Dragonbone Marsh, 30th of Jygust, MT (closed)

[Meridiuz]

At the very first sign of light, Nar’zul Qa’dar was roughly awoken by a hard kick to his right thigh. a crumpled and wrinkled old shaman stood over the young orc and kicked his thigh again. It wasn't a normal nudge like humans would give to be wake someone up, no these kicks had the same power as if the Shaman was kicking his worst enemy. "Get up, you grub. Time to move." When Nar’zul Qa’dar would open his eyes, he would see the face of the shaman hovering over him, his crumpled and wrinkled old body leaning over the orc. As the Shaman had trouble breathing through his disfigured nose, his mouth was almost always open. A nice big drip of saliva was slowly finding it's way down to Nar’zul Qa’dar's face.

Next to him his hunting buddy Ar'guh Sur'gh had already woken up. The orc was performing his usual morning ritual, snapping his neck from left to right, cleaning out his nostrils by closing one and exhaling hard out of the other and of course, scratching his scrotum. He looked over at Nar’zul Qa’dar with a smirk on his face. They had been on a training mission for the last twelve days. Leaving from Le Bois Noir they had been traveling east until they reached the Dragonbone Marsh along the river that lead from Taquar to the Mer. They had been tracking some pack of interesting creatures. Interesting merely because of the fact that they seemed to be fairly large and strong, based on their footprints. What kind of creatures they were exactly, was not known to them. The Shaman however did seem to know more, but he wasn't telling anything. Slowly, the group consisting out of 50 orcs were starting to prepare for today's hunt.

[Nar`zul Qa`dar]

“Get up, you grub. Time to move.” The words of the venerable shaman Ra’zhin cut through the fog of sleep which clung tenaciously to the mind of Nar’zul Qa’dar. The young orc was being rousted unceremoniously from what little sleep he ever permitted himself by the cantankerous elder whom had been placed in charge of the training mission on which he and the others in the encampment were currently embarked.

The group, approximately fifty warriors of both genders, had departed from their home territory in Le Bois Noir twelve days earlier and traveled easterly, always into the rising sun until they had entered the Dragonbone Marsh, which was watered by the concourse which ran from the lands of the adhiel south to the Mer de la Luna. The party was hunting a group of animals of unusually large size, based upon the tracks they had picked up and been following.

Nar’zul cursed when his eyes opened to take in Ra’zhin’s face, not to mention the large and ropey strand of spittle which was hanging from the shamans mouth and advancing inexorably upon the younger orcs upturned face. Swearing profusely Nar’zul scrambled out of the way of the shaman’s wayward saliva. And caught an eyeful of Ar’guh Sur’ghs scrotum, which the other orc was itching in what Nar’zul had jokingly dubbed the other orcs ‘morning prayers’. Oddly enough, this was a less disturbing image than the shaman’s drool bedecked jowls, and what’s more, brought Nar’zul’s attention back were it belonged, which is to say, his own itchy scrotum.

Getting to his feet, Nar’zul mimicked Ar’guh and not only scratched his scrotum, but also moved everything around until it was resting comfortably within his loincloth, no longer clinging to the inside of one of his thighs. The young orc looked around in the pre-dawn light, noting that he had overslept. Because he was amongst the last to get their kit together. He had only to pull his satchel over his shoulder and settle it, along with his hunting knife over his hip, then sling his warhammer across his back. He finished, finally sorting what remained of his kit as the group prepared for the next leg of their journey under Ra’zhin’s direction. He was ready, and eager to see what manner of creature the tracks the party had been following belonged to. He longed to test his new found physicality against a creature which could match it. He smiled broadly in anticipation of the days coming events.

[Meridiuz]

Once Nar'zul was up, the Shaman left to do some other business. Ar’guh Sur’ghs grinned and looked around their camping site. It was still very early and the light that was there was enough for the Orcs to see clearly, although humans would have a much harder time. He quickly got his own kit ready for the action of that day and walked over to Nar'zul when he wasn't watching, giving him a punch on the back of his shoulder. "You ready for some hunting?" He grinned, gesturing towards the Shaman. "The old man says we're really close. Gonna catch up with them in a couple of marks. Bet you I will kill one before you do."

Meanwhile the rest of the group was preparing to move out as well, they were deep into the Dragonbone Marsh and they were all eager to find their prey. The tracking was fun, but most of them just wanted to see the action. They wanted to fight, kill their prey. That's what they were supposed to do. The tracking, thinking, that was more for the Shamans like Ra'zhin.

Suddenly Orthan, an orc which was a couple of yahren older than Nar'zul and Ar’guh Sur’ghs, appeared from the bushes to the south of the camp and grunted loudly. "Ra'zhin! I found something over here." The Shaman gestured to Nar'zul to follow him and he vanished into the bushes together with Orthan. Not wanting to miss any of the action, Ar'guh followed them as well. Once Nar'zul had reached the place where Orthan and the Shaman were, Ra'zhin pointed to a pair of footprints that were clearly visible in the ground. They were quite large and not very deep. three claws were visible and the footprints came in pairs. There were sets in every direction, almost in a circle. "Tell me, Nar'zul, what do you make of these?" The Shaman asked him.

[Nar`zul Qa`dar]

When Orthan appeared and called for Ra'zhin's attention, he did so quietly, and not many of the party heard. But Ar’guh and Nar’zul certainly did. And the pair would have followed to investigate even if the shaman hadn’t gestured. The young pair quickly caught up to the aged shaman, and he indicated some tracks in the earth and asked Nar’zul for HIS opinion, ignoring Ar’guh and Orthan completely. But this fact eluded the young orc, and he simply knelt to examine the signs to see what could be gained of them.

The tracks were quite large, and three claws showed clearly that this creature was a predator of, judging by the shape and size of the marks, some proficiency. Despite their size, and the claw-marks, the tracks weren’t deep, which puzzled the young orc somewhat initially, but after some thought he hit upon an idea... Further, each track had a mate, which indicated that this creature went on four legs. After a burn had elapsed, Nar’zul looked up from his study and gave the Shaman what he had asked for.

“The beast is large, judging by the size of the print.” Which was, fortunately, the most obvious statement he had to make. “Though it is not over large, not awkward, for it’s tracks are not deep as of a plodder, whatever beast this is, pads softly.” He broke his gaze from the shaman to take in Othan and Ar’guh’s faces as well. “We will have to be vigilant or for all it’s size this beast might take us unawares.” The young orc grinned at his companions, his eyes sweeping the area for signs of intrusion. “We know how size does not always mean easily spotted.” He then indicated the claws with an extended forefinger, “Further, these claws say that this creature is a predator like us, and may be some challenge when at last we face it. And the fact that each track has an opposite tells us that this creature goes on all fours, which means it has four sets of these claws which,” he traced the three marks carefully, “you can easily see are not small.” Nar’zul pressed his fingers into the track to see if any residual heat from the creature, for he assumed it to be warm blooded like himself, refusing to believe an such sized animal could be reptilian, could be detected by touch that he might hazard a guess at it’s proximity to the hunting party. While he probed searchingly he returned his eyes to Raz’hin and waited for the shaman to respond.

[M`li]

M'li scratched her right breast. A bug had worked its way into the leather covering for her ample bosom - probably because it wasn't ample covering for their girth - and it tickled and itched with it's six tiny legs. She scratched until a small beetle wigged its way from between her cleavage, which she squished between her forfinger and thumb, a smile spreading over her generally snarling features.

Raz'hin had gathered some of the orcs to examine something, but whatever it was wasn't a concern of M'li's until she became bored enough to investigate. Until then, she was quite content with spending her waking flickers pawing through her hair, detangling the knots, removing more bugs, and braiding it back into her treasured bone comb. This was both a pleasurable and relaxing comfort to the orcish youth.

After her morning routine was settled, and she was feeling more awake, M'li stretched and yawned thus exposing her promient and large canine teeth. She rummaged through her pack until finding remants from her last hunt. They were rank and souring, but she was hungry. Rah'zin was an incompetant hunter in her eyes, but she wouldn't dare voice it, she wasn't strong enough to go against him, nor the rest of the clan should they turn on her. So, she thoughtfully ate her rancid meat portion... atleast it was soft.

Gag, she choked down her last rotten foodstuff and rose from the ground to curiously amble over toward Raz'hin and the others. "It looks like dragon," M'li rumbled over Nar'zul's shoulder, her voice a tidal wave of alto strength. "Fun hunt." Here, she grinned toward Raz'hin, eager and hopeful they'd have blood on their hands by this night.

[Meridiuz]

Ra'zhin nodded and grinned as Nar'zul gave him his eplanation of the tracks. Indeed he had not chosen Ar'guh or Orthan for the questioning. They were true orc warriors and were not concerned with how their prey was behaving. They just wanted to see it and kill it. His reasoning was confirmed when Orthan's eyes grew large at Nar'zul's explanation. "Big huh? How big? How far is it? When can we have it for dinner?"

The shaman rolled his eyes as he wiped his arm across his chin, removed some excessive saliva. "You are correct, Nar'zul. It is a large animal and it has nice claws indeed. But I am not certain what kind it is exactly." He straightened himself and looked up to Orthan, Ar'guh and M'li, who had also joined the investigation. "I don't think it will be a dragon, but it will be a challenge! We're going to have a fun hunt indeed!" Orthan grunted, pleased with the news. Ar'guh chuckled and punched M'li on the shoulder. "Better be fast, sugar. Ain't gonna leave you nothin."

When Nar'zul touched the earth with his finger, he could feel a slight warmth coming off from it. He didn't have enough training to know how much time had passed since the animals had been there, but it couldn't be more than a couple of marks.

[Nar`zul Qa`dar]

While Orthan, Ar’guh and M’li bantered, Nar’zul was focused intently on what final clue the tracks had to surrender. There was still warmth in them. Not much, and it took almost a full burn before the novice tracker was even willing to admit that it was there. All the same it was, and that meant that the creatures they hunted were closer than they had ever been, for never before had the party been able to detect such hints of life from the tracks.

“They are close.” Nar’zul said quietly, repeating himself as necessary to be heard over the banter. Once he was sure that he had everyone’s attention he continued. “They are no more than a few burns ahead of us now.” The excitement of the hunt began to creep into his voice as he spoke. “I should say that we will come upon them today.” He finished, looking around at each of those assembled in the clearing. “And then they will be ours!” All in one motion, Nar’zul came to his feet and drew his hammer, holding the weapon aloft in both hands as a roar of exultation bellowed from his throat.

“Let us hunt!” He concluded, the promise of blood enflaming his heart, and his own secret passion for the hunt only fanned the flames until he was all but consumed by it. His eyes bored into those of the shaman Ra’zhin. Nar’zul awaited only the elders blessing to be off in the vanguard of the group as they ran down their prey.

[M`li]

M'li had a difficult time listening to the way that Nar`zul talked - there was a strange sort of pattern to it, as if the words were all out of the wrong order. Whatever was the matter with him, she didn't care, even as he repeated the same babble over and over again. In stead, she took the punch from her comrade and returned it with a swift jab to his torso and a gutteral grunt. "Lucky if M'li leaves you anything," she returned with a feral grin that displayed her lesser canine teeth (at least when compared to her male counterparts).

"We HUNT!" She joined Nar`zul's raised voice in a resounding chorus with a resonating war cry meant to enliven the still waking monsters that slept on the other side of the shrubbery they'd passed through to see the markings of the creatures they hunted. Ra`zhin would be proud. They would catch the prey today. It was in their destiny. If M`li could, she would've dreamt of their success, instead, all she had to go on was the growing taste of fury that boiled in her dark veins beneath muted green skin. She announced another howl for the others - a siren's call to wake them, and then snarled back to the others. "Which way, Nar`zul?" He'd been showing promise as a leader, and she had no reason to quarrel with him, so she placated his superiority with questioning inferiority, thus proving that he was the better. They would never expect it when she rose against them and took the tribe. Soon, soon, she consoled herself secretly while awaiting his answer.

[Meridiuz]

The warcry that Nar'zul gave sent out a wave of adrenaline through the camp. As M'li joined the roaring, Orthan and Ar'guh followed as well. The other orcs in the camp instantly woke up or felt more awake, their pupils widening to the notion that blood was going to be spilled soon. This is what they all had been waiting for. This is what their training mission was all about.

Ra'zhin grinned as he saw his pupils filling themselves with enthusiasm about the coming kills. He looked at each one of them, feeling proud of how good they had become over the years. They were full bread warriors and ready for combat. He knew what kind of animals they would be up against and it would be a good battle indeed. For these creatures were ferocious and quite cunning. The next question came from M'li. What way? She had aksed it to Nar'Zul. Not to him, the shaman and obvious leader of this small pack at the moment. It was a good sign. Ra'zin wondered if the young orc would step up and take the leadership that was being offered to him this moment. He also wondered if he had been paying attention enough to know that they would have to go south-east. Another test of his hunting skills. This morning was turning out great.

The shaman looked at Nar'Zul. Giving him a slight nod, signaling that it was ok for him to take the lead.

[Nar`zul Qa`dar]

After his initial roar, Nar’zul remained silent, his eyes pinned on Ra’zhin, even as the others of the war party, first those in the clearing and later those beyond it, took up the call to reveille. The ancient shaman whose expression was usually inscrutable, appeared pleased, though with what precisely, Nar’zul couldn’t say precisely what Ra’zhin was pleased about.

M’li’s query registered, but he waited to reply until after the shaman had inclined his head, a bare tilt, which nevertheless told the young tracker that he was off the leash. The young tracker grinned, a cold savage grin that thrust his prominent tusks through his lips.

Nar’zul didn’t answer M’li with his mouth, and he regarded her quizzically for almost a full mark, considering, before he set off toward the south-east. His eyes alternated between the forest ahead and the tracks on the ground as he pounded out, letting another roar loose as he burst out of the clearing and onto the trail of the pitiful creatures who could not now escape him. It had begun, the end was nigh.

[Ashari]

Ripping through the camp, roars, snarls and howls cut the air. Had they been somewhere more open, it would've resonated for many lengths of travel, but as it was, the swamp absorbed the sounds within it's hollowed trees and murky depths. Around them, the birds of the marsh, rose and fluttered, darkening the sky with their bodies and wings while escaping the overwhelming noise. Their squaks and chirps filled the chorus of noises and continued long after the growls subsided in favor of the beating of large bare feet pounding on solid ground and splashing through the marshwater.

What they were chasing would know something followed, but it would mean little.

The race was on. The pack, lead by Nar`Zul who was closely stalked by Orthan, Ar`guh and M`li, as well as Ra`zhin, who ran just beyond their group, his mind ever-aware of aetheric presence and preparing for the hunt ahead. So they ran, they ran for a long time, passed the high sun into the other side of the day where, for the first time, the scent of their prey became stronger. The death of them became stronger as well.

Here, in the depths of the swamp, it was clear why it had been called Dragon Bone Marsh. Protruding from the sodden soil and disappearing into deep puddles were enormous white bones, ones that were double the height of the orcs and laced over the open expanse of this inner sanctum of the swamp. The running stopped, and the group of orcs took pause in this large graveyard. Above them there was an outcropping of stone. In fact, they were in the center of a ravine. Ahead of Nar`Zul there was a vast skull with ragged and sharp teeth.

This was a sacred place for the great dragons, but also a mealspot for the creatures they hunted. Obscured by the bones, they hadn't seen the orcs enter the valley, and the bipedal reptiles continued their stalking of food. It hadn't been without promise - the stench of decaying meat filled the nostrils of the orcs at each lungful of air. It was what the scavangers followed on the winds. Gaichi earc had been what the adhiel called them, though, the only word the orcs had for them was food.

Looking upon the creatures as they tore into the heavily decaying flesh of a once-dragon one could see the similarities between the beasts. Both were scaled, the Earcs being a dark green motled coloring. They had a long, powerful tail and strong tall legs that had the ability of bearing the weight of a half-giant as their acestors had done in Amun Rah. Too, they had short for-legs, which they used for tearing at the meat with a pair of finger like claws on each appendage. That maw itself was a large one, opening wide to expose lines of razor sharp teeth. They were quite busy with their eating, but it seemed as though they had a sentry who was watching toward their direction but hadn't yet seen them thanks to their natural coloration.

[M`li]

M'li ran.

Oh, by the clan did she run. She ran until her veins pumped with the heat of lava, until her heart burned with the rage of the fight, until her muscles ached, and still, she ran more. The fevered grunts of her companions sung a symphony to her elongated and pointed ears, and she joined it. Eventually, the rhythm fell over her, the stampede of her feet against what solid ground they could find, but also sloshing through puddles and across long breadths of low rivers.

It was the dry season, the summer months meant that the swamps were easiest to traverse, and she relished in this knowledge as they ran onward, taking no breaks, and being the orcs they were meant to be. The reak of death invaded her nostrils after a time, and she looked toward Nar`Zul, wondering if they were too late for the slaughter. No, this is old death, she reminded herself, while breathing in the decay until it was obvious what gave the scent. "Dragons," M`li said with a great grin, her teeth exposed and gleaming like the bones that surrounded them, but her attention went to the moving creatures, and then to Ra`zhin before giving over to Nar`Zul. M`li had never seen beasts like these, though she'd heard of them through the tribe. They were rare, and delicious.

[Nar`zul Qa`dar]

Life requires death. The elder must die to make way for the younger. The weak must be culled that the strong may survive. Even the sun and moon chase each other perpetually through the heavens in a cycle reminiscent of this singular truth. And none, not even Shaman, understand this as keenly as does a Hunter.

The party was close. So close that at last they could smell the prey that they had so labored so long and mightily to find. That they had finally discovered tracks which not only hinted at the proximity of their prey but also at their direction had been the crowning moment of the hunt to date. Nar'zuls exultation was nearly sexual in it's intensity and peak. The orc Hunter found himself physically aroused, but despite the obviousness of the fact (a loincloth isn't a particularly expansive garment after all), there was no time for him to address the issue, even by forcing one of the woman along on the hunt. So Nar'zul tried to ignore it as he ran, though M'li's constant presence and proximity did nothing to help matters. She was, despite her temper and odd meekness, desirable.

The run that the hunting party was forced to endure for the sake of seeking they prey however soon overwhelmed those, or any thoughts in his mind, and he simply ran. The orc race is notoriously short lived, never inclined to long life their warlike manner and the dangers of their home in Le Bois Noir did nothing to prolong their nasty, brutish lives. But no orc would consider for a moment taking the trappings of so called civilization, even if it meant a slightly longer life. But there was joy in war, and the hunt, so much like combat, and really any exertion of strength and power, which running was. Like all of his kin, though especially as a hunter, Nar'zul was a runner of not inconsiderable skill, slightly faster and with a shade more stamina than most mayhap, but not too remarkable at that. Even so, this particular run, ever on, for marks and marks, through swamplands which are never forgiving, wore on him, and his body was protesting every stride by the time the combined smells of death, decay and their quarry came to his nose.

Nar'zul gulped it greedily, coming to a staggering halt, indicating with a silent gesture that the rest of the party should do the same. The smell of their prey was ripe and heavy in the air, and he drew it deeply into his chest with great shuddering inhalations. This was why they had come so far, pushed so hard. Once again Nar'zul was reminded of his tumescent flesh, but he did his best to ignore it, despite it's selfish insistence. He was a Hunter. He needed to focus on the Hunt.

The creatures they had tracked were unlike anything Nar'zul had ever seen. Their maws were large, and revealed... potent looking teeth. Their forelimbs, which they did not use for getting around, going on two legs as did an orc or a man, were tipped with similarly capable appearing claws. And of course, their tracks had shown those among the party who knew how to look the nature of the beasts means there. Coupled with size, twice Nar'zuls own height and bearing the heavy musculature of predators, they were altogether imposing and formidable appearing creatures.

Nar'zul was in awe of them only long enough to wonder what it would take to kill one. A broad anticipatory grin split his face, a mirror to the one M'li wore. One of the creatures stood apart, intently watching back up the valley along the line of approach they, like the orcs must have taken to reach their present location. That gave Nar'zul pause. Was it possible that these beasts were smart enough to post a sentry? It bore considering. Even if the creature were a sentry, it did not appear to have spotted the orcs, despite their numbers and each individuals size. Nar'zul, took a knee and still not speaking, indicated that the remainder of the party should do so as well, looking around for the shaman Ra'zhin and the others who had been in glade even as he sought to camouflage his presence from the prey. A short jerk of his head indicated to that Nar'zul wished to speak to them. While he awaited their attendance, he examined the terrain into which they had come, as much as he could see, trying to get a feel for what this valley offered, and what it hid. Preparedness was only one part of the equation to success, but it was an important one. Nar'zul waited, and took stock.

[Ashari]

Ra`zhin was not difficult to find, particulary as the rest of their numbers crouched low, Orthan and Ar`guh among those who were close to Nar`Zul and M'li as they came to a stop. The Shaman stood, hidden behind the crown of a partially buried dragon's skull. His palm rested against the flat, cool bony structure, taking a great breath after their running. He was an old soul among Orcs, and while he had great power and knew things that no others did, meaning that none would try to battle him for his position, he also knew he had to remain strong. None of their numbers were yet ready to take the role of leader, though there were those who showed potential.

Straightening his back as the youths approached, Ra`zhin displayed something akin to a smile. "We've found them. Our smell will reach them, soon," he said with a grimace, but he looked beyond the skull down through the valley. This was, by far, the widest part of the valley, and opened into the swamp they'd been travelling through, which was behind them. Ahead, there were tall, sharp inclines of rock on either side that narrowed the closer it got to where the beasts ate. "The wind is on our side for now," Ra`zhin said, and it was true, as it carried from the high shelves downward across the swamp. That wouldn't necessarily be the case continually.

The lone creature stared across the vastness of the dragon graveyard, it's face very narrow when looking straight on, though also long when given a profile view of it's reptilian features. Perhaps twice the height of the orcs, it was difficult to tell from this distance, they had strong hind legs that were packed with capable muscles. There were not a terrible amount of them, only ten or so, while there were thirty orcs to contend with. Ra`zhin turned to Nar`Zul and M'li most specifically. "We will kill half and capture half. There will be one that is bigger than the rest, it is generally a female. We must kill her, for it will make the others weak and leaderless." Much like Orcs, the Raptors were useless without a leader.

[Nar`zul Qa`dar]

Nar'zul, despite his actions in the past few marks, was not after any fashion the leader of this warparty. He had lead the hunt, and brought them to this point, but all still new that Ra'zhin was the real power, and, more importantly, that he was immune to the challenge of that authority as a Shaman. Only another Shaman could challenge him, and there were none others out here with them. So Nar'zul deferred to the ancient (for an orc) shaman, but he remembered how it had felt to run at the head of a body of warriors, to have them respond to his commands, look to him for guidance and direction. A great deal had changed in the last Yahren. He was clearly not 'the littlest orc' anymore.

Nar'zul of course agreed with Ra'zhins assessment, they were safe from discovery for now, but there was no way that was going to last for long. Further the shamans assessment of the neccesity of killing the biggest of these creatues was perfect, most creatures orcs included, had Alphas, and tended to lose coherency and effectiveness without them. The orc hunter felt a broad grin split his face at Ra'zhin's words and he resisted the urge to laugh with joy and lust.

"I will hunt the big female." He said simply, looking only at Ra'zhin as he spoke. "Give me ten burns to try to get a better position and bearing on her and I will kill her. After that, attack the others however you see fit Shaman." He watching the Shamans face for several flickers, watching for signs of permission, as much as he disliked relinquishing command, slipping away from the party as soon as he saw them, and waiting impatiently if he didn't. He realized in that instant that command had it's drawbacks as well as it's benefits, for if he were still in command he'd have the disposition of forty eight other orcs to see to, Ra'zhin of course being under no ones authority but his own. And for that instant he missed the solitary hunt. The thrill of command however, the feeling, the sound of it, soon overwhelmed that sentiment. For he remembered how the party had answered his summons to hunt, and he wanted that again, even if it meant that he could never again hunt alone.

[M`li]

"YOU?" M'li snarled as Nar`Zul suggested he would hunt this wild female on his own. "Alone?" Her dark eyes caught his on a minor battle for dominance as her posture changed, her smaller form straightening up and threatening with twitching muscles and clamped shut fists. "We will take down the female beast," she said with a low growl and looked over to Orthan and Ar`guh. "It is great death to go into the valley alone," she said.

"We will roll in the mud of this swamp to hide our stink." With that, M'li walked over to a depression infront of a rock and planted her feet into it's thick depths. Her hands went in next as she pulled the heavy and dark mud over her legs disguising her smell in the murky flavor of decay. Her wet palms wiped over her body as she disrobed of the foreign fabrics she wore. These monsters had a great sense of smell, and she understood that they had great gnashing teeth and sharp claws. M'li wouldn't be hunted - SHE would do the hunting this day. She dunked her thick mass of hair into the mud and when she stepped out of the bog she dripped with the dank mud and the only place on her that was clean of it was her large ebony eyes which she wiped at.

"Orthan, Ar`guh, Nar`Zul... get wet." She pointed to the mud puddle and picked up her deadly spear. M'li was ready for the hunt.

[Ashari]

To say that Ra`zhin was surprised by the thought of Nar`Zul taking the great beast on his own was an understatement. He gave a deep, heavy laught and shook his head at the youthful exuberance of Qa`dar. "You are not strong enough on your own, they will eat you alive," he said, but then it was M'li who interrupted further, her anger obvious, but also her strength and sharp mind for hunting showing through.

She would live up to her name as Puma, though the Shaman didn't dare call her that. It was a name that brought up her ire, though the reason was unknown to him. Ra`zhin watched with interest as M'li removed her clothing in exchange for a covering of mud. Clever, he thought to himself. "It will hide you well," he said with a nod as she stood naked except for the mud she wore.

Shaman weren't allowed to breed, rather, they weren't supposed to. In this way, Ra`zhin had never given over to the temptation of the carnal pleasure of mating. Looking at M'li in her glory of the hunt he could feel that stirring in him, and watched that feral yearning spread through the other males of the hunting tribe. Her spear glinted in the midday sun and he nodded. "Orthan, Nar`zul, Ar`guh - cover yourselves in the mud and then head up the vally. Othan, Ar`guh, go up on the right bank. Nar`Zul and M'li go up the left. Use the bones to hide you. We will do the same and go directly up the center." He knew it would irritate M'li to have to work with the strong-willed Nar`Zul, but that didn't change his plan. The two of them would have to work together eventually. Better that they learn it now.

[Nar`zul Qa`dar]

Nar'zul was furious when M'li challenged him over the right to hunt the alpha female. No, it wasn't that she had challenged his right to hunt, she had derided his ability to succeed. And then Ra'zhin went right ahead and did the same thing. M'li snarled at him and Ra'zhin laughed, laughed ! Suddenly it all became clear to him. The shaman had used him. Set him like a dog to hunt and was now going to deny him the honor of the choicest kill. And worse, he had now shackled him with M'li. Who all of a sudden wasn't looking nearly as attractive as she had before, despite her nudity. Still, the shamans word was law. Obligingly, Nar'zul covered himself with mud, not bothering to remove his loin cloth, and took his place beside M'li.

“Try not to give us away Puma .” He said, as he moved past her at a crouch, his hammer held close to the head in his right hand while he used his left to quiet the underbrush as he moved through it. In the instant after the greenery closed around him however, Nar'zul forgot about M'li. And Ra'zhin, and tried to become one with the landscape, to move through it without trace or disturbance. He was a hunter, and there was prey about, his prey. He had lead the party here, these creatures were his, and he'd be damned if he was going to let them steal what was his. He only needed to get up the bank and sight the female and he'd show them all. He wasn't their heel anymore. He would be their warlord, and their loyalty would be his. Or their fear. He wasn't picky.

[M`li]

He was a cowed beast. Nar'Zul's emotions churned under the surface, but he didn't voice them, and it would be his undoing and the reason why M'li would take over this tribe of travelling orcs. He didn't stand a chance against her and her prowess in the field. She would take down the creature, and then the rest would capture the scurrying and lost beasts. M'li's blood ran hot with the thrill of the hunt as the two of them took off for the left flank. She was prepared to see past his weaknesses as long as he was a good support for her hunting.

It was easy to use the enormous bones as covering, but after a few paces Nar'Zul's deep voice caught her attention as he passed her to take the lead. Puma? Her irritation flared and her dark inky eyes narrowed as he crawled in front of her, the tip of her spear just one thrust away from penetrating the tender spot between his scrotum and ballsack. Her knuckles popped and cracked as she tightened her grip on her spear, prepared to do just that. No, hold steady. She told herself. He would squeal like a stuck boar if she rendered his masculinity to shreds.

Instead, allowing him to crawl ahead of her, she waited until they were a good measure away from the orcs (about halfway between the orcs and the raptors) and well covered behind some manner of bone or foliage to press the sharp tip into the tender spot directly behind his testicles. "You will honor me," she said. "By giving me respect. I am a hunter as you are a hunter. We will work together, or you will die." Her voice was a low growl.

[Nar`zul Qa`dar]

Nar'zul froze in his tracks, such as they were, when he felt the tip of M'li's spear come to rest, just pricking his skin. ”Traitorous, presumptuous BITCH” He swore to himself. Just who did she think she was? Her words, pitched low to avoid drawing their 'preys' attention, rang in his ears like a struck bell. Honor? HER? Impossible. He had, up to this moment, respected her, if found her company only tolerable. She had hidden motivations this one did, and he did not like her one bit. That was before she had perpetrated this travesty. She had, in the past five burns, been added to the mental tally of those who would have to be made to pay for slighting him, and vaulted to the head of that list. He would have to be extra creative with her. Nar'zul half-rolled-turned back so that he could see M'li as he spoke to her.

“Honor you Puma?” He emphasized her hated nickname with heated vehemence in scorn of the disadvantage she had him at. She wouldn't kill him. The scent of his blood would draw their quarry down on her and she'd die flickers after he. No, she was bluffing. Or he was dead. But Nar'zul was beyond caring, the fires of his rage over M'li's repeated insulting of him had burned away any sense of caution pertaining to the female, though he still kept enough of his head to be cautious of the creatures they hunted. “That I have not pinned you to the ground with my spear aught to be more than enough sign of the regard I had for you as a hunter. But you've pissed that all away with your feminine weakness, letting one little nickname drive you to rash and just plain stupid action.” Like she before him, Nar'zul kept his voice pitched low so that only she, he hoped, could hear him. “And you've degraded yourself by making demands you have no right to make and threats you have no will or desire to carry through on. If you kill me,” he said pointedly, “the smell of my blood will lure those beasts to you and you'll die within flickers of me, because I guarantee I wont die easily. You stupid little hu'ka.” The profanity was a black one, and meant something between prostitute and slut, saying essentially that she was not only free with her charms, but was so because they were worth so little she couldn't get a man or even goods in trade.

“Now if you can stop acting like a child, and more like the hunter I thought you were, let us finish what we came here for. You and I can settle things when it's only us to kill each other.” His piece and more already said, Nar'zul turned away from her and (assuming that she didn't run her spear into his nethers), worked his way to a crouch before darting for the next stand of obvious cover, still doing his level best to remain unseen despite the wildfire raging through his mind and body. She would be made to pay. If she survived. If.

OOC: Ash, I apologize if my created orcish word is inappropriate or just plain wrong. But I felt I needed something like it in the situation. If it is too bothersome, I'll replace it. In case your curious where it came from, it's based on the German word for 'bitch' thought it was kinda appropriate.

[Ashari]

OOC: Word is ok by me.

M`li's spear pressed against Nar`Zul's private parts with deadly accuracy. It was a strong move, but the male orc offered his own return and moved away from her spear. If she wanted to drive her weapon into his flesh she'd have to make another move in order to pull it off, and the next one would have to be more severe.

Nar`Zul moved from one area of cover to the next, but his continual voice had drawn the attention of the scout raptor who watched the area where they'd come from carefully, though not the area where they'd move onto next.

Ahead of the hunters there was still cover, though it was turning more toward greenery rather than the skulls and jutting bones. Their movements would have to be more careful from here on out to not attract the attention of the creatures. More hostile actions between the two of them wouldn't help matters. Looking at the group of raptors it was easy to tell which was the leader of the group. She stood proud and bathed in the blood of the rotting meat she ate. Fat with feasting she'd moved over to the side to digest while the others took to eating. The others (beside the scout) were busy with tearing at the meat of the dead dragon.

[Nar`zul Qa`dar]

Nar’zul felt M’lis spear press into his flesh with intent, and as such it was with no regrets that he moved away from the murderous femme fatale at his back. The bones of the long dead dragons thinned considerably up ahead and so he came to rest in the last substantial piece of cover he came to and sat still for several flickers. Setting his hammer on the ground, he began inching, incrementally, around to where he could best scout the terrain as well as spy out the prey.

His eyes went first to the big lizard which had been standing apart from it’s fellows as if serving sentry duty. Seeing that it was intently watching the cover he had so recently vacated Nar’zul swore silently to himself and tore his eyes away, crouching as he did so, looking for M’li. If he could see her approaching he intending to signal to her that she keep low (by pushing his flat palm down toward the ground), to go slowly (by pushing the same palm toward her in an exaggerated fashion), and to go silently, by holding an upright index finger (from his other hand) up to his lips. He only hoped that the little hu’ka had the sense to not ignore him or worse yet, react aggressively, drawing the sentry and one would assume, the rest of the pack down on the pair of them, but even she was smarter than that. Surely.

Assuming that M’li didn’t give them away, Nar’zul turned back to his scouting from cover, and shortly thereafter he spied the big female that Ra’zhin had predicted would be there. She stood away from the carcass, and most of the group. Smeared with blood and apparently gorged. Nar’zul fought the urge to break cover and charge her, but knew that would be fruitless. She would not escape him despite the odds against him. Neither her pack, nor her scout, nor the suicidal hu’ka Ra’zhin had saddled him with would prevent him from watching that giant bleed out on the ground before him. Breathing deeply, Nar’zul slid back behind his hiding spot and retrieved his hammer before dropping to his stomach once more. Laying the hammer along his forearms before him, the big scout set to crawling forward, using his elbows to pull while he pushed slowly with his feet, which were splayed out behind him to minimize his profile to anyone, or anything watching. Slowly, but with intent, he moved, trying to get to an advantageous position for his glorious attack on the big female.

[Ashari]

There was much ground to cover between where they'd started and where the fully fed female digested her large meal. So far as the raptors were concerned they had no natural predators aside from the bipeds, but they never came here (they meaning the adhiel, humans and orcs specifically) and thus their guard had been let down. As the other beasts joined in on the eating their scout wandered from it's post and began the fight for food while a slower moving and engorged sentry took it's place after finishing on the first course of the feast. They would live here, next to this corpse until they'd eatten all of it they could and then they would wandered onward by the scent of blood for the next.

Well, they would have.

Nar`Zul crept closer and closer to the creatures, namely, toward the pack leader until he was on the other side of the wind and other side of a rock that she leaned against. M'li, from what he could see, was nowhere to be seen. Where she'd gone after his darting roll was impossible to tell. She, too, was a capable hunter, and better than to be spotted by his simple gaze.

The rest of the clan, too, moved in. They were quiet in their approach and prepared for the mayhem the initial attack would create.

[Nar`zul Qa`dar]

Nar'zul pulled himself into a crouch once he was safely behind the rock he had been making toward. The big female he was hunting was just on the other side, waiting for him to kill her. She of course wasn't aware of the fact, but that was part and parcel of being hunted. The big hunter drew a deep, anticipatory breathe as he gently laid his hammer aside. Next he slipped his satchel off and laid it down with equal care along side the rock, tucked back up beneath any small lip nature might have provided. The satchel didn't hold much, just some torches, flint and steel, but Nar'zul never traveled but he went light.

His fingers were nearly trembling as he took the haft of his hammer once more into his hand. The moment he had waited all this time for was near now. He could taste it. The blood of the dead dragon, the smell of decay and death, it was part of it. But he also knew that there would be violence, the clash of arms and strength to see whom was fit to survive, to feast on their foes flesh. It would of course be him, but he expected the she lizard to put up a respectable fight.

Of course he had one advantage in that she wasn't aware he was there. But it was always wise to have as many advantages as possible, and another favorite was misdirection. With that in mind, Nar'zul felt around him slowly, hoping to find a decent sized chunk of rock, assuming he found one, he oriented himself more or less parallel to the big female. That done, he looked over the rock he was sheltering in, trying to judge it's total size and if there were any easy way for him to get atop it. If the female did like he wanted, she'd follow the chunk of rock he intended to draw her attention with. From there it was his plan to climb the rock with nothing more than his hammer and his belt knife. After that he intended to leap onto, or at least at the big female and either land on her back or crush her skull with his hammer.

As he prepared to set his plan into motion, Nar'zul closed his eyes and once again breathed in the scent of the hunt, and looked inward. It was there, inside him. The primal, bestial thrill of the hunt which drove him, and now, in the instant when the hot metal came glowing from the forge awaiting the hammer-stroke, he unleashed it, feeling it roar up through him like a volcano erupting, setting his body aflame with adrenaline and unbridled joy mixed with anticipation. He wanted to roar, to blast through the flimsy barrier between he and his prey and wring the life from her with his bear hands, but the rush subsided after a few flickers, and though the edge was still there he was able to think again. Slowly he opened his eyes, and after another steadying breathe, he threw the rock.

[Ashari]

The rock itself was of duel purpose for the raptor. She could both recline against it and draw warmth from it's large dark surface. As Nar`Zul's body pressed to the stone he could feel the heat that emanated from it. This kept her as alert as she could be while digesting the large meal - the scent of which hung in the air as heavy as her stomach. In many ways it was this rock that was meant to protect her, which was why she'd sought it out.

It was a good thing for the orc behind the rock that this was the case, as it had provided him a perfect in. Nar`Zul's scent was camouflaged by rock and he'd been able to hide behind it as he picked up a fist sized stone from the ground. This stone, round and gray, arced through the air - slicing through it with the intention of landing on the ground not far away to provide the orc with another in by way of distraction.

The she-beast, though, would not fall for such simple manipulations. Her large elliptical eyes tracked the rock not forward, but back. Her muscled neck whipped behind her and she pushed up off the ground searching from where the stone had come. At the same time she raised an alert by way of a sharp noise (foreign and strange to Nar`Zul's ears) that was something reminiscent of a bird call, though throatier.