Water Flows. Fire Burns. Wind Blows.

Now that Ochi was officially part of Tojo-Kai, she felt that it was in her best interest to learn the territory. Part of her upbringing was to make herself as useful as possible. The more information that she had regarding the Tojo territory, the more useful she would be. So the black and white fae made her way out into the Oaks, walking along the border for a time before she headed into the heart of the land. Ice and fire eyes shifted this way and that, committing different landmarks to memory. The knowledge would serve her well if she ever had to hunt here. Hunting wasn't her strong suit, but she could carry out the task if required.

Scents and sounds assaulted the once-princess. The earth here was rich, thanks to the fallen trees that were slowly being reclaimed by the earth. The birds sang sweetly from all around and Ochi stopped a moment, tilting her head up towards the sun-dappled canopy to simply listen, eyes closing.

Big mistake.

A strong force collided with the hip of the monochromatic fae, a yelp of pain and surprise pulling from her as she was thrown into the leaf litter. Mismatched eyes flashed open and Ochi staggered to her paws, her gaze locked on the perpetrator of the assault. A thickly furred ungulate stood before her, not terribly large, but she had felt the strength that the beast had within it. A set of horns curved backwards on its head. Thankfully she hadn't been caught with those. Though they weren't terribly long horns, they still would have done some damage.

Why had the creature attacked her at all? As Ochi's pelt bristled and she growled at the beast, she noted the thick stench coming from it. Trails of oil coated either side of its face. The musk of a lusty male trying to defend his territory and whatever females the land held. She imagined that he'd been working on scaring off all of the predators in this area of the oaks. Well...he could have this place.

Ochi turned and began moving back towards the bamboo, but she heard the clattering hooves of the serow as it ran after her. What was wrong with this thing? The woman threw herself into a quick run, her svelte body cutting through the greenery as she followed the path back. All the while, she could hear the serow hot on her heels.

The plan today hadn't been to fight and Ochi really didn't feel like getting bloody or exerting that kind of energy. Tojo's stores were full of meat, so there was no need to kill the herbivore. Ochi cut through a stream, hoping that it might slow the thing down a bit as well as hide her scent from it. Once on the other side, the fae ran full out, her path winding to further attempt to throw the serow off of her trail.

The horned goat-antelope would not give up its pursuit, however. It bellowed as it came to the other side of the stream and continued its hunt of the predator in its home. Ochi grumbled and continued making her way back towards Tojo proper. Once she was within the bamboo maze, the serow would surely stop following her. Right?

The combination of crossing the stream and avoiding the angry herbivore had gotten Ochi a little off track. Rather than following the path that the pack had trodden into the earth, she ended up backed against the wall of a gully. The serow soon parted from the foliage, making a brusque, grating call at the woman. Ochi grimaced again, mismatched eyes scanning for the best route. Why hadn't she brough her sword today?

A single paw shifted on the rocky ground and that was all that it took to throw the ungulate into a frenzy. It barreled towards the koi fae and she sidestepped just in time. The serow crashed into the wall of the gully, head first. The thud of the creatures head against earth rattled Ochi's bones and she could only imagine how many of those bones would have been broken if she hadn't moved in time.

Despite having gone out for some exploration, Ochitsuki hadn't planned on killing anything today. It seemed that this would be the only way to get the serow off of her tail, however. The black and white fae took a deep breath, releasing it long and slow between darkened lips. She set her defenses and waited for the beast to come at her once more.

With a bellow, the horned beast charged, head lowered. Ochi sidestepped again, but this time she moved with the serow. Dexterous paws lifted, winding their way through the goat creatures thick ruff. She planted her hind paws and threw her weight to the side, effectively tripping her opponent and bringing him to the ground. Placing her full weight on the serow, Ochi shifted one paw to grab its face. Pulling its chin up, the fae sank her teeth into its throat just behind the jaw. The serow thrashed but Ochi held on firmly. Time passed and the kicking slowed to a stop. The lusty, enraged ungulate was dead and Ochi was left dirty and incredibly sore, but alive and well, for the most part.

"Speech"