Solo [Northern Wilds] Jackal On The Prowl

[Adriel]

4th Winter 513

The Winter was certainly upon them, the cold air whistling through the forest and hills through the city of Sunberth heralded it's arrival. The morning light from Syna was weak and cold, and the grass crunched underfoot as it laying dead or dying. With Winter here, Adriel knew that game would be slimmer then in the summer, but not impossible to find. Especially when he was in his jackal form, his keen sense of smell and hearing caught more in this form then in his humanoid form.

His golden fur bristled in the breeze as he loped along the ground with his snout to the ground. In the northern wilds things were dangerous but no more so then Sunberth and its natives who still viewed him as an outsider though he had been here a year. At least the merchants did business with him, and the fact that he was Kelvic and able to help out in certain matters of sniffing things out helped. Yet there was the sense that there was more out there for him, more then simply scratching out another day of survival.

That was neither here nor there today, instead he was on the trail of what smelled like a rabbit. It moved over and under fallen trees and sometimes doubled back. It was a wily rabbit, one that seemed to have eluded other hunters and learned a trick or two. However Adriel was not other hunters, he didn't use snares and traps, he used his own nose. He also used his own claws and teeth rather then weapons made by man.

He moved over a den, finding a hole in the ground that would be big enough to fit a rabbit. Adriel pressed his snout into the hole, sniffing heavily, chuffing a little when dust was inhaled. However the den was long abandoned. It was not the home of the rabbit he was currently tracking. It took him a chime or two to find the trail again, his ears flicking a little to listen for the tell tale sound of paws against the ground.

[Adriel]

Adriel padded along the ground, mostly lifting his small head to watch warily around him for predators, but occasionally lowering his triangular snout to sniff along the ground. He was making sure that he was still on the trail of a rabbit, though occasionally he lost the smell for a few clicks before finding it again. He didn't bother looking for tracks, his nose was far more reliable then looking for prints on the ground that may or may not be there.

Suddenly he stopped, his body tensing and even his front paw freezing in the air, his sensitive ears picked up something moving in the brush up ahead. Adriel slowly lowered his body to the ground, his belly dragged in the foliage quietly as he inched forward. His tail didn't quite wag, but it shivered from behind as he slowly made his way forward. Suddenly a white blur darted out of the bush, disturbing the leaves on the ground with a loud crunch.

Adriel was off at it in a flash, his golden fur flattened against his body with the speed of his run. His paws fly over the ground, eating the distance quickly between him and the scurrying rabbit. He had to catch it before it went to den, otherwise it would be a long day of waiting or digging. The rabbit zigged to the right, and then to the left hoping to trip up the golden jackal that was chasing it, but Adriel was too smart for that. He kept the white ball of fur in his sight, the smell of the rabbit's fear was like a tonic for his senses and urged him forward.

His paws skidded a little when the rabbit made a sharp left turn and Adriel tried to follow too quickly. He lost precious ticks while he fought to find purchase on the hard packed ground before his claws sunk into the earth allowing him to turn. The rabbit had gained some ground on him during that time so he had to expend precious energy to try and get a burst of speed to catch up.

[Adriel]

The exhilaration of running full speed along the ground was indescribable. It is not something any Kelvic would ever be able to explain to a human who could not feel the breeze in their fur as they whisked through the air running a top speed. Adriel's tongue hung out of his mouth as he panted, not yet winded but was making conscious efforts to conserve his breath.

The rabbit was losing ground, he was gaining, he could hear the thump thump thumping of the rabbit's powerful hind legs. The smell of the rabbit grew stronger, the fear acrid in the air, and with a snarl Adriel leaped through the air and landed on the rabbit. He had hoped to grab the rabbit cleanly by the neck with his teeth, snapping it so as not to put too many tears in the pelt. Unfortunately he mistimed the jump and ended up having to extend his claws to dig into the rabbit's meat leg. His body rolled once, twice, and three times before coming to an halt. He was on top of the still struggling rabbit. If he had been a normal jackal he probably would have tore into the rabbit meat then and there but he was not. He was capable of higher brain function and knew he could sell the rabbit flesh and other parts of the rabbit and buy cheaper food to save coin.

Instead he bent his neck and fastened his sharp teeth on the rabbits neck, and with a sharp whip of the small body he broke the neck, and the rabbit went limp.

The scent of the rabbit's blood flooded Adriel's nostrils, the taste in his mouth made him crave the rabbit meat all the more. So much that he was tempted to change to his humanoid form to escape the onslaught of sensory overload, however it was a little way back to where he hid his clothing and he did not want to lope naked in the chilled air.

So he steeled himself and delicately lifted the dead rabbit by the scruff of the neck and began to make his way back toward Sunberth. He had squirreled his clothes away under a bush close to the city, preferring to do his hunting in his Jackal form but knowing he would need the ability for human speech to sell his kill.

[Adriel]

Adriel trotted through the landscape, his mouth full of rabbit meat, blood, and fur. Occasionally he would growl just to warn off any would be challengers that might be hiding in the scraggly brush. This was the draw back to hunting in animal form, he couldn't carry more then one carcass at a time, but it was so much easier to do as a jackal. During the summer, spring, and even fall seasons he would shift to human to tie up the carcasses. He would turn to his animal to hunt again, but in the winter it was a little too cold to do that. Plus the harder it is to find game, the more predators will come around at the smell of a fresh kill. He wouldn't be able to leave his kills dangling in a tree until he finished up for the day.

Soon enough he returned to the bush he had hid his clothing under, and in a swirl of golden light he changed. Instead of a golden jackal with a coat of brown tipped golden fur, a young man with golden brown eyes squatted with the rabbit in his teeth. Adriel spat the body out into his hands and gently laid it down on the ground. He frowned at the sight of the pelt. it would not bring much miza but the meat and perhaps the bones would.

He picked up his clothing, a pair of black pants and a brown shirt, with a cheap brown coat that made up his attire. He quickly dressed, shoving his feet in his boots at the end before he bent and picked up the rabbit. Winter was going to be a very long season, hunting for one animal at a time, though there isn't generally large amounts of game at this time of year anyway. With a sigh the man began to move toward the city.

He was on his way to the butchers, he would have to be wary of course there were cut purses, thieves, and murderers by the dozens in Sunberth. However Adriel had long since, well long for a Kelvic, learned that it was just a way of life. That if you didn't get into people's way then you were generally left alone, as long as you didn't prance around displaying wealth for all to see that was.

So when he entered Sunberth again, he held his head high, his gait easy and slow though his eyes were constantly watching and moving. His gait took him up one muddy street and across another before he spotted Baker's Butchery and Bakery. Not a very savory spot but their miza spent well enough.

Adriel moved into the business, and waited in line. There was a small line and he was perfectly fine waiting for his turn. There were never many people who minded him waiting with a bloody carcass either, such was the times that they lived in. Kane Baker was behind the counter, his blood stained apron covering his body, and his swarthy face didn't crack a smile at Adriel.

[Adriel]

Kane Baker stood behind the counter when Adriel stepped forward. "Adriel." The butcher said neutrally, his eye went to the lone carcass in the white-blonde man's hands. "If that is all you got boy, this early into winter you might be facing a lean season." It wasn't said rudely or even gruffly, just stating a fact. A fact that Adriel agreeably nodded his head with. Winter was going to be hard, it always was for hunters but he had a leg up on human hunters for he could smell out dens while they had to wait and find them by sheer luck or hope that hunger would drive some prey out into the open.

"The day is still early, I intend on going back out to find larger prey. This one just came across my path and it was too good of an opportunity to pass." Adriel said conversationally. As was his usual wont he spoke in crisp clear syllables, enunciating each word carefully. There were no slurs to his words, at no point did he allow words to fall off without ending them soundly or getting lazy.

Kane takes the dead rabbit over to his scale, and plopped the carcass on the metal container and watched as it raised. He added weights to the other end, small gray balls slowly weighing down the other side until it was mostly even. Kane nodded his head to himself as he counted the weights and turned back to Adriel. "The rabbit is two pounds. Taking in consideration the bone and the and the hide that will come off I can give you..one gold miza."

Adriel grumbled a little, he knew that rabbits were very small, and he also eyed the hide. Kane would give him the hide back but his miscalculated jump had scored it and he doubted he would get much for it. "One Gold, that's all you can offer? It's rabbit, that meat is going to get pretty scarce during the winter. Plus their hind legs have that extra band of meat..." Adriel started to try and negotiate with the other man, however the look on Kane's face stopped him in his tracks.

"Ok fine, one gold." Adriel agreed, holding out his hand to catch the proffered payment and turned to walk out into the night.

ooc noteI took the 1 gm per pound of the cheapest prepared meat in the price list. There was no rabbit lists..