Citizen 186 Ekara

~ Kelyias

Ekara wasn’t quite sure what she’d gotten herself into…

It had been one of her first expeditions outside of her home. She was a big girl, she had said. She could handle hunting on her own, she said. Now she was here- far out of the territory of her home, in an area she didn’t quite know following a deer that may or may not prove too difficult for her to catch. On her own, at least. She sighed a little as she lowered herself to the ground. It was hard to hide, being as massive as a Rex is, but she did try her best. Sometimes, when she slept, she had to be extra vigilant when she awoke to not make too much noise. Other times, she’d woken up and the stag had completely left the area- causing for several hours of tracking just to catch up again. Thankfully, her magic aided her a little. She cloaked her scent so that the stag could not catch on- a trick she’d been taught by her father. But now she was tired, and wary, and still quite a distance away from her prey. Even if she sprinted at full speed- she wasn’t even sure she could catch it before it ran away again.

“What do I do…” She sighed again, mumbling to herself. Trying to think back on any tips and tricks she’d been told, she knew she had several ways of approaching the situation. Still… that didn’t quite mean she had the confidence to actually do so.

A short distance away, Furnace could see the light blue, armored Rexal crouched in the bushes. He was traveling between two towns, with only a pouch that held some money and food slung over his back. He stopped and glanced over, wondering what they were doing. They seemed to be mumbling to themselves, and their tail twitched. He started to walk over, but their eyes widened at the sight of him.

“Shhh, oh no…” she muttered. She looked over her shoulder tensely. As Furnace looked over there, he saw a large stag feeding in the distant clearing. He nodded in understanding and lowered himself to his belly.

“A hunt?” he asked softly, smiling at her. “Do you need any help? Sometimes two is better than one. Don’t worry, I don’t need the meat.”

"An offering." Ekara corrected the newly arrived Rex, sighing once again for what was far too many times in the last hour. "I've been tracking it so far, now I'm too nervous to even start."

"You do know how to hunt, at least?"

"Of course. Well.. A little."

She looked to the Rexal beside her and back at the stag who had been munching on the soft leaves of a nearby brush. The presence of another seemed to be a double edged blade- thankful for the assistance but absolutely nervous of messing things up.

" I remember those days."

Furnace seemed to give Ekara a reassuring smile before readying up. "Just follow my lead." His magic brushed gently against her consciousness. She accepted the request. ‘Firstly, we communicate like this. No chance of the stag hearing us this way.’ Ekara nodded at him. They both looked at the clearing again.

“Looking at it, this clearing has two clean exits the stag is likely to run towards once it’s startled. One of them is right here, and the other is over there,” Furnace said in her mind. He pointed towards a small, natural path located on the other side. “It’s your offering. I’m trusting you to take the final blow, as is your right. It is the only way.”

“I know…” Ekara replied. She shuffled backwards, trying to appear small. “You’re going to chase it this way from the other side?”

“Correct.” Furnace said. He smiled at her. “Hide yourself over here, I’m going to sneak over to the other side. I believe you can do it.”

Furnace turned and left, creeping around the clearing. Ekara only knew where he was because she was watching him the whole time. She wanted to thank him but couldn’t find the words. Not yet. She shook herself out of her thoughts, he was already halfway around! The bush she was currently standing behind would work, but blocking the stag’s exit would be awkward. She saw a better one, and inched her light blue frame towards it. Ekara felt a stick under her paws moments before she snapped it. The nerves were getting to her.

“Ready?” Furnace asked suddenly.

“No, not quite. Just a second,” she replied. Ekara took a deep breath in. If her nerves took over now, she’d never get the kill. She moved into position. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” she told Furnace.

“It’s okay to be nervous. I was too, when I proved myself. I swam out into the trench alone… Actually, I don’t believe I ever told you my name. I’m Furnace. And today, right now, I believe in you.”

“Th-thank you, Furnace. Let's do this!” Ekara replied.

She was more than enthusiastic now, assured in her own abilities and that of the other Rex. Then, when the timing was right, she pounced. Her frame- while light for a Rexal still stomped as she charged the stag. Rexals were many times larger than them, and the sounds of her galloping over the ground reconfirmed that. The stag naturally heard them charge at the same time, looking between the two as if trying to re-evaluate its way out of this scenario, but by the time it had decided it had been too late.

Furnace did, as he said, grant Ekara the pleasure of the kill. He had charged up to the prey as well, but stopped just in front of it. Enough time for Ekara to close the gap. She clamped her jaws around the stag’s neck, pinning it to the ground and with giving it a swift end.

It struggled for a moment before the hunt was done. Ekara didn’t quite realise it for the longest time, probably holding onto the deer for longer than was necessary.

“Well done.” She tried to smile up at the encouragement from Furnace- only then realising she was still holding onto it. Using her tongue to push it out of her mouth and wipe it a little around her maw to get rid of any stray hairs and fur that she tugged off, she once again smiled at the other Rex.

“Thank you so much, Furnace. I don’t think I would have managed it on my own quite yet. Probably would have been another couple of days.”

He returned the smile and looked down at the stag in front of them. “Do you need help carrying it back?”

“Oh, no. It’s quite a distance away- I’d hate to impose. But thank you. I’m Ekara, by the way. I hope we get to hunt again in the future.”

Furnace let out a laugh and nodded in a greeting and welcoming the thought. A hunt together in the future doesn’t sound too bad.

~ Kelyias