Hunter Or Huntress

To say Tom had been displeased following the failure of the hoist would be an understatement. Everyone had winced alongside him at the wet thunk of the magnificent wolf impacting the ground below.

Saph had a fair idea what a fall like that might do to a creature, her mind casting back to that one time Jacky had botched a takeoff attempt with a spotted deer and dropped it rather than risk crashing. It had not been pretty.

The human had been cussing violently, and even kicked a length of rope out into the night as he turned around, stomping back down the way he came.

There was some snickering, some sorry looks, some shaken heads as he passed the line of dragonettes. Most seemed sorry for him though, and as they all stood their posts Sapphire realized something. “Oh shit, he only needs to bring the offering, doesn’t he? Who cares if someone else helps with the rest?”

“Fuck you’re right,” Jacky echoed as she hastily set off after the dude, Nunuk letting out a disapproving sigh as the silvered huntress gave chase to the human.

“This is going to be a looong night,” the old lady grumbled, patience seemingly wearing thin. She looks to Apuma at her side, likely for affirmation, finding the old man sleeping on his feet, head hanging limply. “Gods give me strength.”

It would seem Jacky had been successful in relaying to Tom that he did in fact not need to bring the whole wolf just yet, and not by himself as he returned a few minutes later, arms stained in fresh blood and holding a severed head about the size of his torso. Jacky had been on his heels and hurriedly rejoined the line as Tom marched up in front of Nunuk, holding out the wolfhead that only now Saph managed to see definitely had a broken snout.

“One very dead wolf. Trust me, I checked several times,” Tom said dryly. Saph guessed that was his best attempt at making light of the situation right about now.

Nunuk took the rather ruined trophy and gave him a slight bow before she turned to put it with the other sacrifices.

Tom glanced about, probably not knowing what to do next, and elected to just walk over and join the rest of the huntresses, standing next to Jacky.

“Good kill,” Fengi let out reassuringly as Essy gave him a shoulder pat as well, the human making a grumbling sound and not sounding all that pleased with himself. Jacky side stepped to behind him and gave him a gentle hug from behind, despite the dirt and grime, as they all watched the Lady.

She placed the wolfhead upon the mat of pine branches, then rose to her feet once more. Sapphire couldn’t help but find it odd seeing the old Lady without her wings. Not even the stumps poked out, her robes having been stitched up to cover the unsightly things. “Naulk, hear our prayers. We have brought you the gifts of your forest, the bounty which sustains us, which sustains our people. Today we give thanks to you, for all that you give us.”

We thank you this fine year, not just for our precious meat and pelts, but for a new friend, the human Tom. Born to us of your grand forest. We thank you for his company. Now, to you. From Fengi,” the old woman spoke, kneeling at the head of the old stag Fengi had brought, managing to pick it up. “Three red does and a fine stag. May their numbers sustain us and the dragons in the many years to come.”

She turned to the pyre, carrying forth the head as Rachuck, Linkosta, and Dakota silently went and picked up the remaining three doe heads. The antlers had been removed from the stag for Fengi to keep, but the heads were all going on the pyre.

Said pyre was still burning calmly. More fuel would be needed, but as the heads were placed atop the large square fire the fur quickly caught and started to smolder, the smoke rising into the night.

“From Tom,” the Lady continued, turning back towards the parade and calmly walking to his trophy. “A great lone wolf of the night. A terror, though needed. We thank you for your protection from such beasts this year.”

Saph guessed they hadn’t actually been bothered by any wolves this year. It wasn’t that unusual, but it had happened from time to time before that a pack decided to get in the way of their hunting. And of course there was the one that nearly killed Dakota all those years back.

The other Bizmatis stepped aside as Nunuk hefted the wolfhead herself, carrying it to the pyre and setting it down as well.

“From Jackalope. Three red tipped tits and two green geese. May we keep the speed and agility to catch such bounties,” the woman went, picking up the two goose heads and what was left of the poor tits.

They too were placed upon the pyre as the Lady turned back to Sapphire’s contribution.

“From Sapphire, five fine jackalopes. May we keep the strength of such small fierce creatures for the trying times to come.”

‘Maybe if we sacrifice enough we’ll all end up like Jacky,’ Saph chuckled to herself quietly.

The lady picked up the five de-antlered heads much as before and moved to lay them upon the pyre.

“From Esmeralda. The bounty of the forest floor. May your herbs and roots keep us healthy till the day Kalador has seen our duty complete and Ishan calls for us,” she went, picking up the assortment of roots and leaves Essy had presented as her trophy. And into the pyre they went, the leaves quickly shriveling to nothing but ash.

“From my daughter Dakota. Heaven oak bark and a hoarding squirrel. May the sleep and supplies see us through winter until your bounty returns in spring.”

‘Oooh,’ now Sapphire got it. Dakota always had some sort of message with what she got. ‘Damn philosopher.’

With the last of the offerings being placed upon the pyre Nunuk took a few steps back and bowed to the flames, as did they all. Tom was gently instructed by Jackalope behind him.

When they rose back up, proud Apuma stepped forwards, chalk in hand and small glass vials open as he started to draw, dripping the components upon the spell circle as Nunuk spoke again.

“We thank you for a long year, a warm year, a safe year in the forest… There are many dangers about and only a few of us. We pray for your protection from the wilds through winter, and for you to return our beloved huntresses to us safe and sound in the new year as well.”

“Take these gifts as our thanks to you, and know we shall watch over your forest next year as we did this year. There is much darkness approaching, may our shields hold against it.”

Then there was silence as Apuma finished his circle. The preparations went quickly, the old man having performed the spell many times before. Saph did take note that Tom was definitely watching Apuma intently, as was Linkosta. One day it would be her who had to carry on the tradition. Saph remembered back at her old home, Vulcha Keep, they used to burn the offerings out in an open field. They just had a large fire which was kept burning all day, and as huntresses returned they would simply throw in their gifts as they flew overhead before heading back to the keep to help prepare the feast.

Here though they did it a little differently. She supposed there were hundreds, if not thousands of ways to honor the gods. A lot of places likely didn’t bother at all even. To her at least it was mostly just superstition, since it wasn’t like it actually tended to work or anything. Not like in Apuma’s children’s stories, much as he remained adamant they were real tales.

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‘Well then, I guess magic fire or what?’ Tom pondered to himself as he watched Apuma go about making the inscription. He had no clue what the spell might be for, but he supposed he was about to find out. Hopefully it would carry on this strange ritual of theirs. The quiet reverent atmosphere was likely the only thing keeping him from getting laughed at majorly.

Then again that might just come later when Jarix and Zarko would undoubtedly spill the beans on how his day had been. But how was he supposed to know that the anchor for the old hoisting block wouldn’t hold an overgrown wolf? Surely that thing had been made to haul up tons… At least it sounded like he could get Jarix to help him with the ruined remains of his bounty once this religious stuff was all taken care of. He just hoped the pelt wasn’t mangled too badly.

The hope of having it used as a carpet with head and all was definitely gone now. Said head was currently popping and smoldering on the fire with the rest of the sacrifices. Hopefully they could still make something nice out of what was left. Perhaps a carpet for the bed or something. He had no idea what to do with the rest of it. It was not gonna be good eating, he was fairly sure of that, and he had kinda guessed he would just sacrifice the whole thing. But that had rather spectacularly failed, and the fire was nowhere near big enough. He also really didn’t feel like skinning it right there and now. He might have to do that anyway though.

‘Maybe they will at least let me wait till morning,’ he sighed to himself as he stared blankly into the flames. He was tired, which meant the dragonettes surely had to be struggling to stay on their feet at all. Tom did glance about quickly, catching a few nodding heads.

‘Don’t seem ready for much of a feast,’ he concluded, looking back to the old man as he seemingly finished his work. ‘I guess I could try to do something cool with the bones. Stone age arts and crafts or something.’

As Apuma stepped back, Nunuk began to mutter some sort of prayer, too quietly for Tom to hear. Then Apuma raised his arms and the flames billowed into the sky, standing meters tall.

“Fuuucking hell!” Tom broke out as the platform lit up bright as day save for the yellow tint.

The roar was awesome and he could feel the heat on his skin. He was inventing marshmallows for next year. Behind him Jacky chuckled a bit and went “Wooosh” as they both watched the fire and smoke climb into the sky.

“How the hell did he do that?” Tom questioned aloud as the flames started to fade once more, the show having lasted maybe 20 to 30 seconds.

“Magic of course,” Jacky said, clearly finding the answer obvious.

“Yes, I get that part but… the energy consumption?”

“Oooh, I remember that actually,” Jacky replied, much to Tom’s surprise. “He’s just moving air about, not making fire. Something about a chimney… Okay maybe just ask him,” Jacky admitted, giving him a bit of a squeeze.

“Huh… might just have to. That could be quite handy.”

Nunuk had been standing arms wide as if worshiping the fire, her arms only coming down as the fire receded once more. Turning her back to the fire, Tom could see there was still a bit left, but it had been reduced greatly.

“Now, we have paid our homage, and should of course have our last autumn feast.”

There were a few murmurs and nods from around the platform, though not all seemed overly enthused.

“But alas, the hour is late. So I propose this instead. Take your beds for now, and in the morning we spend the day preparing this fine catch. Then we feast in the evening, a fitting send off for those who have aided us this year. I do believe Grevi and Tiguan should both arrive come noon tomorrow,” the old Lady carried on, more nods being exchanged at that idea. Tom had to agree he was feeling knackered already.

“Nice warm deer all around, ey?” Wiperna questioned aloud, more nods and sounds of approval being shared. Tom did notice Fengi lower her ears a bit, though he wasn’t quite sure why.

“Do dragons like wolf?” Tom questioned, eliciting a few chuckles from around the crowd as the serious atmosphere slowly evaporated.

“What say you, Jarix? Do they?”

“I haven’t had it myself. I don’t see why not,” the dragon replied, looking down to Tom. “They do look cool.”

“It tastes quite foul I believe,” Zarko added, shaking her head. “You would not like it.”

“Oh I don’t mind fowl. Duck is my favorite.”

“No, Jarix. Oh never mind,” The lieutenant sighed in reply as she started to turn back to lecture the dragon, giving up and simply letting him be.

“Well if you wanna try a bite feel free,” Tom said with a bemused chuckle. He could use a little dumbfuckery to liven things up right about now, it had been a shit day, but surely that was the past now.

“Oh you find it funny, do you? Remind me, why was it you look like that right now?” the dragon jested, clearly set on making Tom’s prediction wrong.

Tom did spare a glance down at himself, and he was still absolutely covered in mud.

“Camouflage duh,” Jacky said, trying to help out. Alas, Tom was quite sure it wouldn’t.

“Oh no, no. See whe-”

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As Jarix began to recount the day’s events from his point of view, Saph elected to stay and listen. A fair few others had decided it was time for bed, Esmeralda tasking Kokashi with remembering it all for her so she could hear in the morning.

Nunuk and Apuma had of course headed for bed, though both Dakota and Rachuck were certainly listening intently.

Tom had seemingly wanted to go, but Jacky had put a stop to that, holding him close, getting dirty in the process. To start with she was probably hoping Tom could disprove whatever the teenage dragon had to say, but as time went on it became clear she wanted to hear all this too.

The endless driving in circles, not finding anything all day, the complaining things weren’t fair, getting stuck in the mud just like he had made fun of her for doing back in late spring.

Tom had shrunk a little as all his misfortunes were retold in great detail, much to the amusement of them all. There had been some discussions on just how that big patch of blood came into being, and why in the gods’ names he had decided to not run the fuck away when he saw it.

In the end they worked out that Fengi was the one responsible for the carnage. The young huntress had long since departed for bed, having looked ready to fall asleep where she stood during the ritual. Which was a shame, it was rather funny that she had inadvertently gotten Tom his only chance at a kill all day.

Tom had seemingly found it less amusing, even getting a touch defensive about the seeming lack of skill in just finding anything on his first solo hunt. They had teased him a fair bit about how in the past it had always been them who had decided where to go.

“Yeah yeah, fuck a duck, I’m going to bed. After getting all this shit washed off.”

“I was about to say, you are not going to bed like that, no way.”

“Fires are lit in the kitchen, Koko is tending tonight,” Saph added, feeling like the human deserved to have a bone thrown to him after all that. Besides, he had actually scored a fine wolf. Even if he failed at handling it afterwards, ‘No silver rank for him this year, that’s for sure.’

“Thanks, but I think I’ll just do cold. I wanna get to bed.”

“No no Tom, there’s hot water for the hot water skins, remember?”

“The what now?” the human questioned, looking bewildered, all eyes turning to Jacky.

“What? I don’t need any with him around, he’s so much better anyway.”

“Oooooh,” the human went, things apparently clicking, “So that’s what the big pot was for.”

“What did you think it was for?” Sapphire questioned, bewildered at how he could have not guessed that.

“Soup?”

“Tom, haven’t you had kitchen duty in the last few months?”

“Uuuhm… no?” he replied sheepishly, a few grumbles around the room getting exchanged.

“He has had far too much to do,” Jacky interjected before anyone could start accusing him of dodging chores. Saph had to concede that, yeah. She didn’t intend on berating the human, since he worked harder than them all. It just wasn’t in the kitchen, which was fine. Though she did rather miss some of his previous experiments.

“I mean, yeah,” Tom replied, not seeming quite sure what to say. “I’ll go have a bath.”

And with that the human had pulled free of Jacky and started walking off. She followed right after him of course, her front likely in need of a bath as well having gotten all muddy. The remaining dragonettes exchanged a few glances before heading for bed as well. Sapphire didn’t have a clue what time it was, but she was tired as hell so she definitely approved of the decission.

“Night night, Jarix.”

“Good night,” the dragon replied, looking towards the open hall door, which led to the chilly outside. “Could someone close that please?”

“I got it, get your big bum inside proper,” Zarko went, walking to the controls as Jarix got up and moved inside a bit more.

“Thank you,” the dragon replied, lowering his head and his voice to try and whisper, which they could all still hear.

“You don’t think Baron will be mad I sleep in here, right?”

“I think he will only be grumbley that he is now the only one with nothing over his head.”

“Well he should bring a tent then, duh.”

Sapphire chuckled a bit at the exchange as she too headed upstairs with the rest of them. She made it all the way to the bedroom door, sticking the useless key in the hole and turning just as a hand was laid upon her shoulder.

“Good evening,” Maiko went with a chuckle from behind her, likely having followed her all the way up without getting noticed.

Saph gave a quick start before turning around to look at him, “Oh you rascal, you startled me.”

“Oh did I? Terribly sorry,” he went with a dumb grin, Sapphire contemplating if she should give him a shove or not for that.

“Well then, here to share a bit of that honey you bought? Actually, why did you buy that? We have sugar here?”

“Well I am not staying here now, am I? Sounds like we are leaving day after tomorrow,” he replied nonchalantly, like that was no big deal.

Saph just stared at him silently in surprise. She hadn’t thought about that at all. But of course he would be going with Baron, how couldn’t he, he was part of Baron’s crew after all.

Maiko kept up the carefree facade for but a few seconds as Sapphire descended into thoughts of just what to do now. She had started to rather like the guy, and she had almost forgotten he wasn’t actually part of the keep at all. And as the crushing realization came down on her that she would be alone in her room all winter, the absolute bastard of a man started to laugh.

“Oooh I got you good there, nah I’m staying. Victoria’s orders actually.”

Now Saph wanted to slap him properly, and she might have done so actually if not for that last part. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah, she doesn’t want you all left with just the inquisition. Who knows how accurate any resulting reports might be.”

“Huh,” was all Sapphire had to say to that as she pondered. “Starting to think you might become a permanent station here?... Also wait, what’s wrong with Zarko for that?”

“Oh uhm. Well you see,” the corporal tried, seemingly struggling to explain that one away. easily.

“Maiko… what did you do to get stationed here all winter?”

“I uhm… asked nicely?”

“Really now? You aren’t spying on us, are you?”

“Who mee? Noooo, I would make a terrible spy, I’m much too personable,” he replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Saph just looked at him like ‘really dude,’ shaking her head a little. “Should I start worrying about you making moves on Fengi next? Tom might be a bit of a stretch even for you.”

“Oh I don’t know, that artificer girl seems quite nice,” he jokingly replied, Sapphire rolling her eyes.

“I swear if you lay a hand on her ass we will cut it off.”

“Hey, wooo now, no reason to be so drastic,” he chuckled. “But what guy doesn’t want all the girls?”

“What? You want me to go get my friends? Maybe I should fetch Herron, if more is better?”

“Hey now, whatever you feel would be fun,” he snickered, pushing up against her a little closer.

“Oh get off, you,” she sighed, effortlessly pushing him off. “Keep this up and you are staying on the floor. Not much spying to be done from there.”

“Well I might just go sleep with Yldril then, she’s warming up nicely.”

“I still don’t know how you did that dude, but good on you.”

“I’ve got a way with the ladies.”

“Oh shut up, I remember you in the caves, you sniveling little whelp.”

“Well it worked, didn’t it?”