|
|
Post by morrígan on Feb 26, 2013 15:17:01 GMT
[/img] [/td][/tr][tr][td][atrb=background,http://i48.tinypic.com/2dazrwx.png]
The journey from the train station to the outerlands had been longer than the red dog had anticipated, but luckily (perhaps thankfully to the still quite early hour), him and his companion had managed to make it without any incidents. They had been rather fortunate to have not bumped into anyone else while wandering near pack territories – not that he thought they couldn’t handle it, but he’d rather not have another ‘hostile’ meeting so early in the day.
What sunlight managed to penetrate through the heavy cloud cover did little to expel the gloom from these aptly named ‘dark woods’ and te dogs trudged through the eerie atmosphere, litter and frost crunching underpaw. Ruadh found it somewhat astounding how the mostly bare branches of the trees could still manage to block out so much of the light, but he cast it from his mind; it was not important. He did, however, mull over how funny it was that just a few hours earlier, he had had no intention of going out of his way for even a fellow pack member. Yet here he was, having agreed to help the Doberman whom he had just met with her hunt. And he actually didn’t mind her company that much.
Well, the trip had been relatively quiet, neither really feeling the need to say much after Ruadh’s initial ‘irritation’ over her comment about him being bad at the hunt. It had given him some time to think about things, and unfortunately he had drawn up unwanted comparisons. They did, however, just make him realise how different Jaya was from...from her (at least in what he had discerned about the dog so far) and so he knew he could get along with the Doberman, could stand to be in her company without feeling the familiarity, the pain of the past.
(He could not stand to look at someone with the same heart, the same softness as her.)
Banishing his musings, Ruadh stopped in his tracks as he noticed something in this forest that was actually worth noticing (just how hard was it to find decent prey in such a place?). Jaya. His voice was low, for fear of giving away their presence as he indicated towards the trail that had no doubt been made by a passing deer. The scent was quite faint, however. It’s not too close, but at least we’re onto something now. He smiled at his companion, thinking about having something other than rabbits, rats and birds for once.
[/td][/tr][tr][td]  [/td][/tr] [/table][/center] |
|
Chara
-- rook ♜
[M:50]
Posts: 70
|
Post by Chara on Feb 27, 2013 22:52:02 GMT
Jayashri walked silently along Ruadh's side, putting a small comment here and there. Her mind was mainly focused on the taste of the flesh she would have in her mouth, the blood and then the satisfaction. The satisfaction of being full of course, not of having blood in her mouth. Or maybe that was slightly part of the pleasure of hunting your own meal. The red dog seemed like a good guy in general, she didn't know him well yet but he was an easy going dog. And he did want to come along to help her catch breakfast.
As they got near the woods, the female doberman stuck her nose to the ground, searching eagerly for the sent of her food. Only the usual rabbit scent for now, but deeper in the woods they go, the bigger the preys will be. That's what Jaya noticed with her own hunting experiences. She wasn't the best hunter though, she had a good technique for sure but didn't carry enough weight to take down, alone, animals such as deer. If she ever absolutely have to take down a deer on her own, she would probably tired it out by chasing it and nipping at it's legs. Jayashri was a fast dog and could keep up well enough with a deer. In thick forest though, she would probably loose it.
All of a sudden Ruadh whispered her name. She quickly laid down to the ground and looked back at him. The black and tan dog looked where he was and saw the deer path. Why always use the same trail?, she asked herself, And that's why they're prey, no brains! She could smell the thin scent of a buck. Bucks where bigger, consequently harder to take down. Especially with only two dogs. "You may go first.", she said cocking her head towards the trail. "Should we walk through the woods away from the trail? But still where we can see it.", she asked thinking that the deer could see them down the trail and flee.
|
|
|
|
Post by morrígan on Mar 3, 2013 0:02:24 GMT
[/img] [/td][/tr][tr][td][atrb=background,http://i48.tinypic.com/2dazrwx.png]
The thought of such a satisfying meal was making Ruadh’s mouth drool in anticipation. But at the same time, there was a sense of dread lingering at the back of his mind and his stomach rolled with unease. The scent was most definitely a buck – a far more dangerous prey than he had hoped to come across. He cast a nervous glance over at Jaya before looking back up the trail. If they had any chance at taking down such prey, they had to be smart and quick on their feet. Even so, this would be hard-earned.
At Jaya’s words, the red dog nodded, moving into the tree line and taking point. It would be easy to follow the scent of the buck through the woods, even if they strayed from its path a little. It would be best not to alert the animal - the element of surprise was always a nice asset. Ruadh was busy trying to formulate a plan in his head; they couldn’t go into this blinded, but he turned to look at Jaya before walking on. Yes. We should stay out if sight, be as quiet as we can and keep downwind of it as much as we can. Especially as we get closer to it. He shuddered a little involuntarily at thoughts of powerful antlers.
Continuing on, Ruadh pawed his way slowly and carefully through the undergrowth, wary of rustling leaves and branches under their paws. It was not long before the sound of gently running water reached his ears and he stopped for a little while, searching out the light brown hues of the buck at the water’s edge. The trees around the bank thinned out a bit and Ruadh cursed at that. It would be harder to sneak up on it with less cover.
Ruadh lowered himself to the ground and turned his head to face his partner. It’s close. He could feel his nerves beginning to shake. I was hoping we could flank it, but I don’t know how effective that might be now. He gestured towards where the trees began to thin out a little. I don’t know if we could still sneak up on it with so little cover... Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he let out a small sigh. We’re going to have to be smart about this. You got any ideas?
In his chest, his heart was hammering to get out. Though he had hunted before, he had never given much thought to taking down something so big before now. He was actually quite scared.
[/td][/tr][tr][td] [/td][/tr] [/table][/center] |
|
Chara
-- rook ♜
[M:50]
Posts: 70
|
Post by Chara on Mar 3, 2013 15:40:37 GMT
She followed the red dog towards the trail leading in the woods but as they did so, Ruadh looked back at her with a nervous eye. She didn't feel any fear about hunting a deer, not even a buck. Worse comes to worse, they'll have to find another prey if this one was too large for them. When she was younger and still a part of her family pack, her mother had brought her and her siblings along for their first hunt. They were six months at the time and eager to learn their mother's hunting skills. Only Jaya's first and second hunt had got her very excited and nervous, but it soon became a regular part of the daily routine. She was a good small prey hunter, due to her silent step and her speed.
They walked along the trail as Jaya kept her nose up to the air and her ears on alert, looking around for any sign of the herbivore. The sound of the water caught Jayashri's attention and she crouched down beside the red setter. "There is a certain distance from the tree line to the water.", she looked ahead at the running water, thinking about how cold the water should be at this time a year. "If we find the deer on this side of the river.", she continued as she quickly looked on the other side for the buck, but he wasn't in sight. "I was thinking that I could run up down quickly toward the prey and leap for his neck. I'm quick enough to surprise him if I start at the right time.", she said with a smile. "I know I'm not heavy enough to hold this animal down but you seem to have a stronger built than I do. You could follow behind me and land a second bite on the other side of his neck. If it's still to hard to handle since we're only two, we can do as much damage as we can and let it go. I'm sure it will bleed out quickly enough.", she smile with her evil look. Her plan seemed good as she planed it but there's always room for improvement.
"It should be on this side of the banc, it would need a very good reason to want to jump in the river." Jaya smelt the air once more, the scent was still vague but closer than when they started."Maybe we should walk, in the woods, along the banc and see where a deer could of went.", she suggested as she looked at Ruadh, who seemed to have regain control over his excitement. Excitement and anticipation would cause to make errors and loose the kill, after going so far in these dark woods. "What do you think?", she asked. Maybe her ideas gave him some of his own. Maybe, only maybe, better than hers.
|
|
|
|
Post by morrígan on Mar 4, 2013 23:25:11 GMT
[/img] [/td][/tr][tr][td][atrb=background,http://i48.tinypic.com/2dazrwx.png]
With his original ideas now quite useless, Ruadh listened eagerly to what Jaya had to say. He narrowed his eyes, searching for the buck he thought he had caught a short glimpse of earlier. There was something unsettling about the Doberman’s plan (apart from the fact one kick from this buck could really do massive damage) and he was feeling a little bit unsure about letting her take such a reckless action. Nevertheless, he looked over at the female and nodded his head once. I’m sure the buck is still on this side. But we would need to get a little closer... He trailed off, pondering.
Jaya’s plan, reckless as it might be, could actually work, but he couldn’t help but think that it would be more down to luck than any skill on either of their parts. Luck that the brute wouldn’t react sooner than they had planned for. Luck that it simply ran rather than stay and swing out in self-defence. They were betting on unpredictable prey reacting in the way that they thought it might, and that was a dangerous thing to do.
But he wasn’t going to show any weakness.
If you think you can get to it before it reacts, but we shouldn’t place all our hopes on that. Yet he was unsure of how they could handle its reaction – if it ran, that would be simple enough, but if it lashed out... Ruadh blinked as he realised something. Not that I’m doubting your abilities as an assassin! He quickly amended his previous statement. It’s just, it is too dangerous to not think it through fully. He shuddered at the thought of a skull cracking from a forceful kick.
Still, if they took too long planning, they’d lose this chance while it was at ease by the river. The red dog let out a small sigh. But I guess there are too many variables to waste time on thinking about them. Your plan sounds good enough but... He paused only slightly. ...you had better know what you’re doing when you rush in first. The be careful remained unspoken, but was implied in his tone of voice. They couldn’t put shame on the Ragdogs and say that one of theirs had been defeated by mere prey, now, could they?
Slowly, the setter stood up, careful not to let the chain around his neck rattle too much – always a burden when on the hunt, but one he couldn’t bear to let go of. He shook his head at the next round of Jaya’s plan. No. Walking along the bank would be too obvious. The deer would be bound to sense us. He looked at what he could see of the river from where they were. It seemed simple enough, no meanders to contend with, just a straight line. Good enough. I say we stay behind. We’re downwind, so it should be alright if we stay back a bit and keep quiet. That way, we can use the tree and bush cover here until we get in close enough. It’s nearby, anyway.
He looked back at Jaya and smiled a little. We can do this, he thought, though he still trembled ever so slightly in anticipation. They weren’t the largest of dog breeds, but they weren’t incredibly small either and with any luck, it would be a smaller breed of deer that they were facing.
[/td][/tr][tr][td] [/td][/tr] [/table][/center] |
|
Chara
-- rook ♜
[M:50]
Posts: 70
|
Post by Chara on Mar 7, 2013 0:05:45 GMT
She listened and stared out at the open sweeping the white snow for the dark shadow. She didn't see any sign of the deer just yet. Should we walk deeper in these woods or will that dam deer show himself!?, Jayashri thought to herself with impatience now seen in her eyes. She was tired of hunting as she was getting hungrier by the second. The doberman sigh and looked back at the irish setter. "I guess we should lay back. Let it come to us perhaps?", she smiled. "We need to find some place to lay low.", she looked around quickly. "The only thing that we would blend in is the trees. I hate hunting in the winter!", she growled and looked down at it under her paws. Looked at it all over! Except on the trunk of the trees, at least in this part of the forest.
"We couldn't ambush him.", she said almost to herself with a serious face. "It would probably smell us from a good enough distance. Once it flees, it will be very hard to keep up with all these trees." She thought about a better plan. The first one was not a good one, Jayashri felt to weak at the moment to attack him by surprise with a good grip on it's neck. She would never of course say anything of this to Ruadh, to anyone. "We have to make the first, and final, attack.", she almost said that for herself. "Should we spot it, I go left, you go right and we both try to get a hold of him." Jayashri looked at Ruadh, she thought he knew how to take an animal down and knew the quick kill spots.
A sudden shadow caught the corner of her eye. She looked over near the water and there it was. It wasn't as big as she thought it may be but she was just as hungry for it. She laid down in the light snow and stared down at it as she licked her lips. Her eyes were focused on every step it took towards the water. It stopped at the edge and looked around, the stupid thing even stared in their direction. Then it bowed down to drink the cold water. "Here's our meal Ruadh, either we wait here and ambush it as we blend with the larger trees.", she looked back at the red dog. "Or, do we both slit up and attack from both side?", she gave him the two options she thought to be the most effective. Now it was his call, and time was now a precious thing for their success.
|
|
