I Hope This Ends Well... [Hunting Party]

[Kendall Saarinen]

87th of Winter, 511 AV Tag: Kaiielle, Graln, Jaiun, and Silvy Since coming to the city Kendall had found himself much more busy that he had expected. He had met so many people in such a little amount of time! Genisi from the Warrens had pulled him over one day as he walked past the main cabin, asking him if he would be interested in a hunt. While he had not wanted to take part in the first place, the woman did a wonderful job of guilting him into agreeing to join. She went on about how she could understand how an outsider would not want to help and how she worried for the city once winter set in and the prey was more scarce. In the end, he agreed and as he stood in the Reaches waiting for the rest of the party he could fully state that he regretted the choice. He would not show it of course. There was no reason to be rude. The city had taken him and his friends in with open arms and he was thankful. He just did not know the first thing about hunting. Genisi had said that there would be a couple of people joining him. Two of the Icewatch bears (so there would be no reason to fear for his life), a Frostfawn, and another kelvic. The thought of hunting saddened Kendall slightly. Cathan had always hunted for the pair when he was still around. Now, even though Kendall's party had gained a few new faces, it did not make up for the fact that his canine companion had wandered off without even a word of warning. He had grown very close to the man. He had even considered him a brother but in the end, even Cathan had to move on. Perhaps he was happier in the wild. He never seemed to like his human form.

[Silvy]

Earlier, she'd kissed Varian when she was awake and told him she'd be gone hunting. He sounded distracted, but since he'd mumbled something that sounded like good luck, she soon left. The young woman loved to hunt, but would clearly do better in her natural form for such a thing. Ears alert, Silvy approached a tall blond.....man, she smelled. Telling men and women apart in human form wasn't easy, but a good nose always helped. When she'd heard that a hunt was needed to bring in meat, she had to join in! Who doesn't love the hunt?! 'I will meet this person and speak a bit, but it might be best to change form before the respected bears of the Icewatch appear. I would be far too vulnerable in the midst of changing if they happened along at such a time!' Her feet were noiseless in the powdery snow and she held her breath to catch a better scent as she approached the stranger. Silvy's silver eyes looked over the man, innately comparing him to her bondmate, Varian. His eyes didn't move like a Vantha's and he dressed differently. Varian had told her that humans smile so she tried it, with an uncomfortable fit. A lovely, young woman approached Kendall. Long silver hair reached her waist in thick waves and she smiled up at the stranger. The Kelvic's smile included slightly elongated canine teeth that definitely looked sharp. Unfortunately her smile looked more menacing than the cheerful greeting she meant it to be. Her mercury eyes lightened as she took in the man's features. "You are tall and very pretty. My name is Silvy; what's yours?" There was something about the man's fine boned features, high cheekbones and mobile mouth that made her look at him more closely. Not enough for direct eye contact, for she would never challenge a stranger, but there was something exotic and well, beautiful about his features. Varian looked very nice to her with his swirling Vantha eyes, dark hair and sensuous mouth, but this man seemed a different kind of handsome. Catching herself staring, she blushed at her rude manners and scanned the area for the others. "Do you mind if I change here? I'd rather not be caught out here in front of Polar Bears in my weaker form!" The last question was more rhetorical than anything. Silvy removed her clothing and tugged off her slim shoes to put everything in a neat pouch around her neck. With a last quick look over her shoulder, small, sparkling lights moved rapidly over the young woman, obscuring her completely for just a chime. When the lights were gone, a silver arctic wolf stood in her prime. (She is about 71 cm, 28 inches tall and 49 kilos,110 lbs) Silvy looked up at Kendall trustingly, nosed his hand to pet her head, and wagged her furry tail happily.

[Graln]

OOCBeen a while since I wrote for Graln, hopefully it can still be done. Much to his displeasure, Graln had found himself contracted into going on a hunt. He did like hunts, just not group ones. There were too many scents, even more noise… and to top it all off, he could never trust any of his would be companions the way he trusted himself. Most of all the bear could not understand why did people organizing the hunt send a Snowsong to tell him he should join the hunt? Such disrespect, he deserved to at least be instructed by a Frostfawn, didn’t he? Regardless it was all supposedly good, he was used to bad vibrations coming off Snowsongs and their idiotically nerve poking instrument tuning. Graln still remembered how that stranger had him bite onto the whole hunt idea… how in Morwen’s name could he be so shortsighted? So what if a small woman who knew next to nothing about hunting called him scared? She knew nothing, her words meant nothing; still they seemed to have made their effect successfully. Looking back at being manipulated, Graln blamed himself… if he wasn’t so damn grumpy all the time, maybe they could just ask him without any manipulation involved. And then he remembered that they were the ones who made him grumpy in the first place so he settled for remaining angry. Coming out into the reaches, Graln was already in his bear form. There was no reason whatsoever for him to include socialization on the list of things that needed to be done. While he had remembered when and where the hunt was, the bear had fallen asleep way too early to hear who else was coming with him. Once he arrived, there were already two of them there. One arctic wolf, and by the smell of it a Kelvic; he couldn’t really tell if it was a male or a female since all wolves were abnormally small compared to him, so he decided to treat the beast like he would any of the cubs. Staring at the wolf for a while longer, Graln wondered if they had brought that small critter along as help or as a midway snack. Finally turning his eyes to the other static figure, he could not recognize the man. An outsider hunting in the Reaches, what sort of mockery was that? A strange smell reached his nostrils clearly for the first time around and he awkwardly pointed his nuzzle at the man’s body. The man smelled nice, almost like women and children ought to. Raising his head up to look at the man, he wondered if he was a snack too. The outsider smelled good, tasty even… Graln liked tasty.

[Jaiun]

Jaiun was hungry again.

That in and of itself was not too surprising. Jaiun had a voracious appetite and a bottomless pit of the stomach, but today was different. Today, he wold be hunting- getting some real meat for once.

The night before Rafresa had come to him and told him of the job. A hunt was being set up for one of the outsiders, and they wanted an Icewatch bear to tag along. Jaiun's ears had perked when he heard the outsider was Kendall Saarinen, one of the intriguing humans Jaiun had encountered, if only for a brief time. Intriguing being the operative word, as Jaiun acknowledged a burning desire to find out more about the mysterious traveler, and, before he had known it, he had agreed to go with the hunting party.

That morning, he set out to the prescribed meeting spot in polar bear form, traveling several leagues outisde the city gates. He knew the area well, and when he was met with a scent unnatural to the surrounding area, he knew he was near the other hunters. Letting his nose guide him, Jaiun found his way into the clearing where three others awaited.

One of them was a polar bear like himself, which Jaiun wasn't too surprised to see. Two bears were better than one, after all, and by what Jaiun understood, this would be a relatively large group. He gave a grunt of acknowledgement to the other Icewatch guard before turning to the other two of the group.

One of them was Kendall, which he had deduced even before entering the meeting spot; his almost-feminine scent was unmistakable. The other one was a stranger to him, a silvery arctic wolf. Jaiun's practiced nose chalked up the creature as a Kelvic, which made them three to one in terms of race in this group, a fact which amused Jaiun.

Jaiun didn't like his human form, but he assumed introductions were necessary, and soon had taken his much weaker form in a miasma of flashing lights. He looked at Kendall, giving him a cool smile to show he remembered the human as he doubted the man knew his bear form.

"Greetings, my fellow Kelvics, and Kendall." Jaiun said. "I'm Jaiun, and a pleasure to meet all of you, I'm sure. I'll be one of the Icewatch accompanying you on this trip." he said, gesturing to the other bear.

"Does anyone else know who we are waiting for? I'd like to see this hunting trip started."

[Kaiielle]

All her time living in Avanthal and Kaiielle had never been hunting before. One would think being a Frostfawn she would jump at any opportunity to better her skills, but she had always been too young to go with an older group, and her father had never taken her. When she had heard of a hunting party being set up for an outsider, she wasn't at all interested, but when she heard it was for Kendall, the man she met in Crystal Hall just a couple days before, she immediately volunteered. Now the only thing she was worried about as she crunched through the thick snow was who else was going to be there. The other Frostfawn who had told her of the hunt had also gave her directions, but she'd been walking in the reaches for about fifteen minutes now. She looked for tracks of other people, but she was no expert at tracking either. Praying to Morwen she was not lost, she sighed heavily in frustration at her lacking skills and continued to venture on. She had traded her regular attire for some thin breeches, a blouse, and high boots, but kept her warm cloak splayed among her small body. She hoped it would give her some added agility, although she probably didn't have any in the first place. Laughing at herself, she finally found the clearing she was supposed to be at, along with a big polar bear, wolf, Kendall, and... a naked Jaiun. Casting her eyes downward while she walked, she made her way over by Kendall and the wolf. "Sorry I'm late... I think I might've got lost." she said quietly. She lifted her head to smile at Kendall and wave a small hello to the wolf he was petting, but quickly looked back down, her cheeks flaming pink. She cleared her throat and waited for instructions of the hunt.

[Baine Coolwater]

Baine mentally went over the contents of his backpack again: filled water skin times two, check; water purifier, check; hunting kit; for a second Baine panicked, patting his pack for the hunting kit he'd purchased, but not finding it. “What the..” he asked the air, then settled as he felt the kit hidden under his sleeping roll. hunting kit, check, he continued, oil, check; nuts, check; honey; che... “Baine?” Came a shout from the family room. “Baine, it's six bells.” “Thanks Mum, I'm coming.” he called, grinning. Count on his mum to call out to him to make sure he was ready to go. With a deep breath, he ran his hands down his pant legs and grabbing his cap, fixed it firmly, to his head, hefted the backpack to his shoulder, and gave his room a quick scan before heading toward the kitchen. The room was not only the warmest in the house because the oven and stove both were going full tilt, but also because there she stood, the most beautiful woman in Coolwater Hold. Leaning down, he gave her a kiss. “Thanks for calling me Mum. Wouldn't want to miss my grand adventure." His eyes sparkled, a swirling mix of lavender and indigo. A small woman, Binta Coolwater turned, and standing on tip toe, to kiss her eldest son. Then giving his cheek a light smack, she smiled at him before warning, “You be careful and keep your feet dry.” She warned motioning him towards the steaming bowl of oatmeal she had for him at the table. “Always.” He responded. Not daring to grin at her admonishment, even though she herself wore a soft smile. It was the same thing she said to all of them when they left to go on any sort of trip. Be careful, keep your feet dry. When he was little, and he heard his mother say this to his father and uncles, he wondered at it. He began to carry old rags in his coat pocket...just in case there was an emergency foot wetting accident. The memory had him grinning, as he shoveled “What's got you happy boy?” His mother tone was cool, though her eyes were still lavender, so he knew he wasn't in too much trouble. His head wobbling back and forth, “Ah, it's just excitement Mum. Happy to be going. Speaking of which...” He shoved the last of his oatmeal into his mouth, and grabbing his pack, started out the door when his mother's voice stopped him. “Baine, forgetting something?” Frowning he turned to her. Then, shrugging leaned down toward the petite woman, and kissed her once more. “Thank you for breaking my fast Mum, blessings to you and good fortune upon you.” He said formally, before turning toward the door again. “Ah.. mmm.” Came that noise that people make when they want to stop you from doing something, but don't come out and say it. Baine turned again, arms wide, eyes a swirl in shades of gray, eye brows questioning her for him. She stepped to the left corner, behind the tall cupboard, where he'd left them and retrieved his javelins and knife. “May need these.” His eyes pinked to match the shade that had risen to stain his chest and cheeks as he took his weapons from his mother. “Thank you.” he choked out, closing his eyes for a moment, but the excitement of the hunt course through him yet again. Flashing a grin, he asked, “Good to go?” With a wink and a laugh, his mom Cracked her towel across his behind and went back to her chores. “Love you.” “Love you Mum.” He called with a laugh as he made quick time out to meet his companions. It was such a beautiful day. Baine took deep breaths of the clear, cool air. “Thank you Morwen for the beautiful day.” He addressed his goddess out loud and into the open air as he walked to the clearing. Winter boots crunched through the hard pack snow beneath his feet as he took long, steady strides toward his destination. His snow shoes were attached to his pack. No reason to use them here. The snow was packed down nicely, but who knows how far they were going or how deep the snow would be when they got there, he mused. His mind wondered over what sorts of animals they might have the fortune to see, but his wondering didn't last long. The sound of low timbered voices brought his attention up and he realized this was his group. “Greetings and well met everyone.” Though he was acquainted with Kaiilee, Jaiun, Grain and Silvy, he knew none of them well, and Kendall, this human visitor, not at all. Though still, he had longed to go on a hunting trip, and was grateful to be accepted into this one. He'd been reading as much as he could on hunting in Avanthal's library. He'd even sneaked out and made a mock hare and thrown his javelin at it. Truth be told, he wasn't very good, but still, he'd get a shot in once in awhile. Same with the knife. It was well balanced, and once in awhile, he'd hit his target. Blue eyes looked from face to face, nodding to each one in turn. He was especially pleased to note that there were three Kelvics. Two bear Kelvics. Maybe they will talk about the icewatch. One could hope. He grinned to himself. Dang, Better calm down some or they will think I am a puppy kelvic. He took a calming breath, trying to steady himself and bring his eyes back to gray.

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall stood alone in the snow with nothing to speak to but the frozen wind itself. As he stood he let his Djed wrap around his hands, creating a shield. It was not a powerful shield. He was still extremely new to the art of shielding. Any practice was helpful though. He focused on the shield, working to make it strong over his hands to block out the cold. His focus was broken when a beautiful white haired woman walked up. She was shorter than him. It seemed lately that he rarely found people who were shorter than him. Her smile looked familiar, although not in the way where he thought he had seen it before. It looked like Cathan's smile. It hurt a little to think of him. He had been Kendall's closest friend when he needed a friend most and it had almost been a over a season since he saw him last. Could the woman be a Kelvic? More importantly, was she part of the hunting group? Kendall blushed slightly at the woman's words. "Thank you Silvy, you are very pretty too." He smiled lightly at the woman, hoping that he was not being awkward. "I'm Kendall." He could see the woman watching him. A lot of people did. He was different and as time went on, he was hiding it less and less. He let his auristic vision fill his eyes as he looked at the woman. Colors of curiosity painted her aura, much like Cathan's had looked. Her question pulled him away from her aura. He nodded lightly as his question was answered. She was Kelvic. "That is fine with me. Whatever you feel comfortable with." The blond averted his eyes when the girl was preparing to change forms. He knew from Cathan and Ethan the Kelvic really did not mind people looking but Kendall was not comfortable with it, although he knew he should have been. When she assumed her true form he looked toward her, taking in the sight of a beautiful white wolf. "She is more like Cathan than I thought." He smiled brightly at the wolf when she nudged at his hand. "Your true form is beautiful as well." He reached out to pet her fur but he did this with caution. Although she was a friendly wolf he knew not all Kelvic liked to be pet. The next person to arrive was a bear. Kendall looked down at Silvy nervously as he walked forward. He knew that there were a great amount of polar bear Kelvics in the city but who knew if this was a Kelvic or a wild animal? He was nervous so he silently watched, moving closer to Silvy in case the pair would need to fight. He let his auristics take over his sight once more to watch the bear. It did not seem to want to attack but it did not seem extremely friendly either. He felt his heart beat a little faster when the bear sniffed at him. "Hello, I'm Kendall." He hoped that the bear as a Kelvic. If not, his words might have been the last he spoke. When another bear walked up Kendall started to prepare himself to fight. If two bears were here they could have been hunting together and if they were they had just found two snacks just waiting to be eaten. When the newer bear was engulfed in a flash of light it was clear to see at least one of them was Kelvic. As the lights faded Kendall found himself face to face with Jaiun, the bear he had met before. Kendall looked away slightly from the sight of the man. He always worried this was a bit rude but he was trying. When the man addressed the other bear as one of the Icewatch, he felt a bit more relaxed. At least there was no danger yet. "Nice to see you again Jaiun. We are still waiting for two more people I think." Kendall looked around and smiled slightly when his eyes fell upon Kaiielle, the girl he met at Crystal Hall. "It's not a problem. The more people we can get, the better." Slightly after she arrived another man walked forward. Kendall smiled at him as well, uttering a greeting. Now that everyone was assembled it was time to head out. "I have not been in Taldera for very long so I'm not sure where we should go from here." He felt a little bit strange showing up for a hunt and not really knowing what to do. "Is there anyone who would want to lead the hunt who knows the land better?"

[Silvy]

Silvy gave Kendall a big wolfy grin that had her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. She bumped his hand in a friendly way to keep him petting her head. She was about to jump on him when a predator's scent caught her nose. Her posture changed in immediate reaction and she placed herself in front of the human to protect him. She knew it was foolish considering her tiny size and the sheer immensity of a polar bear, but she was determined. How could Silvy know if it was part of the hunting party or a hostile polar bear out for an easy snack? The wolf stood squarely with her legs braced against the snow and made sure her furry body blocked Kendall from the possible threat. "Kelvic!" her keen nose caught the bear's true race and she relaxed... a little. When a second bear approached, she pinned down her ears, and gave a stiff warning wag. She then lowered her head in a grimace of blatant submission. Silvy must communicate to the bears that she was -not- stupid enough to challenge them without a damn good reason! To an uneducated human the display might seem aggressive, but in animal speak, it was similar to waving a white flag to someone's superiority of strength; not to mention, for wolves it was polite manners. A woman and another man joined them as well and Silvy felt a little safer. The young Kelvic stayed by the humans, innately protective of them because they were so fragile. In the first place, she might at least distract a predator from the weak humans. But then again, in her practical mind, a bear would rather eat a slower, fatter human than a smaller, quicker wolf. It was nothing personal, it was just how nature worked. Besides, hunting in a pack was much more comfortable and far safer than hunting alone. With mild curiosity, she stared at Jaiun's naked male parts and wondered why they looked so different from Varian's. Silvy decided she was glad she relied on scent to determine gender because looking sometimes just wasn't enough to tell. When Baine grinned, she nodded in approval at his human puppy submission grimace. He showed his youth and submission in a proper wolfy way! 'Good cub!' she thought. 'Good manners.' When Kendall spoke again, Silvy was glad she was in her natural form. He'd posed a difficult question and she wasn't sure of the answer. As a mated female, it automatically made her alpha wolf and pack leader. However, humans had different ways of deciding packs. On top of it all, polar bears were solitary creatures, so they didn't normally hunt in packs and with good reason. Their notorious strength, sheer size and large temper were not helpful to group dynamics. Silvy tried to think it out, but it was a serious situation. Status must be the answer. Icewatch polar bears had the most status, so one should lead. While the first bear just stayed quiet and neutral, the second one announced himself and immediately stood and showed his height as a natural leader. The female, Kendall and BaineCub didn't seem the leader type at all. The silver wolf pointed her nose at the upright Kelvic, Jaiun, and gave a sharp howl bark as her nomination for hunt leader. It made the most sense. He'd made himself known as dominant, spoke well, knew the area and was a respected Icewatch member. In her mind, there was no question of who should lead.

[Graln]

Graln observed the group with more patience than he thought possible. More people gathered slowly, one by one adding into the colorful fray that could all but blend into the cold landscape of Taldera. On top of the snacks, two bears strolled in accompanied with a sweet scent of the Frostfawn. While he didn’t recognize the girl, he deemed her smell nice enough to be of assistance. Still, she looked like she was barely walking through the snow let alone hunting. His two bear brethren on the other side both looked and smelled familiar. While bears were all alike to the human eye, the opposite was true for Graln. Baine, the smaller of the bears was still a cub in the eyes of most others and the older bear paid little to no heed to him. If anything he was better than the humans. The other bear, Jaiun, on the other hand was a great hunter, revered among the Icewatch population. When the question of leadership was thrown their way, Graln only sat back in the snow, sniffing the air around them. He had no intention whatsoever to lead the hunt and to tell the truth Jaiun would probably be the better bear for the job. When the wolf howled, his head quickly turned towards it. Now racket he could usually tolerate, but his temper wasn’t made for surprises. Graln understood what the critter wanted to make known through the howl. Still, he kept wondering if all wolves were a bunch of loud and tactless snacks. Turning towards Jaiun, the bear simply nodded at the already popular choice. It wasn’t quite clear if the not bear part of the group got his nod for what it was, but it was fairly certain that the formidable bear did.

[Jaiun]

Jaiun hardly thought of himself as a great hunter, as some might have put it. True, he did venture out into the woods every now and then, and had arrived home with more than a few deer racks, but still, an eyebrow was raised as the idea of him being hunt leader was brought forward. Up until that moment, Jaiun had been standing quietly by his fellow bear, content to watch the others congregate and discuss. An inscrutable expression dominated his features as he watched them argue back and forth on this issue, there, but distant at the same time, however. When the wolf Kelvic howled at him and his fellow bear gave him a nod, however, he hurriedly snapped back to the present.

Seeing the expressions of his fellow hunters, Jaiun realized it was his turn to talk. A breath escaped his lips and he stepped into the middle of the glade once more.

"Hunt leader...yes. I will be the hunt leader, if we are all in agreement. But by no means does that mean I'll do all the work. I expect all of you to contribute to this hunt." He surveyed everyone in the circle, his eyes both challenging and dispassionate. "I am...unused to working in a pack, so I'll need all of you working actively to make this hunt of success." he paused.

"The starter of which would be...what are we hunting." Jaiun said plainly. "I came not knowing what we would be hunting, and since you are of all different hunting tactics than me, I'll need to know what the best thing to hunt for all of us would be." Jaiun was clearly referencing the difference of size and power between the group; while Jaiun would have no trouble hunting, say wolves, for instance, he doubted the humans would, and the wolf Kelvic, absolutely not. Or...just highly improbable.