Completed Outside the Gates

[Elann]

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OOCFur-trimmed High Boots
7.5SM
Fur-trimmed Winter Cloak
7.5SM
Belt
2SM
Fur-trimmed Winter Cowl
3SM
Multilayered, Wool Fur-trimmed Winter Dress x2
24SM
Stockings x2
8SM
Winter Undergarments x2
2SM
Game Knife
3CM
Sack
1SM

Timestamp 33rd of Winter 515

Dressed in her finest, most warm winter gear she had, Elann headed out the door of the Travelers Row. At her side, a pair of empty sacks dangled loosely; one larger than the other. These were for Noah's clothing should he desire to change in some manner while they were out in the realm beyond the gates of Syliras. The other sac was lined for carrying whatever game they would or wouldn't find out in the fields surrounding the city.

It was her birthday, and on top of it a day off of work. At least if she had been able to work she could have gotten her mind off the gloom of such a day. Her tribe and particularly her family did not exactly celebrate birthdays with joy. They were a somber reminder of the oncoming doom that lingered over a prolonged life ahead of them and their own mortality. None felt that more than Elann did this year. That very same brooding gloom was what drew her faithful and bonded friend Noah to her side. Since her letter and the night he stayed over on her couch, she had slowly been getting better, but this seemed counter to the dreadful news that had been emotionally conquered over bit by bit.

His inquiry naturally led to her revealing why she was so glum, and after repeated prodding to relinquish her gloom and instead celebrate, there had been one small present he could give her. After he regaled her with the tales of his mother and Lanna, the huntress, and how effective they were as a team, Elann wanted to explore that herself. She knew Noah could potentially be a great hunter, given what he was, but she grew up in the tent of her father making rugs, and if anything just occasionally would shoot a wild animal with a rock from her sling, but that was rare. This event would be intentional, take dedication, and focus.

Elann had purchased winter gear once it began to get colder, but had never fully had to wear everything she purchased. Today was different. They were going to be outside the walls, possibly out for a very long time, and with no fire in sight to warm them. For that reason she dawned her multi-layered fur trimmed dress, her fur-trimmed boots, cowl, cloak with hood, and game dagger she had purchased. Lastly after donning her gloves she took up her sling and pouch of bullets.

The city was still busy, and the foot traffic revealed white snow underneath that had turned almost a black color from the filth. It was a short walk from the Row to the gates, and in no time, her and Noah were at it. Pulling a bullet from her small bullet pouch, Elann readied herself, expecting to find some small manner of creature right off the bat. That however was far from the truth. She had a good eye, but didn't know what to look for. She was no tracker, but with her bonded friend above, he could soon tell her where something was.

Before leaving, the two of them discussed a series of calls and flight patterns before leaving so that he could communicate to her where something was, or if she had to run from something that had wandered too close to the gates and evaded patrols. Elann made her way that morning into a nearby field to rid it of the small game that so often would cause certain valuable crops to get eaten such as rabbits, gophers, and anything else they could find that had not gone into hiding yet. It had started snowing two days prior and never had Elann been so thrilled as to catch it in her mouth and experience it for the first time. Even now, with it not stopping yet, she delightfully upturned her face to catch various snowflakes as they went.

Eventually they truly set their minds on hunting, and Elann kept a wary eye on her surroundings, looking for a sign of a track, and finding one, she began to follow it for a few moments until it faded into the snow. Even a well trained tracker likely would have been having difficulties out tracking with the falling snow, so it was no wonder her tracking failed her so rapidly. With keeping an eye on Noah however, she was soon corrected with the direction to head and flipped around, trusting his feelings and what he was seeing. Now was when she had to be sneaky, to get close enough to whatever it was before she could get off a shot.

The crunch in the snow beneath her feet almost gave her away, especially how dead quiet it was out in the field, but she tried to be quiet. Slowly through the falling snow came the sight of a raccoon. It was already in the process of scampering off from her sound, but she drew up her Benshiran Slingshot and took quick aim, letting the bullet fly with a loud snap. Miss! Horrible miss. Elann looked up to Noah, seeing if he felt like going for it as it was already moving beyond her range.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Noah Amuel]

Winter, the time of the year where most of his prey went into hiding, yet Noah relented, finally persuading Elann to go hunting with him. It was her birthday, which, to his surprise, was not usually celebrated by her. He wondered how one couldn’t celebrate the date of their birth. Perhaps her people saw it unnecessary to celebrate the day that marked one a year closer to death, but his own family - and plenty others - saw it different. It was a day to celebrate all that one had accomplished the year before and to be thankful that one made it through the year, but also to be happy that one would have another hopeful year.

He would not let her gloom further stack upon the still lingering feelings of sadness she had. Days earlier he had been the bearer of bad news, delivering her a letter that would forever change her life. She had been disowned, not through the ill will of her father, but to protect her from pursuers, potential enders of her life. Two days ago the snow had started, gentle, delicately laying itself upon the ground. Oddly enough though, it didn’t cease. It kept on cascading in a slow flow of flakes, unlike the years he had known before. Along with the snow came the usual freezing temperatures. It had been amusing to watch Elann don herself in so many layers, but he assumed it necessary due to her point of origin: the desert. She was not accustomed to the cold temperatures of Syliras and it didn’t help that she arrived within the castle city when she did in the warmer part of the year.

He, however, was perfectly fine, the quick pattering of his little eagle heart surging warm blood through his body. He was also hunting, which kept him active, in turn keeping him warm with the constant contraction of muscles. He did that now, his wings pumping in his angled ascension towards the clouds. Elann, his newly acquired bondmate, was below him, a speck in the field midst the growing blanket of whiteness. They were hunting together, like his mother and her late bondmate Lanna. He wasn’t sure if Elann would ever prove to be the huntress that Lanna was fabled to be, but he held on to his hope. He did not want to rid himself of his hunter’s lifestyle yet, not when he could potentially turn Elann into a hunter of his own caliber. Still, her choice of weapon was an odd one to him. The few hunters that he encountered before her often wielded bows or spears. He thought a slingshot too unconventional a weapon, but she had taken to it and he would not discourage her.

As he reached his intended and preferred altitude he shifted until he was parallel to the ground, wings outstretched in a soar. Without looking to confirm he felt Elann’s position below him in the field, anticipation peeking in her heart. Before they left the Traveler’s Row he had informed her about his flight patterns so that she understood what he was doing before he actually acted. Telling her was one thing, seeing if she took to the signals was another. He also said that he would attempt to be more vocal, even though it went against the usual quiet of his hunting. Eventually he would not have to rely so much on signals, hopefully both of them would become adept at hunting with one another.

Suddenly excitement perked in his character, Elann’s own feeling transferring to him. He rolled about in the sky, scanning the ground immediately. From his vantage point he observed the raccoon cautiously trotting along the outskirts of the field, weaving between fence posts. He was sure that the critter had already seen him in the sky, but still it left the cover of the fence to forage in the middle of the field. Hunger would push animals to extraordinary limits, this being one of them. The raccoon exposed itself to immediate danger, surprisingly so. Perhaps it thought Elann a normal person in the field, someone who would only shoo it away, praying that Noah was an ordinary eagle, fearful of people and thus would not dare charge it in the open field. It was wrong.

The eagle bid its time, allowing Elann the chance to have a go at the raccoon first as it first entered her field of view, then her slingshot range. He watched on, her weavers fingers pulling the sling taut and her sapphire orbs training themselves on the grey critter. Above, the eagle angled, flying in descending circle above his bondmate and the critter. Elann released the sling, the ammunition singing towards the target, ultimately missing however. At the disturbance the raccoon began to bolt for cover again, it’s round frame sauntering as quickly as its legs would allow.

Noah let out a warning cry, sharp and shrill, to Elann, his descension taking him over as he angled downwards, tucking his wings in a way that would give him speed. Swiftly he came down, skirting meters above the ground in his new pursuit. The raccoon was silent, breaths heaving as it recognized the danger it was suddenly in. The eagle did not let up. Its wings extended, thrusting against the open air, powerfully surging it closer to the critter. The Kelvic bore down on its prey but the distance proved too great for him to close in time. The coon clambered back into the safety of the fence posts forcing Noah to turn upwards and turn around towards Elann.

He gave himself enough room to fly over the top of her head, close enough for her to feel the air he seemingly held in captivation around him. He called out to her in encouragement, as if saying ‘better luck next time.’ Instead of ascending back into the air he made way for a far off fence post himself, perching upon it then turning towards Elann, gazing at her expectantly.

[Elann]

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They still had one hope as the racoon ran. Her eyes drifted upward to see the faint almost unseen shape of Noah become smaller. Suddenly he came swiftly closer to the ground. Immediately Elann could tell his body was tucked and in a dive, a tremendously fast dive. There were little falcons and hawks back in the desert that they would use, but nothing as grand as him. Adoration and anticipation filled her as all too swiftly he zipped after their raccoon target.

It was so close, and a discouraging cry came from Elann in Shiber that was something along the lines of "Oh man!!" as her knees nearly fell into the snow. She was far from sad though, in fact being quite the opposite, and she ran carefully to where in the virgin snow, a soft pressed line of her bullet indicated where its ultimate trajectory had caused it to land. Little did Noah know the devastating effects of a properly slung bullet. A youth with the sling in his hand could dent in a man's face, killing him instantly if shot right. In the hands of someone stronger, who knew what it could kill?

Clearing away some of the snow revealed where it had landed and she made a hmm sound at how easy it had been to find the bullet. Snow really helped, but as more and more fell, she wondered if eventually all traces of the bullet would be hidden. As she straightened up, Noah flew overhead and she looked up at him with a bright smile and a laugh. She had seen him fly off before, even after they had been bonded, but never had she been in such proximity, let alone under his wings. To see the massive size of them and to feel the beat of them she was filled with awe. A hand traced upward as if to touch him but was far far too slow for his speed.

By the time she was turning about, he had already landed on a nearby post and was calling out to her. She tromped through the snow like a little child until she came to a short stop beside him. "That was amazing. You are amazing! We'll get the next one." Her palm carefully reached out to loosely run over the feathers of his back in adoration, just soft enough to perhaps tickle the tips of them and not disturb him at all. The look on her face and the feeling in her heart was pure joy. In her mind she praised Yahal for the experience, unsure if he heard her ever in her mind, but she hoped. A swelling of excitement filled her. "Lets find something else! I'm going to go that way!" She pointed further into the field, a slightly different direction than where the coon had deviated from them. If it was out here, other things surely were. It was nice too because the snow really did a nice job at concealing Noah while he was up there.

She made distance between Noah on the post and herself, not wanting to really waste time out in the bitter cold petting him when she could do that anytime she wanted most likely; plus she still regarded him as human so it was a bit odd to pet a human. Now was a time for hunting though. Having run a short ways away, Elann slowed and began to actually sneak and creep like she had done before, trying to be as silent as she could. Her eyes were kept peeled upwards for sign from Noah as to where the next target likely was going to be. Quietly, she crept that way and kept low to the ground. It was quite silly really watching her creep in her thick multi-layered dress, but she wasn't doing too horribly. Her eyes caught sight of some rabbit tracks in the snow and she wondered if that was what they were after? Sure enough, as she crept along slowly, at the edge of her vision came the sight of a rabbit, flinging dirt up behind him as he dug for a root. The bullet was already in her sling and in excitement of sneaking up on it she gasped. Evidently that wasn't enough sound for the bunny to pop up his head from his target.

Elann pulled back on her slingshot and let a bullet fly. It faltered and seemed to fall short of him, bounding silently into the snow. However the snap of her weapon made it look up quickly to establish what was going on. "Get it!" she basically spoke to her heart, knowing that wouldn't work, but looking up to the eagle soaring above through the cloud cover so that he knew she missed. Elann really had no idea the intense sight that Noah as an eagle had. She reached for another bullet and fitted it as the rabbit took off. She herself began to run after it, trying to remember in the occluding vision of hers where the rabbit was digging so she could find her bullet later.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Noah Amuel]

Elann’s stamping through the dusting of snow took Noah aback momentarily, though he couldn’t express as much due to his current form. Her praise came as he was catching his breath, the expending of energy initially wearing him out. Her words of encouragement did much to heighten his own excitement to a level eventually on par with hers. Curiously his head tilted to her as her hand extended towards him. He was quizzical at first, but when he recognized it as another mode of expressing encouragement, he allowed it, slightly drawing into her delicate mussing of his feathers.

She swelled to the point of bursting with excitement, informing him in the direction she was going. He had caught his breath, her own excitement aiding in him doing so. Still he remained put until Elann distanced herself further from him before he leaned forward, pushed off his post, then took to gathering altitude again. Upwards he climbed as Elann furthered herself from the post he once occupied. He didn’t go as high as before and remained behind her ultimately since he could see farther than she could anyway. She was full of amusing actions, this time crouching slightly as she crept about the field.

Ahead of her he spotted the rabbit, not quite as big as the hares he usually caught himself. He went to make a call of attention to Elann before she happened upon it, but her eyes appeared to be sharper than he considered. Her slingshot’s sling was already pulled taut, the stone inside being aimed at rodent. He watched from above with anticipation, turning about to face the direction in which he would dive should she miss her shot. The sling snapped as it was released, the muffled sound reaching Noah’s ears through the air. The bullet soared, embedding itself a few inches from the rabbit who, looking up at Elann, bolted for its burrow.

Noting that as his cue, the eagle adjusted into a dive, propelled briefly by the flapping of wings, the angled descent ensuing afterwards. His body was encased in an invisible pocket of air as the winds ceased at his behest. Adrenaline pumped through his hollow body with each beat of his heart; power surged intensity shot him forward like nature’s bullet. Below Elann took chase, however, he soared passed and above her quickly. The distance between the eagle and the rabbit were covered just as swiftly as before. Noah was upon it, bearing down in the same fashion as he did the raccoon moments ago.

The prey panicked and its stuttering run turned into confusing hops, bounding it forward. Harder, Noah worked himself to keep up with the rabbit and focus his eyes on the darting creature. Suddenly the rabbit hopped left. He banked, dipping his left wing down and turning almost vertically to make the turn on a dime. The turn forced himself to decelerate, meaning he had to pump his wings even harder to regain the speed that he lost. Rabbits, being smaller, were quicker than hares, he felt. They were smaller targets, easier to lose track of due to their darting and juking nature.

An idea struck Noah as he bounded towards his prey who avoided him with another sharp turn - this time to the right. Again he responded by banking to the right, wing dipping to whip him in the direction. With renewed fervor he was upon the rabbit again. With a surge he drew out his talons, setting his death dealers to come down the rabbit. And came down they did, a ruffling of snow gripping in his talons rather than the sought after rabbit. He tumbled into the ground, the dusting of snow acting as a cushion for his fragile body. He whirled, looking for the rabbit. The world was upside down, the fall dizzying him.

Frustratedly he squawked, ruffling his body to rid the snow from his feathers. He went over his body mentally, checking for injuries. Besides the burning in his chest, he was okay, just hungry. He found Elann finally in his sights, wondering if she spotted the critter after his tumble.

[Elann]

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As adrenaline pumped in Elann's body, her own floppy run in the snow after the rabbit was quickly waning. Noah rushed past her at a blinding speed only to slow as the rabbit twisted and turned. Her mouth was agape at Noah's dexterity in the air, but all the more amazed as she could see his claws drawing near to the rabbit. Being such a large eagle he could not turn as quick as the smaller falcons she grew up seeing it seemed. As he missed and took his tumble, she raised her own slingshot, taking another aim at the rabbit after seeing if Noah was alright. It was bearing away from her still and getting further away rapidly.

Elann was not the best at judging distances or how far to lead the animal, but she, at the very least, knew she had to from what little practice she had progressed in. The speed of the rabbit was great, and she attempted to understand it's twists and turns to get away before letting the bullet in her strap loosen and sail. At first her heart jumped in disappointment because she thought she aimed far to high and too far in front of it, but as she watched it sail with the slight curve of the wind that pressed on the long shot, it came surprisingly close. Her hand leapt to her mouth as the shot even came close enough to smack the butt of the rabbit; a pure luck shot. It unfortunately was a weak pull, had been slowed by the wind, and not hit the rabbit critically enough to even slow it down. The bullet seemed to almost roll off its back, merely knocking the feet out from under it before it righted itself midstride to continue on. In no time flat, their prey was gone.

"Mmm!" she cried out in silent excitement in an attempt to muffle herself. She wasn't dumb, she knew very basically that you kind of had to be quiet to some degree on a hunting trip. Her natural reaction of shouting out in excitement over the fact she lucked out and actually hit the rabbit would have been poor served. Forgetting the bullet she had just launched, she ran over to check on Noah.

"Are you alright? Not hurt? You were so close!" she exclaimed quietly to him. She flopped down in the snow onto her knees to be more at his level. Her teeth were chattering from the cold, but she seemed to be having fun. Each time she spoke, her head emerged from the warm furs around her neck, and then like a tortoise, when she was done, she ducked back inside for warmth. After making sure he was okay, she said in a whisper, "I think I hit it!" she paused, "I really glad my bullet didn't go where I was actually aiming because I would have really missed. Lucky...but not lucky enough." A little giggle escaped her and a grand smile spread over her face.

With an contemplative look, she could see how it might be harder for him to take off from the ground where he was, so she offered her well thickened glove for him to climb on. "Can you?" she asked, canting her head to see if he could even manage to climb on without harming her. His talons were wickedly long so she wasn't sure. Admittedly, her glove could likely protect her from a falcon or hawk, but it was unlikely that if he had to flex for whatever reason that she wouldn't feel his talons piercing her lower palm. Whether he climbed on or not, she would stand and say, "Okay...well if you want to continue. I'll follow you. You get this next one first and if you miss, I'll try to hit it. I'm going to go back for that bullet and then I'll follow you," she informed him and moved toward where the rabbit was digging previously. If he had climbed on, she would have toughed through the discomfort his talons caused her with pure stubbornness and she would have sent him away at that point; just like she had briefly seen others do.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Noah Amuel]

Elann’s rushing over to him made him uneasy, even though she was a small woman, in his feral form she towered over him. Her shuffling feet made him nervous. Thankfully she halted before he reacted in his own way. Her encouragement and presence made impossible for his frustration and disappointment to take hold and impact his mood. Her whisper wavered with elation. She was proud of herself and it showed in her giggled, one that made his heart flutter in his chest.

She regarded him with a look of thought before offering her gloved hand to him. The cant of her head matched his own, a look of quizzicality would’ve been upon his face should he have been a man. Her simply inquiry was enough to communicate what she was trying to ask of him. Hesitantly he took the offer, opening his great wings to balance himself as he boarded her hand. He tried to be ginger with his talons but knew that, due to her standing, he would be forced to dig in, if only to stay atop her hand.

He stayed aboard as he caught his breath, breast heaving up and down. The last bout of a chase had taken its toll on the eagle. Typically it didn’t take him as long to take down prey, but he had not been hunting since the night he spent at Elann’s place. Being with her had pampered him so, he had grown used to readily available meals. His brother’s would’ve teased him, should he been hunting with them. It wasn’t like him to miss so many, otherwise easy targets. Perhaps Elann was a distraction to him, a deterrent of his focus. He refused to conclude as such. Elann was the equivalent to his mother’s Lanna, or she would become as much if he had his way.

Once his breath was caught and Elann recovered her first bullet shot at the rabbit, she sent him off. He pushed off her raised hand, wings fluttered sporadically at first. He had timed it poorly, the gust of wind he anticipated not coming, leaving him flailing for a moment in the sky. In the rush he called upon the mark placed on his back to conjure the wind beneath his wings. In a singular, light puff he was airborne again, taking to the sky like he had done twice before already.

As he was greeted by the skies he began to scan the ground for what remained of the critters. At first there was nothing; the field a barren wasteland with the seemingly forever falling snow. Upon closer inspection, though, a dot of disheveled brown appeared atop the whitening blanket: a squirrel. Days ago there had been an influx of squirrels into the city, he noticed it in his return flight the day he delivered the letter to Elann. Apparently some squirrels had stayed within the city’s wall, now slowly trailing back to the woods from whence they came.

Noah straddled the wind, dipping from side to side. He let out a sharp chirp to alert Elann before turning in the air to discover the angle of his approach. Once found he tucked his wings slightly, engaging in the descent against the foraging squirrel. His dive was targetted behind Elann, near the edge of the field where once plowed, now frozen dirt met dying grass. The deeper into the dive he angled, the further he tucked his wings, speed increasing evermore as he did so. Eventually, as the great distanced was covered, the squirrel became aware of the imminent danger.

The eagle and its prey locked eyes before the squirrel burst forth, barreling back towards the city where it was once protected. Noah raced for squirrel as it raced for cover. However, the space between safety and openness of the area proved too extreme for the squirrel to cover for the eagle was upon it. In the blink of an eye the eagle shot into the squirrel, but in the instant before impact the eagle’s bullet-body transformed into that of a flaring of feathers. Noah’s tail feathers fanned out, wings were thrown open, and talons were thrust forward. Instantaneously the dive was ceased and the immediate stop caused a momentary booming, resounding like a crack of thunder.

From the thrown up snow emerged Noah, retaking to the air with the squirrel suddenly lifeless in his talons. He rounded out in the air, changing direction towards the fences where he landed with his prey clutched beneath him.

[Elann]

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The grip of his talons hurt her hand, but once he was upon her hand, she was utterly amazed at how amazingly light he was in comparison to what he actually looked like. Still, she couldn't hold him forever, and upon his leaving, a gust kicked up, vaulting him upward into the sky. Poor Elann though was chilled to the bone and wrapped her arms about herself as shivers overtook her. Her runny nose was nearly frozen and had become as red if not redder than the hue in her cheeks. Her skin was as hot as a high grade fever as it worked in overdrive to compensate for her heat loss. With a shuffled gait, she took off after her friend as quickly as her pace would allow in the deepening snow.

She almost seemed to lose him in the snow for a second and a sensation of fear overtook her, but quickly subsided as she caught the familiar coloring of him up above. Eventually he seemed to spot something and she relinquished her hands from where they were wrapped about her so that she could fit the bullet into the band of leather. Quickly he dove, streaking downward on something she couldn't even fully see bounding in the snow. Gradually she made her way to see what it was, using the fence nearby as a reference to where she was, and eventually she came upon him by pure happenstance. Her eyesight was nothing compared to his in this form he was in, so it was almost a surprise to her when he emerged; majestically positioned on his fence post, squirrel in his grasp.

"Ooo, what did you get?" She came up to see his talons piercing through the small squirrel. It looked like a tiny morsel of a snack to a bird as big as him and she wondered if he hunted something else normally. "You must hunt bigger things than that normally... Go ahead, you were hungry even before we left." With that she slipped the bullet into her hand from the sling and pulled her cowl and hood up over her head. Her hands then came up to cover her mouth and nose over the fur-trimmed cowl that already covered them. The slingshot, still in her hand now was angled so it wasn't pressing into her face and her other hand clenched the bullet, now pressed to her. With her piercing blue-green eyes, she watched around them to make sure they were safe while Noah ate; if he so wanted.

Into the silent falling snow, Elann sighed. In her heart she was so enraptured and in love with the purity of the white landscapes around them and her eyes were going everywhere. Even simple things like her windowsill, or the fence post near her, all of it looked different; beautiful. The crimson bleeding down on the snow from Noah's squirrel even had a morbid beauty to it. The only sound around was the ripping of the small furry beast within her friend's grasp, and as a small amount of time went by, the egging emotion of hunger he seemed to feel far more than she did ended up fading into the background.

Suddenly something caught her eye. It was a color much like Noah's, moving within the snow with little bounds and leaps through the deeper drifts and little trots through the less deep terrain. It was on the trail of the squirrel that Noah had caught, and as silently as she could bother to get his attention, she said, "Noah...look. A fox I think?" She only knew of it because the kids at the orphanage the last time she was there in the fall had drawn a picture of it. Only now did she realize how amazingly close the picture was. "I am going after it. If you can...you should help."

Elann didn't even know what fox meat tasted like, but she was sure Noah would probably want something more sustaining than that little squirrel. Creeping the best she could, she began to drag her feet in the snow rather than lift them and let them crunch down like before; wondering if it would work. The fox turned, excited by the fresh scent of blood on the ground where Noah had made his grab, and it trotted toward the killzone. As Elann drew closer, she fitted the bullet from her right hand into the sling and pulled back. The fox was preoccupied with licking up the blood in the snow as she rested her aim on it. With what little strength she had, she couldn't pull it back likely enough to kill it, but she'd never get a better shot. Aiming for its head, tension grew on the chords until her arm couldn't pull any more. A loud whip sounded as it slid from her fingers, screaming with speed toward the fox. In the last second the fox looked up to see what the sound was, only to catch the shot on its right leg. As Elann watched, the bullet had streamed toward it amazingly fast, but then began to curve. Perhaps there was a reason for that?

The large fox's leg gave out from under it and flopped into the snow in pain, kicking about. Elann struggled for another bullet, but as she did, the fox recovered and began hobbling away on three legs; the fourth tucked up underneath it, injured.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Noah Amuel]

Patiently he waited for Elann to approach him before he made any other move with the squirrel. With her permission granted for him to eat, he did so. With one talon holding the rodent down to the post and the other one planted to keep him balanced, he outstretched his wings as he went about plucking the fur from his meal, an idealistic spot for consumption found. After the spot on the squirrel had been cleared of fur he went about tearing through the rodent’s flesh, puncturing the skin and reaching the treasurable organs beneath.

He busied himself with pruning, tearing, then eating the edible bits of the squirrel. He bypassed any skin he did not need to tear through and shifted through the small organs of the dead rodent, picking what he wanted from the crimson assortment. Through all his tearing and ripping blood began to run from inactive veins and fleshly chasms her tore into the carcass. The dreaded thick liquid trailed down the post into the snow below, simply resting atop the flakes for it was too cold to melt them.

With his hunger sated slightly he looked up at Elann’s quiet whisperings, wondering what she was going on about. She brought his attention to the fox walking the trail the squirrel once walked. It was approaching the area in which he had taken down the rodent, a bloodstain melted into the snow, marking the spot in crimson. He watched as Elann went off after it, curiously canting his head from side to side, eyes following the woman’s trudges through the snow. He wondered how exactly she was gonna manage to take down the fox with a slingshot she could barely use. She was a spectacle herself. He couldn’t tell if it was determination or stubbornness that kept her going, perhaps it was a mixture of both.

He shifted on his post, bringing his wings back to his sides, tucking them against his body. Elann’s steps turned to dragging in the snow, the trail she created easily visible to him. He moved, hopping from the post to the plank of wood slatted into it - the squirrel’s carcass fell to the ground in a quiet thud. Carefully he kept walking the length of the plank, positioning himself need he have to react to Elann’s shooting.

Her crawl slowed further. Another tilt of his head came as she slowed. He observed her load the slingshot and pull the sling taut once more. He rustled his feathers, waking up his body for another quick flight. A fox was no easy target. It was equipped with a natural weapon of its own: teeth. Teeth that, if well placed, could end Noah’s life should he be careless in his approach. A nervousness fluttered briefly in his gut, the anticipation rotting away at his confidence.

Still, he reared himself to fly, the snap of Elann’s slingshot his signal. With a burst of energy he was off the post and in the air, each muscle ridden contraction propelling him forward. He didn’t gain altitude on this flight, he aimed to make a beeline for the new target, he wanted to be swift. Already he was upon Elann and passing her, the fox tumbled in the snow before righting itself. To his surprise she had hobbled it, one of its four legs too pained to put weight on. With his new target considerably slower he felt his confidence return.

Each beat of his wings worked to close the distance between the distressed fox and the bloodthirsty eagle, and, like usual, he was upon his prey as quickly as his body would allow. The fox noticed its new adversary’s oppressing shadow painted in grey on the white field. It did not have the ability to even attempt to outrun the eagle, but that’s what it tried to do anyway, panic filling the feral mind. The eagle’s own tame mind made him hesitate before striking the fox. Up close it was larger than he had originally considered, intimidating despite its crippledness.

He filled himself with resolve and took the plunge, fanning out his wings and tail feathers to extend his talons. Purchase took on the fox’s hide who yelped initially before seeking to bite at the eagle ripping at its back, however, because of the hobbled leg it fell, ripping into the ground. Just barely, Noah broke off his attack, retracting his talons and taking to the air to round about for another assault, the fur from the fox falling from his talons in his brief ascension.

[Elann]

.

It was amazing to watch Noah rush past her, on the hunt. Still her focus was getting that next bullet in. The fact the fox had indeed been injured, meant that she perhaps could manage to load and fire again! Fingers remembered how to work, despite the cold and her bullet slid into the strap. Quickly she took after the fox, seeking to cover the distance that it had gained on her. Looking up, she could see how Noah managed to injure it even further, puncturing its neck severely, yet not able to make a killing blow. With blood splattering hacks, the fox continued at a hobbled pace, attempting its best to outdistance the eagle. It for some reason had not seen Elann yet and to her benefit, was running perpendicular to her. As she drew closer, its attention caught sight of her and it moved to switch directions, running away from both her and Noah to the best of its ability.

Elann took into account the past few shots she had made and tried her best to calculate the movements of the fox. With a little lead on it, pulling her arm perhaps straight back instead of to the side, and pressing the bullet in the strap to her cheek for aim, she attempted a new shot. She aimed for the fox's head once more, knowing it could kill it, but instead the bullet sailed low and clipped its abdomen. She had forgotten to pull back as hard this time as last time, and so the hit wasn't as good, merely knocking the fox on its side. What was of benefit though was it had knocked the wind out of her prey. She looked up to Noah to where he was coming around and placed the next bullet in her sling, getting into a motion and let it fly.

The nice thing about the Benshiran slingshot was that it was so easy to use, a child could use it, yet it still retained the full power force of a sling. It meant that when skilled, she could get off a couple shots far easier than someone could nook an arrow and fire it. Her skill was far from anything good though and as she fumbled with the bullet into the strap, she by chance in her haste just got it right in place. Noah was coming in from the left, and she had just enough time to shoot the fox before he began his dive. Letting the next bullet loose, aiming at its head again, it sailed and went far to the left. It hit upon the fox's lower spine and seemed to hurt it a bit, causing its back legs to stumble a little bit and drag a bit more lethargic than before. Still it was nowhere near being down.

The blood that leaked from its neck left a crimson trail, thick and easy for any animal to follow. It was not getting away from them in this wide open field. Not today. Not on her first hunt. It was something her father forbid her from joining in on from a young age even until now, always making her watch the goats instead. It felt so empowering to just be able to participate in it with Noah. It had become part stubbornness, part excitement, an influx of confidence, and a lot of adrenaline pumping fun; something she had essentially never had in her life.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Noah Amuel]

In the sky he caught sight of the fox again, hurriedly retreating back to the field where Elann was approaching form. Spotting Elann it scurried to turn, to hobble away, in retreat, its life’s fluid dripping heavily from the wound Noah inflicted upon its neck. The fox found itself trapped between the bonded pair, the eagle bearing above it from its left and the Benshiran-slingshotting-huntress moving in from its right. The animal was doomed, Noah recognized, but the fox did not. Onward it trudged, the snow becoming too much for it to lift its paws from.

A resounding snap pierced the air, the whooshing of a stone heard soon after. It struck the fox, whose faint grunt of discomfort could be heard as its rear legs buckled. It fell to the ground, snow dusting inches into the air from the impact. It struggled to regain its footing but the hunters did not let up. Even though the inside of his breast burned from the constant flying around, Noah persisted on. As the fox dragged itself towards the edge of the forest, a trail of red lay itself down behind it, Noah found at an angle of descent.

Taking to the angle the eagle begin the final descent that would end the hunt. From the sky he rocketed, taking to the fox with his talons, claws sinking into the flesh of the creature. Too pained and weakened to go on, the fox didn’t even peep in pain as the eagle came down on it, forcing it to the ground once and for all. With wingspan opened entirely for balance’s sake Noah reared back, swiftly jabbing his beak three times into the fox’s cranium. The signs of faded from it. Limply it lay beneath him, blood draining from open wounds into a pool in the snow. This blood, hot as it was, melted the snow as it traveled forming a river of waning life.

He shifted atop the fox, feeling its body wobble beneath his talons. He turned until Elann was within his sights again. Patiently he awaited her arrival to the scene, not moving to touch the downed prey until she bid it.