[Khydann, story] something old, something new, something cold, something blue
The hallmark of the hunter is perception; to always be aware of her surroundings, of her impact on her environment, and what attention she might be attracting. A lapse in this perception can lead to very unexpected results.
As she trudged up the hill in Sholazar Basin towards a pack of white gorillas, Khydann found herself dwelling on the circumstances that left her hunting alone, without an animal companion. Tawaporah, her beloved raptor, was still behaving with violent unpredictability. She wasn't afraid that he would harm her, but she worried that he might lose control when fighting an enemy, and become unable to tell enemy from friend. Again, she reminded herself to set up a meeting with this "plagueshifter" that Roshanar had mentioned. It just seemed like there was so much to do, and never enough time.
Also taking her time were her attempts to find another animal companion to work with, in case she wasn't able to hunt with Tawa, for whatever reason. So far, the companion she had the best rapport with was a red hound she'd stolen from the Scarlet Crusaders. It was already trained for combat; once Khydann won her loyalty, the hound was a faithful companion, responsive and obedient. On the other hoof, the Scarlet Crusade was very much on everybody's mind out in Northrend, and she'd found that some commanders and warriors simply refused to work with a creature that had such a strong association with the zealots. Just a few days ago, while assisting to repel an Alliance raid on Crossroads, she'd attracted the attention of another raptor. Working with the animal was reassuringly familiar, but the reminders of Tawaporah were unavoidable.
She'd even gone so far as to travel all the way to Darkshore and track down one of the elusive 'ghost cats' that she'd seen and admired in the past. Although she'd been successful in finding a 'ghost cat,' Khydann found herself unexpectedly frustrated at trying to win its trust. The creature was aloof, willful, and unresponsive. It seemed that the more she tried to bond with the animal, the harder it pulled away. Finally, just that morning she'd taken it back to Darkshore and released it to the wild.
Usually she enjoyed these supply runs to Sholazar. Khydann thought of the Basin as a place of good fortune, where she felt in touch with the natural spirits and the land itself. She enjoyed spending time with the Oracles, even if they were strange and rather ugly; their reverence for the environment they lived in resonated with her own beliefs as a Shu'halo. But in her mind, she kept seeing the cat running off and vanishing into the dark, sodden forest of Darkshore, without a backwards look.
Depressed and distracted, she failed to notice the unusual behavior of the apes that were her target as she set up a position downwind to shoot from. They didn't pay her any attention at all while she settled into a niche in the rocks, checked her rifle, and prepared herself for the hunt. It wasn't until she began sweeping the pack through the scope on her gun, looking for targets, that she realized that something was out of place. The apes were agitated, distracted from their foraging, moving around restlessly - small changes in their behavior that heralded their awareness of something she was missing.
Khydann looked up from the rifle and nearly shouted out loud in shock. Facing her was a giant white cat, strange enough in itself - there were no white cats in Northrend that she'd seen. Far more alarming was the ghostly, glowing blue light that seemed to pour like smoke from its eyes, nose, and mouth, leaving trails of mist in the air as it turned its head slowly. The only other place she'd seen something like that was the eyes of Death Knights. Was this an undead animal?
Even while she tried to understand what she was seeing, her hunter's reflexes were at work, pulling an ice trap from her belt and priming it on the ground in front of her, in case the thing charged. Then a shadow of something brushed across her mind. Khydann lifted her head instinctively, ears raised and nostrils flared - which broke her cover and brought the beast's uncanny gaze squarely onto her. The two hunters regarded each other silently. Both ignored the apes, one of whom bumbled directly into the white cat's side and started away, apparantly unable to see the creature.
*intruder foreign downwind cantsmell hunter notprey* ran through Khydann's mind. Startled, she blinked and shook her head, and the cat leapt at her, its spring faster and farther than any normal animal could have made, nearly knocking her backwards. It landed squarely on the ice trap, triggering the spell and instantly freezing into a solid block of ice.
Given a few moments of reprieve, Khydann had to decide - call her dragon and fly up to safety before the ice melted and the thing was freed? Retreat to a safe distance and feign death, an effect that usually deterred predators from pursuit? As she hesitated, she stared at the bizarre beast captured in midair before her.
*cantmove cold ANGRY CONFUSED why why why*
It took her a few seconds to realize that the thoughts were coming from the cat-thing in the ice. Fascinated, Khydann moved closer, catching its gaze, and tried to think back at it.
*sorry, i trick/trapped you, i am strong predator, you hunt with me? i give you food/shelter/hunting*
*dontneed foodgive hunt lonely cold CANTMOVE huntwith?*
*yes, huntwith, hunt together, no cold, warm, hunt everything, strong together* Khydann had never experienced this, an animal that responded to her with coherent thoughts in her mind. Or an animal that *debated* with her while she was attempting to tame it.
*lonely* The thought came with a rush of emotion, an overwhelming sadness, and the tauren had to swallow hard to keep back tears. *deadthings trolls BROKE BARGAIN family gone HATE DEADTHINGS teartopieces* Abruptly, the emotion turned to ferocious anger.
*hunt with me, we destroy many deadthings, not lonely together*
It took Khydann a minute to realize that the frost trap had evaporated, and she was now kneeling, looking into the uncanny blue-white stare of the beast. Not looking away, she brought out a slab of roasted stag meat, and tossed it onto the ground in front of the cat. *good food, you take, we hunt together?*
There was a long pause, and then a single thought: *yes* As the creature broke its stare to devour the meat, Khydann leaned back slightly, letting out a breath. This was going to be challenging, she could tell already, in a way that no companion of hers had ever been before.
A word came into her mind - *snow-wraith* - with an impression of identity. The hunter nodded, mulling the idea over, then spoke out loud the closest that Taurahe could come to the concept: "Norahwashte", translated from "winter spirit". Looking up, the cat tilted its head, then projected amused approval. Having finished off the gift of meat, the newly named Norahwashte stood up, stretched, and peered at the white gorillas nearby. *we hunt now?* came tense with coiled energy, and Khydann smiled. *yes!* she replied firmly, readying her rifle.
As she trudged up the hill in Sholazar Basin towards a pack of white gorillas, Khydann found herself dwelling on the circumstances that left her hunting alone, without an animal companion. Tawaporah, her beloved raptor, was still behaving with violent unpredictability. She wasn't afraid that he would harm her, but she worried that he might lose control when fighting an enemy, and become unable to tell enemy from friend. Again, she reminded herself to set up a meeting with this "plagueshifter" that Roshanar had mentioned. It just seemed like there was so much to do, and never enough time.
Also taking her time were her attempts to find another animal companion to work with, in case she wasn't able to hunt with Tawa, for whatever reason. So far, the companion she had the best rapport with was a red hound she'd stolen from the Scarlet Crusaders. It was already trained for combat; once Khydann won her loyalty, the hound was a faithful companion, responsive and obedient. On the other hoof, the Scarlet Crusade was very much on everybody's mind out in Northrend, and she'd found that some commanders and warriors simply refused to work with a creature that had such a strong association with the zealots. Just a few days ago, while assisting to repel an Alliance raid on Crossroads, she'd attracted the attention of another raptor. Working with the animal was reassuringly familiar, but the reminders of Tawaporah were unavoidable.
She'd even gone so far as to travel all the way to Darkshore and track down one of the elusive 'ghost cats' that she'd seen and admired in the past. Although she'd been successful in finding a 'ghost cat,' Khydann found herself unexpectedly frustrated at trying to win its trust. The creature was aloof, willful, and unresponsive. It seemed that the more she tried to bond with the animal, the harder it pulled away. Finally, just that morning she'd taken it back to Darkshore and released it to the wild.
Usually she enjoyed these supply runs to Sholazar. Khydann thought of the Basin as a place of good fortune, where she felt in touch with the natural spirits and the land itself. She enjoyed spending time with the Oracles, even if they were strange and rather ugly; their reverence for the environment they lived in resonated with her own beliefs as a Shu'halo. But in her mind, she kept seeing the cat running off and vanishing into the dark, sodden forest of Darkshore, without a backwards look.
Depressed and distracted, she failed to notice the unusual behavior of the apes that were her target as she set up a position downwind to shoot from. They didn't pay her any attention at all while she settled into a niche in the rocks, checked her rifle, and prepared herself for the hunt. It wasn't until she began sweeping the pack through the scope on her gun, looking for targets, that she realized that something was out of place. The apes were agitated, distracted from their foraging, moving around restlessly - small changes in their behavior that heralded their awareness of something she was missing.
Khydann looked up from the rifle and nearly shouted out loud in shock. Facing her was a giant white cat, strange enough in itself - there were no white cats in Northrend that she'd seen. Far more alarming was the ghostly, glowing blue light that seemed to pour like smoke from its eyes, nose, and mouth, leaving trails of mist in the air as it turned its head slowly. The only other place she'd seen something like that was the eyes of Death Knights. Was this an undead animal?
Even while she tried to understand what she was seeing, her hunter's reflexes were at work, pulling an ice trap from her belt and priming it on the ground in front of her, in case the thing charged. Then a shadow of something brushed across her mind. Khydann lifted her head instinctively, ears raised and nostrils flared - which broke her cover and brought the beast's uncanny gaze squarely onto her. The two hunters regarded each other silently. Both ignored the apes, one of whom bumbled directly into the white cat's side and started away, apparantly unable to see the creature.
*intruder foreign downwind cantsmell hunter notprey* ran through Khydann's mind. Startled, she blinked and shook her head, and the cat leapt at her, its spring faster and farther than any normal animal could have made, nearly knocking her backwards. It landed squarely on the ice trap, triggering the spell and instantly freezing into a solid block of ice.
Given a few moments of reprieve, Khydann had to decide - call her dragon and fly up to safety before the ice melted and the thing was freed? Retreat to a safe distance and feign death, an effect that usually deterred predators from pursuit? As she hesitated, she stared at the bizarre beast captured in midair before her.
*cantmove cold ANGRY CONFUSED why why why*
It took her a few seconds to realize that the thoughts were coming from the cat-thing in the ice. Fascinated, Khydann moved closer, catching its gaze, and tried to think back at it.
*sorry, i trick/trapped you, i am strong predator, you hunt with me? i give you food/shelter/hunting*
*dontneed foodgive hunt lonely cold CANTMOVE huntwith?*
*yes, huntwith, hunt together, no cold, warm, hunt everything, strong together* Khydann had never experienced this, an animal that responded to her with coherent thoughts in her mind. Or an animal that *debated* with her while she was attempting to tame it.
*lonely* The thought came with a rush of emotion, an overwhelming sadness, and the tauren had to swallow hard to keep back tears. *deadthings trolls BROKE BARGAIN family gone HATE DEADTHINGS teartopieces* Abruptly, the emotion turned to ferocious anger.
*hunt with me, we destroy many deadthings, not lonely together*
It took Khydann a minute to realize that the frost trap had evaporated, and she was now kneeling, looking into the uncanny blue-white stare of the beast. Not looking away, she brought out a slab of roasted stag meat, and tossed it onto the ground in front of the cat. *good food, you take, we hunt together?*
There was a long pause, and then a single thought: *yes* As the creature broke its stare to devour the meat, Khydann leaned back slightly, letting out a breath. This was going to be challenging, she could tell already, in a way that no companion of hers had ever been before.
A word came into her mind - *snow-wraith* - with an impression of identity. The hunter nodded, mulling the idea over, then spoke out loud the closest that Taurahe could come to the concept: "Norahwashte", translated from "winter spirit". Looking up, the cat tilted its head, then projected amused approval. Having finished off the gift of meat, the newly named Norahwashte stood up, stretched, and peered at the white gorillas nearby. *we hunt now?* came tense with coiled energy, and Khydann smiled. *yes!* she replied firmly, readying her rifle.