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2 Huntings for Saasha 15865 and Argelath 13903, for perhaps easier reading, here's a google docs file with the same text

"Mission Zataro" - prey: Zataro
"Shiny Scales and Ruffled Feathers" - prey: qirin and gryphon

Enjoy!

Mission Zataro

The first rays of the Sun were captured by countless dewdrops, breaking them into millions of glistening dots across the sleepy meadow and the sequoia forest on the opposite end of it. Even the grand crystal clusters everywhere seemed to be swallowing the light, as if trying to recharge from sharing their dim glow with the passing night. The vivacious chirping of hundreds of birds and sweet, enchanting smell of flowers hovering over the grasslands didn’t find a place in Saasha’s mind. Instead, the Puller’s attention was on the unwelcomed stranger across the field located in the slope, who was halfway hidden behind the lustrous greenery, making only the dark hairy back and boisterous Angora coat’s characteristical shoulder tufts, like funky flags, give away their existence. The Angora seemed to be completely unaware of the newcomer’s presence as they were busy examining the marks on the damp ground, probably the same ones that Saasha had been tracking all night long. So now Saasha was torn between the thought of simply trying to ignore the stranger in hopes they’ll pick up something else and leave or outright charge at them and fight them off so they could continue about their business. The odds in a fight would likely be on Saasha’s side as the Angora measured about the size of an average Runner from this distance and didn’t seem to have too strong of a build either.

Before Saasha could finalize the decision, the Runner suddenly lifted their head up, revealing a head with comically large fluffy ears attached to it and a pair of burning orange eyes, which were immediately locked at Saasha. They both stood in complete silence and neither moved a single strand of fur for a good few seconds, before the Runner perked up, smiled politely and shouted not too loudly across the field.

“Good morrow, stranger! What brings you to these parts of the forest on this fine day?”

His voice sounded pleasant, yet a disgusting snobbish accent managed to irritate Saasha even more. However… If that clown of a Runner was of noble origin or in general, from the higher class, then there was a good chance Saasha could use him after all.

“A Zataro.”

Saasha replied with a callous tone after they descended down the slope and got closer where the other was standing.

“Oh, how wonderful! In that case it seems we share a common goal. I am Sir Argelath de Ezgedar, at your service.”

Saasha tried to digest the nauseating energy and positivity radiating from him while observing how Argelath took a posture resembling a bow. Yeah, definitely a bow so ridiculous that only nobles can take it seriously enough to teach such gestures to their own children for countless generations, all the while probably measuring the angles of the body with a ruler. Looks like this bounty hunt wasn’t a solo mission anymore, but Saasha figured they could let Zataro have Argelath for a snack before they’d take it down and claim the reward, so there was nothing to lose after all.

“Saasha. Which way did it go?”

The Puller took a brief glance at the ground, turned to the side a bit and stood completely still while staring away somewhere in the distance, blocking out most of the deep-analysis rambling over the size, depth, angle, distance, scent and whatnot of the tracks. In that time, Saasha noticed from the corner of the eye how Argelath had some characteristics quite not typical to other Runners that Saasha had seen before, one of the most prominent ones being noticeably larger claw-like nails and colorful markings that didn’t seem to sit completely still on his deep red fur.

Finally, Argelath pointed at the direction the beast headed not too long ago, which just happened to be where Saasha had already turned to. With a small grunt, they started to move with swift yet quiet steps, Argelath following close-by. He attempted to pick up small-talk with Saasha but the new companion remained utterly determined to reply with a maximum of 2 words or just ignore the questions completely. After some time, Argelath realized that it’d be easier to tell a mountain to step aside rather than get Saasha to develop any meaningful conversation at all, so after getting some basics out of them he stopped talking and focused only on the hunt. After the two Vayrons were left with nothing but the sounds of the Vitalus’ magical nature around them, Saasha could swift the thoughts from being annoyed at the constant blabbering to noticing how Argelath could handle himself surprisingly well in the wilds. Usually the nobles had the reputation of fainting at the slightest speck of dust on their conditioner-soaked coats, but Argelath didn’t even seem to notice how couple small branches, various leaves and even a tiny glowing crystal shard were tangled in his long parts of the coat. Not only that, he also seemed to have quite good training in stealthy tracking as he managed to slip past areas with dense vegetation more quietly than Saasha did. They weren’t sure whether to be impressed or annoyed at the other’s skills.

What seemed like hours of jogging, climbing and sniffing, the two noticed how they’d reached the edge of a local marshland. Here the Zataro tracks reeked of the smell, meaning the beast could be just behind the next bush.

“You distract it, so I can take it down.”

Saasha whispered to Argelath, to which he raised his bushy eyebrows and glared at them.

“Huh? Have you even hunted a Zataro before? This clever tactic of yours wouldn’t work, Zataro are far more intelligent than we’re led to believe.”

“Got any better ideas, little smartass?”

Argelath wasn’t phased at all by the Puller’s snappiness, he had roughly figured out what character he was dealing with here and he sure wouldn’t let anyone toss him out in the open like a mere stinky fish bait. He could still use the help with taking down the Zataro but he intended for both of them to get out of it alive.

“As a matter of fact, I do. You’ll see, but when the moment is right - carpe jugulum.”

Argelath’s fur suddenly crackled up with sparks of magic, as he challengingly smirked at Saasha before silently and effortlessly, like a ghost, flung through the thick vines and bushes before them. It took Saasha a moment to try figuring out what the hell was the Runner even suggesting them to do, but then they could hear the Zataro’s alarming roar just a few hundred meters away, which automatically released Saasha’s joints like springs when they lunged after Argelath’s fluffy butt. The Runner had made good headway already as Saasha couldn’t spot any sign of him and slightly distracted by that fact, they splashed right towards the location that the Zataro had given away. What was the hairy little bastard up to? Did he really just cowardly turn around, snickering in his stupid beard as he managed to leave Saasha behind as the fool?

Suddenly angered by these thoughts, Saasha felt them pour into the body and transform into a warm tingling in their muscles, all the while trying to navigate in this cursed swamp without stepping on any of the piercingly sharp crystals growing underwater. It didn’t take long when Saasha’s pursuit came to a sudden halt, as the beast had appeared out of thin air right in front of them. Mud splashed to both sides as Saasha hit the breaks, witnessing the enormous creature’s scaled figure towering just a few meters from them and locking eyes with toxin-green eyes high above. The Zartaro was well into adult years, boasting a few wide scars from previous encounters with hunters on its face, limbs and sides. This description definitely matched with the one Saasha’s employer had provided for the job, but that’s pretty much where the good news ended. Finding themselves in a sticky situation, figuratively and literally as the ground was too soft to provide proper traction for sudden maneuvers, Saasha managed to curse out Argelath in their mind just a second before the devil itself suddenly re-emerged. Somehow, Argelath had made his way up into one of the gigantic trees, and was now free-falling right towards the Zataro’s head, forelimbs extended for a surprise clawwy hug around it. With a bitter taste in the mouth, Saasha realized that instead they were made into the bait and with that, Argelath crashed right into the target, making the Zataro release a surprised growl. Considering the force, which the Zataro hit the ground and made it lose balance with the rest of the body, Argelath had to utilize some magic to make himself much heavier for the trick to work. With the beast being temporarily stunned by the strong impact, Argelath didn’t waste a second and went straight for the Zataro’s whiskers, biting and clawing at them with every intent to break them off, as these were known as the Zataro’s most dangerous and effective weapons. The previous encounters already had left some scars on the whiskers, but it was Argelath who managed to break one off for good. When he was still working on the other one, the creature started to recover from the blow and with increasing anger from the pain, it decided to try its luck throwing Argelath off with one of its huge clawed hands. Fortunately, Argelath anticipated it and managed to dodge the blow, jumping off the critter’s head in the process. It’s then he noticed how Saasha hadn’t decided to just sit around either, but was vigorously attempting to find a soft spot in the neck somewhere near the shoulders, biting at the thick skin in hopes to make a tearing in it for further plans.

“Watch out!”

Argelath let out a warning before Zataro’s massive tail whooshed through the air, right towards Saasha’s position. The beast had underestimated the pest’s position on its neck, so the tail flew just over Saasha’s head and connected with a nearby tree instead, with the shockwave from it rustling it thoroughly and in addition to quite a good bunch of leaves, even several branches snapped and surrendered themselves to the gravity. Argelath used the moment to utilize his magic once more, and with a firm tug provided by an arcane hand extending from his paw, he managed to completely free the Zataro from the advantage of having extremely poisonous stingers attached to long whiskers. The Zataro wasn’t very happy about this situation, and with the second whisker gone it let out a pained roar, shaking Saasha off itself as it got back up on all fours. Everyone took a few steps back and the Vayrons were now having a staring contest with their opponent, who was now covered with blood stains on its cheeks, which slowly poured further down on its neck. The muddy whiskers on the trampled soggy ground in the middle of the three of them twitched for a few times before they became still. It was time to assess the whole situation.

Saasha’s body was tense, but they weren’t sure to what direction they should move next as either an action or in reaction. Argelath was also ready to move, but he could’ve sworn the Zataro looked… scared? It was obviously used to attacking and defending itself with the extensions that were now uselessly lying in the soil, and Argelath taking these away so fast had given the beast some second thoughts. However, it stood its ground, now lowering its head in anticipation while glaring at the Reoseans with both rage and fear burning in its eyes.

“Wait for it…”

Argelath spoke with a low voice in hopes that Saasha wouldn’t do something rash and stupid right away. Luckily for him, somewhere in the back of their mind Saasha somewhat acknowledged Argelath’s tactics, so they held their position for now, brows furrowed and pale cold eyes underneath them locked with Zataro’s. The Vayrons held their ground, demonstrating to the Zataro that they’re not afraid of the now handicapped monster. As Argelath had said, this Zataro definitely was intelligent as it perfectly understood the sad situation it was in now, and seeing how the attackers wouldn’t stop with just the whiskers, it slowly began to back away, not even blinking while having a low growl echo in its throat. Argelath let it take a few steps without moving a muscle, and Saasha decided to do the same. Then, Argelath let out a bark, which surprised the Zataro to swiftly turn around and run for its life from those two lunatics.

“Got you now.”

Argelath let out a victorious murmur before lunging after it, Saasha already sprinting the split second Zataro had made up its mind. This noisy ordeal sent birds out of the trees that were around the path of the escaping Zataro with two Vayrons right at its tail. The Zataro was slightly clumsy as it tried to focus on two things at once - where it was going and what the two pursuers behind it were doing. Argelath kept nipping at its tail and if lucky enough, at its heels to direct it out of the wetlands, with Saasha trying to occasionally grab its tail with their powerful jaws, leaving more and more bleeding bitemarks into it in hopes to weaken the Zataro a little more. After a minute or two, they had reached a small clearing. Saasha had made its way to Zataro’s left side and let out a taunting roar at it, which got the critter’s attention as it was trying to avoid another bite from them. Argelath’s eyes glistened as he noticed just the right sized crystal cluster minding its own business under one of the ancient trees and with that, his fur was charged with sparks of magic as he leaped right in the way of the beast’s right foot, making himself heavier again just in time for the unbalanced beast to trip over him, which sent it tumbling. Argelath’s timing was ideal, as the poor Zataro managed to land right into the incredibly sharp crystals Argelath had chosen, which were too strong to break and thus, Zataro’s right side was boasting new fresh deep wounds. Letting out an incredibly loud roar from the sudden pain, the Zataro completely missed Saasha dashing toward its now exposed softer underside of the neck. Its pupils contracted as the Zataro noticed Saasha, but it was too late to do anything about it. With the accuracy of a surgeon, Saasha let their teeth sunk and lock into the most vulnerable spot and with that, the Zataro gasped, raising its hand again to smack the danger away but Argelath was faster, bolting at the forelimb and pinning it to the ground before Zataro could do any harm with it. The beast struggled, which turned into twitching, which then faded into last trembles before Zataro’s pupils dilated.

Panting heavily, Argelath climbed off the fallen beast’s arm and then turned his gaze to Saasha, who was still holding onto the neck as they didn’t want to take any chances.

“Hey, the beast is done for, you can take a breath. Good job!”

Argelath informed Saasha, who then slowly let go of the now heavily blood-stained once pale skin. Also realizing that they could use some air, Saasha sat down on the ground, head heavily drooped as they were catching their breath. Saasha noticed how Argelath was now examining his mud-soaken coat that had all sorts of flora and fauna stuck to it, maybe even some of Zataro’s blood but it was hard to tell due to his natural color anyway. Interestingly enough, the Runner seemed to be amused by the sight.

“Oh my…”

He chuckled, and catching Saasha staring at him he smiled in response.

“It appears I might need a bath.”

—
(2646 words)

Shiny Scales and Ruffled Feathers

This was rather… unusual sight. Argelath had found a good viewing spot between some rather large crystallized rocks that had managed to gather together and then collectively grow a coating of soil over the years, then the soil also decided to nurture soft green grass on top of it. Now, in addition to said trio, they had a guest, utilizing the natural mattress for comfort and the crystalline formation for hiding himself while observing the herd of qirin enjoying the cooling water of the crystal clear river nearby, while a small flock of gryphons had also gathered at the river bank. The weather was relatively hot today, with only lazily drifting islands up in the sky casting an occasional shade, so no wonder the wildlife was seeking for means to relieve the strain that comes with higher temperatures. Argelath had been there for perhaps an hour, simply observing the strange symbiosis between the two different species - the younger qirin were tirelessly playing in the water, while adults simply enjoyed the relief from scorching Sun or were hunting for fish. Some of the fish were deliberately tossed to the gryphons, who eagerly accepted such gifts and with one gulp, the still flailing silver fins disappeared down their golden beaks. In return, the gryphon kept watch on predators and with loud alarming noises, chased them off whenever they happened to get too close to comfort, either to them or the qirins in the water.

Sadly, Argelath wasn’t here for a scientific trip, instead he was tasked to collect some fresh blood from a wild qirin stag for an extremely intricate spell he wished, or rather needed, to perform. Seeing those majestic animals in their natural habitat planted a small thought of doubt in his mind, so in a way, he was slightly procrastinating to find the right moment to fulfill his unpleasant mission.

His train of thoughts was disrupted by the sudden noise. The gryphons had spotted another predator approaching, but this time they seemed a lot more irritated than before. Even all the qirin had halted their activities and were nervously looking for the potential threat, which very soon revealed itself from the bushes.

“No way…”

Argelath’s deep orange eyes widened and maybe even his jaw dropped a bit when he finally saw the source of disturbance. It was Saasha, the same eccentric Puller he had stumbled upon a couple weeks ago during a Zataro hunt, in a forest quite a good distance from here. Saasha seemed to be indifferent about the agitated gryphons around them, maybe they sent just a couple of usual cold glares here and there as they calmly walked towards the water. The qirin didn’t dare to turn their backs to the dangerous creature, instead they took some steps back as Saasha reached the narrow beachline, stopped with front paws in the water and bowed down for a refreshing drink. At this moment, probably all eyes in the close proximity were locked on Saasha, awaiting for their next move. Saasha took their time with the drink, after all, they were the only one there who wasn’t agitated or in a hurry. Argelath held his position, eyes squinted as he was trying to figure out what the other Vayron is up to. Were they there just for a sip, or maybe they wished to get a steak to go with the water?

With the same seemingly calm demeanor, Saasha lifted their head up and inhaled the damp yet refreshing air around them, while some water dripped back down in the river from their chin. The qirin had formed a defensive arc in the opposite side’s shallow water, gathering their young and vulnerable behind a barricade made of healthy adults in their prime, both protective does and impressive stags had their antlers and hooves ready to defend against the unwelcomed party crasher. At the same time, the gryphons had toned down on their squawking, but were still keeping up agitated chatter as they were circling around Saasha’s back, fur and feathers standing up, sharp beaks and even sharper talons ready to strike, if needed. Even from this distance, Argelath recognized the looks in Saasha’s eyes - he had seen it the moment they dashed after the fleeing Zataro back at the swamp. Softly cussing to himself, Argelath had to move from his hiding spot and skillfully staying hidden from plain sight, he started to hastily make his way towards the other river bank that was currently completely open for the qirin to easily escape from the whole ordeal.

Argelath had just made it behind the last moss-covered ruvid tree when he heard the hell break loose. He leapt out and it took him a split second to notice how Saasha had grabbed one adolescent gryphon by its neck as the daredevil had taken one wrong step too close to them. First feathers had already come loose in the struggle as Saasha pinned it down in the water, standing on top of the beast’s all four limbs to prevent it from slashing into Saasha’s silken hide, while the rest of the gryphons screamed at the shore and seemed to hesitate for a moment - in Saasha’s luck, they weren’t big fans of water. The other split second contained witnessing of the yowling qirin herd turning around in unison, the air around them filled with thousands of glistening sparkles from the splashing water sent up by dozens of slender scaled feet, making their way to dry land and hopefully from there, to the safer grounds. Still cussing to himself, Argelath was forced to lunge right into the qirin herd in order to create some more chaos with such a surprise. The noise around him was almost deafening, he most certainly didn’t hear nor see how Saasha was forced to deal with two more angry gryphons, who had decided to tackle the Puller in order to save their kin from the grasp of certain death. Saasha was forced to let go of the already dizzy prey to fend off the other two, all the while sustaining a couple deep-red gashes on their body. With a swift turn, they managed to slam their heavy paw right into the more agile gryphon’s face, after which Saasha’s attention suddenly shifted to the familiar furry figure riding one frenzied qirin stag not too far away. Argelath had managed to pick out the suitable target, whose scales as if glowed of all colors of the rainbow under different angles of the light, all the while trying to shake off the nuisance on its back. The Runner had managed to secure a safe position, away from the sharp hooves and dangerous antlers, by having sunk his hind claws into the stag’s sides and front ones buried deep in the qirin’s shoulder tufts. Thanks to strapping himself on like that, his jaws were free to grab the creature’s throat and while firmly holding on, just going with the ride while waiting for the rodeo to end by the stag’s suffocation.

While Saasha was completely distracted by the surprise of seeing the eccentric Runner again, they were brought back to the harsh reality just a second later by a heavy body landing on their back, which was followed by sharp immense pain. Letting out an uncontrollable roar, Saasha found new rage simply exploding in them, which led to the Puller jump up and land on their back, temporarily knocking the bigger gryphon out of the game and thus, shaking the extremely sharp talons out of their skin. Their soaked coat greeted the new bright red color with enthusiasm, letting it spread faster down Saasha’s sides as the Vayron got back up on its legs, cold raged eyes throwing daggers at the rest of the gryphon gang, who were still sending out unbelievably loud cries while attempting to intimidate Saasha from the safe distance. Seeing that the threat justified its severity by having taken out almost 3 of them, the remaining gryphons started to hesitate, especially after Saasha’s look convinced them that this Puller won’t go down, nor give up easily. Staring them down, the gryphons backed down and turned around, eagerly taking flight to get away from this massacre.

In the meantime, Argelath’s ride indeed had trouble fighting back. In addition to the already unfair odds, Argelath’s powerful magic accelerated the process by penetrating the stag’s mind, forcing it to drop down on its knees while still desperately trying to gasp for air, which was a pointless undertaking. The rest of the herd had made its way across the ridge, only couple of members stopping up there to take the last saddened glance at their dear herd member, who let out a last, raspy desperate call for help towards them, before the magnificent qirin stag’s head dropped lifelessly on the ground, to which the remaining qirin swiftly turned around and jogged after the rest of the herd. Argelath let go of the successful kill, shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the unpleasant feeling of intruding in another creature’s mind like that. He immediately remembered about Saasha and quickly turned around to see gryphons fleeing, Saasha intimidatingly posing in the river with their back turned to the two gryphons recovering from the previous blows. He also spotted a rather big third one in the water, but this one didn’t seem to be moving. Instead of alerting the gryphons of his presence, Argelath took off towards them like a bizarre dart. The gryphons obviously had a vendetta against Saasha, so their attention was on them as they quietly got up and prepared to strike back at the oblivious bandit, who was victoriously, with a smug smirk across their muzzle, watching the flock disappear.

One second there was a sudden shadow over one of the gryphons.

The other second the gryphon was about to turn its head when the impact sent it past Saasha, who thanks to that turned to look at the fuss. Argelath had aimed quite precisely, causing an injury to the gryphon’s spine, so it had hard time fighting back at the unexpected reinforcements. Argelath held it down and feeling how the creature was injured beyond the chance of healing, he did his best to end its suffering as swiftly as possible. Saasha noticed the remaining gryphon from the corner of their eye and after directing their muddy, blood covered head with plenty of feathers stuck to it towards it, the gryphon was quick to realize the trouble it was in and without hesitation, turned around and splashed further away in the river, before thinking about getting out on the dry land and leap away in the bushes from there, as the drenched wings were way too heavy to even attempt to take flight. Seeing the gryphon making the smart choice, Saasha’s attention was back on Argelath, who was busy dragging the lifeless gryphon out of the water. It didn’t take him long, and after letting go of it he perked up and sent an extremely awkward grin towards Saasha.

“Eheh… hi again!”

Saasha couldn’t come up with a reply, as they didn’t feel very grateful for Argelath humiliating them by saving their ass. With the adrenaline still rushing in their system, Saasha contemplated whether they should attempt to pin down the snobbish nuisance, or just flat-out ignore him. However, before the cranky Puller could make up their mind, Argelath’s eyes suddenly widened as a reminder had arrived with the train of thoughts.
“Oh shoot, the blood!”

One again, Argelath bolted away across the river, back towards the qirin stag where he left it. Saasha watched him go, and after spitting out some sand and a couple of soaked down feathers they uttered to themself in partial disbelief:

“That fucking guy…”

—
(1963 words)

Lit © and Argelath ©
Saasha ©
Species ©

Please do not copy, trace or distribute!

Description
2 Huntings for Saasha 15865 and Argelath 13903, for perhaps easier reading, here's a google docs file with the same text

"Mission Zataro" - prey: Zataro
"Shiny Scales and Ruffled Feathers" - prey: qirin and gryphon

Enjoy!

Mission Zataro

The first rays of the Sun were captured by countless dewdrops, breaking them into millions of glistening dots across the sleepy meadow and the sequoia forest on the opposite end of it. Even the grand crystal clusters everywhere seemed to be swallowing the light, as if trying to recharge from sharing their dim glow with the passing night. The vivacious chirping of hundreds of birds and sweet, enchanting smell of flowers hovering over the grasslands didn’t find a place in Saasha’s mind. Instead, the Puller’s attention was on the unwelcomed stranger across the field located in the slope, who was halfway hidden behind the lustrous greenery, making only the dark hairy back and boisterous Angora coat’s characteristical shoulder tufts, like funky flags, give away their existence. The Angora seemed to be completely unaware of the newcomer’s presence as they were busy examining the marks on the damp ground, probably the same ones that Saasha had been tracking all night long. So now Saasha was torn between the thought of simply trying to ignore the stranger in hopes they’ll pick up something else and leave or outright charge at them and fight them off so they could continue about their business. The odds in a fight would likely be on Saasha’s side as the Angora measured about the size of an average Runner from this distance and didn’t seem to have too strong of a build either.

Before Saasha could finalize the decision, the Runner suddenly lifted their head up, revealing a head with comically large fluffy ears attached to it and a pair of burning orange eyes, which were immediately locked at Saasha. They both stood in complete silence and neither moved a single strand of fur for a good few seconds, before the Runner perked up, smiled politely and shouted not too loudly across the field.

“Good morrow, stranger! What brings you to these parts of the forest on this fine day?”

His voice sounded pleasant, yet a disgusting snobbish accent managed to irritate Saasha even more. However… If that clown of a Runner was of noble origin or in general, from the higher class, then there was a good chance Saasha could use him after all.

“A Zataro.”

Saasha replied with a callous tone after they descended down the slope and got closer where the other was standing.

“Oh, how wonderful! In that case it seems we share a common goal. I am Sir Argelath de Ezgedar, at your service.”

Saasha tried to digest the nauseating energy and positivity radiating from him while observing how Argelath took a posture resembling a bow. Yeah, definitely a bow so ridiculous that only nobles can take it seriously enough to teach such gestures to their own children for countless generations, all the while probably measuring the angles of the body with a ruler. Looks like this bounty hunt wasn’t a solo mission anymore, but Saasha figured they could let Zataro have Argelath for a snack before they’d take it down and claim the reward, so there was nothing to lose after all.

“Saasha. Which way did it go?”

The Puller took a brief glance at the ground, turned to the side a bit and stood completely still while staring away somewhere in the distance, blocking out most of the deep-analysis rambling over the size, depth, angle, distance, scent and whatnot of the tracks. In that time, Saasha noticed from the corner of the eye how Argelath had some characteristics quite not typical to other Runners that Saasha had seen before, one of the most prominent ones being noticeably larger claw-like nails and colorful markings that didn’t seem to sit completely still on his deep red fur.

Finally, Argelath pointed at the direction the beast headed not too long ago, which just happened to be where Saasha had already turned to. With a small grunt, they started to move with swift yet quiet steps, Argelath following close-by. He attempted to pick up small-talk with Saasha but the new companion remained utterly determined to reply with a maximum of 2 words or just ignore the questions completely. After some time, Argelath realized that it’d be easier to tell a mountain to step aside rather than get Saasha to develop any meaningful conversation at all, so after getting some basics out of them he stopped talking and focused only on the hunt. After the two Vayrons were left with nothing but the sounds of the Vitalus’ magical nature around them, Saasha could swift the thoughts from being annoyed at the constant blabbering to noticing how Argelath could handle himself surprisingly well in the wilds. Usually the nobles had the reputation of fainting at the slightest speck of dust on their conditioner-soaked coats, but Argelath didn’t even seem to notice how couple small branches, various leaves and even a tiny glowing crystal shard were tangled in his long parts of the coat. Not only that, he also seemed to have quite good training in stealthy tracking as he managed to slip past areas with dense vegetation more quietly than Saasha did. They weren’t sure whether to be impressed or annoyed at the other’s skills.

What seemed like hours of jogging, climbing and sniffing, the two noticed how they’d reached the edge of a local marshland. Here the Zataro tracks reeked of the smell, meaning the beast could be just behind the next bush.

“You distract it, so I can take it down.”

Saasha whispered to Argelath, to which he raised his bushy eyebrows and glared at them.

“Huh? Have you even hunted a Zataro before? This clever tactic of yours wouldn’t work, Zataro are far more intelligent than we’re led to believe.”

“Got any better ideas, little smartass?”

Argelath wasn’t phased at all by the Puller’s snappiness, he had roughly figured out what character he was dealing with here and he sure wouldn’t let anyone toss him out in the open like a mere stinky fish bait. He could still use the help with taking down the Zataro but he intended for both of them to get out of it alive.

“As a matter of fact, I do. You’ll see, but when the moment is right - carpe jugulum.”

Argelath’s fur suddenly crackled up with sparks of magic, as he challengingly smirked at Saasha before silently and effortlessly, like a ghost, flung through the thick vines and bushes before them. It took Saasha a moment to try figuring out what the hell was the Runner even suggesting them to do, but then they could hear the Zataro’s alarming roar just a few hundred meters away, which automatically released Saasha’s joints like springs when they lunged after Argelath’s fluffy butt. The Runner had made good headway already as Saasha couldn’t spot any sign of him and slightly distracted by that fact, they splashed right towards the location that the Zataro had given away. What was the hairy little bastard up to? Did he really just cowardly turn around, snickering in his stupid beard as he managed to leave Saasha behind as the fool?

Suddenly angered by these thoughts, Saasha felt them pour into the body and transform into a warm tingling in their muscles, all the while trying to navigate in this cursed swamp without stepping on any of the piercingly sharp crystals growing underwater. It didn’t take long when Saasha’s pursuit came to a sudden halt, as the beast had appeared out of thin air right in front of them. Mud splashed to both sides as Saasha hit the breaks, witnessing the enormous creature’s scaled figure towering just a few meters from them and locking eyes with toxin-green eyes high above. The Zartaro was well into adult years, boasting a few wide scars from previous encounters with hunters on its face, limbs and sides. This description definitely matched with the one Saasha’s employer had provided for the job, but that’s pretty much where the good news ended. Finding themselves in a sticky situation, figuratively and literally as the ground was too soft to provide proper traction for sudden maneuvers, Saasha managed to curse out Argelath in their mind just a second before the devil itself suddenly re-emerged. Somehow, Argelath had made his way up into one of the gigantic trees, and was now free-falling right towards the Zataro’s head, forelimbs extended for a surprise clawwy hug around it. With a bitter taste in the mouth, Saasha realized that instead they were made into the bait and with that, Argelath crashed right into the target, making the Zataro release a surprised growl. Considering the force, which the Zataro hit the ground and made it lose balance with the rest of the body, Argelath had to utilize some magic to make himself much heavier for the trick to work. With the beast being temporarily stunned by the strong impact, Argelath didn’t waste a second and went straight for the Zataro’s whiskers, biting and clawing at them with every intent to break them off, as these were known as the Zataro’s most dangerous and effective weapons. The previous encounters already had left some scars on the whiskers, but it was Argelath who managed to break one off for good. When he was still working on the other one, the creature started to recover from the blow and with increasing anger from the pain, it decided to try its luck throwing Argelath off with one of its huge clawed hands. Fortunately, Argelath anticipated it and managed to dodge the blow, jumping off the critter’s head in the process. It’s then he noticed how Saasha hadn’t decided to just sit around either, but was vigorously attempting to find a soft spot in the neck somewhere near the shoulders, biting at the thick skin in hopes to make a tearing in it for further plans.

“Watch out!”

Argelath let out a warning before Zataro’s massive tail whooshed through the air, right towards Saasha’s position. The beast had underestimated the pest’s position on its neck, so the tail flew just over Saasha’s head and connected with a nearby tree instead, with the shockwave from it rustling it thoroughly and in addition to quite a good bunch of leaves, even several branches snapped and surrendered themselves to the gravity. Argelath used the moment to utilize his magic once more, and with a firm tug provided by an arcane hand extending from his paw, he managed to completely free the Zataro from the advantage of having extremely poisonous stingers attached to long whiskers. The Zataro wasn’t very happy about this situation, and with the second whisker gone it let out a pained roar, shaking Saasha off itself as it got back up on all fours. Everyone took a few steps back and the Vayrons were now having a staring contest with their opponent, who was now covered with blood stains on its cheeks, which slowly poured further down on its neck. The muddy whiskers on the trampled soggy ground in the middle of the three of them twitched for a few times before they became still. It was time to assess the whole situation.

Saasha’s body was tense, but they weren’t sure to what direction they should move next as either an action or in reaction. Argelath was also ready to move, but he could’ve sworn the Zataro looked… scared? It was obviously used to attacking and defending itself with the extensions that were now uselessly lying in the soil, and Argelath taking these away so fast had given the beast some second thoughts. However, it stood its ground, now lowering its head in anticipation while glaring at the Reoseans with both rage and fear burning in its eyes.

“Wait for it…”

Argelath spoke with a low voice in hopes that Saasha wouldn’t do something rash and stupid right away. Luckily for him, somewhere in the back of their mind Saasha somewhat acknowledged Argelath’s tactics, so they held their position for now, brows furrowed and pale cold eyes underneath them locked with Zataro’s. The Vayrons held their ground, demonstrating to the Zataro that they’re not afraid of the now handicapped monster. As Argelath had said, this Zataro definitely was intelligent as it perfectly understood the sad situation it was in now, and seeing how the attackers wouldn’t stop with just the whiskers, it slowly began to back away, not even blinking while having a low growl echo in its throat. Argelath let it take a few steps without moving a muscle, and Saasha decided to do the same. Then, Argelath let out a bark, which surprised the Zataro to swiftly turn around and run for its life from those two lunatics.

“Got you now.”

Argelath let out a victorious murmur before lunging after it, Saasha already sprinting the split second Zataro had made up its mind. This noisy ordeal sent birds out of the trees that were around the path of the escaping Zataro with two Vayrons right at its tail. The Zataro was slightly clumsy as it tried to focus on two things at once - where it was going and what the two pursuers behind it were doing. Argelath kept nipping at its tail and if lucky enough, at its heels to direct it out of the wetlands, with Saasha trying to occasionally grab its tail with their powerful jaws, leaving more and more bleeding bitemarks into it in hopes to weaken the Zataro a little more. After a minute or two, they had reached a small clearing. Saasha had made its way to Zataro’s left side and let out a taunting roar at it, which got the critter’s attention as it was trying to avoid another bite from them. Argelath’s eyes glistened as he noticed just the right sized crystal cluster minding its own business under one of the ancient trees and with that, his fur was charged with sparks of magic as he leaped right in the way of the beast’s right foot, making himself heavier again just in time for the unbalanced beast to trip over him, which sent it tumbling. Argelath’s timing was ideal, as the poor Zataro managed to land right into the incredibly sharp crystals Argelath had chosen, which were too strong to break and thus, Zataro’s right side was boasting new fresh deep wounds. Letting out an incredibly loud roar from the sudden pain, the Zataro completely missed Saasha dashing toward its now exposed softer underside of the neck. Its pupils contracted as the Zataro noticed Saasha, but it was too late to do anything about it. With the accuracy of a surgeon, Saasha let their teeth sunk and lock into the most vulnerable spot and with that, the Zataro gasped, raising its hand again to smack the danger away but Argelath was faster, bolting at the forelimb and pinning it to the ground before Zataro could do any harm with it. The beast struggled, which turned into twitching, which then faded into last trembles before Zataro’s pupils dilated.

Panting heavily, Argelath climbed off the fallen beast’s arm and then turned his gaze to Saasha, who was still holding onto the neck as they didn’t want to take any chances.

“Hey, the beast is done for, you can take a breath. Good job!”

Argelath informed Saasha, who then slowly let go of the now heavily blood-stained once pale skin. Also realizing that they could use some air, Saasha sat down on the ground, head heavily drooped as they were catching their breath. Saasha noticed how Argelath was now examining his mud-soaken coat that had all sorts of flora and fauna stuck to it, maybe even some of Zataro’s blood but it was hard to tell due to his natural color anyway. Interestingly enough, the Runner seemed to be amused by the sight.

“Oh my…”

He chuckled, and catching Saasha staring at him he smiled in response.

“It appears I might need a bath.”

—
(2646 words)

Shiny Scales and Ruffled Feathers

This was rather… unusual sight. Argelath had found a good viewing spot between some rather large crystallized rocks that had managed to gather together and then collectively grow a coating of soil over the years, then the soil also decided to nurture soft green grass on top of it. Now, in addition to said trio, they had a guest, utilizing the natural mattress for comfort and the crystalline formation for hiding himself while observing the herd of qirin enjoying the cooling water of the crystal clear river nearby, while a small flock of gryphons had also gathered at the river bank. The weather was relatively hot today, with only lazily drifting islands up in the sky casting an occasional shade, so no wonder the wildlife was seeking for means to relieve the strain that comes with higher temperatures. Argelath had been there for perhaps an hour, simply observing the strange symbiosis between the two different species - the younger qirin were tirelessly playing in the water, while adults simply enjoyed the relief from scorching Sun or were hunting for fish. Some of the fish were deliberately tossed to the gryphons, who eagerly accepted such gifts and with one gulp, the still flailing silver fins disappeared down their golden beaks. In return, the gryphon kept watch on predators and with loud alarming noises, chased them off whenever they happened to get too close to comfort, either to them or the qirins in the water.

Sadly, Argelath wasn’t here for a scientific trip, instead he was tasked to collect some fresh blood from a wild qirin stag for an extremely intricate spell he wished, or rather needed, to perform. Seeing those majestic animals in their natural habitat planted a small thought of doubt in his mind, so in a way, he was slightly procrastinating to find the right moment to fulfill his unpleasant mission.

His train of thoughts was disrupted by the sudden noise. The gryphons had spotted another predator approaching, but this time they seemed a lot more irritated than before. Even all the qirin had halted their activities and were nervously looking for the potential threat, which very soon revealed itself from the bushes.

“No way…”

Argelath’s deep orange eyes widened and maybe even his jaw dropped a bit when he finally saw the source of disturbance. It was Saasha, the same eccentric Puller he had stumbled upon a couple weeks ago during a Zataro hunt, in a forest quite a good distance from here. Saasha seemed to be indifferent about the agitated gryphons around them, maybe they sent just a couple of usual cold glares here and there as they calmly walked towards the water. The qirin didn’t dare to turn their backs to the dangerous creature, instead they took some steps back as Saasha reached the narrow beachline, stopped with front paws in the water and bowed down for a refreshing drink. At this moment, probably all eyes in the close proximity were locked on Saasha, awaiting for their next move. Saasha took their time with the drink, after all, they were the only one there who wasn’t agitated or in a hurry. Argelath held his position, eyes squinted as he was trying to figure out what the other Vayron is up to. Were they there just for a sip, or maybe they wished to get a steak to go with the water?

With the same seemingly calm demeanor, Saasha lifted their head up and inhaled the damp yet refreshing air around them, while some water dripped back down in the river from their chin. The qirin had formed a defensive arc in the opposite side’s shallow water, gathering their young and vulnerable behind a barricade made of healthy adults in their prime, both protective does and impressive stags had their antlers and hooves ready to defend against the unwelcomed party crasher. At the same time, the gryphons had toned down on their squawking, but were still keeping up agitated chatter as they were circling around Saasha’s back, fur and feathers standing up, sharp beaks and even sharper talons ready to strike, if needed. Even from this distance, Argelath recognized the looks in Saasha’s eyes - he had seen it the moment they dashed after the fleeing Zataro back at the swamp. Softly cussing to himself, Argelath had to move from his hiding spot and skillfully staying hidden from plain sight, he started to hastily make his way towards the other river bank that was currently completely open for the qirin to easily escape from the whole ordeal.

Argelath had just made it behind the last moss-covered ruvid tree when he heard the hell break loose. He leapt out and it took him a split second to notice how Saasha had grabbed one adolescent gryphon by its neck as the daredevil had taken one wrong step too close to them. First feathers had already come loose in the struggle as Saasha pinned it down in the water, standing on top of the beast’s all four limbs to prevent it from slashing into Saasha’s silken hide, while the rest of the gryphons screamed at the shore and seemed to hesitate for a moment - in Saasha’s luck, they weren’t big fans of water. The other split second contained witnessing of the yowling qirin herd turning around in unison, the air around them filled with thousands of glistening sparkles from the splashing water sent up by dozens of slender scaled feet, making their way to dry land and hopefully from there, to the safer grounds. Still cussing to himself, Argelath was forced to lunge right into the qirin herd in order to create some more chaos with such a surprise. The noise around him was almost deafening, he most certainly didn’t hear nor see how Saasha was forced to deal with two more angry gryphons, who had decided to tackle the Puller in order to save their kin from the grasp of certain death. Saasha was forced to let go of the already dizzy prey to fend off the other two, all the while sustaining a couple deep-red gashes on their body. With a swift turn, they managed to slam their heavy paw right into the more agile gryphon’s face, after which Saasha’s attention suddenly shifted to the familiar furry figure riding one frenzied qirin stag not too far away. Argelath had managed to pick out the suitable target, whose scales as if glowed of all colors of the rainbow under different angles of the light, all the while trying to shake off the nuisance on its back. The Runner had managed to secure a safe position, away from the sharp hooves and dangerous antlers, by having sunk his hind claws into the stag’s sides and front ones buried deep in the qirin’s shoulder tufts. Thanks to strapping himself on like that, his jaws were free to grab the creature’s throat and while firmly holding on, just going with the ride while waiting for the rodeo to end by the stag’s suffocation.

While Saasha was completely distracted by the surprise of seeing the eccentric Runner again, they were brought back to the harsh reality just a second later by a heavy body landing on their back, which was followed by sharp immense pain. Letting out an uncontrollable roar, Saasha found new rage simply exploding in them, which led to the Puller jump up and land on their back, temporarily knocking the bigger gryphon out of the game and thus, shaking the extremely sharp talons out of their skin. Their soaked coat greeted the new bright red color with enthusiasm, letting it spread faster down Saasha’s sides as the Vayron got back up on its legs, cold raged eyes throwing daggers at the rest of the gryphon gang, who were still sending out unbelievably loud cries while attempting to intimidate Saasha from the safe distance. Seeing that the threat justified its severity by having taken out almost 3 of them, the remaining gryphons started to hesitate, especially after Saasha’s look convinced them that this Puller won’t go down, nor give up easily. Staring them down, the gryphons backed down and turned around, eagerly taking flight to get away from this massacre.

In the meantime, Argelath’s ride indeed had trouble fighting back. In addition to the already unfair odds, Argelath’s powerful magic accelerated the process by penetrating the stag’s mind, forcing it to drop down on its knees while still desperately trying to gasp for air, which was a pointless undertaking. The rest of the herd had made its way across the ridge, only couple of members stopping up there to take the last saddened glance at their dear herd member, who let out a last, raspy desperate call for help towards them, before the magnificent qirin stag’s head dropped lifelessly on the ground, to which the remaining qirin swiftly turned around and jogged after the rest of the herd. Argelath let go of the successful kill, shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the unpleasant feeling of intruding in another creature’s mind like that. He immediately remembered about Saasha and quickly turned around to see gryphons fleeing, Saasha intimidatingly posing in the river with their back turned to the two gryphons recovering from the previous blows. He also spotted a rather big third one in the water, but this one didn’t seem to be moving. Instead of alerting the gryphons of his presence, Argelath took off towards them like a bizarre dart. The gryphons obviously had a vendetta against Saasha, so their attention was on them as they quietly got up and prepared to strike back at the oblivious bandit, who was victoriously, with a smug smirk across their muzzle, watching the flock disappear.

One second there was a sudden shadow over one of the gryphons.

The other second the gryphon was about to turn its head when the impact sent it past Saasha, who thanks to that turned to look at the fuss. Argelath had aimed quite precisely, causing an injury to the gryphon’s spine, so it had hard time fighting back at the unexpected reinforcements. Argelath held it down and feeling how the creature was injured beyond the chance of healing, he did his best to end its suffering as swiftly as possible. Saasha noticed the remaining gryphon from the corner of their eye and after directing their muddy, blood covered head with plenty of feathers stuck to it towards it, the gryphon was quick to realize the trouble it was in and without hesitation, turned around and splashed further away in the river, before thinking about getting out on the dry land and leap away in the bushes from there, as the drenched wings were way too heavy to even attempt to take flight. Seeing the gryphon making the smart choice, Saasha’s attention was back on Argelath, who was busy dragging the lifeless gryphon out of the water. It didn’t take him long, and after letting go of it he perked up and sent an extremely awkward grin towards Saasha.

“Eheh… hi again!”

Saasha couldn’t come up with a reply, as they didn’t feel very grateful for Argelath humiliating them by saving their ass. With the adrenaline still rushing in their system, Saasha contemplated whether they should attempt to pin down the snobbish nuisance, or just flat-out ignore him. However, before the cranky Puller could make up their mind, Argelath’s eyes suddenly widened as a reminder had arrived with the train of thoughts.
“Oh shoot, the blood!”

One again, Argelath bolted away across the river, back towards the qirin stag where he left it. Saasha watched him go, and after spitting out some sand and a couple of soaked down feathers they uttered to themself in partial disbelief:

“That fucking guy…”

—
(1963 words)

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