White Tails (Solo)

[Aello]

Fall 1, 511 AV Location: Wilderness Just Outside Ravok Aello sped through the trees, leaping over roots and pushing past low-lying branches as she moved, their gnarled edges dragging across her exposed flesh as she continued onwards, leaving tiny scratches on her pale flesh. Aello's leg muscles kept coiling and uncoiling themselves as she forced them to propel her body forward. Her heels dug into the dirt, leaving deep imprints upon the soil where she had once tread; making it easy for anyone who wished to follow her. But Aello didn't care, she was too busy following the flickering green mist that surrounded three white-tailed deer she had spotted earlier in the day. Too busy trying to keep up, so that their auras would not be lost to the line of trees, much as the animal's bodies had been long ago. Aello's left hand curled around the grip of her father's old bow, her fingers pressing firmly into the wooden frame as a thin sheet of sweat began to form on her palms, causing the grip to feel all the more slippery than it should. Her heart pounded in her tiny rib cage, much as her feet beat against the earth, crunching the first of the year's dried, brown leaves underfoot. Scattering little bits of broken leaf flesh across the earth without giving it much thought. The arrows in her quiver rattled angrily against each other as her body bounced with each of her hurried steps. The feathers that fletched them rocking gently in the wind, producing a nearly inaudible whistling sound as she swept through the forest, desperate to catch up, not giving much thought to whether or not she was making too much noise, and chasing them away. For as far as she knew, the deer had not caught sight of her earlier, and being that she was downwind of them, they weren't likely to smell her coming after them either. The young spiritist kept on running, chasing her prey through the forest as their auras flickered against the brown trunks of several trees. If only they would stop running, she could nock an arrow and take aim. But the majestic creatures seemed to be enjoying their run through the forest too much to stop anytime soon. The way it allowed them to stretch their legs, to feel the wind in their faces as the tiny brown hairs that covered their bodies danced lightly in the wind. Their ears seemed to twitch as they moved, their muscles seeming to pop out of their skin before sinking back into it; to hide behind ivory-colored bone. Their noses sniffed the air, taking in the scent of pine and dirt; familiar and unfamiliar flowers as several drops of salty sweat appeared on their glossy brown coats. Their hearts beat like drums, in tune with Aello's own, the pounding of their hooves against the dirt. They felt free; alone, entirely unaware that they were being chased due to their being somewhat distracted by the temporary state of euphoria they had found themselves in. The herd of deer kept on running for several minutes, as Aello trailed behind. None of the creatures stalled, or slowed down, despite the amount of energy they had been exerting. Each was growing tired, human and beast, but each refused to stop; to give up the run was making them feel just yet. They kept on moving at the same pace, until the deer came to a large clearing in the center of the forest, at which point, they began to slow down before coming to a complete halt. The clearing was surrounded by older trees. Tall ones with thick trunks, and gnarled branches. Branches filled with green leaves, and the occasional yellow one to mark the season change. Slender stalks of green grass stood in the center of the clearing. A few dandelions which had long ago lost their yellow, and become wispy bits of grey lingered here and there, only to be trampled by the deer. The grey flurries burst into a multitude of directions, and were carried by the breeze that swept through the trees. They danced this way and that, before fluttering to the forest floor. The deer seemed to be catching their breath, willing their rapidly beating hearts to relax as they dipped their heads to the grass, and tore up several stalks to munch on. Aello's pace had slowed alongside the creature's and she approached the clearing slowly, ducking behind trees to help remain out of their line of sight as she watched their auras. Stepping over leaves and tree branches so as not to make a sound. When she had reached a point at which she could actually see them, no more than 15 yards away from where the creatures grazed, Aello reached over her shoulder with her right hand. She plucked a raven-feather fletched arrow between her fingertips and brought it forward. Slowly, she turned her father's old bow so that the frame ran from left to right, as opposed to up and down, and threaded the arrow onto the quiver. When the nock had locked itself onto the serving, she heard a low clicking noise, and knew the arrow had taken. Aello wrapped the three middle fingers of her right hand around the arrow. Her middle and ring finger above it, and index finger below it. Slowly, she began to pull the string back as she turned her bow back around, so that the frame ran up and down once more. Her left hand tightened against the grip, as the tip of the arrow knocked lightly against it. The young spiritist began to raise her bow as she continued pulling back on the string, creating a great deal of tension within it. She kept on pulling until it had gone past her right ear, and she had taken up the proper stance- left foot no more than a foot in front of the right, with the left pointing forward, and the right towards the right, so that together, they made a ninety-degree angle. From the waist up, she was turned towards the right as well. The bowstring creaked as Aello held onto it tightly, moving her bow to the left, away from the tree she was hiding behind. If only those deer would quit twitching their tails and walking in circles as they look for the best patch of grass, I could lock onto one of the larger ones. The buck should fetch a nice price on the market, and serve as more than enough to eat tonight, the girl thought as she waited for the perfect moment to strike.

[Aello]

Aello thought she heard a rustling sound coming from behind her, the branches of a low-lying shrub being pushed out of the way as something made its way through. She turned, trying to catch sight of the sound. When nothing presented itself after a few moments, she shrugged it off, and turned back to the deer. They were all standing in the center of the clearing, bunched closely together. Their heads had lifted from the ground, the lips swishing up and down as they ground their last mouthful of grass between their teeth, before swallowing. They strained their necks, doing their best to look over each other as their ears twitched back and forth, trying to pick up on the sound of another's movements through the forest. Aello held her breath, they have just made themselves far easier to kill, she thought, as she willed them not to look in her direction. She inched the bowstring back a little farther, causing it to creak before letting go. The arrow erupted off the string, sending it into a series of wild, rapid vibrations, which produced a low humming sound. The string whacked Aello's left arm, in the space between her elbow and her wrist, causing the skin to sting and grow red. But Aello ignored the pain, in favor of watching her arrow soar towards its mark, pushing past the cool fall air. As it inched closer and closer, the rustling of leaves off in the distance became louder. More hurried. Something was coming, of that Aello was certain. The sound of jaws snapping and a throaty growl reached Aello's ears just moments before the first of the grey-haired wolves leapt out of the underbrush at the three white-tailed deer. Its claws were extended, digging into the dirt, as it propelled itself forward, muscles rippling beneath the fur that lined its legs. Its lips were parted slightly, exposing a row of sharp, canine teeth, glistening with saliva in the fall light. Within a couple of strides, it was upon the deer Aello's arrow was headed for. Its claws sank into the deer's flank, tearing its skin and spilling several drops of blood. The deer shrieked as it sank to the ground, the wolf's tail swishing as it sank it's teeth into its side. Aello's arrow soared over their heads, skimming the wolf's right ear, before landing in the clearing a few feet past them. Petch! Why must those things ruin every single one of my hunts? Aello's mind growled as she lowered her bow, and quickly plucked another raven-feather fletched arrow from her quiver. As swiftly as she could, she laced the arrow onto the bowstring, raising her bow as soon as she heard a click, knowing that the arrow had taken. She began to pull back on the string as she raised it, taking aim. She shut her left eye tightly as her heart began to beat even faster than before, pounding against her rib cage as she inched the bow to the right, so that the arrow was aimed at the wolf's neck. As soon as she had locked on, Aello let go of the string, sending the arrow flying. The distracted wolf, who was busy sinking its teeth even more deeply into the deer's side, and raking its claws against its flesh, didn't have so much as a second to duck. Within seconds, the arrow was sinking into its flesh, just above where its right shoulder met its neck. The raven feathers shook with the impact of the arrow, as the wolf let out a surprised yelp, bringing his teeth off the deer. Warm, crimson red blood spurted everywhere, getting tangled into the creature's fur. The deer kicked up against the ground with everything it had, knocking the wolf's head to the side once more, as Aello lowered her bow so that she may load another arrow. The wolf snarled once more, as the buck, who had run off after the wolf's initial attack with the other deer, came thundering back into the clearing. He lowered his head as he charged at the wolf, impaling it with his ivory-colored horns as he ran past. Blood splattered the white horns and dripped off the edges as the wolf's insides were thrown across the clearing. The great beast shook its mighty head as it stormed past, back through the woods, past Aello. Still being chased by another of the wolves, one that the spiritist had not noticed before. Too bad we can't help that one from being killed, Aello thought as she busied herself loading another arrow onto the bowstring. She could hear the injured deer groaning, as it tried to keep itself on its feet. It was losing a lot of blood, and kept falling to the floor as its own blood pooled around it. Better take that one out of its misery, Aello thought as she raised her bow again, and began to pull back on the bowstring. But one of the other wolves had another idea. Its feet pounded behind her, as it propelled itself forward. The girl didn't have time to turn around and shoot before it was upon her. Its claws extended as it leapt for her, its paws pushing against her shoulder-blades, and tackling her to the ground. Aello landed with a muffled thud as her bow was loosed from her hands. It went flying, ahead of her and to the right. The arrow she had nocked twisting in the air before it fell on the bow frame with a gentle, hollow-sounding click. The wolf, seemingly propelled by the momentum he had built up charging her, shot past her, before it sank its paws into the ground, so that it may come to a grinding halt. Aello's entire body was overcome by sharp shooting pains as she forced herself to reach for her cursed dagger, and turn over. She didn't want to move, didn't want to make the pain any worse, but she had to. She knew that if the wolf came back, and she wasn't prepared for it, she'd be sent to Dira a little earlier than planned. She could hear it snarling as her right hand curled around the hilt of the blade and pulled it out. The silver of the blade glinting in the sunlight that made its way through the trees. She was sick of ignoring her pain; of willing herself to fight. She just wanted to stop, to sleep, and then rid the world of every dark creature and being that resided there. But there was no time for that. Before she even had time to turn over completely, the wolf was upon her. Its jaws snapping mere inches from her face, as it stood over her. The only thing keeping it from biting it off were the hands she held up towards it, pressed against its fur, keeping it at bay. The dagger ran against its body, the edge against its chest. If the wolf managed to press itself any lower, its cold touch would be against each of their skin. Aello could not let that happen, she had to slit its throat before it came any closer. OOCThere are three white-tailed deer, and as far as Aello knows, at least 3 wolves, all with grey fur. Only one has been killed, as far as she knows.

[Aello]

OOCWarning: It gets even more violent. The wolf continued to snap at Aello's nose, its teeth inching closer and closer as her arm's wobbled, trying to keep it at bay. Its black nose sniffed the air, sniffed her; trying to remember her scent as its silver whiskers twitched with excitement. It could smell her blood, her excitement and her fear, the birds that so often gathered around her. It could smell the trees, the earth, the scent of her weather-worn weapons clinging to her flesh as its dark eyes widened. She could see herself reflected within them; the hunger in the creature's gaze, its desire to split her skin before it sank its teeth into her warm flesh. Before it dug its teeth into her throat, and ripped her pale skin away. Aello's heartbeat quickened as she continued to fight. As its claws ran across her arms absently, not forcefully enough to break the skin, but enough for the creature to maintain a decent grip upon her. Aello grit her teeth as saliva dripped from the wolf's teeth, glistening in the sunlight as it fell onto her cheeks, trickling down the sides before it made its way into the ground. She could feel its legs surrounding her own, which meant that although they felt choked, she could still move them. As she fought to keep the wolf's lips away, she raised her right leg, so that the knee was bent a little more, before bringing it upwards with all the force she could muster. Her knee struck the wolf just where its hind, right leg met its stomach. The wolf growled at Aello, clearly displeased by her having caused it any sort of pain. The momentary distraction, the infliction of even a minute amount of pain, supplied the young spiritist with just enough time to knee the wolf again, and tip it over. She quickly rolled on top of it, keeping her legs wrapped around the side of its body as it flailed its legs, trying to thrust her off of it. She placed her left hand firmly on its shoulder, trying to keep the creature down as it forced its head upwards, trying to snap at her. She held her back up straight, sitting as tall as she could, so as not to be bitten as the creature kept on fighting. "It's useless you petching beast," Aello growled as she slid her dagger across its neck. The creature's skin split beneath its grey fur, parting just enough to allow a thin trickle of blood to escape. The creature howled in pain, and began to flail all the more furiously, forcing Aello to put both of her hands on its chest, just to maintain her position. The dagger was laying uselessly across its fur, as more blood seeped out, getting tangled in the thick green hairs. "If you quit fighting, your death can be made swift," Aello growled as several beads of sweat trickled down her brow, falling onto the wolf's snout. In the name of Dira, why won't this thing die already? Aello wondered as she lifted her right hand off the creature's fur, and tightened her grip upon the dagger's hilt. She was preparing herself to thrust the blade into the creature's neck when it bucked her so forcefully, that she was thrown from its back, giving the creature just enough time to switch positions with her once more. Damnit Aello! Why is this thing still on top of you? her brain screamed as she grit her teeth, holding the wolf just under its arm pits, its teeth just out of reach of her neck. It should be dead by now, she thought, as her arms trembled, the tip of her blade tapping uselessly against the creature's leg. Maybe if you disable its leg, you could get it off of you permanently, Aello thought, as she brought her knees into her chest once more, and brought her legs together, holding them tightly against each other. In one rapid movement, she brought her right hand off the wolf's fur, and thrust it towards his front right leg. The dagger glimmered in the sunlight, as her left hand shook with the added weight put upon it. As her right hand moved, Aello kicked upwards, against the creature's chest. The force sent the creature's body upwards, as her dagger sank into its flesh, sliding past its ivory-colored bone. Slicing off several grey hairs and a small portion of flesh from its leg. Blood spattered across the young spiritist's face, as the wolf's snapping jaws just missed her nose. She could feel its breath on her cheeks, feel its wet nose slide across her skin as it howled in pain, stumbling to the right side of her body. Aello quickly pulled herself up, and turned to the wolf, thrusting her blade into its flank and causing it to howl even more furiously. That was all the girl needed to pull herself back, before getting to her feet. Time to finish this off, she thought as the wolf turned to her, still snarling. Its eyes were blazing as its lips parted, exposing its sharp canine teeth, dripping with saliva. Waiting to add her blood to the mix. Its body sank closer to the ground, preparing to lunge at her. Aello let her body sink into a crouch, as her grip tightened around the hilt of the blade. She could feel its tip resting on the skin just below her elbow, sending several small chills up the length of her arm; keeping her alert. Come on, try and get me, Aello thought as the wolf finally sprang at her. Aello side-stepped to the left, and brought her right arm down, allowing the tip of her blade to rake across the wolf's back as it ran past. The cut wasn't deep, but it was enough to spill more blood. Aello could smell it now; coupled with the wolf's sweat. Salty and metallic; with a hint of anger, of fear. A small smile crossed Aello's lips as her eyes flashed, they both knew it was over, it was just a matter of when. When Aello would lurch forward and finish it off, bring the creature out of its misery. She could see its legs wobbling now, struggling to support its wiry frame after all the fighting, its loss of blood. Aello waited for a few moments, and when the wolf finally tumbled to the ground, Aello strode over. She bent over it, and extended her left hand to it, grabbing it by a pile of fur between its ears. She pulled it up as she forced her right hand back, before thrusting it into the creature's neck, directly in the center. The space between where the head connected to the body. Fresh, warm red blood squirted everywhere, staining her hands, and making the hilt slippery. The wolf sank to the ground, and Aello dropped it. There was no use holding onto a dead weight. Her heart pounded, her chest heaved, gasping for air now that the fight was over. Now that she had but a moment to catch her breath.

[Aello]

Aello could hear a low, guttural growl coming from behind her, in the opposite direction of the clearing. She could hear the sound of feet pounding into the forest floor. The sound was getting louder, she knew there was something approaching, something that wanted her dead. The bright red aura needn't be around to tell her that. It needn't be around to tell her that the wolf it belonged to was hungry, out for blood. The girl turned to face the oncoming wolf, her chest still rising and falling rapidly as her heart continued to beat like a drum. She could hear it beating, ringing in her ears, as she stood, slightly hunched, her thumb rubbing the hilt of the blade, pushing blood into the smooth grip as she waited. Just a few more seconds and it should come charging out of the underbrush, Aello's mind whispered as she stood, her muscles coiling and uncoiling. Tensing, as they prepared to be put back to work. By the time she had drawn in another breath, the wolf's dark grey fur and angry, amber-colored eyes came into view. She watched as its legs pushed against the ground, bringing it even closer to where she stood. Its lips were parted ever so slightly, its bright pink tongue hanging out of the edge of its mouth as it licked its lips, more than likely expecting the bloody woman to be an easy kill. At last, the wolf sprang towards Aello, extending its claws as it lunged for her middle. Aello quickly side-stepped out of the way, letting the creature pass into the clearing. It dug its claws into the earth, pulling up several stalks of green grass and small clods of dirt as it brought itself to a halt before the dying, injured deer, that lay in the clearing, producing weak, pained sounds as its eyes began to glaze over. It was likely the girl hadn't noticed them before now since she had been so busy, and now that the creature was getting weaker as its life forced seeped into the forest floor, the sounds it produced were not so great. When the wolf finally stopped moving, it turned, and snarled at Aello. It sank its body a little closer to the ground, tensing its muscles as though it were getting ready to pounce on her. Aello followed suit, bending her muscles and crouching a little closer to the ground as she waited for it to come at her once more. It only took a few more moments before it ran at her with lightning speed. Aello took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth as she lowered herself onto the ground, so that she was practically kneeling. As she did so, she twisted her right arm, so that the elbow was bent and held out to her right side. The rest of her arm she held closer to her chest, as the blade twisted outwards, towards the oncoming beast. When it finally reached her, it impaled itself on Aello's bloody dagger. The blade cut through the creature's snout, starting from the nose and ending about halfway through. Blood squirted everywhere as it frantically raked its extended claws across Aello's right leg, shredding fabric and breaking skin, exposing her own crimson red blood. She could feel it pulsing beneath her skin, her blood, pushing against her veins as it spilled out of her flesh. She winced in pain as she tried to pull her leg back, out of the creature's reach, as she attempted to push the blade more deeply into the wolf's snout. The creature howled as Aello scrambled to her feet, wobbling on her newly injured leg as the wolf pawed at the ground, and shook its head back and forth, trying to get away from the pain. That only served to push the creature's severed snout apart even further, causing its blood to fall all the more quickly before Aello pulled the dagger free of its flesh. The creature stumbled, more than likely from the loss of blood as opposed to the sudden loss of the dagger within its flesh, giving the girl just enough time to drive the dagger into its neck, swiftly ending its life. The wolf crumpled to the forest floor just before Aello fell to her knees, dropping the dagger to her right side. She gasped for air as blood spilled from her leg. The sting of the wolf's claws against her flesh still fresh in her mind. It felt as though they were still digging, still breaking her flesh. Aello eased herself off her knees, causing some of the pain to subside, but for the blood to spill out of her flesh all the more rapidly. She could hear the thundering of hooves coming from behind her, and turned to look over her shoulder. In the center of the clearing, nudging the injured deer with its nose, was the buck. Aello smiled weakly, at least it had escaped, seemingly unharmed. When the doe failed to move or make any sound, the buck picked its head up, and looking directly at Aello. Their eyes settled on each other for a few moments, simply staring in silence before it ran off into the woods. Poor thing must be dead now, Aello thought, just realizing that her magic seemed to have gone out. Aello bit her bottom lip as she winced in pain. She turned from the clearing to the wound on her leg. The blood hadn't stopped coming, she would need to clean it and bandage it to get back into the city. The girl sighed as she eased her bag off her back, and pulled out her waterskin. She opened it, and poured warm water over her wound, wiping her blood away. Afterwards, she grabbed her dagger, and cut off a small strip of fabric from the bottom of her dress. She wound it around the four claw marks the wolf had left, glowing a bright red against her pale skin. She tied it tightly, knotting it several times so it wouldn't come loose, before she eased herself onto her feet. Or rather, she tried to. She tumbled to the ground the instant she got up. She let herself lie there, staring up at the sky through the leaves in the trees. It was only a few moments before she was out cold, staring at a black expanse which stretched on forever. When Aello woke up, what she assumed to be several hours later judging by the location of the sun in the sky in comparison to earlier in the day. She sat up and glanced around. Everything was still. She blinked a few times, trying to get her eyes to focus because her vision was blurry, as though she had slept too long, and her head hurt. But it wouldn't stop, the headache. Sighing, she grabbed her dagger, and put it back in place before easing herself onto her feet. Her legs shook with the pain the wolf had caused, but Aello ignored it, biting her bottom lip so she wouldn't cry out. She went about the area, retrieving her other belongings, and putting them in their proper place before she began limping back to town. Even if the dead doe had been salvageable, she didn't have the strength to carry it back, which only meant there would be more for the creatures of the night. It was a long way back without her leg being in the state it was... and she knew, that once she had it patched up good and proper, getting a new dress would be the first thing on her to-do list. She would need something other than the cloak of the night to cover her milky white skin... OOCIn case the last line is unclear, her cloak was not shredded in the thread, just the dress and her leg.

[Verilian]

Aello +2 Auristics +1 Running +2 Hunting +1 Stealth +3 Shortbow +3 Brawling +3 Dagger +1 Body Building +1 Tactics You Question My Logic? : Any questions, send me a PM. The tactics was for coming up with the idea to disable the wolf's leg and the body building was for the struggle to keep the wolf from biting your face off. Lores: Chasing Whitetails, Using Auristics to Hunt, Interrupted by Wolves.. Again, Wrestling with Wolves Injury Report: Minor scratches and bruises, no lasting damage Notes: So I've decided I'm going to write up an explanation as to why the wolves around Ravok are so aggressive. Anyway, great thread. keep it up!