Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy... [Glob!] [M]

[Rhindeer]

In answer, Raxta merely shifted, a strangely seamless transition, and watched him from the trees with her sharp, predatory gaze. Though there was clear curiosity in her eyes, as well, as to what his plan was.

That was as good of a yes as any!

"We'll be near," Xoco said, and paused a moment, shooting a look at Herrick, before she quickly undressed, baring a body that looked more graceful than powerful with slim limbs and small breasts. She handed her clothes to Herrick as Raxta had, and wasted no time in shifting to her jaguar form, and even in that form she was on the small side. But she had no trouble scaling the nearest tree and leaping across the branches to where Raxta was, and together they vanished among the leaves as they headed for the river to wait.

[DaGlobster]

Herrick subtly stole a glance at Xoco when she gave him his clothes, but he made no mention of her nudity and simply put her clothes into his pack.

"One more thing," he said, looking up to Raxta before she disappeared.

"My tool's going to make a very loud noise to spook the herd. Just be ready for it."

He kept moving, knowing that Raxta and Xoco were nearby, but probably not visible. It wasn't long before the herd came into view. There was a small clearing around this section of the river, although the ground itself had reasonably tall grass. He posted up at the edge of the treeline, and observed.

It was a small herd, yes. A good number of them were young and females, but one did stick out like a sore thumb. A large male, probably wounded in a previous predator attack, ambled about behind the herd, most likely keeping an eye out for predators while the herd drank. He moved with a slight lurch. It seemed the injury hadn't prevented him from keeping a walking pace with the herd, but in another stressful situation?

Herrick took an arrow out of his quiver. It was tipped with a ball, which had a small opening for an internal fuse where it met the shaft. Herrick used a flint against the arrowhead to light the fuse, and he nocked the arrow. He angled his bow upwards, and waited.

He waited, and waited, and waited, until finally, he let go of the arrow. It flew up into the air between the wounded male and the rest of the herd and exploded rather harmlessly with a loud bang and a flash of dazzling light.

While it didn't spook the herd as much as he thought it would, they immediately started to hustle across the river. The male, disoriented by the light, sort of agressively limped about before it started to follow. At his rate, however, the herd was going to leave him in the dust.

[Rhindeer]

Raxta and Xoco waited above in the trees, following Herrick silently and watching him, curious as to his plan. A tool that would make a loud noise?

Guess they would find out!

Raxta crouched on the branch she perched on, tail twitching and eyes watching that male with feline focus. She cast a look toward Herrick as he played with one of his strange items, and then caught Xoco's eye and lifted her shoulders in the equivalent of a shrug. She wasn't sure how a strange stick with feathers on it would make any sort of sound--

And then came the bang, and the flash of light, and Raxta just about fell out of the tree as her heart tried to burst from her chest. Xoco jumped and let out a yowl, scrambling backwards against the trunk of the tree with wide, panicked eyes as her claws dug into the bark, and it took several seconds before even Raxta came back to her senses enough to realize that was the sound Herrick was talking about and no, they weren't in any danger!

She looked at Xoco, who was still wide-eyed and panting, and stepped over to her to butt heads with her.

"That was the signal. Come!"

Below them, the herd was in motion, and the limping male was falling behind. And as he entered the water, it was quickly apparent that it was going to be an issue. The river was no obstacle for a healthy buffalo, but for him, it was slow going as his hooves sank into the mud and the current pushed against him.

It was perfect.

And it was when he was chest deep in the water that Raxta leaped from the trees and landed on its back, claws sinking in as she clamped her jaws down on the back of its neck. Her jaws were strong enough that she could sever an animal's spine with a well-timed bite--but the buffalo bellowed and swung its head just in time, so her teeth caught more skin than muscle. The male panicked, thrashing in the water and trying to shake her as she hung on, but water and blood made his back slippery and she skidded part way off of him and into the water, still hanging onto his neck with her teeth--and knowing better than to let go, because if she did, he'd gore her with his horns or try to drown her.

Xoco sprang close behind her and landed on his back, but he was already thrashing and knocked the smaller jaguar into the water. And then he rounded on her as she swam to avoid his swinging head, while Raxta clawed at him to try to pull herself back atop him.

[DaGlobster]

As soon as Xoco (Or Raxta, Herrick couldn't tell from where he was standing) hit the water, he was clearing the foliage, javelin held up in an arm. He covered the distance quickly, and threw his javeling with great dexterity. It struck the buffalo right in the neck, slashing a massive gash in its neck. Another throw from Herrick had a javelin embed itself into the buffalo's flank.

[Rhindeer]

The buffalo floundered in the water, bleeding profusely from its now many wounds--and it was ultimately the slash to its neck that was the game changer, as it hit the carotid. Soon the water turned red and the buffalo's struggling grew weaker as moving only pumped its blood out faster, and Raxta managed to lock her jaws around its throat as Xoco climbed atop it and clamped down on the back of its neck.

It wasn't much longer before its struggling stopped completely.

Both jaguars held on a while longer. Xoco let go first and jumped back down into the water, and Raxta held on a bit longer, until the faint, fluttering pulse in its throat died completely. Then she swam around it, clamped her jaws around a leg, and started to drag it out of the water as Xoco joined her, grabbing its tail and pulling, as well.

It was larger than their usual game--they mostly favored deer--but it would feed them all for quite some time.

Finally, panting as they got the beast onto land, Raxta shifted, and Xoco followed close behind. Both of them looked a fright, covered in the buffalo's blood, and Raxta licked daintily at her claws as she looked around for Herrick.

Perhaps she had underestimated him, she thought as she eyed the javelin thrusting from the buffalo's flank, and the gaping wound in its neck.

[DaGlobster]

Herrick came up to them, bow strung onto his back. He gave an excited laugh.

"Wasn't so hard," he said, and he spared a glance towards Raxta and Xoco.

"Er, you two might want to go for a dip in the river," Herrick said.

[Rhindeer]

"Hm?" Raxta looked at Xoco, and Xoco looked at her, and then she let out a breathless chuckle. "Yes, I suppose so. There was a lot of blood this time."

Hey, she usually killed by neck snap or strangulation than stabbing, and that tended to be far cleaner!

"You hunt well," she told him, and clapped him on the shoulder, smearing a little blood on his clothes without thinking about it.

The river's current had already flushed the buffalo blood away, so Raxta was quick to slip back into the water. She waded in up to her neck and dunked beneath it, scrubbing her hair and ears and tail, and came back up with a sigh. Xoco joined her as well and rinsed herself clean, and from the looks of it, neither were in too big of a hurry to leave the water.

Raxta ran her fingers through her short hair and treaded water in the middle, and Xoco took her sweet time bathing. Water was a total weakness, and it always felt glorious after a hunt--especially today, when it was nice and cool compared to the jungle's humidity, but not too cool. But she knew they had a kill to tend to before other predators were attracted to it, and that one was far too big and heavy to drag up into a tree like she preferred.

"The water's wonderful today," Raxta sighed, sinking under it and then coming back up, spitting water at Xoco like a fountain.

Xoco dodged to the side and laughed. "You literally always say that. What day isn't it nice?"

"When it's occupied by anaconda." Raxta looked over to Herrick and smiled. "You should wash too, while we're here."

[DaGlobster]

Herrick returned Raxta's smile.

"I won't turn down a dip in some nice water," He said, and he got himself undressed rather quickly, the lighter forest gear requiring much less buckles than his usual getup. In almost no time at all, he was wading into the water with them, coming up between them and giving his arms a languid stretch. He glanced to Raxta, grinned, and then took a few steps towards her and gave her a kiss.

"Now that my blood's flowing, I can't help but get a bit restless," Herrick said, tone suggestive.

[Rhindeer]

"Is that so?" Raxta murmured, watching Herrick as he approached--and watching Xoco's reaction out of the corner of her eye, noting her fierce blush and the way she stared at him.

Shamelessly, Raxta turned against Herrick and pressed her lips against his, letting out a low purr, and loosely looped her arms around his neck. "And how would you spend your energy?"

[DaGlobster]

Herrick smiled, running a hand down her side and to her hip.

"I dunno, I've got a lot of energy," he said, and he looked to Xoco.

"Maybe you could help too?"

[Rhindeer]

Xoco startled at his words, and shot a wide-eyed look his way. Oh, she had some idea of what he had in mind, from what she had glimpsed of he and Raxta, and what she had seen during past mating seasons. It left very little to the imagination--or maybe it did, because her own imagination was going wild.

"Uh...help?" she asked, and Raxta smiled and pressed a kiss to Herrick's neck.

"Yes. Help," she said, arching against him to press her hips into his cock. "Perhaps get some practice?"

[DaGlobster]

The high water left Raxta's little motion hidden to Xoco, so Xoco saw was Herrick let out a small breath and lean towards Raxta a bit more. The hand around Raxta gripped her ass before it slid downwards, and he started to touch her lightly.

"Mmhmm," Herrick said.

"Getting some practice is going to make next week go so much smoother."

[Rhindeer]

Raxta gasped as Herrick began to touch her, and she shifted her stance to spread her legs wider, her tail lifting up and out of the way. Shuddering, she let out a breathy little moan even as she reached beneath the water to close her hand around Herrick's cock, slowly sliding along him.

"Besides...it's fun," Raxta murmured, nipping at Herrick's ear, then teasing her tongue along the edge. "A week is a long time to wait."

Xoco may not have been able to see beneath the water, but watching their reactions was enough to make her blood run hotter. Well. That was true. In a week, she would be doing that much and more--and the anticipation had been gnawing at her more and more the closer it got. And Raxta seemed to really like Herrick, and she did find him attractive...

And her blush only deepened as she shamelessly watched the pleasure spread over Raxta's face, the way her body responded and nipples hardened, and remembered their fumbling, awkward attempt a year ago.

She sucked in a breath.

What was there to lose?

And if he wanted to mate her in a week...

She swallowed. "What...what should I...?"

[DaGlobster]

It wasn't long before Herrick's fingers were slipping inside of Raxta. His fingers curled upwards so he could get at that extra sensitive spot. His only concern was time, however, the buffalo had gone down at the water's edge, and most of the blood that could attract predators was washing downstream. At the very least, Herrick knew they had almost an hour.

Herrick lifted his other hand and beckoned towards himself.

"Well, you need to come a bit closer first," Herrick said, and he gave her a harmless smile.

[Rhindeer]

Raxta let out a sharp, shuddering gasp, her body clenching around Herrick's fingers as her free hand flew to grip his shoulder tight. Oh, that was still such a new, unusual feeling, her body stretched around him, but the way he moved his fingers made her belly tighten, hips squirm, and body burn. Her eyes fluttered closed and her head tilted back, a whimpering moan escaping her as she moved shamelessly against him even as her own hand kept sliding over him.

"Oh," she gasped, clinging to him. "Herrick!"

Xoco stared at the two, still clueless as to what was going on beneath the water, but her face burned even hotter at the sight of them. She gulped, heat pooling between her legs, and after a moment's pause--she felt frozen in place, curious and yet nervous, too--she waded closer.

Raxta slid a look her way, face flushed and eyes hooded, and bit back a whimper. She reached for Xoco's hand and pulled her even closer. "Don't be nervous," she murmured. "It feels wonderful..."

[DaGlobster]

Once Xoco was in Herrick's reach, his arm went around her middle and pulled her in even closer. He gave Raxta one more kiss before smiling knowingly and turning his gaze to Xoco. He met Xoco's eyes, and he kissed her, taking it nice and slow.

"It's not hard. Just do what feels right," Herrick said, and his hand moved down to her ass.

[Rhindeer]

Herrick pulled Xoco closer, and she found herself pressed against him and Raxta, her bare breasts brushing his skin in a way that made her breath catch. And then he was kissing her, and she let out a whimper that was half surprise, half need, and at first stiffened--and then, slowly, relaxed.

Smiling softly, Raxta trailed a hand down Xoco's back, soothing her, and leaned in to kiss her neck.

"Just enjoy," she said. "See? Not so scary. Look..."

And as Herrick's hand traveled lower, sending shivers down Xoco's spine, Raxta released Herrick's cock and took Xoco's hand instead. She guided it to Herrick's length, biting back an amused smile when she saw Xoco's eyes go large and face burn redder, and wrapped her hand around it. Then she covered Xoco's hand with her own to show her how to move.

"That's his penis," she purred, watching Xoco's surprised expression. "The part he'll mate us with. Feels nice, yes?"

"O-oh...gods...it's big..." Xoco breathed, half wonder, half trepidation. After all, she was tiny.

[DaGlobster]

"You're naughty," Herrick whispered into Raxta's ear, giving her a kiss there as he fondled Xoco's ass, hand drifting to the base of her tail. He moved back in to kiss Xoco.

To return the favor, his hand slipped downwards, fingers passing over her clit.

"And this is where I'm going to put it."

[Rhindeer]

Xoco's breath hitched against Herrick's lips, her body jerking when his fingers brushed her clit. She let out a small squeak, her heart pounding fast and breath coming faster, and if not for the water, she would have been soaked.

"Oh..." she breathed, imagination going wild as she wondered just how he would manage fitting it inside her, but the imagery that conjured only made her burn hotter as she squirmed restlessly, hardly knowing what to do with herself. Especially not when Raxta released her hand, figuring she had the rhythm down, and waded behind her.

Kissing the back of her neck, she slid her hands over Xoco's breasts and swirled her fingers over her nipples, pinching lightly until Xoco let out a soft cry and arched against Herrick's hand, craving more. "It is something to look forward to, no?" Raxta murmured, and nibbled her ear. "We can't mate yet. But we can do other things. Yes, Herrick?"

Xoco panted for breath, hand still working over Herrick even as her legs finally parted, wanting to feel more. "What things?"

[DaGlobster]

Herrick angled himself so that Xoco was nice and snug between him and Raxta. It seemed the both of them were going to give her a crash course. Keeping one hand down below, his fingers intensified against Xoco, while his other arm went past her to give Raxta some attention as well.

Herrick continued to kiss her, nudging his hips forward so that the tip of his cock rubbed along her folds and her clit.