Affairs of the Hart (Kell/Jaeden)

[Kell Northwind]

67th day of Winter, 509 AV

This had better be worth it!

Kell’s inner monolog had been alternating between elation that he had managed to follow the tracks for so long, and a growing despair that he was going to starve to death before he caught up with whatever dinner was making this trail, probably a deer if the hoof prints were any indication. Having been following the signs of his elusive prey’s passage for over a Bell now, Kell’s spirits were once again taking a turn for the worst. For the twentieth time he contemplated returning to the traveling rations tucked safely away in Stormrunner’s saddlebags. Oh I bet she’s having a lovely feast right about now, he moaned inwardly, thinking of the mare blissfully grazing in the clearing where he had left her. He had finally stomached the idea of settling for the rations, again, when movement in his peripheral vision tensed his whole body. He cautiously turned his head. Sure enough, there was definitely something moving between the barren branches. Had it not been winter he probably would have missed it. He slowly crept his way to a large oak, and stealthily peaked around it. What he saw took his breath away. Pawing at the ground just a hundred paces away was the biggest hart the Kell had ever seen. Muscles rippled as the beast casually grazed the forest floor, oblivious to Kell’s presence. Its rust colored hide almost shown as the rays of the setting sun pierced through the trees to land upon the hart. And atop its head, Kell counted a full fourteen points.

As slowly as he could, Kell drew an arrow from his quiver and fitted it to the bowstring of his Longbow. While not as practical for woods hunting as its shorter cousin, the bow had stood Kell in good stead for years on the Sea of Grass and he was loath to give it up. Silently, Kell offered up a prayer to Zulrav that the magnificent animal had appeared up wind of him and was thus unlikely to catch his sent. With practiced ease, he drew the fletching to his cheek in a single, fluid motion. Kell sighted down the shaft, aiming just behind the hart’s fore shoulder, at where he knew the heart to be. At a hundred paces, a longbow could pierce a steel breastplate, and Kell found solace in knowing that death would be nearly instantaneous for the wonderful creature. Offering a silent blessing for the hart’s soul, Kell loosed.

“SNAP!” Off in the distance a twig snapped or a branch fell or any other myriad of forest sounds. The Hart flinched from the noise

“TWANG!” The bowstring vibrated against Kell’s wrist as the arrow went speeding on its lethal course.

“THWACK!” The arrow soared over the flinching animal’s shoulder blades to bury itself in a birch tree. The hart, alerted that it was no longer alone tore off through the brush at a speed Kell could not even hope to match. With a sigh he walked over to the birch tree to retrieve his arrow. A close look revealed that the force of the impact had split the shaft almost its entire length. “Stravag!” he cursed. Good arrows were expensive and hard to come by. Beautiful or not, that hart had cost him one of his precious arrows, the least it could do was provide him with some dinner. Leaving the splintered shaft embedded in the tree, Kell resumed the hunt. At least the fleeing beast had left him an easy trail to follow.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden released a long exhale of fogged breath as he took slow steps along the snow covered ground, as that slight crunching sound that echoed under his foot seemed to be the only thing that broke the silence in his travels. He had set up snares for small game all over the area he walked a couple of hours ago, and none had bore fruit thus far. "I hate hunting in the winter," Jaeden muttered under his breath.

As he was going to check on his last trap, he heard a thumping sound along the ground drawing near. Looking up, he saw a large hart running fast through the woods towards him. As the hart, in turn, noticed Jaeden, it veered from it's current course, curving it's run to the left slightly. The direction it was now heading, was not lost on Jaeden as he held up his head, repeatedly and in increasing volume saying, "Wait, wait, wait, wait!"

The plead was not understood, and so, as the hart went trampling between two trees, the last of Jaeden's snares was tripped by the hart's front hoof, and torn effortlessly from it's spot. While it was obviously empty, it didn't change the fact that the snare was now being dragged off by the hart. Jaeden's hands rested along his waist for a moment as his gaze dropped to the ground in disappointment. "Yeah, that makes sense," Jaeden remarked.

Jaeden then simply made his way over towards the tracks that the hart had left behind in it's trample. He crouched down slightly, observing their size, shape and how deep and indentation in the snow they made. The space that between each tracks was also important, because it would give Jaeden an idea of when it had finally stop running.

Hopefully, he would find his snare kicked off somewhere nearby before that point, and he wouldn't have to track the hart all the way to where it stopped. He didn't have the ideal weapon or equipment needed for taking down prey of it's size, but in the end, he still needed his snare back.

[Kell Northwind]

Kell trotted through the forest at a measured pace. He could have sprinted after the fleeing hart but that made it much easier to miss if the animal veered off somewhere. Kell had spent some very hungry nights before he had learned this. So instead he trotted, and kept a close eye upon the trial the hart had crushed through the brush, looking for signs that it had slowed. Wild animals, Kell knew, only fled as far as they had to. Once the predator was out of sight it quickly went out of mind as well. Unless something else spooked it, the beast would slow soon, either to resume its meal or find a place to rehydrate after the run. At one point during the chase Kell thought he heard someone shouting but dismissed it as the wind and his imagination.

Even paying as close attention as he was, he still almost missed where the track suddenly took a sharp left. Kell stopped to examining the tracks more thoroughly. It appeared that the hart had kept up its headlong flight despite the change of direction. Kell muttered a curse under his breath. Deer and antelope always flee in a direct path away from the perceived threat. That the Hart had maintained its flight while changing direction meant that it was no longer running from Kell. Sure enough, a quick search confirmed that there were other prints in the snow. They weren’t animal tracks though. From where he stood Kell could make out a dozen boot prints. A short distance down the trail Kell found what he was hoping not to. One of the hart’s hoof prints was partially obscured by the unknown person’s boot print. Whoever Kell’s mysterious companion was, he was now tracking Kell’s hart as well.

Judging by the size of the boot print, the person was large. Much bigger than Kell at least and that made him uneasy. Travelers stayed to the roads while crossing the dangerous Wildlands, for someone to be so far off the beaten path they would have to be either a bandit or professional hunter and tracker. If they were a bandit, they were probably just looking for dinner, though they would surely try to rob Kell once they discovered his presence. Worse, a hunter would be looking to collect the Hart for himself and if he downed it before Kell he would claim it as his and there went Kell’s hopes for a belly full of venison. Kell nocked an arrow against the former and quickened his pace against the latter. At least the humanoids trail would be easier to follow.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden crouched down removing the glove from his right hand before slightly grazing the tips of his fingers over one of the hart's tracks along the snow. Pieces of the snow slowly shifted as he did so. The cold of the winter hadn't yet caused the snow of the track to become a little more solid, indicating the track was remotely fresh. By how long, though, Jaeden wasn't sure. It wasn't far off though.

Jaeden stood himself up strait once again, slipping the glove back onto his hand. He slowed his own pace of walking as he continued to follow the trail, looking up now every few paces. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out a small stick of dried beef and took a small bite before slipping the remainder back into his pocket. He was beginning to run low and would likely have to travel to the nearest settlement in hopes of trading for more. He didn't like the idea, but hunting in winter was always a tad more difficult. A great deal of the small game this time of season was always more scarce.

A short time more had passed before Jaeden slowly looked up. Standing several hundred paces away, Jaeden saw the Hart, and immediately stepped off behind the nearest tree, poking his head out just slightly to observe. His gaze first traveled down to it's front legs before quickly spotting the one it repeatedly stomped at the ground with. The snare was still attached and the Hart tried to wrest it free with it's stomping.

Jaeden turned slightly, his back resting up along the tree as his eyes closed and he released a silent exhale over the misfortune. He had his sword, but even if he tried to sneak up on the Hart, it would most likely sense him and run before he even got close. One top of that, even if he did manage to get close enough, the beast was quite large, there would be no way he would be able to bring it down without serious injury if he managed to bring it down at all. Such wouldn't be worth it just to get a snare back.

Jaeden began to weigh his options, his most likely chance of success would simply be to stalk it and wait until the Hart slept, but he had no idea when that would be. Thinking further, he realized that was his best option for getting his snare back, the only other being cutting his losses and just buying the materials to make a new snare, which was a better option than trying to get his first one back, considering the fact that the twine for the snare was getting damaged by the Hart's stomping.

Jaeden continued to lean along the tree, finally opening his eyes before peeking around the tree again. For now, he would observe and follow the Hart. If it didn't move to sleeping grounds within the hour, he would abandon the snare.

[Kell Northwind]

Kell’s elation that the mysterious tracker’s tracks were easy to follow was quickly slipping towards frustration. The overlapping trail contaminated the Hart’s tracks almost completely, which was making it very hard for Kell to judge the Hart’s speed. Kell was forced to slow and examine the few unmarred prints more closely; all the while he could imagine his competition getting closer and closer to snatching his dinner right out from under his nose. It was then that Kell noticed that there was something odd about the tracks one of the forehoofs was making. This piqued Kell’s curiosity but for the time being he had no idea what could be causing the deformity. This was sure to be yet another complication.

A short time later, Kell finally spotted the other pursuer. The other man seemed to be peering around a tree at something deeper in the forest, presumably the hart. Silently Kell assessed the other person through the intervening branches. Kell’s first assumption at the man’s size appeared to be spot on, he was at least half a foot taller than Kell and had plenty of size that Kell guessed probably wasn’t fat. From the back he appeared to be human, though the distance and angle made that in no way a certain thing. Threat assessment; Kell saw a long, straight bladed sword sheathed at his waist, most likely either a longsword or a broadsword like Kell’s own Gale. No other weapons visible, though he didn’t discount the possibility of a concealed threat. Strangely, Kell saw no evidence of a bow or crossbow. That meant he probably wasn’t hunting the hart, and Kell figured that any bandit that survived out here would be at least smart enough to hunt with the proper equipment. The stranger could have been planning to bring down his prey with magic, but all the magic users that Kell had met, albeit that wasn’t many, would never use their gifts so wastefully.

So if he wasn’t planning on taking the hart himself, than why was he tracking it? The only way to find out was to ask. That presented its own set of problems however. How to approach the man without scaring off the hart in the process. Kell couldn’t call out to him, and if he startled the man by mistake the reaction might send Kell’s dinner fleeing once more. Grimacing at all of the unneeded stress this hunting trip had provided, Kell returned the nocked arrow to the quiver sitting opposite Gale on his belt. He judged from the direction the man was looking the approximate location of the hart and angled his path so that his approach to the man was hidden from the animal by the same tree the stranger hid behind. A glint of green caught his eye and gave him and inspiration. The rare conifer tree in these forests was right along his intended path. Using his dagger, Kell cut off a small, green, sprig. It wasn’t an olive branch, but Kell hoped the message would be understood. In his left hand he twisted the longbow so the string was away from him and he held it out to the side, clearly he wasn’t going to be able to fire off a shot with any kind of speed. In his right hand, also held out from his body, he carried the pine branch. He walked towards the man slowly and as silently as he could while remaining upright. Not trying to sneak up, but also not wanting to scare off the hart beyond. Though the snow underfoot would alert the man to Kell’s presence anyway. Of course, if the man really was a bandit, Kell was setting himself up quite nicely for a world of hurt.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden, stood and watched silently as the Hart continued to stomp it's food along the ground in an effort to remove the snared it had picked up in it's retreat. Fogged breath slowly seeped out from his nostrils as he frowned slightly, wondering how badly damaged the snare already was.

His ear then twitched slightly as he heard the silent crunch of snow being crushed beneath one's foot. His right hand slowly slid up to his waist first as fingertips slowly caressed the hilt of his sword, his head slowly turning. Finally, his gaze fell upon a man slowly approaching. In one hand, Jaeden first noticed the bow he carried. The length of it nearly stretching the height of the man who carried it. The string was pointed out towards him, so it was obviously no threat unless he planned on beating Jaeden with the hard wood of the bow itself.

In the other hand, Jaeden noticed the pine branch, extended slightly ahead of him. Jaeden was confused over this. Pine wasn't really an edible plant, and it certainly wasn't a weapon of any sort. In the end, Jaeden simply dismissed this, as his gaze fell to the man's own. "Yes?" he said silently when the man was close enough to hear a quiet whisper, his fingertips still resting along the hilt of his sword.

[Kell Northwind]

Kell stopped just within whispering distance of the man; eye’s warily watching the fingers resting on the sword hilt. His own hand itched to be grasping Gale’s twined grip. “Um, hi,” he whispered back. “I was just wondering if there was any particular reason you were stalking Dinner.” With the tip of his bow he pointed lazily off in the general direction of the hart. His eyes again flicked down to the fingers caressing the sword. “You should stop that,” he added, nodding down at the hand, “fighting would just scare Dinner away and I will refuse to be your friend if you make me have to track down Dinner all over again.” He realized that he still had the pine bough proffered before him. Kell looked at it for a second; he must look kind of silly. Looking back up to the man he grinned sheepishly and with a shrug, tossed the branch over his shoulder.

“So, um, you won’t interfere much if I go over that way and convince Dinner that it wants to be dinner, will you?” Kell asked, once more gesturing in the hart’s direction. “You see, I’ve been tracking him for almost two bells now and I am really, really really sick of traveler’s rations.” Kell’s face lit up with a thought. “I’ll share,” he tempted.

“Oh yeah!” He added, almost as an afterthought, “you not one of those nasty bandit folk that rob and kill unsuspecting folk like me right?” Kell thought about it a bit more and then shrugged. “Never mind. Doesn’t matter really. Just do me a favor and wait for me to get myself a belly full of Dinner before you run me through will ya? Thanks a bunch”

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden observed the man as he asked one question after another. His gaze followed the motion he made with his bow, but he didn't look away. After another moment he followed the motion of the pine branch being tossed over the man's shoulder before he began making motions towards the hart once again with the tip of his bow.

Finally, after he had finished, Jaeden simply released a sigh as his right hand fell from reach of his sword, slipping to the bark of the tree again. "You always ramble this much when you first meet someone?" Jaeden simply said looking back towards the hart.

A slow shake of his head was then given as he glanced back at the other hunter. "I wasn't after big game, I was tracking and trapping small game for the better part of today with little luck," Jaeden explained. "Even less lucky, your quarry simply snagged the last of my snares as he was running from something."

Jaeden then took a lean along the tree once again. "I was simply weighing my options for getting my snare back, none of which were any good," Jaeden then said. "If you feel you can bring it down, then by all means, have at it."

[Kell Northwind]

Kell’s head cocked to the left as he puzzled over the man’s words, “Who’s rambling?” he asked glad he wasn’t going to have to return to Stormrunner empty handed, and even gladder that he wasn’t going to return to her bleeding. “Now then,” he whispered, “let’s get you back your snare.” Kell brushed by the man to take up the spot he had been occupying when Kell had first seen him. “Name’s Kell” he offered up over his shoulder . Sure enough, there was the hart, still struggling with the snare caught around its leg. “Now the would explain those deformed tracks,” he muttered to himself. Kell licked a finger and tested the wind. A slight breeze blowing north to south, leaving him neither up nor down wind. Best to take the shot now lest the winds change and the beast get a whiff of their presence.

Kell drew two shafts out from his quiver. One he stuck in the ground before him, the other he nocked to the bowstring. The branches crisscrossing between Kell and the hart were going to make this a difficult shot and Kell wanted to have a spare arrow ready in case the first failed to bring the beast down. Steadying his breathing, Kell drew on the inhale, pulling the fletching to his cheek in one fluid motion. He held his breath as he sighted down the shaft looking for a clear line through the branches to the hart’s heart, held the line for three heartbeats and the loosed on the exhale. As soon as the arrow was away, Kell pulled the second shaft from the ground and had the string pulled taunt to his cheek again as the first arrow reached its target.

The first arrow sailed a little high off the bow and as a result the fletching clipped a small branch, skewing the arrow’s flight path. Instead of sliding into the gap between the hart’s foreshoulder and rib, it slammed into the muscle of the animal’s upper foreleg. The impact slightly staggered the hart but was by no means fatal. Letting out a bellow of pain, the animal quickly recovered and tried to bound off, but when placed it’s considerable weight onto the pierced leg the pain caused the muscle to spasm and the hart took a head first dive to the ground. It had just scrambled back to its feet, heavily favoring its injured leg, when the Kell’s second arrow found its way between the third and fourth rib where it nicked a lung and severed the aortic artery. The powerful animal managed to get three limping leaps before collapsing to the ground.

Kell approached the felled hart cautiously. A post mortum muscle twitch could still shatter bone or gore an unwary hunter on the mighty antlers. The once white snow was now churned with mud and blood. Kell let out a curse as he saw that the beast’s fall had snapped both his arrows. The hart was even bigger up close than Kell had realized. He wasn’t going to be able to haul the carcass back to the clearing in which Stormrunner awaited him. Looked like he was camping here then. Kell through back his head and gave a piercing whistle. One long note that started low rose to a high pitch followed by three short, shrill bursts. He turned back in the direction of his companion, once more gesturing with the bow “cleaning?” he called pointing at the downed hart, “or fire?” he swept the bow in a circle, indicating the woods around them, offering the man his choice of the tasks. It never crossed Kell’s mind that the man might just want to collect his snare and leave. He just assumed he’d be staying.

[Jaeden Kincade]

Jaeden leaned along the tree, observing quietly as Kell prepped his shot. A hand slowly reached up, rubbing a slight itch that had risen in the side of his face as a fogged breath was exhaled. He then narrowed his eyes as the first shot was loosed.

It traveled fast, brushing along the tip of a nearby branch, causing to veer off course slightly. The arrow still managed to find the flesh of the hart, however, staggering it slightly. Such allowed the second arrow, fired quickly after, to find a more vital area of the hart. The animal struggled to live for a short distance before finally falling to the ground.

He had to learn the bow. It would certainly give him more opportunity than using snares for small and medium game. He began moving towards the hart as Kell had went in for his initial inspection. When Kell turned and asked him would he rather clean or set up camp, Jaeden simply shruged. "Depends on whether or not you skin your kills for their hides," Jaeden replied as he observed the hart for a long moment, making sure that any spastic twitching was now over. Jaeden then crouched down, loosening the snare from the hart's forelegs. "I've no skill when it comes to skinning, and would likely ruin the hide itself."

Jaeden then overlooked the snare for a moment, noting sever frayed edges along the surface of the twine that made up the snare. Even if it snagged any pray in the future, it would likely snap after a short struggle. He just sighed in frustration. "Well, can't say that I'm surprised," Jaeden said as he stuffed the snare into his belt pouch, figuring he could use the scrap rope for something in the future.

Jaeden then looked up to the sky, noting the time. "I'll go bundle some timber," Jaeden then just said, "then set up my tent when I get back."

Jaeden then made his way east, grabbing the straps to his backpack and shifting the weight slightly. "Jaeden, by the way," Jaeden then said. "Jaeden Kincade is my name."