Turkey Time

[Ixzo]

61st of Autumn, 515AV
Early Morning
Leads into this thread.

Ixzo looked forward to the early morning hunt. She had slowly begun shifting her sleep to allow herself to wake up early. It was still tough for the thin cat to adjust back to a daylight schedule when her dark pelt allowed her to better hunt at night. Yet before the sun rose, Ixzo had dragged herself from her tent, making her way out into the early morning darkness.

She was hunting again today. This time, Ixzo knew what she was looking for however. The Kelvic had taken a break from hunting. Even on her own, in the wild, she hadn't been able to hunt every day. Scavenging, although not preferable, was easier for the larger lion who had little issue scaring away the coyotes for her own meal.

So perhaps her diet was getting better now that she had the choice between human food and fresh meat, scavenging was not a necessity much longer. Yet, today, she had a purpose. She had never hunted birds before, and after watching the flock on the edge of Endrykas the day before, Ixzo thought to try her luck. She wondered, at the time, why no one had hunted the turkeys that wandered too closely to the city, because surely that was her intent. Yet as the lion returned to her hunting spot at the banks of her favorite stream, she realized it would take some effort to find the turkeys.

She had seen them maybe ten bells prior, returning to her camp from work. And although it wasn't hard to follow them to the cover that the low shrubbery allowed near the stream, she quickly realized it would be an effort to go from there. The dropping of feathers and dung had dispersed, which to her meant that perhaps the flock had moved with greater intent. Likely not wanting to get caught by the stream. Smart creatures. But Ixzo was determined to not be shaken from their trail so easily, and circled back to where she last picked up the scent.

Lowering her face to the dry grass, Ixzo sucked in a breathe, filling her nostrils with the oily dusty smell of turkey feathers once more. If she hadn't already seen the creatures she was following, she might not have understood the foreign smell. But since she had spotted them in Endrykas, she had the luxury to ask what birds they were.

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Ixzo]

It took some searching before she picked up their trail again. She wanted to say that it was hard to find because they had been scattered by something, but it was more likely that she lost the one thing she relied on to track, the scent. Birds were not like buffalo, there was no trampling in the grass to find, however they did leave marks on the ground. After prowling in circles trying to pick the scent back up, she realized that the ground seemed to be riddled with holes. Concentrated in some areas, the dry grass had been turned up to show the topmost roots to the moonlight. They must have done it in the afternoon.

Keeping her eyes glued to the ground, Ixzo quickly found the scent once more, as she reached the other side of the feeding ground. But when she heard a noise that distracted her from her search, the cat looked up. Wide silver eyes realized the figured that lay among the shrubbery in front of her. She had caught up to them. She was already crouched, staying close to the ground for the scent. And with the dawn shade, she didn't need to worry about her pelt in the golden background of autumn, which would have surely given her carelessness away in the daylight. Ixzo froze, cat eyes watching the birds that were looking for her. She had been too loud and now they were tensed, looking for the source of her noise.

Perfect. Of all the creatures to sneak up on, these stupid over-sized chickens seemed the hardest.

The lioness settled into her crouch, spreading her weight across her shoulders and hips so that she could settle in for the wait. She wanted more than one, and the only way to do that was the element of surprise. She was hungry this morning.

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Ixzo]

Much to the lion's surprise, it didn't take long to sit and wait before the stupid bird had forgotten about her. She couldn't have been more than twenty feet away with only grass to cover her. The wind was stagnant, so it was neither in her favor or theirs, but as the sun was beginning to rise, she would soon be quite obvious, crouched in the tall golden grass. Yet, the bird pecked away. He and his flock seemed to be lounging in the shrubbery, picking at the bushes, but otherwise staying relatively lethargic, even in the early morning when most animals awoke for the day.

Deciding it was time to take her chances, Ixzo heaved herself back into a crouch, tail flicking behind her as she tried to think of how to take down these birds. They were heavy, and likely would not take off with ease, but then wouldn't Caiyha have given them fast feet? She pondered, trying to see more of the 'Turkey' than the tall grass would allow. She couldn't tell, although she doubted a bird's legs would be all that thick either way.

Carefully, she spared a glance for the ground before her. As the vegetation grew drier and drier, it was more important for her to make sure she was not stepping on a twig or stick, anything larger than grass itself. It wasn't that a stick would hurt her paws. The heavily padded lioness paws could handle a prick or two, but it was the noise she was worried about. In the lush rain forests of Falyndar, she didn't often need to worry about the dead vegetation to give her away, but Cyphrus had proven to be far different from her hunting habits at home.

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Ixzo]

Two more flicks of her tail before she gingerly placed one of her paws down. The soft crinkling of dry grass made her ears twitch, but she looked up to see the birds hadn't noticed. Taking advantage of this, she took four quick steps forward, easily taking her forward her whole eight feet in length.

Ixzo slowed but did not pause. She wasn't wasting this chance for a surprise. One step… ears perked, listening for the alarm call. Two steps… there was no evidence of the flapping of wings, and any turkey had yet to look her way. Three, four, five… And Ixzo was sprinting. She reached the first bird before the thing could look at her. With a quick snap, she gripped her neck between her strong set of teeth. Unlike her other prey, this creature's neck was no match for her jaws, and she felt the gleeful crack of bone and cartilage before she had even clamped down completely.

Ixzo dropped the bird then, wide eyes searching for the next. Alarm calls were ringing now, and Ixzo thought she saw something take off into the sky in her rear vision, but she didn't care to pay attention. Whatever it was, it was too small to be one of the large birds she hunted for.

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Ixzo]

They were fast. And surprisingly slim, but still far too big. From afar the feathery creatures looked plump and fat, of which she was excited for. But as the birds scattered from her, she realized that most of what she saw had probably been feathers, fluffed out against the cold. Feathers which were now pinned down as the turkey's fled. Trying to waste no more time with her easy distractions, she lept for the next nearest bird, swiping at it's thin legs with her paws. She succeeded, and the bird stumbled into the ground, diving like it's sister. The agonizing squawking was cut off now as the remaining turkeys escaped her reach. Not letting her current kill get away, she pounced forward once more, almost playfully.

The small prey was exciting as it wobbled back onto thin legs. Curious, she swiped out with her other large paw, batting the creature in the head. Like a drunkard, it wobbled but did not fall. Shifting her weight back onto her haunches, she waited for the thing to regain it's balance, and then quickly it's voice. The gurgled screaming of the strange creature forced Ixzo to pin her ears back from the assaulting sound as it wheeled, trying to get away from her once more. This time when she cupped it's small head, it was to shut the thing up rather than play with it. She pinned the creature to the ground, pushing it's head away from it's body with her massive paws. The maneuvering was not so easy as it would have been with her human hands, but she got the job done. Exposing it's neck, she reached down and clamped this Turkey's neck as well. Again, there was no resistance before the crunch of the neck answered her grasp.

Picking the bird up, she carried it back over to its sister who had quickly lost her life, and sat back down. She had eaten chicken before, always human, always cooked, and she was curious if it would be a similar taste. Although she had never eaten raw chicken, not even as a lion, so she was sure there would be differences.

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Ixzo]

Feathers, for starters. That was the difference she loathed. Ixzo pawed at the turkey's body, yanking out tufts of horrible tasting feathers with her teeth. Skin tore up with the clumps and it very quickly became a mess, since she hadn't bothered to bleed the bird. She just wanted to eat it. Aggravated, Ixzo tore away the feathers, licking them from her whiskers until there was a reasonable gap in the breast of the turkey. Hungry now she dug in, quickly finding an absorb about of cartilage and organs to get past to truly enjoy the meat. She didn't much mind the organs, but they were good meat nonetheless.

She hadn't quite picked the bones clean of her light meal, quickly finding them to splinter and therefore not a task she was willing to undertake. She decided that the Turkey was not her favorite meal. And while she supposed it would be similar to a chicken in her human taste, she didn't think the hassle worth her time as a lion. Unable to do so as a lion, Ixzo grumbled to herself in her thoughts. Some vulture or coyote would take pleasure in her leftovers, but she didn't want to look at the bird any more. Smoothing her rough tongue across her whiskers to wipe away speckles fo blood that interfered with the sensitive feelers, she glanced at the second turkey.

She had been so excited to try the new animal, she had cheekily sought two instead of one, and now she had a second to deal with. Greed didn't allow her to leave it for the scavengers that were sure to follow her small kill, but as the dawn began to fog her eyesight, she decided there would be no waste. Surely the horse people of Endrykas would know what to do with such a bird?

The warm sensation of her bones heating up in preparation for the shift filled her as she began to dislike the early morning haze that her vision took on. Unable to differentiate between night and day her slatted silver eyes couldn't absorb as much information. Lucky for her, a simple shift was her antidote, she wouldn't mind the walk home. Worst case scenario, she fell back to her lioness form if danger arose.

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Ixzo]

For the brief ticks of senselessness that the shift afforded, Ixzo pondered if the Spit Fire would take the turkey. She had never seen birds there before, and usually big game. Creatures much larger than she could take down on her own, but a group of the Drykas would bring in with no issue. She longed for the hunting companionship, of a human. She knew, from observing the Night Lions that ran her off, that her kind was built to hunt in a pride. It made sense, when she thought about it, but Ixzo had never hunted with another cat.

The tigers of the Myrians, which she only barely understood, were solitary creatures in their hunts. Even as a cub, none would take her under their wing, even if they were kind to her because she understood them more so than the Myrians that raised her. But she had hunted with humans before. Her mother, her father, the older Ayatah who she had always looked up to, especially so that the woman was not completely Myrian, like herself. She could hunt with humans in both forms. With her bow, or with her claws, even though she always preferred the latter. And she wished to find one of these strange clans that would understand her to take her with them. The hunter who had followed her in the beginning was not one she wished to engage with.

The Kelvic was not unaware of how some saw her kind, as pets. A race that represented little more than the creature they shared, but only now that they could communicate with. The man had seen her as that. One hunt, and when he took the kill for himself, she refused it again. She was far too prideful to allow anything less than her share of the spoils for her effort. Yet she was cautious enough not to fight too much in the moment, perhaps sparring her the sorrow of the moving city's guards taking interest.


Now human, she stepped out of the cord at her ankle. Nothing more than a small length of rope which allowed her to keep her clothes with her. She had walked into the city bare naked too many times to ignore the reactions. Even if the Drykas were not so uptight as the people of Alvadas or Kenash about clothing, she didn't want to be the one that mothers labeled as 'indecent', however true it might be. With ease, she pulled the stained and dirty shift over her shoulders, looping the rope around her wrist. It would do to get her to her tent where she would change into more appropriate clothes. Grasping the turkey by it's neck she slung the thing over her shoulders and looked up at the sky.

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Ixzo]

There was no sun, moon or even stars to guide her. And being as focused as she was, the lioness hadn't bothered to mark her tracks or recognize a land mark to return her to the waterway where she could find her way. A pang of worry shot through her and her eyebrows furrowed towards her nose as she glanced around. Quickly, she flipped her head back towards where the kill site was, surmising she had at least turned in the right direction, but surely her trail was not straight back to the waterway?

With eye sight that could better handle the haze of the early morning, she looked back at the path before her. Sure enough, the small sections of torn up grass that she had followed to the idiot birds was leading her back. She didn't have the luxury of a strong nose now, so when she reached the end of the physical signs of the turkeys, she looked up at the horizon. She could not see nor hear the babble of the stream, yet as she squinted across the landmarks, she thought she recognized the dip in the grass. Where she stood, the long weed was nearer to her knees than her ankles. But by the waterway, the grass was clipped shorter by the herbivores that frequented it.

She didn't know much of the creatures she hunted, but it was easy to tell they preferred the lusher vegetation to the drier stuff, of which was easily found near the waterways. It was one of the reasons she loved that territory, even if it was overcrowded with the human hunters as well.

With that knowledge, she decided that it would be best to follow the grass that has seen more traffic of herbivores, because it seemed familiar. She didn't much like to be lost, yet she decided this was the best option. She would have to make sure to mark her trail next time.

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Ixzo]

After reaching the waterway, it was beyond easy to return to the moving city, turkey in hand. Like usual, she stopped by her tent in favor of warmer clothes before setting off to the Spit Fire to get what she could for the kill. The Kelvic sincerely didn't expect there to be much, she hardly thought the humans would like the bird much more than she did. Considering she hated it, she assumed they wouldn't be very grateful for her kill that day.

"Ixzo!" The voice of one of the younger apprentices greeted her and the Kelvic grinned at the familiarity. Morning, greetings. She signed in response, looking for the source of the voice. The apprentice couldn't have been quite a teenager yet, mostly doing grunt work for the more experienced skinners and tanners, but she conversed with the child frequently while the masters were busy with her kill. Today, she supposed it would be quick, the bird was large, but simple a bird.

"A turkey?" A shadow of confusion crossed the young Drykas' face as she lifted the bird to place it on the counter of a free skinner. It was unusually clean for her kills, since it hadn't taken much to kill the thing. Only its neck looked messed up. And unlike most of her kills, it had not been bleed out yet.

"Yeesh, making us do all the work today, aren't we?" The skinner turned to her, dragging the turkey by it's foot do spread it out on the table more. He signed something, but Ixzo had turned away by then, glancing out towards the rising sun.


"You give us a good bell and a half, and I will see what we owe you." He spoke to get her attention back. She looked at him and shrugged, she had time. Clean, large[/shadow] and some other signs were procured from his calloused hands as he looked over the kill and Ixzo grinned slightly. At least he hadn't seen the Turkey's brother. She had played with him a bit more before death, so he was not so… clean. She was going to say pretty, but the vile bird was not pretty, merely hard to eat. A soft grimace slashed through her prideful smile.

oocI know this is terribly annoying, but I will have the costs calculated in the next thread (linked at the top of this one). Thanks for the patience!

Myrian | Pavi "Speech" Sign | Common | PC/NPC "Speech" Sign

[Tribal]

G R A D E S

Ixzo

Experience

• Hunting: 5
• Tracking: 2
• Planning: 2
• Observation: 5
• Stealth: 3
• Logic: 3
• Bodybuilding: 1
• Wilderness Survival, Plains: 2
• Endurance: 1
• Land Navigation: 1
• Socialisation: 1

Lore

• Turkeys: Smarter than they look
• Hunting: Ground birds
• The difficulties of tracking birds
• Stealth: Distributing weight evenly across four limbs
• Cyphrus: Dry in summer and fall
• Turkey nesting habits
• Plucking a bird
• Lions hunt in a pride
• Myrian Tigers: Solitary creatures
• Drykas: Comfortable with nudity

Notes

Good stuff :]