[[Xervas is hunting, testing his strength as magic. Why not, he's been alive a few days and he's not the brightest. Time to attack some stuff, because Xervas is that kind. This post may get a bit long.]]

Xervas was listening to what Dragon had told him. It had been several days, but he hadn't forgotten. Stay alert was the main one. Don't let the large rats kill you, and especially do not let the spiders find you, under any circumstances. Avoiding low areas was one of the best ways to stay safe. Spiders usually stayed underneath the rocks. While it was unsettling to have dangerous arachnids below you, they rarely left their webs; only things snagged were in danger.

Xervas looked around from his perch, high up on one of the rocks. The mist was thinner up here, and it was somewhat easier to see; though it was still difficult, as he was still young and inexperienced. He didn't know what was below; only what he heard, and that was sometimes nothing at all. Sometimes he heard the screech of a rat, or the skitter of their feet lower on the rocks, but most of the time... nothing at all. The spiders made barely any noise.

Xervas wanted to find a rat, though. Something to hunt, preferably besides a fish- and definitely not a spider, that's for certain. Fish were nice to eat, but Xervas wanted to test his magic and fighting abilities against something bigger. A spider was not what he wanted to find. Their web could entangle him, and he would quickly be consumed. Again, it was a good thing that they rarely left their webs.

He listened, hoping to find what he was looking for. Xervas had to focus quite a bit to hear any sound at all. Once he did though, he concentrated. Yes, it sounded like a rat- it was quiet. Either it was farther away than he was expecting, it was small, or, it was actually a spider moving around. The last option was terrifying; he did his best not to consider that as he slowly and carefully headed down his perch.

Xervas made it down and quickly found the rat. It wasn't as big as the others he had encountered before, but it would still have to be treated with caution. The dirty rodent was away from any nearby rocks-- at least anything that could be useful for what he wanted to do. The lammergeier's plan was to lure the rat to a rock, or something along those lines, and then slam it into a wall using his magic. It could only work if he didn't get killed, and if the animal he was trying to hunt cooperated.

It seemed to have been working at first. Xervas approached the rat, making sure that he had it's attention. Once Xervas was sure that it was looking at him, he lunged at it, faking an attack. Then he retreated. He was hoping to provoke it and have it run at him, or even follow him; and it did. For a brief second. It scurried forward a foot or two, and Xervas headed back, hoping to encourage it more. A bit further and he could do what he wanted to; at least a bit more easily. But the rat didn't budge, seemingly sensing that something wasn't right. That this was a trick.

Xervas was frustrated by this. But he wouldn't attack it just yet. Perhaps he could try to lure it again. If that, too, failed, he would just attack it. No sense sticking with a plan that simply wasn't going to work as intended. Better to adapt.

Xervas again pretended to attack, then backed up. The rat was annoyed by this movement; why wasn't the bird making any real effort to attack? The rodent moved forward slowly, and with purpose. The lammergeier felt a wave of relief wash over him as the rat followed him. It didn't seem as cautious as before. But the rat was following him, and that's what Xervas had wanted.

He continued to move backward, watching the rat all the while. He knew that there were no webs where he was going- he had made sure to check, just in case. Almost there. This was one of the few places he knew for a fact that there were decent-sized boulders. He could have led the rat somewhere else, and it may have even been an easier feat. But Xervas didn't want to lead the animal somewhere that might not be advantageous for him.

A bit more backing up-- the rat was moving faster now-- and Xervas was in the perfect position for what he wanted to do.

He summoned his magic, and it came. The vulture moved to the side of the rat, then used his magic as he planned. Xervas managed to slam the rat into a boulder- and several other small rocks and objects, in fact. It had been more effective than he had been expecting. The rat hit the rock and fell down on it's side, in an awkward-looking position. It was still breathing, however- the rodent was stunned, though surely injured to some degree. This was Xervas's chance. He moved forward. It was starting to stir, but it was still in the same place. He had an opening.

Xervas approached the stunned rat with caution. Perhaps too much, really. He moved toward the rodent too slow; it was starting to stir by the time he made his way over. In Xervas's defense, he didn't want to end up with a chunk of his neck missing. Last time it had only been feathers, but this time...

He jumped at it, attempting to pin it down-- but before he get his talons truly into it, before he could really pin it down, the rat was again aware. It shook him off in the same way a dog would shake off water. Xervas fell on his back. The rat, seeing the opening, moved in.

The bird moved out of the way of gnashing teeth, though barely. It was a close tie. This rat was smaller than the other one, but then again, Xervas at the time had a large reptile on his side. He didn't have that anymore. Not that he couldn't kill a rat now, though. He could definitely do it on his own.

Xervas again called on his magic, and it came to him-- and with surprising ease. Was it always this easy to use magic? Or was he just lucky? Doesn't matter right now. Focus.

Again, he sent the rat flying into the boulder, stunning it. This wasn't the best hunting method, and perhaps he was cheating, but he found it useful. At least the boulder was close enough that he could see where the rat landed, and whether or not it was stunned.

Xervas had a sudden thought. Was all this noise going to attract the spiders? He hoped not. Not that he would back down, of course. Talons, a beak, and magic are surely tougher than the exoskeleton of an arachnid. That raises another question; could he eat it?

Stop! Focus! He needed to kill the rodent now before it again began to stir. Which it already was, but it wasn't yet moving and on it's feet.

Xervas needed to learn to focus. His train of thought had again cost him the chance to kill the creature. The lammergeier hadn't even made it to the rat before it was on it's feet. It turned towards him and stared him down. Xervas wasn't sure what it was going to do- that was, until it let out a shriek and charged.

Xervas was getting desperate, especially as the rat charged him. His feathers automatically fluffed up, making him appear bigger-- though the rat did not slow down in the slightest. Xervas tried to grab the rat's head-- however stupid a move it was-- and failed at doing so.

The vulture had managed to grab the rat, though it quickly twisted out of his grasp. Well, it was more accurate to say that it moved to bite him and Xervas let go in a blind panic, though he had broken the skin. Perhaps fleeing was his best option at this point. But he didn't want to do such a thing. He was hungry, and he wasn't about to waste all his energy on a small rat that got away. Humiliating.

Xervas was several feet away from the rat now, backing up, feathers still puffed up. Yes, he could probably use his magic again and again, but he didn't want to do so. He had no wishes to push his luck with it. Besides, the rat wasn't completely unharmed from his attempts, it was bleeding-- however minor that bleeding was.

Well, now what? Still nothing around besides him and the rat. Maybe that was a good thing? It really just unsettled him. Surely the noise would attract other animals?

Xervas slowly left the small overhang, moving up onto the boulders themselves. He wasn't sure if he was trying to flee or trying to get an advantage. Maybe both. If he couldn't kill the rat, he would eventually have to back off. It was at a stalemate right now, and the vulture really didn't want the tide to turn against him.

The rat was following him, though it didn't seem to know exactly what it was doing. At least it seemed that way to Xervas. It hesitated, staring up at him when he got up on the boulder, yet just out of his range in case he jumped. But the rodent wasn't following him anymore. Xervas didn't know if that was good or bad. It wasn't calling for it's brethren. Yet it wasn't attacking him, either. Just sitting on it's hind legs. Staring, blood dripping from the side of it's face.

The lammergeier needed to make up his mind on what he was doing. He needed to think ahead. Needed to stop getting distracted, too.


"Speech."

Xervas continued his way up, leaving the rat alone. It didn't follow him. Perhaps that was a good thing. Maybe it wasn't. All that the vulture knew was that he lost. To a rat. And it was humiliating! Sure, he could try to fight it again, but even the battle-hungry bird knew when it was time to stop. He could catch fish to sate his hunger, at least later. Even though the fish were far from appetizing.

The lammergeier settled back down at the top of the boulder, where the mist was somewhat thinner. Someday, he would be able to kill these rats with little effort. But not today.

Exit Xervas

"Speech."