The Most Dangerous Game (Arasen)

[Ricard Duchamps]

"Home is where the heart is" may have been a statement near and dear to Ricard's heart, but the woods were where his heart went on vacation. He had been spending more time in the great outdoors lately, often leaving his home for hours at a time. Maybe it was because the summer days were growing longer and he had more daylight to work with. Maybe it was because his skill at bowmanship and tracking was improving, giving him more confidence in his endeavors. Or maybe he just wanted to run away from his family's arguments, which were growing more tense with each passing day. They never got to the point of screaming, but there was a palpable coldness in the air that Ricard wanted to get away from as quickly as possible.

Instead of the coldness of an argument Ricard sought the coolness of the woods, smiling a little as the wind tousled his hair. Soon silence would be the name of the game, but as Ricard made his way into the woods near his home he couldn't help but hum happily. It was simple and tuneless, a poor attempt at remembering the songs he heard in Remi years ago, but just the act of humming helped put a bit of spring in his step. Occasionally he fiddled with his quiver, gently touching it and running his finger over the arrows to make sure he hadn't dropped any. It was an unconscious reaction, one that generally flared up when he had a lot weighing on his mind, but all things considered he was feeling surprisingly carefree today. If not for the look in his eyes, sharply scanning the horizon even as he merrily hummed, he would've looked less like a hunter and more like a kid in a candy store.

And then he noticed the first sign of disturbance, courtesy of yesterday's rain. Some of the soil was still muddied from last night, and that meant hoofprints would be a lot more apparent at first glance. Many of them had dried out and filled in somewhat, but there was one set that broke the mold. It was still somewhat glistening where the sun hit it, and they felt wet to the touch when Ricard stooped down to investigate them. They seemed to be boar, from what Ricard had noticed, but he wasn't 100% sure just yet. Little muddy splotches stretched into the distance for a bit before vanishing, but that was at the very least a start.

Ricard's vacant grin closed up somewhat, his movements stilled, and his eyes swiveled to focus in the direction of the disturbed tracks. It was as if he had become a completely different person now that the hunt was on. He hunched over, resting one hand on his bow and the other on his quiver, and began stalking forward in pursuit.

[Arasen]

Arasen hadn't been in Eturia for long at this point. He still wasn't used to the different climate, however, it wasn't too difficult to adjust to thankfully. Selena wasn't too enthusiastic, though she never was. As he rode through the woods, bow in hand, he kept his eyes and ears open for some prey. He'd seen some tracks and had been having Selena follow them, slowly but surely. There was a loud snap as his horse stepped on a downed branch and broke it, causing Arasen to curse and raise his bow. "Careful where you're going girl..." He calmly said, lowering his bow and patting the horse on the side of the neck. "We don't want to scare what we're looking for." He whispered, looking around and sighing. His prey was probably not even around anymore, he wasn't giving up yet though. He urged his horse along, rather reluctantly. Eventually he came across a clearing and found what had made the tracks, a boar.

"Hold it steady girl..." He said, patting her neck and raising his bow again. He'd made farther and more difficult shots than this before. Pulling back his string and leveling an arrow, he steadied his breathing. The boar raised it's head, though it didn't seem to notice Arasen. Taking the chance, the nomad let loose an arrow, sending it flying right into the boars side. Clearly the arrow had missed a vital area as the boar let out a screech and began to run. Striking his horse, Arasen took off in pursuit, leading her through the trees. The boar was fast and it was small, giving it the advantage here, however, Selena was good horse raised and trained to pursue game, and she wasn't gonna let this pig get away.

[Ricard Duchamps]

He was getting closer now. Tracks gave way to imprints in the grass, which gave way to the occasional disturbed bush or snapped twig. Ricard was, slowly but surely, able to piece a trail together, his sharp eye connecting dots that he would've never noticed years ago. Hunting had been amazing for his awareness and coordination, and those traits were also pulling their weight quite solidly on the farm. His performance in one area improved his performance in the other, and he hoped that this opportunistic chance at boar tracking would be yet another chance for him to prove himself. He would just have to keep quiet, be careful, and prepare himself and find the right time to shoot.

Ricard slowed his footsteps as the disturbances in the grass became more fresh, a sign that he was getting closer. He drew his bow in full and removed an arrow from the quiver, doing his best to keep his hands steady as he scanned the horizon for his target. He noticed a flash of pink and brown between the trees, and as he peered through the foliage he noticed the boar he was after standing right there. That got a grin out of him, briefly thanking his fortune as he noticed his arrow into his bowstring. One step forward. He pulled the string back until it was taut, doing so slowly enough that the sound of the drawn-back string didn't startle the boar. Two steps forward. He waited until he was in the perfect position to shoot and hunkered down for stability, making sure his aim would be true.

A loud twang rang through the air, followed by the sound of iron piercing flesh and a loud squeal. Someone had hit their mark, but it wasn't Ricard

Ricard fired his bow in shock at the sudden noise, nearly dropping his bow as his unprepared arrow sailed wide and stuck into a tree. He fumbled with the fallen bow, trying to make sure he had a steady grip on it, but his attention diverted as he noticed the muffled sound of hoof on grass. He had expected it to grow more faint as the creature fled into the treeline, but instead it was growing louder. Whatever hit the boar must have startled it right toward him. Considering that Ricard weighed 135 pounds soaking wet and the boar had tusks, it was not a head-on meeting that he wanted to be present for. Ricard flung himself out of the way, haphazardly landing on his side as the boar charged right past. The last thing Ricard was able to see as the speedy animal ran off was an arrow sticking in its side and a trail of blood stretching into the clearing.

The good news was that the trail of blood would making following the boar easy. The bad news was that the scent of blood would make it easy pickings for predators. Frankly, being attacked in the woods by a hungering wolf wasn't how Ricard wanted to spend his day, so as he forced himself to his feet he began following the trail in hopes of not letting the boar get too far away. If he ended up stealing the kill in the process, he could always apologize to the other hunter later.

Or apparently he could do that right now, as a man on horseback started traveling in the same direction. It was a questionable choice in Ricard's mind, considering how dense the woods could get at times, but both his horseback speed and Ricard's small profile had their own advantages in this situation. "Want a hand cutting it off? Quicker we find it, less chance of the wolves finding it first," he suggested, hoping the man would take notice of his question before riding off into the distance.

[Arasen]

Arasen may not have noticed Ricard, but his horse did and stopped suddenly, almost sending her rider toppling into the ground. He held on though and managed to stay planted, though a few arrows did spill out, leading him to dismount and pick them up anyway. "I had it!" He said sharply to Ricard for getting in his way. Once he had repacked his quiver he mounted Selena, taking a look for his targets trail. "If you want to try to find it, fine. Just don't get in my way. That boar is mine unless you beat me to it." He kicked his heels against his horse's side and took off through the woods again. They were becoming more dense but Selena was handling it decently well, though she did eventually have to slow down to avoid crashing into branches. Arasen laid low on his horse's back, realizing that this pursuit may have been fool hardy until he heard a faint but distinctive whimper and pulled on the reins, slowing his horse even more. "Quiet girl. Don't want to spook it." He said, giving the horse a reassuring rub on the neck. His head was right below some branches now, even hunched over, making an already tricky hot even trickier. Carefully he arranged his arms so that he could actually draw an arrow. It wasn't the most uncomfortable position to shoot from, but it was certainly up there as he felt a twinge of pain in his shoulder from the angle he had to be in. Pulling the arrow back, he waited for the perfect shot to line itself up to take down the boar.