@nephero The wind was changing. Colder. Autumn would be setting in soon, and with it the migration of most of her prey. Vara's mouth twisted down at the corners as she crept along the game trail, hunting knife clutched in her hand. Great, that was all she needed- this hunt had not been going as planned.
The mountain goat she'd been tracking was long gone, and she thought she knew why. There were a multitude of unfamiliar tracks in and around the foothills she'd followed her prey down into, tracks from large, hoofed creatures that were unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Maybe she'd ask Da about it when she got home...
With a sigh, she slid the knife back into her belt- a slapdash affair made mostly of castoff scales- and arched her back in a long stretch, frown still in place. Whatever tracks she'd come across had scared the goats off...well, whatever the tracks
belonged to had.
Damn humans. She couldn't smell them on the air, but she was sure they were involved. No herd moved in the formation these tracks did naturally, they were being herded by something.
Another sigh and she scratched at the back of her neck, her other hand tugging at the collar of her too big, scavenged tunic. Right. Damn humans. Or...elves, maybe. Some variety of two-legger. She didn't need to know anymore, she'd just head back home, tell her da what she'd seen...
Somehow she found herself following the new tracks. It was a little reckless, she knew, but she was smart. Smarter than Ka'toh gave her credit for, usually. And fast. Surely she could just take a peek, right? See what all the fuss was about.
That was all. Just a quick look, then she'd go home.
It didn't take her long to find the herd, and once she had her eyes went wide and she ducked behind a small outcropping just off the trail she'd been following.
They were
huge. Nowhere near the size of a dragon, of course, but still larger than most other four-legged creatures she'd seen. Vara's eyes sparkled with curiosity as she slowly peered back over the edge of her little hiding place, one hand doing to the hilt of her knife while the other braced against the earth in front of her, ready to fight or flee at any moment.
But she didn't move, just stared, utterly fascinated by this new discovery.