Lyu was out on her own again. This time, the lady-in-waiting knew what she was searching for. Well, no, she always knew what she was looking for. Pelts to keep those who needed it, who couldn't on their own maintain a warmth of body temperature deemed acceptable. What she knew now was not what she was looking for so desperately in the snow but, where she was searching. Before now Lyu had her head under bushes, quiet literally in search of dead creatures.She had failed to find much more than mice and baby hares that didn't make it during the first few weeks of life. With each death she saw Lyu proceeded to sob with sadness, a giveaway cue that she was never meant and still was not to ever become a hunter. Yet the sobbing and the crying and the feeling bad over deaths wasn't what was really troubling. What was considerably the most important factor of Lyubov's hunt for death things only was that she wasn't good at finding dead things to begin with. At least this time she had been successful in knowing that simply searching under bushes wasn't going to cut it.
A sigh escaped the Cheetah as she sucked in the icy air. The wind was quiet today but the land was still frozen like always. At least with the absence of the wind it seemed a little warmer, but a little warmer didn't make it warm. It also didn't mean much regarding the pride members with thin pelts who were unable to come down to search like she was. She should have felt proud, felt important that she could search without turning tail and heading home because she was weak to the frozen tundra. No, but Lyu did not. She was saddened by her duty instead and the thought of such made her feel a failure. She was much better sticking to what she knew, to tasting food and pampering royals and being an ear for those in distress to listen too without fight or reason to backtalk. Lyubov was the one who comforted others, not pulled back those who had gone far beyond comfort and were hunting in the eternal forest. Not to find those souls bodies and bring it back to be ripped to shreds and made into materials to keep others warm.
If she thought of it like that though, it was almost like a comfort in itself. Keeping others warm and happy was reason to make her happy. She reminded herself repeatedly that if she was happy then that was all she needed in life. Being happy and watching others be happy made finding dead things worth it. Being worth it was the most important thing of all, since if had been doing something unimportant it would bore her and she'd feel less motivated about doing it.
Lyu had a "successful" venture earlier that day with having found two little baby genets coiled together in the cold. They had died in each others embrace for warmth, and the thought made Lyu's eyes stain with grieve. Still, these were runts, and had been abandoned. Together they had somewhat worthy pelts, had some other creature not bitten a chunk out of them.
Lyu was about ready to give up and turn in for the day at this point. She had collected two, less-than-decent quality pelts but these were pelts still! The thought of returning to a warm cave with merchants quick to work was an appealing thought when Lyu stepped on something hard, unlike the snow she walked upon.
"Oh my!" She gasp and held a scream. A jackal, colder and more dead then she had ever seen was underfoot. This... This was her prize catch!
After a period of mourning of course, and contemplating why she was subjecting herself to such torture; Lyubov picked the creature up and slew it across her backside. It's touch was cold alone and it was not a comforting feeling in the least to have it upon her back... Again, the cheetah reminded herself of the glee, the pure look of pleasure others would have when she returned with this prize. Her baby genet runts were not a very decent prize, and she could hold no pride in having returned only a little successful like last time. But with this? Yes! She was useful more than a listening ear! She was helping the general public as well as the royalty!
With that thought as a beam of confidence Lyubov then began the march to see the merchants. They were located some ways away, and it would take a bit for the frail cheetah to reach them. "Ooh." She said with a whine. "Please take care when skinning these poor animals..." She didn't know what she would honestly do if they didn't. Lyu began to wonder on this while marching upwards, the long, long journey back to the home she was desperate to return too.
Eventually she came to the decision. This decision had been made as she walked through the ice, as she shivered while the cold finally reached her bones and beckoned for her to join the deceased by taking a nap. Most ironically she had come to it as she handed over her pelts to the merchants. She'd probably cry some more. Since Lyu was not one to handle death well. Lyu couldn't really handle death at all... She had been a priest for goodness sake!
With a sigh Lyu turned and relish in the comfort of being warm again. Later, she decided she'd go out once more. She see if she couldn't find more of those who had taken a slumber in the snow. Who had later became encased with a layer of ice. Who had been preserved to the point where they looked the sight of they could jump alive at any given moment.
She'd see if she couldn't find more dead things. Since hunting wasn't her, and finding those who needed comfort was.
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6: A fair quality jackal pelt. Worth 2 points.
5: Small, torn and barely useable. Worth 1 point.
1: Small, torn and barely useable. Worth 1 point.
= 4 points
((WC: 1002))
