• Closed • In to the Woods (Kura)

[Ela Wolfsdotter]

11th Cylus, 718

Darkness coated the area, Ela's vision piercing through it and viewing the house before her. Alrur sat at her side, growling quietly. For whatever reason, he never liked this place. Perhaps it was the wolves, or the lack of prey, or the civilization. But like Ela, being at a house like this one was an experience she could do without. Her cave gave her much more comfort than any house ever would.
"Calm yourself, Alrur. It's just Kura" Ela muttered to the beast, before taking some steps forward through the thick snow. Her sister was in no way expecting her, as far as she knew, but it had been too long since she'd seen her. Besides, she wanted to go hunting and decided that it was a good time to spend some time with her sister.

As Ela arrived at the door, she glanced up and down at it. Did she let herself in? She wasn't exactly well-mannered, but the idea of bursting in to her sisters house was something she'd been taught not to do. Or at least, that was what Kura and Karem had taught her when she burst in to houses previously. That and not taking all of their valuables.
With a disgruntled growl, Ela knocked on the door. She felt domestic, tame - and she hated it. She came out here in the hope of having someone to help her hunt, someone to share bloodshed with. Instead she was knocking at a door like a lost child, trying to hide from predators in the safety of someones home. Her sharp, slit eyes looked to the door, expecting a reply.

Two trills passed, and Ela knocked again. Patience wasn't her strong point when she wasn't out hunting, and even then it was lacking. She wanted what she wanted, and she wanted it now. Be it her prey, a new item to hoard, or her sisters attention. She wanted it, and everyone would be damned if she was going to wait any longer than she had to for it.
"Kura!" she shouted, knowing her sister was home. Or at least, assuming she was. She'd better be. Ela had left the comfort of her cave for this endeavor, and all of the immortals combined couldn't stop her from getting what she wanted now. Kura would go hunting, they would get a lot of prey, Ela would sell half and eat the other and it would be fun.

With a sigh, Ela decided Kura wasn't home. She sat herself down on the floor and waited, Alrur climbing on top of her, his fur keeping her warm. He was a rather large dog, and a beautifully fierce one if she did say so herself. Most importantly in this season, though, was that he was warm. It was the one thing she lacked that other predators had, fur. Some kind of way to heat herself up. It was the bane of her existence.
Growing bored, Ela glanced around in the darkness, her eyes catching movement. She rose to her feet, keeping herself low as she watched the small creature move through the woods, quiet and cautious. It was as if it couldn't see her, or hadn't yet clocked her presence. A small smirk spread across her lips as the tiny rabbit hopped just a few meters away. Ela glanced to Alrur, then gestured her head.

Immediately, the dog sprung forward, sinking it's teeth in to the animal as a loud crunch and squeal echoed through the woods. As Ela enjoyed the sight, she glanced around, noticing a human approaching. As she realized it was her sister, her smile became that of love instead of bloodlust.
"Kura!" she called out excitedly, bounding towards the woman for a hug.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura sighed and ran her fingers through her hair as she walked home. She was almost there and it was good to be home. She'd spent the last few days sleeping in her office, and she was glad to be awa from the place. Speck was flying overhead, keeping her usual eye out for any trouble. As they neared her house, the owl spoke up in Kura's mind. "Kura, there's someone at the house. I'll go in for a closer look." the owl said, dropping several feet lower to the ground. "It's a woman, she just left the porch. Oh! Kura, it's Ela!" she said, excitement in her voice.

Kura looked up at that, seeing her little sister bounding towards her just as Ela called her name. Kura laughed and braced herself, returning bounding hug with one just as enthusiastic, if slightly less energetic. "Ela! It's so good to see you again!" she said, laughing. Ela was over a century younger than Kura, and Kura had even helped raise her from time to time. But for all that, her little sister was as dear to her as if they'd only been born a few years apart. "How long have you been back in Scalvoris?" she asked. When she had left to get her familiar, Ela had been in The Eternal Empire still. Then Kura remembered that the last time she'd seen Ela, she'd still had brown eyes.

Phelan materialized next to Kura and grinned up at Ela. "Ela, this is Phelan. Mother gave me her blessing just after I left home." she said, gesturing down at the wolf. Speck, who had known Ela since the younger mortalborn had been an infant, landed on Ela's shoulder and nuzzled against her cheek. "I also found my Sev'ryn familiar, a barghest-bunny named Rahmet. He's sniffing at your feet." she said. Rahmet, invisible to Ela's sight, nevertheless wagged his fluffy bunny tail at her.

As the spoke, Kura led the way up to her house. She had a number of things with her, mostly paperwork, but she had her bow and quiver with her. "Have you found a home yet? If you're still looking for a suitable place, you can stay with me for a bit." she said. Ela, last she looked, had vastly preferred caves and such to houses, but she might have changed her mind, and either way she'd need to find a good place. "We should go hunting, you know? It's been way too long since we did." she said, stepping onto her porch. Opening her door, she tossed her paperwork onto her couch, then shut her door and grinned her sister. "Still using claw and fang to hunt, or did someone finally convince you that a bow or javelin is a perfectly acceptable tool?" she said, grinning at her kid sister as she stepped off her porch.

[Ela Wolfsdotter]

Her arms wrapped around Kura immediately, her head resting against her big sisters shoulder and her arms embracing with a tight grip. Her fangs showed from the big smile she bore, one that very few people ever saw in any emotion other than sadistic glee. But for Kura, there was always a friendly and happy smile waiting inside the young girl. She'd spent more time with her sister than she had most of her other family, or anyone else. Truth be told, her sister was her only real friend growing up - and even now.
Ela backed away from the hug, glancing to the wolf beside her. Of course, how had she not noticed her sisters eyes? Karem's blessing. She'd seen it before, and the wolf alongside it was only sitting. Beside her, Alrur sat silently, the feral dog not sure how to feel about other predators. It was a pride issue, mostly, one that Ela understood. She didn't like being out-hunted, neither did her companion. The difference was, Ela was rarely beaten in a hunt, or in a way she saw as being "beaten". Using weapons, for example, was cheating. If it takes more than your body to beat nothing more than the prey and his body, you aren't truly a hunter - or so Ela saw it.

When Speck landed beside Ela, she chuckled and nuzzled her cheek against the owl. "As beautiful as ever, Speck" she purred, loving the company of the owl. Nothing made her happier than the company of animals, and Speck had played a huge part in her growing up. She glanced to Alrur and gave a small smile, seeing his disgruntled face. Something about it gave her joy, seeing him in that kind of upset. It wasn't like she hated him, but it was an excuse to tease him later about it.
"This is Alrur, as I'm sure you remember from when I got him" she chuckled. Kura had been on the hunt that Ela had tamed Alrur, dominating him to be her own. It had been a fun day for her, and since then her closest friend had been Alrur. They got along well, and he never spoke back - mostly because he couldn't. Alrur gave a small bark as they walked towards the house.

"I appreciate the offer, but I found my own place. A small cave, not far from here" she smirked, proud of her accommodation. Having a cave, for her, was like owning a mansion for most. Her grin became the largest when she was offered to go hunting, however. That was what she'd come here for, after all. A good hunt would make her Arc, she hadn't been hunting with any company for a long time.
"I don't think anyone will ever convince me to waste what potential I have" she chuckled in return, stretching her clawed hands and glancing down to them. She glanced up to her sister, her expression turning somewhat sincere for a trill. "I genuinely missed you, Kura. A lot. I'm glad to see you again."

Ela then stretched, and glanced to the woods. "When you're ready, my sister" she gave an excited grin, Alrur snarling towards the woods as the scent of prey came closer to him. Their cue to start the hunt.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura laughed as she embraced her sister, glad to see her in a way that that few could comprehend. For all that Ela was feral and uncanny while Kura was civilized and cultured, the two understood each other in ways that would seem absurd to a casual outside observer. Their spirits, born by their Domains, were closer than one might assume at first, and while the two were perhaps opposite sides of a coin, it was still just one coin.

Speck, for her part, adored Ela and had frequently gone to visit the feral hunter on days when Kura was held up with work meetings and the like. When the two started moving, the owl took off and circled around them, but stayed close. Phelan gave a canine grin at Alrur, less than concerned with the feral dogs dislike of feeling outhunted, though he wished to make friends with the other canine. Kura though, she grinned happily at Alrur. "Good to see you again, Alrur. Thanks for keeping Ela out of trouble for me." she said, her tone cheerful. Alrur, so far as Kura was aware, was no more intelligent than an average dog, but she liked to talk to him nonetheless. He was a good conversation partner, wasn't too hung up on the sound of his own voice.

When Ela said she'd found herself a good cave, Kura grinned and nodded. "I'd like to see it." she said, her tone completely sincere. She had stayed the night with Ela a few times, initially to make sure that Ela wasn't regressing back into a completely feral state, but she had come to have a strange sort of appreciation for her sisters choice of dwelling. There was a purity to Ela's cavern homes, a sense that the harshness of the world could not enter, and she'd occasionally gone to visit with Ela for a few days to escape the cutthroat world of politics she'd immersed herself in. Plus, Ela was always a good hunting partner and she'd always come back from those visits with a few kills of her own that Ela hadn't had the room to store.

When Ela said that she was still using claw and fang as her weapons, Kura only laughed and nodded. In truth, she hadn't expected anything else. At her sincere moment of emotion, Kura returned her sisters smile and nodded. "I missed you too. Not being able to visit you was the hardest part about leaving." she said, a sadness to her voice. Rahmet looked away with some guilt, but Kura sent a reassuring thought to her Sev'ryn familiar. She hadn't wanted to leave, but she'd needed to leave, even if she hadn't realized it yet.

"And I get not squandering your talents. It's why I always use my bow, after all. When one of your Domains is Archery...just feels wrong to use anything else." she said, laughing slightly. She knew Ela considered using the bow to be cheating, but they'd long since agreed to disagree on that. But it did bring a thought to mind and she pushed up her coat sleeve a bit to show her Fracture Scar, another new addition since she'd left home. "Besides, I've got a new trick to show you." she said, grinning slightly.

When Ela signaled her readiness, Kura nodded and let out a slow sigh, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, her iris's had changed to gold and there was a feral nature to her grin. It wasn't often that Kura let the feral side of her nature out to play, but she always did when she went hunting with Ela. It was one of the few times it was perfectly safe to do so. "Let's get going." she said, a fierce but friendly growl in her voice, like a dog playing with it's people.

The two took off towards the scent, Kura drawing her bow as they hunted. It was a good feeling, to have Ela hunting at her side again. "Keep an eye on the deer. Some of them are more aggressive, tougher." she said as they hit the woods, both Mortalborn picking up the trail of prey. This was going to be fun indeed.

[Ela Wolfsdotter]

Ela glanced up at Speck, watching in amazement. One of the few things she'd always wished of her Mortalborn powers was flight. Nothing would please her more than that. Primarily because it would make hunting a thousand times easier, but primarily because it was true freedom. She could take to the skies and nothing would get in the way of that. It was a dream she knew to expect nothing from, however. As of right now, no wings would be sprouting from her back.
Alrur barked up at Kura, in a way Ela knew to be friendly. As much as he didn't like being outshone, he never saw Kura as competition. Not because she couldn't out-hunt him, Ela had no doubt that - and chances are, Alrur had no doubt about it either. It was more the fact that Kura wasn't an outright predator like Ela was, or Phelan.

Smirking, Ela nodded when Kura mentioned coming to see the cave. Although she knew it wasn't entirely something Kura would enjoy, at least not as much as the warm comfort of a house, she knew there was some thrill to it. After all, she was living life as it was meant to be lived, wild and feral. Whether Kura showed it often or not, she was as bestial as Ela was as far as the Mortalborn was concerned. They were both born of the Hunt, their blood running thick with ferity and bloodlust. Kura had more control of it, no doubt, but deep down Ela saw a predator in her.
Ela glanced to her sisters scar, then watched as her eyes changed. A fanged grin spread across her face, seeing the predator finally show itself again. But she didn't have time to fully appreciate it, as she glanced to the woods, seeing through the trees in a way most others couldn't. As her eyes pierced the darkness, multiple prey came in to her sight. Three, perhaps four, deer. She started to move, giving a small growl and a gesture to Alrur. The feral hound circled around the front of the deer, as Ela made her way behind them. Should all go to plan, at least one would run at her, making it easy pickings. If they all ran, Kura would have no issues with picking it off - or so Ela hoped.


"I've had a run in with some aggressive beasts here, what's some deer going to be against foe like us?" she snarled under her breath, still smirking. The idea that a deer stood any chance against her made her chuckle. Back in her cave, a few deer were probably waiting, thinking that it was a safe place to stay. Chances were, for most of them it would be. Ela didn't kill every prey animal that entered her house - Scalvoris would soon find itself barren of them. But she'd never once thought to be cautious of them. It was the predators that kept her on her toes, and none of them had scared her yet either.
Alrur waited quietly behind the deer, keeping his distance so as to not scare them. Ela made her way around, keeping herself low to the ground, resting her clawed hands against a tree. She glanced to her sister, waiting for her to have herself ready. Then, when the time came to it, she gave Alrur the nod. A loud bark burst from the woods, causing the deer to turn and run. Ela immediately pounced, sinking her claws in to the back of the beast and pulling it down to the ground. Under her it kicked and writhed, causing her to slash more and more. She knew she had to kill it quickly, or chances were it would do some serious damage to the girl.

Alrur ran to try and help the girl pin down the deer. As Ela pinned the beast down, she glanced to see Kura, wanting to watch how her skills had improved since their last meeting. "Don't let me down" she muttered quietly to herself, a wicked grin on her face as she lust for the hunt filled her.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura laughed as Ela dismissed the threat of the deer. "Tell you what, lass, you fight an Oh Deer and then ask me that question. Same goes for the thrice damned thwarthogs." she said, before falling a bit behind Ela as they approached the source of the scent. Ela was usually ahead of Kura when they hunted, since her powers and skills were more suited to close range hunting, while Kura was best at a distance. This time was much the same, Ela and Alrur taking down a single deer with no harm to themselves and solid teammwork. Kura, however, showed the benefits of over a century of experience. There was a whistle through the air as her arrow hit the first of the fleeing deer in the throat, downing it with a single shot. Then a snarl came from where the deer were running and they turned, Phelan snapping at their heels. Her second shot wounded another one enough for Phelan to easily overtake it and finish it off. The third fleeing deer she let go. No need to finish it off as well, and it would find more deer to be with, as was their way.

Putting away her bow, she approached her the deer she had taken out with her first arrow as Phelan dragged the deer he had over to Ela. Kneeling, Kura put her hand on the deer, making sure it was dead, then nodded and started dragging it back to her sister. "Standard deer, I think, are starting to become too little of a challenge for you, Ela." she said with a laugh. She remembered when Ela had struggled more with deer, but then, she had been younger then. She had set her deer down next to Ela when a snarling, hissing noise emanated from the trees. "MOVE!" she yelled, drawing her bow and diving out of the way just a large deer charged through the underbrush, with elongated fangs and glowing red eyes. There was only one, thank goodness, but it was still an Oh Deer.

Kura had drawn and fired without properly aiming and her arrow just bounced off the animals hide. It turned and charged at her again, and again she dove out of the way. "The throat and eyes are our best shot, but be careful!" she called to her sister, drawing another arrow and keeping it primed, waiting either for the deer to charge again or for it to give her a clear shot, as right now she had a good view of the flank, but not the neck or head of the creature.

[Ela Wolfsdotter]

Ela thought back to ,the words of the beast Kura referred to as an Oh Deer and Thwarthogs, but gave no reply. Just a smirk as the deer under her squirmed. How the mighty had fallen, her sister scared of what - a deer? Ela, of course, had never encountered one of the beasts. But it was a fairly known rule of a predator - deer were easy food. They weren't particularly fast, not if you caught them off guard, and they gave plenty of meat for how easy of a hunt they were. Whatever variation of deer that creature claimed to be, Ela found it amusing that anyone could deem them a thread of any kind.
As Ela glanced up from the beast she had taken down, Kura took down two creatures on her own. A big grin came across Ela's face, not disappointed in her ability to hunt. Sure, she cheated, and that made it somewhat less impressive. But she cheated impressively, Ela thought. It was much more than most could do, and it wasn't as if she controlled her domain being Archery. It was like blaming Ela for having claws, it was just how she was born. Besides, everyone had their own preferences, and Ela knew it. She just thought that Kura's were wrong.

"Perhaps, they're not as big as they used to be. Or I'm not as small, either could be true" she chuckled at her sisters remark about standard deer being too easy. When she was just a pup, it had been somewhat difficult to hunt. Sharp claws weren't enough to take down something so much larger than her at that age, neither was her fangs, and her courage was a lot less prominent - meaning she would often hesitate and lose the kill. Nowadays, she hardly struggled with any kill. That was partly due to lack of experimenting, as confident as Ela was in herself, she wasn't stupid. Certain creatures could slaughter her alone. But that just meant more room for improvement, as far as the Predator was concerned.
Ela ducked aside as the creature bounded out of the woods, landing on all fours just a few feet from where she had been standing prior. She sunk her claws in to the ground and snarled as the creature eyed her up. Ela kept her eyes on the beast, but nodded when Kura told her to go for the throat or eyes. But the pride she had for herself as a predator overcame her. No immortal could make a deer that would intimidated the Predator herself, no matter how big. Not even this one, fangs and all. With a loud cry, she pounced the beast, her claws slashing for it's throat.

Her shot, however, was off - leading her claws to scratch at the creatures chest. This did no more than startle the creature, which very quickly sliced the Mortalborn with it's razor sharp antler. A cry of pain left Ela as the antler cut deep through her shoulder, before the deer brought it's hind legs up and kicked her down to the floor, putting itself above her. Alrur barked at the beast, readying to charge, but stopped when Ela tried to bring herself up. Alrur would never try and outshine Ela in a moment like this, purely from respect of their companionship. Should something threaten to happen her, of course, he would charge.
As Ela struggled, the hissing beast bore it's fangs at the girl, readying itself to bite. Ela scrammed and clawed, trying for the throat, but missing. Her eyes glanced to Alrur and nodded, causing the feral dog to run to help. All Ela could hope was that whatever Kura did, she did it quickly.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura laughed at Ela's remark about having grown. "Aye, I remember you tryin' to tackle down deer when you were much smaller. Kinda cute, really, when it wasn't givin' me and mum panic attacks." she said, just before the new troublemaker showed up. Ela jumped at the deer in her standard fashion, but she missed her target and did minimal damage to the side of the deer. "Ah, shite." Kura said as she started to pour her Power into the arrow, golden cracks appearing along it's length. "Phelan, go!" she said as the deer injured Ela with it's antlers. The wolf charged at the same time as Alrur, both canines working not quite in tandem, but as a team.

However, there was an offbeat to their teamwork. Alrur was, comparatively, stupid and Phelan had to keep changing tack to keep his teamwork with Alrur at it's most effective. Fortunately, Phelan and Alrur weren't the only animals fighting the Oh Deer. With an owlish shriek of rage, Speck dived from above, talons extended. Deer and birds didn't traditionally fight and the monstrous animal was not expecting an attack from above. Speck's talons raked the Oh Deer's left eye, causing it to reel from the sudden damage. In the confusion, Phelan jumped and grabbed the deer by the antler, forcing it to keep it's head low to the ground. Around this time, Kura finally launched her arrow, peppering the aggressive deer in several places along the side as it multiplied. They weren't killing blows by any means, but they distracted the big fanged beast. Between Phelan and Kura, it's attention was firmly on the elder of the sisters as it tried furiously to dislodge the wolf. "Ela, now's your chance!" Kura said, priming another arrow in case she needed it.

[Ela Wolfsdotter]

Alrur was in no way intended to be a smart dog. Ela, after all, didn't keep her pets around for brains - but their hunting ability. As a solo hunter, he was impressive. Not necessarily the strongest or the fastest, but effective nonetheless. But of all the times to lack in ability, working as a team to stop Ela from being mauled by a rabid deer was not the ideal one. Sure, it was Ela's fault for underestimating what creatures lived in this shit-hole of a forest she called home, but that didn't mean the Apex didn't want some assistance in her time of idiocy - especially from one of her two real companions.
Fortunately, Kura seemed to have everything much more coordinated, having Speck and Phelan attack in near to perfect timing. If Ela was going to be the Apex, she may one day need to step up from Alrur. But she had the dog for as long as she could remember. Being the perfect predator was the second most important thing in her life, family was the first, and Alrur had become a part of the family now. She couldn't just leave him behind. Doing it would tear her apart.

When shouted for her opportunity, Ela swung for the beast, her claws tearing its throat open wide with one fell swing. It was sloppy, but it got the job done as the beast dropped to the floor in a pile, landing beside her. Alrur immediately ran to her side, barking at her and nuzzling his head against her. Small drops of blood ran down her where she had been hurt, but nothing too dangerous had been done. The only real cause for alarm was her shoulder, which was a relatively deep cut. It didn't look fatal, from Ela's little experience, but it would still need to be tended to.
"I hate when you're right" Ela admitted, panting slightly. Her hand shook as she held her shoulder, trying to ignore the pain as much as she could. Ela knew better than to ignore Kura's warnings, but the idea of a deer being dangerous was one that still felt alien to her. Everything had been much simpler to hunt back home, staying on the ground where they belong.

Ela gave a small smirk to Kura to show that despite her injury, she was still herself. "Thank you, all of you" she nodded to the beasts and Kura. "I don't suppose we could go get a medic, could we?"

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Ela finished off the Oh Deer quite handily, and Kura grinned to see the sight. Her little sister was still rough around the edges in a lot of ways, but she had a lot of potential and even a not-negligable amount of raw skill. Still, she had gotten decently injured and Kura looked at the wound. "Yeah, we'd best get you to a healer. Fortunately for you, I know the best healer on the island." she said, helping Ela to her feet. "Do you want to take the deer, demon deer included, to your cave first? The Oh Deer is good trading material if you need it, at least." she said, her tone cheerful.

If Ela wanted, Kura would help her take their kills to her cave. If not, she'd take the time to get them off the ground so that they could be retrieved later. Either way, once they were done, she led the way out of the forest, heading towards Faith's house. "Faith has treated me before, she knows Mortalborn pretty well. I'll warn you though, she may be small, but she's as stubborn as the Empress herself." she said, her tone cheerful. "So don't be thinkin' she's goin' to let you get away with tryin' to sneak out without a full treatment." she said, her tone cheerful.

When they got to Faith's house, Kura knocked lightly on the door in case the kids were asleep. "Faith, you home lass?" she asked, her tone cheerful. When Faith opened the door, Kura gestured to her sister. "This is my little sister, Ela. The pup got into a fight with an Oh Deer, got her shoulder sliced up somethin' fierce. We were hopin' you could fix her up." she said, smiling slightly.