was near the top. The cat curled up and panted as her fur slowly laid back down. That had not been a fun experience. She stretched out on the branch and took a moment. Her nerves needed to settle before she was willing to continue her hunt. Let that be a lesson to her. That smell was a badger smell. And next time she should know what sort of animal was lurking in a den before peeking her curious little nose into it. She was lucky to have gotten away with only a small scratch across her hindquarters.

[Isette]

Once Isette was recovered and her heart rate was back to normal, she got to her feet and looked around. Her tail wagged behind her as she tried to determine where she should go next. This was getting annoying. She scanned the area with sharp eyes, trying to get a feel for the area as her ears swiveled to pick up all the different sounds. She didn’t want to go back south. West then. Isette padded along her tree branch and then jumped to the next tree over. She hadn’t tried going west before. The feline moved from tree to tree, growing silent the further away she got from the badger den. There! A shrew! Isette instantly pulled to a stop and flattened herself against the branch, hiding herself. She watched the animal hungrily as it nosed about the forest floor. Slowly, gradually, she stalked forward on her branch. One paw at a time. Barely moving. Not taking her eyes off the prize. That shrew was absolutely going to be her dinner. Her mouth watered as the scent flooded her senses. Almost there. Just a little bit further. SNAP! Isette froze as a small twig broke off of the tree and fell to the ground. Oops. The shrew was frozen as well. Seconds passed. A minute. Isette couldn’t even breathe she was so tensed. Then, finally, the shrew determined there was nothing to be afraid of and the cat was able to release her held breath. But now she was impatient. That had been to close for comfort. Isette didn’t want to risk losing her prey again. She readied herself, checked for balance and analyzed the distance between her and her food. Once she was positive she could do it, the feline pounced from her place in the trees, paws extended. Nothing. Really? Confused, Isette looked around her. It seems she had over shot her mark. The shrew, frightened by the small predator’s shadow, had disappeared. Of course. Isette was disappointed, but still not ready to give up. She sniffed the area where the shrew should have been and picked up the animal’s scent. It took her a few moments of following, but she eventually tracked it to a small hole. Well, petch. Isette wrinkled her nose in disgust. That shrew would be able to live another night. Back into the trees, then. And next time, she would not be so rash.

[Isette]

Isette padded cheerfully through the trees, not allowing her previous failures to matter. It was just practice, she told herself, so that one day she could be the best hunter in the world. Even the foxes would learn to fear her. It’s okay that she wasn’t very good now. After all, the first year of her life had been pretty pampered. Isette had played hunter as a kitten, but had never had to realistically hunt for her food. Hunting was a big part of her instinct but she still had a lot to learn about how to hunt various animals. She froze. The strong smell of bird seemed to wash over her. Alarmed, Isette realized she was closer to the smell then she should have been without having already picked up the scent. Had her thoughts really been that distracted? The feline berated herself before following the scent. There on the adjacent branch was a small nest with the mother bird sleeping soundly inside. Isette purred. Surely she would be able to catch a sleeping animal. She crouched and prepared herself. This time she took better care to determine her surroundings. Her meal was not going to be spoiled by a well placed paw. Jump! The Kelvic landed soundlessly on the other side and she was rather pleased with herself. Unfortunately, soundlessly did not entirely mean there was no movement whatsoever. The branch shook and bent under the cat’s weight. It was much thinner than the one she had been walking on. Her claws dug into it for support, but she already knew that sneaking up on the bird would be next to impossible if this kept. But what did she have to lose? There was no harm in trying. Isette slowly inched her way forward, doing her absolute best to keep the branch still. Mother animals were mean. Not only did the bird wake up, it attacked her! Attacked! As though she was the prey animal and not the feathered fiend! Isette growled and swatted at the thing, but she was too stunned by its ferocity and the branch was too small for her to do much about it. Eventually, she lost her balance and fell. Without thinking about it, her body twisted around so that she could land on her feet with a light THUMP! Isette shook herself. Her fur was, once more, standing up all over her body.

[Isette]

Again, Isette needed to take the time to recover. She wasn’t ready to climb back into the safety of the trees, but being on ground level made her nervous. What if a fox found her? Or a bear? It was so much easier to escape predators when she was in the trees. But not right then. Isette shook herself and waited for her fur to lay down flat. She then began to wash herself, diligently. It was a calming routine. Her ears swiveled around in all directions, keeping alert for sounds. After the badger and the bird, she was feeling skittish. Once she was significantly calmer, the optimistic cat headed west and began the search for new prey. Nothing new was jumping out at her. She picked up a few scents, but all of them were stale. She didn’t lose hope. Not yet. There was a lot of ground to cover. Something would turn up eventually. It was likely that a lot of the prey animals went into hiding after hearing all the commotion with the bird. You didn’t have to speak bird language in order to know that had been a predator alert. Birds didn’t go that insane for no reason, after all. As she walked, a leaf fell from a tree before her. She watched it fall curiously. It twirled in the same breeze that had dislodged it, slowly twirling down towards the earth. When it was low enough, the feline lazily swiped at it with a paw. It gave her an idea. Since there were no prey animals in the immediate area anyway, why not practice a bit? Practicing was fun and it would help her to refocus her energy. Isette trotted off into the nearby shadows, the spring back in step. A little bit of play time would be fantastic. Isette took up a hunter’s crouch and chose her prey. A leaf, skittering in the wind. Her tail twitched excitedly for a moment and then everything went still. Isette’s eyes narrowed on her prey and her nose twitched, as though she could smell fresh life pumping through the leaf. The wind died down and the leaf went still. Now! Isette darted from her hiding spot and pounced, her paws outstretched. She caught the leaf easily between her paws. But it wasn’t over. If the leaf were a mouse, it would still be alive. Isette lunged in for the killing blow; success!

[Isette]

Isette purred with pleasure as she played on the forest floor, killing one leaf after another. It was quite a comical sight. Memories of her kittenhood washed over her, teasing her mind with innocent joy. Chasing string. Sneaking into the kitchen for snacks. Falling asleep in her father’s shoe. Clawing a tunnel into her bed to hide from her lessons. Her parents’ disappointment. That last one made her stop. Isette’s life hadn’t been completely bad. She was not without happy memories. But it had been unbearable nonetheless. The harsh lines etched into her father’s face. The dazed, almost guilty look in her mother’s eyes… Movement. The Kelvic forgot about playing. She shook her head, trying to get away from the sudden wave of depression so that she could focus on her surroundings. Had she been in human form, she might have cried. Instead, her sadness was on full display as it infected her body language. Isette wished to be an optimist. She made a conscious effort to be so. That sadness was unusual. She wished it gone. It was the past and therefore it was inconsequential. Only the present mattered and presently she was trying to fill her empty stomach. The cat paused. Her senses at alerted her to some sort of movement but she had been too distracted to analyze it. Her ears swiveled, trying to pick up whatever had alerted her. Truthfully, Isette could not remember which of her senses had noticed the disruption. Hearing? Sight? Or had it been as subtle as the wind blowing a new scent towards her, which her distracted mind took as movement? Or perhaps it was nothing. Just the wind singing through the trees. Her eyes scanned the darkness, searching. Her whiskers twitched. Her body stood absolutely still, hoping that whatever it was would reveal itself again. Nothing. Isette didn’t know how long she stood there, in the open, vulnerable. It was too long. If she wasn’t careful, a predator would find her. Perhaps one already had. Maybe that was why she couldn’t find the source of her distraction. Perhaps it was lying in wait, watching her in her stillness, waiting to make its move. Suddenly spooked, Isette began craving the comfort of the trees. She leapt haphazardly and clawed her way up the nearest trunk, awkwardly scrambling to a good sized branch. Just as she did, the sound of a creature moving reached her ears; a sound too big to be prey.

[Isette]

Not wanting to share her hunting space with another predator (especially if she was something on that predator’s menu), Isette promptly turned and went south. After the badger, the feline was able to curb her curiosity for the moment. There was no need to follow and see what was making that noise. It was too big for her to eat and it therefore should not matter. Even so, she could feel the pull of her not-knowing. Isette wanted to investigate. To see. To know. It was extremely distracting. But the Kelvic pushed herself onward anyway. This time, she was going to make her catch. This time, she was going to hunt smart. Isette jumped from tree to tree, staying silent but not going into complete hunting mode yet. She wanted to find the perfect place. A place that was open enough for easy maneuverability but dense enough to make the prey creatures feel safe. She padded through the trees for a good ten minutes before she found her spot. Isette stopped and tasted the air. Aha! Vole! Isette went very still and followed the thick scent with her eyes. This time, she was sure, she would catch herself dinner. There. The little creature was walking along the forest floor, completely unaware of Isette’s presence. Not wanting to repeat the mistake she had made with the shrew, Isette began climbing down from the tree. Branch by branch. But by bit. This time, she was going to succeed. Her stomach hurt. She needed food. Isette’s entire body and mind were completely focused. It was going to work. It had to. The feline made it to the forest floor and the vole was still there. Still unaware. So far so good. She crouched low to the ground and waited for the perfect time to… POUNCE! Isette moved swiftly, her paws deadly. She could feel the warmth of the rodent against her sensitive pads as she successfully caught the poor creature. Not wasting any time, Isette used her teeth to kill the thing swiftly. Finally! At last! The vole was a fantastic reward. Isette purred and picked up her kill so that she could return to the safety of the trees and eat in peace. She was tired, but all of her failures were worth it now that she had such a magnificent prize. Food never tasted better than it did when she hunted for it herself.

[Mercury]

Isette Skill(s) Hunting + 5 XP Climbing + 4 XP Lore(s) A Hunter Listens What was That? : Just a Leaf Curiosity Killed the Cat Badger, badger badger… ! The Indomitable Spirit of a Hunter A Mother's Wrath Fear is a Hunter's Friend Nothing Tastes Better than A Meal Earned Method to my Madness: I gave you hunting for listening. Good job writing a less often used sense. I really like how you described hunting as hard, it is hard and it does take a long time! Good job. One thing though - why would a giant hunting cat care about a fox? (A bear maybe) I topped off your hunting skill for the leaf attack (that was a fun read). Great training thread Isette; keep it up. Injuries(s) Badger Scratch on Bum: 1 week to heal: requires no attention: Only bothers when sitting in human form You can address any questions or concerns to the little voice in your head. A.K.A. PM me.