Trails and Trials [AW Hunt]
Ardyn
Master Fighter (250)
Master Hunter (240)
Knight
Bloodletter
6 Years
Male
1046
BrienaSkysong
| Ardyn Cadeyrn Aodhán Phoenix Adravendi |
He slid quietly along a deer trail, following the trail of pus-swirled blood droplets and irregular deer tracks. In the full daylight, they were easy to read. An injury of some kind on one of the back legs. The doe had escaped whatever had caused it, but infection had set in and she was lame and sick.
She was also nursing, but no traces of a fawn mixed with her scent. Had a predator gone for her and been fended off in the end, and taken the fawn instead?
Ardyn paused, lifting his eyes to follow the trail ahead as the trail forked. She'd stayed on the main one, but a smaller led up and parallel to the first. He nodded to Lyr and the Raven winged off, following the trails simultaneously from above, then dropped back to report.
"They meet like the trails did when you hunted that elk with Aris. The deer's about midway on the main path. Looks like some canine got her, if my eyes were right."
Ardyn nodded, smiling at the bird as he turned and trotted up the smaller parallel trail, picking up speed to a stealthy lope to make time until Lyr signaled that he was close to level with the doe. The trails were close enough that he could see a few small trails that connected them, and the gimping movements of the deer on the main one.
He was silent, now, stalking down the path at the same speed as the deer, estimating whether he could take her down alone, or leave Lyr with her to find someone willing to hunt for a share of the kill.
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.