[Krome] Monkey See, Monkey Do

[Alexa]

17th of Cylus
Unknown Break
Arc 717

"Almost got it," Alexa communicated to her wolf familiar through their bond as her eager golden eyes watched the rabbit saunter from cover. Her heart raced in her chest. An arrow was notched ever so patiently upon her bowstring, waiting to be drawn and released into the twilight. The large rabbit passed the last bit of brush that concealed its flank. Alexa raised her bow and draw her arrow back until the feathers brushed against her lips.

A trill or two was taken to aim before she loosed, sending the projectile into the close-by creature's side at lightning speed. The rabbit didn't know what hit it before it was nearly immediately slain. The Burhan girl rose from the brush with a large grin. "Yes!" she cheered before she slung her bow back over her shoulder. The sound of Tala approaching through the brush now that the rabbit couldn't be scared off rung about the quiet woods.

"What do you say?" she called out before the wolf was actually in view as she moved toward her kill. "Cooked or stewed?" Suddenly a far louder, more urgent crashing came through the forest. Before the Burhan girl had a chance to identify its direction, Aomaru launched himself into view and scooped the rabbit up with excited hooting. Alexa rolled her eyes and trekked over to the monkey. When she reached her hand out to take the carcass back from him, however, he jerked it out of reach. "Aomaru," she warned and stepped closer to him, her arms reaching out. "Give it!" Her approach launched an unintentional game in the ape's mind. In the next bit he was scampered up in the trees toting the furry white rabbit. Alexa hung her head back. "Dammit!" she groaned while the mandrill hooted and shook his branch perch.

"Get him back on the ground and I'll make sure he never swipes another kill with that hand again," Tala threatened with a low growl beside her. Alexa shook her head and huffed. "No. He'll give it to me." The wolf turned her head to eye the girl with bright blue eyes. "Will he though?" She pursed her lips and studied the ape while he taunted her, shaking the rabbit and hooting. "Eventually..."

[Alexa]

Alexa placed her hands on her hips and stood at the base of the tree. "Give it back, Aomaru!" she tried a bit more sternly this time. The ape only shook his branch and waggled the rabbit. "I swear I'll give Tala your rations tonight if you don't cut it out!" It was truly a pathetic display to behold. Was she really trying to reason with a mandrill? Aomaru hooted and shook the branch again. He flipped his lip up over toward his nose to reveal his teeth and tapped his foot. Alexa crossed her arms and looked toward a very unamused Tala. "Fine then," she feigned complete disregard for the ape and his transgression. She turned on her heels and shrugged. "Come on, Tala. Let's go home."

The wolf eyed Alexa with a mix of skepticism and disbelief. Yet the Burhan girl proceeded to walk away from the ape up in his tree. Tala eventually, albeit reluctantly, joined her flank as they moved toward the cave. Aomaru hooted a few times, each one louder than the one before and violently shook his tree to hound for their attention. Alexa looked down at her wolf and shook her head. They kept going. Within a few bits they finally heard the sound of a creature hustling on all-fours. She had to fight the victorious smile that crept upon her lips.

Sure enough when she dared to glance over her shoulder she spied the mandrill looming a short distance behind with perplexed, beady eyes trained on her back. The rabbit dragged behind him like a child's stuffed toy. He hooted again but she wasn't quite ready to turn back yet. "Bye, Aomaru. Good luck out here by yourself." The ape hustled to catch up. When she could feel him at her heels she finally turned. Her golden eyes stared down at him expectantly. "Ready to give me the rabbit now?" He blinked. Alexa reached a hand out to grasp the kill, but only managed to get a hold of her arrow shaft, which was freed when the monkey pulled the rabbit away again. Her brow tightened. She reached forward again and this time he actually backed away and lifted his brow high with amusement. "Don't do this. Please don't do this." She tapped her forehead with the arrow shaft and clenched her eyes shut briefly.

"Offer still stands," Tala suggested hopefully. Alexa sighed and put the arrow back in her quiver. She crouched down and extended her palm. "Please give it back, Aomaru. Give me the rabbit." He hobbled closer to her with soft hoots, yet right when she believed he might relent, he shrieked with ape-like laughter and veered away. She tried to surprise him by charging at him. Of course that only sent him back up the nearest tree. She wanted to scream. "Know what? Fine. Keep it!" Alexa turned bitterly back toward Tala and focused her senses. "We'll find something else to kill." The pair began to wander off again and Alexa reclaimed her bow in her hands with an arrow on the string. She let her prey sense guide her as it had before.

While wolf and Velduris-gifted moved through the forest to begin a new hunt, Aomaru continued to taunt them from the trees. He hooted and followed them along, swinging from branch to branch to keep pace. Now and then he'd drop low to remind them of what he'd stolen, shaking the furry play thing and making his noise. "Alexa, I'm going to kill him," Tala expressed with anguish. The Burhan girl continued to glance about the forest as she felt them moving closer to quarry. "Just ignore him." It was then that something hit her in the head. "Ow! What the--" When she looked down she could've killed the ape herself. The object that bounced off her head now laid before them in the snow: the white rabbit.