Demon Prince. Ultyr lowered his dark nose to the soft ground. The particularly dry and unrelentingly hot summer had reached even the typically damp recesses of this forest. Now that fall had arrived the leaves had released their stems from the branches and fell languidly and gently to the mossy earth. Though this forest was typically wet, the summer must have burned away some of the forest's reserves. The leaves crunched and whisked and whispered under every step.

Dark paws tested the sound of the leaves as he led the silver rose youth hunting. He wanted to see how they could work together. What was this boy's stance, readiness, training? Had he hunted more than rabbits on his own?

Demon Prince. He understood how the people of Judila and the other conquered kingdoms could come by that title for him. No one thought a conqueror of their homes was good and blessed. He was demonic in their eyes simply by proxy he knew. But the title held a simplicity to it. He was a God prince, but what is a God if not a demon? What is a demon if not a god in its own right?

He had scented a herd of elk that had entered the woods. They had come down from the mountains for the fall and enter the lower lands for better grazing. Their summer haunts would soon be lost in the deep winter snows of the higher elevations.

There! He picked up his head from the ground as a high ringing call was heard overhead. A bull elk calling for its herd. Though the sounds reverberated and bounced through the trees and vines, he knew it came from the north edge. He glanced at Gany and nodded his head in that direction before slinking through the prey trail toward the sound.

A rustle of leaves up ahead made the God-prince stop and shift his head around the trunks. Hoping to catch a glimpse of their prey.


332 /1500

"Do Not Enter" is written on the doorway Why can't everyone just go away? The almost humid, damp feeling of leaves underfoot was a herald of the oncoming fall and all it would bring, especially if one were to stay in these dark and confining places for the entirety of it. Scents of dried leaves above, not yet fallen, mixed with the smell of the fallen ones that were quickly becoming compost in a place such as this. At least he hadn't managed to step into any of the rottings, and likely wet if this place had anything to say about it, mess underneath the more forgiving blanket of leaves dried by the harsh summer heat. It wasn't all wet though, the summer seemingly having taken a good deal out of this place, and it was a little easier to traverse because of this despite the fact his nose could not pick up any scents just yet. He couldn't imagine anyone staying here for long, hopefully, they wouldn't be either. This trip wouldn’t be all bad if he was honest, while he might not be too fond of the earthen man he traveled with just yet, he could still admire the other to some extent. Though he would eat several rocks before admitting that aloud to anyone other than maybe Lailah, she wouldn't be able to tell anyone else thankfully. Unless she chose to write it to the other. Maybe he would just keep his thoughts on that topic to himself. Admiring Ultyr, bah. A good physique is a good physique, no matter the person, it wasn’t exactly admiring. It was the high, ringing call and almost walking into the other’s side that pulled him out of his head and back to the present, the noise jarring and loud as it rang throughout the woods. A testament most likely to the size of the bull that had wandered down. His ears swiveled to press forward as he slowly lowered himself into a crouch, paws moving so he could try and avoid moving too much of the leaf litter underfoot in fear of alerting the Cervidae that was somewhere ahead. A glance in Ultyr’s direction gave him the cue he needed when the man nodded to him, moving a bit apart from the other to see if he could lay his lily-colored gaze on the bull. A good meal if they could find and bring the beast down, but there would be a lot more to hunting this beast than there was to hunting something smaller like a whitetail doe or even simple rabbits. Ganymede kept himself low, Ultyr still within sight, and his belly almost to the leaf-strewn ground as he crept through the trees. 773/1500 Walk, "Talk", Think, ’Others Speaking’ Except you, you can stay.

How might they sneak up on their quarry over these rasping crackling leaves? Ultyr would move one massive foot and the crispy leaf litter would practically shout through the woods his location. He swished his tail in annoyance, the mild gust of wind lifted a few of the leaves as well rubbing them harshly together.

Could they navigate through the woods along logs and stones? Keep to the creek while they snuck up on the beast? Hmm... He saw the lithe and leggy boy creep over the leaf litter. Ember gaze would cling to that brush of blush over the youth's shapely shoulders. He held himself with the nobility fitting his birthright. He may have been captured at one point but really didn't seem like he had ever been broken in as a slave. Focus Ultyr! He brought that ember gaze back to the task at paw. To hunt the elk and sneak up on through this ocean of noise.

What if they moved when the wind moved? Would their motions along the ground match the gentle breezes rustling through the leaves? He waited for a moment to see if the wind would pick up again.

It did. The wind picked up a few straggling loose leaves but barely lifted a wave of the golden, red, and brown leaflets. No good and unreliable.

His gaze lifted to the pale boy again. He watched as he stalked elegantly forward, his white belly barely brushing over the leaves. Dainty pads on long legs seemed to disturb the leaves less than his own dark massive mitts. He almost felt clumsy next to the young man. Setting his jaw, he aimed to carefully move over the leaves in the same elegant fashion, daring to disturb the bare minimum of fragile ground cover as he stalked forward.

There! Just a couple leaps ahead a doe was leading them to the buck. The buck was still uphill from them. maybe if Ganymede altered his course to come up behind the ungulate he could sneak over the ground better than Ulytr could.

"You disturb the leaves less. Circle it and launch it at me. I'll stay and wait here to grab it as it passes." he was used to issuing commands to a silent servant, overexplaining to the unschooled and mute. He had much to learn of his own.

1164 / 1500