Large paws felt the strange sand between them. He looked back at the landscape he left behind, the rocks and steep slopes of Faller's Fjord rose up around the edge of the water. He had followed a trail thick with tracks of prey heading north. He headed south. What were they moving away from and how can he take advantage of that?

He let his little silent slave meander about behind him or next to him, not giving her much notice but keeping tabs on her all the same. She was still a skinny little thing despite his efforts to feed her scraps. He had plans to find an easy meal and have her feast on it. Get her filled out and healthy before her heat cycle ends. He must find a way to establish himself here to regain an army so he can go back and dethrone his father. What better way to gain followers than to make them of your own flesh and blood? God's in their own right.

He lifted his nose to scent the air. Winter gusts from beyond the landbridge told him that the other side was landlocked in freezing temperatures, while this side was heavy with summer's sweltering heat. No wonder the prey were meandering through here in droves.

He told his girl to mess with her maps behind a bush while he hunkered down and waited for the right moment to strike a migrating something. Maybe what they find here could be something she liked.

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She moved quickly, her little satchel on her side, a knot tied in it's strap so it would fit her better. Every step Ultyr took was akin to almost five of her own, so she was basically trotting to keep up and stay on his back left side. She was staying close as possible, the fact that he hadn't taken her bag and cartography kit from her and told her those things were useless to a slave had been a relief and she was doing everything in her power to please the man after he had been willing to let her keep them. That included doing exactly as she was, keeping up to him as he tracked the animals he was tracking. She had seen the tracks that had caught his interest and made to follow quickly and stay as light on her feet as she could. She wouldn't mess up his hunt she swore to herself.

She knew little of how to hunt or track. She wasn't a harsh creature or a creature that could kill, not easily. She probably could if her life depended on it, but even then she had no fight in her. That had been beat out of her.

She had no idea his plans aside from returning to Archnemes to take his throne. He had been treating her better than his father had though. Much to her surprise, he had been feeding her almost every day, even forcing her to eat until her stomach visibly stretched. She had no idea why he was so insistent she ate, but she did as he said, eating until it almost made her sick when he told her to eat. She had no idea he was doing it so she would be more fit to hold viable offspring, that he planned to use her to make an army, only that his treatment of her made him probably the best master she would have in her life. Most of the past masters that Aryn had sold her to had been disgusting or abusive, only caring that she could scrub floors or warm a bed, and beating her if she displeased them.

An order from Ultyr had her moving to follow the order faithfully. So long as she kept him happy he wouldn't sell her to someone worse. At least that was her mentality about it. The chill of the air down on this land bridge had her going right for the bush he wanted her to hide in and laying down curling up. Her eye was on the form of the man though, ready to jump up should he need her to do something. His nose was in the air and she watched. A look down the land strip told her she likely wouldn't be waiting long. Though would he be more picky and choosy?

The sound of ducks overhead had her looking up. A small flock, but the thing he was likely to hunt was the creatures on the bridge. A sound caught her attention and her ears went forward and she sat up immediately looking in its direction. A deep bleat. A sound she knew from home! A GOAT!

"Things I Hear"

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Utlyr was pleased she was a dutiful thing. More faithful than a kitten, sticking to him and remaining cautious. He liked it. It meant his devotion was nearly complete in her. Her tiny frame would probably not give him much in the way of soldiers but perhaps more servants to bolster his flock.

A flock of ducks flew overhead. An ear followed their course but he paid them little attention while his eyes locked on the land bridge. A few mice skittered over the bridge from their own migration. Hardly a snack for either of them. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl perk up, her attention enraptured by the bleating of a small herd of goats making their way across the bridge. She had given little attention to the other prey he had brought her, but this was intriguing...

He brought his full attention back to the glittering land bridge and slunk down to the edge of the bush. Waiting for the creature to step closer.

He let a kid bleat its way as it whisked by him, and then a billy goat followed it. That was when his prize came just within reach. A fat female, heavy with milk and tottering on, tired on her feet from their long journey. Closer... Closer...

The wind changed and suddenly his scent wafted at the goat making her nostrils flare and her bleating loud and alarmed. Cursing, Ultyr bolted out of the bush and launched himself at the ungulate. Her horns thrashed as she turned to run. He cursed again seeing that it wasn't one of the fainting types. She had nowhere to run but back down the bi-frost though.

He was hot on the heels of her hooves. She bolted in a zigzag pattern but he hammered down the narrow land bridge like a freight train. The closer he got the more energy the stupid goat got and would pull ahead of him by a hair. He would snap his teeth in the air behind her.

She zig zaged over a stone and he took that stone as a launch pad. He leaped hard and far to land in front of her with a hard thump on the sand. She skidded and drifted, bleating and crying as she attempted to turn back northward.

He grabbed one of her legs but her other hoof kicked his tender nose and he reflexively let it go. She skittered back over the sand as he sneezed and rubbed his nose.

He followed after her. She was limping and stumbling as she scrambled over the sandbar. He panted as he let her get ahead of him, gathering his strength and stamina for the kill. She was going to be his and he was going to feast on it and feed his little slave.

His strength gathered they were halfway across the the Bifrost again when he picked up the pace again. His paws hit the sand and he launched into a gallop after the bleating mother goat. Her scent filled with fear and milk. He raced after her, and snapped at her heels.

"Delay her!" He called out to his precious little devotee. She had another chance to prove her usefulness. He wanted her to force the goat to slow or turn into his jaws.

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She watched Ultyr as he took notice of her interest in the goats. She perked her ears, watching him pick a target. He let the billy and and the kid slip past them and she tilted her head from the bush she was hidden inside. What was he waiting for? Did he know something she didn't? Then the wind shifted and the element of surprise was taken from him. What would of been an easy kill becoming now a chase. He exploded and she shifted her weight, body priming for an order for him.

The kick from her to his nose had her tensing. Now? She tensed up and lowered herself more. She was ready this time for the order, unlike on the island when she hadn't known he expected her to try to help hunt. She was turning back and he was on her heels. Lai was zoned in. The other goats had already run northward, out of sight out of mind. Their meal would have to be her, and Lai was determined to not fuck this up.

"Delay her!" His order had her darting forward, ready this time for the order. She launched into action, running right for the goat. The doe turned right as Lai lunged, Lai's teeth landing on her horns and the entire weight of Lai now dangling from the horn, sending her crashing and tumbling to the ground bellowing her fear, a tumble over Lai had her clenching her teeth onto that horn for dear life, regardless of the bruising she just received. She'd worked with goats before and knew those horns were the best way to gain control of the goat. She accidentally released the horn though as the goat tumbled over her a second time, jumping back up as fast as she could and shaking her head as her sides heaved. The doe landed a few feet away and was flailing. Had she broken something in her panic?

"Things I Hear"

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