Small game hunting; big time decisions (Isette)

[Utsu]

Lhavit, 3rd day of Spring, 511 It was Jame's second day of hunting for in the Misty Peaks this season, having caught a small deer as it strayed from it's parents. Yep he killed a small helpless deer, and he'll do it again he thought narrating himself now as a cold, bad to the bone hunter guy. Today he was focused on trying to find himself smaller prey this time. Sure it's possibly less reward and more constant work, but he stands less to lose when it comes to prey. It was a little bit harder to hit them with arrows but he finally got to the point he can hit one rather accurately when given the chance. He was with his two hunting dogs Lin and Zen, as they moved slowly and quietly through the forest. He watched as they worked in tandem them flushing out the random critters that got to scared and he'd shoot them while they ran towards him. However today was different, the trip went well as usual he caught a few squirrels and raccoons without much trouble, but now he was faced with a new animal. He aimed his bow straight at a black cat as it was mercilessly licked by two friendly dogs.

[Isette]

This was exactly why Isette did not often hunt in the Peaks. She was minding her own business, eating a squirrel, when she was suddenly being chased by two dogs. Isette was not able to outrun a dog. In hindsight, she could have climbed a tree. But, of course, she had panicked and tried to outrun them instead. Now they were…licking her? Eww…And what was that? That human was…Was that a bow aimed at her? That was bad. Fear welled up inside her. This was not okay. Reacting on instinct, Isette aimed a scratch at the nearest dog’s nose and kicked her back paws blindly out at the other one before wriggling away into the shadows. She needed to change. Surely this man wouldn’t hit a human? The black cat’s muscles rippled with tension as they stretched, her bones melded together and reformed. It was fluid. It was natural. It was instantaneous. And when she stood there, in human form, there wasn’t an arrow sticking out of her chest, so she must be pretty well hidden. Ah. That was much better. Isette peeked around the tree that hid her from view, slowly. Carefully. One sight of an arrow and she would vanish. Isette was not interested in getting injured.

[Utsu]

James watched a bit amused as the cat fought it's way to freedom smacking Lin before making it's hasty escape. He laughed a bit surprised as the cat proceeded to hide as it ran away. "Aww mean ole cat hit my loving Lin?" He said as he petted the dog. Hmm, that's weird he thought as he looked at Lin whine a little, I'm sure I sent the order out to actually hunt...so why'd they lick this cat? ,,,Hmm quite a few possibilities to consider, either way this is no ordinary kitty he thought before he looked at his pet doggies, "Stay... Hunt." This order was given for them to stay in a certain position until Darren flushed them out something to hunt or in this case lick. He then went after the where the cat went, looking at the snapped twigs in the area he knew he was close, sauntering slowly as to not make any noise or agitate any bushes he finally met up with another unusual sign. He decided to abseil a nearby tree to get a better view of the area. "Hmm...?" he said involuntarily as he looked down and saw a naked woman right under him. How did I not notice her? he thought feeling somewhat crazed by the sight. He looked at his water skin and smelled it... no alcohol,o this must be real. Oh...my being a hunter was such a good decision he thought taking a few good looks at her while she was checking around the bend of the tree looking wary. At this Darren was already started to piece some things together hmm...is such a thing possible?he thought. Formulating a plan he tooked at a nearby fruit the tree had and threw it at a bush in front of the tree as a distraction, to possibly startle the woman. From not too far away, the dogs turned to the sound and stood ready if anything were to move, preparing to lick errr hunt it to death.

[Isette]

She heard him climb the tree even if she couldn’t see him. Isette was mildly amused by this. Some hunter he was, making all that noise. Okay, he was being fairly quiet. A normal human might not have heard him moving. But she was not a normal human. Her feline senses pinpointed his location with relative ease. Time to turn the hunter into the hunted. Sort of. Isette didn’t have any weapons. Even if she did, the feline didn’t know how to use them. She hunted small things and avoided fighting big things. This was just a game to her. Crack! Something landed not too far away from where she was. Her eyes swiftly followed the noise and landed on a piece of fruit. Boring. Isette tensed anyway, feigning surprise, before ducking into the dense foliage, once more hiding herself from sight. She shifted again, preferring the swift silence of her feline form for hunting. Isette was thankful for her black fur, so easily blending in to the shadows of the wilderness. She darted from shadow to shadow, keeping to random patterns so that if he did happen to see her it would confuse him. Finally, once she was safely hidden behind yet another tree, she scaled the trunk. She was not in the direct line of sight of either him or his dogs. Once in the trees, she maneuvered around the branches and limbs, circling so that she could come up behind him. It was slow going. Isette wanted to be sure she was quiet and that she kept out of view as much as possible. And she couldn’t stay completely downwind from the dogs either. A good gust of wind and they may be able to tell which direction she was in. At least they couldn’t climb trees.

[Utsu]

James watched perplexed as he saw the woman take a look at the fruit and disappear into the underbrush. James took a moment took to think a bit as the dogs headed over to the noise. Should I go after her? Seeing a wildwoman seems rather rare...consider the possibilities he thought watching the dogs finally reach him. He petted them as he looked at their eyes, Lin seemed to recover from the cat's scratch and was able to hunt again and Zen was already trying to pick up the new scents around him. Speaking of that cat where did it go? The woman coming into view was a surprise to him as he barely saw any other signs of humanoid life while he was out hunting. Suddenly Zen barked as it picked up on something. James eyes shifted towards the dog's direction. Was it the woman? Or the cat? Either way it didn't seem like too much of a threat he thought as he followed Zen and now Lin as they lead him to the scent. He wasn't too great at tracking and hunting as his dogs but he did have some skill in it. However compared to what he was dealing with he wouldn't be surprised if either got the jump on him, or if he missed them entirely. That's what the dogs were for he thought as he looked around checking the tree lines and the nearby wilderness. A bit disappointed seeing nothing even with the dog's constant barking and help he slumped over a nearby tree. He thought about what else he could do as he ate some of his field rations for the trip. Sigh* These things are so gritty and nasty he thought as he still felt his stomach wanting more. Hmph as least you guys get to eat like kings he thought as he in turn also fed Lin and Zen who quieted down and ate quietly happily eating up their fill. He looked around and spoke trying to coax the cat or the woman near him if they were still close. "I come in peace, show yourself. I'm just a simple and kind hunter" he joked raising his hands up in mock surrender. "If your nice and show yourself I can take you to the city and treat you to spices and restaurants you might like" he said nearly laughing imagining the prospect of having dinner with either a cat or a feral human. The sun was already starting to set as he sat down under the tree. Sigh* ...Might be a good time to rest up before I go again he thought as he closed his eyes for just a few moments.

[Isette]

Isette did not like the sound of dogs barking. It made her feel unsafe in her small form. Then again, the first time they caught her all they did was lick her. So perhaps they were harmless enough. It was the man with the bow she had to be careful of. Arrows were deadly. She relaxed a bit as she got into a good stalking position. He did not seem to be a very good hunter. Or maybe he wasn’t interested in shooting her with an arrow after all. Either prospect was fine by her, particularly the second one. She still didn’t like the barking. The feline clambered down from a tree almost directly behind the man. She smelled food. Not very good food. For once, Isette wasn’t very hungry. She’d been eating before this whole fiasco so her stomach was fairly full. Then again, she’d probably need another meal by the time she was done hunting this man. Shapechanging took a lot out of her and doing it this often in such a short period of time was bound to make her hungry faster. She wasn’t worried. It would be easy enough to catch another squirrel or bird on the way back. She almost jumped when he started speaking. For a second, she thought he had realized she was there. But no. He was speaking to nothing in particular. He was a foreigner, she realized. This was shortly followed by another realization. Despite her small amount of Common, she had no idea what he was talking about. She gathered some of the pronouns and the word restaurant, but the rest flew over her head. He spoke too fast for her to catch much and used a lot of new words. Isette was curious. She crept closer to the man, taking care to be as silent as possible. When she was right behind him, she shifted again. Now in human form, she was able to speak. “What is…peez?” she asked curiously, speaking Common. “You come in…peez? What is that?” She was glad she knew enough Common to ask important questions like that. Meanwhile, her body was tensed, ready to run should he or his dogs prove to be a threat to her. She did not fancy being attacked by dog tongue again. That was gross and she felt like she needed a nice long bath. She looked at them warily.

[Utsu]

A sly grin appeared on Jame's face as he heard Isette behind him. His eyes open slowly as he looked to see the beautiful wildwoman behind him again. A short smile was on his face as he thought how silly he was to try speaking common in Lhavit. "My dear lady..." he said slowly now talking in fluent Lhavitian, "I wish to take you back into town." He got another look at her close up now as the evening sun started to set. The first thing he noticed was her eyes a startling shade of green that looked back at him curiously as his face formed a friendly smile. "Hehe aren't you a beauty..." he said turning to face her. The second thing he noticed about her was the her long gorgeous hair running down her... He tastefully looked away as he faced forward speaking to her as he face forward. I was hoping we can get to know each other over a candlelit dinner he said taking off his wool cloak, "but before you answer maybe you can take this until you find something...appropriate for you to wear?" He petted Zen for awhile before he playfully barked at him and started howling for a bit. However this relative peace did not last too long; from not too far from the group, as Lin started growling. A bush not too far away started to rustle disturbed by another possible arrow. James got up into a squating position resting an arrow on his bow ready to draw..."You see that?"

[Isette]

Oh! He spoke Lhavitian? What a surprise. Isette was pleased. She observed him while he spoke, taking in his expressions, body language, and aesthetics. Strange man. But not in a bad way. His eyes were kind. And he offered her dinner. Or so she assumed. Technically, he didn’t mention anything about paying for her. Isette probably shouldn’t make assumptions like that. It could prove troublesome. She supposed she could afford a real dinner if she had to, but she’d rather save her money for something more important. Like…a cloak? The Kelvic was only slightly surprised when he offered his cloak to her. She was beginning to learn that this was a pattern in human males. A pattern she was perfectly okay with. She took his cloak and wrapped it around her. It wasn’t quite cold enough for her to need the warmth, but it was appreciated nonetheless. Of course, he’d given it to her for a different reason entirely. That was another pattern she was learning to recognize in human males. They either wanted her naked or were uncomfortable with it. Well, if it made him feel better she could cover it. It didn’t hurt her any. “Thank you,” she said appreciatively, her expression friendly. She would have said more, had planned on it actually, but the dog barked and startled her. Isette was a bit on edge around dogs even in her human form. It was okay. The dogs weren’t a threat to her. Once more, she opened her mouth to speak. “I would—“ A noise. Isette’s head whipped around and her eyes narrowed on the bush. She heard one of the dogs growling. Her senses were on edge. The man also seemed to notice the noise. “No,” Isette responded quietly, “But I heard it.” And she didn’t like it. Isette wanted to shift again; her human body felt too conspicuous.

[Utsu]

James had a very serious air about him as he merely nodded to Isette's words. He slowly pulled the arrow towards him aiming at the nearby disturbance breathing slowly and steadily waiting. Zen and Lin stood at attention, laying prone as to hide themselves as they were taught, as something jumped out of the bushes towards them. He didn't hesitate as he let the first arrow fly at the first target; his bow making a snapping sound as the flax went back into place. The arrow shot out fast as the wind as it homed in on it's target, a mere rabbit as it pierced the thing from the side pinning it into the ground. While this was going on James was already pulling another arrow not bothering to see what he shot at, it was shot and it was hit. To him it didn't even register to his brain anymore as while he pulled another arrow and notched it. The fox that was chasing it froze as his potential prey suddenly had a arrow in it. It froze as he heard James quickly pull the arrow back. As it turned to look at the source of the sound it was already too late, the arrow already released from James grip as it sailed in a small arch moving straight at it's head. Thump* Grip* Thump* James held that pose for a bit before he finally exhaled, the whole set of movements being done all within 5 seconds. He was still looking forwards as he addressed Isette, whom he knew might be shocked at the scene. Or not. Either way...he thought as he turned to her with an apologetic face "I'm sorry you had to see that" he said as he lowered his bow. The two dogs bringing him the two latest kills, he stuffed them in his bag with the rest of today's hunts. He his smiled his best smile as he went up to Isette holding her hands in his. "Now if I heard right, you said you would love to? That's wonderful! I'm going to give you the happiest day of your life" he grinned as he looked at her almost lovingly. Hmm wait. Oh that's right I still have to address the cat I saw earlier. He suddenly switched gears and had a very sly face on him as he asked Isette a few things "Say...did you see a cat running around here? I figured it might be a city cat and was trying to get it back home..." he said. He let go of Isette's hands as he gently stroked her hair and suddenly scratched her a bit behind the neck, a place some animals loved. "Do you have anything to say to that kitten?"

[Isette]

It was just a rabbit. Isette settled down as the arrow pierced the creature, but something wasn’t right. She sniffed the air and was not surprised a moment later when a fox appeared in pursuit of the dead creature. Rabbits were prey. Foxes were not. Isette did not like foxes and was therefore not sad to see the animal killed. He wondered what the man would do with the prize. Last she heard, foxes did not make for good eating. She knew there were people who killed for fur, but had never met any such person. Was he one of them? Or had the kill been a product of swift reaction with forethought as to what the target was. It seemed rash. But Isette didn’t mind. She was fascinated by the weapon. So quick, so deadly. If she had one…Maybe he could teach her to use one! She would have asked, but he beat her to the punch with an apology. She smiled in response, but didn’t get any further than that before her hands were in his. For some reason, she wasn’t taking him seriously. There was something laid back about him that set her at ease. He wasn’t predatory, but he wasn’t prey either. The man was catlike. But he lived with dogs. Odd combination. Her musings were cut short once again when he answered his own question for her. Apparently she had no choice in the matter. Isette smiled as a playful glimmer shone in her eyes. She was not adverse to having the happiest day of her life, though she doubted his ability to actually do so. The thought was amusing enough for her to go along with it. Besides, she liked his smile. It was contagious. And real. Suddenly his expression changed. Took on a sly edge that was more teasing than dangerous. She returned the look suspiciously, but mockingly so. Ah. He was wondering about her other fo—too close. He touched her hair and she flinched. Her panic was short, though. Once he started speaking again she relaxed. “You caught me,” she said with a smile, “I will make you a deal. Do not tell people I am a cat and I will not tell people you are an amateur hunter.” It was clear that she wasn’t being serious. Isette did not joke very often, but when she did it was impossible to take her words as anything else.