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+--- Thread: Altar of Twilight Eyes that fire and sword have seen (/showthread.php?tid=33512)
Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Mal - March 28, 2019
Well. He was hungry. That was one of those things that had become more on his mind the past few days. Luck was a fickle thing, and though he wasn't in any danger of starving any time soon, it wasn't exactly like it was pleasant. But such was life outside Elysium -- an empty world full of murderers and freaks.
He needed to head back to Brillo soon, but he probably could put off the return journey for another day or two if he took a more direct path through the mountains. Might be worth a shot. Right now, though, he'd wound his way into a little sheltered valley in the late afternoon. Maybe here there would be something edible -- or maybe not. It wasn't like he was expecting anything from anywhere or anyone at this point. The world was kind of just a jerk and catching a break would be too much trouble. But if he found nothing on this trip, then what would he do? He started sniffing around, looking for some clue of what might be ahead.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Aditya - March 29, 2019
he stayed close to moonspear, much too close. in fact, this was where he had met alya—or one of her sisters?—before, and he slipped through the valley seeing their shadows everywhere. jumping at every turn. why did he linger here?
aditya had long known he was a serial masochist.
a pale young man with black points caught his attention; he inhaled deeply and found no trace of moonspear on the yearling's pelt, at least not enough to mark him as pack. adi gave a chuff and trotted toward him, noticing the other was likely on the hunt, judging by his body language.
looking for food?he asked lightly, giving him a gentle smile.
me, too. happy to help out if you'll have me.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Mal - March 30, 2019
He'd built up a lot of distrust regarding others, particularly adults. Most frequently it seemed they either demeaned him or were murderers. Usually with a side of wizardry to try to make everyone like them. But not Mal. He was impervious to it, and as soon as they realized it, the creatures left. So when another adult called to him, he was again wary.
And that in turn made him uncertain and quiet.
Um. Yeah. Dunno what though.Look, he still had like a 10% success rate or something abysmal when it came to hunting. Most of his food on the trip had come from scavenging -- the good thing about winter was stuff that ate plants kind of died sometimes. Now, though, with the snow melting or melted depending on where you were, it was in this awkward place where he was not finding much.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Aditya - March 31, 2019
he reminded aditya of river, somewhat, though perhaps it was just a common demeanor among adolescent boys. the wariness, the standoffish behavior. it didn't offend him; you couldn't win every game you tried to play. mostly he just wanted to get a good meal in the young man, and himself, and then be on his way. he understood how hard it was to be alone at this age.
have you ever hunted big game before?adi asked, canting his head in question.
i thought i smelled some deer on my way through here; perhaps we could go check it out?
he had never been a marvelous hunter, but he'd picked up a lot in his time with morningside. enough to give chase to large prey with some confidence, at least. and it would sate him far more than the odd squirrel or rabbit that he'd been picking up through his travels over the past moon.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Mal - March 31, 2019
He shifted uneasily a moment, wondering if he should just lie. Yep, Mal was totally an expert at hunting everything ever. Okay that was totally not gonna be believable at all. It wasn't like he had practice lying or anything, he just glared at people until they went away.
Uh. No.Which he also figured would probably be a hindrance to getting into a pack if he could actually find one that wasn't completely full of crazy people. But what was this dude going to think of Mal's admission?
He certainly didn't seem proud of the fact, or anything. That was just the screwed up life he'd lead so far.
But I guess?This guy probably had a better idea of what to do anyway. Maybe. Looking didn't even necessarily mean hunting, and Mal didn't expect anything to happen in the end. He expected to be hungry until he stumbled across something else edible or gave up and went back to see his sister and empty a cache while he was there.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Aditya - April 01, 2019
aditya nodded gently at the young man's admittance.
that's okay,he replied.
no time like the present to learn.without another word, he turned and began to follow the path he'd taken here, nostrils flaring as he searched for the scent that had caught his attention before.
around a bend, a couple copses of trees—and there.
a small herd of deer, maybe seven or eight, grazed placidly nearby. does and young fawns. assuming the boy had followed him without question or resistance, he glanced over to his companion, brows raised in query.
which do you think we should go after?he asked quietly, his voice barely a whisper.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Mal - April 06, 2019
He'd teach Mal? What the heck. Were there some strings attached? Was he gonna just take all the food and he'd be outta luck and have to do it himself? Maybe. Mal would just like.. yell at him or something if that happened. It wasn't like he'd win a fight. But it was probably worth taking a chance because the walk back to Elysium was pretty long and he didn't want to starve to death on the way or something equally dramatic. Though the youth might have gawked at him a little, he was willing to follow along and see what their targets would be.
He stared at the group of deer, looking over them. If there was one in the group that was totally the best to go after, he wasn't seeing it. There were just some adult ones and some baby ones, that's about as much clarity as he had. The big does seemed pretty big, so that was maybe not the best idea.
Ummm,he said, reasonably equal in volume to his tutor,
maybe a smaller one?He wasn't sure if that would be more or less dangerous.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Aditya - April 07, 2019
luckily, the young man was with him, and they crouched together, staring at the deer. maybe a smaller one?
not a bad choice,adi said softly, giving the other a nod. his hawkish gaze returned to the herd.
all the good hunters in my life have taught me to look for the weak link. the one that looks hurt, or too old to carry on.
he dipped his nose toward an older doe, sans baby. perhaps she was too old for children or had weathered complications while birthing. either way, her stiff gait and white around her muzzle suggested that time was running out for her—and that it was her moment to give back to the earth.
what about that one?he asked, waiting for the boy's input before making any decisions.
do you think she looks frail enough to take down without much of a fuss?
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Mal - April 09, 2019
Mal didn't really know what he was looking for. Maybe if one was bleeding profusely he'd be able to spot it, or was hobbling around especially visibly but he definitely didn't know what subtle things to look for. His practice had been more in-the-moment -- chase a thing, if it screws up, you can catch it, otherwise you're out of luck. It was a very unscientific way to do things. Mal was the wolf equivalent of someone who either dropped out of school very early or go "homeschooled" by someone who didn't actually teach, take your pick.
Maybe? I dunno,he hissed, sounding a little frustrated because he honestly just had no clue. He probably should, but he was kind of impatient just from his lack of knowledge. Maybe he could kind of see? But he would rather just randomly chase and hope things worked -- that's how people hunted, right? Maybe there was a reason most of what he'd eaten recently was found already dead.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Aditya - April 12, 2019
okay, question-and-answer teaching style was probably out. that was fine. aditya nodded, confirming, at least, the 'maybe.'
i think it's worth a shot,he murmured. he glanced at the young man.
can you slip away toward the opposite side of the herd and chase her away? maybe spook the lot of them into running? if you can drive her toward me, i can try to cut her down.
he gave a gentle shrug.
i could go, too. i just thought you're probably faster than i am, and i'm bigger, better suited to have a deer coming straight for me.adi's eyes landed on the boy once more, inquisitive.
up to you.
any indecision and he'd go for the deer himself, trying to cut it away. there was no place for indecision in a hunt, but perhaps the boy didn't know that quite yet. that was fine, but he was hungry, and there was no time to waste. briefly, with a pang, he wished dawn or other morningsiders were here. it would be much easier with them.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Mal - April 12, 2019
Part of the problem was probably that Mal just didn't do quiet well. It was too much effort being quiet while trying to hold a conversation, like who even does that! He probably would have been one of the kids booted to the back of the classroom so they wouldn't be bothering the ones trying to actually learn.
Either way, Mal made some sort of sound that was probably an affirmative grunt. Whatever. He could totally just scare things, that was something he knew he was good at -- catching them proved to be more problematic. He slipped away into the grass. His mottled coat might actually might be kind of useful for creeping along, not that he thought about it, he had the dappled light built right into his fur.
He gave the deer a wide berth because knowing his hideous luck, they'd flee way before he meant. It meant it'd take a little longer for him to move, sure, but at least it wouldn't be messed up by him being stupid, right? Either way, once he got to the far side, it took him a moment to find that deer that had been pointed out again. It looked different from this side. Uhh. Kinda greyed a bit, right? Hm. Uh. That one, right? Not that he could really point. But he was pretty sure that was the right deer, though someone else's fawn had wandered near it.
For a moment longer he paused, then dove forward towards his target. Deer scattered every which way, but the core of the group headed directly away from the youth. Hopefully towards his hunting companion but there were enough flailing around deer butts in the way that he couldn't spot him any more.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Aditya - April 13, 2019
it wasn't the most skillful herding job, but it was effective, nonetheless. aditya crouched and watched the boy slip away, then burst onto the scene, sending the deer into a scattered panic. for a moment, he lost sight of the elderly doe, and his brows knitted, eyes darting in search of her—
there. she was headed roughly in his direction, though at her current trajectory, she'd whiz just past him on the right. adi sprang into action, moving that way, hoping to head her off. she wasn't the biggest animal, but it was still intimidating to have hooves like that coming right for you.
the deer came close enough to see the whites of her eyes, and then aditya leapt from the thicket, sending his bulk barrelling into her, square in the chest. he latched onto her neck with his teeth and tore—and tore free, falling back to the ground.
still, he'd left a sizable gash along her throat that was bleeding steadily, and he lifted his head, looking for his companion.
she's injured!aditya called out, at the same time running after the doe.
help me bring her down!
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Mal - April 26, 2019
This was on to the part where he had no idea what the hell he was doing. He could spook a group of deer any ol' time, but how the heck was he supposed to catch something that much bigger than him? Like did they see how big a deer was? But uh. Yeah. Guess he had to figure it out like now because the guy had fallen to the side and it'd probably be hard to catch up, right?
So aside from the fact his brain was basically screaming, 'I DO NOT KNOW WHAT I AM DOING :D' at the top of it's lungs, Mal had to do something. The attack that had been done had been enough for him to hone in on the target and close more of the distance. And urged on by the smell of blood, he chased and lunged, trying to grab on to the doe's hip. He sort of did. Kinda. It wasn't the best bite, so it didn't last more than a step or two before their mutual bounding along yanked her out of his grasp. He was trying at least!
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Aditya - May 01, 2019
mal gave the doe a good bite, but still she fought on, the stubborn old lady. even bleeding from several places, and worn from the rigors of life, she still was formidable. aditya leapt once more into the fray, racing up along her other side. he slammed his body once more against hers, this time catching a hoof on a rear thigh, dangerously close to his groin.
thank god she missed that one.
he began to worry at her flanks, nipping, trying to wear her out.
try again!he said to the boy, words bursting through panted breath.
go for her throat—that's her weakest point!easier said than done, true, but he could feel the deer beginning to slow. they would have her soon enough.
rolled a fail; otherwise i would have just brought her down D:
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Mal - May 03, 2019
Wait, he wanted him to get closer to more sharp pointy flying bits? He was gonna get booted upside the head with a hoof or something, yikes. Mal should stick to like.. Bunnies or something. They were a lot less freaky and huge. But whatever, he'd try! And with an affirming grunt, he sped up a little bit more. A little more... Then after a moment of hesitation he dove at a lowish point of the deer's neck, getting a not particularly safe hold, trying to do something to slow it down.
Maybe it was his own negative thoughts giving him bad juju, but again he slipped -- or rather, he got caught by a hoof, the deer was yanked out of his grasp, and he went under. But he was also getting tripped on. So the fact that he was unintentionally providing some uneven footing might help too, but unless the doe crashed down right on the other side, he was totally out of any further extension of the chase.
He rolled to his stomach and a stop, looking a bit dazed and bewildered at what had just happened. But considering it didn't seem like he was bleeding out all over the place or anything super obvious, give him a minute or two for the pain to kick in so he could get a better idea of just how big the bruises from this were gonna be. Mal was already trying to get to his feet, wobbly though it was.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Aditya - May 04, 2019
gonna exit here; thanks for the thread <3
it wasn't the prettiest of takedowns, but it did the trick. the doe eventually toppled, as did mal, and aditya raced over to his newfound acquaintance, scanning him over for injury. when it seemed like it was (mostly) all right, his face broke into a grin, eyes shining.
great job,adi said.
those old deer don't go down without a fight. good on you for hanging in there with me.
eventually, once the adrenaline had settled and his heartbeat slowed, he began to work away a haunch for himself, hoping to carry it away somewhere so that the boy had time alone. aditya thought the young man might appreciate that. before he did go, however—
my name is aditya,he introduced himself, with a courtly dip of his muzzle.
perhaps our paths will cross again. best of luck to you, wherever you travel.
ostensibly receiving a name in return, aditya kept it in mind and then took off to feast. he was on the move again before the next evening.
RE: Eyes that fire and sword have seen - Mal - May 06, 2019
He stumbled a little, but eventually his feet stayed under him even if he was pretty sure he was still seeing sparkly cartoon birds. Oof, yeah that was probably not what was supposed to happen. Ow. At first he just kinda nodded, and tried to make sure his head was properly screwed back on now.
I'm Mal. Uh. Yeah, see you around I guess.What else was he supposed to say? He sure didn't know. Wasn't his strong point. Besides, there were other things to think about. The main problem with having this much food around was that there was no way he could possibly eat all of it. But damned if he'd try. Maybe he could hide some of it, but he didn't know how long it'd last.. Or when he'd be back. Whatever. At least he wouldn't be hungry for a while -- and he could take a few days to recover from whatever injuries he'd gained.