Solo Hunting for Beginners

[Lian Windrunner]

Timestamp: 3rd day of Winter, 513 Lian double checked his hunting equipment as he made his way to the edge of the city. His quiver was slung over his back. For this trip, he was taking twenty arrows with him. His short bow was in good shape, and he had high hopes for this hunting trip. Although he was far from being skilled at hunting, he was aiming for small game. Rabbits, and the like. Nothing that was likely to turn and attack him, or prove to be a threat in his lack of experience. Practice was the greatest teacher, after all, and Lian hoped to gain some valuable practice even if he didn't catch much in the way of game. When he reached the edge of the city, Lian whistled for Talise. He didn't have to wait long before she came galloping up to him. The strider mare danced in place for a few moments, as if asking Lian to praise and admire her beauty, and he did. He spoke to her softly, telling her how beautiful he thought she was. When Talise finally settled, Lian stroked her neck gently. The mare leaned into his hand, loving the attention he gave her. After a few minutes, Lian reached down and pulled up a large hunk of grass. Then he offered it to Talise. In doing so, he held his hand as steady and flat as he could, with the palm up so there was less of a chance that she would accidently bite his fingers. As she ate his offering, Lian stroked her nose gently. When she was done, she butted his hand, seeking more, so he pulled up another handful to give her. He did this three more times before she was satisfied. Lian stroked Talise's mane for a few minutes more, speaking to her quietly as he did so. Doing so calmed them both, and allowed the bond between them to grow deeper. Then he placed his blanket over Talise's back so that neither he nor the yvas would cause her any irritation as they rode. After that, he lifted his yvas up, and settled it onto her back as well. Lian carefully buckled the straps around her barrel, just past her forelegs. While doing so, he tightened them enough that there was no danger of them slipping off, but at the same time not so much that they would cause his Strider any discomfort. The task was made more difficult than it had to be because Talise was in one of her moods. When he attempted to tighten the straps of the yvas, she would inhale deeply. Had Lian not caught on to her trick, he wouldn't have tightened the straps enough; when Talise exhaled, the straps would loosen, and the yvas wouldn't stay in place...as Lian had learned shortly after bonding to his Strider much to his dismay. Lian countered Talise's trick by tapping her barrel hard enough to startle her into exhaling before he could tighten the straps of the yvas. Once Lian was ready, he mounted Talise, and used the handles on the yvas to steady himself until he was balanced properly. Then he used his legs to signal his Strider into a brisk trot, and they were on their way. Strider and human moved as one, with Lian shifting his weight to match Talise's movements, so that bearing him would be as little a burden as possible for her. There were several occasions when Lian felt himself starting to lose his balance, but he quickly grabbed onto the handles of the yvas in order to steady himself once more. After a while, Lian eased Talise into a walk. There was a slight chill in the early morning air, which was only to be expected, given the season. But the sun was warm, and it felt good as Strider and human enjoyed their ride together. Birds could be heard calling out to one another through the tall grass, but Talise and Lian were the only two creatures within sight as far as the eye could see. One of the birds in particular, had a soft, soothing, beautiful song. Lian didn't know what kind of bird it was, but he had fond memories of hearing that bird song often during good times throughout his childhood. Mostly when his father would place him in front of him on his Strider, and take him riding outside Endrykas as a small boy. Nostalgia made Lian whistle back at the bird as he often did as a child, imagining that by doing so, he could "talk" to them. Silence descended as the birds in the area were startled by his attempt. But the silence didn't last for long. First the bird whose song filled Lian with such nostalgia began to sing again. Then the others recovered from their fright, and went about their business once more as well. Lian grinned, amused by his willingness to endulge his own silliness. Talise tossed her head, as if exasperated by his flight into childhood whimsy. A shadow passed overhead, startling Lian out of his nostalgia. The shadow was big enough to be a game bird, or possibly a bird of prey. Lian looked up, but due to the angle of the sun, he couldn't see the bird that was producing the shadow well enough to identify it. Nor could he tell how high up the bird was, so he couldn't be sure if it was a bird of prey circling the sky in search or prey, or if it was a game bird that had been startled out of its resting place. All he could see was a large, dark shape that could either be brown, or black. So Lian squeezed Talise's barrel with his legs, gesturing her into a brisk trot. He chased after the shadow in the hopes that it would prove to be a game bird, and with luck, his first kill of the day. After what seemed like an endless chase, the bird finally landed in a small clearing between tufts of tall grass. Lian carefully reached for his short bow. He pulled an arrow from his quiver, careful not to make any rapid movements that would spook the bird. Gripping his bow in his left hand, Lian pointed it at the ground while he used his right hand to place the shaft of his arrow on the arrow rest. Then he attached the back of the arrow to the bow string, fitting the string carefully into the notch at the end of the arrow. Using three fingers to hold the arrow steady, Lian raised the bow so that it was pointing at the bird he hoped to kill. He tried to judge the distance carefully, but at the same time, he didn't want to wait too long for fear the bird would take flight once more, and escape. When he was ready, Lian pulled back on the bow string slowly, until his right hand was by his ear. Finally, he released, letting the arrow fly. Unfortunately, a sudden gust of wind blew the arrow off target, and it missed the bird entirely. Instead, the arrow head buried itself in the ground a few feet away from the bird. The bird took to the sky in terrified flight, and was gone within seconds. Lian watched the bird go with a muffled curse. Grumbling to himself, he dismounted, and stalked over to where the arrow was sticking out of the ground. He dug it out with his hands, and examined it carefully for damage. Luckily, it seemed to still be in good shape, so he returned it to his quiver. Then he walked back to Talise. "Well, it's not like I can expect to hit everything I shoot at. You win some, and you lose some. Even the best hunter misses sometimes...and I am far from the best. I'll just have to do better next time." he told his Strider as he mounted her. Talise's ears flicked back, and she snorted as if she was laughing at him. "Yeah, yeah...it's easy for *you* to laugh. Grass is a lot easier to catch than game birds." he retorted as he signaled for her to start walking.

[Lian Windrunner]

Lian rode Talise in silence for a while. This time, he didn't alternate between a walk and a trot. He was too focused on his surroundings, searching for any sign of game hiding in the tall grass. After about an hour, Lian came across an animal trail. He dismounted, and knelt beside it to get a better look at the tracks. Although he had no tracking skill whatsoever, he could at least tell that the prints had been made by hooves rather than paws. They were also smaller than a horse's hoof prints, so Lian guessed that they belonged to deer. It was likely a herd of deer, based on the sheer number of prints. Lian stood, and mounted Talise once more. Had I known that I was going to run into a deer trail, I would have brought my hunting cats along. They would have been able to follow this trail, and find the herd easily. And they most likely would have been able to bring down a deer or two. Me on the other hand...no. Not without their help, at least. he grumbled to himself as he signaled Talise into a steady walk. Lian had eaten before riding out on his hunting trip, but by now, he was getting hungry again. So he opened one of the bags attached to his yvas, and pulled out a handfull of berries. They weren't much, but chewing them slowly helped to take the edge off of his growing hunger. That would hopefully prevent his stomach from rumbling at an inoppertune time, and frightening off game by making noise at the wrong time. Finally, he found a depression in the ground that had filled with water, likely during the last heavy storm. This time of year, the nights and early mornings were cold enough that a thin layer of ice had likely formed over the somewhat large puddle. But by now, any ice had melted. Lian dismounted, and walked over to the puddle. He cupped his hands, and dipped them into the water several times, slaking his thirst. Realizing that the puddle might make a convenient water source for small animals as long as it lasted, Lian decided to wait a while, and try his luck. He moved Talise a ways off and let her graze. Then he crouched down, and hid in the grass. He stayed within sight of the puddle, but he didn't get too close for fear that his scent would frighten off any animals that might wish to drink from it. Once he was in place, Lian waited...and waited...and waited some more. Hours passed, and his muscles began to cramp from being in the same position for too long. He ignored the pain as best he could, rubbing his legs in an attempt to ease the cramps. But he didn't move, even to shift his position. And still he waited. Finally, when he was just about ready to give up, he spotted a rabbit approaching the puddle hesitantly. Lian watched it come, hardly even daring to breathe for fear of scaring it off. But after a few minutes, it grew bolder, and eventually, it started to drink. Ever so slowly, Lian reached for his short bow. He froze in place when the rabbit's head jerked up, and it looked around nervously. But after a moment, it decided that it was still safe, and it went back to drinking from the puddle. Lian pulled an arrow out of his quiver just as slowly as he'd reached for his bow. Gripping his bow in his left hand, Lian pointed it at the ground while he slowly placed the shaft of his arrow on the arrow rest with his right hand. Then with slow, cautious movements, he attached the back of the arrow to the bow string, fitting the string carefully into the notch at the end of the arrow. Using three fingers to hold the arrow steady, Lian raised the bow so that it was pointing at the his prey. He judged the distance carefully. Once he was ready, Lian pulled back on the bow string slowly, until his right hand was by his ear. Finally, he released, letting the arrow fly. This time, he was successful. His arrow took the rabbit in the side. It screamed once, a shrill, piercing death cry. Then it was still. Biting back a gleeful shout of triumph, Lian ran over to the dead rabbit. He picked it up, and pulled his arrow ouf of it. It looked to still be in good shape, so he rinsed it off in the puddle, and put it back in his quiver, not wanting to waste a perfectly good arrow. Knowing that the rabbit's shrill cry, combined with the scent of blood and death would keep any other animals in the area far from the puddle, Lian knew it was time to move on. Talise snorted anxiously at the scent of blood, but Lian soothed her with soft words, and gentle strokes along her neck. When she was calm once more, he mounted, and they continued on their way. Lian continued to hunt for more small game for a few hours more, but he had no luck in finding any. By late afternoon, he was ready to call it a day, so he turned Talise in the direction on Endrykas. As he rode, he talked to his Strider, knowing that the sound of his voice would soothe her, and distract her from the smell of blood. "You haven't met Lea yet, Talise. Somehow I don't think that you ever will. She's an outsider...one of the captives that were brought to Endrykas and sold at auction last fall. I didn't really want to buy a captive...but I know my duty. It's important that all unmarried men try to sire children on the captives, so I am going to do just that. And I have been trying to fulfill my duty. Lea isn't bad as far as captives go...she isn't bad at all, really. She's obedient enough. It's just that..." Lian sighed. "I don't really trust her. It's not that I think she's going to betray our people, or anything...but she's an outsider. She doesn't know our ways, or our language, or our customs...dealing with her makes me uneasy somehow. I don't feel the same way about the traders that come to trade with us each year, but that's a different thing altogether. We don't need to take the traders into our families, and welcome them as part of us the way we are supposed to do with the captives. The captives *aren't* members of our people, our families...and they never will be. They're outsiders." Talise nickered softly. Her ears were perked in his direction, as if she was listening to him intently. Lian would have said more on the subject, but Talise's entire demeanor changed abruptly when the wind changed direction. She nickered again, but the more subdued sound was a clear sign of apprehension. Her entire body was tense, as she stopped walking, and began to dance in place. Her ears flickered back and forth anxiously. And when she tossed her head abruptly, Lian could see that her eyes were rolling in fear. Lian looked around wildly to see what had spooked his Strider so badly. Anything likely to produce that kind of a reaction in the usually calm mare was something to be alarmed about. In the far distance, Lian could see a half grown glassbeak. The creature was moving slowly, and limping, but Lian couldn't see how badly injured it was from where he was. It was too far away to have noticed them since they were down wind, but Lian wasn't taking any chances. He was about to signal for a trot, but Talise had other ideas. She bolted, racing back towards Endrykas at a dead run. Lian desperately grabbed onto the handles on the yvas, and clung to them as best he could. A fall at this speed would be deadly. Even if he managed to survive somehow, the glassbeak would likely smell the resulting blood, and be on him before he could even hope to escape. Controlling Talise was out of the question. Lian wasn't even a strong enough rider to be able to manage a canter safely. He certainly wasn't going to be able to do anything to slow Talise, or soothe her panic. Nor did he want to since her speed was all that would save them if that glassbeak noticed them, injured or not. Lian didn't look back to see if the vicious creature was following them. All he could do was cling to the handles of the yvas, and pray that he didn't fall off.

[Lian Windrunner]

At the speed they were going, returning to the city took far less time than riding out to hunt had. Before long, Lian could see the tents in the distance. They grew rapidly as they came closer, and closer, until they were finally back home. Talise seemed to realize that they were safe, so she came to an abrupt stop seconds before she would have crashed into one of the tents. Lian...didn't. Utterly unable to stop himself, Lian went sailing over his Strider's head. He flew through the air, and crashed through the canvas of the tent in front of him, much to the dismay of those living within. His flight continued until he hit one of the poles holding the tent up...head first. Sharp pain shot through his skull where it impacted the pole, and Lian felt blood trickling into his hair, turning it into a sticky mess. His vision greyed, and for a moment, all he could see was stars. A cacophony of voices made his throbbing headache even worse. Lian lay where he was for a long moment, just trying to get his eyes to cooperate so he could see clearly again. A strong, calloused hand gripped his, and helped to pull him up. Strong arms guided him to a chest he could sit on. "Are you okay?" a femine voice demanded briskly. "No, no, don't get up, you damned fool! Here, let me see that head of yours..." Lian felt confident, sympathetic hands examining his injury. As the woman did what she could to help, Lian's vision cleared. Two men eyed him in mingled concern, and anger. One of the men was clearly the woman's husband, while the younger one was likely their oldest son. Four children ranging in age from mid adolescence to two or three stared at him in wide eyed shock. The woman worked briskly. She was no healer, but being the mother of at least five children had clearly taught her a few things. The woman was able to bandage him up, at least, though she warned him to go see a healer to make sure he didn't have a concussion, or anything. Lian agreed meekly; the woman's stern, no nonsense voice making him think twice about any protests he might have made. "What the hell did you think you were doing, you daft fool?!" the older of the two men demanded. Lian cringed inwardly. It was true that Talise had been caught in the grip of panic...but Lian himself was to blame, too. He should have been skilled enough as a rider to be able to control her anyway. There really was no excuse for it. Lian suddenly remembered all of the times he had refused to go riding or hunting with his father and older brother in favor of working on his webbing skills. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Webbing was his passion, and he wanted to devote his life to doing it. But now he heartly regretted neglecting such vital skills. "I'm truly sorry." he said sincerely. "I was out hunting, and we saw a glassbeak. Talise, my Strider panicked, and well...I lost control of her." he admitted sheepishly. Lian hoped that they wouldn't ask why he had lost control when Talise panicked. Surely mentioning the glassbeak was enough...right? Lian privately vowed that he would practice the skills he had neglected for so long as much as he could until he improved to a decent level. That way, incidents like this disaster could be avoided in the future. Lian's head continued to pound horribly. All he wanted to do was get home, and sleep until he felt better. But he had to make this right before he could do any of that. "I will, of course, pay for any damages I caused." he promised quietly. Lian looked around. The pole that had stopped his flight was intact. Thankfully that was the case, since had it broken under the impact, the entire tent would have collapsed. The canvas itself had been pulled off of the pole holding it in place, but it hadn't torn. So the damage was minimal, something for which Lian was very greatful. "You...you Flying Oaf! You lost control of your Strider?! How the hell did *that* happen?! We are Drykas, you idiot! Not some foolish outsiders who live in some fancy city, and don't know a horse from a mule! We learn how to ride before we even learn how to walk! And you lost control of your Strider? What kind of Drykas *are* you, anyway?!" the older man shouted irately. Lian cringed inwardly at the man's tirade, and he didn't offer any protest. He was right, after all...Lian deserved every word of criticism he got for his pathetic riding skills. The man continued his rant for several minutes more before his wife managed to calm him down. Their children clearly thought it was all terribly amusing because they were grinning madly as they danced in circles, giggling, and saying "Flying Oaf!" Two of them ran out of the tent, and Lian could only guess that they were off in search of their friends to tell them about his disgraceful fall. Lian cringed inwardly at that, too. He had the sinking feeling that the nickname "Flying Oaf" was going to spread quickly...and that he wasn't ever going to be able to live it down. Finally, Lian was able to make his escape. It was agreed that since his abrupt entrance into their tent had only caused minimal damage, the rabbit he'd caught would be a suitable compensation. Lian apologized again, and took his leave, after promising once more that he would see a healer to make certain he was okay. By now, Talise had calmed somewhat, but her eyes were still white with fear, and she was trembling as Lian led her away. Lian spoke to Talise quietly as they walked. He kept his tone low, and soothing. It helped to calm Talise further. As he talked to his Strider, Lian examined her to make sure she hadn't taken any injury in their mad flight back to the city. Thankfully, she seemed okay. Talise wasn't limping, and she didn't have any scratches, lacerations, or bruises that Lian could see. When she was completely calm, Lian let her graze near the edge of the city. Then he made his way back to his own tent, and collapsed on his bedroll. He felt a twinge of guilt about ignoring his promise to go see a healer, but he really was more exhausted than anything else now that the adrenaline rush was wearing off. All he wanted to do now was sleep until his headache went away. And if he still had it in the morning...then he would go seek the aid of a healer.

[Fantasy]

XP Award!

Name: Lian Windrunner

XP Award:

• Animal Husbandry +2
  
• Riding +2
  
• Weapon: Shortbow +2
  
• Hunting: +2
  
• Observation: +2
  
• Tracking: +1
  
• Wilderness Survival: +1

Lore:

• Hunting: Following a bird of prey in hopes of game
  
• Tracking: Identifying between hoof and paw
  
• Hunting: Water attracts animals
  
• Hunting: Blood attracts predators
  
• Riding: Body language of a strider
  
• Nickname: Flying Oaf

Consequences: Lian has a concussion, resulting in several days of headaches. A slight scar under his hairline with be the only physical proof of his contact with the pole and his new nickname amongst the Drykas.

Notes: You give very good detail on what Lian does, especially with his strider. One piece of advice I can give is to try and split it into smaller posts, so that I can spread out exp more evenly for you. Normally it’s not more than one point of specific xp per post, so spreading it out a bit means I can award more to you. As always please edit your grading request, and don’t be afraid to pm me with questions.
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