Moonlit Hunt in the Goulish Woods

"Speech"


The winter in this land of Auster was harsh and wet, Eltrys was grateful to learn the smell of Auster's spring. The harsh weather of the last season soaked the soil to its very bones. As it grew far more mild and easy the gentle warmth woke the plants from their terrible pelting and began to sprout anew. Large brown paws sank into the soil, claws sinking further into the clay as he crossed the unmarked threshold from the Fossil Ridge into a disquieting woodland. He noticed immediately as the sun began to set over the cliffs in the west that this place was strange and eerie. As soon as the golden warmth pulled away from the trunks a creepy mist rose up from around the roots. An unsettling chill plunged into his thick brown fur and made him pull his breath in surprise at how suddenly the early spring turned back into late winter's sting.

He wasn't so sure about his quest to hunt just now, but as he made to turn back to the ridge the moon crested the canopy and set alight the mists around him. It was nearly full this night, and even though he knew it wasn't at its greatest strength, yet he was awed at how bright it seemed to be. It had left the horizon before the sun had fully sunk in the west, and still, it was large and encompassing as if it was still kissing the skyline.

A subtle movement caught his eye, and suddenly the forest sounded alive with rustlings and calls and even confused songs. It seemed the inhabitants of this eerie wood were just as startled as him at this brightly illuminated night sky! He heard the chattering of squirrels arguing and muttering among themselves, skittering about their home among the branches. The unsettled caws and coos of crows, doves, and songbirds tittered through the trees, the sounds of their feathers ruffling and battering the budding twigs. A fox yipped beyond him, a normal night stalker, sounding alarmed, calling to its mate among the illuminated now blinding fog. Eltrys saw a shadow cross the ground quickly in front of him, a spindly fern shifted as a startled sleepy hare dashed away from its burrow.


The wolf grew eager to fill his belly, servants no longer providing him easy prey to practice his skills as a child. No longer was he set to open the rituals of the hunt for the pack. He could set those aside now, hunt for himself, only himself. It seemed this illuminated night was perfect for a ravenous wolf. A blessing in this strange and unwelcome wood, though the fog and shadows might set him a challenge. He climbed carefully over large twisting roots, among the tendrils of fog he could barely make out the forms of ferns and saplings. A dark ear flicked as he caught the soft murmur of a doe speaking quietly to its fawn. The fawn would be just shy of its first birthday for sure, young, inexperienced, and just old enough to fend for itself, surely the mother, perhaps carrying again would leave its elder child behind should he make chase. Should he dare in this darkness? Even if the moon brought a bright lantern to the scene, would it be enough to help him take down this meal? They must be tired and uneasy from being forced to wake. Eltrys sank to his belly, determined perhaps to catch them unawares and still bedded down for the night. He snuffed the moist fog to catch their anxious musk and was delighted at how strong the scent was. Beyond a fern, he saw the slender and still silhouette of a small marsh deer. He froze as she swung her head to eye his direction and held his breath hoping she wouldn't startle. She was still uneasy and nosed her fawn to get up. She had decided to move themselves anyway. The fawn was a young buck, tiny nubs on his head declared him. They stepped gracefully through the underbrush and Eltrys followed, he noticed it was easy to lose track of them if he focused only on watching them, the night would weave misleading shadows.

A cloud swept across the moon and briefly plunged the leafless woodland into a deep darkness, causing the ungulates to quicken their step. Eltrys lost their forms. As the moon was revealed again the fog and gloom had hidden their silhouettes from him and he had to rely on their sharp scents and uneven tracks. Though the deer followed in a single line, stepping into each other's hoofprints, he noticed the fawn's hoof marks weren't as steady as his mother's. He was going to bolt the moment he knew Eltrys was on him. Eltrys followed them until he came upon a fallen tree. A gap underneath it was just large enough for him to quietly slink under and not make any sounds to alert his prey. He came out the other side of the log but couldn't find the hoof marks he was sure would be there. He looked up into the gloom, his eyes were unable to pierce the coiling darkness amidst the swirling fog around him. Did they hop onto the log and not over it? Their scent was fading.

He hopped onto the log, scrambling and scraping his claws over the decaying and sunken wood, cursing internally as he did so. An alarmed chuff from along the log let him know he was correct and unfortunately alerted his prey to his presence. He quickly scaled the downed tree across the sound of a gurgling brook toward the alert. He heard the swish of a branch beyond him and the thud of eight hooves landing on the ground and sprinting away. The scent of fear now twanged into his nostrils as he leaped onto the muddy bank of the coiling waters. He heard more than saw the two ungulates split from each other to try to lose him. He chose the loudest crashing prey on instinct, his paws grasping over the moist soil as hard as the deer's hooves, his mind thoughtless and clear.

Finally! The shadows began to come together into the form of the fleeing fawn. Eltrys could barely make out the saplings and brush swinging away from the young buck crashing through them in its efforts to escape his hungry jaws. Eltrys ignored the lash over his eyes with a few blinks as he reached over fawns thigh with maw agape. He clamped it down into the flesh and relished the rush of blood and cry of pain, but the kick from his prey dislodged his grasp. Even though it was as yet fully grown it still had a sharp hoof.

Eltrys slowed his pace to catch his breath. Watching as his prey bounded beyond the light of the moon, leaving a trail of blood glistening on the rocks and soil behind him. He slowly tracked the scent of the blood, seeing here and there how the moon reflected off it like dew until it dried.

He found the young buck again, his hooves heavy and slow over the ground. Eltrys snuck up on the overtired fawn then leaped at its neck and held it fast as it called out to its mother in agony until its last gurgle.

Feast, then find a way to leave this awful place. It was unnerving.