John & Aidan

Not knowing that the Lurkers had come to take the rest of Aidan's offspring on a little outting, John had to settle for taking Aidan out with him. The big, blue-eyed hybrid had a tendancy to maul the birds and thrash them about before returning them to John, but at least he didn't run off and eat them anymore.

"Alright, get out there. Go find the birds!" John said, waving his arm to send Aidan off in head of him.

Aidan wagged his tail, ears perked as he listened to the ramble of noises. Birds, that was one he knew. Holding back a whine of excitement, the hybrid bolted through the tall grasses, weaving this way and that as he searched for the pheasants to scare into the air.

Tahmores*Ravenwing

With the silence of old practice, two pairs of bronze-skinned feet pulled up beside John, one on either side. Ravenwing had leant Tahmores his spare bow, since knives were really unsuitable for this type of hunting, and Tah's had been broken long ago.

Each stood silent, eyes hard on the sky above the moving grass that was Aidan, waiting for the first signs of something taking flight...

Mark/Lady/Jelani

Mark and Lady of the African Pack ran through the grass. Jelani flew overhead, unaware of the danger that lurked nearby. The African wild dogs' pelts camouflaged quite nicely with the dry grass. Then Mark spotted the humans. He came to a halt and lowered himself down. Lady did the same. Here they waited, about 50 feet from the hunters, hoping they would not be spotted. Jelani, however, continued to fly in the sky...

Huyana/Kaliska

Huyana walked across the prairie, Kaliska at her side. Her black hair was pulled back and put in a braid to keep it out of her face. She could not see the African wild dogs, nor did she notice the bird. She did, however, see the people standing a long distance from her. She figured they must be hunting. She hadn't tried bringing a duck down for a year or so. Always the friendly one, the Native American girl smiled waved to the hunters, then went back to watching any wildlife she could see.

Kaliska sat down next to her owner. After a while, as curiosity overwhelmed her, she approached the three strangers, but stopped a few yards away, meowing loudly. "Be polite, Kaliska." Huyana simply said.

*Birds*

A flock of grackles flew above the humans, unaware of the danger. There were 14 of them, all flying in a group.

Tahmores*Ravenwing

The wave of Huyana's arm brought Tahmores' green eyes to rest on her, and his soft voice was barely loud enough to carry across to her. Greetings, wind-sister.

But Ravenwing's eyes were diverted by the flock of grackles above them, and he raised his bow silently, waiting... and then suddenly he loosed an arrow for the heart of the flock.

This confused Tahmores, who had never heard of using grackles for food... but, taking advantage of whatever it was Raven was up to, he too soon loosed an arrow toward the birds...

*Birds*

The first arrow took the birds by surprise. Ravenwing's arrow went straight through the stomach of one of the grackles. The black bird fell straight to the ground, dead.

However, the birds were more prepared for the second arrow, after seeing their friend tumble to the earth. Still, Tahmores' arrow hit the wing of one of the younger grackles. She tried to keep her balance, but eventually was forced to land on the ground. She staggered around a bit, trying to get away from the humans, but was very slow.

Huyana/Kaliska/Mark/Lady/Jelani

Huyana smiled at Tahmores. In the blink of an eye, the birds were brought down. "You have good aim." She said to the strangers, watching the young female bird try to get away.

Kaliska crouched down in the grass, her big eyes fixed on the injured grackle. Huyana placed her hand on the cat's back and spoke. "It is their catch; leave it for them." She said, now looking down at Kaliska.

Jelani circled around frantically when the grackles went down. He didn't know what to do. "Flee! Flee!" The small bird called out, moving quickly to avoid being shot at.

Mark and Lady watched the arrows strike the birds. "How dare they take the lives of those innocent creatures!" Mark growled. Together, the African wild dogs stalked closer, just in view of the humans. Now they were in danger. They would have to act quickly. Mark leapt up at Tahmores, snapping wildly, while Lady struck out at Ravenwing's leg.

Tahmores*Ravenwing

Tahmores was just about to hurry forward and break the wounded bird's neck, to end its suffering mercifully, but he was caught up short by Mark's vicious attack. An arm lifted to block his snapping and send the dog back to the ground, a confused growl sounding, the kind that said, Why do you attack us? We only hunt to feed ourselves, as you do. Even as his arm bled from Mark's attack, he did not want to hurt a "fellow" canine.

Ravenwing, on the other hand, had no connection to canines, and so as he jerked his leg away from Lady's attack, the dark-haired man drew another arrow and leveled it at the fae, though he did not loose it yet. As did most Native Americans, the man believed that to make an unnecessary kill was an almost unforgiveable offense, and so until Lady actually did him harm, Raven would not hurt her.

Mark/Lady

Mark stopped his attack when Tahmores growled. He responded with a growl of his own. The humans keep us from harming their sheep and kill us when we enter their pastures. We must defend our own territories the same way. Yet he did not attack again, as if giving the human another chance. You have cows and sheep and chickens in your pastures - slaughter those so you are not wasting the Lord's animals.

Lady stepped back, but growled and raised her hackles. The dogs made it clear that as long as the humans had beasts in their pastures, the wild animals were off limits.

Tahmores*Ravenwing

Tahmores' face screwed up a little in canine concentration as both canines stepped back, making a motion that Ravenwing apparently understood, for he raised his leveled arrow, though he did not put it away. The next growl that sounded was a more sensible, certian one. And are not all animals the Lord's animals? Not the sheep, cows, and chickens in the two-leg pastures? Are they not included in the Lord's affection? This particular thought was displayed more through eyes and body language, as the green eyes lifted to the birds that were fleeing, and tossing his head back toward the direction of the ranch to indicate their animals.

Mark

Mark bared his teeth in anger and frustration. True. They are all loved by the Creator. Came his reply in a growl. But as long as you have your own animals in your own pastures, you need not hunt our own animals in our own territories. You must not waste the Lord's animals.

Tahmores*Ravenwing

Tahmores remained completely calm, now more interested than ever in Mark's clearly advanced way of thinking. This had turned into somewhat of an intellectual debate.

The green eyes lay heavily on Mark, but his next words were "spoken" more in interest than in protest. Aye... you say we must not "waste the Lord's animals." Do we waste them? Perhaps others of my kind do, pad-brother, but I am not such a one. I was raised by others of your kind, taught the proper use of His animals. I do not waste. This all was said in the shifting of his shoulders, the tone of the whine-bark he used, the set to his body. He fought the instinct to fall onto all fours, though he did slowly squat down so as not to be looking down on Mark. He let this statement hit the African wild dog before he continued. But I must confess there is much sense in your words. Come... let me end the suffering of that little one, and we will be on our way. His eyes shifted to the wounded bird, something soft in them. The wing was badly injured enough that the young female would never fly again, and in the wild she was unlikely to survive long with such a disability.

Mark

Mark thought about Tahomre's words for a minute. If you take from the wild, you must give something back. Set one chicken aside, not to be harmed by anyone. He yipped before turning around to see the injured bird. He looked up at the boy, as if he was waiting.

Tahmores*Ravenwing

He reached up to brush the lengthening hair from his eyes, still thinking hard. Admittedly, John and Ravenwing were undoubtedly confused by now, but Tah was just beginning to understand how far he had wandered from his wilder days that he had so valued. So it was that he met Mark's eyes for just a moment, and gave a deep nod. Done.