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 Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2018 3:38 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2018 3:40 pm
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What an awful day. He was still fairly new to this world, but the enormous tah had already grown to despise this hour. The other inhabitants of the land seemed to enjoy it, though - birds would sing as day broke, deer would prance in the fields now that the world was illuminated, and even others of his kind would roam about in the warmth of the sun. He felt so out of place for he could not be active during this time like the others, as his vision would wash out with the rising sun until the only thing he could see was this horrid, blinding white. So he elected to sleep away the hours when wretched light would bleach the land, then rise when the world slept and his vision returned to him in the night. He found that few moved during his favored hours, and that he enjoyed the silence brought by the dark.
He had greater concerns than the time of day, for, as the nights passed, he felt himself growing weaker. He was plagued this feeling of emptiness, some combination of hunger that no amount meat could sate and thirst that no amount of water could quench. He did not feel his vitality slipping from him, but his energy was decreasing to the point of feebleness. If it continued, he feared that he would no longer be able to hunt, in which case he would have to fear for his life; however, he had not the slightest idea on how to satisfy this need.
Unable to sleep due to his thoughts, Alastor huffed in aggravation, being sure to keep his eyes shut so as to not strain them. He could already see the light through his eyelids - it was so infernally bright. He curled his body as tightly as he could, with his head resting on his hind paw, and draped a wing over his eyes to shield them from the sun. Thankfully, his wings matched his massive size, and he was able to hide his face beneath his wings with little difficulty.
However, they did not shield him from odors, and his sense of smell was quite sharp. An unfamiliar scent wafted in the breeze, growing stronger rather quickly, although, it was hardly accompanied by sound. Was he being hunted? If so, what creature could be so immense to consider such a large tah prey? Furthermore, if it was indeed as huge as he imagined it must be, then how could it move so quietly?
Alastor dismissed these thoughts, for perhaps this was a time for action, not questions. He was not very keen on being someone else's prey, but he had to commend this potential adversary on its hunting ability. Whatever it was moved with alarming silence, which made pinpointing its position difficult. From its smell, he could determine its direction with reasonable accuracy; however, it would require either sight or sound as it approached closer, neither of which he had. Although, maybe this foe did not know that his vision was compromised at this time... He folded his wing at his side, stretching out and raising his head, displaying his immense size. He was indeed an imposing tah, tall and muscular, a picture of raw strength. Long, vermilion tresses tied in a ponytail spilled over a broad shoulder behind the hook of a large pauldron, while long bangs obscured the other half of his face, although they did little to conceal his piercing green gaze. He strained his eyes to remain open in order to feign alertness, peering around as if he could see his surroundings. Hopefully, this hunter would be deterred by the risk of fighting with such a tah, but he could not be sure. He was confident in his fighting ability, but could not deny his handicap of blindness. In addition to that was this pervasive weakness he felt which would surely impede his strength in combat. He may be able to summon the full extend of his power for the sake of survival, but not without incredible cost.
This was, indeed, a terrible situation.
He was not one for words, but they were his best first line of defense. At this point, based on the smell, he was able to discern that this hunter was another b'alam, so it could, at the very least, understand him. "Do not be bold," he spoke, his voice deep and frank. "I am not keen on being your meal." He could only hope now that this other b'alam would find sense to cease his or her stalking. In any case, he hoped that he or she was not a match for him in size or strength. At least that would balance the odds in the event that this hunter did not heed his warning.
►Word Count | 801 ◄ |
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2018 3:53 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2018 4:08 pm
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Finally, a sound. His head turned sharply in the direction of his hunter breaking through the underbrush as it lunged forward, but almost immediately ceased its attack at the sound of his voice. The tension drained from his body as he released an inaudible sigh, relieved by this outcome. At least, for the moment. The hunter disappeared into silence once again, and Alastor only knew the direction from which it had attempted its assault. A pleasant voice filled his ears, then, one of a nan... his hunter.
Alastor turned to face the direction from which this voice came, shutting his eyes. He did not want his gaze to betray his blindness, as she would be able to immediately discern his handicap by his unfocused stare when he would look at her. Although, he would not be able to maintain this guise for long, as, if she continued to speak to him, she may eventually comment on his unwillingness to look at her. Perhaps most concerning was his state of weakness, which he could conceal well enough at the moment but did not know if he could maintain this apparent strength for the duration of an entire conversation.
Perhaps words were not the best choice after all. Now he could only hope that this nan had no intention of making a meal out of him any longer; however, her words held a touch of danger.
A light chuckle escaped him. "Am I really worth the trouble? Surely there is substantial prey in the area that does not pose such a risk." His tail gently brushed over the grass behind him, in stark contrast to the paws whose claws ripped at the grass beneath them. "Or are you that confident in your hunting skills?"
►Word Count | 292 ◄ |
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Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2018 5:34 pm
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 12:23 am
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He could not help but smile, amused by her blithe tone as she detailed such macabre scenario. He wished that he could see her - after all, her expression and size, if they were what he imagined them be, would only add to the humor. A smiling Nan half his size casually describing how she intended to kill him... how funny indeed.
"You are a talented hunter, miss," he stated. "Although I could smell you, it merely warned me of your presence. You stalk in complete silence; I could not tell from which direction you would strike until you finally lunged." She earned the praise he gave, truly.
Her next question lingered in the air for a lengthy moment before a soft sigh finally escaped his nostrils. "Perhaps you would know better than I." He felt more confident in his ability to protect himself now that he knew where she stood; however, he felt even more now that she had no intention of hunting him. Her demeanor had changed in such a way that seemed to indicate that she would not harm him, or so he hoped. "I haven't walked this world for very long, and something tells me that I'm not in the right place." Slowly, he opened his eyes, wincing as the searing light blinded him. He must have looked rather odd; peering down at her with beautiful, emerald eyes that stared at her with a blank, unfocused gaze - not to mention strained. "Tell me, miss: are all creatures unable to see in the daytime?"
►Word Count | 256 ◄ |
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