Blood, Antlers and Naughty Words

[XThornX]

"Fucking ARROWS!" The screech of infuriated pain split the silence like a gunshot. Frightened grouse exploded from a low-lying shrub, panicked into flight; nearby a lone rabbit thumped once in warning and darted for the safety of its burrow. The voice - distinctly male in tone, but rough from lack of use - erupted again, the same phrase repeated once...then twice...then three times before wheedling off into a rasping growl.

The owner of this voice was sitting back on his heels within the deep fork of a heavily leafed oak tree some twelve feet above the forest floor, largely concealed from view. The dusky gray pelt of his right flank had gone stiff and tacky with drying blood, a tear rent in his leather tunic. The cause of his tantrum lay across one weathered palm: a poorly made iron arrowhead, still attached to a broken shaft of maple.

He inspected the barbed arrow point for a moment with a lip-curl of loathing, ears flattened against his skull. The wound was hardly serious - soon enough it would be just another scar in the collection - but that did little to cool his anger. The wood-strider closed a fist around the remains of the arrow and drove it into the bark of the oak with a satisfying thwuck. Satisfying, yes...well, save for the impact sending a fresh dart of pain through his flank. This drew another flurry of questionable language from the weary creature, teeth bared in a pained grimace. Yes, fuck arrows...and fuck the startled woodsman who let a feathered shaft fly the instant he saw antlers. Fuck the lot of 'em!

But not literally, mind you; this fellow still has standards.

(Character profile and portrait at link below)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1maIerSk-MVTX5Fx9MbHYaI6qbTzZdWJOe833KhJyimQ/edit?usp=sharing

[DragonSong]

Perched several branches above, a redtailed hawk tilted her head, eyeing the wounded creature below her with a combination of curiosity and wariness. She started slightly at the dull crunch of the arrow being driven into the tree and fluffed her feathers in agitation.

She waited a moment longer, wondering if the creature would notice her presence. When that didn't seem likely, she gave a sharp, hoarse cry and hopped down to the branch below her, just a little bit closer. Her head tilted to the side as she looked him up and down, glowing eyes fixing on the wound for a moment before skating over the rest of him.

[XThornX]

The wood-strider had gone as still as death, frozen in the midst of his little rage....save for the slow swivel of one scar-chewed ear as he listened, suddenly wary. Nostrils flared to sip the air, sorting through the scents of fresh earth, distant animals and green growing things. He knew that there were predators in the woods; the stink of their passing was caught in the greenery here and there. He also knew that he reeked of blood, sweat and exhaustion - just the sort of odor that many a carnivore would find tempting, if not downright delicious. He had intended to save the arrowhead that he had just worked out of his flesh - he had some rather grandiose plans for said arrow, in the event that he should ever meet that trigger-happy woodsman again - but he would employ it as a makeshift weapon now if need be.

Only now did the antlers turn to direct a dirt-brown eye toward the...bird? Yes, a bird - a hawk to be specific - and one seemingly unafraid of him. His muzzle curled into a silent snarl, exposing teeth that were somewhere between human and cervine. The cupped ears ceased their swiveling and flattened back against his skull, his displeasure more than evident.

"What the fuck d' you want?"

[DragonSong]

The bird cocked her head the other way, and quite suddenly she wasn't a bird. Meriana looked down at the wounded man and quirked an eyebrow, the swirling tattoos that marked her face giving her features a rather sever cast, even as she seemed to be simply observing.

"Who says I want anything?" she quipped back with a shrug. "Perhaps I simply heard you thrashing about like a lost fawn and came to see what was causing such a racket."

The elven girl swung her legs around so she sat perched on the edge of her branch, her hands gripping the bark beneath her lightly, aiding her balance with the ease of long practice. She tilted her head the other way again, something of the Hawk still reminiscent in her movements.

[XThornX]

He was far from a social creature, loathe to be within arm's reach of anyone he did not know and trust...which was all of three individuals. A bird didn't give him cause for alarm, inciting only minor annoyance.

But then it suddenly wasn't a bird. His startled response was explosive: the wood-strider leapt sideways with a hoarse snarl - nearly losing his perch in the process - and clambered higher into the tree despite his wound, his eyes gone wild with consternation. One antler was caught in a branch and unceremoniously jerked free in a shower of dislodged leaves. One hand had gone to the antler-hilt dagger at his beltbut he did not unsheathe it...yet. The broken arrow fell to the earth far below, temporarily forgotten.

She would almost certainly see the crusts of dried blood on his laced tunic, and through a rent in the leather she might see tufts of dove-gray pelt pulled into tacky spikes by the gore. His expression seemed to flit between aggression, confusion and else entirely unreadable. His muzzle lifted, still scenting, wondering...and then he spoke. It was a voice raw with lack of use, gravelly and rounded with a strange accent.

Ever so eloquently...softly...he said, "...the fuck?"

[DragonSong]

"I believe that's my line." Meri narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched the stranger scrabble around. "You're going to get yourself killed thrashing around like that."

Granted, she didn't really care-- but it just seemed heartless to leave a wounded animal on his own, drawing that kind of attention. If he rebuffed her she'd just leave.