The Better Hunter

[Hadrian]

Attuned to the auras around him, Hadrian sensed the doe's approach and the dhole's return. Ah, an old doe, which meant no prickly antlers to deal with. The dhole was smart, then. Preparing himself as best he could in the great, hulking raptor form to which he was still not accustomed, he sort of dove, sort of dropped out of the tree, talons outstretched.

He scrabbled for a firm grasp in her back as soon as gravity brought them together, wings mantling to slow her down and confuse her, and his beak went for the thinnest part of her neck. He knew how animals hunted from books, at least, and if this was not a lammergeier's way, well, he was in the form of a much larger version, so with a firm beakful and a powerful twist, he managed to break her neck.

As she fell, he let go letting his wings catch air and slow his fall, though he still fell over when he hit the ground. He got up quickly, though, and looked to be sure the job was done. She was twitching, and he felt sick that she was suffering, so he hopped over as quickly as he could to sink his beak back into the bloody wound in her neck, making sure her spine was broken. He shook his head like a dog with a rat, and eventually the nerves stopped firing and she lay still. He stepped back, folding his wings and clacking his beak.

He tasted blood.

Then he looked around for his clever hunting companion.

[Besnik]

Besnik ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ As Besnik ran, snapping at the doe’s heels, he heard a flapping of wings from above. He looked up as he leapt forward, seeing the oversized vulture half falling out of the tree in his direction. He ducked, lowering himself into a crouch as he increased his speed for a moment to dart in front of the deer. She startled, halting long enough for his hunting companion to land on her back. The Kelvic slunk out the way as she tried to shake him off, watching with slight amusement as the large vulture attacked in more of a feline way than any other animal. It would have caused him to laugh in his human form, the sight of a giant bird trying to grasp onto the doe’s neck. When the doe fell the other landed awkwardly, falling to his side until he righted himself. The kill was messy, with the vulture’s wings splayed over the twitching doe and blood running from her throat. The canine preferred a clean kill, latching his maw around the nose and mouth of his prey until they suffocated, but waited to see what the bird would do. He’d obviously not hunted much in this form, if at all, and so animal instincts seemed to be confused with human thoughts in a jumbled mess. It happened to Besnik too sometimes, where he felt bad for killing something or didn’t know how to deal with actually doing it. He was learning to just block out the more human thoughts, to allow animal instincts to take over to the extent that he could kill without turning vicious. As the large vulture shook the doe’s neck Besnik licked his lips, eyes brightening at the sight. He had to physically fight the urge to go over and tear into the kill, knowing how possessive over prey he could get whilst eating. The vulture let go though, dropping the doe so that it now lay in the grass, a carcass without life. The Kelvic eyed the meal, licking his lips again, still resisting the urge to eat. It was the other’s prey as much as his own and so to be shared. As his hunting companion looked his way, the canine tilted his head slightly in question of what they were to do now. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ||Besnik|| ||3 years|| ||Kelvic|| ||Bondmate - Valo||

[Hadrian]

Hadrian found the dhole, saw his eyes wide, and his posture and gestures bespeaking hunger. Well, Hadrian had killed the beast with the dhole's help. The dhole deserved a heaping helping of venison, for sure. Hadrian backed away from the corpse, nodded toward it, fierce blood-covered beak indicating the dhole should eat its fill. He had considered tearing back the flesh himself, gnawing out a steak the size of the dhole, and tossing it to him, but better to let him fill his belly.

From his retreat, he began to return to his normal form since true flying was impossible for him still. But while he let the majority of the morph return to normal, he kept the feathers. He would have to go and fetch his clothes eventually, as he would carry whatever the dhole didn't eat back to the Farson Home's larders to feed the children and the other caregivers.

But for now, black feathers. It took perhaps a minute to complete the partial transformation, and then a tall, slender man-form was crouching apart from their kill, covered in black feathers except for his face.

"Eat as much as you can," he said, "and it's cold so tear some off for later. Whatever you don't eat, I'll take back to the children."

[Besnik]

Besnik ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Though now assuming his hunting companion was a human under the influence of some kind of magic, Besnik was glad the man seemed to understand that his tense posture indicated a need to dig into the prey they had just caught. A subconscious snarl snaked out of him as he took an easy leap forward, front paws landing atop the fresh carcass. His maw opened with his lip curled up, ears drawn back, as the hidden side of him that he usually tried to suppress showed itself. The Kelvic often wore the guise of a man, yet his base instincts were purely animalistic. In the animal kingdom one had to adapt to survive in unknown territories. These adaptations often involve techniques for intimidation, especially if one was a predator like the dhole. In a choice between hunt or be hunted, any animal wouldn’t hesitate to choose the option for survival. Besnik’s instinctual nature was something his friendly personality was mostly able to suppress, yet certain circumstances led to the aggressive side of him reappearing to remind him that he was very much able to carry out actions he feared should he lose control too much. Luckily, though more possessive when it came to prey, he had so far had no problems in shaking off the pure animal once he’d had his fill of the meat. So long as one allowed him to eat in peace, he was consistently good to get on with and easy going in many situations. The Kelvic breathed in the scent as he dipped his head, nose touching the short fur of the doe as the concoction of smells able to make his mouth drool in anticipation of the meal flooded his senses. His tail lifted in response, raised to an almost dominant position that clearly showed him as guarding over the body. He quickly opened his maw, sharp canines poised before sinking into the still warm muscle that made up part of the doe’s flank. He tore a strip of meat of, chewing it gladly before returning to the carcass. After a few bites he could already feel the sustenance working its way through his body, replenishing his energy store. The bite of hunger that accompanied shifting forms was lessened by eating. A man’s voice suddenly spoke, tearing the Kelvic’s mind from the single track of filling himself. Completely startled by the closeness of a stranger’s voice, not used to being unable to detect someone approaching, the dhole’s hackles rose and he visibly jumped in the air whilst letting out a surprised yelp. As he landed back on all four paws, his automatic reaction was to growl possessively over the meal before him, teeth bared as he looked up. Where the giant vulture had sat the last time Besnik looked, there now crouched a strange looking figure; he was a man for all intents and purposes, yet with a layer of dark feathers hiding his skin. Wide eyed, the Kelvic breathed heavily whilst simply staring for a few moments, shaking. He slowly calmed back down as he registered what the man had said. Well, it seemed as though his assumption on the involvement of magic had been correct at least. Besnik dipped his head once, slowly, to show he understood what had been said. The canine dipped his head back down again to eat a few more bites, intending on fuelling himself for the short trek back. It was cold, no matter the form one took, and he wanted to make sure he had enough energy stored. He hadn’t figured out whether he’d be turning back human or remaining as a dhole once he returned to Zeltiva, planning as usual to just go with the circumstances and how he felt. Besnik then tore at the lower hind leg, shaking his head to pull it loose for himself. He didn’t know what children the man was talking about, but it sounded like he needed to majority of the kill so the Kelvic only took a small portion. He held it in his mouth and stepped back, relaxing slightly as he gave up possession of the kill. His tamer side came back as his eyes lost their sharpness and tail began wagging again. He sat, unsure of what to do now. He couldn’t half change his form, like the man in front of him, and so wouldn’t be able to communicate with him. He waited to see if the man wanted to say something. If not, he’d probably head back to Zeltiva. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ||Besnik|| ||3 years|| ||Kelvic|| ||Bondmate - Valo||

[Hadrian]

While the dhole fed, Hadrian hurried back to the clearing where he had stashed his clothes, let the last of his morph recede, feathers giving way to bare skin. He quickly dressed and returned as the Kelvic was tearing off his to-go portion.

"If you've had your fill, I suppose this is goodbye for now," he said. "You oughtn't change shape here. You'll be cold and waste energy. But my name is Hadrian Aelius, and you can find me either at the University or at the Farson Home for Orphans in town."

He poured Flux'd energy into his limbs, strengthening his muscles, but also his bones, his tendons and ligaments, so the extra strength wouldn't cause undue strain to his body. If it looked strange when such a slender man threw the better part of the doe's carcass over his shoulders, well, a little mystique never hurt a wizard.

"Well, thank you again. I hope you got enough, and I hope to see you again, dhole-man." He smiled faintly, then turned to go.

end.

[Jester]

Thread Graded!! Hadrian : XP Awarded +1 Morphing +2 Acrobatics +2 Falling +1 Socializing Lores Awarded How to Drop Down on Prey Difficulties in Breaking a Neck with a Beak Energy Expenditures in Kelvic Shifting Besnik : XP Awarded +2 Observation +3 Socialization +2 Hunting +1 Wilderness Survival +1 Leadership Lores Awarded Knowing When to Shift Acquaintance: Hadrian Aelius Culling the Weakest Notes : Very cool! I found the language barrier to be very interesting and quite well played-out. Hopefully you guys are happy with your grades. If not, keep in mind I'm still learning this complicated art of grading, so feel free to PM me if you think something is wrong. I won't be offended "The difference between a jester and a fool is that the jester knows he's a jester" DISCLAIMER: If you think I have been foolish in grading your thread, don't hesitate to PM me. I am happy to take another look at anything you feel is in error, but keep in mind the other Storytellers and I have final say.