Hunting a hunter

Posts : 151 Join date : 2012-12-06

Lukas sighed. Even through the layers he could feel the sharp chill of the night. Burrowing his nose deeper into the wool of his scarf he sighed. Raising his arms to look through the night vision binoculars as he scanned the clearing. No werewolves still....It had been a few nights without even one.

Leaning back in his small camp area he had made, Lukas reached for his flask filled with hot coffee and poured himself a cup. Blowing gently on the liquid before taking a sip. The hot beverage not only warmed him but gave him a bit of a wake up. It was late and with no action he rather be asleep then the cold.

"Maybe they went deeper in...." He said softly to himself. Nodding in silent agreement he pushed the bulky frames up his nose finished his drink and gathered his stuff back into his pack. Rising slowly he made his way deeper into the wood. Each step echoed his heart beat louder. His hiding spot was relativity close to the edge. The way to the city was only a short run away. In the case of being found....he had a 70% chance of making it to the city's safety before long.

Step after step echoed and his heart went further up his throat. Each bit further into the words lowered that percentage of surviving an encounter. His breath caught short in his panic and every went dizzy as he lost his breath into a violent coughing fit. Weakly looking round as he reached for his inhaler, he contemplated on returning home and calling it for a night. After all....this forest did not only home werewolves.

Subject: Re: Hunting a hunter Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:19 am

Kiku sheathed his knives, his gaze traveling around to the large tree trunks surrounding him. The wood bore the marks of his most recent training session, alternating deep and shallow gashes littering their trunks. Leaves still fell from the treetops, occasionally plucked from their lofty places by the chilly breeze that swept through the forest. His breath spiraled from him in misty puffs, and despite the adrenaline still racing through his veins he shivered. The sweat was chilling against his frame, and he could not wait to return to his hidden home in town and to shed his sodden clothing. He contemplated why he had not worn layers, but the thought was there and gone, fleeting as the thought of returning for perhaps a warm meal and company.

Ha, company...something he could no longer afford to keep. Kiku did miss the days when he could speak coherently to people, sharing his thoughts and his wisdom. But those days were long gone, swept away in a blur in his adrenaline-induced state of being. He cursed his father again, but that thought came and went so frequently he did not fear he would forget such an important detail. He had his father to thank for his lonely but powerful existence. Loathe as he was to admit his father had given him anything but a curse, he would freely admit he would have been a dead man long ago had his adrenaline and training not saved his life. Still, even when the Hunters had come knocking at his door, he ignored them, knowing he was not their type...just as he was not the 'type' of any other human being.

A distinct rustling caught his ear, and he turned swiftly and silently toward the noise. The movement of the bushes was far too great to be that of a woodland creature, but somehow off for anything that did not walk upright. As if to confirm his suspicions, a moment later the sound of a violent coughing fit came to him on the chilly night air. He shook his head, wondering who would be brave enough to wander this late at night. He had no right to talk; he was out here training, of all things. But at least he sounded as though he could defend himself, should the need arise.

A low growl sounded left of the coughing person, and without thinking he took off in that direction. He sincerely hoped the growl belonged to a bear, rather than the nighttime predators that habitually roamed the forest. As he approached, he was careful to remain downwind of the attacker, silently drawing his knives as the wind rustled the trees. Though he highly doubted it, he could at least hope that the person on the receiving end of the threat knew how to fight. If not, his idiotic rush to protect an unknown would be all the harder.

Posts : 151 Join date : 2012-12-06

Breath refilled Lukas's lungs and he for one was thankful. Pushing his glasses back up his nose he looked up sure he heard a noise. He held his note book in hand tighter as he glanced over his shoulder. It was quiet and any eye's he may of sensed were gone. Shaking his head internally scolding himself he walked on.

He had taken about three steps when the loud crashing of the bear breaking through the undergrowth startled him. He stumbled back as the force of muscle collided with his chest. He let out a pained yelp as his eyes met angry brown ones. This wasn't the werewolf he was hoping to find. The large bear had him pinned as it sniffed him.

He laid dead still trying to remember anything on what to do with a bear attack. He could fell the pressure of it's paw on his shoulder. Claws digging in slightly making him hiss and small bubbles of blood to stain the first layer of clothing. This is bad....if he somehow survived this who knows what the scent of blood would bring.

Subject: Re: Hunting a hunter Thu Dec 27, 2012 2:20 pm

As he drew closer, Kiku recognized the distinctly low growl of the bear. Inwardly cursing, he scanned the forest around him, holding his breath. Only the rustling of the trees and the low, rumbling growl reached his ears. Mentally, he tried to recall if he had ever encountered a bear during his travels through the forest. He had heard them often enough to identify them, but had tactfully avoided what he had assumed were their territories. Copious amounts of adrenaline would make it impossible for him to 'play dead', something Kiku's father had most certainly not taken into consideration when forcing his experimenting on him. Still, the adrenaline gave him more of a fighting chance, and depending on the circumstances, he might very well need to defend the coughing man's life.

'What kind of man wanders out into the middle of the forest alone, apparently not prepared at all for a bear attack? Not only that, but usually the only things in the forest this late at night, aside from myself, are the wildlife and vampires and werewolves. Is he attempting to put himself in danger? IF this is the case, should I truly intervene?'

As the thoughts raced through his head, he began to noiselessly make his way towards the bear, careful to keep downwind and hidden behind the trees. He had pitifully little knowledge of bears, but he felt it safe to assume that being out of sight and smell would be to his benefit. Obviously, whoever was currently in trouble had either not thought of it, or had not had time to do so. Either that, or all of his assumptions were wrong and the man was being attacked by something far more threatening. Thankful for the dim moon that night, he was soon close enough to catch glimpses of what was happening in a small clearing.

The bear had the man pinned, claws digging into his shoulder and drawing blood. Kiku winced, a frown tugging at his lips. The bear obviously saw the boy as a threat, or was a young bear hunting out of hunger. Inwardly, he wished the Hunters were on patrol at that hour; the more people that could do something to distract the bear would have probably been to their advantage. Unfortunately, this man's rescuer was alone, armed with knives and a sword and...aha! As Kiku's thoughts raced, he recalled the precious few flash bombs he had on his person. They were remnants of his (three) days with the Hunters, but the organization had never demanded them back upon his leaving. He assumed they had forgotten about them entirely, though such powders were rare now. He was certain he could figure out how to make his own, if he could only find the materials.

Pushing the thoughts aside, he worked to formulate a plan. If he threw the flash bomb with no warning, the other man would be temporarily blinded too. However, if he warned the man, the man might be more of a hindrance by trying to run. Sighing noiselessly, he drew closer, trying to aim his throw correctly. His fingers shook, but he bit his lip and released, watching as the small flash bomb sailed through the air and landed just a short distance from the man's head. Thankfully, the explosion wouldn't harm either of them, and a moment later the trees were suddenly engulfed in white light. After blinking once, Kiku raced out until he could grab the man from the disoriented bear, one of his wired knives drawn.

((So...having little to know knowledge of bears (less than I'd like, anyway XD) I decided to do some quick 'how to deal with a bear attack' sort of research. Bears usually don't attack humans unless they are threatening their space, or if the bear is relatively young and needs to eat/therefore sees the human as prey. Sources recommend playing dead if you're intruding on territory, but if you're seen as food/a true threat, the bear will keep attacking until you're dead. So most recommend just getting away...and then list several options. The option Kiku went with is to temporarily blind the bear (bears' eyesight is about that of humans, apparently) and then to take Lukas and walk quickly away, since neither of them are equipped to win a fight against it.))

Posts : 151 Join date : 2012-12-06

The collision was so fast it knocked the wind from his lungs and bruised his back as he impacted the ground. A soundless cry escaping his lips as claws dug through the layers and into his skin. Hot foul smelling air assaulted his nose as the creature leaned in to smell it's pray. The world was blurry though and Lukas could only conclude that his head hit the ground pretty hard too.

Suddenly the world went white and lukas's vision became a collage of dark spots as if he had been staring into the sun for two long. The bear gave a pained noise rearing back lifting the weight off Lukas's chest. The blonde squirmed and pawed about trying to blindly get to his feet to run.

Subject: Re: Hunting a hunter Fri Feb 01, 2013 1:41 am

It did not take long for Kiku's eyes to readjust, and then to spot the rearing bear and man beneath. He walked quickly to the man's side, still clutching his knife and keeping his sights trained on the bear. He reflected that one of his swords would have stood a far greater chance against the bear, but unfortunately he had only his knives and a sparing flashbombs left in his arsenal. From what he could see, the man did not have anything with him, save for what appeared to be a thermos. At least he had his knives; a thermos wouldn't stand a chance. He approached as calmly but quickly as he could, intent on simply grabbing the man's arm and walking briskly away. They would need to walk backwards, in order to keep their eyes on the bear, and inwardly he hoped that they would be fortunate enough not to stumble over too many roots.

Once he was close enough, he reached and grabbed the man's arm, hoisting him to his feet. The adrenaline screamed in his veins, making his heart race and increasing the temptation to simply run. But running would only provoke the bear, and he doubted the man could keep up with his pace. As soon as the man was on his feet (and after he had done quick recovery of the man's possessions he could see), he began to drag him along, walking backwards and retreating from the slowly recovering bear. Their time was running out, but Kiku was determined to put at least some distance between them before deciding whether to release another flashbomb or not. He would rather not waste them, but he would determine their need once the time came.

He leaned until he could speak into the man's ear, though his voice struggled to come out as the adrenaline continued to pulse through him. "Please...don't panic...need to walk quickly." He tugged on his arm for emphasis, withdrawing farther into the forest. The flashbomb had no doubt worn off completely by now, allowing both man and bear to see again. "Watch bear...walk, don't run...more distractions if needed." He decided that he had given the man enough instructions, and ceased to speak. His halting speech had always been a source of embarrassment to Kiku, and he tried to speak as little as possible when in the presence of others. He preferred writing, or even simply conveying his thoughts by looks and expressions. But he needed to put his personal pride aside, in order to help this (foolish) man out of the forest.

He held the knife at the ready, and though the man seemed able to see, he did not release his hold on his arm. Instead, he continued to drag him along, the thought that perhaps the man's fear would paralyze him racing through his mind before disappearing again. He bit his lip, trying to ignore his rushing thoughts and attempting to focus on one. 'Survive...survive...' He needed to live...so that he could fulfill his life's mission, and at the moment, so he could find a suitable place to berate the man for his choice in location. The man hopefully had learned this time that he ought not travel in the forest (or anywhere) unarmed, though the likelihood of another bear attacking him was slim to none.