MINGLE: Hunting

[championofsnark]

WHO: Marian Hawke and Co.
WHERE: Dojo training, on way to hunt, hunting, post-hunt, meal!
WHEN: November 10-12, the 12th is a meal!
OPEN TO: Everyone!
WARNINGS: Probably language and some expected violence against animals



TRAINING AT THE DOJO

This can be any time. Hawke offered people lessons on how to shoot arrows, and Danny is letting them use the targets outside the dojo. She has a bow that she's willing to let people borrow and learn how to use, and she's there almost every day in case someone shows up. Anyone who wants to learn can ask her, or they can also learn how to make arrows. No one is required to go on the hunt if all they wanted to do was learn!


HEADING OUT TO HUNT

Hawke has everyone meet her early in the morning and recommends they bring weapons they have, either personally or from the group stash. She's bringing the bows and a large stash of arrows she's been working on since she got there. They are warned there will be blood and to be ready to walk a bit too. She assures everyone if they feel squeamish and want to go back at any point, that's fine. After those warnings are given, she cheerfully grins and shouts off we go! They'll be trekking through the grasslands toward groffles.

They will see kirin and antelope dogs but not be encouraged to shoot them. But if people want to take a moment to observe them, they can!


TAKING DOWN A GROFFLE

The groffles are giant but generally fairly docile. They are the size of a bison with wide, moose-like antlers and tough, protective plates down its back. So it's necessary to approach them carefully even if they aren't likely to attack first. There are two options of attack in this hunt. One is through arrows or projectiles from a reasonable distance that requires aim, and the other is to try to sneak up by it and swipe directly with a blade. Or two people or more can get together to startle it with a projectile right into waiting blades. Hawke will recommend the latter if they manage to pick one out.

These are herd animals so it is possible to spook them, and cause a lot of the big animals to stampede toward someone accidentally. Or you can successfully take it down alone or with help!


HEADING HOME VICTORIOUSLY

However the hunt turns out in the details, in the end they will return from it with some meat to feast on. On the way back someone could accidentally stumble into some dust moths or rescue someone else from the dust moths.


VICTORY FEAST IN THE INN

On the 12th, the groffle have been properly stripped and handled so people can have their first taste of the kill. Maybe they feel guilty about it, maybe they don't, but either way, you might as well have some fresh meat that tastes a leaner than beef. It's offered by Hawke as a steak or strips. She doesn't have anywhere really to host so she tries to clean up the inn and push away all the important information so people have places to sit. Come have a meal and chat with your fellow hunters, or enjoy the meal regardless of going out with the others because it is communal. Maybe some stories about the hunt will be told!

[ooc: Add mingle topics to your heart's content.]

Comments

[thecatinahat]

The animals have been fascinating Cougar the whole time, giving him a reason to go out and write down notes, scout the area and learn it better. It'd been what he'd first done out of the fountain and it's the best use of his time.

As to why he's here, he shrugs and gives her an amused look. "Bored," he confesses, but she's got a piece of it right. "Could learn something new." Because he's a very good scout and sniper, he can rustle up a snare, but some of the more primitive weapons escape him and he could use a reminder.

[to_defend]

"Yeah, sounds about right." She picks up another arrow and knocks it, "I'm 7, by the way."

She takes a moment to fire it, again using his advice to breathe. "I'm glad that we're not using it to fight each other, eat least."

[thecatinahat]

"Cougar," he replies, giving her an amused look because it looks like he's not the only one with a strange name right now. He likes it more for that, honestly, because it falls right in line with the Losers.

He watches the arrow, tipping his head to the side to watch it go, snorting at the idea of fighting one another. He shakes his head, knowing that he's not in the mood to take anyone's orders like that, not ever again. "We resist," he insists, eyes firm about that. "We don't fight, not without a reason."

[to_defend]

"Resist." She thinks about it, knocking another arrow. "What makes a good reason to fight?"

She fires, this one a little farther from the target than the others. She grunts slightly with frustration.

[thecatinahat]

"When people are mistreated," he answers without flinching or hesitating, because he knows when he needs to step in. "When things go wrong and children, innocents are hurt." That's when Cougar's team is called in. They take down drug dealers and bad men.

Watching her shoot, he wishes this were a rifle. He could really help with a rifle. "Practice makes perfect," he points out, because there's no reason to be frustrated when she's doing so well.

[to_defend]

"Okay, those are reasons I can get behind." She picks up another arrow - second to last one, then she'll have to go collect them - and knocks it. She huffs a breath at his comment.

"I know, I know. That's why I'm here. But if I don't hold myself to be better - " Pause, breathe fire - not a bullseye but closer than the last one. "- then I won't be."

She turns and tosses the bow over to Cougar; think fast! "Let's see where you land."

[thecatinahat]

He tilts his head and reaches out to catch the bow without flinching. His reflexes are very good, and he's fast. Possibly the fastest of the Losers, but mostly because he gets sent ahead to scout. Reaching for the arrow, he sniffs in and tips his head to the side to test the wind.

Then the air, the humidity, and the small factors around them. This isn't a rifle, he knows, but he's also not so bad with firing, which is why he lets it loose and aims just at the top of the bullseye.

Not dead on, but then, why impress perfectly on the first go. Settling the bow at his side, he shrugs. "Not bad. Not perfect, not yet. Soon, I can do this a mile off."

[to_defend]

She's impressed. She was the quickest of her own little community, and it's always nice to see someone who might be able to keep up, or offer a challenge even.

"That far, huh? You really need to fire from that far?"

[thecatinahat]

"What's the fun if no?" he challenges, seeing as there's always a reason to improve your skills and talents and for Cougar, that means shooting faster, farther, and better than he did before.

He gives her a daring look in return, because if not for that, then why would he do it? He thinks that he should say more, ask what she likes to do that she's good at, but that's what Jake is for. Cougar is a man of few words and he gives her a playful smirk, ready to dare her to fight back.

[to_defend]

She gives him a bemused, impish smile back that suggests she might be up to a challenge like that, then without a word goes to collect the arrows. She brings them back, drops them in the quiver, then picks that up and starts walking away from the target.

Once she's reached about equidistant from where she'd fired from before - effectively doubling the range - she sets the quiver down, picks up a single arrow, and knocks it.

Her smile fades as she chooses to focus, instead. This was going to be a challenge, because she'd just learned and there's a fifty-fifty chance her posturing was going to end up a joke if she whiffs this. She takes a few steady breaths before even lifting the bow, taking her time and mentally reciting each step as she'd received them earlier in the day, making minute adjustments to her stance, her shoulders, each as she remembers it. She'd had some practice with ranged weapons throwing her bola, but that had a different weight and pull to it than this.

Breath in, breath out, and she fires.

[thecatinahat]

It's not so bad, and Cougar is impressed. Arrows aren't his thing, not really, and he only knows how to use them because what happens if you're in the middle of the jungle and you have no other option? So he's learned, but watching her hit the target from there, it's impressive.

He wanders slowly to where she is, saluting her with the arrow, before tapping it against his thigh, taking in the pressure around him, the air, and his heart rate, waiting for the moment.

From there, he draws and fires himself, aiming to the left of her arrow, to make a little pattern that she can complete with the next shot, which he offers the bow back.

[to_defend]

Okay, she's not bad at this but he's definitely better; his looks like he's placed it intentionally, she was just glad she hit the target.

But, she's still up for the challenge, this odd little rivalry that's started to develop. She fits another arrow into places, brings the bow up, and fires. It hits the target, but barely, and nowhere near his last marker. She makes another look of frustration as she steps back to let him try again. This time, she's watching him more closely, trying to pic apart his process.

[thecatinahat]

He relaxes back into the nearest tree when he's done shooting, relaxing and melting into it, picking up one of the other arrows to twirl it absently with his fingers, amused by the way she keeps going. At this rate, he's not getting to leave.

Of course Cougar notices the look on her face and thinks they won't improve unless they stop every now and again. "Don't try and match me," he advises.

She should be doing her own thing and what works for her, because everyone has their own style. Sliding away from the tree, he lets the arrow brush his cheek and adjusts for the weight of the arrow and the soft gusts of winds, the pressure in the air, knowing he won't be as exact as a gun.

Different weights, different speed, different force.

Still, he hits the target, forty-five degrees and six inches from his first shot.

[to_defend]

Don't try and match me.

Yeah, that's not happening quite yet, and it's a good reminder to really focus on the learning rather than the beating. Still she stands back and watches, attentive, seemingly always ready to react.

For all he's thinking of the differences from his own weapon of choice, 7 is still impressed with his consistency. As she steps up to take her next shot, however, she keeps his words in mind and really takes time on this shot, focusing back on the center of the target rather than lining up with his previous shot.

Careful breathing, lifting the bow and arrow, setting it against her cheek, focus, and fire. She actually hits one of the middle circles of the target itself. It's an improvement and she'll take it.

[thecatinahat]

He gives her an approving nod, wanting to save the arrows for hunting and not this, but he thinks he could settle in and carve more if she wants to keep practicing. "See? Easy," he jokes, because he knows it's far from that, but he figures he'll pretend that it is, give her the praise that she does deserve for that.

Finding himself a whittling knife and some wood, he sits to start fletching out arrows, gesturing to the target. "Who taught you your skills?"

[to_defend]

It is tempting - oh so tempting - to continue practicing. But, her human form here is not nearly as tireless as the doll construct she was, and ending today's session on a high note was a pretty appealing idea. She collects the arrows and sets them in their proper place, along with the bow, then goes to join Cougar and take a look at what he's doing.

"I taught myself. The only other fighter in the group tended to prefer more ... brute strength approach." Not that she couldn't pack a punch, but her skill lay in speed and misdirection, dodging in close to strike at weak points instead of a broad slashing stroke of a wide blade.

"Who taught you?"

[thecatinahat]

Cougar knows people like that. After all, you can't work with men like Clay (and Roque) and not see how it works for them. It never did for him, though, but he's fast, he's lethal in his own way. He shrugs when she asks who taught him.

"Training," he admits, because that's where they'd shown him how to strip a gun and put it back together and how to shoot. The rest, he'd picked up with experience and practice. All the practice that lets you put bullets through people's heads.

Bad or, sometimes, good. He tries not to think about the latter, but it's a constant source of nightmares.

"What group?"

[to_defend]

"Just, survivors." That's what they were, right? The only things alive after the gas, them and the Machines, and that was the rest of it; surviving the human's war, surviving the Machines themselves. It made sense.

"What else do you know?"

[thecatinahat]

He gestures out to the woods, forgetting briefly that not everyone can read his head tilts and lack of words as answers. Not everyone is Jake Jensen. He's going to have to actually open his mouth and talk. "Scouting," he says, which he's very good at. "Traps."

"Card games," he adds with a devilish smirk, because he's so good at card games that he always wins them, but that's because he's good at cheating, not at cards. You just don't admit that to a stranger, is all.

[to_defend]

"Scouting I can do, traps I'd like to learn," If he's willing to teach, "Card games ..." She shrugs. "Not familiar."

She regards his smirk with a bemused smile; she could tell there was definitely something more to it, with an expression like that, but she hadn't any clue what it could be.

[thecatinahat]

He's more than happy to teach someone how to play card games, especially if it means he gets more people to play against and the hopeful smirk on his face shows how much he wants to do that.

"In that case, name the time," he says, because shooting is one thing, but learning how to play cards (and especially poker and blind man's bluff) is another, entirely.

[to_defend]

"Time? Well, whenever. I don't exactly have a busy schedule here."

She had her routine, but routines were weird when you're used to living on the rush of threat of death every other moment, and she's more than happy to interrupt it with anything more interesting.

[thecatinahat]

Cougar nods and thinks that if he's going to teach this, he's going to need some cards. Maybe he'll even have to make a set, but he thinks Jake could also be contracted to help out.

"Good," is all he says, whistling to himself as he ducks his head down to keep whittling his arrows, not wanting her to leave, but also not needing any conversation while he does it.

[to_defend]

She's content to watch him work in silence, inspect the bow and the other arrows, making a mental note of their construction. Eventually, though, she gets antsy and goes back to the targets for another bout of practice shots.