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 Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:43 pm
 Ah, this place is so nice. Why didn't I come here sooner? The dense tropical forest environment of the island was certainly a welcome change to the mountain she had been at previously. The humidity was a bit of a downer, but otherwise this place was quite nice. Thick tree and vegetation growth limited the amount of moon and starlight visible, which only helped her to blend into her surroundings even better. Hunting in this place was going to be quite fun. Speaking of fun...
Keela watched well hidden in the shadows as a stallion tried to settle in for the night. His white and red hide stood out easily even in the darkness, and she was quite a bit amused to note that he appeared rather wary of his surroundings. This one would be quite fun to mess with. Silently, skillfully, the mare began to stalk around the area where the male lay to rest, purposefully snapping a twig every now and then in different places to unnerve him.
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Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:57 pm
 Settling down for the night, Kratos had just closed his eyes when a twig snapped nearby. His head shot up and swiveled from side to side as he searched for the source of the sound. Ears set back, he waited a few moments, then set his head down again. There it was again. Always from a different angle. He'd come out here to get away from all of this. Too tired to fly, he pushed himself up gingerly, quiet. He stood out like a foal in the middle of the mangrove. He needed to get somewhere a little more defensible.
Head low to the ground, he snuck as quietly as he could to the edge of the clearing. Somewhere high would work. With stone to his back. But then he wouldn't have anywhere to run. Then again, what would attack him out here? He gulped. Sea monsters! It was an amphibious sea monster!
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Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 8:04 pm
This is too easy, she thought to herself, golden eyes glinting maliciously as she watched him react to her game. When the male started to move toward the edge of the clearing, she circled around to meet him where he was.
The twig snap was practically right next to him this time, coming just from the left of where he had been about to exit. Keela doubled-back swiftly lest he try to charge into the brush, the mischievous glint still in her eyes. True, she should be spending this time on the hunt, but tonight the raven mare felt like indulging in a different sort of fun. And, if she was lucky, perhaps this current toy of hers might be useful in drawing out some prey. She could always hope.
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Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:42 am
Every muscle in Kratos' body froze when the twig snapped off to his side. Heart thrumming in his chest, he sidestepped. It hadn't come at him yet. Just a little further and he'd be safe. Or so he thought. At another snap, he bolted, the branches scraping at him escaping his notice.
And he'd thought this place was safe! A dark figure took shape against the darkness. Halting suddenly, he reared on his hind legs, dust flying. With a sharp sound of protest, he kickedo ut with sharp hooves. What was that?!
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Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:56 am
Keela had been intending to pounce out at him and give him a real fright, but the terrified male noticed her shadow before she could launch a proper 'assault'. He kicked out at her, and she jumped back with ebony wings raised. She managed to avoid most of the strength of the kick, but the hooves were still able to connect with her chest-plate. The stallion had quite some strength in him. "Well aimed," she said in a dark voice, slipping back into the shadows to slink around. Golden eyes momentarily shone in a small patch of moonlight before disappearing again into the darkness. He could run all he liked, but he wouldn't be able to hide.
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Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:18 am
He'd struck! Kratos had no idea what he'd struck, but he knew that he had hit it. Felt large. Solid. Maybe as big as he was. A shiver ran up his spine as the thing spoke. The large white head jerked to one side as he tried to pick the owner of said voice from the shadows, but nothing was forthcoming. Whickering fearfully, he turned and began to back toward the safety of the surrounding forest. The trees were far too dense here to fly. "Who are you? What do you want?!"
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Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 7:23 am
There was a still silence, and his question was not immediately answered. Then, a soft whisper from the shadows said, "Flessssh."
Keela would have been grinning wickedly had her beak allowed such an expression. The stallion had no need to know that it wasn't his flesh that she sought, and driving up his adrenaline like this would make him a prime target for any predators in the area. Other predators that was. For now the mare waited in still silence, ready to follow should the male attempt to flee. One would come without a doubt. And if it was more than one... well, she'd deal with them.
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Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 7:25 pm
Shifting his weight from side to side, Kratos waited in the still air. Blue eyes widened as the response finally came. Oh Aerithe, he didn't need to know that. Or hear that. He shouldn't have asked. A part of him realized that this was like every crazy story they were told as foals to keep them from wandering off to strange places. Maybe there was truth to it after all. He gulped. Soul Stealer? Could those even talk? They were usually so concerned with biting and maiming and killing. He moved a few steps to the side.
A branch cracked beneath his hoof and he bolted, attempting to put as much distance between himself at the Soul Stealer as he possibly could. His breath came heavy as he narrowly dodged trees, streaks of white in the black. Why had he come out here again?! Why?!
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Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 7:32 am
Sure enough, her quarry bolted like a frightened rabbit. The tree growth was too thick to follow from the air, so Keela pursued the stallion on foot, making sure to leave a wide distance between them so that he might eventually slow down and not realize she was following.
~~
It took quite a while before the male thought he had put enough distance between them to take a break. She was quite impressed with his level of stamina, for even she herself was quite a bit winded by the chase. This was the perfect opportunity now: a lone, exhausted stallion lost on the island with his hide standing out in the darkness. All she had to do was wait patiently.
...
Yes, she could smell one now. A canine. That would make a satisfying meal. Golden eyes narrowing, the raven mare lowered herself into a pouncing position. There! Behind the bushes. She had spotted movement. All was still for a tense moment. The jackal leapt out at the strange stallion, going for the throat, but Keela met it head-on first. The was a surprised and pained yelp from the canine as sharp talons met with flesh. It tried to flee, but with no success. The struggle was only a brief one, and when the raven mare lifted her bloodied beak the jackal was dead. "Thanks for the flesh," she said in a wicked tone, amused by the stallion's reaction to the scene.
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Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 8:28 pm
Breath coming hard, Kratos finally tired of running and slowed. It couldn't possibly have followed him. Not this far. Nostrils flaring, he rested his rump against a tree for support. His lungs burned and his body felt strangely sticky. Head bowed, he sucked in large gulps of air, never noticing the creature in the branches before him. Or the one somewhere off to his side.
When the attack came, he jerked backwards reflexively. His vision was obscured a split second later by a large black mass. His breath left him in a short cry, the metallic smell of blood assailing him. No time to focus on it. He crept backwards, his eyes trained on that inky blackness before him, a shadow even deeper than the night. It almost disappeared into the darkness cast by the trees.
As it turned, he saw the odd gleam in its eye. And then it spoke. It sounded like a female, but different. Hollow? No, not quite right. He cursed himself silently and tried to keep away. His flesh? This creature was thanking him for his flesh? He knew better than to exhaust himself with that mad dash...
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Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2010 9:14 pm
Looks like he's been struck dumb, she thought to herself, amused. Let him gawk. I wouldn't have expected any less from one so cowardly. Golden eyes turned downward as she lowered her head to start on her meal. There was always something so satisfying about a fresh kill... The feel and sound of flesh ripping in her beak and under her talons; the smell and taste of the warm, bloody meat; the adrenaline rush from the actual hunt itself... Plant eaters just didn't know what they were missing out on.
It still amused her when she looked back again a moment later to see the stallion still gawking. "I'd offer you some, but somehow you don't seem the meat-eating type to me," she said matter-of-factly, her voice less dark and chilling than before. The main fun part was over now, so there was no point in trying to spook the stallion any further. If anything, him wandering away now with his current level of exhaustion would just leave him more vulnerable to attack, which wouldn't likely end very well.
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