The Last Hunt [Solo]

by **Aiza** on September 3rd, 2012, 8:56 pm

60th Day of Fall, 512 AV

It was warm for a fall day in Avanthal. Aiza was sure it was going to be one of the last warm days and snow had already begun to fall around the city just the other day. In a week, or maybe a few days, there will be a blizzard that will blanket the city and trap the inhabitants inside the walls until spring. The feline’s instincts told her to go into hiding, head for warmer climate or at least stay indoors but she wanted one more night at her parents’ cottage.

She did her best this summer to repair what damages winter did to the old childhood home of hers but alas, there was no point. Winter was just around the corner and she could feel it in her bones, it was going to be harsh. She began to feel it would be best to leave it as is. The old cabin was empty. The plants were dead. Even her caribou was long gone. The broken gate suggested it ran off. Possibly eaten by a snow leopard by now if it had not gotten away from the thicker parts of the woods.

Aiza walked along the dead garden. The rocks that would keep the soil warm for the plants to grow were surfacing. What was left of the corn stalks was brown and hard to the touch, making a crumpling noise when she would grab a stalk. As far as she could tell there was nothing left to harvest. If there was anything last spring, it was eaten by crows or other plant eaters. Without the help of her family, this crop was long gone.

She moved away from the stalks, stepping along the raised stones that her mother put down as a path. Fond memories as a kitten flooded her mind. She would hop from stone to stone on all fours, practicing her pouncing skills as her mother would follow her father to the garden. She would remember the time in the spring when her mom would show her how to hunt among the corn stalks. Her mother’s fur blended well with the shadows. She was beautifully spotted just like Aiza was, but with bright yellow eyes.

Aiza snapped back into reality and looked up at the darkening sky. It was going to be dark soon. It was not good for a girl like her to be out in the woods this far into the season at night, but a cat could survive. She felt the urge to go hunting again. She felt like she had been in her human shell for too long and she longed to stalk the forest again.

Aiza walked into the cottage and slipped off her clothes. The moment they hit the ground the whole cottage lit up, the light spiraling around her body. In an instant Aiza shrunk down to her feline size, all four paws on the ground. Her eyes blinked once and they adjusted to the dim light of the cottage. It felt good to be herself again. She gave her chest fur a quick lick and slipped back out of the open door.

The world was a lot different in her cat form. Everything was taller, for one. The cat liked it like that though. She could see everything in a beautiful way from this angle. Also she could see ways of escaping from danger a lot easier this way. Being big and covered in clothes made it hard to run away from pursuers or a polar bear. As a cat she could run up a tree or dash into a hole.
The cat hopped from stone to stone, just like her kitten self would. She purred a bit, her tail flicking before she reached the last stone. Stepping onto the cold rock she looked up, scanning the wood line for anything that could eat her. She took a good long moment to watch before stepping off into the snow at a dead sprint. She needed to get in far enough to find a possible bird or mouse. If she was lucky a vole. She liked voles. They tasted like bacon does. The cat finally stopped running once the cottage was almost out of sight. She jumped up on her heighten legs and scratched a tree. The snow was getting to thick to follow her scent out. She wanted to make sure if she needed to, she could find home.

Getting back on track she walked through the trees, her ears perked and twisting a bit listening to everything. She could hear a bird or two, every now and then, somewhere, an elk, but nothing close. Her paws stepped carefully though the frozen earth, every now and again she’d step in a deep pile of snow, but nothing too bad. She lifted her head and opened her jaw slightly to taken in the smells around her. Slowly the smell of food reached her muzzle. It was a mouse. Her mouth began to water and she turned herself toward the smell, stalking low and quietly.

There it was. The mouse was perched on a root, nibbling a fallen seed. His back was to her and his tail was curled around himself. He was too into his food to notice the creeping feline. Her ears laid back and her eyes focused on the meal. She stopped jumping distance from it and raised her haunches, wiggling them a bit. One…. Two… THREE! She jumped claws out. The mouse was too late. It turned to see its attacker just as she dug her teeth into its tiny body. It was over. Aiza sat up and admired her catch. It had been a while since she’s hunted and she managed to bag a fat mouse.

She picked her catch up in her mouth and began retracing her steps. By this time snow had been falling for a bit, but it had not covered her tracks just yet. Aiza was almost home when the sound of a snapping twig made her fur stand on end. She set her food down slowly and lifted her nose. Maybe it was an elk or a dear… maybe a bird. She took a sniff and her blood ran cold. A snow Talderan Sabretooth. She turned her head to meet the eyes of a rather large form just twenty feet away from her. Not jumping distance but… she had no time to think. In a moment she began to run, the Sabretooth let out a growl and followed. Aiza was going to die. She knew it. Aiza was a fast cat, but the Sabretooth was faster. This thought didn’t slow Aiza down she ran as fast as she could, dodging trees, jumping over roots. She could smell the blood lust coming from the Sabretooth. It’s growling almost down her neck. There it was her cottage! She closed her eyes and ran as fast as her legs could go. Pain jetting up from her paws, but she couldn’t stop.

Suddenly the sound of an arrow whisked through the air. Aiza could hear a groan and a thud but she didn’t stop. She dashed out of the woods, the sounds of hunters somewhere cheering. She dashed into the cottage and shifted again, slamming the door shut behind her. She locked the door behind her and slid down, back the wood. Her body ached, her feet hurt, and her head was spinning. She turned around, standing on her knees to peak through the dirty glass outside. She could see a bit away from the cottage a group of hunters dragging the Sabretooth carcass away from the woods.
The feline let out a sigh of relief and slid back down out of view. That was beyond close and ever worse she lost her kill. She shivered and grabbed her cloak and began to dress. She at this point was too shaken to eat always. The cold creped in from the cracks in the walls and the wind made an eerie howling noise. The woods, the cottage. All of it was uninviting and harsh.
It was time to move on. It was time to leave the past in the past.

Aiza stepped off the property for the last time, looking back at the relic that was once a home before returning to the city.

by **Valkyrie** on September 5th, 2012, 8:36 pm

Aiza :

You Will Be Collected if Worthy

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.