Daunting Hunt - Training
Shifting through the tall savanna grass, the trio had been following the tracks and scent of a moving herd for miles, a super herd, one consisting of zebras, gazelle, and wildebeest, likely banding together for protection as they migrate in search of water, this drought having driven them from these lands.
A drought that, while Elysium and his daughter, Behemoth, are more accustomed to, the oppressive heat is not one that settles well with their temporary traveling companion, Kezek, who had joined them for this hunt, given he was in the area when they decided to set out, hunting in numbers is always beneficial.
His breathing a bit heavy, Kezek does well to conceal his discomfort as he pads alongside the father-daughter duo, his cloak at least shielding him from the suns direct wrath, but still, this heatwave is no merciful with his fluffy coat.
“The scents getting stronger,” Elysium remarks to the other two, the wind is working in their favor, thankfully, pushing against them instead of with them, directing the scent of prey right to their noses, “we’ll have to be careful… such a large herd, the risk of a stampede is high,” he mutters, more to Behemoth than to Kezek, already knowing the other male is well-aware of such a risk.
Behemoth, however, is tensely adjusting her cloak, brows furrowing in mild concern at the thought, “would they charge us?” She doesn’t typically go for large prey, especially ones that herd, not really wanting to test her luck when she’s by herself.
Kezek is the one who answers this time after taking a long sip of water from a flask, his tongue catching stray drops around his muzzle as he grunts, “if we don’t flush them correctly, they could easily run in a blind panic towards us instead of away, so we should, ideally, pick out stragglers, whoever lags behind will be good enough, no need to overextend ourselves.”
“I suppose,” Behemoth flicks an ear, her nerves aren’t entirely settled, but she doesn’t have long to steel herself, not as they get closer to the herd.
When Elysium suddenly crouches, that’s Kezeks and Behemoths cue to follow his lead, their own figures ducking beneath the tall grass to conceal themselves.
“Up ahead,” Elysium whispers, so softly that they almost don’t hear him, “hundreds.” A super herd that isn’t as big as it could be, thankfully, due to it being early in the migration season, still, a daunting size.
Creeping ahead, the trio step delicately and with purpose, walking only when the wind allows them as it rustles the grass around them, concealing their movement as they move forward, the tension in the air palpable as they strain their ears, listening intently for any indication that they’ve been alerted.
Lifting his head slightly above the grass, Kezek scopes out their situation, gaze keenly looking for any prey that could be a suitable target for them… the herd is tightly packed as they migrate, but as he looks… he can see a zebra lagging behind the rest, a limp in its step as it trails after them. A weak link. Perfect.
Lowering his head, Kezek relays the information quietly, “an injured zebra, bit to our left, we go for that.”
Behemoth and Elysium nod, having no complaints about that plan as they adjust their pathing, veering more towards the left after they individually poke their heads out to check positioning.
Each step is a precarious one, with Behemoth feeling as though her heart is about to pound out of her chest as they get closer, swallowing thickly as she follows the lead of her companions, observing each of their movements in order to carefully mimic them.
Her heart drops when an alert is called, and with no time to think, Elysium and Kezek are bounding from the grass, forcing Behemoth to scramble after them, eyes wide as she rapidly looks around for their target as the herd begins running, the amount of dirt and sand being kicked up from thousands of hooves pounding into the earth is making her squint, vision obscured by the chaos.
“Moth, with me!” Elysium yells above the noise, calling out to his daughter, thunderous footsteps and bleating nearly drowning him out entirely as he races for the injured zebra, its limp making it difficult for it to stay close to its retreating herd.
As Behemoth rushes to keep up with her father, Kezek is splitting off from them, only slightly, in order to drive himself between the injured zebra and the rest of its kin, snarling and snapping at the air in order to separate them further in their fright.
With space created, Elysium and Behemoth close in, their pace picking up as the distance between them and their prey gets smaller and smaller, the zebras panicked snorting and huffing becoming obvious to their ears.
Taking a chance, Behemoth is the first to strike as she leaps onto its back, her legs kicking and clawing into it as she fights for purchase atop it, her weight making its legs buckle as it struggles against her.
Elysium is joining, his teeth latching onto the back of the zebras leg, head yanking back to finally force it to drop to the ground as it loses any shred of balance remaining, its body roughly hitting the dirt with a wheeze, before it begins to kick and flail, a hoof nailing Elysium in the chest, forcing him to detach with a yelp.
Behemoths teeth are finding the back of the zebras neck, hoping to be able to bite in with enough force to break its neck, but such thick muscles are making it difficult.
Thankfully, Kezek is running in after chasing off the herd further, the male not hesitating to go for the front of the neck when Behemoth yanks its head back to expose it for him, holding firmly despite its flailing, with Elysium rejoining to help pin it down after recovering from being kicked.
Kezek growls in his bite, eyes watching their surroundings as he slowly suffocates their prey, not wanting to be caught off-guard in case the herd changes their direction, or in case another predator tries to steal this, but, to their luck, they seem to be in the clear as the zebra slowly weakens within their jaws, its struggling lessening.
When it finally stills, and Kezek no longer feels a pulse, he’s releasing his grip, wiping the blood from his muzzle with the back of his arm as he glances over to his companions, who are also letting go now that they no longer need to pin it.
“Dad, are you alright?” Behemoth asks, gaze filled with concerned as she looks over her father, whose rubbing at his chest with a wince.
“Well, I’ll definitely be sore for a while…” he grumbles, “but I don’t think it broke anything,” he can still move, so that’s a good sign… he thinks. “It got me with its bad leg, thankfully,” so it’s not as bad as it could’ve been.
“Good,” Kezek responds as he scouts their surroundings, “we can’t stay here, hyenas and lions will be on us before long,” no doubt those groups are also following the herds, the scent of a successful kill will draw them in no time. He isn’t interested in trying to fend off such a group, the risk of injury too great to be worth it.
With no time to spare, the trio load up the carcass onto the back of Kezek, despite Elysium and Behemoths concern for his condition in this heat, though the male stubbornly ignores such concerns, caring only for efficiency at the moment.
As they begin heading back to camp, Elysium is giving his daughter a slight nudge, “you did well, Moth.”
“Thanks,” she’s glad her nerves didn’t hold her back, though she wishes she were able to contribute a bit more… but oh well, there’s always next time.
Training: Stage 3
♦ Draw your Reosean and their companion taking down a large or legendary prey animal, team effort!
(Elysium and Behemoth are the ones training! Kezek is here for huntin')
Vays: Behemoth 9519, Elysium 7675 and Kezek 16150
WC: 1324