Tusked Tumble [Valhalla Elephant Hunt]

[Ooc: We'll have the elephant fall in with Ardyn's next post ^^]

The First Guardian sat patiently while the healers set up their yurt, and soon Lyr returned to Ardyn’s shoulders. The news was good, though the raven’s words were just quietly spoken enough that Cairo couldn’t catch them. He could guess though since Lyr had set off to find a few more hunters from outside the pack to assist.

Soon enough, three figures arrived, and Cairo regarded each with keen assessment. Two men and a girl. He nodded to each with his customary grin, sapphire eyes twinkling before turning back to Ardyn as his king’s two cats returned from their scouting foray with the news. Soon, Ardyn got things underway with an introduction and outline of the hunt to come. It seemed Cairo would be going with Seumas and the yearling Tallulah, with Sädir acting as a guide. He glanced at the two, nodding to himself. He could work with that.

As the group set off along the trail toward the fork, he glanced back, tail waving to the healers before they passed beyond his sight and he turned his eyes and mind to the hunt ahead.

Ardyn halted the group at the fork, lighting the torches and explaining the upper-level group's initiative. He nodded his understanding and followed Sädir’s tawny form as it slinked into the bushes a ways down the trail.

The cat led them in an arc, and Cairo was last to be placed. He could see each of the others and the mountain lion, and the sleeping grey bulk ahead of them, swaying even in sleep. The elephant was a big bull and had clearly seen much in his time. His tusks were worn, his body scarred with old marks from rut battles. He was also thin enough to see ribs, although Cairo, having never seen an elephant before – he wasn’t certain mammoths counted – wasn’t sure if that was normal or not.

Enito leaned in and spoke softly into Cairo’s ear, “That’s an African Elephant. It’s unusual to see them in places like this continent… that’s normally left to other breeds… Then again, humans having gone has left the world to stray in new directions. They all thought mammoths were extinct, not to mention some of the other so-called prehistoric beasts we saw a few seasons ago.”

Cairo nodded slightly, then slowly counted down until Ardyn’s time allotment ran out. He knew for sure the group in the ravine was ready when Chrystal dropped to the branches above him and clicked her beak softly, head bobbing.

Cai gave a rough bark around his torch handle and charged forward with a savage bellow usually reserved for a warcry. Enito screeched and flailed as he bounded alongside the First Guardian.

The Adravendi kept his distance as the big bull elephant woke with a ground shaking rumble and fanned his big ears; their group’s objective was to press the elephant back toward the ledge and scare it over the edge into the ravine, not to tangle with it directly.

He gave the torch to Enito, who would be better suited to thrashing the fiery stick through the air while Cairo snapped and snarled, doing his best to be a threat that the elephant should run away from. He watched from his peripherals as he did, keeping tabs to be sure they stayed safe. The real battle would be down below.

The elephant made a false charge, but it seemed more disorientated than it should have been, and soon backed off again, especially as Enito waved the torch at it and advanced just close enough to press the beast back.

The noise was tremendous, and Cairo was sure his ears would be ringing for a good while with some of the bellows the beast made.

Finally, the elephant started to back up, outnumbered by strangely confident wolves and fire, and Cairo, glancing behind it, could see the light of the ravine opening, with the trees unable to reach across far enough to reach other.

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think