Oh Dyr

[Toland Vult]

theme​

It was Life Day on Kashyyyk, and all the festivities were centered around the village of Rowrakruk. The native Wookiees had graciously opened their doors to feed all those that attended, but in order to continue the bounteous feasting, meat was required. Arrawtha-dyr, a native quadrupedal hooved mammal with large antlers, lived and grazed in the underbrush throughout the planet's vast forests, and served as an excellent source of food and entertainment — with rewards offered to those that helped maintain Rowrakruk's stores of venison.

Armed with hunting knives and recurve bows, a hunting party set out from the village. Blasters, explosives, and vibroblades would be of no use here; in order to not spook the animals, the group would need to be silent and stealthy.

Toland gazed into the thick forest that stretched out far in front of them. In truth he'd never needed to hunt live animals for food, having relied on protein bars and ration packs to survive during an extended mission in the past. Though he wasn't entirely familiar with the finer techniques of firing a bow, he had practiced with it a bit the day before. He looked back to check on the others. "I'm ready to head out when you all are."

@The Mad Hammer @Wit @Farnis13 @Darasuum​

 

[Evelyn Fest]

Evelyn fingered the bowstring of the weapon, still unsure of it. She had taken up archery a little bit when she was a teenager but it never stuck with her. The look of confusion on her face when the wookies handed her the bow had made them let out low, chortling grunts that struck a nerve. As such, she was determined to quickly get good and bring these wookies their food.

She had never celebrated Life Day before, but had heard of it. She respected the basis behind it and had wanted to participate a little bit for a while now, at least to say she'd done it. Now hear she was, hunting for the wookies for their Life Day meals. She pulled back on the string a little, then adjusted the leather brace on her forearm, there so the bowstring wouldn't thwap against her bare skin.

Making sure her quiver had plenty of arrows, she turned to Toland and nodded. "I'm good to go, lets get this deer."

She wasn't even going to try and pronounce the wookie words, knowing she would have just absolutely butchered it.

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

____________

Burkhart was unsure about this. He was not having an issue with assisting the wookiees or working along side non-mandalorians. In fact he probably got the most exposure to arueti compared to the rest of the mandalorian community. As a smuggler he had to be. Even so he was not sure about the circumstances of this hunt. He had done plenty of hunting and it was just fine with blasters. He was no good with a bow so upon arrival he debated seeing if he could get a bowcaster to simply use for the hunting mission and then promised to return it afterwards. He was as tall as the wookiees, that much was true and could utilize the weapon with ease. But for now he had to stick with the bow. He kept his other weapons on him though he was not planning on using them. Intelligence about slavers in the area meant they should still be wary of the wilds. There was more than one threat on Kashyyyk.

As for his company, he was unsure about the ringers that were accompanying the Wookiee hunting party. He had more certainty towards the locals than the humans that had joined the group but he kept that to himself. For now he had his bow in hand. The others had to have smaller and weaker bows while Burkhart had been given one that measured up to the wookiees' strength. Still, he would not be surprised if he missed or completely failed at hunting. But at least he could provide assistance in other areas. So the Morling kept his nose pointed upwards and sniffed regularly. He had asked for an example pelt to smell so he would know what they smelled like to a degree. From what he had been told these were antlered creatures, herbivores so they should be easy enough to treat like those found on Mandalore or Concord Dawn.

@Farnis13 @Shalken ​

 

[Motshan Dragoste]

Motshan Dragoste barely glanced to his left or right at his fellow hunters. It was all it took to tell that they were no more pleased than he was at the prospect of hunting the beasts of Kashyyyk with little more than what amounted to sticks and sinews. Still, they were here at the invite of the wookies, and they were, if anything, a people only slightly less suppressed than his own. They honored life. They honored family. They were fury. As long as he was here on their world, he would abide by their customs and traditions. It was not like he had not been eating well since he had arrived. He had never wanted for food. He may have even put on a few pounds.

When the call came out for hunters to help refresh the supply of never ending meats, Motshan had been quick to volunteer. He may not have been what one would call a seasoned hunter, but he was skilled enough. Growing up as an outsider to the outsiders, a fringer to the fringers, and an outcast to the outcasts, he and his extended family had been forced, more often than he would ever publicly admit, to hunt for their next meal. Many times that consisted of nunas, womp rats, and other small bits of game. Being Ryn, many times their bits of antiquated weaponry were confiscated by the local authorities. As such, they had been forced to make do. Snares, sharp sticks, and even the occasional homemade bow and arrow became the tools of their hunting expeditions. As a youngling, Motshan and his brothers, sisters, and cousins were the ones relegated to hunting. To say he was unfamiliar with a bow would have been a lie.

The bow he held in his hands now, however, and the quiver of arrows at his side were nothing like the simple homemade affairs he had used as a boy. These, by anyone's definition, were exquisite. He could not help but admire the intricate detail that had been put into the construction of such fine weapons.

Hearing Toland announce his readiness, Motshan shot the once Imperial a knowing glance and a nod. Even now, they were on the same team, regardless of Motshan's feelings towards the man's origins. "Don't s'pose you or anyone here knows how to track these beasts were going after do ya?" Maybe we oughtta bring one of the wookies with us?"

Just then through the underbrush, Motshan caught sight of a huge best with a massive rack of horns before it vanished beneath the shadowy canopy of underbrush. Raising an eyebrow in shock and smiled towards Toland, pointing the top of his head in the direction he had seen the animal, "Maybe we ought to go after that . . .thing. It had horns that looked like the ones they showed us at least."

Knocking an arrow across his bow and resting it between his fingers alongside the bowstring, Motshan waited anxiously for the others. Hunting such a huge beast with such a primitive weapon was not something Motshan was fool enough to do alone. Even if the prospect of setting off after whatever it was he had seen was almost too much to be contained, he really had no desire to be trampled to death.

 

[Fynn Draygo]

Fynn had no idea how to use a bow. He had seen people do it in those old fantasy holo-movies, but seeing was one thing and actually doing it properly was another. But there was nothing to it, he would simply have to make do with what he had and hope that at least one of the others hunters he had tagged along with were better at it than he was.

He had known that the animals they were hunting were big, they would have to be if their meat was enough to keep the Wookiees fed, but what showed up in front of them was bigger than he had expected. Spotting the Ryn cock an arrow, Fynn did the same and continued stalking forward, the closer he got the better his chance of actually hitting the thing. No matter how big the target, he was still a shitty archer.

"I'm ready."

@Shalken @Farnis13 @The Mad Hammer @Darasuum

 

[Motshan Dragoste]

Motshan glanced about at his fellow hunters. Of those with him, only one seemed to have noticed the horned cresture he had seen vanishing into the underbrush. That one did not look like he could even handle a bow. ‘Maybe spears would have been a better option.’ He pondered silently before nodding to Fynn and pointing with his cocked weapon in the direction the creature had disappeared into.

Setting off at a hunched creeping trot built up from years of experience sneaking from shadow to shadow; Motshan ran after the creature, loosing an arrow towards the underbrush where the creature had vanished. He was rewarded with an unseen cry of painful surprise and a thundering off into the distance.

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

____________

Someone was eager to get on with the hunt. Burkhart would have been lying if he said otherwise. Usually when he hunted game of any kind it was alone or in a smaller group than this. Then again he had never hunted on Kashyyyk. When an inquiry about tracking was posed the mandalorian looked over to the one that had asked it. He was able to track by scent and had plenty of experience in general hunting even if it was not with the local fauna. "Aye, I can folloh the scent if ya give me a momen." He said as he moved forward and crouched down to examine the large tracks left in the soft mud. "The ground itsalf is not dry yet. Suh they must've come through here noh long agoh. The one you scared off wuz a lonar. The rest of tha herd went thaway." The morling stood back up, returning to the same height as the wookiees and pointed in a different direction than the one Motshan had startled. The herd was also probably not aware of the hunting party's presence yet and would be easier to sneak up on and get a clean kill. It was better than chasing down an already startled beast and ruining the meat or worse, wasting time and loosing the tracks of the existing group.

If Burkhart had to guess it looked like there were at least six of the creatures further along the tracks. Probably a kilometer away give or take. For Burkhart's eyes the tracks were easy to follow and told him of the weight. So far they seemed like the antlered animals had not taken the path in haste and so would likely still be calm upon his arrival so long as no great disturbance was made.

@Farnis13 @Shalken @Wit @The Mad Hammer ​

 

[Fynn Draygo]

Fynn followed after the Mandalorian, glad that there was someone there who was outdoorsy enough to track the creatures, made things a lot easier for the rest of them. It was slow moving, but it was better if they were careful and knew what they were chasing. It would do no one any good if they were sloppy about this and something got the jump on them. He could only imaging the kind of dangers that lived in these forests.

As the Mandalorian finally spotted the creatures, they moved to follow the trail he had picked up, till Fynn finally thought he saw something, and began moving a little to the side to take a better look. He did see it them, one of the six that the Mandalorian said they were tracking, just barely visible through the foliage. So Fynn pulled an arrow and nocked it up on the bow. He tried to take aim, but the creature was just barely visible and even if he wasn't so incompetent with the bow he would have had a really bad timing getting a shot off from where he was.

He tried to move a little to the side when his feet slipped on something and he found himself almost stumbling down a small and shallow hollow in the ground. As he straightened himself, he noticed that the slight depression put him at just the perfect angle to have a clear line of sight to the creature. So clear that if he had his blaster then he could have shot its eyes off. But all he had was a bow, and not wanting to alert the remaining creatures with a bad shot, he softly called out to his companions.

"I see one, right over there. I think we found them."

@Shalken @Farnis13 @The Mad Hammer @Darasuum

 

[Evelyn Fest]

Evelyn, crouched low, began to slowly walk over to Fynn. Although she hadn't done much hunting before, she was competent enough to not make any loud noises while going over. She crouched next to him and looked around, noticing the herd that was grazing at the moment. So far, none had noticed them even after Fynn's fall.

Evelyn knocked an arrow and steadied her breathing, focusing in on the animal. She drew back a little bit, getting a feel for the bow, but didn't get ready to fire yet. She wanted to wait on the others to get a cue from them and wait for them to act.

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

____________

Pleased that his words had not been a waste of breath. With each step that he got closer he made sure there were no dry twigs underneath. Hearing the human male call out softly Burkhart nodded and brought his own hunting weapon to bear and raised it. Drawing slowly back he closed his left eye and sighted in on a separate one than the targets the other two had seen. Taking a deep breath he would let his fingers loose the string and in turn the arrow. It was for a timed shot so that all three of them could take down their respective game simultaneously.

The sharpened projectile sailed through the air. Nearly silent it hit the antlered beast in the vitals. Burkhart was on par in strength to the wookiees and due to this they had given him one of their bows. It would seem the weight of the bow was enough to let the arrow not just puncture but shoot straight through the deer like creature. If that wasn't enough to have two different points of bleeding, the arrow struck another member of the herd beyond. This one did not kill it outright. Burkhart would have to likely chase down the second one and wait for it to bleed out before approaching.

@Farnis13 @Shalken @Wit @The Mad Hammer​

 

[Motshan Dragoste]

Even as Motshan’s quarry crashed off out of sight, most of the rest of the party seemed content to follow the most hulking member of their party another direction. Not believing in the wanton killing of anothr creature, the Ryn knocked anoher arrow in his bow and set off in almost the complete opposite direction towards the thunderous cacophony his loosen arrow seemed to have luckily, or unluckily, produced.

Making the dense foliage, Motshan was able to quite easily find the bloodied path of destruction his arrow had most likely resulted in. Ahead, it seemed that his arrow had struck a vital area as the bloodied mess grew more obvious and destructive.

Knowing the dangers of a wounded beast, having born the scars of tangling with more than one such creature in his youth, Motshan proceeded with caution. It did not take him long to discover the massive horned buck lying atop a mountain of smashed vines and branches, having fallen without the strength to press forward. The huge creature was intimidating to behold, and even as it bellowed its pain, sending a spray of blood and spittle into the air, Motshan paused. He had hunted in the past; but being his close to such a creature was nerve-wracking to say the least. Yet, Motshan knew he had to act. The beast was suffering and he had been the cause. Firing blindly, Motshan had struck the creature and it appeared that such a blow would result in death, but not quickly. The wooded arrow having buried itself deeply into the abdomen of the fantastic beast that now lie panting before him, to wounded to press on, to exhausted to run.

Carefully, Motshan lowered his bow, beholding the creature before him. He knew what he had to do. Carefully, Motshan Dragoste removed the carved blade the wookies had given him in addition to the bow and quiver and he apprached the massive creature. Every step closer, Motshan felt dwarfed. It would take him some time to process the kill; provided he made it that far.

Catching sight of the Ryn, the massive crewture’s eyes bulged in fear as he tried in vain to struggle to his feet, collapsing again. The creature’s fear was palpable and as he drew closer to the thrashing monstrosity Motshan struck with his blade.

He had been aiming for the hornedcreatures throat, a sure fire way to quickly and painlessly end the beast’s suffering. Fate had other intentions and Motshan’s blow gouged a deep trail from the animal’s mouth to it’s eye socket, causing itnto thrash about.

Motshan lost grip of his blade and tumbled backwards with a crash into the brush even as the beast bellowed in pain once more.

 

[Fynn Draygo]

Fynn had done well to sneak up on this animal, and undetected as he was, he was able to take his time to carefully take aim, draw the bow just right, and take as good a shot as was possible for someone with his level of training. The arrow flew through the air and though Fynn had aimed for the creature's eyes, it hit it in the neck. But that was enough to get the job done as the creature tried to dart before the injury brought it down.

By then the others had sprung into action as well, taking their shots and bringing down other beasts as well. Fynn was surprised by how well things seemed to be going. As there didn't seem like any other immediate targets that he could attack, he got up and rushed towards the one he had shot. He pulled out a small knife and plunged it into the creature's chest, giving it a swift end.

"One down here."

That should offer a decent amount of meat, and with what the others were going he thought they should be gathering a decent supply for the Wookiees. Maybe he would keep the bow and start practicing with it. As silent as they were they could really come in handy at times.

@Shalken @Farnis13 @The Mad Hammer @Darasuum

 

[Evelyn Fest]

Evelyn released her arrow as the others fired, letting it fly. She wasn't quite sure how she did it, whether the bow was that strong, the arrow that sharp, or maybe it passed right through some soft tissue, but Evelyns arrow not only sailed right through the neck of the target, it flew right into the eye of the animal behind it as well. Both animals dropped like a stone, the second one with the arrow still jutting out of its skull.

Evelyn frowned at the kill, and began rushing towards the one she hit in the neck. It wasn't struggling too much but it was definitely alive still. Evelyn pulled out her knife and quickly stabbed into it's heart, abruptly stopping its struggles. She wiped the blade off on her pant leg and went to check out the second kill.

It was dead almost immediately and wasn't struggling at all. It seemed to be a freak accident however, rather than actual skill on Evelyns part. However she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Or whatever the hell these things were. She pulled out the arrow and then said, "So uh, I did something cool I think."

 

[Motshan Dragoste]

Motshan tucked and rolled backwards into the brush, the blade tumbling from his hand, lost to the brush. Somehow, the ryn still managed to come out on his feet. He was several feet away from the massive animal that lay there. Even as it had thrashed back and forth and sent him reeling, the beast's strength left it's body with each thrash until it lay there once again, bleeding. All that moved was the rise and fall of the deer-like creature's chest. His strength was exhausted.

Motshan stood there, watching the labored breathing. He knew still what he had to do. His knife was missing. As such, he reached for the next best thing, a sharpened arrow. With a sigh of exasperation, Motshan approached, his footfalls matching the deep ragged breaths of the beast. At this point, he was not entirely sure what to do. His first arrow had doomed the creature to mortal perile, his knife had served to only exacerbate the situation.

"Third time is the charm. That's what Pops always says right? Right?" he asked himself, trying to reassure himself. he knew what he had to do, or try to do. He just was not sure of himself. What if he screwed it up again?

"Right. To business than. I'm sorry big fell'r. Lets get this over with."

With that, Motshan stepped forward and fell forward to his knees, grasping the shaft of the arrow in both hands as he plunged the projectile into the massive quadruped's chest. The arrow knocked off a rib and plunged deep into the animal, piercing it's heart. With a final throw, the beast's legs flailed and it's body contorted, once again sending Motshan crashing backwards into the brush yet again.

Grumbling under his breath as he brushed leaves, twigs, and other assorted forest floor findings from his fur, Motshan gingerly picked himself up. Looking towards the beast, he shook his head. Dead. The beast was dead. It was not glorious. it was not classic. It was not even dignified. It was, however, done. The wookies would have the meat for the celebration. With any luck they'd be able to season the taint of fear and suffering from the meat.

Now all he had to do was get the thing cut up and hauled back. He reached downward for his knife. At least this was something he had some proficiency at.

As his hand brushed his empty sheath, Motshan lowered his head in despair. His knife was somewhere; but where? Looking at the densely covered ground he sighed audibly, "I have got to be the most unlucky Ryn this side of the Riishi Maze."

 

[Burkhart Kelborn]

____________

He stood a moment afterwards, watching the wounded animal fled to. Evelyn in all her excitement immediately went running towards her kill. Rookie move and somewhat dangerous. Other hunters may have still been shooting. It was a good way to get an arrow in the back. Lucky for her there were no dangers in the area to take advantage of her. He shook his head at the aruetii before slowly and calmly walking toward the beast that now lay dead. He checked it, finding it was indeed dead and not just clinging to the last bits of life.

Before picking up the certain kill he walked over to where the other one had been hit. He followed the trail and after a few dozen meters found it with the arrow still inside. It was breathing heavily and obviously in pain. Grabbing the animal by the antlers he used all of his strength to jerk it to the side and snap its neck. He could feel the life leave the animal. Perhaps his great ancestors had done similar things in their line of evolution. Burkhart supposed it was good to appreciate all the advancements they had made since then.

Pulling the arrow out of the carcass he dragged the body of the dead animal and drew it onto his shoulder. It was a large beast and certainly not easy for even him to carry. There was the second one he had killed and he needed to bring both of them back. The mandalorian would be too busy carrying his own weight to help out the others. Tomorrow he would probably be sore but tonight they would be dining well and having a good time with the locals.

//Exit thread

@Farnis13 @Shalken @Wit @The Mad Hammer​