[Bronze Woods] A Bit of Hunting [Cathan]

[Hadrian]

It wasn't until Hadrian crossed the border of his own barriers that he realized Cathan was not following. Panting, he gasped for enough breath to call out, hoping that the wolf Kelvic would be able to process his words while in the middle of a fight. With a heroic, shuddering inhale, he attempted it. "Cathan! The runes!" He gasped again for more breath. "Lead it to the runes!" The horse jittered nervously beside him as he spread his fingers toward his glyphs, thin streams of res extending from each finger like energetic snakes, coiling and twisting into new glyphs and new relationships between those pre-existing. He retooled the circle-sigil, and doing so on the fly was not easy, but Cathan proved enough of a distraction to buy him some time. Once he had things well enough in hand that he could afford to have a wakeful bear barreling into his defenses, he had a bit more breath to spare. "Cathan, to me!" The horse whinnied nervously and Hadrian quickly turned around, almost embracing its large head. One arm snaked under its jaw, reaching around that he might cover its far eye with a cupped hand. He drew it close, staring into its one open eye, pushing his will onto it. A docile creature to begin with, he felt it wavering before him. 'Calm,' his mind told it. 'Calm.' He hoped it would remain calm long enough for Cathan to get there and for his trap to work. He hoped it would work.

[Cathan]

Hadrian's words drove him forward, out of the bushes and towards horse and rider. Absently he noted the faint glow around the young man's hand, but there was no time to worry about what it could mean. A few yards of half frozen mud and snow separated the Kelvic from the sorcerer and more skidding than running the wolf now closed the distance between himself and the runes carved into the forest soil.

Behind him the bear broke from the undergrowth. Branches stuck in the animal's hide and fur clung wet to its body. All of a sudden the bear did not seem as large anymore. Cathan could not claim the beast looked any less impressive. Huffing it had stopped among the last trees, shaking its massive head. More careful than just a second ago it continued forward, strides ponderous and slow. Again the bear shook its head, starring at Cathan, Hadrian.

The wolf had stopped more steps before the marks, breathing not less heavily than his quarry. Challenging the wolf lowered his head, his tongue lolling out between white fangs. Wolves were not meant to beat full grown bears. Not alone, not with a pack to support them. They could kill a bear cub and occasionally did, but they shied confronting the old ones in direct combat. Now victory seemed, while not given, at least a possibility. The canine growled. He did not step over to Hadrian yet, instead making one, two steps toward the raging creature still making its way towards the circle.

Bold the Kelvic darted left, towards the bear's side. Wary dark eyes watched him, one paw risen to strike the smaller animal should the wolf dare to get close. Half a second Cathan hesitated. A cloud of frozen breath hung between the two predators, the only sound the nervous smashing of hooves, the whining of a nervous horse. Before the canine the larger beast reeled, about to turn. It was then the wolf leaped, digging his teeth into a blood covered shoulder.

A loud roar shook the the clearing when the bear took after the Kelvic, who now hurried to turn, to run towards the circle where Hadrian was waiting. With freshly sparked rage Cathan's pursuer came after him, all prudence forgotten.

Without looking back the wolf leaped into the circle, right to Hadrian's feet. He had touched non of the signs so carefully drawn into the ground. Belly almost touching the ground Cathan starred at the nearing beast.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian was nearly beside himself as the adrenaline urged him to act, but Cathan's fencing with the bear kept him outside the circle, thus limiting Hadrian's ability to act. But when the bear and the wolf came close and the smell of blood came with them, he was forced to grab the horse by the bridle -- too hard, perhaps, in his nervousness -- and stare it in the eye. "Calm!" his voice cracked like an adolescent whip. He pushed with his mind, his will, attempting again to force that suggestion into the beast's simple mind. It snorted nervously, eyes rolling, but he held on with desperate strength to its bridle. "Calm!" he said again, this time with a hint of desperation, but it seemed to work. It started nosing at some spring shoots poking tenderly out of the loamy soil. Then Hadrian turned back to watch Cathan's antics with the bear, and all he could do was wring his hands. But no, that wasn't all he could do. He began to pour more of his djed into his hands, letting res collect in his hands, then cling to his hands in globs that quickly filled out into little globes. They flickered an icy blue, and he waited. "Gods damn it, Cathan," he muttered, "hurry!" And then, quick as anything, the wolf was huddled under his feet and it was up to Hadrian to protect his lupine friend and his less faithful equine acquaintance. He raised his hands high overhead as the bear made its approach, picking up some speed and roaring a bit as it came. His hands came down as it was almost there, brilliant res slamming into his circle, lighting up the glyphs in an instant. The reaction of his defenses were almost too quick to see, but before the bear could get within paw's reach of them, the res was multiplied by the sigil, and a stalagmite of calcareous ice rose up to impale the bear. The shocked look on its face was almost piteous, as was its attempt to articulate its pain, but with its lungs rent asunder, it couldn't even wheeze. Thick blood slid down the icy impalement, congealing quickly in the cold. Hadrian stared wide-eyed, but the horse, still magically becalmed, just chewed its makeshift salad.

[Cathan]

The bear died quickly, dead before its heavy body touched ground. Two, three seconds Cathan merely starred at the giant which in the end had fallen with so little resistance. His ears twitched. Belated he leaped from the ring of glyphs, away from the horse. The mount seemed strangely docile now, yet the canine knew a single well aimed hit from its metal strengthened hooves could break bones.

With care the Kelvic approached the animal so much larger than him. Twice he circled the spear of ice and the body impaled in it before closing distance. As if testing the life left in the other beast the wolf stilted forward, digging teeth in a paw dangling half an inch above the frozen ground. There was no reaction. Cathan moved a step backward, awestruck and maybe just a hint irritated.

Blood started to pool around the cadaver and the canine turned around to Hadrian. For the first time since the encounter he had time to look the young man over. To his relief he found no wound which had deserved to be called critical. In Cathan's experience those involved a certain amount of blood to be lost, yet most vital fluids he smelled seemed to originate from the carcass behind him. Feeling a sudden wave of exhaustion wash over him, the wolf sat down his haunches. It wasn't until then he started to feel all the small and not so small bruises covering his body, felt his heart race in his chest.

Moments past before the Kelvic pushed to his feet again. Where the ice shard had torn into the bear's body, the wolf now licked the blood spilling from the wound. With little care he ripped into the corpse, cleaving chunks of meat and innards from the still warm remains. It was easy where the ice had broke fur and skin and fat layers. Cathan did not bother with chewing, instead he wolfed down large bites nigh effortlessly. When a shower of light heralded his change into a human, he still stood beside the bear's massive form. Red covered the shapeshifter's lips and chin, running down his neck and chest. He barely seemed to notice.

Running a hand along the dead animal's side, he prodded his finger into some wounds with thoughtful expression. Amber eyes searched for Hadrian.

"It is a good thing we were not hunting for a bed side rug," Cathan said with a grin, the expression overshadowed by exhaustion. "If you ever hunt for fur, you will have to find a way to kill your prey without making so many holes into it."

At least the head was whole and that was the piece his friend had been most interested in. The kelvic couldn't help but feel incredible satisfied with the outcome of their hunt.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian watched Cathan flee the circle's safety, nose about the bear, and then eat. He was mildly fascinated rather than disgusted by his feeding. It was an honest animal thing to do, especially next to the frightful display of violence he had done with his magic. Self-defense, of course, and defense of Cathan and the horse, but it still left him shaken. A little numb, he observed Cathan's transformation, wished he had the skill at Morphing and Glyphing to make such changes himself, though now he felt like many a thing was within his grasp if he only learned a bit more first, honed his skills and kept his mind innovative. Finally he kicked his feet through the remains of the glyphs, which were mostly destroyed by the release of their energies into the bear. He considered getting Cathan's clothes from the saddle, but figured he would ask if he got cold. "I'm not much of a killer," he said. "I was mostly just trying to get the job done, though I suppose furriers could make smaller things of his pelt... if you want to take it." He tried to smile back at Cathan, but it was a little wan. Hadrian was not a wild creature. "I suppose... I'll set up a temporary camp here, so we can take what we want from the bear. I'll do some bone carving and the like. Did you... did you catch anything else before the bear came?" Just at that moment, the weight of the bear cracked the icy stalagmite in half where the heat of its body had melted it. Hadrian jumped, then shook his head at his own nerves. "Can I do anything?"

[Cathan]

"It would be a waste not to take it." Cathan said slowly as he looked over the torn remains of the pelt. He did not truly care about the hide, instead repeating what he had learned from hunters long ago. For his animal mind the meat was the most worthwhile reward on a hunt, yet humans needed the fur they could not grow themselves. "There is not much left intact," he admit however, after he had finished his observation.

Absent minded the Kelvic wiped his chin, only to leave a red smudge along his underarm. He paid no mind to it. From the still placid horse he plucked his leather bag, now stuffed from all his clothing. "Ah, I got a fox earlier," he continued, the weariness in his voice suddenly pregnant with an allusion of pride. "Might be best if I look for it."

His ability to navigate woods was well developed, he was not as apt describing ways to others. In his experience other races could not comprehend all the details a wolf was able to pick up. Humans had no trouble recognizing certain trees, the tracks of some animals when they knew how to find their way around the forest, yet they failed to pick up scents, faint sounds. Cathan on the other hand rarely relied on his visual memory.

The unexpected crackling of breaking is drew his attention towards the bear, yet when there was no further movement his curiosity and wariness waned. Carelessly he dropped the pair of boots he had found on the frozen ground. In his human form he was as vulnerable to the cold as any human who had grown up in the north without Morwen's blessing. He could stand the cold for a while, but his feet tend to grow cold rather quickly. Inconvenient considering how much he enjoyed to feel the soil beneath his feet.

"Setting up the camp is a good idea. We will need a fire to clean the bones." When the Kelvic turned towards Hadrian again, his rabbit coat was riding his shoulders. It was a poor substitute for his natural coat and the man pulled it closely around his body. "Even with the little fat our friend here has, it will be easier if we work together. Once we have the heads cleaned you can do your magic on them." And he would see what meat and fur he could take of their quarry which was worth the work. The fox might gain them a few coins, the bear he was not so sure about.

About to stagger back into the woods to retrieve the fox, Cathan stopped, eying his friend. "Unless you feel tired. Then I will set up the camp once I am back," he offered with a little grin.

[Hadrian]

"Perhaps the scraps can be used to patch up and increase your own second pelt," he said thoughtfully, "though you won't need it much longer. Not until Winter returns, I mean." But he waved Cathan off and tried to think of how best to go about this. He hadn't camped truly since riding into Syliras in the Summer, and there had been other people to do a lot of the grunt work. Just to be safe, he took the horse gently by the reins and tugged its head around so its liquid eye gazed calmly at him, teeth chomping on the early spring grass. Again, he tried to push his will through his eyes and across the short intervening space into the animal's, that intention coded into words that he thought with all his might, and that fell dully from his lips as well. "Calm," he ordered again, and then, because he was grateful to have the animal there, he added, "[i]Feel good. Be happy. Feel good[/]." Whatever that meant to a horse, it tossed its head gleefully, nudged him with his nose, and went back to grazing while it let off a burst of relaxed flatulence. "Great," he muttered, then began gathering stones into a ring for a fire, tinder, kindling, and larger pieces of wood so that they could start a proper fire and boil down the skulls of the vanquished bear and the fox Cathan said he had caught. Because he was physically lazy, or because the adrenaline had worn out what strength his body had, he unlashed the large cooking pot and eyed the walk to the river. Shaking his head, he knelt next to the unlit fire with the pot between his knees and held his hands over it. It was, perhaps, not the smartest thing to do, using more of his djed to pour res out of his hands and into the pot to transmute into water, but it seemed easier than toting all that weight around. It all came slower for his exhaustion, but so far there was no telltale headache to warn him off more expenditure of energy. That done, he heaved a heavy sigh and showered sparks from the flint and steel onto the tinder he had set up under a tent of kindling in his ring of stones and gradually coaxed into a flame.

[Cathan]

The fox was found again without difficulty, its red body well visible against the snow covering the ground. Cathan picked the still warm body up, turning over, inspecting it. Compared with the bear he had just seen die, the long tailed canine was small, albeit well fed. Its fur was of a medium length, more rust brown than actual red, yet warm and of good quality.

The Kelvic held the animal at the nape of its neck when he returned to Hadrian. Almost gentle Cathan put the smaller creature down, along side the bear. Amber eyes wandered over the camp, resting on the fire for a moment but then darted onward towards the young sorcerer. "I would have thought you would light the fire with magic." He smirked, but also seemed surprised. In the past season he had seen Kendall ooze fire from his palms so often that he had grown used to see camp fires started with magic.

"You do seem tired though. Want to nap till I have the bones cleaned?," the shapeshifter suggested while searching his bag for the long hunting knife he had bought back in Zeltiva on a whim. Unsheathing it, Cathan examined the iron for just a moment. The knife was a simple weapon, with a narrow, slightly curved blade and a plain hilt made of oak wood. Frequent grinding had gained the weapon a crude appearance. It was sharp still.

He looked up again, head tilt to the side. "Will be a bit of a mess too, so if you have a weak stomach it might be for the best even."

It was not said with malice. Merely concern could be heard in his words and even that was barely more than a faint trace. During his journey he had avoided skinning quarry right under his travel companions' noses if only because he felt Kendall might not appreciate the sight. It was one thing to kill an animal and another to turn their inside out. At least humans seemed to have difficulties with the later at times. The Kelvic had no such qualms, had changed his habit of picking apart his prey right after the kill, only to not make others uncomfortable. Hadrian had proven an admirable strong stomach in that regard so far. To Cathan it was a rather pleasing surprise.

"Unless you know how to skin a fox?," he asked after a second, reaching for the reddish brown animal. "Then you could try your luck on our little friend here and I will claim the bear's head."

[Hadrian]

"I can't create fire magically," he said, trying not to get upset about that. It was a sore spot, but Cathan had no way of knowing that. "Well, I might be able to pour undifferentiated res into a proper sigil and create a scroll that could conjure fire, but I'm not sure I'm enough a master at glyphing to do that. Next time you visit me at home, remind me to try that, though. It would safe me time spent with steel and flint." He hefted the water-filled pot onto the fire he had made by hand so it could be brought to a boil. If too much evaporated, he could always create more or, if he was feeling manly, go down to the stream to collect some with his own two hands. Not knowing how long it would take to skin the animals and prepare everything, he just shrugged and sat down where he could watch. "I'll just watch you do it properly. I'd make a mess of it, not knowing what I was doing. Perhaps next time you can show me how. Just take what you want, I suppose, and give me the skulls to boil down. I don't know if bear tongue or bear brains are a delicacy for you." He chuckled wearily. "I suppose I could maledict shoulderblades and other, larger bones and make a set of magical bone armor but... I don't know any Myrians likely to buy such a thing. I'll settle for the skulls and the claws if you don't mind sharing."

[Cathan]

Cathan nodded, determined to remember what the other man asked of him. If he would actually recall to remind the man about his magecraft was another matter altogether. It did not help the Kelvic could only vaguely imagine what his friend meant by storing a spell in a scroll. While he barely could write more than his name and he rarely ever came to touch a book he was well aware paper was as easily set ablaze as pile of leaves in autumn. He could not think of what Hadrian intended to do, yet he did not want to point his confusion out to the other man.

Like Kendall the young sorcerer seemed to know so much more about magic than him, it was unnerving at times. In the same turn the practical minded shapeshifter could not quite get himself to care. There were many other skills he lacked, many other fields he knew very little about. One could not know everything.

"I have no need for anything but the fur and the meat." And even those he was better of eating himself. While he could not say why, the flesh of some animals just sold badly. Cat was one of those examples. Dogs were another. He could not imagine anyone to buy fox, although he had seen hunters sell bear meat during hard winters. Need seemed able to let men forget about their qualms it seemed. "Could probably get the marrow from the larger bones if we cared to, but with as much meat we got there is hardly a need for that."

His expression unchanging the man drove his blade into the fox chest, cutting down the animals belly with well practiced hand. Soon the guts piled in the ground beside Cathan and the Kelvic added some more cuts along inside of the smaller canine's legs. Careful yet not without a certain force he pulled at the fur a second later, using his knife when needed to separate pelt from meat and fat. Water slopped out and down the pots side when he unceremoniously dropped the fox' head into the brew. The scent of thin soup started to mix with the stink of blood and intestines.

It was not a bad smell as Cathan found. "Will you work your magic on all pieces at once?," he asked already getting to his feet, wandering over to the bears carcass. A moment he studied what had hunt him through the woods not so long ago. "The claws are easily removed. You could start with them, while we wait on skulls to finish cooking."

Bending down he japed the blade down the bears pawn, three, four times, before tearing out one claw after another. He continued with the other pawns. By the fire he looked over every piece of bone, scrapping of remaining pieces of meat and hair, before handing them over to Hadrian. "If you cared to, you could drill a hole through the base and make a necklace from it."