Purge of Bakura: Hunt

[Jabonicus]

Bakura

Cathvallan Jungle

Marked as a breeding ground for the Vorators, the Cathvallan Jungle is a thick expanse of trees and forest growths hidden beneath a thick canopy that prevents large scale observation of the jungle floor.

However, marked Vorators and drones have indicated that the area is a known territory for breeding females, as well as being where they often bring their young. A strike here would be a strike against the very supports of the species, even if it was only a single fallen member.

For when one Vorator falls, it seems that others avoid the area of the deceased, in some form of self preservation. Chasing them off of the safe, food-heavy zone could easily cause a major dent in their numbers in the long run.

The hunters, armed with whatever goods they brought and reasonably requested from the mining company, would be well equipped to deal with the potential threats of the location.

@Headastator​

 

[Daska]

What a thrill! This was just like old times. A hunt in the jungle. Paid by the kill count, just how Daska liked it. The atmosphere was reminiscent of Trandosha, a wave of nostalgia passing over him as he stalked through the underbrush. He tightened the quiver of javelins strapped to his back, ensuring they made little to no noise at all. He was headed for the breeding grounds, a prime opportunity to make a dent in the Vorator population and making some credits never hurt, even when Daska had a sizable retirement fund already. Avian creatures cawed and chirped in the canopy, but the noise wouldn't help mask his presence much. If these things relied on heat to detect prey, his cold blood would come in handy more than any camouflage. Nobody had got close enough to test this theory so he couldn't rely on this either, but a childhood of hunting had left its mark on the Trandoshan.

Creeping out into a wide clearing, Daska crouched at the base of a leviathan of a tree. About 300 meters ahead of him, a group of the beasts wandered about. He'd have to get closer to strike, but the strength of his species would come in handy. But wait. A noise in the bushes to his right. Fifty meters away, one of the hulking Vorators stepped out of the jungle. Staying deadly still, he slowly reached for a javelin, sliding the long metallic rod over his head. These things had been expensive, he'd got them imbued with a lethal toxin in the tip. The perfect tool for hunting prey as formidable as this.

 

[Jabonicus]

Four white eyes blinked as they scanned the brush ahead. Red flesh in a curved pocket of exposed, valuable hide in a mountain of gray chitin. Two arms extended from the beasts torso, one set quite large, going down to meet the ground in a knuckle-dragging sort of lumberous form, while the others, much more agile and small, deftly made movements of fingers, often touching one another in complex ways.

It let out a great roar, it's voice booming in a deep-pitched wave. Two pitch's echoed from its maw, simply an octave of difference between the two. With its message sent, whatever it may be, it continued to move, its larger arms being used as a means to carry its form downwards across the slope, just ahead of the Trandoshan hunter. It seemed unaware of his presence, at least for the moment.

As it passed, he would notice something quite odd on its back. Five, small, child-sized Vorators moved over the creatures chitin. The growled and spat at one another, giving their small hand signs back and forth, often with an occasional smack or whack as they played, one of their larger arms and feet digging into their caretakers chitin. Smaller wildlife ran at the sound and sight, and it would be a wonder of how the creatures even hunted in the spooked everything away with their mere presence.

The initial group that the Trandoshan spotted did not move. Though they interacted among one another, it was hard to determine what, exactly, they were doing. If he took down this one now, without it alerting the others, it was likely that they would be unaware until they found the corpse of the fallen being.

 

[Daska]

Hmm. This thing was carrying its offspring. It could damn well roar too. Well, five extra payments was worth the challenge. This hunt would surely be an interesting one. Daska waited till the hulking beast had passed him before he slowly started to stalk it through the underbrush. If he could get a hit on it undetected it could go out without a fight. The small vulnerable area on its face was the only place worth throwing at, the chitin being too tough to penetrate.

Swiftly stepping back from the clearing's entrance, Daska made his way ahead of his prey once again. He was used to moving quietly and navigating terrain like this was commonplace, the various creatures fleeing from the Vorator masking what noise he did make. Circling around, the Trandoshan approached the clearing's entrance once again. It looked like this thing was headed back into the jungle, maybe patrolling its territory. Daska had a clear shot on its face here, raising his javelin and slowly standing up into a throwing stance. With an involuntary hissing sound, he threw the spear just as he had in his youth, attempting to strike the beast in its head.

 

[Jabonicus]

The hiss of the Trandoshan managed to gain the attention of the Vorator. It turned its massive form, its white, piercing eyes glaring as it vaguely recognized the form of an intruder. That was, until, one of its many eyes was pierced, the spear piercing the orb and digging into the front of its skull, or whatever form of structure protected its insides.

Stumbling back, the massive form did not fall, it simply let out a massive, high-pitched screech. Even though its meaning was lost between species, the panicked squeal of a matriarch was certainly not. Once the squeal finished its echo, the sound of smaller, infantile cries pierced the air. Worried, uncertain noises of fear and cowardice.

They were likely to flee, piling off of their caretakers back as she stumbled and wavered. Suddenly, its massive hand reached up, grabbing the shaft of the spear. It did not yank it out, instead, pinching the end, it snapped the spear in two, the end embedded too deep to yank out without serious damage, but the shaft removed, as not to cause further disruption.

 

[Daska]

"Damn." The beast simply wasn't dying. It also knew Daska was here now. Darting back into the undergrowth, he did his best to blend in with the shades of brown and green. Hastily sliding another javelin out of its sheath, he considered his next strike. The longer this thing was alive for, the more riled up its fellow Vorators got. It obviously wasn't stupid, scanning the area of forest he'd escaped into. Various other younger creatures scampered around, investigating the fight. Once again retreating further away from the clearing, Daska circled around his prey until he was facing its front left. Swiftly jumping out of the forest again, Daska twirled the javelin into a throwing position above his head and thrust it with all his strength into the Vorator's face. Making a conscious effort not to make any noise, he stepped just back from the clearing again as soon as he has thrown the spear.

 

[Jabonicus]

As he moved through the underbrush, repositioning himself, the great beast stumbled and faltered. It's vision grew blurry, and it could not tell Daska from its children, nor the scampering of other creatures. Swiping with a roar, its claws dug into one of its young, sending it rolling into the dirt, its chitin too thick for any real harm to have befallen it, though it was stunned for the time being.

When he threw the second spear, piercing flesh and digging deep into its face, the creature fell. Poison seeped through its veins, and pain coursed through its muscles. Weakness overcame the creature, and its limbs became too heavy to lift. While the beast held many traits that gave it advantages in a fight, it held little to no poison resistance, meaning that Daska's moves had struck with power.

Its large chest rose and fell, the beast collapsed onto its chest. It was dying, and it was unlikely it would recover, unless given modern medicine. The huffs of air escaped its great jaws, its many remaining eyes blinking slowly as it tried to remain awake. Daska had succeeded in bringing down a Matriarch, no small feet, especially with usually inferior weapons.

 

[Daska]

The Matriarch crashed to the jungle floor, its many offspring scattering around the clearing. A smile spread across Daska's face, the satisfaction of a well executed kill occupying his mind. Approaching the titanic carcass, he let out a short, contented grunt. This first hunt had unleashed some kind of primal instinct inside the Trandoshan, the roots of his species' history calling him for more. He had to carry on. Readying another javelin in anticipation, Daska let out a guttral reptilian growl, stalking to a vantage point at the forest edge and surveying the rest of the clearing. Several other Vorators prowled the area, a smaller one wandering around a pond being a prime target. The shallow, muggy waters would provide decent cover, aided by the shrubs and rocks pepper across the landscape.

The wide pond stretched around fifty metres away from Daska's prey, the hunter slowly immersing everything but his head in the water. Stalking closer and closer, he placed himself between the Vorator and a small nest of trees. The cold water was uncomfortable for the cold blooded reptile, but comfort was of no matter with the bloodlust coursing through his veins. The ground underneath Daska sloped upwards as he swiftly moved into the trees near to the beast. Drips of water quietly splashed across the jungle floor amidst the cacophony of chirps and buzzing in the canopy. Aiming his throw to the exposed face of the Vorator, he let loose let another javelin from his arms.