The Piebald Hunt - RP

JadeRavenwing
    The prey on the docket today was a buffalo. Viktor had decided to pick up one of the local job requests while in Hearth, and the one with the most payout was the request for someone to take down a piebald buffalo that had been spotted roaming the meadows to the east of town. Taking down the beast would be a two-man job though, but even with the split pay Viktor recognized the reward would be well worth the effort. He had left Milani with a trusted pup sitter, much to the pup's whined complaints, and was waiting to meet his partner for the hunt. Having taken a number of similar jobs in the past Viktor was well versed with how they usually went. Find a job, accept the job. If the task required a partner, meet said partner, find the target, and take it down. Things were, usually, relatively simple. As such Viktor waited at the assigned meeting point, a road sign that marked the way into Hearth, and informed its denizens what lay on the road beyond. The day itself consisted of a clear, blue sky, and it was early enough that the heat of the day had yet to burn the morning fog away. Birds twittered away, greeting the morning and each other as Viktor sat at the base of the roadsign, his ears flicking back and forth as he waited for this Oakley fellow to join him. (Hope that works for you!)

Akire
    Oakley had been passing through the town of Hearth, taking some time to rest by its waters, and eat some of its delicious fish when he heard that someone was in need of a hunting partner. The prey was buffalo and there was a reward for it would feed him for a good while. His stomach was aching from hunger; he had not had any food for a few days and so he was more than willing to assist the Felvarg and receive half of the bounty. He fantasized about the glorious mounds of delicious fish he would purchase from the town market, he would skip the carp and go straight for the largemouth bass which was his favorite. He happily sought out the rallying point in which he was to meet the other, who was already waiting for him. The brown male happily trotted up to the other male “Hey there” he called out to the other as he approached. “So where are these buffalo we’re seeking?” he plopped his rear beside the male and waited for instruction.

JadeRavenwing
    Viktor lifted his head when he heard footsteps approach, his ears pricking in interest when it seemed that the Felvarg approaching seemed to be heading directly his way. He assumed they were Oakley, and when they called out to Viktor they confirmed the dark male's suspicions. Viktor gave a polite dip of his snout when Oakley settled next to him, clearly giving Viktor the go ahead to lead the hunt. Viktor offered a pleased smirk, doing his best to put on a show of being friendly. Hunts were usually far more tolerable when he provided at least a polite exchange to his partner instead of cold indifference. "You must be Oakley? I was told they were last seen just to the east in the meadows. That likely means they're grazing there, so we should find them easily enough." At least buffalo were relatively easy to find, as opposed to moose or some of the smaller prey he often hunted that preferred thickly wooded areas to open meadows. "We're looking for a piebald among the herd." He assumed Oakley knew of their target already, but it never hurt to remind someone of their goal. "If you're ready, then we should be off."

Akire
Oakley nodded to Viktor as he explained the task at hand and the target they were after. “I am ready” he replied once the other inquired about his status. “We should approach from downwind.” Pointing with a nod of his head to the direction he suggested they take. He sniffed the air and could faintly smell the buffalo nearby. He passed an eager smile toward the black male before heading off in the direction of the buffalo. It was a nice clear day, good for this sort of activity. The sun warmed up Oakley’s coat, keeping him at a comfortable temperature. The walk was mostly silent and a bit awkward until Oakley decided to break the silence “So, do you do this sort of thing often?” but as he uttered the last word, they approached the clearing where the buffalo were grazing. Picking out a piebald shouldn’t be too hard Oakley thought. There were several different shades of brown and a few almost black buffalo. There were several large ones Oakley assumed were the males. Separated from the herd were a few small baby buffalo, ready for the pickings, but that was not their goal. Along the edge sat the target, accompanied by a few other buffalo. “There he is.” Oakley whispered to Viktor “What’s the plan?” he asked the black male.

JadeRavenwing
Viktor whuffed softly when Oakley nodded and confirmed he was ready. Viktor was quick to rise to his feet, turning his head in the direction the other male gestured before he nodded in agreement. "Agreed. Usually the best of course of action in a hunt." It seemed the fellow Felvarg at least knew the basics of hunting, of which Viktor was glad for. He, at least, was not hunting with a novice. He was not in the mood to teach. Viktor made sure to keep pace with Oakley, flicking his ears in a polite acknowledgement of the smile Oakley passed his way. When the fellow male spoke Viktor tilted his head for a moment before he nodded, glancing sideways at Oakley as he spoke. At least he made eye contact while speaking. "I do, actually. I find it's a good way to make some spare coin. And... Milani insists that I socialize more." Viktor grunted quietly to himself, but he was unable to hide the hint of fondness that crept into his voice when he spoke of the small pup. "Not that it seems to dissuade her from introducing me to any number of strangers she meets." The young pup certainly had a way with people that Viktor could not even begin to grasp. A hint of a smile tugged at the black Felvarg's lips, but it was quickly forgotten when Oakley dropped his voice to indicate the presence of the buffalo herd. Viktor paused, lifting his head to scent at the air and gaze across the meadow to the grazing herd. It took him a moment, but he soon picked out the white and brown coat of their target. Viktor pricked his ears, his brows furrowing in thought. Their target was among a small grouping, split off from the rest of the herd, but it, unfortunately, wasn't alone. "We should get between the small group and the main herd, widen the gap, and then try to separate the target from the others. If it gets back to the herd we'll lose it among the others.

Akire
Oakley listened intently, flicking his ears toward Viktor while maintaining eye contact on the target. The plan was solid, separate the small grouping from the herd, then separate the piebald form that small grouping. This was not an easy task, ideally it would be better should the prey be separated completely, but that’s not the case. “Sounds like a good plan, we can enter between them, from opposite sides so they have no choice but to separate from the main herd. Hopefully, our target is a slow runner.” Oakley said with a small sinister smirk on his face. Oakley did not hunt often, he mostly was a scavenger, picking off on prey that had already been tackled by others. But he did enjoy the thrill of pack hunting, and this was very similar. “I will take my place and wait for your signal to charge.” Oakley softly crept through the shrubbery around the pack, positioning himself on the opposite end of Viktor. He made eye contact with the other male to ensure him that he was in fact ready whenever the other decided it was a perfect time to act.

JadeRavenwing
Viktor nodded, agreeing with Oakley's suggestion of strategy when the fellow male suggested they separate the herd with a pincer-like maneuver. It was smart thinking on the brown Felvarg's part, and Viktor swished his tail once in appreciation. "Alright. I'll wait for you to get into position." It was unlikely that they would be so lucky as to have their target be slow, but Viktor decided that he'd be better off leaving the male with some optimism rather than unnecessarily dashing his hopes. He watched as Oakley made his way around the herd, impressed with his ability to move quickly but silently. Skirting around the herd without being noticed was often a difficult task, but when Oakley met Viktor's eyes across the gap between the herd and the small group Viktor knew he'd managed it. With a nod Viktor readied himself, and then sprang towards the small group of buffalo, making sure to angle himself so that he met Oakley and the middle and cut them off from the main herd.

Akire
As soon as Oakley saw Viktor make chase of the Buffalo, he began to give chase as well. He pushed off hard with his rear legs launching himself forward on a path to meet Viktor in the center. It didn’t take long for the buffalo to become aware of their presence and began screaming wildly with a grunt that sounded a lot like “BUGHUGHUGHUGHU” as they ran in terror from the felvargs. They were successful in keeping the two groups separated but unfortunately, the piebald did not decide to run off on his own. Oakley knew this would happen but remained hopeful despite his better judgement. They would have to run and try and separate them purposefully. Oakley turned his direction to try and wedge some distance between one of the buffalo and their small pack that they were in. Oakley howled, barked, nipped, anything he could do to startle the buffalo away. Eventually it worked and he turned his attention to the next until finally they were able to single out the piebald buffalo.

JadeRavenwing
Viktor huffed in satisfaction when their strategy seemed to be successful. The small group of buffalo split away from the main herd, and any that stood their ground were simply circumvented and left to bellow in confusion. The piebald stuck with the remainder of the small group, which though not ideal, was not an end to the hunt. Oakley took the initiative and began to try and wedge himself between the target and the others. For a few seconds Viktor simply kept pace, waiting for a wide enough gap to form to safely dive between the piebald and Oakley. His patience was rewarded, and eventually one of Oakley's nips sent the Piebald darting away from the group in a panic. Viktor seized the opportunity and sprang after the Piebald, snarling savagely as he fought to widen the gap. "Oakley!" Viktor called out between breaths. "See if you can tackle it! We need to get it to the ground! Be sure to keep away from the hooves and horns!"

Akire
Oakley rushed to Viktor’s side and leapt onto the back of the buffalo, wrapping his jaws around its thick neck which was no easy task. The buffalo’s neck was covered in thick wiry fur meant to repel such predators but Oakley was persistent.  He latched down hard and used the weight of his body by falling to one side of the buffalo, making it unbalanced on that side to drag the buffalo down to the ground. Once the buffalo fell, Oakley laid his body on top of the buffalo’s torso, making it difficult for it to get back up, he still had a hold of the neck. He stayed there till the trashing beast calmed and quit fighting. He released the buffalo and relaxed a bit, breathing hard form their exhausted efforts to catch the beast. “Good job.” He called out to his partner in-between breaths. "Now, how do we plan on dragging this thing back?"

JadeRavenwing
When Oakley managed to drag the buffalo to the ground Viktor lunged forwards. He wasn't going to abandon Oakley to do the work himself, and so as the other male clambered atop the creature's chest Viktor swiveled around to clamp down on the buffalo's face to hold it still for Oakley. For a few moments the beast continued to struggle, but it eventually calmed as Oakley's powerful jaws restricted its windpipe and it slowly suffocated. Once Viktor was sure the beast was dead he raised his head with a pleased smirk. Another successful hunt. More money in his coffers. "I hunted a moose with a partner once. We got it back by way of travois." Viktor straightened up and rolled his shoulders. "The two of us should be able to drag it back if we lash the travois to ourselves, like a harness." Viktor immediately set about to finding a sturdy sapling for use in making the main body of the travois. "Might take us a while, but the coin should be worth it."

Akire
Oakley agreed and helped Viktor prepare the travois. He found a few saplings and brought them back to Viktor who was the brains behind this contraption. Oakley had never built one before and so he just followed Viktor’s lead. When they were finished, Oakley paused to bask in the glory of their success “Nice work, I enjoyed the hunt with you. I dare say, I think we should do it again” he smirked toward the other male. Oakley was more of a loner and didn’t usually enjoy company of others but this male seemed to respect boundaries and have some of his own which seemed to form a bond between them, at least on Oakley’s end. He respected the male, and quite enjoyed his company. Oakley grabbed the rope they made with saplings and began to drag the body back toward the village with Viktor to collect their reward.