Solo Golden Hunting

[Oryani]

Winter 35th, 513 AV
Outskirts of Endrykas

A quiet day was a good day, in Oryani’s opinion. Quiet meant nothing attacking, and nothing to defend. Though… it was boring. Still, she had Alaril to entertain her, and train with. She’d arranged herself comfortably on Khal’s back: she had her bow strung and ready to grab, tied to her Yvas by her left side. On the other side was her quiver, hanging where she could easily pull out an arrow. Her scimitar was a little harder to get, held between the Yvas and its bags where it couldn’t cut her Strider. The newest addition, however, was something a little more lively.

She’d arranged a comfortable perch on top of her yvasbags, where her eagle could rest, relax, and take flight when she wanted. It was better than keeping hold of the bird, and meant Alaril could move as she liked. Luckily, there was no impromptu flying away, and the eagle seemed quite content to stick with her Drykas. For this… the archer was thankful. Something less for her to worry about. Still, she was interested to see what her companion to do, as the bird’s skills had yet to be tested.

Until then, she moved easily on Khal’s back, heading at a slow walk around the edges of Endrykas. Though she was relaxed, she was still alert, knowing that when she was on the job, she had to pay attention. Only Caihya knew when a lion, bear, or Glassbeak was about to sneak up on you. The more prepared you were, the less chance there was of dying.

Alaril was currently clinging tightly to her perch, wings half out to balance more easily. However, in moments, she took flight and flapped off, nearly hitting Oryani in the head. However, instead of being a flight with little purpose, the eagle streaked ahead, screeching at something within the grasses. The Chatakwe watched, frowning, as her companion returned in ticks, something small in the bird’s jaws…. A mouse? Something like that. However, it went down Alaril’s gullet before she could say anything, with the golden eagle looking remarkably pleased with herself.

”If you find anything bigger, could you actually bring it back?” She asked the bird, who had taken an uncomfortable spot on the ground. Khal kept plodding on, meaning that the eagle had to return to the air to catch up. Despite the comment, the archer didn’t expect Alaril to understand her… but it was nice to ask. She could always sell a hare or fox for some extra coin, if the bird picked one up. She was becoming more and more impressed with the creature’s hunting skill… but had yet to figure out how to control it.

Since her left hand was gloved, she held it out, using the other to keep a light hold on her yvas. Though she didn’t need it… no reason why not to, right? She let out a sharp whistle (she’d figured out how to do it handless after some practice) calling Alaril to her hand. Though she couldn’t see the eagle, she heard and felt the wing flaps, and in a tick the bird had dropped into her hold. She tried to grab for the jesses as well, but was too late, and unprepared. Well… there wasn’t too much of a problem with that, right?

[Oryani]

She liked having Alaril on her glove, if only for the closeness and interest. And the fact that she felt more prepared to send the eagle out to attack anything that came nearby. She wasn’t too sure on that skill, though, so was still ready to drop the bird and glove to snatch up her bow. Nothing seemed to be happening today, however, so she felt like a bit of practice.

Such practice came in the shape of a surprise. Despite the earlier calmness, she felt an odd movement with her free hand, and swung her head to stare at it. Grasses moving… that didn’t say much. But… moving more than usual? Possible. Alaril’s head was also staring stubbornly in that direction, eyeing whatever was moving from all those feet away. ”Go” she muttered, quickly lifting her hand as a direction for the eagle to fly.

With the bird off and observing, she quickly slipped off her glove, stuffing it under her for safekeeping. She grabbed her bow and nocked an arrow, nudging her heels into Khal’s sides as an order for him to stop moving. He’d noticed the… whatever it was… too, nostril’s flaring, and head parallel to the approaching thing. She’d realized horses did that… they looked at things sideways, rather than straight on. Something about their eyes, probably.

She abandoned that train of thought and drew her weapon, holding it taught and pointing in the general direction of the slow movement. She wasn’t going to hit anything important, but she might be able to get out two arrows when it first showed up. From what she could tell… it was small cat-or-dog sized, not big enough for a bear. Not even a scrawny bear. Alaril flapped just above it, staring down to eye the creature.

It finally made its way out of the cover and showed… a dog. Well, some kind of jackal or coyote, probably. It was too skinny to really identify. For something so small, the only reason it would be drawn to such a dangerous area (for it) was starvation, and the indents of ribs told that story well. It didn’t look like it was going to attack her, though it was unusually tall. However, it quickly began taking long, loping strides towards them, tongue lolling and throat producing a vicious growling.

Oryani considered shooting it, but even at this close range… it was moving too fast for her to get a good shot, and it was too small. At least a badly placed arrow would stop it. She was more worried about her Strider getting hurt than any kind of death. But… there was Alaril. She didn’t quite know how to order the eagle to attack, but decided to try something anyways.

”Go!” she shouted, pointing towards the dog with a foot, as both her hands were busy. Just to relax her arm muscles, she began let go of her hold on the bow, not about to fire an arrow she didn’t need. When the attacker was remarkably close – the Chatakwe had decided it was probably rabid to be so stupid – an eagle swooped out of nowhere and crashed into its side, sending both sprawling into the ground.

The archer used her knees to push Khal away, though the stallion was certainly happy to retreat. He didn’t like the sight of those talons, either. In moments the scuffle cleared, ending with Alaril standing proudly on the dog’s corpse. It was covered with scratches and bites, and there didn’t look like there was much meat on it. ”That’s not going to sell…” she grumbled irritably, scowling at her bird. Still… she was proud. Either the ‘go’ had worked, or the eagle had made the decision on her own to attack. It could have been either, or maybe even both. How was she to know? She didn’t talk eagle.

[Oryani]

Sighing quietly, Oryani returned her bow to its place, and the arrow to the quiver. Holding out her arm again, she called to the bird, this time palm open to grab the jesses first. ”Come. Leave it for something else to eat.” The scavengers would find something to get out of the corpse, where a human would have trouble. Instinctively, she glanced up to see if there were any other birds in the sky. Nothing.

Alaril responded to the word ‘come’, which was pleasing, and landed on the open glove. The Chatakwe had been too distracted to grab the jesses again. The eagle pecked her palm, bringing round another scowl. ”You just had a mouse-thing, and you could have had some of that. Why would I give you any food?” She ignored the eagle’s look, instead nudging Khal again to set off. Keep moving, keep watching. That was her job.

After a few chimes of continued walking, Oryani considered her options. She could… keep riding, which was the average and generally boring option. Try to train with her scimitar? Clean up Khal? Not while working… though both were tempting. Maybe she’d try to get Alaril flying around again. The bird had taken flight again, and was now soaring in looping circles high above their heads. She stared at the eagle for a moment, before stretching a hand out to point somewhere in the sea. She whistled loudly, gaining the creature’s attention until the direction was noticed.

Alaril, apparently happy for something to do, swooped out and away, diving a little so she could skim the top of the grasses. She found a scrawny tree in that direction and perched, eyeing the archer for any more orders. Those came quickly when the Chatakwe raised her arm and whistled again, the signal she’d been taught for ‘come here’. Sometimes an outstretched hand could be mistaken for a pointing one, he’d explained. There were dozens of orders she’d been asked to learn, and sometimes it was hard to remember them all.

The eagle flapped back, and, seeing no hand to perch on, took the yvasbags instead, this time actually catching Oryani on the back of the head with a wing. ”Ouch…” she grumbled, craning her head to glare at the bird. ”Watch what you hit with those. They’re as painful as your talons or beak.” She was actually unsure on that, having never had tried being hurt by the other two ‘weapons’, but… she wasn’t suicidal. Getting hurt on purpose was stupid, and really something you needed to avoid.

Alaril simply ignored her, staring off into the distance. Not as determinately as if she was staring at something, but more causal, head twisting side to side. She stretched her wings wide, managing to fit the closer one on top of the Chatakwe’s head. ”Don’t do that,” she scolded, leaning into Khal’s back to get away from the feathers. Though she was stable on a horse’s back, she wasn’t going to risk anything with stupid messing around. As the bird’s wings finally retracted, she leaned even closer, rising up slightly into her seat. She nudged her Strider again, setting him into a bumping trot… she had yet to try that with her new companion as of yet, so it was interesting to see what would happen.

The answer was relatively simple. Alaril did not approve. After the first hitch in the stallion’s gait she took flight, wing smacking the rider one more time… almost like it was on purpose! Still, she followed dutifully, sometimes flapping ahead of the trotting horse, and sometimes falling behind. She could easily overtake a Strider normally, though perhaps not when they were running their fastest.

Oryani herself used her legs to move up and down in unison with Khal, enjoying the closeness a little. She had to admit, she’d been spending too much time paying attention to Alaril… and less focusing on her oldest companion. Her lips curled up in contentment, and she urged her horse a little faster… not quite a canter, but certainly not a relaxed trot.

Eventually the eagle gave up on her chase and soared in to hook her talons into the yvasbags. There, with wings spread out, she was able to hold on without much trouble… though it was obvious she didn’t like it at all. Sighing to herself, the archer let her bird rest and pulled her Strider back into a walk, slowing down so she could better observe the scenery. She was supposed to be watching… not racing an eagle like an idiot.

[Oryani]

It was another half a bell or so before something interesting happened again. This time, it was a human rather than an animal. She spotted a man on the ground, Strider nearby, hunched over some large form in the distance. Curious to know what was going on, she edged her own stallion on that direction, smiling as she realized Alaril had noticed the same thing. The eagle was perceptive… but didn’t all birds have really good vision? Though she had a little more than vision… even if it didn’t work from such a distance. Honestly, her Chatakwe heritage had saved her life more than once, while in the Sea.

The Drykas looked up as they approached, straightening a little to wave at the archer. ”Good afternoon! Are you busy? I could use a little help, at the moment.” Once she saw his face, the Chatakwe recognized the man… a little. Someone else in the watch… Diamond clan if she could remember correctly. And the unidentifiable form she’d noticed earlier turned out to be the corpse of a medium-sized Grass Bear. It’s reason for death was quite obvious: a number of crossbow bolts sticking out of the thing’s hide, and even one in the visible eye.

”Nice shot,” she commented, eyebrows raised. Getting something in the eye was hard, for all but the most skilled archer. She’d never done one herself, and didn’t bother wasting time trying… with weak accuracy like her own, she headed for the larger and more vulnerable areas. Namely, the neck and the shoulder. ”A lucky shot,” the man corrected. If she could remember correctly… his name was Rhynon. ”I was actually going for the neck, but Yousa over here jerked a bit, and the bold went… awry. Though in a good way.” He grinned foolishly. Despite his higher rank, they were still around the same age and height.

Alaril, taking their distraction as a chance, glided lazily to perch on the bear’s corpse. Rhynon whistled appreciatively, eyeing the bird. ”She’s nice. Did you get her at the Hunter’s Alliance? I’m thinking of something myself, but… Yousa’s enough for me.” He shrugged, as Oryani nodded in answer to his question. ”Anyways… you wanted my help?” she prodded, raising a critical eyebrow. He’d called her over for some reason, and it was best they didn’t both stop on the job for too long.

”Oh, right. Yea. This Grass bear is taking me a bit to cut up… well, I haven’t really started. The problem is, there’s some funny thing hiding in the grasses over there. Yousa panics every time I start trying to work on it… probably some kind of scavenger, but my Strider doesn’t like the scent of it.” He frowned, obviously irritated with the turn of events. ”Could you keep a watch out while I work? I’m not exactly going to leave this here for the vultures.”

“Oh, sure,” she said agreeably, nudging Khal to trot in between the bear and where Rhynon had pointed. The animal didn’t seem to want to attack with someone watching… so it was careful. It wasn’t really her skills that were needed, but rather her attention and presence. It would work fine with her, and little else important was happening. If she was lucky, Rhynon might even give her a bit of the profit off the bear, after selling it… though she wasn’t going to mention anything.

With the other Drykas already starting to work on dividing up the Grass bear’s body, all she had to do was…. Wait.

[Fantasy]

XP Award!

Name:Oryani

XP Award:

• Observation: +2
• Falconry: +2
• Riding: +1
• Socialization: +1
• Detection: +1

Lore:

• Falconry: Finding balance between bird and Strider
• Hunting with an eagle
• Falconry: Learning to control an eagle

Notes: A nice short thread with Oryani learning about her newest partner. As always if you have questions, don’t be afraid to PM me. Don’t forget to edit your grading request!
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