Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

La'khay's request was fair enough. Gallus nodded and gave Tzirret another few pats on the back before he stepped back. "I'll just be a moment." Gallus strode towards the calf and pulled out a dagger. He had killed enough livestock in Bruma to not be bothered by what he was about to do.

Tzirret allowed Gallus to leave and tried to calm down, but he was still bent slightly and looking distraught. He lifted his tear-streaked eyes to La'khay and received her congratulations. He recoiled a bit and tensed up with surprise when he was licked on the face. Still taking short breaths, Tzirret responded weakly, "Tz...Tzirret did, didn't he?" He sobbed into a smile, staggered by the mix of feelings. "He just...stabbed it...He stepped up and stabbed it." Tzirret didn't care about La'khay's current form. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her neck. He let out sounds that were difficult to discern between laughing and crying.

The sounds of struggle from the calf were quickly silenced as Gallus made its death quick. Afterwards, he noticed that La'khay had effectively taken over the comforting role for the moment. Gallus opted to retrieve his hammer from under the minotaur's corpse instead. It would not be an easy job to turn the body over, but he had the strength to do it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

In an effort to hold onto his spear, Tzirret was pulled along by its haft before he let go, causing him to be thrown off balance and stumble to the floor, landing on the rotting but mostly flesh-stripped carcass of a bear. He rolled onto his back to see the minotaur thrashing and braying in pain.

Gallus pushed off from the wall once he realised what had happened. Clutching his chest with one hand, he stepped up to his hammer. He stooped to pick up his weapon and started striding slowly towards the minotaur as its energy ebbed. By the time he was within its reach, it hardly had the energy to strike him. It was spurting blood from its mouth at this point.

"Gallus, no!" Tzirret reached with one hand, panicked for Gallus' life. He was convinced that the creature could still do him harm. He frantically tried to stand up.

With surprising ferocity, Gallus whirled his hammer arm up in a circle away from the beast while taking a step forward. As he bent his knee, his hammer whirled around and under, hook first, driving up beneath the front of the minotaur's ribcage. The hook sunk straight into its heart and Gallus let his hammer go so he could shuffle back again. He was well clear by the time the minotaur fell forward, lifeless.

Tzirret was standing now. He was still catching his breath. He stared at the now dead minotaur with wide eyes and perked, alert ears. Seeing La'khay's beast form in the corner of his eyes made him flinch, but he was quickly relieved to see that it was not another threat.

Though he still clutched his chest, Gallus looked to Tzirret with an open-mouthed smile. "Excellent thrust, Tzirret," he said, still a little weak in his voice. He walked around to the minotaur's side, put a boot to its side, and pulled Tzirret's spear free with a mighty heave. Almost half of the entire haft was coated with fresh blood. Gallus took the spear over to Tzirret and held it out to him. "Now you get to be a hero for real," Gallus nodded backwards in the minotaur's direction, "Go and take its horns. You deserve them."

Tzirret didn't take his eyes off the minotaur. Instead of making any movement, his breathing became shaky and the core of his torso began to shudder uncontrollably. He clutched his arms across his stomach and doubled over, baring his teeth and holding his eyes shut. His breath became strained as sobs began to sound from his throat.

Looking more sympathetic, Gallus dropped Tzirret's spear for the moment and stepped up to embrace him with his free arm. "There there, beast slayer. None of us are hurt," Gallus cooed. Tzirret's sobbing increased in volume as he pressed his face into Gallus' shoulder. Gallus just pat him on the back as he let the tension go.

While comforting Tzirret, a high bleat came from the nook where the calf still hid. Gallus looked at La'khay from over Tzirret's shoulder with a worried face. "We ought to dispatch the calf. It will die without its mother and we could use the meat."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

In Tzirret's mind, there was a secondary battle between his fear and his attention. Gallus' orders were all that was keeping him from transforming involuntarily.

It took a moment for Tzirret to get into a position where he could strike. He was at first afraid to get within the minotaur's reach, especially as it flailed wildly at a deft Gallus. In the panic of the situation, that moment went on for longer than anyone would have liked.

Each time Gallus dodged, he stepped back, closer to a wall behind him. In a vain effort to get more ground, he lashed out at the minotaur's arm with a swing of his hammer. The hammer landed true on the beast's wrist, but it did not have the desired effect of driving the creature back. Gallus was exposed. In the instant he realised as much, Gallus took a fist to the chest and almost flew backwards with the force of the blow. He dropped his hammer and torch as he stumbled back against the wall behind him.

At witnessing the strike, Tzirret gasped and hesitated.

Gallus took a very audible, wheezy breath in. He was winded and weakened, but the minotaur was intent on charging again.

Tzirret had frozen again, but his eyes landed on the exposed side of the minotaur's torso as she leaned her horns forward. Tzirret's response was almost unconscious. He could kill it. In one movement, he thrust his spear forward, directly between the minotaur's ribs. He sunk the metal tip in with all his strength, not being aware of being in the creature's reach. If he got the spear in far enough, he knew it would die. It would have to.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Tzirret was just as, if not more terrified, than La'khay was as they stood shoulder to shoulder. Tzirret only had the lucidity to let out a shakey "Umm" to La'khay before he flinched heavily from the enraged minotaur's roar.

With a defiant shout, Gallus dove to one side to avoid the oncoming beast. The light in the chamber dimmed for a moment as the torch rolled with him. He got back onto his feet with no time to spare.

"I can't...I..." Tzirret struggled to form anything more, but was interrupted by a firm shout from Gallus.

"Tzirret! Flank it! Now!" Gallus' order was almost as loud as the minotaur herself. "Kill it!"

With all the attention still on him, Gallus intended to evade for as long as he could. He knew he didn't have the reach to kill the creature before it could do serious damage to him, but Tzirret's spear was much more suitable for the job.

Tzirret looked to La'khay, still terrified, but he knew he couldn't stay while Gallus ordered him. He ran as fast as he could to try and get an angle on the minotaur's side without being noticed.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

All my relatives are arriving and I have to mow the lawn at some point. My next post might be a while.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

When they reached the main chamber of whatever kind of den this place was, Gallus was on his guard. It didn't take long to discern that this place was not a lycan hideout unless inhabited by ferals. What Gallus was actually surprised to see was the minotaur child - or was it a calf? - panicked on the other side of the room. Gallus furrowed his brow and angled his head, unsure of what to do at first. He was about to turn and leave when the youngster's parent made itself apparent.

Gallus' eyes widened and he waved La'khay and Tzirret to stand clear of the chamber's entrance. He shouted, "Get out of its way!"

Tzirret was initially frozen with fear, but the instruction gave him direction enough. He leapt aside and pressed his back against the wall a few steps from the entrance. He was breathing fast.

While the others took cover, Gallus backed further into the centre of the chamber and kept his eyes on the entrance. He knew minotaurs had a tendency to charge when given the distance, so he would just have to be nimble enough. He held his torch to one side to give the creature a target that would be easier to dodge. As soon as he saw the creature moving forward, he would try to leap to the side. At least by they they would be able to see it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"I can't say I know if this is the right place, but it's the best trace we've seen so far," Gallus said. His voice had hushed noticeably since he saw the blood trail. Evidently he was less confident that there were lycans here. "All I can smell is blood and carcasses. Nothing else either way."

After another moment, Gallus tsked as he peered down each passage. "If there is something alive in this cave, I would like it in front rather than cutting us off from behind," Gallus said. Tzirret winced as he knew what decision was coming next. Gallus walked to the right, "We follow the blood. Tzirret, make sure nothing sneaks up on you."

Tzirret nodded as he reluctantly followed. "This one cannot blink if he wanted to," he said uneasily. From then on, he periodically checked over his shoulder.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus made a short, high hum, as if La'khay's answer was more interesting than haunting, but he still drew his hammer as he proceeded. "I'm familiar with two of those things, at least. I guess this place isn't as different as I thought it would be."

The question of light was something that caused Gallus to turn around and give La'khay a raised eyebrow and a smile. "I am surprised you're the one who is complaining. Alright," Gallus stopped and slid off the knapsack on his back. A short time fishing around had him draw out a torch and some flint. Within half a minute, he sparked the torch and painted the cave walls in a flickering yellow light. Since he was in the lead, Gallus picked it up after putting his knapsack back on and continued with the torch in his off-hand.

"At least it will be easier to spot surprises," Gallus commented.

Tzirret clutched his spear in both hands and kept flicking his eyes between the nooks and crannies in the walls. He would rather not face off any of the creatures La'khay listed off, whether he knew what they were or not.

The Jade Stream

Hey, it's not our fault that we've been in eateries most of the time! At least, as long as we don't want to strike out on our own...

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Gallus knelt down and regarded the darkness of the cave, craning his head to try and see into it better. He took in a hissing breath as he weighed up the situation. "Well, it's worth a look. If this is their hideout, then all we have to do is make ourselves apparent as we enter. One thing first..." Gallus looked around and a nearby tree. He stood up and walked to it while pulling out his dagger. Evidently to make sure they remembered where they were headed, he roughly scratched an arrow pointing to the left, which was north.

While he walked back to the cave and carefully tried stepping down into it, he gave a glance to La'khay. "Are you familiar with what caves are like in these parts, La'khay? Any creatures we should be aware of?" Gallus was talking loudly and clearly, causing an echo further into the cave. This appeared to be intentional.

Tzirret followed in behind both La'khay and Gallus, being careful not to point his spear where he could slip and cause damage.

Fendros actually stifled a chuckle and smiled widely. "You do remember that my family lives on a vineyard, yes?" Fendros reminded, "Guards head up every now and then on a patrol route, but they never disturbed us. We could probably arrive on a Sundas during the evening. It was a rule that we would gather for dinner as a family with no exceptions on those days."

There was a rustling up above from Colours. Either he had finished getting orientated or he had been waiting until the tone of the conversation cooled down. The sound made Fendros look up to see Colours, then he regarded Ahnasha with a hand on her shoulder. "We will talk of this more. We should get back to searching." Right before he was going to start moving again, Fendros faced Ahnasha a moment longer, "And...I'm sorry for keeping the letters from you. I'll let you read them when we get home." Fendros caught himself and cleared his throat lightly, "Bruma, that is."