Knut had come to him with word of a small herd of pronghorn that had wandered into the Maw. Gimli's interest was immediately piqued. Pronghorn were not common in mountain terrains like this, and he knew right away that something was off about it. He had noticed this season that the animals migration patterns were skewed. All manner of creatures seemed irate, fearful, confused...he didn't know what was causing it, but the mountain dwarf was not one to pass up a potentially easy meal. He motioned for Knut to lead him to where he last spotted them, and with lifelong practiced ease, the pair bounded across the slopes and onto steep trails to an outcrop where they could look out over the terrain. Down below, Gimli could hear the unsteady clatter of hooves slipping on slate and stone, and when he peered over the edge, he could see at least four or so pronghorn, confusion clear in their body language as they seemingly tried to figure out how to get over the pass. "This is not where they belong. Ah wonder why they ended up here..." Had they been chased by another beast? Maybe gave the slip to another pack of hunters? Or had something else entirely driven them into the crags?
Whatever the case, the dwarf was already forming a plan. He could snag at least one of them...maybe more than one if he planned it right. He knew these mountains inside and out, whereas the pronghorn likely had never been in these parts before. They were far from their familiar grasslands and wide open plains, so this would be a cinch for the mountain man. He had the advantage here, and he would use every trick up his sleeve to secure his prey. "Get ready Knut, we're goin' te have ourselves a buffet fit fer the gods themselves!" He grinned as he slid easily down to the next rock below, slowly and quietly making his way down and closer to the confused little group.
He blended in easily enough with the terrain, and occasionally, the short wolf would peek out between the rocks to ensure he was still on the right track and that his prey was still there. They were slowly picking their way over the rough terrain, but their path was slow going, whereas Gimli drew closer at a much faster pace. "We're goin' te run them up the slope. They are not familiar with these mountains, and I expect at leas' one 'o them will break a leg. You distrac' them, will ye?" Knut nodded before slipping away and made his way to them to start the first phase of the plan.
Knut was a good few inches taller than Gimli, much to his chagrin, but the little wolf was used to that fact by this point. Nonetheless, he was a formidable warrior and hunter, and he was confident that his new pack would have a good meal tonight, and he'd have a new set of antlers to work with.
The clatter of hooves drew his attention again just as he made it closer to the backs of his prey. The pronghorn were eyeing Knut with a wariness, the cat stalking along in front of them as he kept their attention drawn his way. Grinning, Gimli quieted his steps as he moved from cover to cover, careful not to make a sound as he snuck up on them. Once he felt he was close enough, he burst from his hiding and started barking and gnashing his teeth, sending the pronghorn in a sudden panic and scrambling to get away from the wolf. Just as expected, they headed for the slope, though two of them managed to dart off to the side and avoid the hunter. No matter, they wouldn't get very far here. He set his focus on the two in front of him, watching as they attempted to climb the slope, but quickly became stuck. With nothing but steep crags in front of them and a hunter behind them, one pronghorn lost its footing and fell on its side, sliding down with debris and loose sheetrock straight towards Gimli. It rolled and flailed, legs kicking as it called out in panic and fear, and Gimli took the opportunity. He closed the gap, lunged for the does throat, and latched on.
Powerful jaws made quick work of crushing her throat until she stopped flailing, and though he was satisfied with his current kill, a call from Knut had him looking toward the buck that had been trying to climb the slope. It appeared the buck had gotten himself stuck in one of the many holes of who knew what had made it, and was now struggling to get free. Gimli knew this was another opportunity, one clearly handed to him by his Gods, and so he hurried his way up, carefully but quickly navigating the slope until he was close enough to grab onto the bucks hind limb. His weight combined with gravity, he heard the pronghorns limb snap and break, and as the male shook his head, the pronghorn was pulled free from its trap. Together, they tumbled a short distance down the hill, and when it came time to get up, Gimli had beat it to the punch. The pronghorn tried and failed on a broken leg, and another one injured. With little effort, the dwarf sunk his teeth into his prey, blood gushing into his mouth as he once again, waited for it to stop flailing. Once the light went out and its last breath taken, he released.
"The Gods smile upon us, Knut! We're a couple 'o lucky bastards, eh? Let's get these home, I'm sure the pack would apprecia' a nice pronghorn stew!"
WC: 963/800
"Gimli"||"Knut"
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Berserker
