Qeya River Clubhouse

The cracking of ram heads echoed off the mountainside. Eye to eye they stood, head lifted, after each thunderous match. The misty air from their breath curled in rings around the heavy spiral of their horns. They withdrew, each finding their way several paces back before they stood in an uneasy truce- and ran for each other again.

Ksura watched, entertained for some time, before he set his gaze on the ewes grazing below in the lower ranges. They were smaller, their horns barely spikes. Alongside them, this year’s young jousted and sparred, leaping about coltishly on the jagged rocks. 

These weren’t domestic sheep; they could not be slain by the dozen with their own fear. These were animals that knew that danger lurked in the wilderness, and that their true advantage came from their ability to race up sheer rock. 

But with the killer lurking above them, they would have to descend- to an area where wolves would have the advantage. 

The rams collided again; in the echo, Ksura sent up a short cry- hoping someone nearby might be ready for when he made his move.

"sheep killer find sheep," sun eater teased as the wind blew his fur, harshly jerking it in tufts around his scarred face. these were fine animals, fierce horned creatures who battled for strength in the same manner of wolves.

the single eye approved. he did not know sheep killer's history with the name given; for sun eater, to kill a sheep was a singular skill, a cunning not all possessed.

he was quiet then, joined beside the other hunter for the kill; he would not assume the lead, for he wished to observe as their race began.

it would be a good thing if others too gathered, though he prepared for it to be only them.

He salivated as he waited, breaths coming in short puffs. The tip of his tail slithered softly behind him with each great crack of the ram’s horns. He watched with narrowing eyes as the young lambs bounced from one rock to the next, throwing their heads back and showing the whites of their eyes as they leapt- so nimble that they could afford to be comical as well. 

His ear flicked as Sun Eater approached, accompanying him on the hillside. Now, he would be put to the test; now, he would shed blood alongside the man who had shed-

don’t think about it.

His panting ceased. He licked the trail of saliva from his lips, and his mouth suddenly became dry. The idea was fleeting- but the hungry flame at a match’s head, it was snuffed out before it could spread. Still, the matchbox smell lingered, potent and alluring. 

He would tuck it away for another day, turn it into a fantasy that might never become reality. 

He clicked his teeth together as a trio of lambs strayed further downhill, away from the ewes. He made gestures with his chin, and began to sneak forward. 

He would gain as much ground as he could, quietly- before breaking into a run that would spook the small herd into action.

lambs. sun eater's eyes were upon them; he lowered as sheep killer slunk forward. there was something additional to the man's movements that the lanzadoii hunter could not quite place.

it veiled sheep killer in a mystery that sun eater might one day need to parse for himself. but not this hour, reserved as it was for his assessment of the river-wolf's ability.

his companion was swift and did not wait to rush the sheep. sun eater curved his path away, driving off the rams, the ewes. he would describe a smooth wheeling back to sheep killer, some steps behind what path the other had chosen.

His breastbone scraped the ground as he moved forward, pausing every now and again to disguise himself in the shadow of a boulder, until there were no more shadows to hide in. He broke forward into a canter, still held low until the animals caught sight of the hunters that now charged toward them- then he stretched out into a gallop and careened toward the lambs as they scattered, scrambling down the slope. 

Above them, the ewes and rams climbed, bleating heartbreaking cries for the children who ran further and further from them, separated by two wolves. 

Two lambs fled together, side by side- having shared their mother's womb, they bound themselves together in flight. Ksura pursued them, with each turn and twist he cut off their route back up to the highlands, and forced them down toward the foothills-

-until he caught sight of the two, tall stones that marked what he called 'stone-jump bluff.' 

The lambs would make an easy kill if they simply kept their course straight, and went down into the foothills where they could not out-maneuver the wolves. Even if they split apart- which he felt they would eventually- one wolf per lamb was more than enough. 

But here was an opportunity for him to show not only his skill, but his understanding of the landscape, and of techniques that could be used not only for sheep, but other mountain-dwelling prey as well. Beyond the two stones was a drop that even the most sure-footed ram could not survive. He barked, and jerked his chin in the direction of the two stones, before he swerved to the right- driving the lambs in the direction of the unseen drop.

sheep killer had a pronounced knowledge of where his foot might best be placed. sun eater might not admit such a thing, but the high reaches of terrain were not his expertise. he preferred for many reasons the flat and open land. welcoming their departure, the chieftain placed the emphasis of his mind on their efforts.

their descent was steep, rocks bouncing, the terrified cries of the lambs honing wolf's adrenaline and the rush of his heart. he found confidence in his own reckless lunge.

sun eater was not unfamiliar with stampeding creatures from a higher point. he had seen it done among the sharadoii; as cen and and as yikaas he had mocked the sharadoii for their refusal to leave their birth valley. and yet it had not been necessary. the caribou came to their camps and their villages; the caribou gave themselves to the sharadoii, and one one occasion it had been en masse. 

he had participated in driving, but he had been so overwhelmed by the lowing, huffing mass of packed living caribou so close to him that he had not seen the end. he had not seen their drop from the cliffs; he had fallen back and run down to butcher them instead. 

today he would see.

he might have missed sheep killer's cue had it been silent; the bark set the saatsine man a step late after the lambs,  but correctly left in their driving. his snarl was harsh, teeth snapping at their limbs to keep them from straying down into the merciful hills.

sun eater's eyes were wild with the hunt, with the anticipated taste of blood.

The lambs would not know the drop until the air rushed toward them. Side by side, they swerved from the hunters, blinded by the hope that they might live to dance another day with the sound of thunder hovering over the mountains. 

Their fall would be so steep, they would die before they heard the sound of their own crushing bones. The rushing air would deafen the bleat of any cries they would utter as they felt something similar to weightlessness before all sensation came to a swift stop.

As they ushered the ill-fated lambs toward the two standing stones, Ksura had a moment to make a choice- and for a split second, he considered doing something terrible.

There was a chance that Sun Eater did not know that they were hurtling toward a sheer cliff- time and time again they had descended over the mountain’s many dips and curves, only to find ground stretched out to receive their scrambling paws. This beguiling ledge looked every bit as benign as all the others. 

The lambs disappeared from view. 

He could disappear too-
Or perhaps Sun Eater could-

And he might find as abrupt an end to his reign as the beginning had been. 

There was a chance Sun Eater knew this mountain- and for that reason, Ksura growled, to catch the leader’s attention, and swerved abruptly toward him. Not to block his path, in case the leader accidentally blundered into him and sent him flying anyway, but to cue him to skid to a halt. 

A spray of rocks was sent over the cliff’s edge as the hunter came to a halt, and breathlessly tossed his head up to catch sight of Sun Eater.

with no comprehension of either the mountain or sheep killer's mental machinations, sun eater might well have plummeted to his doom there on those sharp cliffs with their harsh drop.

who then might take his place? saatsine was at its beginning, and it could live a new life. sun eater was under no illusion that he was beloved or admired; his reign was fear and fear demanded its own rot.

the goodness of this death was then indeed a fair argument.

bobbing tails flickered out of reach and his vision narrowed to redness. he nearly snapped as sheep killer sounded a gravelled note, then almost collided — no. more control in that. sun eater sank his claws into the earth, tearing it as he found deceleration just before the end of the cliff.

panting, heaving, sun eater chuffed in triumph and looked toward sheep killer before he glanced over the precipice to see if their gambit had drawn blood.

They’re dead, Ksura commented between breaths, as Sun Eater peered over the cliff’s edge. He huffed a deep breath, licked his lips, and continued to pant. 

Oddly enough, seeing Sun Eater stand at the edge of the cliff didn’t trigger the notion to give him a shove. The thrill of the hunt seemed to have either satisfied him or tired him out…Possibly both.

Once he’d caught his breath, he licked his lips once more and gestured with a tilt of his head away from the pair of stones that had marked the gateway of demise for the lambs. Shortest way down, this way, He said, picking his way up the slope, to where he knew a safe passage would lead them down to where the lambs bled.

A shadow overtook him. When he looked up, all it took was a glimpse of long, brown feathers and a hooked, yellowish beak for him to hiss through his teeth. 

Golden eagles weren’t necessarily scavengers- but with such fresh, tender flesh available, the great bird would not waste the opportunity and dipped out of sight toward the lower grounds. Ksura barked in frustration, and began to scramble down through the rattling scree.

eagles. 

they did not plague the plains so often, but when they did, it was in spring. children were given the task of alerting the clan to thieving around their drying-racks as soon as they were able to walk. eight weeks the lanzadoii camped, but the children moved before that.

this, however; he had not seen such a large eagle before. yet he would not balk, and followed sheep killer with intent clenching his jaw, lifting his head often to fix the thing's position in his eye.

those talons were able to maim and to blind. he snarled loudly, a sound designed to warn the creature before it descended.