crafting post 1/3

The Ashen stores were a bit of a mess. Though Hattori wasn't exactly the sort who agreed with the concept of slaves what was the point of keeping them around if they wouldn't keep things neat and orderly? Pushing that aside Hattori was quickly distracted when he found a long reel of metallic wire and claimed it as his own. He wasn't typically the sort who needed to resort to crafting to get the job done, since he was more than capable of filling his own stomach and adding to Ashen's caches, but he found himself somewhat curious of the possibilities. Perhaps he could make some sort of trip wire, it would make the chase a little easier which was in his opinion the most tedious part of hunting.  With this in mind he set off in the early hours of the morning, arriving at the Prairie a little while after the sun had risen.

Noticing a herd of grazing horses in the distance, Hattori gave it a wide berth as he cut through the prairie. The first and arguably most important part of his plan was to find the best spot to place his trip wire. Given the nature of the terrain he couldn't simply wrap the wire between a couple of trees and hope for the best, it'd take a bit more work than that. His eyes narrowed in focus, observing the gentle slopes that covered the majority of the Prairie and he tsked, flashing a bit of tooth around the roll of wire. If he planted his trap in the middle of the field he'd run the risk of it being spotted long, making all of this a waste of time and effort. But he didn't have any real alternatives either, or at least that appeared to be the case at first. With a flick of his ear he was on the move again, trotting up one of the gentle slopes that was tall enough to conceal the other side. From what he'd seen horses tended to flee at the first sign of danger, if he could lure them into running up and over the hill then they wouldn't have time to notice the trap he'd laid on the side.

Dropping the spool of wire at his paws, Hattori unhooked the end with a deft flick of his talon. It was a little difficult to manoeuvre given that like any other wolf he lacked the dexterity and opposable thumbs but with enough fiddling he managed to pull out a decent length of wire. Cutting it off was another matter entirely. As sharp as his talons were there was no way he could cut through metal, nor was chewing through it really an option either. Then what about cutting it with a rock? Upon finding one with sharp and jagged edges he struck the wire, hitting the same spot over and over till the wire began to fray. It was awkward and his neck muscles ached at the unnatural strain but with enough effort and perseverance he managed to cut the piece loose.  Now he'd need to cut another just in cause the first didn't do the job, after all two traps were better than one.

Always on the lookout for a hunt, the cream and grey form of Aslatiel lay in the longer grass at the edge of the prairie. She'd been watching the herd for a while in the hopes that Star or Halla would come along. That seemed to be the trend as of late. They must have been off doing other things. They couldn't always be around for her entertainment, after all. The girls tail flicked absently as she waited for something to happen. Anything. And eventually it happened. Galaxy gaze watched a horned man slink out onto the far end of the prairie. He seemed to be working on something but she was too far away to see just what it was. Only way to fix that was the get closer. Up she went, giving her shining pelt a shake before padding through the prairie and towards him. She gave the herd a wide berth. Even if she wasn't hunting them now, she didn't want to startle them in case she'd be hunting them later. Coming upon the oddly colored brute, Aslatiel arched the brow above her marked eye. "Pity there aren't any trees about. You're going to have a rough time making that trip up a horse without them." Even if a horse tripped over the wire, horses were thick and tough. They would rip the wire straight out of the ground if it was put there with stakes or rocks. The girl cast her gaze about, scanning the horizon. She eventually spotted a few smaller trees out further on the prairie. Lifting one paw, she pointed."If you put them there and secure them tightly, you would definitely succeed." The girl gave a friendly head tilt. "With two of us it would be easy to run the herd in that direction." "Speech"

Hattori frowned. He didn't mind the company but her words rang true, he'd been naive and overly optimistic and that bothered him. His brows drew tight as he followed the strangers line of sight, barely taking note of her size and appearance as he focused on the trees in the distance.  The cluster of trees was some ways away but not so far that he wrote off her suggestion entirely, he was unfamiliar with this way of hunting yet she seemed to make up for what he lacked: experience and know how. After taking a moment longer to consider her proposal he nodded, he was not so proud that he loathed the thought of following the lead of someone younger than he. In this context he was willing to let it slide, to cooperate and learn from the experience. Besides, it was hardly as if he could lug a whole horse all the way back to Ashen he'd rather share with this girl then leave the rest to undeserving scavengers.

"If that is what you think would work best." He rolled his shoulders, ready to move once again.

Picking up his equipment he continued to give the herd a wide berth as he made his way over to the trees, briefly glancing over his shoulder to see if the stranger was following suit. Standing still, he took a moment to take in the sight of the trees. They reminded him of a natural, makeshift tori gate. Solid wood with more than enough space for a horse to pass through the middle, the perfect place to lay a set a trap. Taking one end of the wire, Hattori gestured for her to take the other with a flick of his paw. So that togetherthey would pull the wire straight and taut then wrap it around the tree.

The man seemed to think over her words. Eventually he agreed and began to roll up his ball of wire. "I'm quite an experienced hunter. I've done this before." She assured him that she knew that she was doing. Giving the herd a wide berth, the pair of wolves began to move off towards the pair of trees. One for each of them. Without commenting on his slightly rude flick of the wrist, Asla took her end of the wire and wound it tightly around the tree on her side. She secured it well, using her claws to poke the wire through and knot it. After covering the unnatural looping on the tree trunk with tall grass, Aslatiel moved back towards the man. She would help him on his end if he needed it. His scent was familiar as though he mingled with the same wolves that she knew. "Who are you anyway?" He hadn't offered his name which, again, was rather rude. She was going out of her way to help him. He could at least be a little grateful. Picking long grasses to obscure the wire wrapped trunk, Aslatiel gave her own name first. "I'm Aslatiel Fatalis, Princess of the Armada." Would he know of the Armada? Would he pretend that he didn't? The cream and grey girl assumed that everyone would know about the strongest pack in the land. "Speech"

Perhaps his mannerisms and lack of introduction were considered in this part of the world. Hattori hadn't really considered that. His mind was focused on his current task as he bent down a little to secure his end of the wire. He wrapped it around the trunk of the tree, lapping the wire over itself a couple of times before pulling it tight. He stepped back to admire the line, whilst it was easy enough to see from where he stood he doubted the same could be said if he was on the move. Whilst he'd only just met her, he trusted the stranger's expertise and believed her when she claimed to know what she was doing. More than he did anyway.

His ears twitched in interest as she introduced herself and Hattori supposed he ought to do the same. He offered her a polite dip of his head, the same way he'd greet a stranger on the street back in Nippon. Courteous but impersonal. Her name was familiar though and whilst he thought poorly of her for brandishing her stuffy princess title on his face he made no show of it. He stepped over the wire to head back the way they'd come, towards the herd of horses in the distance.

"Hattori, Shinobi of Ashen." He answered her question and left it at that, as was his nature.

The pair soon made their back through the prairie and positioned themselves behind the herd, so they could best steer it towards the trees. His gaze scanned the group of horses, taking note of their general health and well being. From looks alone he couldn't quite tell if there were any weak links in the chain, whether any one horse was weaker than the last. There were a few foals in the mix but given the amount of prep they had put in he hoped they'd snag something a little larger. Something to make the work worthwhile.

Glancing over to Aslatiel, he rolled his shoulders, warding off any lingering stiffness as he prepared to make the move. To get the horses in flight so they could drive them towards their tripwire.

Ah, so he was just one of those boring wolves. Great... No one ever had the mental capacity for some fun banter. They were all so serious. Of course he was from Ashen. They were all boring there. Boring and stuffy. Full of themselves. Better to get this over with quickly so he could stalk back to his empress and be all hoity toity. As they finished typing the trip wire and circled back towards the herd, Asla took a moment to inspect the herd. There were a few foals, but she would try to keep them and their dams out of the chute. That would be more meat in the future if the foals lived. The cream and grey girl split from the boring man and took up her place on the opposite side. Together they would run the herd down the prairie and between the two trees. Casting her galaxy gaze towards the man, she nodded. A moment later, she launched forward, releasing a howl that brought the heads of the horses raising. She could see their nostrils flaring as danger registered in their minds. With the longer grass it would be difficult to see just how many wolves were chasing them. Once they were running, she would emerge into the short grass to give proper chase. "Speech"

Raising his head, Hattori joined in with a deep and sonorous howl, the sort that boded ill for those who were unfortunate enough to hear. By the time he lowered his muzzle Aslatiel had already kicked off into a sprint, hurtling towards the startled herd at an impressive speed. If nothing else, Hattori would recognise that she was a good hunting companion, even if she didn't seem to care for his personality-or lack there of. Hattori's paws thudded against the ground as he took chase and swung wide to the left to deter the herd from straying too far off course. As things stood all they needed to do was keep the herd running straight on their current path and with Aslatiel's hounding them from the other side they did just that. Mindless and panicked, there was no way they saw what laid ahead and even if they did they were running to fast to stop in time.

With each footfall they drew closer and closer to their doom, it was only a matter of time.

Hattori joined his call with hers and the girl grinned even as she ran. She quite liked it when men followed her lead. Four sets of paws briefly touched earth as the pair seemed to fly over the grassy landscape. The herd began to run as they were intended to do and Asla kept on their heels. Now that they were attacking, the girl could only spare fleeing glances at her hunting companion. The vast majority of her attention was on the ungulates that thundered down the prairie.

Asla chose to take on the more difficult task of cutting the foals and their dams from the herd. She added speed, interjecting herself into the center of the group despite the danger. Thankfully, both mothers and their children were running close to one another. The four horses veered away as the predator came near and Asla let them go. The rest of the horses made an attempt to follow, but the small wolf snarled and snapped at their heels. Back on track, they were almost at the tripwire. She spared another glance at Hattori to see how he was faring.

Whilst Aslatiel pushed ahead to separate the herd, Hattori hung back and kept a watchful eye on the stragglers in case they tried to and veer off into a new, unpredictable direction. One horse in particularly was rather spirited and as it ran, it slowed down a touch and attempted to lash out at Hattori with a kick of it's hind leg. He swerved out of the way with a tsk, only to speed up as a snarl ripped from his throat, quickly reminding the stallion of who held the reins here, so to speak.

Hattori held his breath in anticipation, it was just a few steps more and then- The front runner of the herd let out shriek as it's front legs caught on the trip wire and sickening crack filled the air. Hattori skidded to a stop, his ankles aching in protest as he watched the scene unfold, as though in slow motion. The horses eyes were wide, almost rabid with panic as it twisted and landed with such a thud that the earth shook beneath the shinobi's paws. The other horses were quick to scatter, sounding equally as alarmed as they thundered away, leaving their companion to her fate. If nothing the wolves would make it quick, or at least Hattori would attempt to.

The cream and grey wolf caught the exchange between Hattori and the stallion. She had been ready to intervene if necessary but he seemed to handle it well. So she continued on her way, snapping at the heels of the running herd. With the mothers and foals long gone, it was just a matter of time to see who made it to the finish line first. The finish line of death. Dramatic, but true, eh? One big mare made it to the tripline. The resounding twang of the line seemed to reverberate right through Aslatiel's body. The line actually snapped with the force of the impact and she could see the broken end glitter as it flew through the air, light catching the metal. The mare went slamming into the earth with a groan of pain and alarm. With the rest of the herd scattering, Aslatiel wasted no time. Closing the distance between herself and the downed horse, she launched herself over its body and landed hard on its neck. Curved claws dug into its flesh as she held it down. Teeth worked their way just below the curve of its jaw. She was holding the beast down and cutting off its breathing. Hattori would be able to make his strike as well. If they worked together, the horse would be dead in no time. "Speech"

And then they descended like wolves. Funny that. Aslatiel went right for the throat, cutting off it's airway as her teeth sunk into it's flesh. Hattori was quick to fall in beside her, his talons digging into the meat of it's shoulder as he used the bulk of his weight to keep it pinned into place. Except that the horse wasn't struggling nearly as much as he'd anticipated, leading the shinobi to believe that it had fallen into a state of shock, that through the haze of pain and confusion it had lost sight of what was happening. Nonetheless, Hattori pressed down with all of his weight as he lunged for it's throat and clamped down at the bend where the line of the neck met the head. With the two of them cutting off both the blood and airways the horse didn't last long, it's breathing slowed with each struggled breath and soon enough the horse was no more. It was time to feast.