Ghastly Woods Ain't no god on my streets

For @Garmir <3. Thread is set directly after this thread

Nevrakis followed closely behind his earthen companion, almost too closely, darting forward in small scurried steps rather than walking normally. He had no idea where the were going, but the forest looked exactly the same no matter where he turned his gaze, so he figured it did not matter too much as long as he got out of this place after they caught the mice. Catching mice; what a foreign concept. They were vermin and not to be trifled with, or so Alistair seemed to have thought so. Yet here he was, on his way to catch them.

The yearling suddenly skittered forward when he felt something brush through his fur and promptly half ran into one of Garmir's hind legs with a barely audible squeak of terror. Had that been the snatcher? Gulping, he stuck close to the green-eyed male's side like he was his shadow, leaving just the smallest of gaps between their respective pelts. The silence was unnerving enough without him almost getting snatched by the creature; why would anyone want to live in a place like this? Nevrakis just hoped Garmir knew exactly where their prey was so he could escape the forest as fast as possible.

M - Language.

Garmir may have gone little too far with his wild stories about the snatchers. He gave a sigh and stopped them both on their tracks, fully aware that Nevrakins was almost pressed against his flank. Garmir looked over his shoulder and murmured in low but authoritarian voice. "Here is fine. Look.... try not to think about them snatchers too much. I will warn you if there is one nearby. They just dont appear out of nowhere and take you away, alright?" -He tried to sooth the yearling somewhat - and also put a little bit breathing distance between them as he moved aside.

Garmir's gaze moved from the boy down to the snow blanket beneath them as he instructed him with his gaze. "... you with me? I need you to listen to this next part so we can get on with this sooner, alright?" -He demanded, sounding almost annoyed even if he tried to maintain his patience. He was already regretting his decision to help this young'un at all, but what could he do when he had already made promise?

They stood on a small clearing with plenty of trees and bushes surrounding them on almost all directions. The place had nothing out of the ordinary and thruth be told this place would have been just as good as any when it came to hunting those little assholes. Garmir's ears were moving around, scanning and it was clear he was listening to sounds. He whispered to Nevrakis, revealing that there were mice all around them. "They are under the snow..."

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At Garmir's pacifying tone, the yearling forced himself to relax and relieve the built-up tension in his body as he stepped away from the other male's flank to give them both some breathing room. He did not want to crowd his companion too much, and if what he said was true about the snatcher - why would it not be? - then he at least had a few seconds of warning before the creature tried to snatch him away. It helped a little to calm his nerves. Just a little.

Nevrakis nodded absently, aware that Garmir's focus was directed on the snow at their feet rather than on him. He let his gaze settle just in front of his paws, darkly furred ears twitching all about to try and pick up the faintest of sounds. The green-eyed male's annoyed tone swept right over the yearling's head as he focused his concentration, brows furrowing in the process. He was not sure what they were listening out for; should he try and hear their soft squeaks or the sound of their paws scurrying on the packed snow? Wheat yellow eyes glanced at Garmir as he whispered to him, his mouth flattening into a partial grimace. How were they supposed to catch the mice if they were below the snow? "So how... do we like, catch them?" He softly whispered in response as his gaze returned to focus the snow once more.

The youngster was asking right questions at least. Garmir put a little smile on his face now that the boy was paying attention. His gaze wandered all around them before he whispered. "They make tunnels under the snow and as they squrry around with their tiny little legs, you might hear them. Right now the snow rather... hard so if you collapse the tunnel, they are trapped." -He showed by planting his paw into the snow and then pressing it down. "If you are lucky, you will land right on them. Watch, quitetly and I will show you."

Garmir moved some distance away from him, taking very slow and cautious steps while his ears were scanning the ground underneath him. He invited Nevrakis to also listen by twitching his ear at him when he cast a glance at the boy, smiling the slightest and throwing a little "shhhhh" at him.

Garmir halted after a while, becoming still as a statue, even keeping his breathing calm and low as he waited for right kind of sign. Very, very faint sound of something moving, tunneling underneath the white blanket could be heard and Garmir's muzzle pointed at it, his ears also tuning to the spot. He gave Nev knowing look with the corner of his eye before focusing on the prey, taking a long time to spring into action. Garmir was trying to decide where exactly the target was moving...

Hunting demostration 1/3

(This post was last modified: Mar 17, 2018, 12:27 PM by Garmir.)

All my characters are available for spree anytime with anyone. Just poke in slack or send PM!

Hunting demonstration 1/3

He inclined his head absent-mindedly as Garmir spoke, eyes focused on the snow with one ear flicked back to hear what his earthen companion was saying. As much as he wanted to get stuck into the hunt he figured he should listen to what the other male had to say given he actually had experience in catching these critters. At the movement of the other's paw, the yearling shifted his gaze, brows raising in curiosity. The recent cold snap must have hardened the snow enough for the mice to make tunnels, and he would never have thought of trapping them in their own tunnels by collapsing them with directed force. Genius..

"Entáxei," Nevrakis murmured in an affirmative response, unknowingly slipping into the other dialect he knew. It happened sometimes when he was concentrating really hard. Planting his paws in the snow, the yearling watched as Garmir slowly moved away, his body poised and each step carefully placed so as probably not to disturb the mice as they scurried to and fro beneath the snow. Darkly furred ears rotated forward to try and catch the muffled noises at the other male's indication to do so, head canting to the side as he listened closely. When Garmir froze he inhaled sharply, keeping the breath inside his lungs in anticipation. He would hate to scare their prey away by breathing. The yearling wished to move closer to better see what was happening, but he did not want to disturb the mice, so instead he rocked his body forwards in a lean but kept his paws were they were. When the other male suddenly focused on a spot in the snow Nevrakis also shifted his gaze, straining his ears to hear any noise.

There.

He heard the scurrying of tiny paws, and his tail swished behind him in excitement, the only way he could display that particular emotion in silence. The yearling waited in anticipation for Garmir to strike and hopefully catch one of the mice. Maybe he would be given a chance to try and catch one himself if his earthen companion was successful?

(This post was last modified: Mar 17, 2018, 07:28 AM by Nevrakis.)

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

Garmir took his time to pinpoint where his target was exactly, his eyes and ears now entirely focused on the task. The yearling managed to keep utterly silent and Garmir was quite grateful he did have enough patience to do so. There was a tense, silent moment with only tiny teeny legs making slightest of sound as the little rodent moved in its snowy tunnels.

Suddenly Garmir lept towards it, his fore legs extended forward even his paws spread as he tried to cover as large area as possible when landing. He missed, but not by much and now the mouse as scurrying back through the tunnel, little squeel coming from underneath the snow, enough for Garmir to train his ears at the target again. Once more he lept after the little thing, slamming his fore legs down on the area.

The mice was still alive, somewhere there and Garmir's ears scanned frantically at the sounds that were coming somewhere right between his two legs. Hed dug his muzzle into the snow, poking his nose in and sniffing for his prey, picking a new spot as he narrowed down location of the poor thing. When he finally hit the spot, his jaws opened slightly and pulled the little thing into surface. The mouse was already dead - not by his fangs but propably due to Garmir having crushed it partially during his second landing. He threw it's lifeless tiny body to the snow between them and then stood up onto his feet, smiling at Nevrakis proudly. "Think you can do it?"

Hunt demostration 2/3

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Hunting demonstration 2/3, @Garmir

The silence seemed to stretch on forever, but the yearling's gaze never wavered from where he assumed the mouse to be. It was a little difficult to pinpoint its position with accuracy from his distance, but he gauged it off of where the green-eyed male was focusing his own attention. When Garmir abruptly dived down towards the mouse, the yearling could not help the skittering of his fore paws on the snow in excitement. He started forward, unable to contain himself, when Garmir leapt again, a sliver of a bark escaping his jaws. This was far more intense than chasing down deer.

Nevrakis stalked forward, eyeing his earthen companion who seemed to be shoving his face into the snow before he swiftly threw a mouse into the space between them. After it lay still for a moment he leaned in and sniffed its body, confirming that it was, in fact, dead. His ears perked up and he lifted his head as Garmir proposed he give it a shot. Tail whipping gleefully behind him, he nodded eagerly and turned his body away, forcing his muscles to become still. He was not going to catch a mouse unless he was like a statue: completely still.

His ears twitched at the sounds of a muffled squeak, wheat yellow eyes zeroing in on its location. The tip of his tongue poked out from his muzzle as he concentrated, eyes narrowing in the process. One careful step at a time he moved his body closer to where the sounds were coming from until he was within leaping distance. Unless the mouse was playing tricks on him, then it should be slightly off to his right, and with a bunching of his hindquarters the yearling darted forward. His fore paws made contact with the snow; he felt it give way beneath his weight, and without missing a beat he plunged his muzzle into the snow where the frantic squeaking was coming from. Jaws clenched around a warm body and he threw his head back to free it from the snow.

The mouse went flying from his mouth and into the air in an arc.

It landed with a dull thud on the snow, and Nevrakis sprung towards it before it could scamper away, crunching down with his teeth to kill it. Still holding it in his maw, he turned around to face Garmir with a euphoric expression on his maw, body quivering in exhilaration. He had caught a mouse!

OOC: I love the dynamics between them. ^^ <3)
@Nevrakis

Well, look at that! Garmir was positively surprised to see Nev succeed in his first try - amazed almost. He nodded approvingly to his young companion, but restrained himself from giving the dark boy too much of a praise. That had to be luck. Even Garmir - having invented this hunting style during previous winter while observing foxes still failed two out of three attempts. Nevrakis had been surprisingly precise with his landing and Garmir wanted to see if he could repeat that. Perhaps there was some hidden potential in this young boy after all? "Not bad... for a rookie." -He murmured in gently approving tone, while smiling.

"Again. Lets spread out a little but dont leave my sight. As long as you dont scream like an idiot, you don't need to worry about snatchers." - Garmir instructed. If they wanted to have any worthwhile meal, they would have to catch several more mice for one was hardly a bite.

Garmir picked up his own catch, not eating it but saving it for later. He then begin to move silently - lifting one leg at the time, as he made his way further ahead. His ears remained erect and listening the scenery around them and he halted every now and then to listen for sounds. Occasionally he would glance over his shoulder to check on the youngster, his tail even involunratirly wagging. He wondered if this was how Eden once felt when training Garmir..

Hunting Demostration 3/3

(This post was last modified: Mar 17, 2018, 12:26 PM by Garmir.)

All my characters are available for spree anytime with anyone. Just poke in slack or send PM!

Hunting demonstration 3/3

At Garmir's nod of approval the yearling fervently hopped a few feet into the air, a comically wide grin on his face. From his earthen companion's demeanour he would not have expected a show of assent, so to see it from him meant he must have done well, right? "I haff a goo' 'eacher," he said in a slightly incomprehensible mumble around the mouse still clamped firmly in his jaws. It was a little difficult to talk around a mass of fur holding his tongue down, but surely Garmir would get the gist of what he said.

Nevrakis nodded at the green-eyed males words, shoulders hunching forward in a cringe of embarrassment. It was a little late for that; he had already pretty much screamed like an idiot. But he would make it up to Garmir by catching as many mice as he possibly could seeing as one of the creatures was barely a morsel. It would take many mice to have a semi-decent meal, but he supposed they were better than eating nothing. He nodded in affirmation and watched as his earthen companion turned away and began stalking the mice once more. The yearling himself turned in the opposite direction, frowning as he realised he was still holding the mouse in his mouth. How could he catch a mouse when he already had one in his jaws?

After a moment of consideration, he padded over to one of trees, making sure to be as quiet as possible so as to not disturb Garmir as he hunted. His fore paws made quick work of the snow packed on top of the roots, and once he had dug a decent sized hole he dropped the mouse into it. Now he would not forget where it was and it was unlikely some other creature would steal it. Content with his work, Nevrakis began stalking the snow for any indication of mice beneath it, his nose and ears all twitching furiously. Diving forwards with his fore paws when he caught onto the trail of another mouse, the yearling snapped his jaws where he assumed the creature to be, but ended up only getting a mouthful of snow. With a shake of his head, he grunted and stood back up, letting the snow dribble out of his mouth which had morphed into a frown. He had been so close.

Quickly moving on, he targeted another scurrying of paws under the snow, this time making sure to squarely land upon where he assumed the mouse to be. Success! Proudly carrying it in his mouth, he tossed it into the hole where the other mouse lay, body wiggling with delight. He was thoroughly enjoying himself to the point where all thought of the snatcher had disappeared without a trace. The yearling repeated this process a few more times, failing once more when the mouse managed to give him the slip, but he ultimately returned to the hole with a small pile of mice. He scrunched his nose up, how many did Garmir want him to catch? Turning to his earthen companion, Nevrakis huffed softly to get his attention. He wanted to know if Garmir wished him to continue catching more mice or if what he had was enough.