A Night for Hunting (Mamuro)

[Traverse]

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A Night for Hunting
70th of Fall, 513 A.V.

The Trickster found himself far past the ruins above Zinrah in the heart of the jungle wilds. There were nights were hunting Myrians was fun, but tonight some non-sentient prey seemed most appealing to a growling stomach. A few small deer, perhaps a peccary boar or even a nice big capybara. The possibilities were endless, and with his heat vision guiding the Dhani through the night, it was only a matter of time before Mamuro stumbled upon the perfect meal.

It occurred to him after about a half of a bell's more travel the forest was particularly quiet upon this eve. The bugs still chirped, and the sounds of tree frogs and nocturnal birds were there, but almost muted, as if someone had adjusted the world's volume.

So when the noise came, it sounded even louder. The first call was a choked bark that echoed through the forest. It couldn't be close, at least a mile if not more, almost sounding as if elevation had helped the sound travel, but the next howl sounded much closer, and was significantly louder. Cats did not make such noises, and Mamuro found his head snapping to the sound. The bearers of such vocal chords were creatures he had heard about in stories, strange large headed hounds with bone breaking strength in their jaws and a serious pack mentality. More than one Dhani who had been confident in their combat abilities had been overwhelmed by an Akila hound pack.

Now Mamuro would get a chance for a meal and to test his own skills as well, how wonderfully convenient...
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[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru had been out tracking for bells now, but he couldn't make up his mind. The trickster was hungry, but he didn't just want a meal, he didn't just have a taste for a particular thing.


He wanted to meat and be full, a good meal that would settle in his belly and keep him warm and comfy for bells to come. The problem was that he couldn't make up his mind. Mamoru started off tracking a deer and just as he was getting close he spotted something even bigger.


With his stomach crawling, and his taste buds begging for something good, he pushed on for the bigger meal. This continued until the hungry trickster found himself tracking a big capybara. He had finally decided to stick to one target when he heard the loud howl. It was something out of myth, and he knew right away that the sound wasn't from anything that he had ever come into contact with in the past.


He could have run, or hidden himself somewhere to keep out of sight, but the trickster had a curious streak, and what ever this was, he had to find it and see it for himself.


There were supposed to be dangerous creatures in the jungle, though oddly enough nothing was dangerous enough that the Myrians couldn't handle them. Mamoru slithered slowly towards the sound, his eyes wide as he took in the sight of any visual heat in the area.


The smell of blood soon rushed into his nose, and he knew then that whatever this was had been hunting and found a kill. Slithering closer, the Dhani pushed through the brush when he heard the howl again. It was a haunting sound that would chill one to the bones.


Mamoru had to see what this was, and if it could match up to his strength, before he would eat it. He pushed further into the foliage until he peeked out on the other side where he finally saw it. A huge dog, with short fur the color of night and a large head with viscous looking teeth.


At it's massive clawed paws, a deer laid slain, blood pouring out of the open wound on his back and a gaping whole where it's neck used to be. The Dog growled loud and fiercely, and before Mamoru could react, it lashed out and tackled him.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru hit the ground hard, landing on his back as the two slid a few inches on the ground. The beast was on him quickly and he barely had time to act.


On instinct the trickster caused the djed in his body to come alive and a generous coating covered his face, neck and arms.The djed collected in those spots hardened into solid bone to protect his flesh.


Up close, the dog was a spectacular sight and scary beast of a creature. Mamoru moved his armored arm upward to block when the dgo snapped his jaws around his forearm.


Wide yellow-green eyes looked on as the powerful jaws of the beast started to crush the bone armor easily. Hissing, the Dhani shook his arm hard and rammed his fee fist into the nose of the dog twice to make him loosen his grip.


"Flamess! Petching dog!"


Rolling over, Mamoru spun around and lashed out at the dog with his tail, hoping to keep it back. The hound jumped back and dodged the tail, before he raced up and climbed Mamoru's back.


The Dhani was slammed face first into the ground, with the claws of the hound digging into the scales at his back. Struggling to pull himself up, he shook and rocked, trying to force the animal to fall off his back.


"Get off me!"


The hound snapped his jaws again and again, trying to find a patch of flesh to dip into while his prey moved about trying to escape him. Finally the beast snapped his head forward and sank his teeth into the Dhani's shoulder.


Mamoru howled in pain, and reached up, claw-like fingers digging into the flesh of the hound as he slung the beast off his back.


There was a tumble between the two, and as the hound dared to attack again, Mamoru's powerful tail would connect this time, knocking it backwards and into the undergrowth.

[Kalesserimamoru]

Mamoru hissed, one arm favoring the other, and that arm favoring the bite on his shoulder. He felt horrible, as if something had almost crushed his shoulder completely. His forearm was also in pain and he felt a pressure than as well.


Never before had he had to face a beast with jaws as powerful as this. That was surely a power that he would like to have. The hound started to move around again within the brush, low snarls rumbling from the shadows as it once again fixed it's eyes on the Dhani.


Nothing hurtss, like...your mouth.


He almost cackled at the realization. No matter how strong he became, how much he learned, there was always something else..something more frightening and dangerous than he was.


The hound appeared again and Mamoru was ready to take it on, but instead of attacking, the beast gave a blood curdling howl. It was calling for reinforcements. The howl was answered after a pause, and from the sound of it, they weren't too far off.


Oh no, thiss issn't good at all..


Suddenly the trickster turned and slithered away, pushing himself through the jungle as fast as his tail would allow him. The hound raced behind him, howling to the moon again even louder. They moved fast, so fast that Mamoru could barely see where he was going.


He had hoped to escape the area where the beast would show, but with the hound following him and howling at the same time, they would find him anyway. It was best to find an edge. He didn't know a lot about dogs, but he was sure that they couldn't climb trees and that was his out.


He quickly morphed his fingers into thick claws and scrambled towards the nearest tree. Mamoru latched on and started to pull himself up and swung his heavy tail out behind him to smack the hound across his head when he got too close. He then curled his tail close to his body as he slithered further up into the tree.


He fought with branches, either settling on them for a bit, before he move on or went around them if they were too much trouble. The trickster was in a hurry, and he didn't have the time to go about the climb as he normally did.


Mamoru worked his way up further until he was sure that the beast couldn't jump up and get him, and he would take this time to think up a plan to deal with the others on the way.


Something happened then, as the hound growled and drooled over his own fur, the beast leaped against the tree and started to slowly climb up. It must have been starving to attempt a climb and that made the animal that much more dangerous.


"What..isss..thiss? It climbsss treesss? Flamesss!"

[Kalesserimamoru]

The hound continued to climb upward, all the while snapping it's jaws at the Dhani above. Mamoru realized that he was running out of time and room.


If he couldn't defend himself quickly, the hound would be on him, what's more the rest would arrive as well. He slithered and clawed his way higher, coiling his tail to move away from the growling dog.


"I'll end you one way or the other..Jusst you watch."


Suddenly the hound stopped, remaining perched in the tree on the lower branch, but refused to climb higher towards the canopy. It must have been afraid to go any higher and was having second thoughts about the one it hunted.


This hesitation gave the Dhani a moment to think and he dug his claws into the bark, and lowered his body off. Mamoru started to rock his hips back and forward hard until he felt the momentum growing and swung himself towards the dog.


"Got you!!"


The trickster's body rocketed, slamming into the dog and knocking them both out of the tree. Flailing arms scrapped and clawed at the limbs as he tumbled downward but wasn't close enough to catch anything before he slammed into the ground along side the hound.


"Flamess!" Coughing, he rolled over onto his chest and pushed himself up. For the brief moment while dazed, he forgot that he was in a fight, but the snarling behind him was a quick reminder.


Mamoru turned around just as the dog pounced on him, once again knocking him to the ground. Thick, sharp claws dug into his scales as a large mouth snapped at his face.


Reaching out, he grabbed the dog's open mouth and held it at bay so that it couldn't bite him again. Opening his own mouth, Mamoru started to release his res allowing it to float across the air and to slip into the mouth of the beast.


The trickster pushed hard here, forcing more and more res from inside his mouth and into that of the hound. The swirling gas rested and coiled like a snake just inside the dog's throat. Concentrating as best as he could given the situation, Mamoru transformed both layers into liquid.


He forced more and more res into the dog's mouth, each time turning the swirling ball into water, forcing the hound to gag and choke. The large dog started to pull away from him and Mamoru used this to his advantage. One hand moved from the hound's face as he shoved his fist into it's throat and finished choking it.


The hound fell over finally, and Mamoru stopped all djed and res flow as he collapsed on the ground panting. The Dhani hissed and pushed himself up looking down at the scratches on his body and the wound on his shoulder.


So much power from one dog. It was incredible. But he won in the end and found himself a new meal to try. Another howl sounded in the distance, and he knew then that it was time to take his meal and go.

[Soliloquy]

Mamoru

Experience:

• Morphing +2
• Climbing +1
• Reimancy +1

Lore:

• Akila Hound: Agile, fast and powerful
• Akila hound bites hurt like hai
• Climbing trees will not deter Akila Hounds
• Akila Hound: Worthy opponent and tasty meal

Additional: Shoulder wound will heal in 4-6 days but will leave a permanent scar.

Additional Notes :

Honestly it was nice to see Mamoru slightly out of his comfort zone. He always seems to be in control or two/three steps ahead. Good short read.

If one has any questions or concerns associated with their grade, send me a PM and we can work out the details.

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