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 Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 11:45 pm
A thick cluster of trees settled a fair distance from the guild territories. Killing within the guild areas was stricly prohibited, but this patch of land was fair game.
The guilds are well aware that they house carnivores who would grow tired of eating berries and to ensure no Pokemon eats one of the others this land was set aside for their use.
The wild Pokemon here are known as 'ferals' and are not as evolved as the guild Pokemon. They a primitive and lack intelligence, very much like how animals are to humans.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 12:09 am
???
The Pidgey fluffed out its small plush body, the feathers that plumed around the tiny bird's form bristled as it shook them out. The bird examined the ground with beady black eyes before pecking at is briskly and moving up with a few small hops of those taloned feet.
It was unaware there was any danger nearby, as it should be. She was near stone in her movements, inching slowly forward in a low crouch towards the plump little flying type. The Pidgey wouldn't notice her at all until it was too late. She was certain of that. Hunger pushed her blood through her veins, adrenaline urged her paws to move steadily closer.
The last time she'd eaten. Arceus it was a painful thought. She'd been with her clan still. Warm prey brought in every day, plenty of food to go around. Was it worth it? After all this? To be free and starving rather than well-fed and enslave? She wasn't certain, she wasn't certain of many things anymore especially not this body she now resided in. An Umbreon, though of unatural coloring and a tattered tail. The thought of her new species brought on the memories once more.
Umbreon are suppose to evolve from Eevee at night when their happiness is at it's max, but that is not always they case. Any powerful emotion will do, really. Not necessarily happiness. Anger had spurned her evolution. She could still feel the rush of hate that snapped her jaws closed around his neck.
No-! Enough! Focus! There was work to be done now if she wanted to eat tonight. By the time she dragged herself back into reality the Pidgey had lifted its wings in preparation to fly off. No, she couldn't let it get away!
The Umbreon sprang forward, her rings lit up as she dashed for her prey. Alarm the bird turned to see the Dark Type lunging for it and with a mighty flap it was airborn. The Umbreon pushed herself up onto her hindlegs, jumping into the air with her paws clawing at the bird but she barely caught it's feathers. While the Pidgey flew away she landed nimbly, but empty-handed, back to the ground on her feet.
It was upsetting. So upsetting. She almost wanted to cry, but stopped herself. No, just keep hunting. Something was bound to come up again.
This new body was too awkward, she wasn't use to the long limbs or the elevated height despite still being relatively small.
She heaved a sigh and sat down. Her mind told her to keep going, but her body replied that a rest would be a welcome break. In the end the urge to retire overcame the hunger and she settled down on the ground with her paws laced in front of her. Her ruined tail curled up around her backlegs as she slowly laid her head down on her front paws.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 12:13 am
As the Umbreon came to a rest and her body relaxed and gave in to the laziness of hunger, she might notice something.
Something faint, in the air. Something just barely present on the breeze. Something... tantalizing.
It was blood. Not just blood, but fresh blood. Something had died very, very recently and it wasn't far off.
Whether it was some stupid creature that ran into a tree and died or another hunter in the area there was fresh food on the wind. To anyone even a little hungry, it would be a difficult scent to resist.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 3:08 pm
???
How was her mother doing? It was the first thought to cross her exhausted mind. Surely her mother hated her after everything. It was a shame but in all honesty she couldn't see the situation being any different than how it had played out. Everyone had a breaking point and whether she had hit hers then or some other time was meaningless. She would have done the same thing regardless of timing.
The Umbreon lifted her head slowly, eyes wide and round with curiousity. What WAS that? The Dark Type was on her feet, weariness forgotten in favor of the scent that had claimed her attention. Her nose twitched rapidly as she smelled about for the source of the mouth-watering scent. Something fresh, blood still flowing, meat still fresh. Any other time and she'd have caught herself from trotting blindly off past the trees, but not today. No, food was more important than whatever self-preservation she had left. If she was stumbling into a pack of Mightyena sharing a kill, then so be it.
The Umbreon stepped carefully along, head lifted up and nose wriggling continuously.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 3:27 pm
Cedric
Cedric stripped a piece of flesh off of the Pidgeotto's stomach and munched on it lightly.
He wasn't sure what it was about this place, but all the pokemon here were... really dumb. A lot of pokemon would run from him on sight and, god forbid he actually had dinner somewhere because then every pokemon in the area would be riled up and ready to descend upon him in some kind of angry swarm. It was like some violent game of tag, except the moment he touched anyone the entire region was after his blood.
The pokemon here were just... dumb. If he killed one of them, anything nearby ran away and then the rest of the forest paid him no mind. It was kind of boring, really... they were never smart enough to really escape or run or fight back or anything so the hunt ended up dull every time. But it was a light price to pay in exchange for an easy meal and a place to sleep. Since he never had to worry about any silly notions of vengeance he could take a nap wherever he wanted without any risk of being woken up by an attack.
All in all, Cedric liked the area and he made an effort to detour to it whenever he was in the area. The time saved in the hunt was well worth it.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 3:53 pm
---------
???
Her blue gaze took in the sight with a cautious sweep of the scene. Well, that explained the smell but did little to help her. She'd honestly hoped it had been some idiot Pokemon getting stuck in a trap or something or maybe killed by a smaller Pokemon she could take out with ease. Not a Persian. That thing was bigger than she was, especially since she was smaller than the average Umbreon. Persia weren't huge, per say, but to her it was too much of a difference to risk. The Dark type considered her options quickly, she could leave and try her own paw at hunting again or wait here and see if the feline left any scraps behind when he was done.
The latter was insulting, she'd been raised not to stoop so low as to pick at carrion but the hunger pulsed in her stomach once more as a warning. Eat or die. The Umbreon frowned but dipped behind one of the trees to wait, though she paid no attention to her steps and as a result cracked a twig under her paws. The sound, no doubt, had alerted the cat to her presence.
Her options shifted once more, run and hope he didn't chase her or confront him and hope he was friendly.
Running presented to much of a risk as it was, she'd get caught, no way she could escape and she had no notion of the forest's layout and would most certainly get lost.
Steeling herself the Dark Type stepped from behind her shield into the open, though she lacked the rings along her flanks, the two on her shoulders glowed briefly along with her ears and tail.
"...hello." She said softly, though more out of fear than politeness.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 4:17 pm
Cedric
Cedric stripped another piece of flesh from his food and began chewing on it. He loved eating, sometimes, he really did. He wasn't particularly gluttonous in nature but if he had the option to spend all of his life eating, sleeping and hunting it would be a tempting option. Unfortunately if he tried to do anywhere near that much hunting he would probably get killed. And even if he did, he'd get sick and fat and that wasn't a pleasant idea at all. He liked being able to jump gracefully and all that... it wouldn't really be a possibility if he had thick rolls of fat making his movements difficult.
The Persian's head turned sharply to his right at the sound of the twig breaking. He wasn't really worried about anything in the area, but his instincts always kept him alert and ready.
But, no. It was just an Umbreon. She spoke, too, so she wasn't native... everything around him was too stupid to even speak.
In fact, more than anything, she seemed a little bit scared. Lost, maybe?
"Hi...?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 5:34 pm
---------
Serenade
The Umbreon seemed only a bit confused, he reacted the way she had expected to the sound but after that there was no anger or concern over her appearance. He seemed to not really care one way of the other.
That was good...right? It meaned he had no intention of fighting her. Lack of conflict was good, but she'd been braced for it and now the relief that flooded her system made her sit down in response to the Persian's greeting.
He spoke, he wasn't one of the mindless Pokemon wandering these woods. Maybe...she could ask? Perhaps? It was a rather big Pidgeotto. Though, some Pokemon were defensive when it came to their meals. He might turn aggressive the second she mentioned it.
What to do...
More small talk maybe. Try to judge whether or not the feline was as indifferent to her as he acted. If he didn't get annoyed with her presence quickly, then she'd venture her question regarding his prey.
Okay, that sounded like a plan. Where to start though? Ah-right. Introductions.
"You're the..the first intelligent Pokemon I've met since-" No-bad topic, change course. "-a good while. I-I'm Serenade." He sentence ended with a sudden grumbling gurgle, her stomach displaying it's unhappiness. So close to food, but so far. The smell was driving her mad. She scuffed her paws awkwardly, hoping the motion would distract from her stomach's protests.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 6:03 pm
Cedric
"I'm Cedric."
He still didn't really know what she wanted, though the stomach growling was a good indication. It wasn't exactly his place (nor did he really feel comfortable) broaching the subject. Instead he just raised his paw up before him and licked it lightly to remove some of the blood that had gotten into his fur.
More than anything, he was just trying to fill the awkward space of time.
As the silence stretched on past the moment and into many more, the Persian finally cleared his throat and asked a simple question.
"Is there something you need...?"
More than anything it was just a way for her to get out whatever she wanted to say.
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 6:40 pm
---------
Serenade
He was losing patience with her it seemed, it occured to the Umbreon that perhaps she was overthinking things. Hunger was making her head spin, it was hard to focus. Okay, to hell with tact. Just say it.
"A-any chance you won't be eating all of that?" She asked, her head dipping in a point, to indicate the Pidgeotto that lay paritally devoured on the ground. Her stomach snarled in response. Be more assertive, it told her but with a shake of her head she ignored it.
Her ears flattened in caution as she awaited a response, every muscle tightened to spring should he get defensive and attack.
This was degrading in a sense, but whatever needed to survive. If he just said no she'd leave and...then what? She honestly didn't know. She couldn't hunt in this condition, too tired to scour for potential food. Unless it walked straight up to her there was no chance she would catch it.
How miserable she'd become. If only she'd controlled her temper but it had been bound to burst at one point or another anyways...
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Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 7:00 pm
Cedric
"Oh."
That was it, for a moment. That was all he said. "Oh."
To be honest, he had intended to eat the whole thing just about. Pidgeotto were fairly large birds, but birds themselves didn't have that much meat on them. While the creature was fairly heavy, a lot of the weight was skin and bones. What was left wasn't really that much, even past the considerable size.
He wasn't really against letting her eat whatever he left behind but it felt kind of mean to just give her the leftovers.
Cedric blinked a few times before coming to a conclusion.
"Hold on a minute. I'll be right back."
Cedric pushed the remains away slightly and got up. After a very brief stretch he ran off into the woods in some strange direction.
It wouldn't take him more than a minute to return with another (relatively) untouched Pidgeotto in his jaws. From the looks of things, some smaller creatures had nibbled tiny amounts off but it wasn't anything major.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 8:34 pm
---------
Serenade
Her heart sunk as he spoke. The tone was blank and left little to the imagination, but she assumed it meant she would not be allowed any leftovers. She would have been upset if she could focus on anything aside from the constant pangs of hunger that were now shredding her stomach in a fury. She barely noticed when he'd left, but the smell of more fresh meat had her lift her head in surprise. A-another one? Her ears flattened in alarm. Was it a trick? Did he just happen to have another one saved somewhere? The questions flooded her mind and she blanked out for a second although the shock faded in time for her to watch him place the bird on the stomach.
Serenade took a single step forward, her eyes never left the Persian as she slowly advanced toward the Pidgeotto carcass. The second she was in range she ducked her head and snatched it quickly up by it's wing as though terrified he'd tak it back. Once she held the prize in her teeth she took a few teetering steps backwards to put a fair distance between her and Cedric though she never really went far.
The Umbreon settled on the ground around the flying type and savagely tore at it with little care for appearing civil. Usually one would pluck the feathers off first, but she wolfed down feathers and all, pausing only to cough as one wedged in her throat. This didn't slow her down though, she wasted no time in stripping the bird down to bone and even then she took to gnawing on the large shards of calcium to get at the marrow inside. It wasn't the most...clean and lady-like of displays but once she'd finished, having left only a few bones left, she took to slowly cleaning her paws with quick swipes of her tongue.
It was only then she thought to address the Persian again and in a soft, almost embarrassed voice replied, "Th-thanks."
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 8:51 pm
Cedric
Cedric had wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat when he saw how she was acting. And then she started eating.
He... He'd never seen someone eat like that before. It was a little scary. Above anything else, it was ravenous and feral. It was a foreign sight for the Persian who had been taught and had practiced "hunt before you're hungry". He'd never had to feel that crippling hunger himself... he always began hunting before he got hungry and by the time he was done he was.
This... this was a little scary though. He couldn't really... say or DO anything. Had she been eating normally conversation would be one thing but this just felt like too much to interrupt.
"No... No problem." Cedric replied in a tone much the same as the Umbreon had used... it was a little embarrassing. "Sorry if it was a little ratty... some scavengers had gotten near it before I picked it up. When I went hunting earlier and killed this one..." Cedric paused for a brief moment to point at what he had been eating before continuing. "That one got mad at me and tried to peck my eyes out. I suppose they were mates, but I didn't need the extra food so I killed it and left it there."
Normally it would've been irrelevant information that he would've just left unsaid, but he felt a need to bring some kind of conversation up.
"I suppose you were rather hungry...?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 9:03 pm
---------
Serenade
It was somewhat degrading. She should have controlled herself but the prospect of food after so long...well, she'd never really had that problem before. She'd never been hungry before. She'd never acted so barbaric before.
It was a day of firsts and she was not enjoying it. It was so embarrassing, she almost wanted to take off running but that would have been rude and she had to prove to the Persian she wasn't just some wild beast with no regards for manners. Serenade had been raised to know better, though her clan was not as sophisticated as most she had a general understanding of curtesy and such. Caught in her thoughts she didn't realize he was speaking until he'd nearly finished and she had to take a moment to recall what he had said. Her headache was slowly fading, it had started at the same time as her hunger pains so that had to be a good thing. Even though the hunger hadn't faded entirely, mainly due to how quickly she'd eaten. When it finally caught up to her she was sure she'd feel better.
Maybe focusing, and in that aspect, hunting would be easier now.
"It-it's fine, really. Food that's been p-picked at is better than no food at all." She attempted a laugh after that but it came out hoarse and rasped, the Umbreon covered up that failed attempt with a cough and tried to continue on. "You...you're a pretty good hunter." She stated simply before his last...inquiry, of a sorts, was voiced. Well, that went without saying but the Umbreon gave a smile anyways and glanced to the side.
"Maybe...a little." She answered, in what was clearly an understatement.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 9:50 pm
Cedric
Something had clearly happened to the Umbreon, though Cedric wasn't sure exactly what that was. She had been shaky from the moment she showed up and almost fearful, but she was clearly an adult or at least someone old enough to be accustomed to the presence of others. Umbreon and Espeon tended to evolve at an older age since they weren't spurred on by environment so much as weakness... and her voice wasn't a young one either. Not old, but not young either. She couldn't be that much older than he was.
Well, something was wrong with her and it wasn't really his place to ask, but he was sort of inclined to?
"Well, the pokemon here aren't very smart... As long as you don't make any mistakes, they're easy to catch."
She looked better now at least. Like she was calming down a bit and wasn't feeling so terrible... but it still nagged a bit.
It was enough of a push to get him to ask, even if it was in vague non-specific question form.
"Are you alright...? You seem like you've been having a rough time."
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