[WoR] Red Flag Hunt - Tracking 1 [Solo]

Prompt: Draw or Write about your Reosean tracking the Bounty creature. Do they examine tracks on the floor, or use their own hunting instincts? Or perhaps have they received a device that ''supposedly'' helps tracking wild animals? The world is yours! You have as much freedom in this prompt as you want.

Individual Submission by Mechanic-Drone

Using: 

Ragna 15390 | Grunt 15465 | Bellona 15531

Night over the desert could be so beautiful, but so deadly. The landscape that laid in front of a trio of vayrons, looking so warm and welcoming with it’s orange tan sand and yellowed grass, yet the air that hung around them was cold and brisk, the lack of water within unable to regulate the heat of the area. 

The three walked along the duns quietly, though all three seemed spooked, outside of the large male of the group.

“A crystalline zataro… I thought a normal one was bad enough.” One of the females spoke up, her long fur waving in the cold air, while her forged marking let off a warm glow, illuminating her features in the dark. 

“Yeah no kidding. Who even knows where they came from, and what is up with those crystal growths anyways? I thought only reoseans could be marked.” The second female spoke up, her dark pelt clashed with the crystalline structures that covered her own body. They seemed to glow softly with her emotions but she held her tongue. 

The male of the group let out a singular grunt of agreement, though his eyes were glued on the horizon. It was almost as though we was expecting to see something rather than actually looking, the group feeling more like the prey than the predator in the situation.

“Thankfully we have Grunt here right? His muscles will scare just about anything away.” The lighter female chuckled softly towards the male but his gaze still never broke. 

“Do I need to worry about you cheating on me with this muscle head?” Ragna’s voice was soft and playful, “I mean come on you know me and Grunt grew up together that is cold, even for you Bellona.”

The trio chuckled softly at the joke before falling silent once more. Bellona looked to Grunt for comfort but even he seemed on edge, which left her feeling unsettled. 

Ragna caught her mate’s eyes full of what looked like fear and trotted beside her, pressing her own body against her’s as a show of comfort, “Hey it’ll be ok. We are only out here to look for clues, we aren’t meant to engage or anything like that. If we do come across it we can always run, no shame in that.” Ragna’s voice was soft and calm, and the worry that Bellona held in her eyes seemed to lessen. 

Grunt turned towards the two females with a soft smile of his own, finally tearing his gaze from the horizon to show his own worry dissipating. Though he kept himself cautious, ears still on a swivel and nose twitching lightly looking for any remaining scents that may lead them to their target. 

As the group progressed, looking for clues Grunt suddenly let out a huff and began trotting away from the girls. Ragna and Bellona looked at one another before following closely after the male.

“Grunt slow down! We aren’t as big as you!” Bellona hollered after the large male though he never broke his stride. 

After a second or so Grunt came to a sudden halt, a singular rock sticking from the sandy dunes was directly in front of him. As the group rejoined Ragna frowned for a moment looking at the rock, “You made us all run just for a rock?” Her voice was skeptical, Grunt rarely ran himself so her confusion was fairly apparent.

Grunt rolled his eyes at her comment before reaching his paw out gently to lift what looked like a broken crystal from behind the small rock. 

“Is that-” As Bellona spoke she shut her mouth as the scent from the crystal hit her nostrils. There was no denying the scent of a zataro. 

The three looked at one another, all unsure as to what to do now. Thankfully the scent from the purple and orange gem wasn’t strong, but it was great evidence that they were on the right path to tracking down information, and possibly even the beast itself. Though the question was, what to do now? They could continue on the trail to try to find more hints and information, or turn in what they already had to help aid the growing issue that was these monsters. 

All three looked at one another and nodded in unison. They didn’t need to use their words to know what they all wanted to do, they were going to keep tracking this beast. Other reasons were depending on them. 

[745 Words]