Spirit Animals and Fire
Ardyn
Master Fighter (250)
Master Hunter (240)
Knight
Bloodletter
6 Years
Male
1056
BrienaSkysong
Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi |
He’d come across the tantalizing trail of a bull elk that had, by the smell of it, been injured during the rut. The smell of blood was fetid with infection, and the bull’s tracks were uneven, the right hind hoof dragging instead of firmly planted. He must have been gored during a rumble with another bull.
Ardyn smiled to himself. Though a yearling, he was still large enough that an injured elk shouldn’t be too difficult, especially if he was innovative in his approach. He flagged his tail, catching Lyr’s attention, and the raven stooped, dropping to land on the Destiny’s shoulder.
Ardyn gestured ahead, speaking low, though the elk was about a half hour’s travel ahead of them by the smell of it, and the freshness of the tainted blood droplets left behind, “I’d like to take this elk down, but it’ll take some doing. Could you fly ahead and scout the elk and then a good spot to ambush it into a trap?”
The raven dipped his shining beak and pushed off, glimmering away into the evening sky while Ardyn moved to get a vantage point to wait, practicing the virtue of patience.
Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think |
Ardyn at first glance is as black as can be imagined with a raven sheen.
Closer inspection proves that he shimmers in fire tones in every hair on his hide right down to his lashes.
More obviously, he glows like a bed of coals and flames with every movement and brush of fur. His tail is usually wagging, so blazes like a torch.
His adult teeth are in and his saber canines have grown to their full length (see profile). His mane and tail hair have grown to full length, as well as being lightweight and easily buffeted by breezes.
A look at his front paws will give the impression of hands, with his dew claw dropped low and lengthened into a functioning thumb, and his toes elongated into fingers. He has retractable, solid black cat-like claws on every paw.
Ardyn has developed a glowing mast of intricate markings in fire and ice colors over his face, symmetrical over the last seasons of Year 17 (see profile for details). During hunts or raids/sieges, he will smudge them out with black soot to cover the glow, otherwise, they are bright enough to note at first direct glance at his face. Not all his artwork currently portrays the mask markings.
He is also often bedecked in beads, small bells, feathers in blues, ribbons and braids thanks to the Ooze Event of Halloween 2021, and the Coathanger item that he got. The accessories generally are seen most in his mane and tail hair. He removes the brighter items and bells for hunts or battle.
Ardyn
Master Fighter (250)
Master Hunter (240)
Knight
Bloodletter
6 Years
Male
1056
BrienaSkysong
Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi |
With how light the steps were, he almost expected to turn and see Aoife, maybe carrying something, but the voice and the paw were unfamiliar, though his easy nature wasn’t ruffled by the touch as he offered the tiny yearling a grin, nodding ahead toward the trail and sky.
“Seeing if I can get lucky and bring a bull elk down with some brain-power. My friend’s flown ahead to scout the area and see if there’s a good spot to run ahead and build something to do some of the heavy work for me. Maybe a very strong snare if I can find a strong enough sapling… or build a pit if he’s bedding down for the night. Should be fun.”
He lowered himself to his belly, letting his hind end roll to the side, tail flicking clear of his hips to drape over his hind legs as he devoted half of his attention to the girl and the rest to the sky and the trail, watching the darkening gloom for Lyr’s telltale bi-colored glowing plumage.
“I’m Ardyn, by the way.”
Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think |
Ardyn at first glance is as black as can be imagined with a raven sheen.
Closer inspection proves that he shimmers in fire tones in every hair on his hide right down to his lashes.
More obviously, he glows like a bed of coals and flames with every movement and brush of fur. His tail is usually wagging, so blazes like a torch.
His adult teeth are in and his saber canines have grown to their full length (see profile). His mane and tail hair have grown to full length, as well as being lightweight and easily buffeted by breezes.
A look at his front paws will give the impression of hands, with his dew claw dropped low and lengthened into a functioning thumb, and his toes elongated into fingers. He has retractable, solid black cat-like claws on every paw.
Ardyn has developed a glowing mast of intricate markings in fire and ice colors over his face, symmetrical over the last seasons of Year 17 (see profile for details). During hunts or raids/sieges, he will smudge them out with black soot to cover the glow, otherwise, they are bright enough to note at first direct glance at his face. Not all his artwork currently portrays the mask markings.
He is also often bedecked in beads, small bells, feathers in blues, ribbons and braids thanks to the Ooze Event of Halloween 2021, and the Coathanger item that he got. The accessories generally are seen most in his mane and tail hair. He removes the brighter items and bells for hunts or battle.
Ardyn
Master Fighter (250)
Master Hunter (240)
Knight
Bloodletter
6 Years
Male
1056
BrienaSkysong
Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi |
An amused twinkle lit in his mismatched, fire and ice eyes at the scoff from the cat that accompanied the girl, though he nodded to the cat as though he would have preferred to take the bull down the traditional way – and he truly would have, but he was no use to his pack if he got badly hurt trying to take down the elk on his own without a little leverage.
He nodded at Ari’s returned introduction, remarking, “Nice to meet ya.”
He squinted briefly at the sky as he caught a flicker of light, but it was just the first star twinkling into life in the heavens. Was his grandfather there, watching over him? He hoped he’d make the crimson man proud. His mother was still grieving, though her way of grieving was to hurl herself headlong into hard labor on the tower, or long patrols, or throwing herself into the traces of a sledge full of stone brought from beyond the border. Although, if his birds and bees lesson had made any impression, it was that his mother was also in heat, and this was her way of burning the extra energy off… maybe he’d have little siblings to dote on? He hoped so.
To Ari’s words about the ease of traps, he chuckled, not offended in the slightest. “I have a cloak that covers me well enough to be sneaky, but I was mostly exploring, so my stuff’s at my camp, aside from the pouch here,”
He reached a forepaw around and patted the pouch strapped to his ribs. It had a few of the essentials, like quick travel jerky, a blade of metal from the plateau, and several bundles of sinew and cordage, as well as an extra fire kit in case he needed it. His eyes did note the raised quills in her fur, and a grin flashed over his features, echoed in the fiery glow before it faded a few beats after the expression had gone. He'd have to tell Aoife that he'd met someone who had quills, too.
At her last question, he smiled, almost enigmatically, as he suggested, “Among many things. Grizzly bear defense, is another.” Much to his mother’s chagrin.
Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think |
Ardyn at first glance is as black as can be imagined with a raven sheen.
Closer inspection proves that he shimmers in fire tones in every hair on his hide right down to his lashes.
More obviously, he glows like a bed of coals and flames with every movement and brush of fur. His tail is usually wagging, so blazes like a torch.
His adult teeth are in and his saber canines have grown to their full length (see profile). His mane and tail hair have grown to full length, as well as being lightweight and easily buffeted by breezes.
A look at his front paws will give the impression of hands, with his dew claw dropped low and lengthened into a functioning thumb, and his toes elongated into fingers. He has retractable, solid black cat-like claws on every paw.
Ardyn has developed a glowing mast of intricate markings in fire and ice colors over his face, symmetrical over the last seasons of Year 17 (see profile for details). During hunts or raids/sieges, he will smudge them out with black soot to cover the glow, otherwise, they are bright enough to note at first direct glance at his face. Not all his artwork currently portrays the mask markings.
He is also often bedecked in beads, small bells, feathers in blues, ribbons and braids thanks to the Ooze Event of Halloween 2021, and the Coathanger item that he got. The accessories generally are seen most in his mane and tail hair. He removes the brighter items and bells for hunts or battle.
Ardyn
Master Fighter (250)
Master Hunter (240)
Knight
Bloodletter
6 Years
Male
1056
BrienaSkysong
Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi |
Ardyn laughed softly, rolling his shoulders as he remembered the battle that he’d had with a bear that had wandered into Valhallan lands. “A bear managed to slip through a patrol when I was a pup. And me, being an idiot, took it on myself, alone. Pretty sure I saw most of my short life flashing past my eyes and if I recall right, I got clobbered. The bear died anyway but it wasn’t me that killed it.”
At least, he added silently to himself, it wasn’t him that killed that bear. The next one he’d been just big enough, and not alone enough, to kill.
Ari pronounced that she was a healer, and a fighter, and he grinned, glossing over her remark about the strength of her pack and suggesting, “We could spar some time. I’m always open to working on my skills. Win or lose, I’ll always learn something.”
A flash in the sky, moving quickly toward them, caught his attention, and he rose, smiling as Lyr dropped from the now-dark sky to land on his withers in a flutter of glowing white and black-red plumage, casting a quick beady glance to the girl and her cat before reporting to Ardyn.
“There’s a spot about two miles ahead down the trail. It’s narrow and there are no easy deviations for the bull to take between his position and there, and he looks like he may be resting a bit. He’s gored badly, looks like he took on two at once. Hello, I’m Lyr, miss’s.”
He nodded his bi-parted bill at the tiny yearling and her cat, chipper through his croaking Welsh accent.
Ardyn nodded, and Lyr caught the look the Destiny pointed at him, adding, “There’s an alternate path that connects back onto this one, but he’s already too far past it, and the path’s too narrow for him to turn around where he is.”
Ardyn grinned. “Should give enough time to build a surprise. Could you lead us, and then when we’re setting up – if, that is, you want to come along, Ari – I’d like you to keep an eye on the elk and warn when it’s headed on.”
The bird nodded and pushed off, drifting ahead and to the right of the path as Ardyn pressed on after him, tossing a quick grin of invitation to the girl as he went. It was up to the tiny girl if she wanted to help out.
Ardyn followed the raven’s glowing figure along a path at a brisk trot, long legs and fur where it was exposed to the air crackling and simmering with fiery light, until Lyr dropped to a stone outcropping where the trail connected with the one the elk was on.
Ardyn looked around, shaking out his ruff and mane to shed more light as he took in the materials available, stamping his forepaws on the ground and testing the soil’s texture. Good for digging, and there were saplings at hand nearby that he could shop down, or perhaps use for a snare, though the elk’s antlers would probably be too large to fit through the loop of a noose.
He glanced uphill, taking note of the stones and boulders there.
Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think |
Ardyn at first glance is as black as can be imagined with a raven sheen.
Closer inspection proves that he shimmers in fire tones in every hair on his hide right down to his lashes.
More obviously, he glows like a bed of coals and flames with every movement and brush of fur. His tail is usually wagging, so blazes like a torch.
His adult teeth are in and his saber canines have grown to their full length (see profile). His mane and tail hair have grown to full length, as well as being lightweight and easily buffeted by breezes.
A look at his front paws will give the impression of hands, with his dew claw dropped low and lengthened into a functioning thumb, and his toes elongated into fingers. He has retractable, solid black cat-like claws on every paw.
Ardyn has developed a glowing mast of intricate markings in fire and ice colors over his face, symmetrical over the last seasons of Year 17 (see profile for details). During hunts or raids/sieges, he will smudge them out with black soot to cover the glow, otherwise, they are bright enough to note at first direct glance at his face. Not all his artwork currently portrays the mask markings.
He is also often bedecked in beads, small bells, feathers in blues, ribbons and braids thanks to the Ooze Event of Halloween 2021, and the Coathanger item that he got. The accessories generally are seen most in his mane and tail hair. He removes the brighter items and bells for hunts or battle.
"Yeah, sure, why not?" she shrugged when he mentioned a spar sometime, but her eyes gleamed at the thought. Ok, so she liked fighting even though she didn't get to do it much. It was a thrill to pit yourself against another - probably bigger - opponent and vie to come out on top. Part fueled by her ambition to be the best and part by pure pleasure in the adrenaline rush. She'd have probably suggested they spar right then and there if the weird colored carrion bird hadn't come back to jabber at Ardyn.
And that sure got Tansy's attention, the cat's suddenly tense posture and eyes nearly all pupil as she focused 100000% of her attention on the bird. On the one hand, Ari hoped that Tansy'd remember her manners and not murder Ari's new friend's bird, but on the other hand it would be kind of fucking super hilarious, so Ari refrained from saying anything to her to influence what happened. She just sat, grinning as she watched the undercurrents.
"Love to come along!" she chirped. She wouldn't miss for the world seeing Tansy's reaction to the continued presence of her favorite prey animal. She'd been like this with Dirk for a while too, but the jay's constant rude commentary and corruption of Ari had offended her right out of her fascination.
Tansy twitched hard when the bird took off again, the abortive movement clearly an instinctive reaction to the flurry of wings but the blackfooted cat barely kept herself in check and didn't throw herself onto the bird. Pity. Probably for the best though! She got the feeling that Ardyn would be the type to get upset about that sort of thing.
The cat continued to practically vibrate as they followed Ardyn along behind the bird, and her attention was super fixated on the glowing thing even as Ari bounced up next to Ardyn. "Soooo what you thinking?" she asked curiously, studying the stuff he was studying to see if she could puzzle out what his plan was for it.