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 Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:34 am
For today, Nyiim had been assigned the task of scavenging. While others may have dreaded striking out into the heat of a less woody Tale, this particular boy found it a source of very basic adventure. Rather than head to the same area every time, he took turns he could not quite predict and, on this particular day, he was headed toward Jahuar. He had never made it quite to the forest for the distance and the sun, not to mention a fair dose of trepidation, but it felt at least progressive to try and get closer.
Bosede wandered behind the Leaf boy, a small pack tied to his back to be filled with nutrient-rich pods. He could not fly, but he was strong. Nyiim himself was laden with a couple of water skins and a woven mat meant to provide shade should something go terribly wrong. Nyiim had yet to find a reason for it.
He had gone as far as Yera, taking brief respite in the shade before he headed back for home. Today's bounty was not the largest ever, but it felt like enough to be proud to bring back. Something kept him wandering, though, perhaps curiosity for the settlement he rarely visited.
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Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 7:12 pm
Jacinthus has a growing family to deal with given the condition that his sister was in, a little niece or nephew was on the way, and he wanted to make sure that his sister didn't have to do a lot in the way of hunting. Best that she stayed home, rested up, and just focused on the little one she was carrying... not that he'd tell her that to her face, certain that she would take a hammer to him. Best that he slipped away after telling only Takoda where he was going. He'd go hunting, see if he couldn't find a good sized aldabuk or two, bring them down, and bring them home. It would be plenty for their growing family to eat he thought to himself, slinging his pack over one shoulder, his keen bow over the other, with his quiver of arrows at his hip. He gave pause, looking over his shoulder for a moment back at the place that his family was staying in, then hurried off, his feet making no noise as he went.
The moment he was outside the village he was racing off at a good speed, eager to get moving toward his goal, slowing down only when he spotted the tracks of the prey he was looking for. Jacin came to a halt, kneeling down, running a hand over the tracks, getting a feel for how many of them were in the group, which way they were heading, and how long ago they had been here. The tracks were pretty fresh, barely any new sand blown into them, meaning that he wouldn't have to go all that far to catch up with them, which was a good sign. They were heading toward Jauhar, though he was almost certain that he would catch up with them before they made it there, at least he hoped so. Having to hunt for them in Jauhar would be a more problematic hunt.. He just hoped he could catch up before they got there he thought to himself as he started to move once more, his pace more careful now as he followed the tracks.
As he went along he found himself spotting other tracks as well, those of one tribesman or another, which tribe he was sure, he could safely say it wasn't Alkidike, their footprints were much bigger then these, so perhaps Leaf or Shifter? Something else to be careful around as he didn't want to risk any of his shots hitting this person, he would need to find them first, then the aldalbuk he thought to himself, giving a no before he continued on, keep an eye out for the beasts and the person he was currently tracking.
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Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 7:44 pm
While Nyiim had no particular specialization for hunting, he had begun learning early to track. His father had made it a point to teach careful observation to a boy so prone to wandering. It just so happened that his lessons fell more into exploration and adventure than meat production.
There was a rustling far-off that caused no worry; it was perhaps a poscuta or something equally as benign. It seemed to stop, though, and only grew slower and closer. This was larger than some glorified weasel. Bosede's head perked and his ears began to swivel. At the same time, Nyiim lifted his head and arched a brow. The panic reaction was always to run, but he had learned better than that. You could never tell how tetchy a creature was going to be, and even friendly fire became an issue with fellow tribesmen.
As the sounds grew closer, it became apparent that whatever was making them was fairly large and methodical. Generally not a good thing. It did, however, also seem to be bipedal and fairly high off the ground.
"Oi!" Nyiim called out before moving a muscle. Bosede growled in warning, a habit the boy had not quite been able to break him of. He placed a hand on the raptrix's neck and stood slowly, trying his damndest to not emulate the movements of a cornered animal. When fully erect he called out again and hefted a hand. "Ep!"
Now where was this potentially-a-person? Nyiim eyed the treeline and tried to spot more movement than the leaves. Ah, there it was, and it didn't look like an Alkidike. That was good.
"Don't shoot! I have a friendly raptrix here."
Bosede's tail waved slowly, curiously. New people? His nose lifted and he sniffed the air.
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 5:21 am
Jacinthus wasn't too terribly surprised when he heard someone calling out, giving away their position in a manner that caused a hint of a smile to appear on his lips, before the voice called out again. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask what a 'raptrix' was but decided against it, not wanting to sound as though he didn't know what he was dealing with. He'd do as he always did, that being acting as though he everything about everything, it had gotten him this far after all. It was normally a move he used when dealing with his sister but no matter, it would work here too.
Striding forward he came into view of the one that had been calling out to him, with that person coming into his view as well, and he gave another smile. Ahh, so it was another member of the Leaf Tribe, was it? Excellent, he thought to himself in a somewhat biased manner. This was so much better then if it were someone that was possible hostile, someone like that idiot shield bearer or any of his friends, certain that he still held a grudge. His eyes then strayed from looking at the Leaf Tribesman to looking at the beast at his side, something that looked like a cross between a Kinfa and a Witu, what assumed was the raptrix the other mentioned. A strange mix for certain and nothing he really cared too much about, not against the stranger but he never saw a point in keeping pets. Jacinthus saw all animals a potential meal, not a potential friend.
"Good afternoon, friend, out on a hunt?" He asked in a curious manner, giving him a once over. He didn't appear as though he were carrying a weapon, a prentice, perhaps? Not that it ever stopped Jacin or Kei when it came to their hunts back before either of them got rank in the Leaf Tribe. He gave him a bit of a smile, "I am doing the same, seeking out some aldabuk."
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 11:13 am
Bosede leaned his head down, face innocent and unassuming while a growl rumbled in his chest.
"Ignore him," Nyiim responded, giving the raptrix a few good pats on the back. "It's a bad habit." He looked around then, as if some aldabuck may have been nearby. Bosede probably would have frightened any good bucks away by scent alone, but they hadn't been the only creatures out here. He turned back to the other Leaf tribesman with no real expression beyond his usual alertness and shook his head softly. Bosede took this time to move up to the other man and sniff his knees, watching him carefully the whole time.
"Unfortunately not. I haven't yet found a weapon that feels right in my hands. Until then, I'm a scavenger. I do have something to ask, though, and excuse me if it's over-bold, but could I possibly come with you? I haven't had the chance to take part in a real hunt in a long time, and there's a fairly fresh trail over here." He pointed to a string of undisturbed tracks he had only happened upon a few moments before. Maybe if he could make himself useful, he'd be more likely to be allowed to come?
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Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 6:08 am
Jacin starred down at the growling creature for a moment, taking in how it was able to look innocent while also being threatening, before he found himself comparing it a bit to Kei. She too could look innocent while preparing to beat someone to death with that hammer of hers... Unlike is adorable little sister though this one was just a beast he thought to himself before he shoved the thought aside. He was quick to decide that he would leave the thing be and let it go about it's act, the thing wasn't his after all. The other Leaf Tribesman was one of those that liked pets, for whatever reason, and as such he would leave the creature and it's 'bad habit' to him to deal with. After sorting that out in his mind Jacin gave the other man a smile, "It's alright, he reminds me a bit of someone I know so I am kind of used to that approach." He said, turning away from the beast and back to his fellow tribesman, giving him the guy his attention instead.
It would be nice to have someone come along for the hunt, normally he did this sort of thing on his own, so he would even give the strange beast a pass for the day to have the company. When the other man mentioned how he didn't have a weapon yet and that he was just a scavenger he couldn't help but to laugh, "I know how that goes, when we were younger it was just my sister and I, we got pretty good at scavenging up some things things for food each day." He admitted, seeing no reason not to take him along just because he didn't have a weapon yet himself, "I don't mind you tagging along, it will be good for you. If I get multiple kills, if you don't mind helping me to carry them back, you can have a cut of what we get." He offered, knowing that if they got a few of the aldabuk that help in dragging them back would he nice. The last thing he wanted was to be caught alone with a bunch of tasty, bloody meat, or else he'd need to fend off the witu to keep his prey.
Turning his attention to the fresh trail that Nyiim pointed out he gave a nod, "Looks like it's connected to the one I have been following, excellent, it means that they shouldn't be too far off." He mused to himself, then gave a smile, "Alright, let's get going then. The sooner we get them the better, we don't want to be dragging meat home after dark, it's just begging for trouble."
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Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 12:54 pm
Nyiim nodded, his stoic expression belying the excitement roiling in his chest. He had been able to go on a few hunts with his father as a child, but not nearly enough to know how to successfully hold one on his own. He would take any training he could from any experienced Leaf clansman, especially considering that he was reaching the age where one was expected to have found one's place in the world.
The boy was glad to have helped even marginally with the tracking, even if his new companion was likely to have spotted the trail in seconds anyway. To get some meat for his work would be exceptional, especially in the case of his carnivorous raptrix. He was under the impression that Bosede had once been a hunting dog, or at least an expedition animal. Even as they moved now, his growling turned to silence and the beast's head lowered, his feet treading lightly. At least the movements and reactions of the raptrix were not likely to startle aldabuck, although Nyiim couldn't be certain if hi scent was the same predatory musk that they were used to.
Now the boy followed close behind his elder, quiet and visibly at-attention. Should he be required, he would be ready. He only hoped that he had some skills useful for the hunt.
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 9:41 am
They were close, of that Jacinthus was certain, and he moved his hand to his quiver, drawing two arrows, one that he put between his teeth, the other he notched, moving forward in a slower, more methodical manner now. They were nearly upon their prey and if the two of them wanted to take them by surprise they would need to be careful and cautious. He glanced back and Nyiim for a moment, down the beast that followed him, and back to the trail they were following once more. While he didn't worry about Nyiim, as a fellow Leaf Tribesman he liked knew how important such hunts were, he was worried about the beast. What if it took it upon itself to go chasing after the aldabuk? If it chased them off he'd just eat the Raptrix he thought to himself, one of those thoughts he kept to himself as he was sure that it would likely traumatize the prentice.
Lifting a hand he motioned for the two behind him to stop, lowering himself to one knee, watching the trees for a moment, trees that marked the beginning of Jauhar. He waited in silence for a moment before a few forms could be seen trotting along in distance. It was only a few at first but then then the rest of the herd could be seen. There were plenty of them he thought to himself, eyes scanning the herd for the biggest amongst the group of them, knowing the needed the best out there if he wanted to feed his family as well as give Nyiim his cut.
After a time the milling herd seemed to slow down, taking a break to munch on the plant life that was more abundant here at the edge of Jauhar then a lot of places in Tale, and he lifted his bow up to take aim. It was a quiet weapon, as well as one that could be used at a distance, if things went well he'd be able to take a few shots and drop a few aldabuk before the stupid things even realized anything was wrong. Jacinthus drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then released the first arrow, taking the second one from his mouth to prepare it for his next shot even before the first one landed.
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Posted: Thu Jul 25, 2013 12:38 pm
Nyiim was well aware that the elder tribesman must be wary of Bosede. It wasn't normal to have another creature out on a hunt, and one owned by such a young man was surely untrained. Lucky for the both of them, the raptrix had come armed with training from the beginning. At the motion, Nyiim dropped to a knee and Bosede laid himself in the grass, resting his chin on the ground. While he may have appeared relaxed, he was tensed and prepared to strike. A herd of aldabuck may be too much for him, but he could easily assist in a single take-down. What his trainers had been or what had become of them, Nyiim would never know.
The Prentice watched as arrows were drawn and fired, admiring the form and grace that applied to an expert. It was no magical spell and there was no wild swinging... could this really be where he was bound? He'd like to try, for certain. Maybe if he could be of some use, the man would let him shoot an arrow or two? Perhaps he'd just find the man again some day with a shock of arrows of his own. He peered down at Bosede, and then back to the herd of aldabuck.
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Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 8:40 am
It seemed to be only after a pair of their kind had been dropped that the aldabuk seemed to realize that something was up, all of them freezing in place, their dark eyes wide, looking around for the one assaulting them. The scent of blood seemed to rile them up, making them started to quiver and shift in place, it was obvious that they were about to bolt. As such Jacinthus went for one last arrow and one last shot, the moment that the arrow hit home with a dull 'thud' the aldabuk were charging on ahead, crashing through the underbrush, and soon enough they were gone from sight. He starred after them for a moment, then turned to look over at Nyiim, "Alright, now it's your turn." He said with a chuckle, "I have to say running around your was rather fortuitous." Nothing better then having a helping hand when it came to bringing the food back home.
After slinging his bow over his shoulder he walked forward, drawing a dagger from its sheathe, and went around to check all of the aldabuk, making sure that his shots had finished the job. Only after he was done with that task, as well as the task of retrieving his arrows, did he set to work field dressing the trio of aldabuk, "This should last a while." He mused, glad that he had been as lucky as this. With the way that the family seemed to be growing by leaps and bounds these hunting trips were becoming more and more important by the day. He couldn't afford to miss even once and as such taking down three things was cause for celebration even when taking into consideration that a portion of the meat belonged to Nyiim. Provided of course he did his fair share of the work.
"Alright, they are all ready to go. All we have to do is bring them back home. Once we get there I will give you what you feel is a fair share for your part of the work." He told him, smiling as he did so.
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Posted: Sat Aug 24, 2013 11:20 am
He was going to share what he felt was worth his help? That could be dangerous. He wished that he had sent Bosede off after that herd at the last second, just to try and take another down. As it was, he didn't feel like he had done much at all. He was able to help with the field dressing to some small extent, though. He nodded when they were finished and canted his head slightly at the archer.
"Would you like to string them between branches, or carry them bodily? Dragging always seems such a waste, and dangerous for the filth and damage that can be done."
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Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 3:48 am
Jacinthus nodded his head, "Yeah, it would be best to make something like that. Normally I just carry them home but that is when I get them one at a time. It's impossible to carry them since we have three to contend with." Jacin could carry one, Nyiim could carry one, but he didn't trust the other man's beast to carry the third one. It was more the likely the creature would just end up chewing on the aldabuk, not something that pleased him at all to think about. As such making something to drag them on so they were up off the ground was likely for the best. They wanted the food to get back to the village in one piece after all.
"Alright, let's see about putting something together quickly, before the Witu decide to show up and try to steal what is ours." He said, then glanced over at the Raptrix and asked, "Will he be able to fend off the Witu if they start to show up?" Maybe one or two of them might be able to be chased off by the winged beast, right? It would make things a whole lot easier and less stressful if that were the case. He might even end up disliking the creature a little bit less were it able to actually pull its weight instead of being useless like most of Keilana's weird little pets.
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Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 11:46 am
Nyiim looked to Bosede, who wagged his tail curiously. He hadn't been put to use yet, did this mean he had a job? The Leaf tribesman looked to Jacinthus and nodded.
"He can handle himself. As long as an entire pack doesn't gang up on him."
Nyiim often wondered if the raptrix had been previously trained to protect some exploring party, considering his care for companion animals and his instinct to simply attack anything that appeared to threaten the settlement. He was mostly self-sufficient, listened well...
He could only hope that whatever had befallen Bosede's previous master would not claim him as well.
From his bag Nyiim pulled a large blade, and he struck up into a tree only to return moments later, heralded by the crashing of a branch to the ground. A second came off with a good tug, and he began to lash the two together. Hunting may not have been his forte, but building was a grand hobby. As he worked, Bosede watched their surroundings for signs of danger, tail waving.
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Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 10:45 am
"I am hoping that we won't have to contend with an entire pack, if we are fast enough they will likely be distracted by what parts we left behind after field dressing the aldabuk." At least that was the plan, leave the inedible bits behind for the beasts giving them a chance to put distance between themselves and the creatures that would want to steal their food. He would be damned if he let the Witu take food out of the mouths of his family he thought to himself. Turning to look over at the Raptrix he pointed at him, "It's up to you then to fend them off if any show up or at least distract them long enough that I can take a shot." Though whether or not the beast understood him he had no idea... not as though the animal was nearly as smart as Nyiim or himself.
Turning back to the other Leaf Tribesman he watched as he quickly set to work building something for them to drag their prizes back on. It seemed as though he were pretty good at such things, seeming to be able to put together the needed item pretty quickly, "I'm impressed, you're getting that together pretty quickly." He mused, then added, "I should bring you with me more often." It would be rather useful to have a second pair of hands with him if those hands were useful ones. As much as he loved his mate Takoda was pretty well useless when it came to hunting, not really able to handle the blood involved in turning an animal from just a dead animal into the meat they ate at dinner. This guy though, he could probably be quite useful with a bit of training. A shame that he didn't live in the same village, or at least Jacinthus didn't think he did, not really having seen him before today.
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Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 4:04 pm
"We'll probably both have to pull, but I don't think we'll meet with much real danger," Nyiim nodded. He imagined that they should take just a bit of inedible scrap with them, in case something approached while they were making their way back home, where ever home was for this man. Bosede could only watch, taking in the words even if he didn't quite understand them. His ears stood alert and his tail pensive. He would protect them.
Nyiim dropped the contraption then and knelt beside the archer, leaving the raptrix to watch the treeline.
"I'm afraid I don't have much experience cleaning and butchering an aldabuck," he admitted, "but I'd like to watch, if you don't mind. I was too young to go hunting with my father, before he was killed."
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