(Job Thread) First day on the hunt

[Victor Marivaldi]

3rd of Winter, 515 AV, mid day

Victor set out from Syliras into The Bronze Wood after receiving employment from the local offices. As little as it pleased Victor to be working for the Humans he had to survive the winter somehow and he would need the money for his travels when he decided to leave. Although it was Winter the weather hadn't gotten too harsh yet which meant there should still be plenty of game to catch out in the woods. He kept his hand firmly on his lash as he ventured through the woods. It wasn't the most ideal weapon for hunting but it was yet to let him down thus far. Victor wasn't the most experienced hunter but he had confidence in his ability to be able to at least catch some small game.

Victor came across a small area in the woods near a pond. It seemed as though animals frequented this spot. Although he had no experience in tracking the signs were quite clear. The wet mud surrounding the pond was covered in what appeared to be animal foot prints. If Victor waited here long enough surely something would show up to drink from the pond. Taking a quick glance around he noticed a small tree near the edge of the pond that had an over hanging branch. It would make the perfect point for an ambush. Victor walked up to the tree and placed his hands onto the trunk of the tree. Tiny unseen hooks extended out from his hands latching him to the tree allowing Victor to scale the tree without the slightest bit of effort being put into it. Positioning himself on the over hanging branch Victor settled in to play the waiting game with whatever unfortunate creature found its way into the trap.

An hour passed by, it had felt like an eternity. The position he found himself in was not the most comfortable and he could start to feel a slight tinge in his back. The forest was eerily quiet. The only sounds being that of a few birds singing in nearby trees. This was the first time Victor had been able to fully appreciate nature like this. He was used to the dark caves of Kalinor where the only wild life was those flying rodents which he had become accustomed to. The first time he heard the birds singing brought so much joy to Victor and even more joy the first time he got to suck the juices out of one. They really were delicious.

[Victor Marivaldi]

Victor was close to giving up on his hiding spot in the tree by the time he saw the first animal come by to drink at the pond. A lone Doe approached the pond not to far from where Victor was perched. It hadn't seemed to have noticed him, although it was just to far out of reach for Victor to pounce from the tree without scaring it away. Victor eyed the animal hoping for it to edge ever so closer as it continued to drink from the pond. It didn't budge. Victor knew he would have to make a move soon or else his chances of catching it would be slim at best. Just as he was about to descend from the tree, the Doe finished drinking from the pond and started to walk in Victors direction. This was perfect, this was his chance. The Doe was directly below him now. In a blur Victor pounced from the tree, claws at the ready to sink them deep into it, hoping to land directly on top of the clueless animal so that he could end it quick but the Does instinct kicked in and tried it best to get out of the way as fast as it could. Victor ended up colliding with the side of the animal, managing to get a decent scratch down the side of the Doe injuring it. Victor clumped to the ground landing on his side. If the branch had been any higher it may have broken his arm. Jumping back to his feet Victor turned to see the Doe running of into the forest.

It couldn't have gotten far it was injured and bleeding, he had to find it before a wild animal happened upon it and claimed it. Victor came across some blood covered leaves, this must be from the Doe. Following the trail of blood brought him to a small clearing where the doe could clearly be seen lying down, still breathing. Approaching cautiously in case the deer still had the ability to run Victor closed the gap, ready to put an end to its pain. A rustling from a nearby bush grabbed Victors attention, his eyes shot in the direction of the sound. He could see the bushes moving about. It was as he feared, a predator managed to pick up the scent of the deer. Victors hand immediately darted to his lash ready to draw at a moment notice. A white furred beast leaped from the bush at great speed darting towards Victor. Releasing his hand from his lash with a sigh of relief Victor knelt down and extended his hand out as an offering to the tiny little rabbit. The rabbit gingerly approached, sniffing at Victors hand. Victor smirked to himself "Stupid animal" and grabbed the rabbit with his other hand, quickly bringing it up to snap its neck "If only hunting was always that easy"

[Victor Marivaldi]

Victor stood over the wounded Doe. Its breathing was slow and heavy. Victor took a knee next to it and examined the wound he had inflicted. The cuts were much deeper then he had initially thought. Blood oozed out of the wound leaving a small puddle beneath it. Victor stood over the helpless animal, puzzled. Now that he had actually caught it he didn't really know what to do with it. Sure he had hunted for himself before but he didn't think the humans would appreciate a Doe that's had it's insides liquefied. There's also the added problem of getting it back to Syiliras. Victor didn't fancy his chances of being able to carry it back by himself. His only option was to cut it up and pack it into his bag.

Cutting the animal up without a knife wasn't the easiest task, though his claws were sharp they couldn't cut quite as deep as a proper hunting knife would and it made the whole process quite slow. Victor started out by trying to delicately cut of sections of the hide and trying to remove steak sized portions of meat. While it was a sloppy job and the meat was more torn the cut it should still serve. Victor tore up some rags to wrap the meat up in hopes it didn't spoil but mainly he didn't want the insides of his bag to get covered in the animals blood.

It took Victor well over an hour to harvest everything he could from the dead animal. It looked as if a wild animal had come through and ripped the carcass to pieces. Perhaps it would be best not to linger any longer Victor thought to himself the sun was starting to set and it wouldn't be long until other predators picked up the scent of the carcass. Victor had already had enough dealings with wolves round these parts and who knows what else is out in these woods.