Dust kicked up, looking like smoke to foreign eyes, as several dozen Atraxian Addax transitioned from the high sands of the dunes into the dusty and rocky crags of the sandstone cliffs. They traveled in a tight knit pack, urging forward, seeking out the shelter the canyons often provided them here. As they moved, the large bucks stood on the outer edges of the herds with the does and fawns in the middle. They knew the dangers this land carried, for this was an older herd, one that was known to the local nomads. This herd had been hunted by wyvern and man, by lion and monster, and still, it endured.
The herd entered a narrow canyon, passing beneath a stony overpass, moving slow, careful, alert. The grew closer to one another as the path tightened, and the first of the bucks came upon a fork. The sharp shrill of a cactus wren rang out. The lead buck chose left, a path taken by them every time they came through here. As his body turned slightly, an arrow slammed into his ribs, puncturing both lungs. Standing there on the overpass, Vypsan was already nocking another arrow into his longbow as panic took over the herd. They began to run, and they chose to run the safest and obvious way, down the right hand path.
Another arrow loosed, this one catching a doe in the hind legs, slamming her into the ground, but not killing her. Vypsan swore, cursing his errant shot. As the herd disappeared around the bend, a roar rang out and Vypsan could see the dust kicking up from where he left Sweetpea in wait further down the canyon. He nocked another arrow, priming two from his quiver in the process. The first addax that came around the bend was felled with an arrow in the spine. Vypsan drew another as fast as he could, sending it off, his lip raising as it sailed short beneath the belly of another. He drew another as the front of the herd was now passing beneath him. He turned upon that rocky outcropping, took his stance, slowed his breathing, hooded his eyes against the distant sun.
He loosed that arrow and watched it sail true, catching a trailing buck right in the neck beneath the skull.
The herd ran off into the desert once more, far too fast for him to hit anymore from this range. Vypsan walked over to the edge of the canyon, tossing down a coil of rope he'd tied around a particularly sturdy stone, and rappelled himself down. With a flick of the wrist, a trick he'd learned from a wrangler he'd tangled with in Tertium, this particular knot came from and the rope came down to him. He turned to see Sweetpea munch on the hindquarters of one of the deer and he groaned.
"Hey, let me get the horns off first!"
She shot him a glare and he glared right back at her. She spat the deer out and stepped back. Vypsan walked over to her, patting her, letting her know she wasn't in trouble. "It's fine, you can eat til you're full to the brim, but we need these horns first. Gimme two shakes." He reached into one of her saddlebags and pulled out his bone saw. It made quick work of the horns, until he approached the deer he'd crippled instead of killed. She was trying to crawl away, in panic, not understanding why her hind legs didn't work. Vypsan drew his knife, and moved upon her quickly, and slammed it in her chest, just behind the shoulder, hitting her heart and killing her instantly. He pulled the blade free as she slumped into the rocky ground. "Sorry."
He wiped the blade clean on some sand before sheathing it once more. And returned to collecting the horns. Once he was done, he gave the signal to Sweetpea, and let her eat to her heart's content. She ate two, leaving two for Vypsan to field dress and tie up to the saddle. And with that done, the pair left ventured deeper into those canyons, heading for one of their favorite camping spots on this route. They'd be in the capital in about three to four days.
Sweetpea carried them up under a rocky overhang. It provided shelter from the sun and the wind, had one path of entry for most critters, but mostly, Vypsan liked it because it gave a stunning view of the labyrinth of canyons that were carved in this sandstone. He had often wandered, sitting her, just as he was now, his fire cooking a haunch of deer, how these canyons had formed. No water ran through them, as was how canyons formed in the north. Maybe it was the wind, or maybe it was the relic of something ancient in the past.
Who knows? Let the nerds with their noses dusty from their scrolls figure it out.
Vypsan looked over as Sweetpea was half sleeping on her full belly, free of her saddlebags. He knew she was not fully asleep, she never fully slept while they were in the Expanse. Even for a creature like her, it was a hostile place and she was vigilant as he. But when they got to town, and she could go to the stable reserved just for her, she would sleep well again. Vypsan wouldn't. He never slept well in that city. But out here? And back at his home? That was the best sleep of his life.
He looked at his fire, the smell of cooking meat traveling for miles, making no attempt to hide his smoke. The sun would be going down soon and that if there were any others out here, they might be looking for companionship in the night. It wouldn't surprise him, he'd met several a nomad by keeping his campfire open. And it had only gone bad a handful of times, but that's what kept things interesting.
Vypsan could certainly go for an interesting night tonight, no matter the flavor. He reached up, turning the spit, and went back to lounging against his bedroll.
Vypsan Speech
Vopisca Speech
