Solo Ferocity

[Viridae Kabre]

Timestamp: Day 42, Summer, 513 AV
Location: Kalea Wilds, Just outside Kalinor
Purpose: To kill a large stag Viridae has seen roaming the mountainside.

Climbing the mountainsides of Kalea was hard, even for an experienced hunter such as Viridae. As he trudged up the semi steep grass hillock, his mind swam with thoughts of his father and brother, and the exotic lands they must be traversing. He was still very conflicted on the notion of leaving home. On one hand, he always dreamed of traveling to the far reaches of Mizahar, tracking beasts he only knew of through stories and song. On the other, this was his home. He may not have many friends here, and he may live in an empty house on the outskirts of the city, but it was home none the less. Leaving Kalea was definitely a gamble. He wasn't sure if the change of scenery would be a welcome venture, or if he would be stricken with homesickness. furthermore, he had not met many people from other places, but had heard stories of the mistrust they held for his people. And who could blame them? Theirs was a race of racist kidnapping rapists. And for what? Survival? Maybe some time ago, but now he felt people's pride motivated them during the harvest. That the Symenestra thought themselves better than any other race in Mizahar, and that they deserved the horrible things that happened to him.

He shook the thoughts from his head aggressively and continued his trudge up the mountain, occasionally scaling small ledges. He had been tracking a stag for three hours after spooking it while checking rabbit snares, and deciding it was too large of an Elk to let slip through his fingers. He recalled its elegant beauty in his mind. Large, almost pearl white rack and deep ebony fur, accompanied by tea colored hooves and huge black eyes. The most unforgettable feature of the beast was the look it gave Viridae before bounding into the trees. A determined glare, rather than a fearful spook. A look that said "Catch me if you're man enough."

[Viridae Kabre]

His pace slowed a bit as he came to a flat area dotted occasionally with tall pine trees. Two wild quail grazed there, pecking aimlessly at something on the ground beneath a tree. Stupid animals, quail He thought as he crouched and silently drew his bow. He pulled two arrows from his quiver and held them both in his draw hand, nocked one, and kept the other between his knuckle. If this hunt dragged on as long as past hunts for stubborn game, he may need dinner for the night. He dropped to a knee twenty five feet away from the birds, slightly concealed beneath the low dragging branches of a nearby pine, and drew his bow back, breathing deep before firing off both shots in rapid succession.

The first shot sunk into the fatter of the two birds and it flew back from the force of the shot, smacking its small head against the tree and dying almost instantly. The second arrow pierced through the other quail's thigh, and in a stroke of good luck, pinned it to the trunk of the nearby pine. Viridae approached the bird carefully and snatched it by its neck, before twisting it in a full circle, thus ending its life. He retrieved the arrows and stuck them back into their quiver, then stuffed the bird's lifeless carcasses into his backpack before continuing on the path to track, kill, and bag the massive stag.

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae continued down the lightly beaten game track until the sky began to darken, before he left the path to seek out a small stream with open space on both sides. He could easily track the stag in the dark, but ran a high risk of either attracting a larger predator, or worse, spooking the stag. Viridae emptied the contents of his backpack onto a large flat rock beside the stream and unfolded his backpack, revealing it to be nothing more than a large red sheet of silk. A few folds later, (And with the help of a couple flexible sticks for support, the bag became a small tear drop shaped cocoon, hardly big enough to house a man of his size. He gracefully scaled the closest pine and strung the cocoon over the top of it, so it hung down into the tree.

Satisfied with his work, he leapt elegantly back down before skinning the two quail in the darkness. He set the bare avian on the rock and built a small fire close to the stream, preparing to roast the birds. Had he been hotter on the stag's tail he would have simply put up with the disgusting taste and ate the birds raw, but he figured he had time to roast the meat, at least to add a little flavor and temperature to his meal. He set up a wooden rotisserie using nearby pine branches and proceeded to roast the birds. After they were cooked, he sunk his fangs deep into each and allowed the meat to liquefy within the skin, before sucking out the hot juices quickly. He left the fire ablaze, and walked down stream to dispose of the excess bones and skins, before climbing back into the tree and sinking into his bed. Viri slept lightly that night, excited for the day to come, and confident he'd be coming home with one hell of a prize.

[Viridae Kabre]

Viridae's eyes snapped open as the first crack of sunlight traversed across the dark sky, breaking the night's calm and giving way to the dawn. He sat there for a moment, curled in the silk cocoon, and listened to the bird's chirp their morning tunes. Morning dew soaked the outside of the silk fabric and transferred through like osmosis at his touch. He grunted before climbing out and leaping from the tree to land gracefully on the rock, pulling the silk down with him. He walked to the rock and folded his belongings into the fabric, then secured it on his back and began to re-trace his steps to the game path. He had a long day ahead of him.

As he walked the path he couldn't help but wonder just how far away the beast was. Stags don't typically flee for long, and usually walk these paths to arrive at a set destination to graze, but this one felt different. It was possessed by the spirit of determination, which was very likely the reason it was so damned big. Though he looked like he was in the prime of his life, the stag had to have had time to grow to the size it was, and most likely hadn't had to fight too often to mate, because Viri hadn't noticed any scars on the animal. He was a survivor.

Viri continued down the game path for another twenty minutes before arriving at a small clearing. He crouched as he approached and drew his bow, hastily pulling two arrows from the quiver, and continued until he could see clearly into the open space. The Elk stag and four doe grazed there, clearly oblivious to him lurking two hundred feet away. Viridae skirted the tree line and searched for a better vantage point from which to sink the stag.

[Viridae Kabre]

As he carefully paced around the clearing, to his dismay, The stag trotted gleefully up a small hillock and continued to graze atop of it, occasionally scanning its surroundings, as if he where watching over the females. Viridae frowned and backed away slowly so as to avoid giving away his position. Cleaver trick he thought as he circled around so as to be behind the stag's backside. From this position he was a bit further away, about two hundred and fifty feet, but he was also down wind and would avoid alerting the beast. He glanced around, searching for somewhere to make the kill.

Viridae's face lit up as he came across a large pine tree and began to climb it slowly and silently. Midway to the top he stopped and nocked his bow just as he had before with the quail, leaving the second arrow between his knuckles. He drew the bow back slowly and quietly. As he drew the bow, his elbow brushed a low hanging branch. The stag abruptly snapped its head back and peered directly into Viridae's eyes. Viridae, in the moment, felt immortal. Half a second felt like a bell, looking into the beast's face. He loosed his first arrow and it sunk deep into the side of the stag's neck. The second arrow sunk into its thigh.

Everything happened very quickly after that. You see, usually a stag will flee after being injured. But not this one. This one was different. It kicked both of its hind legs back and made a terrifying snarling sound, turning in mid air to face Viridae. Quickly, almost clumsy with excitement, it lowered its head and spread its front legs, then sprinted towards the tree, antlers pointed and menacing. Its rack slammed into the trees trunk and knocked Viridae from its branches, tossing him from the tree like a ragdoll. He landed flat on his back fifteen feet behind the stag. It trotted in a full circle, blood pooling around the arrow jutting from its neck. Viridae hardly had time to put his hands up as it charged again, dragging its rack across the ground. Viridae grabbed it by the horns and it began to toss its head violently, snarling and grunting. Viri struggled to keep hold, and swung his legs around to wrap them around its head. Big mistake.

The stag picked him up off the ground and slammed him back down twice. the air left Viridae's lungs with the second slam, and he wheezed holding onto the beast's antlers helplessly. After catching a bit of air, he planted his feet and stood, pushing the stag back by its rack. It continued to thrash violently and he pushed it backwards. Viri thanked the gods he had shot it, otherwise he was sure the stag's strength would be too much. He backed the stag parallel to the trunk of the pine tree and used its violent thrashing to his advantage, slamming its head into the tree several times. It grew still and started to back away. Viridae quickly pulled the arrow from its neck and jammed it into the stag's eye. It let out a blood curdling scream and charged again, this time catching Viri under the arm and tossing him ten feet back, then proceeded to attempt to stomp on his chest with its back legs. Viridae rolled away and pulled the arrow from its thigh, drew his bow, nocked it, and shot the beast in the heart from short range. It fell and let out a loud groan and a couple more thrashes before life left its eyes. As he looked at the beast, he did not feel accomplished, but rather disappointed in him self, as though he had killed something sacred. He lifted its head and looked into its deep black eyes. There was no peering back to him. no determined will to survive. No anger. Just emptiness.

[Poison]

Skills: Tracking 2, Stealth 2, Observation 2, Hunting 3, Bow 3, Wilderness Survival 2, Cooking 1, Acrobatics 1, Brawling 1

Lores: Killing Birds witha Bow, Setting up a safe Place for the Night, Tracking an Elk, Dealing with an aggressive, wounded Elk, Killing an Elk

Notes: Symenestra cannot digest solid food. Simply roasting the birds is not enough. Liquifying the meat takes some time. You made it seem as if it happened very quickly. Also keep in mind that a Symenestra’s body is very fragile. It is likely that Viridae will have a few wounds after fighting an elk.

Those issues aside it was a well written thread, and I gave you experience in a number of different skills for it.

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