The Hunt!

by **Aenisa** on April 30th, 2017, 4:50 pm

10th of Spring - 517 AV

Swaying treetops covered the ground to such an extent that no grass seemed to be growing and although the ground was covered in green, it was moss and not grass. So far, they had been travelling for at least a few bells and it seemed that they were getting closer and closer, one of the other falconers was guiding the group through the paths in the woods. Hoping that the other falconer knew of a larger meadow in the woods, they were moving along at a slow pace, the uneven ground making it even less enjoyable to ride over. It wasn’t so much the long journey that made Aenisa question if this was very wise to do in the first place but the fact that they seemed to be diving deep into the woods with no real idea of where they were. At least, Aenisa didn’t know where they were but the others might, they had lived in Alvadas for a far longer time than she had.

The group was a larger group though, the four employers, each with a servant of varying degrees of care and each of them had also brought two mercenaries and then there was three falconers with their raptors too. With the horses, the group was rather big and so it wasn’t a real danger to be out in the woods but the danger seemed to lurk more in the uncertainty of where they were heading. Aenisa knew not really what to expect from the journey, feelings of anxiety over it had started to creep in. Thankfully they had set off from Alvadas at a bright and early hour and it was still not yet mid-day and so they would have a good amount of time to head back to the city as well. As the small gathering was moving through pine and leaf-tree studded forests, shifting like the seasons of a year, the forest was slowly starting to thin out. Openings between the trees gave life to bushes and flowers that seemed to appear out of nowhere in the middle of the forest. It didn’t take long until they stood at the edge of a large meadow, one or two trees dotting the meadow but apart from them it seemed rather empty. An empty Meadow was sure to mean a lot of prey was to be had, it was the perfect grazing ground for all kinds of forest-dwelling critters. That is what Aenisa was told by the falconer who was leading the group.

The land switched from the moss that covered the forests into a lush and green carpet instead. Spreading out, the spring had brought out the green in the grass and with the changing weather that rolled through it made sure that the carpet would get plenty of water too. It was the oasis of the forest, a green pool of grass in an otherwise thick forest. The falconer who had led the group to the clearance seemed happy when he saw how the other two, Aenisa and the other falconer, slowly nodded their heads in approval. “See? This is a great spot to find game in. Come on, lets unload.” He said and motioned the others with him as the group came to a stop. Aenisa stepped down from the horse, the falcon sitting comfortably on her right hand as she did so, a gentle flapping of the wings allowed Aenisa to know that it is getting restless and a little vary of what is going on. Not seeing anything at all could be a little unnerving for the raptor as it was moved around more than it was used to.

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by **Aenisa** on April 30th, 2017, 4:53 pm

10th of Spring - 517 AV

“Alright, get things ready!” It was the demanding tone of the ones that they were there to serve for the day, Aenisa didn’t have to do too much as the bird was already ready for the hunt. During the journey out to the forest, she had spoken with the other falconers and they had decided that they would each take a part of the meadow to hunt in and hopefully that would be enough to not have several raptors going for the same prey. Their employers continued to conversate between each other as their servants hurried around to prepare the different items that they had brought with them. A few chairs were put up in the shadow and a couple of coffers were opened, expected to at least fill one of them from their hunt during the day. Aenisa meanwhile had unpacked the equipment that Yuri and she had packed for the hunt, she was taking out a secondary setup of protective gear that the man had requested that they bring. A second set of gloves was the primary items but also some rewards for the falcon, even if it did not catch anything during the hunt. It didn’t take too long for the servants to finish with the unpacking and as they did, they were quick to join the falconers and the mercenaries. The small group started to introduce themselves and talk about life in Alvadas as they were waiting for their employers to decide that they wished to start the hunt.

“Did you get the gloves?” It was the voice of the man that had arrived the other day at Yuri’s farm. She turned around and looked at him briefly and then she smiled, showed him the gloves and waited for him to put them on before she would help him with the bird. “Make sure that nothing sneaks up on us.” He said as he spoke to the mercenaries, they just rather tiredly nodded their heads and went about their business, scattering out along the meadow. It wasn’t long until the falcon sat on her employer’s hand, the hood still covering its head and keeping it calm. “We wait. We wait for other.” Aenisa said to the employer as she started to take out the sticks that they had brought with them, it wasn’t anything that they really needed but it would help them greatly. “How much you know?” She motioned to the bird, knowing that her words were a bit short. “I have done this probably longer than you.” He said, raising his nose at her and looking at her as if she was half-stupid. Shrugging her shoulders, Aenisa headed out into the clearing as she started to check around to see if she could see any indications of animals in the area.

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by **Aenisa** on April 30th, 2017, 5:02 pm

10th of Spring - 517 AV

She stepped out into the meadow, the rays of the sun basking her skin in the warmth of the day. Aenisa had always wondered about the sun and what it truly was, what it truly meant and why it was such an important and warming celestial body. As a kid, she had gotten told about the sun and that it was the gods that ruled the skies above, she had been told of how the gods and goddesses resided in the heavens. She had also been told that some gods walked among the mortals, seeking new followers. It had all seemed so farfetched but as Aenisa had grown older and had witnessed events for herself, her view had changed. Some days it seemed like the sun would come rolling over the horizon and destroy the entire city or the world, other days it was so far away that she wasn’t very worried. Whatever the reason behind that, it was far outside of Aenisa’s grasp of how the heavens worked, she was hoping that she might one day get to experience the movement of the sun and see where it went after darkness arose. For the moment though, the warmth of the sun against her skin was enough for her to feel happy where she was, it was truly a majestic world.

Coming to a part in the middle of the meadow, Aenisa knelt. The sound of the wind came roaring through, increasing in volume slowly as it rose in strength, pushing the grass aside, only for the wind to die and the grass to stand tall again. The wind was treating the grass like a sea, pushing them this way and that like the waves of the ocean did with the water. The grass gave way to earth, thankfully it was soft and well worked by the parasites that called the earth their home, this gave her a soft place to inspect the vegetation from. Aenisa had only seen some other falconer doing the same thing in a field as a child. She had hoped that the act of just doing as the falconers had done would reveal insight into the animal kingdom. Realising that she had no idea what she was looking for or why she was doing what she was doing, she tried to not show this for the group as they stood by the edge of the forest and awaited her judgment whilst talking. It looked like there might be small tunnels in the grass that was criss-crossing the meadow and contrasting the otherwise pristine landscape. As she was kneeling in the meadow and looking about, Aenisa got a bad feeling about what the meadow represented and what might happen. It was one of those feelings that made her on edge and unsure about what truly going on, Aenisa was going to have to get better at reading her surroundings. Eyes darting everywhere before she spotted the secondary falconer approaching, Aenisa pushed the bad feelings out of the way and jerked her head out towards the meadow, saying. “It look good, they make street.” She showed the man with her hand as she smiled at him and then they both headed back towards the edge of the forest.

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by **Aenisa** on April 30th, 2017, 5:10 pm

10th of Spring - 517 AV

There were no tethers out here, no fake game and no do-overs if the prey got away, it would all be live hunting and it was making Aenisa a little nervous. She had been the responsible trainer for the raptor and now she was going to see it hunt for her first time in the wild. “What does it look like out there? What kind of game is there?” came the question as soon as they returned to the group, Aenisa smiled and was just about to speak once the other falconer chimed in. “Small game, rabbit and such, the usual, looks heavily trafficked though so we should be good.” And with those words the group started to prepare to head out into the field. Aenisa collected her stick from the collection of horses that they had brought with them and made sure that the man she was looking after had the food with him out into the field as well. They had chosen a patch in the furthest region of the meadow and as to not scare away the game before they got there, the groups moved along the edge of the forest towards their patches.

It did not take too long for the group to reach their selected patch of grass in the field and the hood of the falcon was removed, with a soft toss of his arm, the falcon spread its wings and took off. Majestic wings flapping against the gentle breeze quickly brought the bird up from the ground and high into the air. Tossing a long wooden stick to her employer, they lined up, her, the servant and him. She assumed that they knew what they were supposed to do. As the bird was sitting in a nearby tree on a branch, it’s observant eyes were skewering the meadows for anything that moved. They began to walk through the grass and the bushes, pushing down the vegetation as they went. Using the sticks to check where they placed their feet before they stepped there, striking it against the ground and slicing the bushes with the stick, all to make as much noise and vibrations as possible. As they were moving up the meadow, they were hollering and shouting short phrases of unintelligible words. They could hear another team further down having great luck as they managed to drive some game out the burrow that it was in, the bird striking instantly. Cheers arose from the group, the other groups responding with cheers of their own.

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by **Aenisa** on April 30th, 2017, 5:12 pm

10th of Spring - 517 AV

It took them but a few chimes and then the sound of dirt flying around caught their attention, a few steps ahead of them a white fur ball shot out of the ground. The shouting intensified as the white fur quickly was moving through the vegetation that had previously hidden its burrow. Above in the sky the falcon was watching more closely, sitting, half-tipping forwards already and getting ready to take flight. When it locked its eyes on the prey the strong legs easily catapulting it off the branch and the wings carrying it quickly into a strong flight. Soaring at an ever-increasing speed towards the rabbit who was dashing for its life. Above the prey the falcon changed the direction instantly, like it had hit a wall and just shot downwards towards the ground, the rabbit in sight. The trio that was on the ground was hurrying along after the two animals who were locked in an inevitable clash. Grass and branches rustling against their clothes as they took high steps, trying to come above the grass. In front of them the falcon swept past, like a rock thrown from a high height, it seemed that the bird had reached a velocity that none could ever live up to. There was a squeal and some fighting, a cry was given out by the falcon and some dirt was kicked up by the rabbit but it was all to no avail. As the trio reached the bird, it was proudly displaying the catch to the celebratory roar of the trio, the others recognized it and returned the celebration. The hunt had truly begun for Aenisa.

After the first rabbit had been caught and the hunting was truly on, Aenisa carried the game that the falcon caught in her covered backpack that she had on her back, covering it from view for the other raptors. Walking up and down the meadow they drove rabbit after rabbit and other small game out from their dens and into certain death, four falcons, all of them soaring above and striking as they saw the prey leaving the burrows. To an outsider, it might have looked like the skies above were sending spears down against the poor rabbits, to Aenisa it was all too majestic. Soon enough her backpack was full and their group called an end to their hunt to head back to the edge of the forest. They met with another group that had already finished, their employers had cooled off a little and started to socialise with them as the time went on. They had been gaining a newfound appreciation for the art of Falconry and for the handlers that took care of their beautiful raptors.

“You are already done?” They asked the other group as they returned. “Long time ago, we had a very good spot, even better raptor. What took you so long?” Aenisa smirked at what they said and then proceeded to take the raptor from her employer to return it to the cage until it was time for the travel back home again. She gave it some food for the day’s work and then returned the hood to the raptor, securing it in a cage. “We wanted to go easy on the smaller prey, we only went for the best. I see you didn’t.” Laugher erupted from the group as they were settling in and awaiting the arrival from the other groups.

It was almost dark by the time that the expedition returned to Alvadas and by the time that Aenisa had turned over the equipment back to Yuri and reached her home, it was dark and the city had pretty much gone to sleep.

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