Timestamp: Day 46, Winter, 505 AV
Location: Kalea Wilds
Purpose: To teach Viridae about tracking, hunting, wilderness survival, and firing a bow.
Viridae squinted his eyes against the wind's cruel and bitter bite. His white hair billowed and whipped across his face violent as he peered through the endless white, searching the trees for any sign of the Massive bear.
"You won't just see him son, its never that simple," His father stated, squatting into the over piled snow. He stared ahead intently for a long time, Giving Viri the time to think about what he had learned in the past four days tracking the beast. His father had taught him what to look for. Tufts of fur caught in the pines, Tracks, and large animal carcasses laying half eaten in hidden places. He had learned that Dire bears are too large to hibernate for the winter. Halfway through the season they grow hungry and leave their dens in search of big game and scavenged carcasses. They were so close now that Viri would almost swear he could smell the musky creature through the intense nip of the cold, lurking in the snow-covered caverns below the ridge on which they sat.
"I know father," He said hastily, shaking his own thoughts from his head. He looked back to the ground and began to trace the drag marks on top of the hard pack, speckled occasionally with blood. "There's been a kill taken into those caverns," He said, turning to look at his father's snow speckled face. Dimidae gave a quick nod, acknowledging his son's reception of his previous lesson. "Is the kill fresh?" Dimidae inquired, never taking his eyes off of the unforgiving horizon. Viri shook his head solemnly and looked back to the ground. The blood specks where far and infrequent, and the bear tracks that accompanied them where close together, hinting that the animal was dragged slowly, but was no longer bleeding. The heart had stopped long before reaching this point. But why? Why would a bear not consume the kill onsite, why would it move the carcass unless....
"We're nearing its den, Father," Viridae stated. Dimidae nodded, a smile peeking the corner of his mouth. Dimidae stood wearily and pulled his thick fur cloak tighter around his neck before trudging though the thick heaps of snow towards the caverns below. Viridae paused as his father gracefully began to scale down the face of the cold stone ridge before following close behind, holding true to his Symenestra lineage and scaling the ridge.
He let his legs fall forward over his head and flipped in the air, landing gracefully several paces behind his father. Together they continued through the snow, following the subtle drag marks across the hard pact until they reached a low over cropping of ice. Beneath the ice was a low, wide hole, hardly an excuse for a cave entrance, but a perfectly concealed entrance to a Dire bear's den. Dimidae paused just long enough to draw his bow and hold it at the ready. Viri pulled a long hunting knife from his belt and held it in front of him much like a spider's fang, tip down and blade angled forward, prepared to slice and kill a large and unforgiving unknown beast.
They planted their feet onto the ice and slid forward into the hole, their eyes adjusting easily to the heavy darkness. Dimidae crouched down and Viri mirrored him quickly, scanning the vast cave for the elusive monster. He saw nothing but a large heap of pale tawny fur and a half eaten goat carcass. He stood, obviously frustrated and impatient in his youth. Dimidae stood as well and looked to his son.
"He isn't here," Viri said as he hastily paced to the goat carcass. He cut the animal's head from its body with a quick sawing motion and walked to his father's backside, opening his silk backpack and stuffing it inside. After the head had been secured, Dimidae stood and addressed his son patiently and quietly.
"The beast is most likely pursuing more prey. Dire bears are very large animals and require much food to survive the winter. It is the reason he awoke from his sleep in the first place, and the reason he left the carcass here. It is likely he will drag another to his den and consume them over the next couple of days. That is our window. He will not return to this den now that we have entered it, and we must make the kill before he finds a new den and returns to hibernation. Come," Dimidae walked back to the den entrance and scaled the ice. Viri followed close behind, understanding the urgency to find the great ghost bear. As they made their leave, He couldn't help but wonder if the great monster knew that its death was close in toe.
Viridae and Demidae tracked the beast for three days after discovering its den. Viri knew he would never forget how tired he was the night the ghost bear was discovered.
Viri dangled twenty feet above the ground, hanging in a large rain drop shaped silken sack that served as a tent. His father was in an adjacent tree, the light of a glowstone clear through the thin fabric. Viri was just beginning to close his eyes when he heard a noise. Quiet at first, but not silent enough to evade the ears of two trained hunters. It was a slight rustling sound, maybe a hundred feet away. Viri drew his knife and quietly climbed out of the sack and down the tree. His father, apparently having done the same, slipped in front of him and held up his hand, calling for a halt. They waited there for what seemed like an eternity before the sound was long gone. Viri shot his father a look so full of confusion that it almost hurt him. Dimidae leaned in and addressed him sternly.
"The beast is too close. To attempt to kill it from such a short distance would be foolish, and could result in our death," He said quickly, almost hissing the words. Viri could tell his father was excited.
Viri and Dimidae found the monster's tracks with ease, and followed them silently to a ridge. They paused. The Ghost bear was haunched heavily over the carcass of a doe, about two hundred feet away, chewing quietly. Viri felt his heart skip in his chest as he and his father knelt down, and Dimidae drew his bow. The beast was beautiful, nearly angelic, with Thick pale brown fur and leering black eyes that pierced through the dark. Dimidae paused for a moment and drew three arrows before passing the bow back to Viri. Viridae shot his father a look of confusion before taking the bow. His father mouthed quickly and Viri strung the bow. He took a breath and fired off all three arrows quikly, then leaped from the ridge and sprinted across the snow. The bear had been hit in the neck, heart and foot and stumbled awkwardly across the snow. He lept upon its back and drove his knife deep into the back of its neck. It groaned softly and fell over with a great thud, blood staining the snow below. Viri's heart was pounding and he stabbed it again for good measure. His father ran across the hardpacked snow to the beast and nodded approvingly, a smile creeping across his face. Viri stopped and took a moment to admire the massive ghost bear. Its pale brown fur, now sputtered with blood, its massive back holding him easily fifteen feet off the ground, even laying flat on its belly. He slid off its side and walked around to its massive head. The skull would definately be a fair trophy of his first bow kill. In that moment, Viri couldn't help but begin to laugh under his breath. In that moment he had done the impossible. In that moment, he could do anything.
