"You're going to go hunting now, aren't you?" Kirion asked.
Kirei nodded. Maerin was still taking notes, so he left the book where it was so she could finish. After asking Eris if they needed any more paper, he went to open the door to let Kirei go outside.
It was still hot out, and that was something that Kirei was mildly curious about. She knew that others were worried about the weather and what it might mean, and Kirei wondered about it too sometimes. But it wasn't like she could do anything about it, and the heat was going to work in her favor now. Everyone knew that the weather had caused an explosion in the animal population. Packs of Oh Deer, and herds of all manner of wild game were so over populated that they were encroaching on populated areas. For most people, that was a problem. For Kirei, on the other hand...it was a good thing. Overpopulation in the herds of game meant that some of the animals would be starving; weak. In other words...easy prey even for an inexperienced hunter like herself. It meant that there was a chance that she might be able to catch something other than rabbits for once.
Kirei gave herself over to her instincts completely as soon as she reached the woods, but she paid close attention to every scent, and sound that she picked up. Her instincts recognized them even if she didn't, and it was the only way for her to learn what scent was what. After about half a break, Kirei found a set of tracks that looked as though it had been made by something that had hooves. She tried to think of what might have made the tracks for several trills before her instincts told her that it was a deer. There were a few tufts of hair caught on the branches of a bush not far from the tracks. Perhaps the deer had paused to graze here before moving on?
Kirei felt a rush of excitement wash through her. Bringing back a deer would be much better than bringing back some more rabbits. Would she be able to catch one, though? Deer were a lot bigger than rabbits, and the males had large dangerous looking antlers. Kirei had no desire to be gored by the prey she was trying to catch. She likely would have decided against making the attempt had it not been for the fact that the overpopulation of the game herds would mean that there were several deer who were weak from hunger, and much less likely to be any threat to her.
Decision made, Kirei turned control back over to her instincts, and paid close attention to everything she did while under their control. Her instincts wanted to follow the trail and hunt the deer, so she did. The trail was clear, and easy to follow, making Kirei think that it had been used many times. Her experience following rabbit tracks in the past helped her to follow this trail now, but she was well aware that if she didn't have her instincts to guide her, she would be utterly lost.
As she followed the trail, Kirei paid close attention to her surroundings. Every rustle in the brush, or flicker of movement was of potential interest. But she noticed that her instincts seemed to take note of some of these things, and ignore others. A slight rustle of leaves with no nearby scent of an animal likely meant that it was only the wind, and therefore no interest to her. Kirei paid close attention to her instincts, and tried to figure out which things she needed to pay attention to. It was difficult since her instincts were fully engaged on following the trail, and after a while, Kirei gave up. She simply started to ignore anything that didn't trigger a response from her instincts.
The scent grew stronger the longer she followed the trail. After a while, she came to a clearing, and that was where she found the deer she'd been stalking. Kirei's instincts demanded that she drop to the ground, and she quickly did so. The deer was a doe, and she was grazing on some leaves on a bush in the center of the clearing.
Kirei crept closer to the doe, using the brush as cover as much as she could. Her instincts cautioned her to go slowly, and she had learned from experience to obey that urge. Rushing now would only startle her prey into fleeing before she could get close enough to strike.
Unfortunately, she stepped on a twig as she reached the end of the brush. The doe's ears twitched, and she turned towards the sound. But instead of fleeing as Kirei had expected, the doe's eyes turned red. Small fangs descended from her upper jaw, and she made a strange snarling sound that filled Kirei with fear.
What...what is that?! she wondered frantically as her ears flattened against her head.
She snarled in warning, wanting no part of whatever strange creature she'd found. Instead of heeding the warning and fleeing, the doe charged her. That was it for Kirei. Both she and her instincts were in perfect agreement as she turned tail and ran for it. The brush offered her cover, but it also slowed her movements. Fortunately, the...whatever it was seemed content that it had chased her off. It didn't pursue her past the edge of the clearing.
When she had put enough distance between her and the creature to feel safe, Kirei stopped to catch her breath. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what had just happened. It took several bits, but she remembered some stories she'd heard one of the hunters who worked for Cally's telling after they had brought in an Oh Deer. They matched what she had just seen, so Kirei realized that the doe much have been an Oh Deer instead of a normal one. Kirei had never seen one alive before, but she had had the opportunity to watch one of the other chefs prepare a dish using the meat once. Oh Deer meat was considered a delicacy, and was far too precious to allow a chef of her skills work with it, but it had been an honor to watch the other chef prepare and cook the meat.
Once she was feeling calmer, Kirei wondered if she should go back and try to bring the Oh Deer down. If she succeeded, it would be a huge benefit to Cally's. Even the thought of facing that thing again unnerved her. Deer shouldn't have fangs like that, and they were supposed to try and flee when attacked. They weren't supposed to attack you before you could attack them. And yet...nothing good ever came of avoiding your fears. How many times had she been punished when hesitating to obey an order when faced with something that frightened her when she was being trained as a slave in Athart? She knew that she should confront her fear now as she had been forced to when she was a child. But could she?
Yes, she could. The Oh Deer had fangs, but they were small ones. Kirei didn't think they could do too much damage even if the doe bit her. And if the doe charged her again, it would be running right into her teeth and claws. It wasn't as if she was facing a dangerous predator like a wolf or another caracal.
Decision made, Kirei carefully made her way back to the clearing. She was in luck, and the Oh Deer doe was still there. Kirei gave herself over to her instincts once more, and the hunt began. This time, she managed to creep into striking distance without making enough sound to alert her prey to her presence. When she was in position, she leaped onto the doe's back...only to find that her teeth and claws couldn't penetrate the Oh Deer's hide. Shocked, Kirei jumped clear, but the enraged doe charged her, and she had all she could to to scramble to stay clear of the doe's hooves. She managed to do so, but the doe managed to sink her fangs into her shoulder while she was trying not to get trampled.
The doe turned to charge again. Kirei's instincts screamed at her to flee, but Kirei didn't think that she could run fast enough to escape. So she held her ground, and reared up at the last trill. Teeth and claws sought the Oh Deer's throat, and unlike before, this time they did penetrate its hide. Instinct took control once more, and she ripped her teeth and claws out of the doe's throat, mangling it. The doe collapsed, blood pooling around its torn throat.
Kirei watched it die, and Kirei knew that it could easily have been her instead. It was only luck that had saved her from being trampled to death when her claws had failed to penetrate the Oh Deer's hide the first time she had attacked. A rustle in the bushes startled her into freezing, every muscle tense as she waited to see what had made the sound. When a stag entered the clearing, Kirei knew that it had to be an Oh Deer too. No other deer would enter a clearing that was filled with the scent of blood.
Kirei had no chance against a stag, and she knew it. She had barely managed to bring down a small doe. A stag that was equipped with sharp looking antlers was far more than she was willing to handle. So she backed away until she reached the edge of the clearing, then bolted. Her injured shoulder hurt with every step, but she wasn't taking any chances.
Fortunately, she didn't hear any signs of pursuit. Knowing that her bleeding shoulder needed tending to, and that she would need help to bring the deer home, she slowly made her way back home in search of the help she needed.
