Completed Once More Into the Wilds

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 81st Winter, 514 AV Faolan walked to the ferry with his supplies over his shoulders. While he had been skeptical about stabling Drifter at the shore because of the extra money it would cost he ended up liking the convenience of having the horse right there when he needed him. That and not having to haul the saddle and tack across the city and then out into the wilds was nice. His horse was looking so much better too. It was amazing the difference a little bit of care made in the other animal. Faolan thought over the differences he had seen in the horse and smiled a little as the ferry whisked them away over the water. Arriving at the stable he greeted one of the stable-hands and had them get Drifter saddled up for him. When the horse was brought over to him he got the bags tied off to the saddle and his other supplies stored in their proper places. He thanked the man that had helped him and then swung up into the saddle and nudged the animal forward towards their destination. They made their way through the cool winter day at a steady pace. Drifter's hooves thudding against the ground had Faolan dozing a little in the saddle. There wasn't anything to focus on as the horse seemed to know where they were going anyway and their surroundings were relatively quiet. When it was time to stop for the night he pulled the horse to a halt and slipped out of the saddle to set up camp. As darkness overtook their small campsite he bundled up in his blanket and went to sleep.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 82nd Winter, 514 AV Faolan got up in the morning and stretched with a soft groan. Packing up his tent he tied it all back on to the saddle and got Drifter ready to go. Climbing up on to the saddle he got situated before nudging the horse into a forward motion again. Back into a steady pace they made their way the rest of the way to the river that he camped along. There wasn't much daylight left and so he chose a spot that was further upstream than usual. He tried to change up the places he hunted at so that he didn't hunt down one spot anyway so he would just have to give this spot a try. Sliding out of the saddle he got camp set up and then lead Drifter down to the lazily flowing water. He didn't like setting up camp near a rapidly flowing section of the river. He had done it before, but it made it a little more dangerous to get cleaned up and to get water. Not to mention crossing the water if necessary would be impossible with fast moving water. He could swim well enough but the hidden dangers of a river were enough to keep him respectful of the water. The pair got a drink from the cool water and Faolan checked over the horse to make sure he was in good health after their trip. As the light faded from their surroundings he lead the animal back to the camp and then disappeared into the tent. Pulling off his clothes he shivered as the cool air hit sensitive skin. With a flash of light he was in his wolf form and the cool air was held at bay by his thick black fur. Seeming rather happy with himself for that he made himself comfortable and curled up in the blanket on top of his bedroll and fell asleep.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 83rd Winter, 514 AV As light began to trickle through the trees the wolf's blue eyes slowly opened and gazed at the dim interior of the tent. He yawned and then got up and stretched out all his limbs with a soft groan. Shaking out his fur he yawned once more before stepping out of his tent. Looking around camp he gazed quietly at the mostly asleep horse before he trotted off into the trees. Breakfast would be nice, he didn't eat much while out on these trips because he had to make sure that he got meat back to the city. It really took a lot of self control to not eat everything he caught, but his livelihood rested upon him not chowing down on everything so he was usually able to rein in his hunger. Coming across his breakfast took him an entire bell. He managed to track down a groundhog that stuck its head out of its hole at the wrong time and got a decisive bite in on its neck. Hauling its limp body out of the hole he made quick work of chowing down. With food in his stomach he made his way through the trees with his nose to the ground, searching for the scent of his first catch of his trip. It became clear after a few bells that he wasn't going to find anything bigger than a wild boar. He didn't like challenging boar, they were mean and always proved to be quite the struggle to take down. Unwilling to risk his health he hunted for other options. By the end of the day he managed to catch a badger, a rabbit, and a squirrel. It wasn't ideal to only bring back small animals, but if that was all he could find in this area that was all he would be able to get. Back at camp he started a fire, set up a smoker, retrieved his knife, and went about preparing the meat. Snacking on the bits that the city wouldn't want he kept himself busy for a while. When the meat was ready he packed it all in skins and then buried it in the cold ground. Heading down to the water again with Drifter he cleaned himself up, dumped the carcasses in the water and got a long drink. The reason he had started dumping bodies in the water is because the river carried them off and dissolved them, fish and other aquatic animals would feed on the decaying flesh and would recycle it back into the ecosystem. Returning to camp he doused the fire and retreated into the confines of the tent. With the fire going outside he hadn't noticed the cold much as it had been warmed by the flames, but down by the water he had gotten chilled again. Once in the tent he shifted back to his wolf form for warmth and got comfortable again. Curling up on the bedroll and blanket he closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 84th Winter, 514 AV Faolan woke with the morning light again and made his way out in to the crisp morning air. His warm breath curled out in smoky tendrils in front of him as he stretched out to rid his muscles of the rigors of sleep. With a quick shake of the fur he trotted off into the trees in search of his morning meal. Not long after he located a rabbit. It was at the edge of a little pool of water near the side of the river where some rocks created a small eddy. As it sat there he readied himself to pounce. It began making its way in the opposite direction and he lept out from his hiding spot. The rabbit bolted and he chased right after it. Unfortunately for the rabbit it found itself trapped between the river, some tall rocks, and the hungry teeth of the wolf. Having caught his breakfast he sat down at the edge of the river and watched the water flow past him. A few moments later he got up and made his way into the woods again. He hoped that he would find something bigger today, but from what he could tell there weren't big prey animals in the area. He would have to travel farther than he wanted to in order to track some down. Deciding that he would just have to stick to smaller prey instead he went about hunting down anything he could find. His entire day was dedicated to tracking down any viable scent. By the time he was done he had caught three rabbits, two squirrels, a badger, and a groundhog. He brought them back to camp when he caught them and at the end of the day he had a nice little pile of things to dress. Shifting back to his human form he restarted his fire and smoker and got to work. As the last of the light faded from his surroundings he finished up his work and went to the river to wash up. Upon returning to the camp he buried his catch and put out the fire. Shifting back to his wolf form he entered the tent and got comfortable. Closing his eyes he drifted off to sleep with the soft sounds of the woods and river lulling him into a deep sleep.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 85th Winter, 514 AV The wolf woke up buried under his blanket. Apparently sometime during the night he had decided that he didn't want to wake with the morning light and hidden himself under the thick cloth. His nose was sticking out the edge so that he could breathe easily. He continued laying there for a while before sitting up and letting the blanket slide off of his back and into a pile behind him. He had slept for a few more bells than he usually did on a hunting trip, but considering that he was only able to find small prey animals it probably wouldn't change his chances too much. Getting up and leaving the tent he gazed around the camp for a moment, letting his senses expand as he woke up fully. Giving Drifter a little nod of acknowledgment before trotting off in to the woods he had a feeling today would be his last full hunting day out here. As he hunted for his morning meal he planned to leave first thing in the morning and head back to the city. He chased several rabbits to no avail. They all disappeared into their dens where he couldn't get them. Frustrated with himself he trotted along through the trees in search of something he could actually catch. He was hungry and needed to get started on the hunting that would produce meat to take back for his wages. Growling softly to himself he came across the scent of a boar. Pausing where he was he struggled with whether to try and take it down or not. Boar were aggressive and the last time he had fought with one he had almost gotten seriously injured. But if he caught the animal he could eat some of it and take the rest back to camp to get ready for the trip back to the city. Weighing his options he finally decided to check out the boar before settling on whether to try and hunt it or not. Following the scent trail he stalked the other animal carefully as he got closer to it. Peering around the side of a tree he watched the large pig as quietly as possible. Deciding against trying to catch the animal he backed away slowly before trotting off in search of something else. He wasn't comfortable risking himself in pursuit of the other animal. By the end of the day he had finally managed to catch two rabbits. He ate one of them and then carried the other back to camp. He dressed the rabbit down and smoked the meat over the fire. Wrapping it up in skin he added it to his underground pile. Washing up at the river he doused the fire on his way back by it and then shifted in to his wolf form to get some sleep curled up in the tent.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 86th Winter, 514 AV Waking as he usually did with the morning light he stretched out with a soft groan and then left the tent. He had decided that he would search out some breakfast before he broke camp. He was hungry and still had a little hope that he would find something worth taking the extra time to smoke it. As he trotted along he suddenly ran across the smell of a herd of deer. Turning in his tracks he trotted forward quickly in pursuit of them. When he located them he crouched hidden behind a tree and searched for a viable target. He couldn't see any that were visibly impaired so he decided to just run in and see what he could get. Before he could though the scent of other wolves reached his nose. Slinking down against the tree it suddenly made sense why he had so much trouble locating more deer, they were constantly moving to try and avoid the pack of predators that was on the roam. The herd caught the scent of the other wolves as well and took off running away from them. They were coming in from in front of him so he suddenly had deer rushing at him. Whirling around he bolted out in front of the running deer. Not only did he have to outrun the deer but he had to outrun the other wolves. Packs didn't tend to take kindly to lone males in their territory so he knew he had to stay away from them. Darting off to the side as the deer started to catch up to him he heard the pack take down one of the slower ones behind him. Deciding to take advantage of the situation he ran alongside the fleeing deer and when one of them strayed close enough he lunged and caught it by its flank, taking it down in a flurry of flailing hooves. Jumping out of the way of the hooves he felt one graze his fur. Leaping in he latched down on the animal's neck and killed it. Shifting quickly he grabbed the animal by its back hooves and began hurriedly dragging it out of the area. He didn't want to invite the other wolves to attack him so he knew to vacate the area as quickly as possible. It took him two bells to get the deer back to camp. There he started the fire and went about getting the meat to smoke while munching on the bits he knew the people in the city wouldn't want. When he was done he disposed of the bits he wouldn't eat and the city wouldn't take and then got cleaned up. Back at camp he got dressed, broke down camp, and packed away all the meat into the saddlebags. Dousing the fire before climbing up into the saddle he glanced around to make sure he had everything and then nudged Drifter forward. They made their way back towards the city at a steady pace and didn't stop until the light began to leave the sky. As darkness began to weave its way throughout their surroundings Faolan pulled the horse to a stop and slid out of the saddle. Setting up camp again he curled up inside his blanket and slept. It wasn't an easy sleep as he was paranoid about the pack of wolves and the cold kept waking him up.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 87th Winter, 514 AV Getting up just as the horizon began to brighten he broke down camp. He had everything packed up and was pulling himself up onto the saddle as his surroundings were saturated with morning light. Drifter started walking in the direction Faolan directed him in and they spent the entire day making their way back to the city. He dropped Drifter off at the stables and just managed to catch the last ferry back into the city. He would have to store his meat in his room until the morning when he could go sell it. Sitting down on the ferry he relaxed against the side as they pulled out onto the lake and began their way back to the city. Dozing on and off as he huddled in his cloak against the cool breeze he found that he couldn't wait to get back to his room where he would be warm and able to get some good sleep. That had never happened before, he always had to drag himself back to the city after a hunting trip because he wanted to be out in the woods. Chalking it up to the cold he curled closer to himself before they arrived. Once back at the city he grabbed his things and went back to his room; another hunting trip successfully completed.