The Hunter and his Bond
Vondiras stood amongst the scene, feeling ice cold, anger and venom battling inside him beneath his seemingly cold, emotionless exterior. He allowed a few tears, soft, muted, as his teeth ached from clenching his jaw. The elf cleaned his hunting knife on the hem of his black cloak, disgusted at what he'd been forced to do. Around him a small pack of timber wolves, six adults, and three pups, were dead. A cow corpse was present, seeming a rather fresh kill. The wolves and pups had all been shot, but worse, the cow had her front legs broken preemptively, and she'd been staked out here, chained, unable to flee. She'd been bait. The wolves all showed gunshot wounds, however those whom did this hadn't even had the decency and respect to insure they'd killed all they shot. Vondiras believed it had been at least three or four hours since the events in this little clearing occurred, and when he'd arrived, he'd had to put one adult and one of the pups out of their misery with his knife.
He knew locals in the villages both in the woods or a bit further south at the edge of the prairie running along Depenwood's south-eastern coast knew better than to commit such behavior, especially his fellow woad elves. Once he calmed down, he set about examining the scene for clues, and rather swiftly found a trail. Two shooters, they'd hidden upwind, amongst some thick murchroot and undergrowth, strong smelling stuff. However they were sloppy woodsmen and though it was winter, it had not snowed in two days, so their prints were as clear as one could hope. There were signs of a small cart of some sort not far from the scene as well. Vondiras whispered a small prayer to Boran the Bloodhound for the wolves, fellow hunters and predators as they were, before heading off to follow the tracks.........
Vondiras blinked a few times, coming out of his torpor, his trance like state of rest, and the dream, well memory, he'd been revisiting. The sun's light was just beginning to spill into the stable, and around him, the camels and those few horses there were began to come awake. Vondiras felt movement beside him, feeling the motion of his canine companion, and his best friend, Silvius. The she-wolf came awake blinking as well, yawning, with a bit of a squeaking behind it, an odd but adorable trait of hers. Vondiras marveled again, as he did most mornings, at how well the pair of them continued to fare so far from home, in an environment so foreign. The oppressive heat of the deserts of Susma bothered them as it would anyone, yet in the three months since they'd arrived, the pair had made it through the worst of the dry season and now the rains should be but a few weeks away. In particular, Silvius, a she-wolf just over a year old, fared surprisingly better than Vondiras expected, and seemed to have adapted rather well in spite of her notable fur coat.
The elven hunter leaned back in the straw the pair had spent the night amongst, as he considered the oddity of his companion, as Silvius nuzzled his cheek, giving him a kiss or two. He absent mindedly scratched behind her ear, a half smile on his face at the absurdity of it all. A timber wolf, a creature native to the temperate and arctic regions of the world, the continent of Durol, here in central Susma, across the Sea of Sails on this continent, Gavis-Lune. It was a wild choice. Vondiras had tried to leave her behind after nursing her through that winter, especially once he'd decided to throw his fate to the seas and the wind. He had tried, yet she had insisted. He was her pack now, that was the sort of bond they shared, and as she'd gotten bigger, she'd proven it time and again. They'd been in more than one scrap in the last two months, working as mercenaries, mostly doing pest removal for the surrounding villages and their leshe cacti fields.
Silvius had grown up fast, and Vondiras did suspect there was something...unique about their bond. She'd reached adult size and physique a bit faster than she should have, and often showed a level of....surprisingly humanoid understanding or behaviors, able to find ways to emote that could be understood even cross the species barrier. She seemed to not just understand the tone of his words, but his words themselves as well, to a degree that was uncanny to say the least. Such a thing was not unheard of, though such bonds were rare, it was known that sometimes a special bond might form between a hunter and an infant animal, even a top predator. The odds of such a bond, such a blessing from Boran the Bloodhound, went way up if the hunter nursed such an infant back to health. These unique bonds were said to bestow blessings upon the beast in question, as well as the sapient. The beast might live longer, reach adult size and strength slightly sooner, and show signs of a heightened intellect. For the part of the sapient, the friendship, loyalty and fierce protection from the creature were the most notable benefits. Wolves and other canines were, perhaps unsurprisingly, the most common sorts of animal to form these unique bonds, however Vondiras had heard of felines, even large hunting cats, and even creatures like bears or other such animals forming these bonds.
Deep in his thoughts though he was, Vondiras was jarred out of them by the playful growl and light nip of his earlobe, followed by a sloppy kiss right up his cheek and around to his nostril. He huffed shaking his head as he shot up like a cannon "Yes I'm up, Silvius, I'm up. So little patience, hold for a moment and we will head over to the commons and find something to break our fast!" he promised, wiping his face on the hem of his cloak he had been using as a blanket. Silvius yipped twice, clearly excited, as she rose to all fours, her tail wagging and nose high, sniffing the air.
Vondiras rose, knowing he smelled of straw, sand, and things that most might find less pleasant, though he had no such things on him. He was in a stable after all. However the elf's stomach led him as he moved to the small tack room where he'd hung both his and Silvius's other gear, having stripped her of her gambeson and mail blanket and himself down to his smallclothes. Thankfully, Alum'han, night hand for the stables had been so kind as to honor his request from the evening before, leaving him some Dothri leaves, ground up, with some mango and honey infused water all mixed together, as well as a few rags to scrub himself down with. He swiftly, but efficiently did so, also dabbing a little of the scented concoction behind Silvius' ears, despite her nips and snarls of protest. "We smell like a barn, you know we'll never hear the end of it from Beliana at the very least if we come to breakfast smelling of sweat, straw and camel droppings!" he berated her. "I for one do not relish another fifteen minute tongue lashing from her on that matter, do you?"
Silvius whined once, still baring her teeth, but relented, allowing him to continue. Once this was done, Vondiras eyed her blanket and his armor deciding against them both. This office and the stable also acted as his personal quarters and he had been gifted a small armoire, tall and thin with but a few shelves, however it had a lock. Here he kept personal possessions and the like, and so he locked his own tunic of mail and hardened gambeson within it, choosing instead to simply wear thinner plain clothes. A thin shirt of soft blue fabric, with a sleeved tunic of black silk buttoned partway up over top. Trousers of similarly thin material, flowy, light, but fully covering his legs, a soft grey fabric. Normally he'd have thicker padded greaves he'd also wear but these too he went without. His moccasins of doeskin, much repaired but still functional, the only item of clothing from his time in Durol that still survived.
Once dressed, he locked his spear, along with his hunting bow and arrows in the cabinet as well, armed with a sling, a small pouch of rocks and a hunting knife. He was in a city, after all, so he could not legally carry such full sized weaponry around. All this done, Vondiras looked down to Silvius, the wolf clearly eager to go and find food. "Alright come then, let us head over to the commons, I'm starving." He told her. He had to take off at a run, as the eager wolf yipped once and was off like a shot from his bow.
He knew locals in the villages both in the woods or a bit further south at the edge of the prairie running along Depenwood's south-eastern coast knew better than to commit such behavior, especially his fellow woad elves. Once he calmed down, he set about examining the scene for clues, and rather swiftly found a trail. Two shooters, they'd hidden upwind, amongst some thick murchroot and undergrowth, strong smelling stuff. However they were sloppy woodsmen and though it was winter, it had not snowed in two days, so their prints were as clear as one could hope. There were signs of a small cart of some sort not far from the scene as well. Vondiras whispered a small prayer to Boran the Bloodhound for the wolves, fellow hunters and predators as they were, before heading off to follow the tracks.........
Vondiras blinked a few times, coming out of his torpor, his trance like state of rest, and the dream, well memory, he'd been revisiting. The sun's light was just beginning to spill into the stable, and around him, the camels and those few horses there were began to come awake. Vondiras felt movement beside him, feeling the motion of his canine companion, and his best friend, Silvius. The she-wolf came awake blinking as well, yawning, with a bit of a squeaking behind it, an odd but adorable trait of hers. Vondiras marveled again, as he did most mornings, at how well the pair of them continued to fare so far from home, in an environment so foreign. The oppressive heat of the deserts of Susma bothered them as it would anyone, yet in the three months since they'd arrived, the pair had made it through the worst of the dry season and now the rains should be but a few weeks away. In particular, Silvius, a she-wolf just over a year old, fared surprisingly better than Vondiras expected, and seemed to have adapted rather well in spite of her notable fur coat.
The elven hunter leaned back in the straw the pair had spent the night amongst, as he considered the oddity of his companion, as Silvius nuzzled his cheek, giving him a kiss or two. He absent mindedly scratched behind her ear, a half smile on his face at the absurdity of it all. A timber wolf, a creature native to the temperate and arctic regions of the world, the continent of Durol, here in central Susma, across the Sea of Sails on this continent, Gavis-Lune. It was a wild choice. Vondiras had tried to leave her behind after nursing her through that winter, especially once he'd decided to throw his fate to the seas and the wind. He had tried, yet she had insisted. He was her pack now, that was the sort of bond they shared, and as she'd gotten bigger, she'd proven it time and again. They'd been in more than one scrap in the last two months, working as mercenaries, mostly doing pest removal for the surrounding villages and their leshe cacti fields.
Silvius had grown up fast, and Vondiras did suspect there was something...unique about their bond. She'd reached adult size and physique a bit faster than she should have, and often showed a level of....surprisingly humanoid understanding or behaviors, able to find ways to emote that could be understood even cross the species barrier. She seemed to not just understand the tone of his words, but his words themselves as well, to a degree that was uncanny to say the least. Such a thing was not unheard of, though such bonds were rare, it was known that sometimes a special bond might form between a hunter and an infant animal, even a top predator. The odds of such a bond, such a blessing from Boran the Bloodhound, went way up if the hunter nursed such an infant back to health. These unique bonds were said to bestow blessings upon the beast in question, as well as the sapient. The beast might live longer, reach adult size and strength slightly sooner, and show signs of a heightened intellect. For the part of the sapient, the friendship, loyalty and fierce protection from the creature were the most notable benefits. Wolves and other canines were, perhaps unsurprisingly, the most common sorts of animal to form these unique bonds, however Vondiras had heard of felines, even large hunting cats, and even creatures like bears or other such animals forming these bonds.
Deep in his thoughts though he was, Vondiras was jarred out of them by the playful growl and light nip of his earlobe, followed by a sloppy kiss right up his cheek and around to his nostril. He huffed shaking his head as he shot up like a cannon "Yes I'm up, Silvius, I'm up. So little patience, hold for a moment and we will head over to the commons and find something to break our fast!" he promised, wiping his face on the hem of his cloak he had been using as a blanket. Silvius yipped twice, clearly excited, as she rose to all fours, her tail wagging and nose high, sniffing the air.
Vondiras rose, knowing he smelled of straw, sand, and things that most might find less pleasant, though he had no such things on him. He was in a stable after all. However the elf's stomach led him as he moved to the small tack room where he'd hung both his and Silvius's other gear, having stripped her of her gambeson and mail blanket and himself down to his smallclothes. Thankfully, Alum'han, night hand for the stables had been so kind as to honor his request from the evening before, leaving him some Dothri leaves, ground up, with some mango and honey infused water all mixed together, as well as a few rags to scrub himself down with. He swiftly, but efficiently did so, also dabbing a little of the scented concoction behind Silvius' ears, despite her nips and snarls of protest. "We smell like a barn, you know we'll never hear the end of it from Beliana at the very least if we come to breakfast smelling of sweat, straw and camel droppings!" he berated her. "I for one do not relish another fifteen minute tongue lashing from her on that matter, do you?"
Silvius whined once, still baring her teeth, but relented, allowing him to continue. Once this was done, Vondiras eyed her blanket and his armor deciding against them both. This office and the stable also acted as his personal quarters and he had been gifted a small armoire, tall and thin with but a few shelves, however it had a lock. Here he kept personal possessions and the like, and so he locked his own tunic of mail and hardened gambeson within it, choosing instead to simply wear thinner plain clothes. A thin shirt of soft blue fabric, with a sleeved tunic of black silk buttoned partway up over top. Trousers of similarly thin material, flowy, light, but fully covering his legs, a soft grey fabric. Normally he'd have thicker padded greaves he'd also wear but these too he went without. His moccasins of doeskin, much repaired but still functional, the only item of clothing from his time in Durol that still survived.
Once dressed, he locked his spear, along with his hunting bow and arrows in the cabinet as well, armed with a sling, a small pouch of rocks and a hunting knife. He was in a city, after all, so he could not legally carry such full sized weaponry around. All this done, Vondiras looked down to Silvius, the wolf clearly eager to go and find food. "Alright come then, let us head over to the commons, I'm starving." He told her. He had to take off at a run, as the eager wolf yipped once and was off like a shot from his bow.
Looking forward to find out how this continues. I am already hooked.
Thank you very much :)