Are you smelling what I'm stepping in

Hattori had led them through the gorges of Mount Vulcan and around the Travelers’ Pitfall in order to keep them from becoming entrapped. This way, he’d deemed, was the quickest and safest way to avoid entering the landmine of packs that rested to the east of the pack he’d joined: Ashen. Its name made him curious in a way, and he almost imagined a dimly lit place with soot and fire everywhere. Such a place would certainly suit the brooding Iga heir, but he also supposed it wouldn’t be very sustainable. Ah, well, it was fine as long as they had pretty women and men, food, and a warm place to sleep. He was a simple man with simple needs, after all. Surely his cousin wouldn’t settle somewhere without either...though he did suppose he was quite the stick in the mud. He was pretty sure his dear cousin had never even known a woman’s company.

They’d settled in for the night in a dimly lit forest that vaguely gave him the heebie jeebies, like something was continuously watching them through the mist. The man found himself looking around them a lot, trying to peer through the fog but it was thick enough to cut with a knife. He’d even almost lost Hattori a few times. Eventually, they settled at the roots of a large tree where they could both keep their backs to it to prevent them from being ambushed or caught unawares. With that, they’d gone their separate ways in search of food for the evening. He’d tried batting his eyes to get Tori to catch something for him, but he’d just ended up with a strong cuff to the head.

Making sure to pay attention to the turns he made in order to return to their settlement, he kept his nose out for any signs of prey. However, the fog made everything muddled and distorted, so he wasn’t able to accurately tell when he was close. A few times a rabbit or a squirrel had scurried out from under his paws and he’d tried in vain to snap at it, but it had slipped off into the thick mist. The man grumbled, moving on. Focusing ahead, he was able to see a hole in the trunk of a tree. Holes such as those made great dens for animals such as rabbits, and perhaps he would get lucky and come upon a warren. Hah, that would show Tori! He was a strong, independent man who didn’t need no stinking prince.

Heading toward the hole he gave a little sniff, trying to discern what laid inside. He could tell there was something, he just didn’t quite know what. Deciding to get closer, the man poked his muzzle into the opening. He heard a hiss, then suddenly he was blinded by an utterly putrid scent. He’d come across the den of a skunk who’d gone into hibernation early. His eyes burned and his nose was screaming in anguish, the large man back peddling quickly with a start. Curses in japanese tumbled from his mouth with such fervor that it would easily cause every mother back in Iga to shake their head in disapproval of him. But, god damnit, it stunk!

He could see, through his tears of course, the rear end of the skunk still pointing at his, ready to reload and punish him some more. He scowled, narrowing his gaze at the overgrown rodent and growled. The skunk gave a flick of its tail, as if daring him to try it again. Well, Raijin never backed down from a dare. Lunging forward, he was sprayed in the chest this time. While he did gag, this time wasn’t good enough to deter him. He clamped his jaws down over the skunk’s back, lifting it into the air. The smelly creature screamed in protest, flipping and flopping all over the place and clawing at his snout. A few times he dropped it, the creature spraying him again before trying to run away, but the tactician’s pride had been wounded too far to simply let it go. This little battle went back and forth until, finally, the man was able to snap the animal’s neck rendering it dead.

Grinning in triumph, Raijin picked up his prize and turned to make his way back to their shelter. Hattori wasn’t happy at all with Raij’s catch, badgering him and swiping at him to get away because he smelled absolutely horrible. The man just shrugged, settling down to eat his meal because, after all, it was still food. Eventually, he was forced to go find somewhere nearby at the continuous chastisement of Hattori who was apparently getting a headache from the smell. Well, maybe next time he’d learn to hunt for him instead of letting Raij get sprayed by a skunk.