Closed [Flashback] The Cold has Come

[Crypt]

(Timeskip) 19th of Fall, 511 AV (Night) Crypt carefully placed his feet on the ground, continuing to watch the small pack of wolves feast on the deer they had downed just moments ago. He silently cursed himself for having the bad luck to encounter them. Good job, Crypt. Way to go. This is one place we do NOT want to be in right now. Just move silently, slowly, don't try to make a run for it. I'm downwind of them, they won't smell me. But make one sound... Maras was already ahead of any potential predators, and now was awaiting his orders. Crypt made a slight gesture with his right hand, which was illuminated by the moonlight, allowing the Strider to see it, and Maras obediently moved off quietly. If everything went well, the wolves would not be able to detect their presence, and that was the best situation. Otherwise, well... He would have to fight. He would probably win, but why risk fighting when they could avoid it? Still, Crypt began to channel some of his Djed into his left arm, allowing the muscles within to gain strength and toughness in preparation for any combat. Crypt turned his head slightly towards the back to see if Xiani was still there.

[Xiani]

Xiani watches from the trees above as Crypt gives up on the kill he had made, for wolves had found it before him. She leaps to a closer branch, from here she could see the wolves in greater detail as her wide eyes take in the scant light. There were five, two of them female, all of relatively equal size save for the larger male who seems to be the alpha and the tiny female who, sitting on the outskirts of the circle, waits to eat last. A number so small would be no trouble for Xiani, she had fought wolves off of her kills before. Poising herself on a higher branch, she gauges the motions of the wolves for a moment longer, assuring herself that they are immersed in the feeding. Flaring her wings ever so slightly, Xiani leaps from the branch and floats over the wolves silently, snapping them shut at the last moment to land behind the alpha. Slipping into her primal being, she lets out a long, warning growl that conveys to any beast that they are in her territory, on her kill. All amber eyes turn upon her, and lips curl in bellowing snarls, even from the smallest wolf. One of the beta wolves leap at her, predictably, in a way that is so simple Xiani can swat the creature away with her forearm, albeit bruising herself slightly on the wolf's ribcage, but sending him skidding nonetheless. All through this, she keeps eye contact with the alpha, red meeting amber in a subliminal battle of the wills. Despite being outnumbered, Xiani will not give up, and the alpha soon senses it. He lowers his ears and his head, and begins backing away. They disappear into the greater gloom of the forest, Xiani's so focused on maintaining the domineering power of her eyes and posture that she allows the beta that she had smacked to run by and grab the haunch that the wolves had torn from the carcass. Once they are gone, Xiani turns to Crypt and smiles, beckoning him over.

[Crypt]

Crypt watched curiously as Xiani intimidated the pack into moving away, smirking as the alpha wolf (distinguished by his tail being higher than the rest, and its greater stature) slunk away, accompanied by the rest of its pack. “Thanks, Xiani. I guess it's my turn now. Could you get more firewood?” Crypt scavenged around the area, picking a few pieces of dry wood that appeared to be suitable. He arranged them in a circular manner, placing some of the tinder he carried with him in a tinderbox in the middle. Taking out his flint and steel, placing a piece of char cloth on the flint, Crypt struck down a few times before creating a spark, causing the char cloth to glow red. Blowing gently on it, Crypt folded it on itself and allowed it to ignite the kindling after placing it on the tinder. Crypt continued to blow on it until the fire was created. Putting away his fire-starting kit, Crypt took out a knife and dragged the deer near the fire, then proceeded to skin it. Removing the genitals of the buck, Crypt inserted the knife point under the hide and carefully made one long incision up the belly of the deer, stopping only at the junction between the deer's neck and its chest cavity, taking care not to pierce the skin. After doing so, Crypt enlarged the opening, severing the diaphragm to complete it. With a strike from his longsword, the ribs were neatly halved, and Crypt pulled them apart, careful not to cut himself on the razor-sharp edges of the buck's ribs, revealing the heart and lungs. He did the same for the pelvis bone, carefully removing the bladder and intestines to prevent the juices within from spilling out and contaminating the meat. Crypt gingerly lowered his hands into the chest cavity, separating the lungs and heart from the body with a few quick strokes of his knife, then draped them over the outside of the carcass. A few minutes later, once he had removed all the organs, disposing of the useless ones beneath a shrub, Crypt completed the process of removing all edible parts of the deer (including the choice cuts of meat), then moved the remains of the carcass far from the fire, which Crypt fueled now and then with gathered wood. One part of the operation was incomplete: Using a large piece of deerhide, Crypt carried the food that he and Xiani would consume to a small Stream he had noticed earlier. He washed the meat thoroughly, then washed his own gore-stained hands. Having done so, Crypt walked back to the fire. He pierced the first slice of meat on a stick, then held it over the flames to roast it. It wasn't the best of meals, but the plain venison would help keep their strength up.

[Xiani]

Xiani nodded with a fierce grin, taking to the air once more. As a youngling one of her main jobs had been to go out and find dried wood. Not little twigs that would crackle and burn in an instant, but large, seasoned pieces that could support a fire. Arms full of wood, Xiani hovered above, watching as he took careful precautions to keep the deer's internal juices from mingling with the meat. Is the human's constitution so delicate? Shrugging she dropped the wood onto the fire save a few nice, straight pieces that could be used as spits, those she got some entertainment from throwing them through the fire with such force that the pierced the ground on the other side enough to lean only slightly into the flame, charring their length. Making a wide turn, she returned to the forest to search for anything more useful. Remembering childhood training, she finds a little bush with leaves that took off some of the metalic taste in meat, and several other little plants, many of whom most would think to be only grass, that would alter the taste of the meat. Smiling at her armful of foliage, Xiani took off towards the campsite once more. Seeing that he already was cooking some meat, she lets out a sharp shriek - by human standards - to get his attention. "We need not eat like animals," she says with a smile, kneeling beside the fire. Getting two stones, one large and flat, the other smaller and round. She lays all of the plants on the larger rock and begins to grind them with the short, curving motions of one who had spent many nights grinding away their anger. In only moments, she had a mixture of partially shredded leaves held together by their expunged liquids. She offers the stone to her traveling companion so that he can season what he wishes.

[Crypt]

Both Crypt and Maras winced as Xiani's shriek reached their ears; the latter shook his head, tossing his mane from side to side, as the former resisted the urge to cover his ears for fear of hearing further sounds of a piercing nature. Damn, that was really sharp. Crypt returned the smile after a few moments, taking the stone which she offered him, and removed the half-roasted venison from where it was positioned above the fire. Using the makeshift spit, Crypt placed the meat on the proffered stone and allowed the juices present on one side to seep into the meat, improving the overall flavour - the meal would not be a bland one. "Well, Xiani, I'm already used to eating like this - never really needed much flavour after a few years of wandering and travelling. Still, thank you." Doing so for the other cuts of venison, Crypt resumed roasting the venison over the fire, carefully turning each one over after a minute or two. Watching the oil and juices, both together making up a strangely fragrant liquid, drip slowly from the meat into the bright flames, Crypt's mouth watered as he waited eagerly to begin his meal. As soon as the first piece was done, Crypt grasped the spit it was skewered on and offered it to Xiani.

[Xiani]

Xiani sat for a moment, wondering how one could have a lack of flavor in a world where is was everywhere, growing on trees and rocks and straight from the earth itself. Then again, she muses, watching the tongues of flame lap hungrily at their meal, turning the spices brown and sending their scent into the air, if I had entered these woods without my training, I doubt that I would be able to make much use of myself either. With a quiet sigh, she stares at the shadows created by the flames as they dance wildly in the wind, waiting for their food to be cooked to the point of safe consumption. As she watches their movements, she enters a sort of trance-like state, being consumed by her own ravenous thoughts as her senses expand and devour any little detail they pick up: Mara's heartbeat, his breath, those of his partner, the sounds of a pair of birds settling for the night, the chewing sounds of a colony of termites in a tree just behind them. Her wings relax to the point of resting on the ground as she zones further and further out, to the point that the maws of her eyes stretch wide, not focusing on anything, but detecting even the most minute movement of a mouse in the grass some yards away. When Crypt takes a spit from the flames and offers it to her, the movement is so sharp and abrupt that she is drug back into her own body once more, all muscles going taut and pulling her wings against her back, teeth being bared automatically until her mind can focus and discern the reason for the movement. After a second, she relaxes slightly once more, mind taking over instinct as she reaches for the spit carefully, abruptly aware of her talons and the strength that courses through her limbs. Nodding thankfully to her traveling companion, she takes her first bite of meat, smiling as the succulent juices run down her furry chin. As she had imagined, all of the little plants she had found taste wonderful together, offering an earthy contrast to the metallic taste of venison.

[Crypt]

Delicious, though with a hint of sour intestinal juices. Thankfully, the herbs Xiani provided have masked most of it. Tearing at the piece of venison eagerly, Crypt made no attempt to follow dining etiquette (or rather, forgoing the use of cutlery and chewing rather rapidly). Finishing the not-so-dainty morsel of flesh, Crypt paused in his ersatz feast to take a short gulp of icy cold water from his waterskin, then placed it down to take another skewer of venison from where it was suspended over the fire, resuming the hasty consumption of his meal. Once the Drykas had eaten his fill, he departed the small clearing for the nearby stream where he had washed the flesh of the dead deer, cupping some water in his hands, removing every trace of the juices around his mouth and taking another drink. After finishing his ablutions, Crypt returned to the forest clearing, taking a seat at the base of an oak tree. Leaning against the trunk, Crypt closed his eyes, allowing the music (of sorts) of his surroundings to seep in. The crackling of the fire, the chirping of the cicidas, the occasional rustle of leaves as the gentle breeze moved through the trees; all of them were a balm to his wearied mind, having travelled for two days with only a few hours' rest.

[Xiani]

After the first piece, she waits for the companion to eat his fill then contents herself with the scraps, not needing to eat as much or as frequently to sustain her energy. Once done, she turns to see him attempting not to nod off as the sun begins to set. "Rest..." Xiani says quietly, leaping into an overhanging branch to begin her own cleaning ritual. The first thing she does is check her wings, making sure that no scratches from flying through the trees are too deep, and that the sprain she hand sustained a day prior had not swollen again. She then turns to her hands, picking any gore free of her nails and the soft fur of her palms. She then begins to inspect the rest of her form, searching for any mats in the thicker fur, or any ticks that had latched onto her - thankfully there were none. She then returns to the ground, looking around with her acute eyes, taking everything in with great, sweeping glances. Something about the journey so far had bored her. It wasn't the company... Crypt and Maras were indeed a new experience. Perhaps, it was the terrain, never thinning or changing despite the miles they covered. The trees seemed to swallow her whole. Trees, trees, trees. It was all she had ever known besides the damp warmth of a cave. Perhaps, that is why she must make this journey. To travel so far and see so much that she longs for the familiar forests of her home, and thereby be more protective of it. EveryZith is curious by nature, eager to learn and master as quickly as possible. Perhaps this rush of adventure and excitement is what keeps a wingmate from deserting the colony one day in search of something more. Their allegiance is already strong, curiosity of the world already sated. But what if she is one that decides never to return? The feeling makes her chest tighten and her breath more shallow. Preposterous. Utterly inconceivable. She must one day return to her home. One day soon. She will see all that this simple world has to offer, and then she will return.

[Crypt]

23rd of Fall, 511 AV (One more timeskip to go!) Crypt cursed under his breath as he watched the Talderan tiger slowly moved towards him, its unblinking eyes, both a shade of deepest amber, fixated on him. Drawing his longsword, Crypt held it in front of him nervously, trying not to turn tail and run, for the beast would be able to run faster than him. He would die if he tried to flee. Taking a deep breath, he released it slowly as he gathered his Djed in preparation to enhance the muscles of his left arm. "Xiani, stay in the trees. If you see an opening, attack. I'm going to try to defend myself, but I won't last long - this is no ordinary animal. It can overpower me easily. I am the bone of my sword." As the creature leapt towards Crypt, the Drykas slammed the flat of his blade into the snout of the tiger, forcing it back while he retreated a few steps. Crouching slightly, Crypt attempted to perform a horizontal slash directed at the tiger's left shoulder, knowing that hindering its movement was of the highest priority, but only left a cut there as he was forced to back away by a giant paw armed with alarmingly-sharp claws. Slowly stepping backwards, Crypt narrowly dodged the tiger as it lunged at him again, rolling to one side even as it approached him. Hastily recovering his balance, Crypt stood up and continued to eye the tiger warily.

[Xiani]

Gripping a branch with both her fingers and toes, Xiani lay in wait over the scene, looking animalistic herself as she watches the tiger completely, noticing each rippling muscle beneath its pelt, looking for any weakness. As the two exchange their first blows, ones that size up the other up as far as strength and reach, the cat ends up with its back to Xiani. Lightning fast, she tucks her wings and leans forward, rocketing to the ground behind the Tiger, grabbing its tale in one hand and using her claws to slice through the meat at the base of the tiger's tail. The gash is only deep enough to expose the bones beneath, and Xiani only sees a flash of the white before the tiger turns on her, screeching with rage and pain. Xiani keeps hold of the tiger's tail and uses the momentum of the larger animal spinning about to send her own body flipping head over heel, twisting her wrist in the same motion so that when she lands again, the tiger's tail has been shattered, hanging limply now by only a thin strip of meat. As the tiger turns to retaliate once more, she bunches her muscles and leaps back up into the trees; but not before the tiger's claws find purchase upon the soft arch of her foot. Now it is Xiani's time to howl as she is forced to balance upon the branch using only one foot and both of her hands. The flesh on her favored foot is torn in four places, and bleeding profusely. Despite this, Xiani grins fiercely at her accomplishment. Already the tiger is showing signs of being unbalanced, and each of its attacks will fail in some way as the tiger doesn't compensate for the stability that its tail would have lent. Now, it only has a weight on its back end. She watches as the tiger's attention is drawn back to Crypt by some motion, leaving her to search for another opening for debilitation as Crypt and the animal duel.