blkdragon

grounded
2004-03-14 01:09:44 (UTC)

Sabin is on guard.....beware!-vignette

Sabin follows the herd quietly, she knows that Musai isn't
far behind, she also knows that she must be careful and
remain the hunter. She keeps her nose to the spoor and is
careful to stay out of the way of the other hunters in the
night.
Musai follows the tracks left by Sabin, they've trained
each other well. Sabin leaves sign for him, tracks that he
can spot readily. They stay on the trail for the next two
hours, the herd believes itself safe, it has outdistanced
the Mother and slows to a canter; the scouts check for
recognizable scents and find nothing. They relax in a
clearing in the woods!
Sabin lowers herself to the forest floor and waits for
Musai to catch up to her. The herd moved too quickly for
her to separate any one member, now they must improvise
the failsafe plan. Musai arrives with bow in hand and
motions for Sabin to stay put, he continues forward with
an arrow nocked and ready.
Musai is so intent on his prey that he doesn't notice the
adder coiled under an overhang he's close to, Sabin isn't
close enough to have noticed or she'd have warned him.
This particular serpent is mean tempered and strikes
anything and everything within range. Musai bends on one
knee and takes aim, Sabin has disobeyed him and is close
enough to see the snake coil and prepare to strike, but
too far away to stop it; she breaks into a run anyway. She
sounds her alarm and the irony is that she sounds
heartbroken.
The snake strikes Musai in the meat of his calf, he drops
his bow to reach for the snake, but it's recoiled and
preparing for another attempt at him. Sabin reaches it
first, it's so intent upon Musai that it never sees her,
she's gripped it's head in her jaw and bites down hard.
The herd has heard the commotion and bounds from the
clearing, Musai curses himself for his carelessness and
checks to ensure that Sabin is unhurt.
Sabin looks at Musai, she's whining her concern. Musai
embraces her and says, "good girl", he checks his leg and
begins preparations to stop the flow of venom. Sabin lays
on her stomach and never takes her eyes off Musai,
awaiting his instuctions, he tells her; "it's ok Sabin!"
Musai is thankful that he recognizes this species, he
still curses himself because this snake is going to cost
him a few days of hunting and he'll need to find somewhere
to hole up where he'll be safe.
Musai begins to regulate his breathing and slows his
movements to keep the poison from taking effect before he
finds suitable shelter. He has dried meat and water enough
to go to ground and he knows the area. The affects of the
snake bite will become more pronounced within the hour, it
will alter his senses, vision/smell and taste; he will be
vulnerable and he will make Sabin vulnerable.
Musai heads for the hillside, there's a cave nearby and he
needs to get enough wood to get a fire going, he'll need
one at the mouth of the cave and one inside. The fire at
the mouth of the cave will need to be considerable, it
will act as a deterrent. Musai ties a leather strap around
his leg, just below his knee, he needs to allow the blood
to continue to flow; slowly.
He gathers as many large logs as he can and Sabin
understands and begins to pick up smaller pieces of wood
in her mouth, they bring them to the cave. His tongue is
starting to feel strange, as though he's sucking dirt, he
picks up his pace and heads out to gather more logs; he
hopes he can get enough to ensure Sabin's safety while
he's under the influence of the venom.
He returns to the cave with what he hopes is enough wood,
luckily there hasn't been much rain lately, the wood isn't
completely dry and will give off heat; while it burns
slowly, luck is with them. They retire into the body of
the cave, the fire inside is already burning steadily. He
lays his pack on the floor of the cave and almost loses
his balance getting to the floor. Sabin rushes to his
side, "I'm ok, girl, come; rest with me."
Sabin lays her muzzle on Musai's stomach, alternating her
gaze between Musai's face and the cave entrance, she can't
hide her concern. Musai speaks to her in calm tones, he
knows she's worried for him, "we'll stay here a while; I
need to rest, then we'll continue the hunt! Don't worry,
we'll be fine!" Sabin rises, she licks his face and
returns her muzzle to his stomach, never taking her eyes
off him while he's conscious.
Musai is grateful for Sabin, he knows she'll look out for
him and his vision begins to suffer, he can't smell the
smoke from the fire now and he understands that the venom
is taking effect. He's glad he didn't run into a Spitting
Cobra, he wouldn't be so lucky as he is now, he's hoping
the venom will run it's course quickly. Musai curses
himself just before he loses consciousness, it will take
that much longer for him to return home with his kill and
he must make the kill before he can return home; he's
thankful he'll live through this, Sabin is with him.
Sabin rises and parks under his arm, facing the opening of
the cave, she's on guard now. Anything that enters will
have to kill her to get to him, she looks at him and
whimpers quietly, then she looks to the opening and sounds
a warning to any that listen.




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