Arrow in the Dark

Jaden Ohanzee · 02-17-2011, 01:59 PM

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OOC: No need to match post length Smile Anyone and everyone are welcome to join and feel free to show up where ever. You don’t have to meet Jaden in the forest, you can stumble upon his camp if you like. He is headed back either way. Whatever works ^^

Words-1000+

His whole mind was on the hunt. A small herd of deer had been eluding the Alaskan for the better part of the evening and night now. After Sankara, the latest soul Jaden had met, killed one, the herd was so spooked they ran for hours before hitting the sea and continuing up the coast, dangerously close to packlands. When they had finally stopped a little less than an hour and a half ago, thankfully before crossing into Dahlia de Mai, Jaden went a mile back to the beach and set up a small camp. He started a fire in the sand near a few boulders that had been washed smooth when the tide came in. The water was low now, so it made a nice dry camp ground. After the fire was started, Jaden used his trusty metal bowl, which had flat spots and dings from being dropped more than once in the time Jaden had had it, and started some sea water boiling. When the camp was complete, the dark Optime disappeared into the night. He felt odd without the heavy satchel on his back to weigh him down. For the first time in months, he was not trying to go somewhere or do something. All he wanted to do was satisfy his hunger with a hot meal.

Before the dear came into sight, Jaden could smell their sent wavering toward him. He was approaching down wind, if you could call the night’s pitiful breeze wind. This atmosphere was beautiful and contributed to Jaden’s heightened awareness. He could hear the smallest animals scurry by and noticed the smallest movements of the wildlife. When he concentrated on only the hunt, instinct took over, rushing adrenalin into his body’s veins and speeding up his breathing. Jaden moved silently with practiced stealth from tree to tree until the deer came into view.

The deer in the herd stood close together and were quiet. Only a few bulls stirred, lifting their heads to look around and watch the dark forest for danger. When they did, the predator stalking them would become still, his black and dark red-dyed white fur hiding him successfully in the shadows. It would be impossible for the hunter to get within attack distance before he was seen by the sentries, if not for his short bow.

Jaden moved between glances until he was at the edge of the protective forest’s dark embrace. Stepping any further would put him in plain view against the clearing’s grass. Once this point was reached, he carefully drew his short bow from his shoulder and strung an arrow. Leveling the weapon, he took a few deep breaths to slow his heart and took aim at the nearest deer. The prey slept with its head low and body relaxed atop its four legs. When Jaden pulled the arrow back, it made a small noise as the line stretched and rubbed against the butt of his arrow. One of the bulls suddenly jerked up and peered into the forest toward him, but it was too late. Jaden held his breath and let the arrow fly. It sailed with an air splitting sound and hit his target. The target deer made an odd squeak of terror as the arrow penetrated its’ throat and it fell struggling onto its side. The male deer who had seen this made call that shattered the night’s still air and awoke all the deer. The sound was echoed a few times by the other sentries before all of the deer began to stampede in panic. Jaden grind with satisfaction at the single kill-shot he landed and doubted most archers could land one as well, but his arrogant thoughts and grin disappeared when the stampeding deer ran straight toward him. A few stumbled over their fallen comrade in panic, but they did not know where the attack had come from and hadn’t brains to determine what had occurred. They simply sprinted toward the nearest forest line, which was chosen by that reason to be Jaden’s firing spot.

As they crossed the dark threshold, Jaden jumped straight up into the trees and grabbed for the think limbs above him, pulling his body parallel to the ground and lifting his shaggy tail away from the deer’s path. Time seemed to slow incredibly as the Optime held himself flat to the limbs. His bandaged bicep and chest cried in agony from the incredible amount of strain it took to hold his weight to the trees in this position. The limbs groaned too, threatening to snap, and the only thought Jaden could muster was that of hope. He might not have gotten high enough to avoid all the deer.

A bull’s antler brushed right through his thick fur and caused Jaden to flinch. Another inch and it would have racked right into skin and muscle. Only about thirty seconds later, when the sound of hooves began to fade, Jaden finally let go of the trees and fell to the ground. He panted and stayed low for a second and processed just how close, yet again, his life had come to ending. After the shock subsided, he stood and walked into the clearing a little rattled. His deer lay dead in the grass having bled out since the time it was shot. Jaden crouched and drew his dagger. He used it to remove his arrow and began to harvest some of the meat, cutting it into long strips he could carry back to camp. His mouth watered as he did and couldn’t help but to sample the still warm venison as he sliced.

Rewdeynetya · 02-25-2011, 12:20 PM

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OoC: I'm joining, if that's okay.

They would meet again.

She had still refused him her name, her true self. He was just another loner, another passerby, as was she. That fact was all the same as she stumbled across his hunting grounds, jaws snapping after her own prey. A pheasant beat its wings frantically, tiny eyes wide, as the jackal-wolf descended upon it in her hunger. The yipping and snarling of her chase rang through the trees like a human's long-lost gunshot.

It wasn't long before the hunt ended in a spectacularly loud crunch. The pheasant, seized by the neck, died instantly as said neck was snapped. Rewdeynetya growled happily, her tail giving a wag as she held the bird firmly. Its delicious, warm blood seeped onto her tongue, a morbid and refreshing drink. Some good, red meat after scavening from half-frozen fish was most appreciated; she couldn't remember the last time she had had bird. Maybe an unlucky crow from a few weeks back, but it tasted dry, bony and of too much carrion. Turning, she happily strode through the forest, still walking with a Lupus gait in her optime form.

The wind shifted, blowing the familiar stranger's scent into her face. It hit her like an unwanted reek, and she paused, body stiffening. She was just at the edge of the trees, and peering through them, he might have seen her stand there. Her light coat seemed brighter among the dark, skeletal trees; for this, Rewdeynetya silently cursed. Hopefully before she could be spotted, she turned away, beginning to plot back from where she came.

A chunk of ice then saw itself fit to fall from a tree. One moment, Rewdeynetya was staring ahead, and the next, she was cursing in Arabic, clutching at her head with human-like hands as her pheasant dropped to the ground. A resounding ache began to form on the side of her head.

Jaden Ohanzee · 02-25-2011, 06:15 PM

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OOC: Not a problem Smile

Words-400+

A sound echoed through the forest. The sound of death as some small animal was hunted and snarled at. Still enticed in his kill, Jaden continued to cut away at the venison’s warm flank, paying only a little attention to the far off echoes. His hands were covered in its red blood, making his attempts to not devour the kill as he through large strips of meat over his shoulder difficult. He sorely wanted to cook the meat first. He had gone to too much effort making a camp and even boiling sea water for salt to just eat the meat with its raw flavor.

The bold syllables of a foreign tongue made Jaden freeze for a second, wondering what the sound he had just heard was. When he realized it was a language he did not understand, he stood and wondered then how he had not realized someone coming so close to his hunting grounds. The body he found outlined vibrantly against the darkness was a surprise. The foreigner from the beach stood with her back to him, clutching her head with one hand. Jaden glanced up at the trees above her and noticed a break in the delicate art of frozen water where the ice had fallen from. He smiled at the slightly comical scene and was not sure if he should speak to her or just let her walk away undetected like it appeared she had planned on and almost gotten away with. Last time they had met, she had been so uninterested in the Alaskan, it had been a chore to get any words from her whatsoever. But, remembering his request from their last meeting compelled the dark Optime to approach the lighter colored foreigner. Maybe I can get an appropriate name for her, he grinned and chuckled to himself, besides good-looking foreigner.

Jaden through the last strip of meat he had been cutting over his shoulder, cleaned his dagger off in the deer’s fur, and approached her while she still appeared to be recovering. He noticed just how much shorter she was than him, for the small injury caused her to stand now. When they had met before she had only walked oddly on all fours in her Optime from, never really revealing her true size. “So, we meet again.” He said with a grin and shifted the warm meat on his shoulder. Once he got close enough, Jaden realized she had dropped a small pheasant. “Out hunting,” He said glancing at the bird, “or did you come to see me?”

Rewdeynetya · 02-26-2011, 01:52 AM

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OoC: Lol, it's so easy for Rew's nerves to be got on.

"Hunting," she said with an annoyed growl. Indeed, her jackal blood made her a dwarf in comparison to the black-and-white northerner. Had it not been for the lack of rufus in her coat, one might mistake her as a scraggly coyote mix. She got down on all fours again, composing herself into that stoic and bored look, eyebrows rising. One paw grabbed at the body of her kill, pulling it away from the other loner. "There is no need to go looking for other wolves."

Her jaws opened to clamp down on a wing. The dead bird hung limply, dripping red from the large bite on its shoulders and neck. Overhead, crows croaked, clacking their beaks hungrily. Rewdeynetya paid no attention to their harsh croaking — they were no different than the vultures of her homeland. Greedy and gluttonous, they begged in low speak for her to open a carcass for them. Though useful in tracking down carrion, and beneficial to and respectful of wolves, she found them annoying. Then again, Rewdeynetya was a proud, haughty canid, and found most things annoying. One had to wonder if the ice chunk was fate's way of getting back at that equally icy intolerance.

"Do you need anything from me?" she asked between gritted teeth. She'd rather not drop her bird and have something snatch it as she was distracted. "Other than a name, of course. I told you already to give me a name; I am insignificant to you. You merely need to identify me if there ever was a true need for acknowledgement." (That, and though some might call her paranoid, she never gave her name to anyone. There was too much risk of someone recognizing her from Egypt.)

Jaden Ohanzee · 02-28-2011, 01:33 PM

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OOC: Jaden can be annoying too Smile

Words-400+

The greeting Jaden had used was meant to be slightly off-putting. The last time he had met the foreigner, she had showed barely an ounce of anything but annoyance with the Alaskan. Her growling was a bit of a surprise because of this. But, when she suddenly developed the same annoying board and withdrawn look as before and also forewarned that she would still not give her name again, Jaden was a little off-put. The only thing she offered was a question just like before: “Do you need anything from me?” Because she had greeted him twice like this, Jaden figured he was not special and she greeted most everyone in this way. Drawing that conclusion and recalling the statement she just made: “There is no need to go looking for other wolves.”, revealed an objective, not-involved-with-others attitude within this female. “I don’t need anything from you,” Jaden sighed, “but there are other reasons to stop someone, aren’t there? If you never interact with anyone for anything besides simple business or even less than that, I imagine a very dull life would quickly consume your time...”

He watched her for some small gratification of his suspicions, or some small amount of acknowledgement on her slender body besides an answer that would dance around giving any information, which is what he expected. Taking notice of the dead bird in her teeth again, he went further and offered this wolf a chance to show something besides what he expected, “If you have a taste for cooked meat, I am going to try my hand at it.” He doubted again she would be interested, “I’m not a half bad cook. Or you can take some of the deer in the clearing. It’s practically untouched, if you can get to it before the birds.” Why do I care? Jaden found himself wondering after he finished. She is so annoyingly… He couldn’t think of a word to fit her. If she doesn’t play well with others, why should I care?Waiting for an answer, he speculated that maybe it was boredom, or simply because he wanted to see if he could affect some sort of change in this hybrid-wolf’s behavior. Maybe it was because she was so strange in so many ways. Whatever the reason, the night was hollow and empty without something to do. If she didn’t want anything to do with Jaden, he had weapons that were being neglected and needed sharpening and food that need cooking. There was plenty to keep him entertained, but it would not compare to having someone interesting to talk to.

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