[Flashback] What Are We Eating? (Zardra)

[Renalee]

80th Day of Spring, 512 AV


It was very early in the morning when the sounds woke Renalee up. Something was dying. And not too far away from where she had spent the night. The puma stretched languidly, feeling her muscles tense for a moment and then settle pleasantly. Her fire had died out during the night, leaving grey ashes between blackened stones that had held its flames. Her ears turned towards the source of the sounds, her whole head following soon after. The smell of blood accompanied that of some sort of heavy musk that drafted through the morning air with the breeze.

After a quick consideration the big cat picked up the straps of the beige backpack, which was lying on the ground close by, in her mouth and slowly headed in the direction of the noises that had awoken her. Whatever had killed the game (and it certainly was game judging from the pleasant tinge in the smell of blood) might have left by the time she got there. And the puma wouldn’t say no to a lazy breakfast before she set out south again.

The forest in which she had been traveling for the last couple of days had started thinning last afternoon. The terrain shifted from spongy soil and ground littered with dead leaves to stone fragments and what would soon become a hard, rocky surface. Depending on how long the stretch lasted, Ren might not get to hunt for another few days. If this was an opportunity, she wouldn’t be passing on it.

The puma approached slowly and with care not to alert whatever predator had made the deliciously smelling kill. She slunk between trees and the occasional bush following the scent which grew stronger with every step. Sooner than she could have expected the trees parted into a clearing and Ren got closer to the ground, using the high grass and bramble that edged the spot for cover.

The sight she was met with wasn’t really what she had expected. A tall male that could have been human if not for the dark fur that covered his entire body and the bat-like wings that sprung from his back was hunched over a deer of impressive size. He looked to have a sturdy build and would probably be very hard to notice at night with his dark ‘complexion’, if not for the bright red mop of hair on his head. If Ren had heard about such a race before she couldn’t remember.

The big cat gently placed her possessions on the ground, avoiding making a noise that could be picked up by human ears and laid quietly on the ground, the occasional subtle flick of her tail the only movement she made. The creature who smelled like musk would surely be moving on soon and most likely be leaving a decent amount of good meat behind. Even as big as he was he wouldn’t be able to carry too much to wherever his camp was and he would be cooking it. And by the time he came back for more Ren would have taken her unwittingly given share and moved on.

There was absolutely no doubt in the Kelvic’s mind that her approaching of the clearing would have been left unnoticed and unheard. After all, no humanoid race had a sense of hearing or smell quite like hers...

[Zardra]

And here it was, that damn hunger pains that not only caused irritation but also caused those wonderful, well sought after and frankly speaking vicious animal instincts. He had spent the night in a well covered tree with thick brush that would give him not only shelter from the weather if it so happened to slap him across the face but also give him a little advantage for would be attackers. Now, if one looked at this man, dark fur, red hair and wings of a bat; you would consider him to sleep from his feet while hanging upside down, he didn’t, the branch he was on was large enough for him to rest upon but the reality was that he could have fallen from that tree at anytime throughout the night like any other humanoid. A flicker in his upper lip, almost like a twitch formed moments before his eyes snapped open as if a burst of thunder rattled the skies. Of course right now there wasn’t a thunderstorm but the scent he just found was something that would wake him from that deep sleep he so desired after traveling for so long. This Ravok better be worth it. He scowled a little as he narrowed his eyes, peering forward as if stalking something. The Deer, a wonderful specimen of meat pranced around with little worry which candidly speaking annoyed the hell out of him. With the agility of a cat, a puma even, he brought himself to a squatting stance, his clawed feet digging into the tree branch with suspense. His wings narrowed at his back, folding in a ‘I am ready’ position while his right arm twitched as he gripped the branch between his legs with utter excitement. The clearing was about seventy feet from him and the deer was approximately four feet from there. His calculating eyes narrowed further as he took in the wind direction and speed as it ran over his fur and with a single thought, he was in the air. He pushed off as hard as he could and his wings open with little more than a subtle gust of wind. He was down wind, that’ll help, and with that in thought he approached in a gliding fashion about ten feet upwards. The damn deer was feeding on the lush and barely disturbed grass and therefore its attention was lost. That was when his wings closed and with a literal nosedive he went for the kill. The deep didn’t make much sound as his clawed hands impaled the deer’s throat, almost severing the head itself. His clawed feet dug into the side of the animal and with the force of the dive took it down instantly. With the force he tucked his head and did an actual roll from the deer as if performing some form of gymnastic dismount or something of the sort. A sadistic grin was written all over his face as he rose to his full height, surveying the scene. The was blood soaking the fur on and around his hands almost to his elbow and his feet, ankles and even shins held the animals blood like a drying piece of art. A few steps forward and a kneeling position and he was taking his clawed right hand and digging it within the wound that caused its death. A flesh rip would be witnessed and within moments he was chewing on the rubbery flesh that was now his meal. He hadn’t taken notice of the Puma as of yet and a few things could have caused that; such as the excitement of a good meal, the scent of blood all over the place or just the fact that he was so freaking hungry that he actually let his guard down in the wild. Still hunched over the carcass he would stop chewing, suddenly. His mouth opened slightly, much like the puma would for smelling and a deep breath would be brought in. She was upwind from him and even though he didn’t hear her, which was a surprise, he smelt her. “Your luck is with you Kelvic. There is plenty here for us both.” His words would be deep, almost baritone like with the occasional pop as if he were some teenager hitting puberty. The best part was that he didn’t even turn to look at her or even give her the satisfaction of a hello. He would test this one out, she smelt yummy but the idea of a slave was also very present. For now, they will feed.

[Renalee]

Observing the strange man and his kill quickly made Ren realize that while he certainly looked human enough he was very different from the oldest race when it came to dining preferences. In the span of the few ticks since her arrival he had used what looked like very well-developed claws to tear the flesh of the fallen animal. He had than proceeded on devouring a nicely sized piece of meat, without so much as a pause to look at it or smell it. Blood dripped from his fingers and the corners of his mouth, the sound of contented chewing settling over the small clearing.

Ren had yet to decide what her thoughts on a beast such as this one were, not even sure she should be staying there and witnessing it eat. What had started out as an easy breakfast suddenly had the potential of becoming a problematic situation. A creature like this could certainly be dangerous, even if she felt a strange sort of kinship towards the wild hunter in it. In the end, she decided a possible encounter with the man wasn’t really worth the risk. She had been just about to retreat when a sudden movement from the clearing caught her attention and made her pause.

The winged male had interrupted his meal and had lifted his head, as if to look at something Ren couldn’t see herself from where she hiding. She tried peering around the thick web of branches and leaves to try and catch a glimpse of what could possibly be another intruder, when the creature spoke in Common. “Your luck is with you Kelvic. There is plenty here for us both.” The puma almost flinched at being directly addressed so unexpectedly. Could this stranger be similar to her in ways other than how he liked his meat prepared? If nature had given him such formidable claws why not give him a strong sense of smell of perhaps hearing as well. How long had he known she was there? And how had he known that she was somehow different from any other cougar when her wild siblings had never been able to differentiate?

The Kelvic lay still for a while, contemplating her options. She knew nothing about the blue-furred man and his race so she had no idea how dangerous he could be. On the other hand, he had probably had the chance to attack her the moment she had approached and hadn’t taken it. Then, there was the fact that humans could share a kill easily, but animals rarely did. And so far the stranger had exhibited behaviour similar to that of the later.

In the end, after a chime or so of hesitating, Renalee picked up her bag and slowly and cautiously made her way through the clearing and towards the fallen stag. Her eyes were trained on the man, her whole body tense and ready to leap back and send her fleeing at the smallest indication of hostility. Nothing came however, and the puma found herself by the strange creature’s side quickly enough.

She let her backpack fall to the ground before stepping even closer to the kill and tasting its scent and blood from the air. Her tongue darted out to wet her nose before she carefully leaned forward and sunk her teeth into the still warm flesh. It was a very deliberate and light gesture, the big cat ready to pull back immediately at any sign from the creature that she was no longer welcome to his kill. Ren tore a small piece free and chewed on it more delicately than she would if she were dining on her own. Her eyes remained locked unblinking on the man. She took another bite, this time hearing bones crunch under her teeth as she raked her memories to try and find any mention of a creature like him.

More than anything else she would love to know what he was.

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