How to catch a ... deer? hunt lesson

Rudyard and Fern had approached him the previous season and expressed their desires to spend some time traveling the lands together, enjoying their newfound relationship and honing their skills while having fun. Naturally, Artorias had wanted to send them on their way with his well wishes, but as the Aegis, he had to be prudent about losing his two best hunters. So a bargain had been struck—the Hallows' most masterful hunters would each teach their own lessons to help the rest of the pack improve their own hunting skills so they wouldn't suffer from their absence for a season. Rudy and Fern had held true to their end of the deal, and now Artorias was walking out to the Fossil Ridge with his adoptive son at his side, the early evening sun just beginning to creep into sunset. Zephyrus had been decidedly unhappy about needing to participate in this training, but Art rationalized that at some point Zephyr would need to hunt, so starting out young seemed the best course of action.

He and Zeph arrived just as the rest of the group was congregating around Rudy for his lesson. He shot a proud smile to his littler brother and took a seat beside a very displeased raptor son and his demure little sister to listen in on what Rudy had planned for them today. A game, it seemed, would be their practical lesson for the day! Rudy explained how this game was to test their ability to sneak up on and ambush prey, with himself playing the part of the prey. That got an amused chuckle from Artorias, who eyed his brother's newly acquired rack of antlers with a devilish smirk. Rudyard was indeed looking more and more like prey with each passing day. The rules were set: he would go hide and they had to track him down, sneak up on him, and bag their "kill" all without use of their companions or alerting him. Suddenly Art realized why Rudy had chosen such a late hour for the lesson.

Rudy scampered off into the twilight and Zephyrus tried to dismiss himself from the lesson by claiming he was a pet. A pet! Artorias stopped the fledgling's premature departure with a strong foreleg lifted to block his rapidly growing son's path, fixing him with a look that just read "Really?". "Nice try, buddy," he remarked with a chuckle. "But you're no pet. You're my son." Gwynevere kicked off their discussions by asking how they should proceed. While not the guru hunter his brother was, Artorias knew the basics of hunting and had done a good bit of it in his life. Also, he had the distinct advantage of his much more perceptive and sharp eyes functioning significantly well in the dimming light. Unfortunate for Rudy, but a boon for the hunters. "We should stick together, especially since it's getting darker, but we should maintain some space when we move. We'll cover more ground that way, and we'll be near one another when things kick off." Artorias glanced to Zephyrus, seeing his displeasure and offering the bird a reassuring smile. "When we find him, we're going to need to bring him down fast and with an ambush. Your gliding is going to be very good for covering ground down the ridge, Zeph. Just keep close to me and get ready to go into flight mode as soon as we spot him."

With a rough plan formed, Artorias looked back the way Rudy had run off. His brother had a distinct scent, and so long as he didn't go through water, he should be fairly easy to track. "Zeph and I can take point. Gwyn and Claire, you both bring up the rear and keep a lookout for any clues we might pass." With their roles divided up, Artorias nudged Zephyr with his shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile before setting off after Rudy, using his keen eyesight to follow his trail in the dirt and his flaring nose to track his scent, showing Zeph the prints he was following as they went to teach his raptor child the fundamentals of hunting.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"