Completed [Job Thread] A Try at Hunting

[Besnik]

Besnik 31st of Winter ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Upon the suggestion from Miles, Besnik had decided to dedicate the day to hunting; an occupation he used to eat and now would use to earn some money. He’d set out at dawn, leaving most of his belongings behind in the room he was renting, dressed in his usual frayed trousers and a cloak around his shoulders. His game knife was grasped in his right hand, wrapped in a piece of fabric and hidden beneath the folds of the fabric of the cloak, and he headed to the outskirts of the city. He knew he’d have to head out fairly far if he was to find something worth his while and able to sell, especially if he’d waste some meat experimenting with how to cut slice it properly, hence dedicating a full day solely to the hunt. When he stepped into the trees his body visibly relaxed, shoulders dropping and a small sigh slipping from his lips. He loved the city, it grew on him every day, yet the walls seemed to crowd around him and create a rising sense of claustrophobia that assaulted his senses. Stepping into the wilderness, and ever stretching track in front of him with no defined direction, felt like returning home; he’d been a traveller for so long that he felt a sense of belonging out of civilisation. Besnik crouched down by the roots of a large tree once he was a little way inside the forest. He removed the cloak and carefully wrapped it around his already wrapped knife, ensuring its shape was concealed. He didn’t need it for the hunt, which he planned to do in his dhole form, so it would be left behind. Shoving some half dead leaves into a pile, he made sure to conceal the material so that nobody would notice and steal it. Satisfied, the Kelvic stood back up and turned to head deeper into the forest, the only thing covering his body a loose pair of trousers. He removed those next, baring himself to the elements. A cold shiver ran through him, skin providing little protection against the chilly winter wind. Quickly, in a flash of light, he switched between forms so that he stood on four legs as a red furred dhole in place of a human. The fur, thick and long, sheltered him from the wind. His form was now much more adept to running long distance through the forest. A nimble paw reached out to scrape at the material of the trousers that had fallen to the floor during his transition. He tilted his head at the mud stains and various small holes, thinking that maybe it’d be best to go shopping for a new outfit at some point. Perhaps with the money earned from whatever he caught he’d be able to do so. For now he forgot about that, preparing to sink into his animalistic instincts, and lifted the fabric between his teeth. He’d need it later to help protect him against the elements as he walked back in human form, knowing that to catch enough to make decent money would mean hunting more prey than he could carry as a canine. Material secure in his maw, he headed into the forest. The sun was still barely up resulting in a cast of long shadows draping across the forest floor, half disguising his movements. He moved gracefully, almost cat-like, as his long, thin legs held him well above the ground. His gait was a smooth trot and he fit seamlessly into the woods, a natural predator back in his element. The Kelvic’s eyes were alert, his ears perked high on his head as they collected and sorted each sound around him and linked it with the sights. To his left a bird trilled, calling its mate, a swivelling ear catching the sound before the crunching twig to the right caused by a scattering vole attracted both ears in that direction. His nose furrowed through each scent, locating the individual sources and locking them away in his mind. A small warren of rabbits, either underground or foraging elsewhere, was indicated by a collection of similar scents that he soon left behind. If he could find it, it was the bigger prey he was looking for. He moved fluidly, flowing as he leapt over fallen logs and ducked beneath bending shrubbery. Occasionally a puddle crept up on him, causing him to skid almost to a halt and tense his muscles, springing rapidly into a powerful bound that carried him easily over the water. As a dhole, his jump was one of the strongest of the canine family and easily able to carry him a metre or two either forwards or upwards. It was useful to get out of tight spots, despite the other disadvantages long, lean legs came with. Eventually the canine made it far enough out of Zeltiva to be able to smell the natural crossing scent trails of animals living comfortable, healthy lives. By the lighting, the direction in which the sun streamed through the gaps in the trees and scattered across the forest floor, Besnik estimated in was midway through the morning. He was pleased, aware that a hunt could take a long time and he needed as much of the day as he could get. Stopping for a moment, he dug at the ground with his paws to create a small dip in the land where he could drop the trousers. Opening and closing his mouth a few times, licking his lips, he turned away to finally begin tracking on his hunt. Ears perked forward and pupils dilated as the Kelvic lowered himself toward the ground, stomach not quite touching the roughage there. Standing still for a few moments, he scented the air and dipped his nose to the mud before lifting it again, in search of a decent scent. Lip curled and unable to find something sufficiently close, he moved forward on light paws. Experience told the canine to avoid certain plants as he trod as they’d crinkle under his weight and give away his position. His eyes remained watchful, skirting the forest for a snag of fur or fresh droppings, going so far as to look for small tracks embedded in the mud. Finally his efforts paid off as he caught sight of a pale brown clump of fur attached to a small shrub. He made his way over and nudged it with his fur, perking up at the scent accompanying it. He’d not eaten hare for a while, but unfortunately he had to remind himself that this hunt was for meat and skin, not to fill his belly. With the scent now in his grasp, he moved more slowly and crouched out of sight amongst the bushes, trailing after the hare. He crept forward when the animal came into view, nibbling on a patch of grass. It’s long ears were, much like Besnik’s, turning at each sound to try and pick out dangers. Unlike the Kelvic, however, it was afraid of being eaten whilst he was looking out for a better chance at prey. Licking his lips, he hid in a crouch a couple of metres from his prey. He breathed slowly, trying to calm the anticipated trembling. After all, he had to remember to make the kill a clean one if he was going to have the chance of making money from it. He tensed, back legs holding the majority of his weight, as the unsuspecting hare moved towards him in search of better grass. Suddenly an innate instinct tore through him, urging him to kick back in a leap towards the hare. The dhole sprang in an arc through the air, landing easily before the animal. Maw opened so that sharp fangs were bared, his weight fell to his shoulders as he rebalanced swiftly in a crouch, before kicking back his hind legs as the hare twisted in a startled jump and tried to escape. With a snarl Besnik leapt after the speedy prey, aware that they were able to travel much faster than the rabbits he had hunted through the season. An absent thought looking forward to spring, when he’d be able to pick off the young fawns and have a larger meal, trailed through his mind before he brushed it aside to focus all his efforts on pushing his muscles almost to their limit. The hare dodged quickly as trees crept up on them and the Kelvic was glad of his dhole form, his slender figure easily able to twist and turn to keep up with it. He could feel himself tiring, his stamina able to go on for hours in a smooth trot but not completely designed for sprinting for a long time. With a last push, snarling as he did so, he leapt into the air. Thankfully he landed almost atop the hare, able to use his weight to push the terrified animal into the ground as he snapped his teeth at its neck. With decent sized prey going for the neck wasn’t his style, preferring the cleaner kill of suffocation by grasping around a creature’s mouth and nose, but for a hare it would do. The taste of blood in his mouth set a spark coursing through Besnik that made him unable to stop the urge to shake the now dead hare. After making sure it was truly killed, he forced his jaws to let go and backed up, licking his lips. He breathed slowly to calm himself down, knowing that if he stayed in his instinctual hunting mindset he’d end up tearing into the carcass and eating it himself. Knowing he was attempting to sell the meat, he was aware that tearing it apart would probably not sell well. He shook his head, then moved forward to pick up the carcass once more, turning back to carry it to where he’d left his trousers to deposit it. The Kelvic spent a couple of hours in this manner, searching mainly for rabbits. Many times he missed, intended prey escaping his grasp, but by the end of the hunting session he had caught a reasonable amount. On top of the original hare, he’d caught three more rabbits. Well, he’d caught four but he’d eaten one to keep up his energy. The blood stains on the carcasses were evidence of the over excitement the canine felt during a hunt, making the furs not sellable. He’d have to learn to calm himself down if he wanted to get a maximum profit out of his efforts. The amount he’d caught was unable to be carried in his jaw, so he changed his form once more. After putting on his trousers, Besnik picked up the four carcasses and headed back towards the Zeltiva borders. He was glad to note there was enough time left in the day to cut up the bodies and try to sell them by the time he arrived at the place he’d left his cloak and knife. He knelt down, glad to find his belongings still in place, and took the knife in his right hand. Placing the carcasses side by side, he frowned with uncertainty, unsure how to start. He took the smallest rabbit, not wanting to ruin the larger portions of meat by testing how to cut them up. Instead he would investigate on the one that would earn the least money. He picked the rabbit up, turning it over. He didn’t know the first thing about what to do, so shrugged and decided to figure out how to remove the fur and skin. He dipped the knife in where his fangs had broken through and sliced a jagged line down from the throat. The Kelvic made plenty of mistakes as he attempted to cut away the skin and fur, finally realising that by holding it in the right way he could get his fingers under the slices made by the knife and peel it off so that only the desired part was held in his hands. Still needing to remove the muscle, the edible part, from the bones and organs, Besnik continued to work on the already partly ruined rabbit. His turned it to its back and cut a deep line down the entire torso and stomach, giving him easy access to remove the organs and spread the rest of the meat out. It was difficult with the legs getting in the way as he tried to lay the carcass flat out. It was also difficult working with the knife, for he rarely utilised tools in preference of his own natural claws and teeth. His hand shook with the strain, but eventually he managed to get the body spread so that he could cut the remaining meat into pieces. Out of all the rabbit had on its body, less than a quarter was worth cutting into a chunk. Some parts contained splintered bone, whilst others had been mangled by the wobbling knife as the Kelvic struggled with figuring it out. He could hear the shifting of an animal behind him, watching carefully, and turned to see the orangey red dash of fur peeking out from a bush nearby; a fox. Having already eaten and knowing the meat before him was now worth nothing, Besnik threw it backwards for the hungry predator so that nothing would go to waste. He only had a small chunk of meat and the sun was beginning to go down, indicating the fast approaching evening. Now that he’d attempted it once, the Kelvic set to work on the remaining bodies. His work wasn’t perfect, barely acceptable, and there was a lot of waste that a more experienced hunter wouldn’t have created or would still have been able to use. Still, by the end he’d managed to create a small pile of meat chunks that would hopefully earn him some money. Wiping the blood from his hands and knife on the grass, he put his cloak around his shoulders and wrapped the small slabs of meat in the piece of cloth he’d had his knife wrapped in. Deciding near the docks would be the easiest place to find someone willing to buy meat, he headed straight there. He knew that Zeltiva was going through hard times and so hoped to be able to find someone who’d want some rabbit meat. He entered a couple of places that seemed suited towards buying what he had for sale, before finding someone happy to buy it. “It’s hard to find a fresh supply of meat,” the man nodded, “If you’ve ever got more to sell, stop by my way.” The exchange took place and Besnik went on his way, feeling better about it. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ||Besnik|| ||3 years|| ||Kelvic|| ||Bondmate - Valo||