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Vulpine
~~~

Vulpine's motives for joining the herd had been two-fold. From a purely predatory standpoint, she had looked forward to new opportunities for the hunt. The hunt, the kill; they were secondary to the thrill of the chase. She loved nothing better than to stalk prey that actually made her work. The idea of traveling to a new land with new prey and unfamiliar terrain was enough to make her mouth water. But that wasn't enough to justify throwing in her lot with a herd, something that she had heretofore in her life avoided.

No, the stronger draw was the opportunity to participate in a much needed cleansing of the Kalona race. When she had first heard tales of the widespread softening of the Kalona in the Kawani lands, she had been skeptical. But when she learned of the apparently common practice of Kalona interbreeding with lessers, lessers, creatures more suited to being prey than paramours, she was incredulous. Upon learning that the crossbreeding was actual fact, she was incensed.

In Vulpine's bloodline, breeding was purely for purposes of improving the line. At the time of her own birth, Vulpine had seven siblings between her father and mother, including two who were full blood siblings. Most of these siblings she had met at least once, in passing; that was enough. That was comparable to her relationship with her parents; her father had looked in on her from time to time while she was young, offering training and advice he felt necessary to a young Kalona. Her mother had stayed with her until she reached adolescence, then sent her out into the world to make her own way. Occasionally since then they had crossed paths, exchanging news; Vulpine now had three more younger siblings, children of pure Kalona parents, raised in the pure Kalona ways.

She had never really considered herself to be a true Kalona zealot,but clearly there had been lines crossed in the Kawani lands. As a Kalona, a true Kalona, a pure Kalona, she had a duty to herself, her bloodline, and any future offspring she might have.

Ire
~~~

Ire had been most utterly disgusted

He had been on the move through the vast Kawani meadows when he'd first heard word of the massive throng of Kalona who'd invaded the region. He had greeted the news with dispassionate interest, his ideals of racial purity and love of a good fight at war with the apparently blanket judgement that the invaders had cast across the Kawani land. Though one should never truly trust rumours, he had heard that the herd was pretty much engaging in wholescale slaughter of anyone and everyone they came across.

This bothered Ire on several levels. While he agreed with some of the herd's philosophy, particularly with regards to the sad dilution of Kalona blood, he could not agree that massacres were the way to undo the damage. There was very little to be had in the way of honor when attacking unsuspecting lessers and humans in the dark of night, particularly not when attacking as part of a massive fighting force. There was no way the Kalona could do anything BUT win, and a win under such circumstances could bring no joy. Since childhood, Ire had prided himself on his skills; he trained constantly on his own, and by fighting worthy opponents he met in his travels. He preferred to hunt food that posed a challenge; for example, bears or mountain lions. Deer, only with certain handicaps. He expected more out of life than mere subsistance, and he always had.

More importantly, he never assumed that just because a Soquili was a lesser race or, even worse, a half-breed, they were weak. Odds naturally supported the liklihood of them being weak, but he had had some great fights with half-breeds and, on one occassion, even a lesser. He would never consider mating with a lesser of half-breed regardless of their skills, but he could respect those skills and the Soquilis that had developed them just the same.

Consequently, Ire had had no desire to join up with the Kalona herd. He had never lacked for food, he had no desire for 'cameraderie,' he rejected the bulk of their philosophies and he could see nothing praise-worthy in steamrolling his way to any victory. He had always been, and would continue to be, a loner.

Still, he had been cautious and remained on top of the news regarding the herd, becoming more social in consequence than he had in months. At the same time, he found himself benefitting from the Kalona incursion in ways he had never anticipated; other Soquili, skittish from the proximity of the herd, were either giving him a wide berth or else challenging him to fight on a much wider scale. The fact he never attacked anyone blind or engaged in any fight without a statement of terms threw many lessers for a loop, and while he knew it didn't make them trust him any better, it did make the ones who were truly pathetic often withdraw their challenges.

He, unlike some of his race, had standards. He did not kill just for the sake of killing, and truly preferred only to kill Soquili in true combat. The young, the old, the infirm were all safe from Ire; unless he was truly fighting for his life, he would never spare such weaklings the time of day. That went for cocky young Kalona as well, though he had to admit he took pleasure in those fights, even in those deaths. Youths or not, such Kalona had no business sullying the name of the race. Choosing to engage another Kalona in combat simply because he was not part of their herd was dangerous, if not suicidal, and he had no patience to spare for that type.

He had been relieved to learn when the herd finally disbanded. The whole experience had left a bad taste in his mouth, and he'd only been on the fringes.

Vulpine
~~~

Vulpine didn't want to think too much about her first forays into the forest region. It had been disgusting, how vulnerable she had been to the terrain alone; low slung branches were a constant hazard, threatening to snare her wings when spread and her horns whenever. This danger was lessened if she stuck to the main paths; apparently having numerous large Soquili pass through on a regular basis was enough to keep the dangling limbs at bay. Or perhaps there were just those with strong teeth and limbs who could simply cut or break back the offending branches. Either way, it was easier to keep her head held high when wandering the main paths.

But the main paths were not what she wanted. Anyone could walk through the woods on a path; there was no challenge there. The paths were easy; they were the high road. No stealth, no element of surprise, no testing of one's capabilities. So, even though it meant she had to keep her wings folded and her head lower, Vulpine gave the paths a wide berth. She wanted to deal with the hardships; she wanted to worry about tripping on exposed tree roots, or hidden hollows; she wanted to feel every time the spaded tip of her tail snared on some rough bark. Out here was the true test.

And, if she were a renegade Kalona who had abandoned the cause and embraced a life of...lesser means, it was out here, away from the main paths, that she would be lurking. If she were one such Kalona, she would obviously not have much in the way of sense; however, she ought to have spades of self-preservation. She should know, as a renegade, the general sentiments of her Kalona companions, and if she had any sense at all, she would expect that others would be after her. Ergo, the woods.

The fact that there were likely renegade Kalona out here made the initial humiliations easier to bear. If Vulpine had been planning to return to her previous life, she never would have dealt with the annoyances of the forest; as it was, it was only grim determination that granted her the patience. She would not have wanted to be any creature who inadvertently witnessed her initial stumbling; such a creature would have been immediately slaughtered. She was a Kalona, after all; she had her pride, pride that would never allow her to be laughed at by anyone but another Kalona. And even then, it would depend.

She could forgive a lot, if there was a good fight involved.

Though it had taken weeks for her to become confident in the woods, even longer for her to become comfortable, she had finally reached a point where she truly embraced her woodland life. She could see in the gloom where almost no daylight penetrated; she could practically sense the trees around her, even while at a full run. She knew how high she could hold her head, the proper angle to tuck her wings and tail; she could practically read the ground around her.

Yes, she had made excellent progress in her forestry crash course. And now that that was all over, it was time to get on with why she was really here: hunting.