The Hunt for leather [Amarhyl]

[Mekotsu Hellborn]

Winter 78, 510 AV "Hold on" She told her as she kicked the horses side. It neighed as it started to charge following the bird. Avoiding hitting people, she steered the horse not allowing him to run his fastest as the girl on the back could be frightened by the speed. Normally people who don't ride to much don't like to go to fast on them. Flying past the guards leaving the gates of the city, the ran out, headed for the mountains to the bronze woods. The eagle still ahead of them, flapped his wings every now and then to keep the pace. She searched around, smelling all kinds of animals around, but none seemed to be what she needed. Hopefully what her eagle had found would be good enough to create the journal. The sun beamed through the trees as the forest was thick and fast. The eagle suddenly made a turn then stopped itself on top of one of the tree branches. Halting the horse, she waited for him to stop completely then got off. She signaled for the girl to stay on the horse as she didn't know if the animal could be dangerous. A growl suddenly rumbled from her chest as her muscles flexed and the hair on her arm stood up and began to grow and thicken. She took a few steps back, then started at a sprint and jumping over a log, but in the mid air, she suddenly transformed into a large black wolf. She was huge and bulking, as she landed on the ground her feet dug into the dirt. She looked back at the girl with her glowing red eyes and motioned her to stay as she sniffed the ground and air searching for her soon kill.

[Amarhyl]

"Hold on." Before she could grip properly onto anything, she was propelled backwards as the horse began to race beneath the two. Reaching out wildly, her hands snagged ahold of the back of Meko's clothing, and she clung on as hard as she could. The City was passing in a blur of people and buildings, and before she knew it, they were entering the Bronze Woods. They were going too fast for her to take much in, all she could picture were streaks of green and brown. 'I really need to get used to riding...' She almost slammed into the back of the Kelvic when the horse halted, but she avoided doing so by changing her grip to push away from Meko. She watched curiously as her companion slid off the horse, with a motion back to her. Amarhyl nodded. She didn't fancy roaming the woodlands anyway, her skills at anything regarding combat or survival were approximately zero. Azure eyes widened as she picked up a growling noise, and she glanced wildly around before she realized it was coming from the Kelvic. A half gasp, half scream left her throat as Meko took a running jump, and landed as a huge black wolf. Amarhyls blue eyes met the red of the wolfs. She didn't quite know where the sudden terror had come from, Meko was obviously still Meko in this form, she just looked different. All the same, the girl slid forward to sit properly in the saddle, and wound her hands into the horses mane for comfort, her eyes never leaving the form of the hulking wolf now prowling for her kill.

[Mekotsu Hellborn]

She sniffed the dirt, searching for what her pet had brought her to. Inhaling a puff of dirt on accident, she sneezed, then suddenly perked her head up as her ears twitched. Almost in an instant, she got low to the ground and started to growl low as her ears went back and her tail tucked under her belly. Her head twitched over to her left as she head some of the leaves on a bush rustling. Her body turned to it and slowly crawled to it growling. Suddenly, a cougar leaped from the bush with claws out letting out a loud roar. It must have come down from the mountains, but why? As the large cat came down onto the wolf, she got on her hind legs and the cougar attacked her from the front and she fell back. Once on her back she used her hind legs to kick the cougar off of her and she quickly twisted her body around and got back up on all fours growling. They both crawled near the ground going in a circle bearing their teeth at each other growling. At an instant, they both lunged at each other with full force, the cougar let out a growl and the wolf barked at it. The large wolf went under the cougars head and lunged up sinking her teeth into it's neck. The cougar flayed around roaring and growling trying to pull away but as it did, it only made the wound worse as blood dripped all over the wolfs face. Finally, the cougar fell limp and the wolf let go of her grasp on the neck. Licking the blood off her snout, she bit down on the back of it's neck and pulled the carcass back to the horse and girl then dropped the body and sat down panting heavily as blood dripped from her black hairs.

[Amarhyl]

A little smile appeared on the young girls mouth when the wolf sneezed. It reminded her that it was in fact Mekotsu standing before her. All the same, she kept her hold on the horses mane. She knew that it wouldn't leave the Kelvic if they became endangered, but it comforted Amarhyl anyway. When a cougar appeared in an explosion of noise and movement, she shrieked and threw her arms round the horses neck. With large, terrified eyes, she peered round the the neck of the horse and watched as it advanced on the wolf. Amarhyl lowered herself in the saddle, trying to remain invisible to the large cat. When the two beasts leapt at each other, she closed her eyes. Her heart was in her mouth and she was terrified for her friend. It didn't even occur to her that the Kelvic might do this sort of thing daily. When silence filled the air around them, she slowly opened her eyes. Relief flooded through her when she saw Meko sitting over the limp body of the cougar. She watched as it was dragged over and deposited with a soft thud near the horse. Amarhyl had no words; she was still getting over the shock of seeing her companion fighting the cat. She simply stared at Meko with wide eyes.

[Mekotsu Hellborn]

She rested for a bit trying to stay awake as the fight had exhausted her so much. Shaking it off as she stood up, she transformed back into her human form and looked over at her friend. "I'm sorry, i hope i didn't frighten you my dear, but it's alright he's dead and i'm fine." She smiled politely at her still tired as she reached into one of the satchels on the horse and pulled out a small dagger to skin with. Getting on her knees next to the dead animal, she pinched the skin and lifted it up as she stabbed the knife into it. She carved the pelts away from the dead animals body as blood splatted out and covered her hands and arms. She was use to the blood, but the scent made her a little maddening and hungry. Pulling up the pelt, it came off of the animal completely as blood dripped onto the floor. She searched around in her bags till she pulled out her water canister and started to wash the blood off of the pelt. Then continued to fold it up and put it in a bag. Mounting the horse she washed off some of the blood on her hands then put it back into the bag. Gripping the reigns she kicked the horse making his trot off forward, steering him till that soon came apon a small body of water and she stopped the horse. She got off and offered to help her friend get down as she knew she was still pretty shaken up."Have some water to cool you down."

[Amarhyl]

Amarhyl continued to gaze at her friend till Meko had become human once more. At her words, the girl gave a shaky smile. "I uh...uhm, it's okay...I just...I wasn't expecting...well, that." It was apparent in her voice that she was still a bag of nerves, but at least she hadn't fallen off the horse in shock. She gently unwound her hands from it's mane, and slid back to her original position in the saddle, before her attention was drawn back to the Kelvic. She watched for a moment as the dagger pierced the cougar's skin, but when blood started to appear on her friends hands, she looked away. She absently stroked the horses neck until she heard Meko rummaging in her bags. She almost gagged at the sight of the now, pelt-less cat, and quickly averted her eyes. It was only when Mekotsu jumped up onto the horse in front of her that she pulled her thoughts back to the present. Upon reaching the body of water, the girl gratefully accepted a hand down. She was feeling a little less shaken, but knowing her luck, she'd still fall over. "Thanks." As she drank, she could feel herself gradually calming down.

[Mekotsu Hellborn]

She smiled knowing that her friend was calming down. Gabbing a free flanks of wood, she threw in a pile and lit a fire then sat down. Her horse, feeling comfortable, laid down next to a tree and slowly went to sleep. Meko got up and got the pelt from her bag with some tools and sat back down by the fire and started to work on the pelt, cleaning it and what not. Knowing this would be a bit, she decided they should rest for a bit. So she got up and walked over to the lake, took off her clothes and transformed into her real form and hopped into the river. After a bit she came back out with a large fish hanging in her muzzle. Her fur dripped wet and blood dripped from the fish's carcass. Walking back over to the fire, she dropped the fish next to it and returned to normal placing her clothes back on. She got her knife from her bag and started to skin the scales from the fish. Then proceeded to chop it head off and cut the large fish in half and slid a stick into each body. Handing the other fish to her friend she smiled and held her fish over the fire as it cooked.

[Amarhyl]

Amarhyl fished in her backpack for a moment and drew out a rough-hewn wood cup. She dipped it in the water and sipped. It was much easier than using her hands, that was certain. She edged closer to the fire that Meko had started. The day was drawing on, and a light chill had picked up in the air. She sat and drank in silence, watching her friend as she set about cleaning up the pelt they had just acquired. Her eyes followed the Kelvic as she got up and made her way over to the river, and this time, she didn't even flinch as the big black wolf appeared once again. She had known what to expect this time. She looked on curiously, wondering what Meko was doing, then gave a little nod to herself when a fish was dropped near the fire. She set her cup down when half the fish was offered to her, and took it with a "Thank you." Amarhyl imitated Meko, holding the stick out over the dancing flames before her. She wasn't entirely sure how she would know when it was ready to eat, but she figured that she'd just see what Meko's looked like in the end. "How long are we staying out here today?" She glanced over her shoulder at the horse, who was sound asleep a little way off.

[Mekotsu Hellborn]

Watching the fish slowly start to warm and cook over the fire, she took a long breath smelling the fresh air and the burning wood mixed together. Her head turned toward the sky as a few birds flew by, spring was soon upon them, she thought. Every now and then she would bring her fish away from the fire and inspect it but every time it was done yet, she figured it would take some time to finish cooking. Hearing her ask this question, she thought for a second. The pelt needed time to soak in the solution she made, and she really didn't feel like leaving it here to take her home then try to find her way back. "Well, see I don't live anywhere, so if you wouldn't mind sleeping here for one night, you'll find it very relaxing actually and plus, I have to finish soaking the pelt in this solution."

[Amarhyl]

Each time Mekotsu took her fish out of the flames, Amarhyl craned her neck to see what it looked like. She would then remover her own and examine it, silently comparing it to her friends. She rarely ate fish; it just was not a food they had back at the Outpost. Sure, there had been the rare occasion but even then it hadn't looked a thing like this fish-on-a-stick business. She almost dropped the whole lot into the fire though, when she heard Meko's answer to her question. The whole night?! Amarhyl glanced up. She swallowed and gave a stiff nod. If it had to be done then fine. It wasn't like the young girl was able to find her own way back to the City alone. She would probably be maimed or killed by some other animal. "Right...uhm. The whole night. Okay, sure." She cast her gaze round the area again, her eyes resting on the sleeping horse. "Is it safe?"