Life in the Fast Lane: An Introduction (closed)

[Raeya Stormcaller]

Rustle rustle Something slid through the tall grass. The only evidence of movement was the twitching of the tops of the stalks, an erratic motion that did not play in time with the swirling wind. Rustle rustle There it was again. It would stop for a moment, or maybe whatever made it would move without touching the grass…no that was impossible. Rustle rustle Here was the source. A small fox, the color of newly fallen snow, was nosing his way through the stalks, sniffing the ground. Sensitive ears twitched, snout scented the air and then he was off like a bolt of lightning, dashing over small holes and culverts, even some rolling mounds, but always through that sea…that sea of grass. After a time the fox halted suddenly, tail up for a moment, then down in a flash, and onto his forepaws he went, creeping slowly forward; cautious. There was a growled yawn from about twenty meters in front of the small mammal, and with chestnut eyes he could espy the small pack of great cats. These beasts were such a bane to outsiders, but easily avoidable to a Drykas with any knowledge of the land, and a Strider beneath him. The fox turned tail, dashing about a hundred meters in the opposite direction, seeming to flee until he began jumping. This was a hard task for the fox, for the grass was tall, and he most certainly was not, but he found a mound and jumped, repeatedly, a signal for a rider downwind who was perched on a dun stallion, waiting to see that glimmer of white up ahead. Raeya pulled two arrows from her quiver, holding them and her bow in one hand, the handle of the Yvas with the other, then tightened her legs on the flanks of the equine she was riding, and the horse flipped back his mane and set into a trot. The people of Raeya’s clan were not hunters, they were warriors, but Stormcaller had spent a lot of time training Cipher to scout and track, and the little fox could make up for a lot of what the rider lacked in hunting as long as she could get to her prey. Trotting beside Morningstar, the black maned stallion, was another white furred animal, whose ears twitched back and forth as it kept pace with the large horse beside it. She was a massive canine with obvious wolf heritage judging by the snout length and the very shape of her body, but into this visage was obviously the softer features of the man bred dog. Raeya was always interested in breeding, especially dogs and horses. Purebred wolves were always troublesome if the owner wasn’t able to handle them, and many, even Drykas born, weren’t. There was always exception of her former clan, whose specialty was animals and hunting, but getting in the innate loyalty of a dog worked well to eliminate the natural pack predator of a full blooded wolf. The dog, whose name was Spark, looked up at her trainer with light blue eyes for a moment, tongue lolling with the excitement of the hunt, but just as the moment was there, it vanished, hound focused again, and so was Raeya. Cipher came back to meet them at the safest distance from the pack of felines up ahead. Here Raeya was close, but not close enough to alert her prey. From this point on Cipher stayed behind, for the little fox was easy prey for most of the predators on the grass sea. Raeya knocked an arrow, grasping Morningstar tight and holding onto the Yvas as she urged the stallion into a gallop, and Eva followed behind. Of course the hound would never be able to keep up once the Strider hit his maximum velocity of 60 mph, muscled legs surging toward the open spot where the huge cats were bedding down for the night and had flattened the coarse grass. Raeya heard the first roars when she was 50 yards away and closing in fast, kneeing the stallion and urging him to circle around the opening to see if she could get off a shot before her quarry decided to flee or attack. Six cats were standing, hackles raised, and Raeya turned herself, horse slowing to give her more leeway for a shot. One eye closed, fingers feeling well polished wood in her grasp as she drew the oiled string back taut, letting a bolt fly. There was a howl, for the arrow had sunk into a cat’s paw, one who was already trying to retreat. She notched another arrow and sent it into the cats again, feathered end quivering as it sunk into the soft earth, Morningstar continuing to circle. Raeya cursed, drew another arrow, and aimed for the now limping feline. With a satisfying twang the arrow shot out sinking into the back of the cat’s skull, the feline dropping and an angry roar rising up from its brethren. Five animals to her one bow, and one battle ready Strider, Raeya could see the huge cats weighing the odds. Three at the front of the pack decided they liked them and began an ever increasing lope toward the Strider, and as the frontal feline, a tan and brown striped monster opened its jaws to snatch at a retreating Strider, a white blur surged out of the grass without a sound and knocked it out of the way, pinning it to the ground and only letting out an intimidating snarl when it was in full sight. Raeya took advantage of the grounded cat and loosed another bolt that sunk right into its neck, and if the creature had any life in it after the shot landed, Spark made short work of that. Now came the trickier part. Raeya might have been able to kill the remaining four cats without harm to herself, though she would be risking Morningstar and Spark in the attempt, but two full grown wild cats made a successful hunting trip, any more would be a waste since she wouldn’t be able to take more than two back to camp. If the cats felt that they needed to attack, despite their fallen pride-mates, the hunter would be forced to retreat and circle back to collect the fallen cats later, which risked predators...and even Glassbeaks getting to the bodies before she could retrieve them. Raeya whistled once and Spark moved in intimidation mode, hackles raising and letting out a series growls and barks, advancing fearlessly towards the cats, as Raeya drew Morningstar closer to the cats as well, brandishing another arrow on her bow, just in case. Today the Drykas got lucky. The cats had seen enough from the rider and the wolf dog, and Raeya suspected that the feline Spark had taken down was the lead male of the pride, giving even less reason for further aggression. There was a tense few minutes of traded growls, but horse and wolf were able to gain ground until the cats were thrust back into the Sea of Grass, and from there, the predators loped off into the tall stalks, disappearing like dark furred phantoms. Raeya waited a few more minutes, alert, then let out a soft sigh and whistled again, calling back a hiding Cipher. The little fox dashed into the clearing, circling the dead cat bodies excitedly, and Raeya smirked and waved him away. She slid strips of leather from her belt and tied the feline’s paws, unwinding tarps attached to Morningstar’s Yvas that would act as hoists so that the horse could half carry, half drag, the evenly distributed weight of each cat. It took several more minutes to rig this to the patient stallion, but once she was done, Cipher led the way through the grass, alert for any of the many dangers located upon the plains. Raeya followed about twenty yards behind with her bow loaded Morningstar behind her, and Spark bringing up the rear. Two miles would bring the team back to Raeya’s Pavilion. They had two miles to run into any sort of predator that might be roaming the Sea. Every twitch of grass seemed to be something lurking just out of reach, but Raeya kept one eye on the flashes of white in front of her, and the other on her surroundings as she moved. She could almost count the steps it would take to get her back to camp, and tried not to think of it too much as their line dragged forward, stopping occasionally to give Morningstar breaks from the weight of the great cats strapped to his Yvas. Over halfway there when Raeya saw Cipher dash back, ears flattened, when Spark froze in her tracks, ears perking. Instantly Raeya tapped Morningstar’s shoulder, the large horse kneeling into the grass, the hunter looking bending her knees slightly and peering through the grass. She knew what they were even as the snow white fox leapt into her arms, head burying itself in her arm. Large footfalls pounded by, accompanied by shrill caws and screeches. The Drykas held her breath as the pack of Glassbeaks sped by about 75 yards away. One lone rider of her bowmanship level would be dead before she could fire off a shot, and for Raeya, she’d have a hard time doing even that. The girl was shivering, barely able to keep fully conscious as images and sounds flashed back to her from her childhood. Their pounding claws sounded the same, their chittering communication, even the sound their namesake beak made as they clacked viciously together. Raeya had vowed one day to have arrows only made from the glass of those predator’s beaks, to hunt those birds just as they hunted her family, but the idea was much easier to imagine than the actual action of hunting the only predator in competition with the Drykas on the Sea, and in reality, Raeya was petrified at the thought of ever facing even just one of those vicious creatures. She was in the fetal position for about a half hour after the Glassbeaks had made their way past, and it took nosing from both horse and fox to get her back on her feet, shaking away her fear and re-applying her arrow, only resuming her traveling once she was sure she had a hold of herself. It took an hour to reach the camp, two more to skin the cats and section the meat, some for drying, some for immediate cooking that night. Tomorrow she would clean the skins and take them to some of her pavilion mates who would bring them to the tanners for trade, and she would continue her work tomorrow. The majority of the feline intestines and gore were cleaned off in a nearby stream, and finally, long after the sun had disappeared over the horizon, Raeya made her way back into her large tent. Spark and Cipher were already curled up asleep as she entered and Raeya made her way to her cot sitting on the edge for a while before anything approaching sleepiness took her. Green eyes, deep pools of thought, slowly closed, already preparing for the morning to come as she drifted into a fitful slumber.

[Tundris]

Raeya Animal Husbandry: +1 Bow: +1 Hunting: +1 Riding: +2 Lore: Lore of Hunting Predatory Cats Notes: Great thread, I love the team work between Raeya and her paw-sse I would have given you another point in animal husb. if you had done more with spark and the leader cat. I don't really see a pack leader going down that fast without some serious rping. But I'll let it go for this post, just keep those things in mind. You gained so much from the thread, xp, meat, skins, and it would be nice to see a little bit of balance with maybe an injury to one of your animals or your self, even if they're just bruises or small cuts.