(PRP) The Hunter and The...Hunter? (Wendigo x Artemis)

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Artemis crunched the bones in her mouth enjoying the soft spurt of blood in her mouth. It slicked down her throat, making her shiver with the pleasant taste of it. She downed the rest of the rabbit quickly, her appetite satiated for the time being.

Her ears flicked in the cold dawn. Sound carried, and things were quiet--much too quiet. She tossed her long hair back and glanced around sniffing the air. Someone was near, close, she could smell them.  

[Ririka]

Large claws carefully moved along the dew covered ground during the start of the sunlight hours. It was time once again for beast to find new trinkets and pets to cover his cave with, but first he needed to find the best spot to find the bait to catch these pets with. Soon, he hoped, the clawed creature would have new bones and pelts for decoration and amusement. And maybe after all has been done he will have a full belly and a reason to laze about for the rest of the day.

But, before Wendigo could begin laying his traps and searching for prey he needed to do a bit of pest control. Something was wandering around his usual grounds, and this something was not a creature he had invited, or ever met. At least they were making his job easier with all the noise.

"Do you make a habit of waking the residents of the area with your horrible manners?" the gryph asked while eyeing the large blob of golden yellow. At least she wasn't standing in the direction of the sun. The last thing he needed was to be blinded by some sort of stupid copy of a scene from an action story or something.

 

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Artemis let out a soft growl, tossing her hair again. She took in the look of the male before using her talons to flick a bone out of her mouth. "I do," she said more amiably than she usually spoke. "I love the habit of waking other creatures and stealing all their food. I like to follow that up with pulling the flesh off their bones as they scream."

She flashed a wicked smile at him, "I suppose you're probably wanting me to leave or something." Her muscles tensed ready for the fight, she always welcomed one. "Do you always roll in leaves and smell like a rank flesh?"  

[Ririka]

Cold blue eyes set into a glare as a slight scuff exited from between the stallion's lips. He should have expected such words from the mare. Clearly, from her appearance and actions she was not one would allow herself to be pushed around. That was alright though. It just meant their meeting would be all the more entertaining for him, if it even lasted long enough to be so.

"I don't know, Miss."

Slowly, he started to circle the golden mare, eyes scanning her over once more to get a better look. She did not resemble anyone he had come across during his travels, or during his stay in the Ghost territory. If anything the mare looked as if she belonged in a child's tale.

"Maybe I enjoy the task as much as you enjoy running around in that pigeon's mask. My habits work for me, but I don't think yours does whatever it is you intend for it to do. It's comical, really. But to each their own."

 

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Artemis smiled even more wickedly, "This mask?" She let her hair drop down over her shoulder and half hid one of her eyes. "Doesn't it make me look the lamb? Should I bleat for you and show you how helpless I am? Or maybe you'd prefer the soft coo of a dove to lure you into security before I scratch out your eyes?"

She tossed her head back and laughing crazily as he circled her. "I don't need to look fearsome, I need stallions to see me as weak and pitiful, someone that needs taking care of. I hide my nature just as you amplify yours--and apparently that horrendous smell."  

[Ririka]

Wendigo stopped in front of the mare, brow raised and eyes speaking nothing of his current thoughts and emotions. For someone who spoke of putting on a show of being weak and helpless she sure did spew the words of some kind of angry and pitiful crone. For all the stallion knew though, maybe she is a crone in disguise. Or a pig. Though he still thought she looked more like a pigeon. The day when pigs fly maybe she could be both.

"No," he stated before shoving himself past the mare. He could not spend all his time standing around and bickering with her, so why not take the show on the road? Things needed to be done and prey needed to be lured. "if anything it makes he look like an idiot, though I strongly believe you would still have that part down even without the mask, you half-witted pigeon."

Why couldn't he have run into an usdia? At least those things were easier to kill and less noisy. Still, they wouldn't have been half as amusing.

"My smell. My smell. All this talk of my smell. Why don't you just choke on it already? Your skull would be a nice piece to my collection, and your remains could be used to lure in some nice wolves. Their fur does make for some lovely bedding."

 

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Artemis watched him leave and frowned. Deciding quickly, she began to follow him. "So I'm a half-witted pigeon? Your words how they wound me. How will I ever recover?" She mocked him in a sickly sweet voice.

"Bedding wolf hides are we?" She raised an eyebrow. "Do you always walk away from a battle of wits or is it just you find me so...invigorating?" She stretched her claws again.

As much as she teased, she was also ready for a physical fight. She did not doubt her strength, she could match him she thought. She could maybe even decimate him.  

[Ririka]

For someone who chose to hide their identity behind a mask the mare sure had guts. Wendigo would give her that much. But beyond that he did not believe that she truly knew how to pick her battles. She could have all the strength in the world, all the speed, and or all the intelligence, but if she did not know how to use her gifts then what was the point of having it all. He may have only known her for a couple of minutes, but he would give almost anything to sew her mouth shut for eternity.

It must be a punishment for wanting some sort of entertainment.

'Tch, maybe I should give her a real would by swiping my claws across her face.' he thought to himself while holding back a sneer.

At least she was...slightly better than a Flock member. Slightly. Microscopically slightly.

"Tell me, insect, why would you consider this a battle of wits? Why should I spend my time and energy mixing words with you when it is clear you are no smarter than the dirt you walk upon?"

Scuffing, Wendgio suddenly stopped and turns back to her. "But if you want to start a fight then we can start a fight. I don't mind humoring someone like you. So what do you say? What do you want?"

 

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Artemis growled at his words, felt the hot blood in her rising. Her father was always warning her about her temper. But he wasn't here, just this stupid stallion in front of her. She smiled at him as he whirled on her.

Good, she was getting bored. A fight would be just the thing to get her blood going. She stretched her talons at him, as though summoning him. "Let's play then!"

She lunged at him seeking to grab his hair and pull it out by the roots. Time had not taught her anything yet. Too headstrong, too young to heed her father's warning she was not ready for a fight of this calliber. She had fury on her side, but what else? No skill to speak of. When Horus, her father, had told her to go hunt and not come back until she brought back something worthy--he had meant precisely this--to teach her a lesson she would have to learn sooner or later.

She was not as strong as she thought or as fast or as fierce. She was about to learn the hard way.  

[Ririka]

Surprise shot through Wendigo’s body for a split second, but he would be damned if he allowed the shock to distract or control him in any manner. While he hated his mother he would not deny that her insanity did teach him some very valuable lessons about survival and standing his ground. The stallion was not about to let some mare who didn’t know the difference between when to fight and when to take flight win this fight. No, he was going to teach her a lesson she would never forget.

With a growl, Wendigo dodged Artemis’ lunge and quickly turned to take hold of one of her wings. He didn’t care if he just injured it or ripped it out in a struggle, anything would do to bring her down a notch. Well, killing her would make for an everlasting lesson. Then he could use her skull to hold some organs or something. He wings would also make for nice decoration. But nah, he wasn’t in the mood to do such a thing, at least not let.

"Just back out while you have the chance, girl."

He just hoped the fight would end in his favor. Wendigo had a feeling that if he lost to this mare then he would not hear the end of it from her. The last thing he needed was the slow brained mare following him around all day while speaking more crap. He didn’t think his sanity could take more of that kind of talk from her.
 

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Artemis missed him, her body shooting past him with it's momentum. She felt something yank at her wings. She fought viciously to get away from it--the pain that lanced through her. She snapped hard in the vicinity and yanked her wing free minus a few feathers.

They floated down lazily between them, her mind clearing up from it's bloodlust almost instantly. Pain shot through her wing as she glared at him, keeping her teeth bared. Something else shot through her, a rising tide of knowledge that she was not going to win against this stallion.

Still, she would not beg for her life. All there was left was to fight. Darting forward, she raked her claws at his side hoping to catch skin.  

[Ririka]

It would be far too easy to believe that the golden mare would be smart and stand down. She was just as stubborn as himself, and for that he could congratulate her, but Wendigo would do no such thing. Instead, he would just continue to beat the idiot down until she learned her lesson, or as he guessed, would deny the loss and/or be a sore about the whole thing. Either way, he would get his fun at the cost of a few scratched here or there. …Maybe he really was far too proud for his own good. …Nah.

Wendigo took a second to attempt to spit out the few feathers that littered his mouth. It wasn’t until he caught sight of the lunging mare out of the corner of his eye that he quickly attempted to jump out of her reach.
His attempt to dodge her attack was not so graceful. Nor was it successful if the grinding of his teeth had anything to say about it.

“You know,” He forced out with a grin, “there’s a fine line between being stubborn and being a freakin’ idiot. And you seem to enjoy teetering on that line.”

He could feel her claws dig into his sides like a panther clinging to the hind end of a buffalo. His mind raced searching for a way he could dislodge her talons without causing more damage. His body screamed out with pain as a burning sensation spread through his side. And his instincts, well his instincts had him twisting himself slightly in an attempt to chomp down on one of Artemis’ ankles. And if he could he would be more than happy to twist and rip off her whole darn leg and smack her around with it.

 

[Nyx Queen of Darkness]

Her whole body throbbed with the pain radiating from her wings. Her claws dug in harder, gripping on to him for as long as she could. With a great wrenching motion, she jerked away from him.

The feel of his blood on her claws made her crazy. She loved blood, the way it felt on her skin when she spilled it. She wasn't going to win this fight, she wouldn't....But she would give as good as she could. She would learn.

"Bite me," she spit at him. Technically, he already had but well...She needed to work on her witty retorts very badly.