Hunting PT. 1
42nd of Summer, 514 A.V.
42nd of Summer, 514 A.V.
There was something in Zinrah, something she would later learn was the plant induced dazing drug that had the city in a stupor, but to the new interloper, she couldn't tell the lazy Dhani behavior from normal. Whatever it was, however, the strange sinking feeling in her skin that caused her to sleep longer, and even pull at Tsuya's boundless energy? She didn't like it. She thought perhaps that it had something to do with spending a lot of time underground, and if that was the case, she was going to have to get used to it, after all, Caiyha had blessed her with a subterranean biome with her new and potent Phylonura, but...perhaps a day or so in the wilds wouldn't hurt.
She felt better after only a few bells wandering out from the ruins atop Zinrah. She had seen the doubtful looks on the guard's faces that monitored the entrance to make sure no Myrian scouts ever discovered it, but regardless of whether the Tinnok of a year ago would have rushed to the barricade to release the secret, the one that stepped from the tunnels that day would have done no such thing. She was many things, but she wouldn't betray her new home, regardless of her conflicted feelings on the matter. The fact that Siku had guided her to the city herself still made her skin crawl...but this was all part of Caiyha's plan she knew. This place was safe to raise Tsuya, safe from the Myrians that would drag her, torturing her all the way back to Taloba to face some primal and dire punishment, probably the only time she'd ever get to see Myri in her flesh...
Tinnok's longbow was in hand, and her fingers tightened around the leather grip, not realizing she was holding it so tightly her hand was turning a bright shade of red with the pressure. She let it go with a small release of breath and glanced up into the canopy above.
She was going to provide for the nest, or at the very least, Tsuya and her, she would be no layabout, nor make the Dhani think any less of Myrians and how they brought up their seed, even if she was the troublesome story of one, and so it was time to hunt.
It took another bell to mostly clear the ruins, at least to the point where pieces of granite and other crumbling structures were minimal compared to foliage. She headed almost directly opposite the blockade, not interested in chancing any encounters. She'd have to make a long journey around to head to the basin eventually, but not today. Once the ruins became less prevalent her eyes began to search. The ground was at the forefront of her search, but she let her golden gaze flicker to the bushes, shrubs, and tree bark. Animals left signs of passing everywhere, and there were more than a few types of birds she could find. She made a mental note of finding someone in Zinrah who knew of trapping. With the Myrian patrols she'd have better luck setting traps and checking them every few days than coming out each time starting a new hunt.
She found old tracks first, large hoof prints that seemed a bit too large for a tapir, or the small deer that ran rampant in the jungle so she decided on Okapi. They led off back towards the ruins, though she wasn't sure if the creature would actually head through them or skirt them, perhaps another thing to investigate, perhaps the ruins were old enough that they didn't bother the local wildlife as much and hunting within them was a possibility after all.
Proceeding further she found claw marks on the lower end of a tree, but these were not fresh either. The wood that had been exposed by the claws was not the fresh whitish yellow, but dull and dirty, probably several rainy days worth of work. It probably meant some large cat marked this as territory, but took it days or weeks even to complete the cycle of markings again...or maybe it had just been scratching its claws for the hai of it.
Tinnok did not lose patience as she continued, gaze searching here and there. It had been a while, but like many things, hunting required patience. She kept her breathing even, kept her bare feet moving along roots and soft earth to make as little noise as possible, and headed in what she hoped was a nearly straight line opposite Zinrah.
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