Completed Out in the woods

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 74 Fall 514 AV Faolan was tired of having to undertake a journey whenever he wanted to leave the city. He enjoyed the ferry ride well enough, but it was so time consuming. He missed being able to just walk out into the woods whenever he wanted. Zeltiva had been a place where he could do that, perhaps he should have stayed there. Huffing lightly to himself as he waited for the ferry that would take him ashore he thought over the ease of hunting in his home and wondered if he should return there. The need to roam was strong, but now he longed for home instead. Irritated at that longing he stepped onto the ferry and settled in for the ride to the shore. Huddled up in his cloak he closed his eyes and allowed the breeze with the soothing sounds of the waves against the hull to lull him into a more relaxed state. He was homesick, but he hadn't come all this way to fail and return to his parents. He was determined to make it on his own and he had been doing just fine so far. Sure it was an inconvenience to live in a city where you had to take a boat to the shore if you wanted to go hunting, but he had met some interesting people in this terrifying city. Once ashore he hauled himself and his things out into the wilds past the trading post. He looked up as his horse ran up to greet him after his calling whistle. Saddling the other animal up he dragged himself into the saddle and nudged him in the direction they had gone on their previous trips. He had been hunting in this out of the way area since he discovered it on one of his other trips. It was difficult to find a place that wasn't overrun with other hunters from the city, but this place was so far out that most didn't venture there yet. He rode for the rest of the day until the light began to fade from the sky and plunged them into darkness. Setting up camp he settled in for the night. He didn't bother hunting at this point in the trip, there was no reason to. He would eat the next day when they arrived to the hunting grounds. For now he would just curl up in his tent and sleep until the next morning.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 75 Fall 514 AV At the first hint of light on the horizon the Kelvic got up and broke down his camp. He packed up the saddle and climbed atop his horse with a groan. He was always so sore after the first day. Turning the horse in the direction he wanted them to travel in he nudged his animal friend forward. Alone with his thoughts, the steady sound of the horse's hooves on the ground his only companion, he watched the trees pass by as they made their way towards the area he had started hunting in. It took them most of the day to get to an acceptable camp site. He had continued on past the area he had used the last couple of times he had been there, not wanting to go to an area where his predatory scent had already been spread. Animals in that area would be on high alert from the smell of a wolf and would make hunting more difficult. He again didn't dismount the horse until the darkness was becoming palpable to set up camp in a spot he found acceptable. It had a stream nearby that branched off of the larger river which he had been near previously, had good tree cover, and was sheltered enough to provide protection if there was a storm. Setting up his tent he made sure everything was ready to go for the next few days before leading his horse down to the water in the dim light. After both of them were adequately hydrated he got them back to camp, got the horse settled in for the night and then peeled his clothes off, tossing them into the tent. Shifting into his wolf form he trotted in to the woods in search of a late dinner. He eventually came across the scent trail of a raccoon. He knew that these creatures were incredibly smart, aggressive, and difficult to catch; he would have to be very careful about he approach this animal. Creeping through the darkness that had settled among the trees he listened for any sounds that the creature would be making. He tracked it to a branch of the stream he was camped on further upstream and crouched at the edge of the trees as he watched the animal begin washing its hands and face. Taking the opportune moment to strike he lunged forward and caught the raccoon off guard. His sharp teeth sinking into the animal's flesh he released a moment later after it stopped struggling. When he pulled back he realized that not only had he crushed its spine, but he had grabbed it in such a way that it had probably drowned as well. He felt a little bit of remorse for causing that kind of a death, but he wouldn't let his kill go to waste because he felt bad. Trotting back to the treeline with it he went about eating his dinner. When he was finished he washed himself off in the stream and trotted back to camp. Once there he curled up in his tent and tucked his nose under his tail and fell asleep quickly.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 76 Fall 514 AV Faolan woke the next morning and made his way out into the growing morning light. Stretching, shaking out his fur, and yawning before he trotted to the water to get a drink he felt much more content than he had at the beginning of his trip. It was just how his trips worked, he would take them when he most needed them, they would calm his mind and then he would return to Ravok feeling much better. Pushing thoughts of the city from his head he went off in search of his breakfast before he could throw himself into the hunt that would keep his expenses paid. He picked up the scent of a rabbit relatively quickly and tracked it down. Chasing after the frightened creature proved to be unfruitful as it disappeared into a hole away from his searching muzzle. Growling in frustration he paced in a circle until he caught the scent of a squirrel. It wouldn't be as much meat as the rabbit, but it would at least hold him over for a good portion of the day. He could ignore his hunger while hunting larger prey if he at least ate something for breakfast. Managing to catch the squirrel just before it ran up a tree out of reach he pulled it down to the ground by its tail, killed it quickly, and then scarfed it down. Licking the blood from his paws and muzzle he sighed faintly before moving off in search of larger prey. He didn't manage to find any all that day though. He did catch a few rabbits, a badger, a ground hog, and a handful of squirrels though. Each took a lot of patience and he had failed numerous times to get what he was actually after, but he kept trying and ended up with a decent haul for his first day. While it was just a batch of smaller prey it was better than nothing. At least he had something to show for his efforts, even if it wasn't much. Back at the camp he shifted back to his human form to gather up some wood he could use for a fire. After he had an adequate amount he constructed a smoker, started the fire burning, and then retrieved his knife from the tent. Sitting down next to his small kills he began to prepare them. When they were ready he set them up to smoke and removed their carcasses from the area so as not to attract other predators. Back at the camp he checked on the meat, removed it from the smoker when it was ready, and then wrapped it up in the skins he had saved. After they were buried he took his horse to the stream where he washed up and got a long drink of the fresh water. He let the horse drink its fill and crop at the grass on the bank before taking them back to camp. There he sat with the fire until it was dark enough to sleep. Dumping dirt on the flame to put it out he turned and made his way into the tent. Curling up on his bedroll he drifted off to sleep with dreams of catching something bigger the next day.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 77 Fall 514 AV Slipping out of his tent at the first sign of light seeping back into the world, Faolan led the horse down to the water to get a drink to start out their day. While the horse would get to crop and laze at camp he would be out trying to hunt down something that would secure his profits for this trip. Hoping that he would have more luck today than he did the previous day he splashed water over his face to help wake himself up. The first thing on his agenda today was breakfast, as usual. Taking the horse back to camp he tethered him to a different tree so that he would have fresh undergrowth to munch on throughout the day. Stretching for a moment he gazed about his little camp with a faint smile. If it was feasible he would much prefer to live out here than in the city. The only problem with that plan is that he wasn't the best at surviving on his own for any longer than the length of his hunting trips. He would have to get much better at it if he had any hope of ever living away from a city on his own. Then again there wasn't much company out in the wilds. Frowning to himself he shook his head. He knew that his curiosity would pull him back to a city until he found his bondmate, if he found one. He as starting to doubt that he would ever find that special person he would bond to. Growling a little bit he shifted into his wolf form and took off into the woods. Whether he was searching for breakfast or trying to run away from his thoughts was unclear, but he was running nevertheless. His paws gripping the ground and propelling him forward was a sensation that helped to pull him back into the hunt. His senses were searching for anything that would be a viable meal. His nose whipped to the side as he caught the scent of another of those pigs he had come across on an earlier trip. The vendor he sold meat to had said it was called a wild hog. Swerving in that direction he began to track the hog down, ignoring the part of his mind that was reminding him of how difficult that kill had been. Stalking the hog through the trees he found a small group of them gathered together rooting in the ground for food. Several appeared to be very young, as if they had just been born in the spring. That made the more ideal targets among the group. Waiting patiently for one of the small ones to stray from the rest of the group he crouched behind a tree to watch. When one of them ran off towards the stream he followed carefully, making sure that one of the big ones didn't come after them. When it was clear that they were alone the wolf closed in swiftly for the kill. He grabbed the unsuspecting hog by the back of the head and shook it back and forth until it stopped fighting to get free. He quickly devoured it so that he could clear out of the area before the big ones came looking for the little one. He was almost done when an angry squeal came out from behind him. Looking over his shoulder with blood dripping from his maw he found one of the large hogs readying to charge at him. Licking his lips he took off running with the hog hot on his heels. Charging forward ever faster he could hear dirt flying up behind him as his paw pads and claws dug chunks out of the ground and hurled them back at his pursuer. He ran as fast as he could knowing that if he got caught by the hog behind him he would possibly be killed. The wolf was faster than the hog though, and he quickly left the angry beast behind. Elated at the feeling of running full speed he continued to do so for a little while, allowing all his inhibitions and worries fall away. Blasting through a scent trail of a herd of deer derailed his sense of wanting to run for eternity and he slid to a stop. Whirling around he trotted back to the scent and followed it along as he tried to catch his breath so that he wouldn't give himself away once he located them. He found them huddled together in a small clearing where there was grass and other plants for them to eat. Observing them carefully he located one that had a sever limp. From the scarring on that leg he could see that the animal had been caught in a hunter's trap relatively recently. Having a target picked out he planted himself in a spot where he would have the best chance of successfully taking down the already wounded deer. Lunging forward out of the trees he made straight for the injured deer as the startled animals began to flee. The limp impaired the beast enough that he was able to get a good bite to its flank in order to take it down. Once it was down he quickly killed it and then stood over his kill for a moment to make sure he was alone and wasn't about to be charged by some angry buck. Sure that he was alone he shifted to his human form and began dragging the animal back to camp. He hadn't realized just how far he had run from the hog until now. Exhausted by the time he made it back to camp he got his fire going again, retrieved his knife, and flopped down beside his kill. Resting for a few moments he before he began prepping his kill he sighed faintly. Sitting up to begin working he put meat out to smoke as he sliced it from the carcass. It took him a while, but once he was done he managed to haul the carcass away from camp. Returning to wrap up the meat and bury it he knew he would sleep well that night. Once he was finished he made his way to the shore to wash himself of the blood and get a long drink. The refreshing liquid made him feel a little better as he headed back to the camp. Putting out the fire as darkness set in he flopped onto his bedroll and fell fast asleep, dreaming of more deer to catch before his trip was over.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 78 Fall 514 AV Faolan rolled out of his tent the next morning hoping that he could get himself another deer before he had to head back to the city. He wanted to leave tomorrow, but if he didn't have enough meat to make the trip worth while he would have to stay at least an extra day. Stretching with a sigh he wandered down to the stream with his horse to get a drink before the start of the day. Back at camp he shifted into his wolf form and struck out into the woods in search of something to eat before he could actually begin his hunting for the day. After sniffing around for a while he came across a rabbit which he managed to catch off guard and snatched up before it could disappear into a hiding spot. Devouring it quickly he trekked off in search of larger prey. It took most of the day to track down another herd of deer. These were gathered at a small pool of water that must have sprouted up from an underground spring. Watching them move about he tried to pick out any that were going to be easy targets. Unable to see any that were visibly slower than the others he decided he would just have to take his chances and charge the entire group. Leaping from his hiding spot at the herd he kept his senses expanded to try and find his easiest target. As the deer took off away from him he caught the scent of more wolves. Unwilling to give up a potential catch he continued to chase the herd, gaining on one of the deer as he threw himself into the hunt. As he leapt up and grabbed onto the right back leg of the animal a wolf pack emerged from the surrounding trees and swept by them. Luckily for him they were after one of the bigger deer and ignored him. Dragging the struggling animal to the ground while dodging flailing hooves he managed to tear a good chunk of flesh from its hindquarter. Dropping it to the ground so that he could leap up and kill the animal swiftly he looked up in the direction that the pack and herd had gone in and saw that the other wolves had been successful in taking down their larger prey and were now feasting on it. A few of them were watching him carefully which made him nervous. Eating the piece of meat he had already torn off before he grabbed the dead animal by the same leg he had attacked he knew he had to get out of the area before the pack was done. Dragging it along in his wolf form was difficult, time consuming, and made his jaw ache but shifting right now would only endanger him more. Once the pack was out of sight and smell range he shifted back into his human form and continued the rest of the trip back to camp. When he arrived he quickly built his fire and got to work on the carcass. The wolf pack was weighing heavily on his mind. He had been told that wolf packs generally weren't accepting of lone males wandering around their territory, but he had never actually come so close to a pack before so he wasn't sure if that was true. Fretting over the proximity of the pack he made swift work of his kill, getting it smoking and taking the remains as far out as he dared to dump. Upon his return he wrapped up the meat and buried it before going down to the water to clean up. As darkness settled over the land he put out the fire and shifted back into his wolf form. He would get no sleep that night. He stayed up pacing around his camp anxiously, hoping that the pack would let him be since he immediately tried to flee their territory. He hadn't smelled any of them before that encounter so he wondered if perhaps they had just moved in to the area. Restlessly moving about the camp all night he didn't encounter them; he did hear them howling a few miles away though. He sat and listened to them howling to each other, letting out a faint whine of longing. There was a need to howl back scratching at the back of his throat, but he knew that if he did that he would only bring the pack down on his camp and he couldn't risk that. Another need cropped up in his mind as he listened to the others howl; the need to have someone for whom to howl for. Sitting next to his tent listening intently to the songs of his kin he whined faintly to himself, longing for someone to share these moments with.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 79 Fall 514 AV Faolan had sat up all night listening to the wolf pack howl in the distance. When the sun finally came up he was exhausted and wanted nothing but to curl up and sleep. Knowing that he couldn't do that he sighed heavily before shifting back to his human form. Taking his horse down to the water he got them both well hydrated and cleaned up. Once back at camp he got dressed after deciding that he couldn't risk being out here any longer now that the pack knew he was nearby. Packing up camp he made sure to saddle his horse first this time so that he didn't almost kill himself trying to lift a fully packed saddle onto the animal's back. When everything was packed up he looked around to make sure that the only sign of his presence was some scattered ashes from the fire pit. Satisfied that he had everything he pulled himself up into the saddle and directed the horse to start moving them back towards the city. He dozed on and off during their trip, knowing that the horse would continue to head in the general direction he had given it even if he was asleep in the saddle. As the day began to wane he sat up in the saddle to try and scope out a good place to stop for the night. When he caught the scent of deer in the area he decided it was a good time to stop. Hastily setting up camp for the night before throwing off his clothes and shifting into his wolf to take off after the deer he hoped that he could catch one. Not only would it be a filling dinner, but it would add to his haul for this trip which would be nice. Tracking them through the trees he eventually came upon them scattered throughout a small area. Scoping them out he waited until he saw a viable opportunity present itself, the herd had spread itself far enough apart that he could single out an older deer easily. Charging forward with the old deer locked in his sights the rest of the herd scattered as he leapt up to grab the old deer by the throat. It hadn't realized he had been charging at it until the last possible moment, and by then it was too late for it to escape him. Blood gushing over his muzzle and into his mouth he was rather proud of himself for that kill, it was the smoothest he had ever made. Dragging it back to camp in his human form he dumped it in front of the tent and went about setting up a fire pit. Clearing dead leaves and undergrowth from a spot he gathered up some rocks to line it. Finding some wood to use for the fire he stacked it in the circle of rocks before constructing his smoker. Once that was all done he started the fire and then went about breaking down his kill in the fading light. He was done cutting up the dead animal by the time complete darkness set in. Getting rid of the carcass and then wrapping his kill and burying it he ate some of the meat before it smoked completely. Full and satisfied with his hunting trip he got redressed before dousing his fire with dirt and going to bed. He slept heavily that night due to his lack of sleep the previous night, nothing in the darkness of the night to keep him awake.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 80 Fall 514 AV In the morning the young Kelvic got up and packed up camp once more. Making sure everything was where it should be in the saddle he made sure to scatter his fire pit before hauling himself onto the horse's back. As they moved on down the trail his thoughts once again strayed to the pack of wolves he had encountered briefly. He wondered what it was like to live in a pack, to have family there all the time to watch over you. His mind turned over the possibility of ever having something like that the remainder of his trip. Once back near Ravok he slid off the horse and removed all of his gear. Saying goodbye to his friend he began hauling it all to the dock where he would have to wait for the next ferry to arrive. As he sat there waiting for the ferry he watched the waves roll ashore and thought over his life in Ravok. Sure he had met some interesting people, but there wasn't a whole lot else he had done there. Deciding he would think about leaving in the spring he figured he should give the city more of a chance than he had been lately. The ferry pulled up to the dock a few bells after he arrived and he dragged his things on board after those that had taken it to shore departed. Finding an out of the way spot to sit he listened to the conversations of the others and entertained himself that way as they made their way back to the city. When they arrived he gathered his things and made his way to the vendor he always sold to. Selling the meat was not a problem at all, with the shortage in the city he could have taken his bounty to anyone and they would have bought it from him. Unfortunately for the rest of the vendors he had found that the one he had discovered on his own was the one he wanted to sell to. The man was kind to him and was always fair in his dealings with him. Once he was paid for his goods he made his way back to his room where he put his things up and immediately fell into bed to sleep with thoughts of the wolf pack still running around his head.