Hissing something about dirt and bad luck, the harpy makes a desperate lunge for the deer with a second looped rope- they'd be willing to start the stalking again, possibly looking for a different colored herd knowing their chances for this one today are shot...

But for now, they're gonna make one more desperate lunge with their rope to trip up and restrain the smallest member of the herd!

"When I speak"
When I think

...and they were gone, the last scattering of hoofbeats a soft staccato on the earth of Eridanus. A few leaves rattled in their wake, dewdrops spilling, but the deer had woven out of sight and vanished into the forest.

@Renasci

Hearing the deer take off from their face down position in the earth, the harpy sighs. Deciding to wallow in their misfortune for a few minutes, they fight the urge to smolder in rage or yell into the foliage. No, that would make any future hunting so much worse.

Finally levering themselves up after their silent temper tantrum, they go to investigate the plants that the deer were eating at both sites- trying to see if it's just anything of a specific plant that the deer favor.

Anything to help locate the next herd or to settle on a spot to lay traps.

"When I speak"
When I think

Taking some of the leaves and any berries with them, they start off to go find some... other browsing spots. So, places with this plant, open areas to bolt in, and hopefully a new herd since the one they spooked is.

Well.

Spooked.

Headed in a different direction than the bolted deer, Ren starts to scan about for another herd or maybe even some of the plants near large trees they can rig a trap from.


"When I speak"
When I think

It's surprisingly easy for them to find the next place, even though they're moving slowly and carefully through the foliage.

Making a quick check for any nearby deer, they go to rig up the first trap- a loop meant to snag on the horns of a deer reaching for this particularly green looking foliage.

The rope is tied in a slide knot, so as to tighten when the deer pulls away or tries to shake it off, and they toss the longer, more ropes tied end to end part over a tree branch and secure it higher in the branches.

Let's see if the dice let us do this well...

"When I speak"
When I think

Okay, this one... might fail. Might not. They'll keep an eye on it, and they go to set another trap. This one is tied to a branch that's meant to be eaten from, the rope thin and pulled loose so that a jolt will set off a sort of noose off to yank tight underneath the dining spot.

Meant to catch the deer around the ankles this one, they decide to disguise it with leaves on the ground.

No matter how this one looks, they rub some nearby dirt into their feathers and under their arms to help hide their scent, move downwind, and settle in to hide in a bush.

"When I speak"
When I think

It would be many hours before a herd happened this way. Renasci would need to wait until the orb-light had dimmed into night and then rose again near morning to find a scattered handful of Jungle Deer browsing toward them.

Three brown, two green and a yellow, two with antlers, were plodding gradually in Renasci's direction. As they came, they were eating: a couple of steps and then chewing on the bushes, lifting their heads to scan their surroundings as they moved through the foliage. Nostrils flared now and then but they seemed not to find Renasci's scent, at least.

If they were patient, and very quiet, perhaps the deer would wander into their traps.

Assuming they had waited this long, and were still awake...

@Renasci

Honestly, they'd been dozing on and off for most of the wait- hoping that some sort of noise or the springing of their traps would wake them. It's impossible for the harpy to sleep deeply with the dirt in their feathers and joints.

The snuffles are what cause them to stir, and blink their eyes rapidly to see exactly what they're looking at.

A whole group... multiple colors. Do the horns mean they're adults?

They wonder, watching the deer with sharp eyes. Waiting is difficult on the ground, but their goal may be closer than they have ever been, so they wait. Test the traps first, and hopefully the deer will bolt sort of in their direction of they fail.

And so, they remain still otherwise and wait.

"When I speak"
When I think

By sheer terrible luck, the high-branch trap was triggered first. A doe--without antlers--reached up to browse the juicy foliage; the snare triggered a moment later, snapping up noose-first and catching on thin air where antlers might have otherwise been.

As one, the herd turned and bolted, startled by the sound and weaving off into the underbrush.

It was a sign, perhaps, to reset the traps, or even adjust them and try again.

note: which trap would be triggered, and whether by an antlered buck or unantlered doe, was rolled on Discord

@Renasci

Some quiet grumbling, and after waiting a moment to make sure the herd was truly gone, Renasci climbs from their spot and goes to re-set the traps... and add a few more.

First, the one trap- the antler trap that was triggered - gets an appraising look. Seems it worked well, just the wrong target. That's fine, it proves their methodology at least.

Making sure to rub their hands and arms in the dust nearby to hide their scent, they go about re-stringing the trap, and think of what to add to ensure it snags any deer within it.

"When I speak"
When I think