ORIGIN

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Ghanyarah didn't know if either of the winged critters would actually help him hunt. In his mind, it would serve them better to accompany him - together they could take down far larger prey - but if they wanted to do things their own way, so be it. The komodo moved his way through the underbrush, taking a path that would leave him to the groves of trees proximal to the heart of the swamp where he presumed most of the deer species would roam. Fish were another option, one he set aside for now. He wanted the thrill of a chase.

(Wow SO SHORT @Eve @Talat )

Eve was pretty horrible at hunting. She could barely even hunt for herself and her son, nevermind for Aquarian. Regardless, she fluttered forwards, not exactly knowing how 'eyes' would work out for Ghanyarah. Eve liked to rely about 50% hearing, and now she just happened to be 50% deaf.

She shook herself slightly as she landed on Ghanyarah's head, looking around. "What do you plan to find?" she asked quietly.

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@tag

Tal'at didn't speak, instead trying to keep close to Eve without flying directly into her. He relied primarily on his soft clicking to echolocate the bird, and that along side the noisy beats of her wings made it fairly easy. So he tailed behind her, doing his best to avoid trees by staying directly behind her...

The tricky part was also using his magic at the same time. He was doing alright, and already he could pinpoint some smaller prey creatures hiding among their burrows in the cold, ice bitten air. He exhaled softly, picking up a herd of deer off through the mist, but he didn't say anything just yet. Instead, he waited patiently for the brute force of their group to answer Eve's question.

!!! ...

going out a different path lead by a beating heart

Tal'at's magic danced along the heartbeats of the living things hidden in the darkness of the swamp all around them.

He would sense the den of cave rats nearby: large, nasty things, but no larger or more numerous than any other cave rat den. Ten, perhaps twenty of the things might be within, burrowed beneath the roots of one of the vast trees.

Up high, several Hallowed Callers made their rest; most were asleep, tucked against the trunk of another tree, in one flock.

Albino fish slipped along a deeper channel of black water not too far away.

Lastly, the small herd of cave deer he'd picked up. There were four heartbeats. Three were average, but slow, sluggish with sleep as the faintly green-glowing bioluminesence on their rubbery skin broke up their patterns like orb-light dancing off glossy leaves. A fourth was larger: a much bulkier buck, awake and standing sentry over his three does, his antlers ending in three long spikes apiece. Even his glow was different: a deep, livid indigo rather than the pale, soft green of the females. But his heart was all Tal'at would sense: strong, thumping and quite awake, a hundred yards or more off ahead.

@Ghanyarah @Talat @Eve

The reptile's path was sure, weaving through the trees in search of any resemblance of prey in the distant. Eve had fluttered up and landed on his head, though her weight felt like practically nothing; for a reptile on the war path, he didn't have time to care about birds sitting on his head. "I don't know. What usually roams the marsh, I suppose. Deer?" He answered idly, lifting his head as he shifted his gaze here and there. So far, he couldn't see anything. "Maybe you should fly up ahead. Tal'at, can you sense anything?" Ghanyarah asked, turning his head now to gaze at where he'd last heard the flutter of the bat's wings.

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@Eve

@Dragon @Eve

Tal'at could sense the heartbeats far off, the resemblance to a herd of deer unmistable to his magical gift. Now, all he had to do was plot a path to them without crashing through a tree and alerting the whole thing to his hunting partners. Easier said than done, considering he was blinder than most bats.

"I found them. The marsh deer. Follow after me," he spoke curtly, swooping down low in front of Yarah with a gentle glide. The forest stretched out before him as he flew, and with practiced ease he cut through the marsh towards the herd. Before he got too close, he landed behind a tall, old tree. He could feel the green life growing taller and taller, higher than the cold mists on this day. Tal'at knew that Cetus had a roof-- all of the caves did-- but sometimes it felt infinitely high when he was down so low.

"There are four. A large buck, and three others," he told Yarah in a quiet voice once the lizard had caught up, his orb shimmering in the mist with condensation dripping on to his face. It was so cold in Cetus lately... But perhaps the water-gifted lizard could use the mist to his advantage.

"Lead I follow. What shall I... Eve and I... Do to help?"

!!! ...

going out a different path lead by a beating heart

Thankfully, Tal'at had detected something for them to hunt. He heard the bat's voice, quickly slicing through the air as a quiet command; he found the marsh deer. Follow. Ghanyarah nodded and charged off after the bat, taking care not to jostle the foliage too much. Where ever they were, he knew that they were prone to darting off if he made too much sound. The reptile was fairly adept at moving through the undergrowth without making sound, but only if he moved slow. Having to run was a little harder. Eventually he made it to where the bat had led them and Ghanyarah came to a halt next to where the bat was perched, sunset eyes peering out into the undergrowth. Just like Tal'at said, there were the four. A buck and three does.

Aquarian would greatly enjoy the buck. But with Ghanyarah being the only one capable of taking down a large kill, he doubted he'd be able to nab the buck. Then again... if he could concentrate on his magic well enough, he might be able to trip it, or freeze its legs. "Uhh." The reptile huffed, thoughtfully, more to himself than anything. How were they going to do this? Ghanyarah was far from a pack hunter... But he did make a pretty decent tactician. Maybe he could find a way around this. "I want to go after the buck. The big one. We can get it, I'm sure of it. If you guys keep it distracted. Fly around its head or use your magic to confuse it maybe. Get the does out of the way. I'll try to take it down." Great. Excellent game plan. But how were they going to execute it?

Ghanyarah remained silent for a few seconds more as he thought on it. "I'll try my magic on it first. Meanwhile you guys go out and scare the other three off. If my ice works, we'll have it pinned. If it doesn't, you'll need to distract it instead - fly around its head and try to send it my way. Leave the rest to me. I'll call out for you if I need you to do anything else." There. They wouldn't really be able to help take it down anyways. Unless Eve managed to claw out its eyes, or... caw really loudly in his ears... or trip him... No. That was the plan. They could do it, right? He was still, waiting for confirmation before anything.

There was... Well, he liked to think that there was a response from the two winged creatures, a universal agreement. He couldn't really tell. But those deer seemed to be getting antsy about the presence of predators ans Ghanyarah didn't want to lose their chance of catching something. He huffed and turned away from the birds, sliding forward towards the herd on his belly. Once he felt he was close enough, Ghanyarah summoned his magic. He felt the cold magic snap out from him, crawl through the vegetation and strike the stag - his target - and ice instantly began to coalesce around his legs. Ghanyarah hissed his pleasure and began to advance, quick, sunset eyes fixed.

@Dark you can decide how effective the ice is!

The deer stood oblivious, the buck lifting and stamping each leg in turn without realizing that ice was beginning to creep up his limbs.

Stamp.

Large ears swivelled, and he seemed to turn to look directly at Ghanyarah, even though the Komodo Dragon hadn't made a sound.

Stamp.

His tail slowly raised, head dipping low, as if he were trying to get a better look at whatever he was staring at.

This time, when the buck went to stamp, its leg did not move. It immediately tried to leap back, only to find itself bound, legs encased in ice. Down it went, thrashing and sending a spray of swamp water upward. The does bolted, leaving their buck lying helpless before Ghanyarah, though some distance away.

The question was, what had it been staring at? Perhaps it had just caught the komodo's scent...

@Ghanyarah

He engaged in what felt like a solid stare down with the stag, frozen in place as he waited for his ice to creep up. The cold tendrils extended from his feet and seemed to bore into the mud, advancing, closing in, ready to strike... he watched the deer stamp his foot once, twice, and then the third time, he couldn't dislodge it. That was when Ghanyarah took a tentative step forward, and the does had all at once turned and fled, abandoning the stag. Mischief lit up the reptile's bright sunset eyes and his jaws parted in an insidious, reptilian sneer.

His magic snapped out again, and this time, he vied to cripple the beast. He felt around for its blood, and it was as though he immersed himself into the body of the deer, he could feel everything - its heart beat, its panicked breaths, the rushing of blood through its veins. And then he tightened, using his magic to bind the stag and collapse its limbs on itself, hoping to prevent it from making any attempt to escape. In that time, Ghanyarah began to charge forward, covering ground in broad, awkward bounds, already salivating as he viewed his assured prize. Now all he had to do was go in for the kill.

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Ghanyarah

Eve

Talat

Lesser Gembounds

Ghanyarah

Talat

Ghanyarah

Ghanyarah

Lesser Gembounds

Ghanyarah