[Job]First Hunt in New Land

by **Aranta** on April 20th, 2016, 4:48 pm

31 Spring, 516AV

The sun was just sinking below the horizon when Aranta landed in the Bronze Woods. The Zith had flown from the main part of Syliras with only his harness and a rucksack attached to it, the hunting knife he'd received from his father when he reached the age of maturity resting safely in its sheathe. He much preferred hunting with his claws and teeth, and the butcher in Syliras had said that he wasn't terribly picky about how the meat was killed, so long as it was brought to him in good condition; he had a lot of mouths to feed, he'd said, and he needed to be able to use every bit of every creature that Aranta could bring in for him. So, the Zith had decided to bring the knife along, but for the moment he would probably use his claws when hunting; he got the feeling that, regardless of the butcher's words, the man wouldn't be too happy if he found teeth marks in his meat. Humans were funny that way.

Glancing about, the Zith could already tell that the Bronze Woods were teeming with wildlife from the various sounds that came from the depths of the forest - Aranta was willing to bet that the staples, such as rabbit and deer, would be plentiful. And this time of day, just before nightfall, the rabbits would be wrapping up their foraging, preparing to head back to the burrows. The deer would be preparing to bed down for the night, and Aranta debates with himself for a few moments. If he can bring back a rabbit and a deer, that would prove that he could be a good hunter and encourage the butcher to keep buying his meat. Nodding, the Zith rolls his shoulders before spreading his wings, crouching briefly before jumping up, using his wings to give him an extra boost into the trees; the trunks and branches were too close for Aranta, with his large wingspan. He didn't want to potentially injure a wing; they were his primary method of transportation outside of the city, and if he didn't have them, he wouldn't be able to hunt anywhere nearly as effectively, swooping out of trees to land on top of his prey, either using his claws to sever muscle, blood vessels, and sinew, or to grab their heads and yank in an effort to break their necks.

Aranta carefully makes his way from branch to branch, wings spread slightly as he moves to help him keep his balance; when he needs to move to the next tree, the Zith walks out as far along the branch as he feels comfortable with before pushing off, spreading his wings open to glide to the next tree and land on a branch in it, and then make his way across that tree and on to the next. The Zith makes sure to keep an ear out for any promising noises, and he's been in the forest for nearly half a bell when he hears the sounds of rabbits coming from nearby.

Slowly and carefully lowering himself down a few levels in the tree so that he could see what was happening on the ground, Aranta is careful to test each foothold before placing his full weight there; the last thing he needs is to slip and fall and almost certainly tear a wing on the way down to the forest floor.

by **Aranta** on April 21st, 2016, 12:27 pm

Once he's found a good perch, Aranta peers through the remaining branches and leaves, utilizing his excellent night vision to spot the shape of a few rabbits foraging in the brush below him; there are four there, what looks to be a big buck and a few smaller does, and Aranta considers them carefully. He doesn't want to take the buck; while rabbits breed like, well, rodents, the Zith was taught to always leave the lead male of whatever animal group he was stalking. So that leaves the three does; of them, there is one that is much smaller, and Aranta dismisses that one immediately - she'll be food for some other predator soon, and she wouldn't bring much, if any, coin from the butcher. The other two are decent does, nothing distinct about either one of them to suggest one would be the more favorable kill, and Aranta decides to go for the doe on the left, furthest away from any brush. It will be an easier kill, with less risk to the Zith himself.

Aranta carefully edges himself further along the branch, pausing every so often to judge his distance and angle from the rabbit; when he feels that he's close enough, he stops, pulling in slow, quiet breaths and letting them out just as slowly and quietly, steadying himself for the drop. A breeze comes by, and Aranta freezes - the rabbit below him has sat up, ears twitching as though it's heard something. Cursing silently to himself, Aranta prepares to leap early when -

When the rabbit settles back down. It drops back, ears relaxing, and Aranta relaxes as well. He steadies himself with one hand on the branch as he gathers his legs below him, preparing to push off, and looks around once more to make sure that he knows where the brush is so that he can avoid it. The rabbit isn't exactly in the open, but it's close enough to the brush that if the Zith misses, the rabbit will be gone before he can gather himself for a second attack. The disadvantages of ambushing, Aranta thinks to himself. Then, with a final breath, he doesn't think anymore, falling back on instinct as he lets himself fall from the tree branch.

He lets his wings snap open just in time to break the majority of his fall, controlling the landing; he still lands hard, almost directly on top of the rabbit, but at least he isn't in danger of breaking a knee with the impact. He landed roughly a foot away from the rabbit, and before it can do much more beyond get itself airborne, the Zith makes good use of his sharp eyesight and fast reflexes, letting himself tumble forward to catch his prey in midair. He rolls forward, rabbit - squealing in terror - tucked into his chest, and when he lands on his back, he breaks the rabbit's neck. The squeals cut off abruptly, and Aranta sits up, tilting his head as he listens to the forest around him. The immediate vicinity is eerily quiet, in the way only a forest filled with terrified inhabitants can be; Aranta expected that, since he hadn't been able to make a clean kill, and the rabbit had been able to let out the infamous warning screech. It meant that Aranta would have to travel further into the woods in order to find his next kill, but that was no problem for a creature like himself, who could easily climb above the treetops to make his way home rather than relying on the paths.

Pushing himself to his feet, Aranta brushes the dirt off of himself and his kill before pulling out his knife and making a few cuts intended to drain the rabbit of blood; he'd need to leave it somewhere while he finished hunting, or else the blood would scare off any other potential prey. Rolling his shoulders, the Zith looked around and started thinking.

by **Aranta** on April 25th, 2016, 5:45 pm

Once the rabbit is tucked away in in Aranta's rucksack, bled and gutted(with the guts deposited on the forest floor for the scavengers of the forest to eat), the Zith takes to the trees once again, heading west. He makes his way above the tree tops, choosing to fly in order to make better time; he still has several bells of night left, but it will be easier to find his next prey before it settles down for the night. Aranta was still wanting a deer, and a deer he would have. It was spring, which meant that there would be pregnant does and fawns, which he would leave alone; the Zith would need to find a buck to take down.

After a few chimes, the Zith descends into the trees once more, several hundred yards west of where he'd started from. Aranta carefully makes his way down the tree he'd landed in, climbing down to the lower branches so that he can observe the ground. Low light is nothing to a Zith, who sees the world in shades of grey, aided by the meagre light of the moon. Aranta spends a few moments studying the ground, taking in the different indents in the leaves. When Aranta is satisfied that he's alone, the Zith lets himself drop to the ground to get a better look and perhaps pick up some tracks.

Well, Aranta doesn't pick up any tracks, but once he's down lower, under the muffling cover of the treetops, he does pick up heartbeats. A Zith's hearing is much more acute than any other race's, and it's the work of a moment for Aranta to pinpoint the direction the sounds are coming from. Northwest, he decided, and got to his feet from where he'd been crouching. The heartbeats were relatively loud, which could mean a couple of things. Either a large animal relatively close by, a few medium animals a bit closer, or a small animal right next to him. Aranta ruled out the small animal due to the lack of movement nearby. That left either the medium animals - which the Zith hoped were deer - or the large animal, which... Most large animals that Aranta knew about were solitary, and there were multiple heartbeats.

A small herd, Aranta deduced, debating climbing back up the tree he'd first descended from, but decided against it. If he were to sneak up on a herd, he would need the advantage of stealth. While the Zith himself wasn't sneaky, he could move slowly when hunting. Hopefully, that would be enough to allow him to get a good look at the herd he'd discovered, and pick a good target. If he could get a deer, then that would be enough for the night, and Aranta would take his kills back to Syliras, to be delivered to the butcher who'd hired the Zith.

Straightening, Aranta rolled his head across his shoulders before shrugging them, loosening his muscles in anticipation of the next kill.

by **Aranta** on April 27th, 2016, 2:33 pm

WarningThere's a bit of blood and violence at the end of this post, after Aranta tackles the deer. Just giving a fair warning.

It took approximately fifteen chimes for Aranta to reach the herd of deer that he'd heard through the trees. It would have been sooner, but the Zith had taken his time, picking his way through the leaves and debris that covered the forest floor in an attempt to stay as quiet as possible.

When the Zith finally sees the herd, he can't help but grin to himself; they're all asleep, heartbeats slowed, indicating that not only are they asleep, but they're deeply asleep, providing easy targets for Aranta.

Aranta circles the group of trees that the deer are clustered under and bedded down in the leaves and needles that cover the floor, inspecting each animal. He can spot several does, a couple of them with heavily rounded stomachs indicating that they're going to be giving birth soon, as well as a few young bucks. The does are gathered together with the bucks dotting the ground surrounding them. Aranta ignores the does, focusing his attention the bucks. He needs only one of them, but he needs to make sure that he chooses carefully.

Untying his rucksack, Aranta lays it on the ground; he doesn't want to take the chance that the scent of blood and, fainter, fear, that still clings to the rabbit inside will be enough to rouse the deer even slightly. Bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet, Aranta held his hands and wings out slightly for balance as he crouched down, creeping forward, testing each step before he put his full weight on it.

Unfortunately, Aranta didn't spot the dead branch directly under his next step, when he was only a couple of yards away from his quarry. The branch broke with a SNAP, waking the deer, who struggled to their feet, bleating in fear. Snarling, Aranta abandoned all pretense of stealth, rising from his crouch to sprint along the ground, focusing in on the first buck that he spots. It's younger than he would have chosen, and fast enough that Aranta has to seriously work to catch up with it, but with the help of his wings, he manages to launch himself forward, tackling the deer to the ground. He can hear the sound of bones breaking, and he sincerely hopes it's just legs; if there are bone pieces embedded in the meat, the butcher will pay him less coin.

The deer goes down with a scream, struggling to get out of Aranta's grip, and the Zith reacts off of instinct, teeth going for the throat. Skin and flesh split beneath his jaws, and Aranta yanks his head to the side, ripping out the flesh that he'd bitten down on. The deer gurgles wetly, blood flowing down the fur, and it bleeds out rapidly, heartbeat going crazy-fast before slowing and finally stopping.

Aranta shoves the dead creature off of him, rolling to his feet and wincing. He's got multiple bruises, he can tell, as well as some scratches from the deer's hooves and forest floor debris. Aranta inspects his wings - the rest of his body he doesn't much care about, so long as there's no major damage, but his wings are too important to risk even the slightest tear. If he tries to fly with a tear, it will widen, and if it gets bad enough, it won't heal properly, rendering him unable to fly for the rest of his life. Aranta had seen one of his relatives be permanently grounded, before he'd left his colony, and he never wanted to go through that himself.

There are no tears, no breaks in the bones supporting his wings, and he can't feel any pain in the membranes that connect the bones. Where the wings attach just beside his shoulder blade is a bit sore, but nothing that Aranta can't push through to get himself and his kills back to Syliras. Satisfied, Aranta returns to the fallen deer, pulling out his knife and getting to work prepping it to be carried to the butcher.

by **Aranta** on April 28th, 2016, 1:47 pm

The buck that Aranta had taken down was a decent size; not quite a fully-grown deer, but it was good enough for the Zith to not regret killing it. He would have made use of the buck somehow, if it had been too small to take to the butcher, because the Zith had been raised to never waste what he hunted - or at least, find some way to make use, even if it was just feeding the other predators of the forest. This buck's use, however, was to bring Aranta the coins that he needed in order to continue living in Syliras. He had to pay for his housing, and while he caught most of his own food, there were other things that he needed to purchase. He had many coins saved, but he had been told that it was always good to save more, so that was what he did; he saved his coins.

Aranta hauled the deer back to where he'd left his rucksack; he had to growl and chase off a scavenger who was looking a bit too interested in it, but the rabbit was still there and there was no damage to the rucksack, so Aranta settled for just chasing the scavenger away. He put the rucksack back on, buckling the belt and making sure it was secure. The deer was bled fully, leaving it just a literal dead weight for Aranta to carry back to Syliras, but it was rather heavy. Aranta and his prey were in a clearing at the moment, and there was plenty of space for Aranta to take off, but he wasn't sure how easy it would be to lift the deer along with himself. He'd need to find a way to carry it properly, and unfortunately, the Zith hadn't thought to bring any rope with him on his hunt.

Cursing under his breath to himself, Aranta studied the deer. It did have a couple of broken legs, so carrying it by the legs would be difficult, most likely requiring several landings to readjust his grip. He needed to be balanced while flying, however, and he couldn't keep a good grip on the deer if he slung it over his shoulder, or over his back. So his options were to either risk dropping and potentially losing the deer, or make several landings on the way back to Syliras.

With a sigh, Aranta decided that the latter was probably his better choice; if he dropped the deer, more bones would break, and right now the deer was in rough enough condition that Aranta was sure that he would lose a few mizas over it. The legs did not matter overly much, so the Zith could use his claws to help keep a good grip on his kill as he flew over the Bronze Woods and back to Syliras. Dragging the deer to one end of the clearing, Aranta rolled it onto its back and gathered the front legs in one hand and the backlegs in the other, squatting down in preparation for takeoff, when it occurred to him that he could carry the deer in his arms. Readjusting himself and the deer, the Zith took off; the carcass was now held in his arms the way that one would carry an incapacitated human. As he moved above the treetops, adjusting himself in order to stay balanced, Aranta could see the first fingers of the dawn light, and nodded in satisfaction, enjoying the breeze over his fur; he would reach Syliras shortly after dawn, and by the time he hauled his kills into the city, the butcher should be up and ready to receive them.

His first hunt was a success.

by **Konrad Venger** on September 11th, 2016, 1:06 am

Nice job! Your work has pleased The Sloth!

Aranta

XP:
Climbing - 1
Observation - 4
Hunting - 2
Acrobatics - 2
Stealth - 1
Endurance - 1

Lore:
Hunting for Pay: Good Looking Meat
Hunting: Using your Ears in the Darkness
Hunting: Knowing the Habits of Rabbits and Deer
Hunting: Leave the Male to Repopulate the Family
Rabbit Screams Warn other Prey
Bleeding and Gutting a Rabbit
Go For The Throat (If you Have the Teeth)!
Zith: Wings are All-Important
The Mechanics of Transporting a Deer Carcass

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Solo [Job]First Hunt in New Land