Seyp slowly pulled his pack open, rooting through it as he retrieved a small handful of field rations. Having used Auristics for the time he had left him fatigued, and he still had a full day ahead of him.
“I will leave the rest of you to discuss possible options for now.” Seyp then said, his voice barely audible above the sound of heavy rain.
“I will in the mean time begin my observations.”Seyp then slipped his upper vest off, laying it to the ground next to his pack.
“If I have not returned by this time tomorrow, consider me to have perished in the jungle and anything in my living quarters available to all of you as compensation.” Seyp then said as he began trudging through the thick vegetation once again.
His hand began unwrapping the field rations, which consisted of several sliced of dried jerky meat and an assortment of nuts and berries. There was a subtle hint of hunger nagging at his stomach, despite the larger meal he had feasted on before the group had even met up and set out. It was one of the small, small drawbacks to personal magic. And so Seyp feasted once again, hoping the rations he ate would sate him for at least the day, and his energy would return. Already he could feel the strain in his eyes, that dull ache that seemed to linger just behind the eyes themselves, forcing him to want to just shut them and sleep for a while. He had work to do, however, and he could not waste the day.
As he came up to the nesting grounds once again, crawling on his belly as he had previous times, Seyp began to contemplate ways of gaining reactions from the Kisthkin. He contemplated such as he began to observe them, especially the Alpha now, in natural behavior and surroundings. The first bell went by with nothing more than just simple grooming, sleeping and eating. Most of them ate the natural wild berries or vegetation that would give them sustenance. A lucky Kisthkin would find a large beetle to feast on, while others caught small rodents or other mammals. Overall, the animal was omnivorous, and not very picky.
The next hour found Seyp casually moving around the perimeter of their nesting grounds, making various animal calls, and then gauging their reaction to it. It was often the same thing, no matter the type of predatory animal he tried to mimic. Several warning cries would be echoed out among the troupe as all of them would begin to climb the trees, the alpha standing guard for the incoming predators. On one occasion, Seyp sacrificed one of his throwing knifes, throwing it strait down at the alpha as it imbedded into the ground, causing him to shift back a couple of steps before thrashing at it, knocking it aside in almost confusion before finally taking to the trees itself.
One observation that Seyp had finally discovered was the fact that the troupe always sought shelter from the rain, and avoided even shallower puddles that had formed around their nesting grounds. They hated the water, and apart from drinking, often avoided becoming to wet by any means they could. Over half of the day had passed already before Seyp had finally decided on a little rest, dragging himself off the ground and making his way back by another fifteen yards before clawing his way up into one of the trees to keep himself out of reach of a majority of the lad predators. It was likely three bells into sleep that Seyp had caught another stroke of luck. A Myrian tiger had been on the prowl, young and not quite as large as the several he had laid eyes upon back in Taloba. It had charged in, letting out a momentary roar as it began to charge one of the Kisthkin, a younger female of the troupe. But this tiger was still young itself, inexperienced at the hunt. It was the stroke of luck that Seyp needed as he rubbed the fatigue from his eyes quickly, observing as the prey suddenly bolted for the thick vegetation of the jungle, the tiger giving chase, while the others of the troupe made for the trees. The Alpha made its attempt at protection, but instead found itself missing in a leap for the tiger as it sped across the nesting grounds after its prey.
Seyp hadn’t seen it perfectly, but he had noticed every branch, every large leaf that had been pushed aside as the Kisthkin ran along the forest grounds when its attempts for the trees had been blocked by the tiger pouncing. At first, Seyp thought the agile tactics of the prey, as it jumped against the trunks of trees, vaulting itself away as the tiger would come in for a pounce, were nothing more than attempts to lose the tiger, but as the chase continued on, he found the Kisthkin rounding its path, making its way back to the troupe. Before long, it was once again entering the nesting grounds, the tiger close on its heals. It was there that the leaping Alpha found its second attempt successful, as it launched its body at the Myrian tiger, knocking it aside as it stumbled along the ground. The Myrian tiger had turned its attentions to the alpha, roaring in a threatening manner as its previous prey made for the trees. The Alpha swatted at the ground, tearing up earth, fallen tree limbs and rock as if they were no heavier than dry leaves in defiance to the tiger. Eventually, the rest of the troupe began calling out, several of them throwing stones and sticks, fruits and fecal matter, whatever they could at the tiger. Several pieces hit the jungle cat, the predatory beast finding it more of an annoyance than harmful, but eventually leaving all the same.
Seyp continued to observe, watching as the troupe came together once again, each of them silently observing, remaining cautious for a short while before they finally went back into their routine of grooming, eating a napping. With a silent nod, Seyp then descended from the tree and slowly began making his way back to camp.
