Shadows of Bankor

Battered and sullen, Daunt still decided to show up at the Nerf for the date with Lyla. Maybe a good hunt in a good company was something he needed to turn his train of thoughts around. Having washed himself and his armour thoroughly in a refresher-for-minutes he had stopped by on the way, he looked mostly normal, though the blaster burns were still annoying him. As a small keepsake for Lyla, he had grabbed a key ring with iridescent acklay minifig she could attach to her speeder keys.

Lyla arrived in a rather garish speeder with flames on the side and a purple paint job, there was a bead mat on the dashboard with dancing twi’lek whose hips bobbed back and forth as the speeder came to rest. She smiled and said, “Hey Daunt, how do you like her?”

“Oh, and I got a vibro-blade and a bow, you know just in case. So… you ready?”

"You have an odd sense of decor, but it looks solid and maybe even fast." He pushed the machine slightly down on its gravitational suspensors after the approached. He then drew the acklay minifig on chain and leaned over to attach it to the keys. "A small improvement."

He then hopped on the backseat and grabbed the handles just below her grip, making it a functional hug. "Glad you've geared up. Now show me some speed, Lyla."

Lyla grinned as she let the engine roar and they were off through the desert and she shouted over her shoulder to be heard, “So… thanks… you’re pretty cool Daunt and I think today will be a fun day.”

“So, I have no idea where I am going by the way.”

"And you're cool pretty Lyla and I also think today is going to be a fun day. I damn need some fun." Gesticulation was pointless, so he just put one hand on hers and gave it a slight squeeze to the right. "Go where the green is, leave the sand behind."

She was responsive to that and glanced over her shoulder and then after about twenty minutes they were in green country. She was a rather talented rider, graced with natural agility. She pulled to a stop by a lazy flowing river and said, “So you’re the hunter, how do we do this thing?”

She brushed her hair back and smoothed out her thick cloak under which she wore dark clothing that was form fitting but functional. She was a slim muscular woman, she wasn’t super curvy but she was more sturdy and steady.

She took a drink of water and then looked around and said, “It’s kind of nice here.”

"It is." He breathed in. "The air is much better." He took in her from briefly, suddenly recalling a shard of his mystical and mystifying vision he had experienced earlier that day. Why was she in it?

"Remember where you're leaving the speeder and we'll go look around. Nature knows little vacuum, so if there is no man here, there are other living things. And things that prey on those other things, all the way up to the apex predator, whose territory we're now disturbing. We'll find something to hunt down soon enough, either by making ruckus or by not making it."

He stretched after the ride. "Think of the animal as not your enemy but your opponent. It's a sport that can end in death of one side, even both, but still a sport, a game. You can lose and still have fun, even though winning feels better."

He rolled up his cloak as as not to draw in against the tall grass. "And thanks for the enjoyable ride, Lyla. You drive well."

“Aw shucks, it was nothing,” she said her cheeks reddening.

“I think I can do that, so it’s a game but a real deadly one. That’s a far cry from making deliveries,” she admitted even if her last delivery didn;t go well. But then again if she had completed it she would be on to the next mission so she wasn’t all that torn up about it.

“Well let’s win then, lead the way buddy… bro… Daunt,” she said quietly.

OOC: Survival check at Average, she will assist she has Cunning 4 and Survival 1.

"Sure, Lyla." He liked the sound of her name and he used it often. The search began. While they were out of luck for finding something readily huntable, they may have found prints leading deeper into the territory portending a prize being reachable with extra legwork (?)

EE2. Survival. Her Cunning, My Skill.: 1eP+3eA+2eD 0 successes, 2 advantage


[Oh how I love you Orokos.]

They do find tracks and it will take some legwork, it looks like some kind of four legged hoofed creature came that way and then may have climbed up a steep incline some thirty meters up.

OOC: Athletics or Coordination she will grant an assist so gain a boost die at Average difficulty.

At least in that Daunt was in his element. He took Lyla on his back for most of the journey up, especially when the slope was getting perpendicular. While it was tiring, it was also exhilarating. He felt his muscles working.

EE2. Athletics. Lyla helps.: 1eP+3eA+1eB+2eD 2 successes, 1 threat, 1 Triumph


[Triumph for some impressive climbing that lands us in a good spot]

He chatted up a bit on the way, wondering aloud what this creature could be.

EE2. Xenology. What is this.: 2eA 1 success, 2 advantage


"...at least I can return the favour for the ride." He chuckled. "I think it may be a bullgoat, a massive herbivore that rams intruders upon her territory. Good meat, good hide, good fun."

Lyla is taken aback by him climbing for both of them she knew was capable but she wasn’t complaining for now. She replied, “This is really cool… so do you have any idea what we are actually chasing?”

“Also are we gonna have a knife fight with it?”

"A bullgoat mightily charges when triggered, so dodge-and-stab is the most enjoyable way to fight it. Just don't let the horns get you." He said as they were approaching the end of the climb.

“So we want it to charge us and then dodge out the way and stab it,” she said with surprise.

“I mean that sounds fun.”

"So let's have that fun, shall we? You could trigger it with an arrow if you're a tease." When they were closer to the top of the escarpment, he let her off his back.

Lyla slid her vibro-blade from her boot, spun it in hand and then unleashed it with precision into the beast’s neck, it made gurgled as it stumbled. She walked forward as it collapsed and then tried to stand but she grabbed a horn and twisted until there was a crack. For good measure she grabbed her blade and tore more flesh until she was satisfied.

Quick methodical and to the point.

She as excited as she said over he shoulder, “That was pretty cool, so… this is hunting, it’s like making deliveries but uhh things die.”

“You get my meaning, right?” she said as she set to dressing the kill cutting the belly open to remove what they didn’t need. Lyla said, “So is this like your every day because this seems pretty interesting, I still love Bantha Burgers though but I see the appeal.”

“Sorry I didn’t let it charge, did I mess things up?”

OOC: Knocked it prone and then finished it off.

Ranged Light versus Bullgoat - Lyla Destiny used - Short: 2eP+1eA+1eS 1 success, 3 advantage

If there was befuddlement, he killed it quickly, replacing with curiosity. Her instincts and ability were not of some random delivery girl. He approached the beast to help her dress it. It was some work.

"Yes, it gives fulfilment. You did what you felt was the right thing to do, and that's rarely a bad thing." He looked at her with greater interest. "I used to predate and mangle daily, and on sentients. These days I don't do it that often, and with animals mostly. I've learned a thing about killing. Too much of it can diminish you. Killing with some respect, purpose and without undue torture is better for you in the long run."

He smirked. "But enough highbrow talk. Cut the heart out and hold it warm. It's the most rewarding part."

Lyla complied and pulled it out and said, "Oh yeah... wow that is trippy."

"Want to feel it?"

"It's your kill, I don't know if I should." He chuckled. "And I may be tempted to bite some off. Would it gross you out?"

"Sure, hold it... eat it, throw it into a star," she mused and then continued dressing the kill.

"Gross me out? It's like once you see how bantha sausage is made can you really be grossed out? I do draw the line at eating my heart, well I guess I would be dead... so who cares right, but I would be very angry up until that point."

He took the heart, held it for a moment, then bit into it with his sharp teeth and tore a good chunk for a long chew, throwing the rest off the cliff for some scavengers to finish it off.

"You're probably rather fierce when you're angry. Something I'd like to see at least once." He said, having wiped his mouth from dripping blood with his sleeve.

"This from the heart eater," she said laughing.

"I guess I have my moments, I am not sure why you would want to see me angry... maybe try to steal my bantha fries and you might see me angry."

"Then this is what I'm going to do the next time. And then eat them slowly as you watch." He grinned.

Daunt wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 30, 2020 3:35 pm

"Then this is what I'm going to do the next time. And then eat them slowly as you watch." He grinned.

"You are evil... my poor bantha fries," she said laughing. Then got serious pointing two bloody fingers ta him, "I am watching you now."

"And here I was cleaning this bullgoat for you and this is how you repay me!"

"I can be called evil, but ungrateful? This cannot stand." Daunt feigned being appalled. "Name your reward for this expert dressing."