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 Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2021 2:30 pm
Hargitt was awake and outside while the moon still hung fat in the sky. Over the past few days he'd taken relatively minor jobs with little physical demand while restocking supplies, resting, and enjoying some personal time. Well, as much 'personal' time as one could find with a shifter hanging about. While he couldn't say that he resented her being there, spending time with Rajani was still an adjustment. Waking up beside her had started out as a surprising accident and turned into a weird sort of ritual. If Hargitt was asked to explain it he wouldn't be able to. Just to have someone that close without having to say anything, without having something demanded of him other than his space...it was comforting in a strange way.
Still, work was work and Hargitt was a hunter. He'd slipped out of the bed in the early hours, dressed as quietly as he could and made his way outside with a full yawn working it's way out. Too many mornings of sleeping in has made you dull. It was definitely taking him longer than usual to wake up and he blamed that on all the rest he'd gotten recently. With another grumbled yawn, Hargitt adjusted his quiver and started to walk out of the settlement into the wilds.
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2021 4:56 pm
Sneaking out was easy enough to do now that Rajani was used to Hargitt's presence. When he got up early she woke up just enough to peek an eye open at him to make sure there was no threat being made that she needed to defend him from then went right back to sleep. The shifter was not a morning person and it showed. She rolled to spot the large windling had been in, claiming the warmth there, and settled down into silence. It wouldn't be for another hour or two at least that Rajani would finally wake up without being made to get up. Once she was up she did the same as Hargitt did, she dressed quietly then went outside. She even did the same big yawn before she made her way out the same way he did, her hammer going over her shoulder lazily. With no reason to do her hair up all nice she had left it down and untamed so it was just a cascading mess of silver waves but thankfully didn't look like she had a bad case of bed head. This time at least. As she walked she tilted her head from one side to the other to crack her neck lightly. She walked to where she knew she would find the tall blonde, thanks to a conversation about work, and lifted her arms in a stretch. "Oh man.. Wonder what he's caught so far."
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:46 pm
Hargitt's morning had been fairly typical. After leaving in the wee hours of the morning he'd hiked to a spot he'd carved out for the day and set up 'camp'. He covered his exposed flesh in a mixture of water and the surrounding clay, which just so happened to produce a scent foul enough to keep any passing creature from smelling his natural aroma. The hunter had to go far enough away from the settlement to be rid of any tended herds, but this far out he was able to spot a natural herd he'd been tracking for some time.
The capramel were lean as opposed to the well kept ones back near the village. Still, if it were able to capture a few ewe's he could sell them at market and another couple for meat then he would be set. Killing the first capramel had been easy. A well placed strike with his long bow had picked off the beast and since it had been near the back of the herd the others had only been mildly spooked. They ran a bit, but he was able to keep up. Knocking the other off, however, had put the herd on red alert and anything he did from this point forward would be tricky.
Still, he had two to be thankful for and at the moment Hargitt was bent over behind a large rock field dressing his kills. One splayed carcass had already been gutted while he was elbow deep in the next.
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Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:55 pm
It had taken her some time to get to the spot, especially as she didn't know the area as well as he did. Rajani spotted a capramel herd in the distance but paid it little mind as she had also spotted a certain tall wind elbow deep in blood. The scene didn't bother her at all so she simply headed right for him, not bothering to be quiet since he had obviously gotten a kill or two. As she got ever closer to him she looked out toward the herd with a few thoughts about traps. The shifter was actually pretty good at setting them. Given time to prepare she could manage some really good ones. She used them a lot in the jungle. Her grey eyes took in the landscape and saw that there wasn't much to work with as far as trees and tried to figure out how she'd manage some of her more favored ones. When she was finally close enough for Hargitt to hear her voice she looked back at him. "Not bad for a morning's work. Plan on getting more?" She had to consider the weight of the kills and just how much he planned on carrying.
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Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2021 12:58 pm
"A few." Hargitt hooked his dagger just north of the ram's hip and further unfurled the carcass. Without having a tree or a suitable stone to prop it up onto Hargitt was holding the ram up by the forelegs, using his free hand to do most of the work while the body bled out. The work gave his arms a fair burn, but Hargitt knew he needed to work fast before predators started to smell the blood. Hopefully they would be satisfied with all the innards he planned to leave behind.
Since he was so practiced with the work he was able to do a fair bit of it without really looking at the capramel. Instead, he turned toward Rajani. "The ewes fetch a fair price at market." He cocked his head toward the herd. "Younger the better. This-" The huntsman gave his 'prize' a light shake. "-is for us, but gold will last a lot longer."
If he could manage to nab a few females then he could strap the kills onto their back and bring them into town. Still, trying to catch them now would be the hard part..."Have you ever hunted animals before?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2021 4:56 pm
She squinted and looked back at the herd, judging the distance as she listened to him mention that the ewes caught more at market. When he said 'this' she looked back in time to see the dead on shake a bit. Her grey gaze took it in before she looked up at the tall windling and smirked. "So.. alive. Injured or no?" She moved her hammer off her shoulder and set it down by him but out of his way. Her head gave a bit of a nod as she pulled a dagger out of the top of her left boot. "Yeah. I've hunted a few." Maybe not this particular animal but she knew how. "Give me a few and I can snag one. Maybe two, depending..." The shifter looked back at the animals for a second and tilted her head. If she went for a young, small one then it shouldn't be too much of an issue. "Got any rope?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:01 pm
"Preferably uninjured." When he was as finished as he had time for, Hargitt wrapped the valuable meat up with thick cloth before tying it all off with ropes. The large windling hefted bit by bit to the top of the rock he'd been hiding behind and further hid his 'find' by covering it with a smelly blanket. With any luck they would be able to move fast enough to beat any predator, but just in case he didn't want them to sniff out the good stuff before he had a chance to get to it first.
As for the fur Hargitt left that exposed and open to dry. "If it comes down to it just make sure the injury is minor. They can lose an eye or an ear, but I need them to walk." Grunting, he moved back to his pack and dug through the supplies. Since he thought he would be coming alone Hargitt had shoved as much as he could in the one bag, making it harder to dig through, but eventually he came through. Two separate spools of rope, each easily twice his length if not more.
"I'll give you cover." If the rams caught sight of her it could get ugly. While he had no doubt that Rajani could handle herself a herd could be trickier to deal with.
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Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2021 5:24 pm
Well, uninjured made it a bit more tricky but she could probably manage one. Rajani smiled at Hargitt as he handed over the rope. It was more than she needed but she wasn't complaining either. She started to head toward the herd when she caught him say he'd cover her. The shifter looked back over her shoulder at him and waved with her free hand. "Appreciate it." After that she moved as stealthily into a position that she judged would be good for what she had in mind. It took some fiddling and she had to go slower than usual since she was trying to remain undetected, but eventually she had the trap set up. Once it was done she moved to go in a wide circle around the herd so that she could be the driving force behind their movement. Rajani felt the sweat on her neck and thought about how different the heat was here. In the jungle it was humid but in Sauti it was the sun and lack of shade that made it hot. Her grey eyes went upward for a moment, getting distracted for just a second before she looked around at the ground to find a large enough rock. Once it was found she hefted it up then launched it at the herd to provide the initial spook before she ran out to provide the scare. It worked and the herd as a whole began to move in the direction she wanted them to go.
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2021 3:05 pm
Hargitt shifted until he was creeping along the rocks just downwind of the herd, keeping a side eye on Rajani as he went. Years of experience hunting had given the larger windling the agility needed to blend seamlessly with his surroundings while still remaining relatively quiet. Once he'd found a good spot Hargitt knocked an arrow, but kept the weapon downturned; ever at the ready.
Watching Rajani move was like watching a trained hound or some sort of predatory cat. She obviously knew what she was doing by the wide circles she took, and for a moment he was keen just to observe. If he'd been asked when he first met the shifter if she were capable of strategizing he would have instantly said no. Now, however...Now he could appreciate the effort.
And then she threw the rock.
For a moment Hargitt felt himself groan as his eyes rolled up to the sun. For Chi's sake. Still, they were moving the way she wanted them to and he had to give her credit for that.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2021 1:28 pm
She didn't pay much attention to the front of the herd as she heard the familiar twang of her trap snagging it's prey. Instead Rajani took off on foot after a smaller female she noticed in the back. Her booted feet crunched over the landscape almost perfectly since she had no trees to weave through to slow her down. The shifter read the movements of the beast and moved to the right slightly before she leapt. Her legs came up and for all of a second she was a ball of crouching fury in the air then she plummeted down onto of the beast she had her eyes on. Her weight hit and she leaned it heavily to the side as her arms wrapped around the small female's neck. The sudden shift caused the beast's knees to buckle and then eventually they both went down to the ground in a roll. The last bit of the rope she'd kept hold of she quickly tied around the feet of the animal to keep it from escaping. This of course took all her concentration and she didn't notice the danger headed her way. Said danger was a large male that was gunning for the threat to his herd. Rajani wouldn't see it out of the corner of her eye until it was too late.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2021 6:40 pm
It might not be such a bad idea to have her come on all my hunts. She was making quick work of the wayward ewes and having someone to tap out with when he became tired was always welcome. It also helped that Rajani didn't ask stupid questions, hound him for direction or generally pull rookie mistakes; she just acted. Of course it wasn't his methods, but they were getting results, never the less.
Hargitt's peace was broken the moment he saw the ram barreling forward. The hunter didn't have time to warn Rajani of the incoming threat, but he didn't really need to. All at once he raised just enough so that his longbow could pop off a shot. When the first arrow careened into the ram's thigh the beast fell over onto it's face with a loud cry that was cut off the moment Hargitt's next arrow burrowed it's way into the creature's skull.
Still, it had been a close call. The roati was closer to the shifter than Hargitt was and if he hadn't been so sure of his skills then she would have been struck. Picking his way out of the crags, Hargitt walked over towards the fallen ram. Instead of checking in with Rajani he crouched, placed one firm hand on the beast's horn and the other at the base of his arrow. With a hard yank he pulled the arrow free.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2021 6:51 pm
She heard the arrow hit flesh and then something crash to the ground. As she turned her head she heard the second arrow hit. Finally her eyes saw what had been coming at her. Rajani gave a low whistle as she repositioned herself to lean lazily against a struggling female beast. She was still panting from her run and minor wrestling match but she grinned at Hargitt as he came over. "Nice shot."The shifter patted her catch on the flank and chuckled. "She's uninjured. And we have another one over there." Raj barely motioned toward the trap as it held another small female, though that one was putting up more of a fight than the one the shifter was leaning on. "Thanks for that by the way."
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Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 2:20 pm
Hargitt nodded his head in appreciation, a little grin taking root. For a moment he took the opportunity just to rest and let the pair of them catch their breath. It seemed like the longer they took the calmer the ewe was getting as well. Of course the moment Rajani let go she would take off, but that wasn't happening anytime soon. That other one, though...She was going to be a hand full.
"I've got your back if you've got mine." It was as close to a heartfelt speech as Hargitt was ever going to get. The windling took a bit of rope and started to loop it around on itself until he had a makeshift halter. Slowly he approached the ewe, gently took her head in his hands and got her fitted for the trip back.
"How do you want to handle the brat?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2021 6:16 pm
Seeing his grin just made her smile even more as she leaned her head back to catch her breath. Rajani had gotten a scrape or two but was otherwise fine so she didn't make a fuss. When she heard the windling say that he would have her back if she had his she turned her grey gaze on him. A few breaths passed as she looked at him, then finally she grinned at him. "You're stuck with me. I'll have your back whenever you need me to." And she meant it. Oddly the man had earned her trust and the pair worked well together. She looked at the ewe with a tilted head. "Could always stun it. A quick blow to the head. Unless you wanna wrestle with it." Wearing a grin she looked up at Hargitt again. Seeing him wrestle with the beast would be fun. "Oh, meant to mention.. There's work in Jauhar, if you were interested. I can show you the perks of jungle life." She had a somewhat hopeful look in her eyes. Raja didn't mind being in Sauti but she missed the jungle. She did find herself reluctant to leave Hargitt though. So she figured she'd ask him to go with her.
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Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 5:04 pm
Hargitt decided that he liked Rajani best like this. There was color to her skin where she'd gotten flushed after the physical exertion, and that smile actually reached her eyes. She wasn't defending herself or putting up a front just to stay safe; out here she seemed the most natural he'd seen her.
"And spear her on accident?" He made a vague motion to his shoulders, his forearm, the crystals on his thighs....Honestly, it was a wonder she hadn't been gouged as close as she liked to cuddle. "I'll be back." With a grunt, the large windling made to stand when her words caught his attention. Jauhar? He'd never even considered going to Tale let alone the jungle.
Still...what was waiting for him here? He couldn't even return home and with no one tying him down Hargitt was just...existing. Pursing his lips, he mulled it over before raising his brows and nodding. "Sure; someone needs to be your conscience since clearly you have none." With that said, he walked towards the struggling ewe. She was even more panicked now that he was approaching, but Hargitt didn't give her pause. When the creature lunged forward he secured her head and brought his hand down on her head.
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