Solo Time to Get Lucky.

[Firenze]

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34 Winter, 514 AV

Crouched near a tree Fire watched as a fat little rabbit sat nibbling on some rare greenery that was left lingering in the area. It had hung on for dear life through the fall just to make it through the rough winter blizzard and then be devoured. Her thoughts weren’t much on the little fluffy four legged meal that hopped around nonchalantly, it was more of a temporary entertainment. The animal wasn’t appealing to her, she knew that she could try to catch it and have a small meal but the time and energy that she would spend chasing it would cost her almost as much as the nutrition that it might provide. She was warm where she was lying and it was more appealing. The now rare sunshine blazed through bare branches of trees, most of the leaves a barrier between the forest floor and the blanket of snow on top of it.

She wondered for a moment if her tracks in the snow would have her being the one who was hunted. Would anyone follow her steps? Let them, she growled, they’ll find out quickly what waits for them at the end. Her eyes turning, she surveyed the area to see if there were any visible prints near her. There were some but she hadn’t moved in a while and they were starting to become less noticeable with the sun trying with all its might to melt the snow. Eyes flipped back to the rabbit, but the area where it had sat munching away happily was empty, it made her heart ache a heavy sadness sitting in her chest. The desolate spot with dead trees, bushes and lack of color reminding her of her own life and current situation.

She still had yet to figure out why she no longer felt her connection with her bondmate. Grief was a close friend as of late and she wasn’t too happy about it. It was an unwelcome guest in the home of her heart and she’d like nothing better than to take a swift boot to it and kick it out the door, unfortunately for her it’s dark claws were well anchored and it didn’t appear that it would be leaving anytime soon. Chuffing lightly she sat her head on her paws.

Fire knew she needed to hunt, she needed to gather food as winter had come in full force and didn’t appear that it was going to let up anytime soon. She didn’t have any motivation, the invisible heaviness weighing her down, making every task seem twice as hard as it usually would. Well I can either lay here all day and let myself freeze to death… maybe I’ll become a meal for another animal… At least that way I could be of some use to someone, I’m kind of useless to myself right now. I suppose I don’t really want to die like that though. She didn’t know what made her get up, what made her put one paw in front of the other, maybe some invisible force pushed her or there was a God on her shoulder her keeping her steady, she didn’t know. Her mind felt stuck within in itself, almost as if she were trapped inside of herself, the cage her emotions.

Trudging along she weaved slowly between the trees, the landscape as bleak as herself. Gnarly branches reached out almost as if they were trying to grab her. Once were soft leaves that would brush her, now fingerlike tips caught on her fur.

Others | Firenze | Thoughts

[Firenze]

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Ears perking an unfamiliar sound came toward her. Head turning from right to left she scanned the white floor of the forest trying to figure out where it was coming from. Passing a barely trickling stream that was partially frozen over, the weight of her body making the thin ice groan and crack. Coming around a bed she noticed an alcove, there was blood staining the snow everywhere, it looked as though something had fought pretty hard for it’s dinner.

Tracks littered the ground, human and animal. Stopping for a moment, her head dropping down she sniffed at the compacted snow. Dirt, dead leaves, water… something else… she’d smelled it before on the stinky mange ridden mutts that would roam around Sunberth begging for scraps and hiding in gutters. Dog. It smelled like… dog? What was a dog doing this far into the forest? Most of the domesticated dogs wouldn't come this far to get food where there were plenty of people in town that they could snatch food from. Although the strange track smelled of dog it wasn't quite the same. It was a little more gritty and bloody.

Turning her nose toward the other tracks there was a very apparent boot mark, she only needed to get a quick whiff for her senses to know that it was definitely human. Did the human kill the dog? Or was it the other way around? She didn't see any remaining bits of meat or bone in the area, just lots of blood.

The noise she’d heard earlier came again but it was faint. Skirting the bloody area she made her way toward the alcove on the other side. The cry rang again, softly bouncing off the walls of the small area. Crouching down she scooted as close as she dare to the hole of small cave. Peaking around the corner she scanned the bare floor. There wasn't much snow on the soft dirt, the hangover of the entrance and the direction of the wind keeping it from drifting inside.

Scooting a little closer, the cold brushing her belly, she sniffed the dirt. A deer had either been there or was still there. That made her mouth water and her stomach grumbled. Deer sounded perfect for the dinner menu.

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[Firenze]

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Tongue flicking out, she licked her lips and continued to creep forward while staying low to the ground. She’d never caught a deer before and this felt like it might be the perfect opportunity, especially if it was trapped in the alcove! It was rather shallow and she felt that she would hit the back wall soon. The smell was still faint but she could tell something had been there.

The noise came again, it echoed off the walls and confirmed what Firenze had suspected. There was something definitely inside. She hoped that it was what she was smelling and that it was not something that might try to hurt her. Cringing, Fire didn’t want to think about having an injury or illness during the winter that had been proving that it was going to be brutal and unforgiving.

Scooting as far in as her large frame would let her, she reached a paw out and swiped at roots that hung down limply from the ceiling. Unable to tell if there was anything hiding within, her body blocking the light that was coming in from the entrance. Stretching her legs out, she laid them against the ground as flat as she could to try to make herself as small as possible. Not as little as she’d been a year ago was starting to hinder her being able to reach spaces that she could access before. Her tail lay flat on the ground between her legs, her hips parallel she reached out with her front paws and sank her claws into the soft soil. The smell it kicked up brought the memory of spring, a few long winter months away. Dismissing the thought that would only make her long for something that wasn’t around, like something else she didn’t want to think of.

Muscles bunches in her arms as she pulled, trying to drag her body forward to give herself some reach into the cave and move to let more light in so that she could use the light to see into the dark crevices that even her improved vision was having difficulty inspecting.

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[Firenze]

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There, in the back of the small cave, a little body cowered. Sniffing toward it she picked up the tinge of blood, dirt and the scent of the fawn. If she could get at it then it would be one of the larger meals that she’d manage to catch. Pausing for a moment Fire wondered why the fawn would have the smell of blood on it. Was it the same blood that she’d found before?

Backing out, her front legs pushing against the soft dirt, her large frame wiggling through the entrance. She sat, almost as if she were guarding what she’d found, her head moved around as she scanned the area. Drips of blood were trickled here and there in the soft snow. A bootprint.. blood.. and a lone fawn. It seemed to her that something or someone had already been here hunting. If the little one was tucked away inside, where was it’s mother? Was that what was hunted?

Lifting her heavy frame Fire moved around the area, searching the ground and immediate area. A few ticks out from the entrance a small alcove of bare trees were grouped together tightly. Rounding one of the trucks she noticed a pair of boots. Eyes followed the boots to legs and then the body of a man face down in the snow. Stopping in her tracks, ears perked forward, she watched the body for a moment to see if it would move. Fire didn’t want to go from being the hunter to the hunted.

A few ticks passed and the body didn’t move, the chest never rose or fell. Inching forward slowly, she sniffed at it and nudged with her nose trying to flip it over. The weight of the body and the stiffness from being in the cold made it impossible for her to move it. As she sniffed though she could smell that same rustiness of the blood. She couldn’t tell if it was from the body or something else, blood always seemed to smell the same no matter the animal… or human.

Inspecting the body from the backside, there were slashes at the bottom of the pants and across the shoulder of the jacket. A knife was halfway hidden underneath the body and there was some blood spots in the snow. Stepping a little closer, she looked at the bottom of the pants and the claw marks seemed vaguely familiar.

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[Firenze]

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Stepping back, she paced trying to place where she’d seen marks like that before. Pausing, her head swiveled toward her hip. A bear. Shyke. Long red scars wove along her hip and up her midsection. If there was a bear in the area and blood was all over the place it may come back. She wouldn’t be able to do anything with the body but Fire hoped that she might be able to get the fawn before the bear returned.

Walking back to the alcove she sighed, slightly bummed that she’d found the human instead of the larger deer. Eating human just didn’t sit well with her considering she could shift to be one, eating deer sounded much more preferable. Although, she wouldn’t be able to feast on leftovers from the large one she still had the smaller one… unless the bear didn’t take the deer? Had it? It hadn’t been near the body or the fawn and even though the dark blood was stark against the white of the ground it was spattered everywhere and kind of difficult to tell where one trail began and another ended. Tracks were all over in the snow, so that wasn’t much help either.

Fire made her way through the trees, heavy paws crunched through the cold terrain. Wanting to make sure that dinner hadn’t escaped. As it came into few, a slightly breeze blew, ruffling her fur but also bringing the scent of something. She couldn’t tell where the smell was coming from, but it was similar to that of the blood. What is with all this blood!?

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[Firenze]

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She looked up, watching. There were no leaves to help her figure out which the way was actually blowing and the branches didn’t help much. Licking her lips and nose, she waited for the breeze again. Hoping that she’d be able to tell which side it was blowing by where it hit her wet nose first. Sporadic, the wind didn’t blow again for a few chimes. The next gust not as strong as the last it still hit the wetness of her nose. The right side became cold quickly and the left not as fast. It still seemed like both sides had been touched by the breeze but she hoped that the right side becoming cold quicker meant it was blowing from that side.

Turning, rubbing her nose on her fur, she grunted and padded in the direction she hoped the blood was coming from. Looking over her shoulder she debated following the off chance of finding the larger deer or going back for the small one. A huff and then a low growl the tug-of-war finally ended with her taking her chances.

Sniffing every so often, especially when the wind blew, she’d close her eyes. This way, the smell wasn’t as strong… That way? Stronger. Let’s go that way. Passing an area where a scuffle seemed to have taken place, prints and flattened snow littered the ground. A whiff of a nearby print, that same scent that she’d smell before. The one of the mangy dogs on the streets. Is that what bear smelled of? Is that why she couldn’t quite place it? Fire couldn’t remember what the one that she’d encountered before smelled like, the night that she’d fought with it a long blur.

Stopping, she sat down a moment. An overwhelming grief radiated from her chest in the direction of her heart. Tears welled in her eyes. I low painful roar escaped her lips as memories from that night flooded her mind. It was the first time she’d met Dor’gen, he’d saved her life. Fire wasn’t sure if she wouldn’t been able to take on the bear alone, but some how he’d shown up.... and just as quickly as he came into her life, he was gone.

Confusion, pain and anger rushed through her head, shaking it she tried to clear her thoughts. Eyes squeezed tight, her top canines showing, the tears dripped. Golden orbs shone glassy when she opened them up, glancing up. Slowly, the pain receded and a dull ache settled in. She could live with the dull ache, it’ll always be there, but she could live with it.

Others | Firenze | Thoughts

[Firenze]

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She pushed against the hurt and feeling of abandonment, forcing herself to continue to move. A sniff, another shift in direction. Eventually she found herself walking near the stream that she’d bathe in when it was warm out. A red tinge flowed slowly along it under the pockets of ice. Following against the current, she picked her way, not afraid to accidentally fall in since the stream was only a trickle.

In the distance she could see it, a carcass laid on the ground near the water. Crouching she forgot briefly of the ache she carried and worried if the bear was in the area, still eating. A single bird who dared to face winter's harshness twittered. Everything else was silent. Pure silence.

Unsure if that was a good thing that it was so quiet or a bad thing she continued her wait. A few moments ticked by and she hadn’t heard anything move or make noise. Slowly she lifted her paws as carefully as she could and set them down a gently as possible. Her body still crouched toward the ground. Eyes on the meat in front of her, she glanced around every so often to make sure nothing was coming back for it or after her.

Luck must have been on her side as she reached the carcass and sniffed for it she found the large deer that she had been hoping for. Slightly glad that she wouldn’t have to eat the smaller one so that it could grow and eventually become a larger meal for later in the year. The one on the ground in front of her had been torn up quite a bit, but there was still some meat that was left.

Inspecting in the insides, the cold settled into the meat it still appeared to be fairly fresh, she began her meal, the dead man forgotten, the fawn forgotten… her pain waiting at the sidelines.

Others | Firenze | Thoughts

[Sayana]

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request. If there's anything I may have missed, please PM me and I'll be happy to look into it.

 

Firenze

Skills

• Observation: 4
• Tracking: 5
• Hunting: 4
• Land Navigation: 3
• Investigation: 3
• Wilderness survival: 1
• Endurance: 2

Lores

• Tracking: Scent of dog
• Tracking: Scent of deer
• Tracking: Boot prints
• Tracking: Following blood
• Wilderness Survival: Identifying bear scratches
• Investigation: Examine body for hints at the cause of death
• Land Navigation: Picking out landmarks like streams
• Hunting: Tracking down a dead but fresh carcass

Comments: Lovely thread. I liked seeing the whole mishapped scene laid out like that in the bloodied snow. However, one thing that jarred me out of the scene was a mention of a gun lying next to the dead man. Mizahar doesn't have any firearms and thus wouldn't have such a weapon for hunting.

Your Grader,

Sayana

Boxcode design: Firenze