PM to join Wait That's Not For Hunting [Dravite]

[Duende]

　　

35 Spring 515 AV
Just-After-Dawn

　　
　　　　A chill lingered in the misty air as Winter clung to the Spring morning. Syna's faint touch brought a promise of warmth to come later and glistened in the dew still moist upon the flora. A young snow-leopard stalked the grasslands, almost silently. The long grass parted gently as a thick fur coat, tarnished beige dappled with dark rosettes, brushed against the stalks. Large, wide paws padded steadily, creating light indents in the earth. Her square head was lowered below protruding withers, ears atop the cranial were perked and alert, her long tail swayed gently to and fro. The leopard's azure-green gaze was fixed ahead, intently.
　　　　About a dozen meters away at the bottom of a light dip in the rolling expanse was a rabbit. Its delicate long ears twitching as it groomed itself with tiny paws. Embedded in the ground were more than a score of rabbit burrows—some quite well disguised by the softly swaying grass. The rabbit was lean, only just beginning to regain the weight it has lost over the Winter, but the snow-leopard was a novice hunter and eager to practice her skills. It would be nice to bring something home to her new owners as a gift.
　　　　It had been barely 5 days since the interception of slave caravans headed for Ekytol and a swell of unfamiliar faces had swamped Endrykas. The snow-leopard kelvic had found herself adopted into the Dawnwhisper family and soon found that their attitudes towards mastership was gentle and warm. She was as part of the family rather than possession for them, it was an unusual experience for her, and had set out that morning to hunt a gift, as felines were wont to.
　　　　If only she knew, there was more than one predator in the tundra, and not all were pursuing the lean rabbits. With a comparatively larger carnivore on the prowl—seemingly normal—Kahtra might appeal to a Drykas' interests.

[Dravite]

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A ghostly expelled breath echoed his bodies silent protest to the brisk morning air, horripilated flesh marked with its own set of stripes in the form of long narrow bands of black ink; highlighted where his skin had been scarred by the Windmarks he wore proudly on chest and back. The earth was soft underfoot, feet and torso bare, hardening him to the lingering chills of winter.

Dravite, a novice hunter himself, had wandered away from Endrykas on foot in search of a meal only to stumble upon something that would leave his belly empty but fetch a good price even in the flooded markets of the city of tents. A young snow leopard stalked something up ahead in the tall grass, her camouflaged coat disguising her well, in fact, save for the odd flick of her tail the man might not have spotted her at all.

To make a kill he needed to concentrate, far too many opportunities had slipped through his fingers lately with lack of preparation and poor planning. He had compiled a mental checklist that he started going through, while doing his best to keep the leopard in sight. Carefully and as quietly as he could, the hunter took a light handful of last year’s dead grass ends from the ground and held them up to let the breeze steal the strands away through the gaps between his fingers; testing the wind direction. The way the grass fell told that he was down-wind of the animal but it took him a moment to come to this conclusion.

Dravite made his second check, glancing back over each of his shoulders to make sure the hunter did not become the hunted. Satisfied that he was not being followed by any predators, he drew a path ahead of him by sight, one that would get him as close as possible to the snow leopard without giving away his position. It was then that he made a move, stalking closer and closer.

Shape, keen ears were the felines best line of defence. This observation alone had caused the Drykas Man to take a path that was relatively clear of grass, which would have rustled had he brushed past it. His chosen line of attack left him with slightly less cover than he preferred to have, but the man had already settled on the belief that he would be able to take down the young leopard with his spear if she charged at him.

As he drew closer, Dravite was able to spot exactly what it was the snow leopard hand lined up in her sights. A lean spring rabbit still wearing its winter coat had its head down against the grass, tentatively plucking at the blades that smelt best. The hunter realised he would have to be extra cautious now, for the rabbit was much more likely to give his position up to the leopard if he made a wrong move.

The grass ahead had grown thick and close together. Getting any closer to the leopard would prove difficult. Dravite anchored his right knee against the earth and gripped his spear, testing the weight in his hand. Perhaps from here he could lunge or throw the weapon in the hope of catching his target, but the rabbit was closer; he would have to wait until the snow leopard made her move, only then would he launch his attack..
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[Duende]

　　　　The hunting cat paused in her prowl, the rabbit within a striking distance. Her maw parted, her heart thud-thudded, her lean muscles bunched and tensed, her long tail poised, balanced, ready for the leap.
　　　　　　　　Suspense racked up in the eerily silent wait.
　　　　Grrrrl!!—grinding sound ripped from her jaws—the young feline's rookie error—as she launched forwards with forepaws outstretched and claws unsheathed. The rabbit's ears twitched—its eyes widened—its body shivered. In a kaleidoscopic twist of fluffy tail and huge feet, the rabbit kicked up with its powerful hind-legs, spurred just out of reach.
　　　　With little seconds past, it hopped away in a flurry of fur and quivering grass—escaped.

OOCMy post is short since Dravite's move will fill in the scene

[Dravite]

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In the moments that followed it were as if time stood still, each feather light step taken by the snow leopard's paws was counted by the man, awaiting the moment she would pounce. He lined up his shot, slowly drew his arm back, twisting his midsection to put more power into the throw; it would have to be strong if he meant to kill. The big cat sprung forth at her prey like a taut rubber band finally released from its hold. She announced her attack with a low growl, a sound that doubled as a disguise for the whistle of his weapon as it cut through the air to land at her feet, pinned to the earth like an arrow shot just short of its mark.

A miss had been planned for but plans had a way of changing in the heat of the moment. He didn't give the animal or himself time to think before he charged, sounding the war-cry of his people. Dravite didn't want the feline to size him up with a glance and decide him to be no threat or have himself look into her big, mysterious eyes and read the fear in his own, while hers might only reflect surprise at the sudden appearance of his spear. Dravite was forcing the leopard to fight or take flight, either way, he wouldn't leave himself defenceless, running like a bull to take his weapon back and put it to good use.

The adrenaline that surged through his veins saw him cover ground quickly, but he was no rabbit; toes catching in the grass once or twice, muscles tense, lungs begging him to stop, and when he came face to face with the leopard, he did. His right hand dove to the hilt of his dagger, the left to the handle of his hatchet as if he couldn't decide which would make him more intimidating to the beautiful creature. He was only a man of average height but next to feline he felt like a giant, threatening and powerful; oh what lies men tell themselves under the spell of fear. .
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[Duende]

　　　　Before the leopard's weight graced the ground again—CLUD—her cranium whipped round as keen ears caught the dull sound of spear-head penetrating earth. Startled. Lengthy tail snapped round and—en point of her right fore-paw just like that her direction changed. Her rump to the hunter, her body stretched out, stream-lined for escape—she fled.
　　　　Instinctive synapses sparked before her thoughts even made sense of the information relayed by physical senses. Surprise filled her large green eyes. The leopard had flown along the grassy flora at a speed and gained a decent length of feet on the Drykas man but snow-leopards weren't sprinters like their cheetah cousins. They were built with powerful shoulders for ambushing startled prey in blunt, aggressive, ruthless strikes.
　　　　The Kelvic's more rational mind caught up to her animal—she flicked out her tail once more and turned, gracefully, to confront the man. Crazed, she perceived him, and not a little intimidating. She yowled loudly to startle the man—a high-pitched sound with a bass reverberating beneath—exposing deadly long canines—back arched and hackles raised defensively.
　　　　It was then her form was encompassed in an ethereal glow—the shape-shift—and a naked woman was crouched in the hunter's path.
　　　　Her fingertips splayed and touched on the ground delicately, her complexion oddly milky for an Endrykas inhabitant, and dappled generously with large dark freckles. Her form lean muscle in shoulders, hips and thighs. While a dirty-fair, wavy mane swept past a slender waist. Her bare feet were planted securely in the grass—ready to pounce even if she no longer bore the coat and razor-sharp canines of her feline form.
　　　　The Kelvic reiterated her yowl in words of fluent Common that could be interpreted and understood more readily by human ears—
　　　　　　　　"WAIT, wait, I'm not for hunting!"
　　　　Her voice was thick with growl. Not threatening or angry, simply reminiscent of the animal that had been there just a minute before. Her oval face, while plain mostly, was alight with a rush of adrenaline, and beading sweat. Her feline-green eyes met his gaze and she pleaded hastily then in broken Pavi—
　　　　　　　　"Dawnwhisper—family."

　　

[Dravite]

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Chasing the leopard seemed pointless with four legs pit against two. He clutched his spear from the earth and set off after the majestic feline; sprinting across the plain as he contemplated his next move for his endurance would give out soon having reached its limit. His footfalls were heavy, clumsy, not like the graceful paws of the snow leopard that stroked the earth, barely leaving their mark.

Just as he felt a burning in his lungs the leopard stopped and so did he, some metres back, watching the glowing transformation of beast to mortal. She looked into his eyes and for a moment he was stunned still. She was beautiful, young and bare, light of skin, and swift of tongue. She spoke fluent common, Dravite's mind slowly digesting the words as he paused for a response.

So this was the power of a Kelvic, a transformation he had never seen with his own eyes. He would never look at any animal the same way again, always wondering, what if. The man stood up straight, his own body bronze in comparison, with sunburnt hair and taut muscles. He was stocky for his size, the result of growing up as his mother’s only son, but lean, as most Drykas living this sort of lifestyle were.

Dawnwhisper, she had managed to communicate in broken Pavi, the name holding no weight with the hunter as he had not come across it before in his travels. Dravite used his knowledge of the common tongue to reply, choosing his words carefully so that what he told might make sense. "Forgive me, I was not to know."

He averted his gaze, bare flesh was something Drykas saw every day, but she was a foreigner and strangers often had their own customs to be respected. Dravite lowered his spear and loosened his grip, glancing out across the plain to see that they were alone other than a small mob of deer they shared the plain with some way off in the distance. He wondered how far she had travelled from her camp with the Dawnwhisper pavilion and thought how they would count their lucky stars tonight when the story was shared around the fire pit. Kelvic's made good companions for children he had heard, though the Windborne pavilion had never kept one, not in his lifetime at least.

The horse lord looked down at his feet and noticed the leopard’s prints left in the dirt. He studied the track for a moment, not having noticed one like it before and then thought about his journey home, he would be going home empty handed again, unless. "Hunt with me," the man spoke in the language he knew best and used grassland sign to illustrate his words, hoping it would make them easier to understand; if she lived with a Drykas pavilion, they had probably already taught her some of the language.

"I can drive the prey towards you and you can make the kill, we can half whatever you take."

He had seen it done before when he was younger, the warriors would take their hunting cats out and tell them to lie and wait while they flanked something to surprise and drive towards their traps. "Name?" Dravite asked clearly in common.

"I am Dravite Windborne." .
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[Duende]

　　　　Relief stole over the young woman's expression, permeating her tense body, and she relaxed as the man made his apologies. So this man would not hurt her. And sincere he was, it seemed to her. Curiosity, a compulsive kind, tickled at her. Her feline gaze took in the Drykas properly for the first time, and it was an unusually penetrating stare.
　　　　She stood, and Syna's warmth played across her bare femininity—He is modest? she wondered as he averted his eyes—herself, unabashed. In Kenash she had witnessed time and time over the reactions nudity sparked in others. Kahtra was always baffled by them. His aura spoke to the Kelvic—there was something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. He seemed warm? Maybe.
　　　　An amused smile licked across her lips and she chuckled briefly. With a wave of her hand—"No need forgive." She stood, her hair draped over her barely-ample breast—there was a languid feel to the way she moved, and something else. The sense that deeply held beneath her surface was a pool of determined strength, a steely core.
　　　　Interest shifted into her stance and she leaned into his words as he suggested they team up and take on prey—her smile lit up as she keenly agreed. "Yes. Good think. Very good. Like much!" Keen, intent—in her hand-signs. A deer! How impressed would the Pavilion be! She thought excitedly.
　　　　Her grasp of Grass-land Sign was growing faster than that of the spoken Pavi, though it was still an atrocity. She found it difficult to learn Pavi, though she perceived body language more readily than spoken tongues and that was helping. She had no trouble understanding his meanings, even if she couldn't make out all his words. She hoped her meanings were as clear to him.
　　　　With a sudden shyness, she tried his name on her tongue. "Drravite." And then stepped toward him to close the distance a little, inexplicably comfortable in her bare skin, and introduced herself likewise. "Kahtra."
　　　　Kahtra cast her eyes to the tundra around them, and red flushed her cheeks suddenly as she communicated—shame—with her hands. "I miss prey. I kill with Dravite help. Not miss." She was embarrassed at the idea that he had seen her rabbit escape—her pride nicked slightly.

　　

[Dravite]

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"Kahtra," he spoke the name as if he had known it all his life and it rolled off the tongue nicely with similar syllables used in his own language and the ones he had learned in common. He wondered where she had originated from and what brought her to the Sea of Grass, but time was slipping through their fingers and soon they would lose the advantage of first light.

The young woman drew nearer, obviously comfortable in her own skin, just like his people were. He caught her gaze and was captivated once more by her emerald stare. A strong urge to touch saw his fingers closed against his thigh, abandoning the thought; she was so unusual this Kelvic, like nothing he would ever see again. He had asked himself in the marketplace while watching the auctioneer hand them off for gold, whether they were more animal than human, and looking in her eyes had him torn. They were so catlike in their own way and her long, lean limbs suggested that she was quick. "Look," he spoke and signed the word, helping her with the language by repeating it in common.

Dravite crouched down and drew his dagger to draw lines in the earth. "Kahtra," he pointed to an X he had drawn, "Wait."

The man drew an identical symbol beside hers and spoke his own name, pointing to himself. He drew a line from his X to the herd. "I sneak. I scare them with big sound. Kahtra waits for them to come close." He put his dagger away and clapped his hands together, "Then strike."

He had never seen the planning stages of such an attack before and went by the follow through alone. When Dravite got to his feet again he looked to the deer and wondered how he was going to flank them without being seen; he would have to sneak up on them the same way he had surprised Kahtra with her rabbit. She had mentioned her shame in missing it to which he had only smiled, having missed dozens of rabbits this spring already. "Kahtra will not miss, wait till last chime, take the weak, and let the strong pass."

The man's devotion for Caiyha was shining through again, but if Kahtra was in agreement he would leave on foot the same way he came, staying low and out of sight in the tall grass until the time was right. .
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[Duende]

　　　　What was it that made men want to touch that which drew their intrigue, to explore, to discover the unknown. Kahtra didn't notice his hands clench with resistance, distracted by the internal buzz of excitement fluttering in her belly at the prospect of a hunt. "Look"—his voice commanded her attention, and she did. As he crouched and demonstrated his plan in the soil, the Kelvic moved closer to the man, leaning over his drawings, her flaxen hair cascading over her freckled shoulder. It was a good thing the Drykas were as accustomed to nudity. Kahtra would find a comfortable culture in Endrykas to embed herself within.
　　　　Green eyes flickering as they followed his hands, as equally surprised by the planning phase of their decided endeavour as the Drykas. It appeared that both these novice hunters were learning rapidly, as was the only way in the harsh Sea Of Grass. As he rose, she straightened, and agreed with a playfully fiendish grin. "Yes." And like that, cat was distracted, the woman paced off from the man towards her designated hiding spot. The tall grass brushed against her skin, Syna's light entwined with the glow, as the Kelvic shifted into a feline once again. Did Dravite know he was as good at training cats?—Kelvic ones at least.
　　　　Like that the cat blended into the fauna and out of sight. Kahtra waded through the grass, feeling her weight glide forwards delicately on the pads of her wide paws, with body low, head lower, and tail poised for balance. She found a spot, downwind thanks to Dravite's planning. The grass was course and thick-set, where she would be hid well. She crouched there, legs and paws tucked underneath her broad shoulders, slender waist, muscles alert, and her ears perked and twitching at every noise. Her gaze intent on the direction that the light breeze carried the scent of the deer, predatory. Her maw parted lightly as her heart-rate raced a little, ready to fuel her pounce, when the time would be just right...

　　

[Dravite]

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The steps of his plan had unfolded quickly in his mind, but put into action, it seemed things would take time. He had to stay low enough that none of the deer would see him, and move slow so that he would not give his position away with any noise; rustling grass, too-heavy footfalls, and the likes. Flanking the deer, he would soon find, was the easy part, getting them to run in the direction he desired to steer them, however, might prove very tricky.

He lay low in the grass, watching the deer for a while. He didn't have long before the sharp nose of one of the animals might pick him up, so whether he was right or wrong, he would have to act soon. Peering through the tussocks he noticed the animals' prints scattered across the clearing and committed the size and shape to memory so that next time he went hunting deer he might have a starting point.

They didn't graze as heavily as the Zibri, lifting their heads quickly whenever the wind changed, or a bird flew overhead; skittish creatures, the horse lord thought to himself. He crawled forward up the slight rise towards the herd and scanned the mob, picking out the buck, of which there were several, but this one was certainly the biggest. If the Kelvic made the mistake of going for him she might risk injuring herself, and that worried Dravite.

He went forward until he felt he was as close as he would be able to get before they noticed him and then leapt up from his hiding place with a mighty roar which saw the whole herd scatter before they could even get a good look at what it was they were running from. He lined up a cheeky shot from behind them and lunged, tossing his weapon through the air to try and catch a straggler before running forward as fast as his feet would carry him to collect the weapon and scare the deer towards Kahtra, waving his arms madly and calling, "Here they come!" .
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