(0/2) +10 Teach someone how to mask their scent (double xp activated)
(0/2) +10 Practice covering your tracks (double xp activated)
(0/2) +10 Practice hiding your scent (double xp activated)
Arkyn had decided himself that he was going to teach Csitri a few things to keep herself safer and undetected, especially if he weren't around to jump in to protect and defend. He'd called for her not too far from the glades, waiting for her arrival before he continued onward. He wouldn't stop until they were in the thick of it, yellow eyes scanning his surroundings as a deep hum vibrated within his chest. It had just rain the night before which left the dirt trails that intermingled within the glades to become muddy, something that would be perfect for what he was about to teach.

"We'll start here," the Viking finally decides, rolling his shoulders before pivoting so that he were now facing @Csitri. "What all do you know about keeping your presence undetected?" Brow rises as he waits for an answer, wondering if she had ever been taught to conceal her presence.

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The piebald healer had been excited when he'd wanted her to join him, but this wasn't at all what she'd expected. Perhaps a frolic in the flowers or a nap under a tree, but certainly not traipsing through the wilds of the glades. It felt like an undercover mission for just the two of them, and Csitri found herself grinning despite the ever-serious look on Arkyn's face.

That fell all too quickly when he stopped and turned to her, the earthy woman stuttering to a halt herself and nearly tripping over her paws. Her thick tail swished uneasily at her ankles as he spoke of hiding. A giggle bubbled past her lips as she stared blankly at him. "A little, why? I thought we might be going hunting." there was a thread of complaint in her tone, brows furrowing just a bit.

Hopefully this wouldn't be some sort of mission to get her covered in mud - she'd only called him a pig the first time they'd met to loosen him up. Seemed like now it'd finally caught up and bit her in the ass.

@Arkyn

CODE / YUMPY

(0/2) +10 Teach someone how to mask their scent (double xp activated)
(0/2) +10 Practice covering your tracks (double xp activated)
(0/2) +10 Practice hiding your scent (double xp activated)
"Hunting is for later," the beast would respond, more than aware of the disapproving tone in her words. "I'm not always going to be around, and I need you to know how to keep yourself safe." To Arkyn, this was just as serious as having to breath to live, and even if @Csitri didn't see it that way it would make him feel a bit better knowing that she at least had more knowledge of how to conceal. "Covering tracks and covering your scent come in handy in a lot of scenarios - like hunting. Follow me."

He'd begin to walk forward on the muddy trail, making it a point to leave deep impressions with each step. After a couple of moments, Arkyn would come back to a halt and turn around once more to face the healer. "So we've left tracks that are undeniably lion. How would you go about and get rid of them in the mud?" His curiosity was thrumming within him, wondering what she would do.

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Fluffy cheeks would puff out in a pout before she'd release a breath and nod obediently. Arkyn was right, although she couldn't even imagine him not being there. At this point, they were essentially bonded at the hip, always somehow meeting in places they hadn't even meant to. The thought had her brows furrowing further, a scowl setting on her features as she fixed him with an expression of reprimand.

"I don't want to think about you not being here, Arkyn." she'd respond, an unusual amount of seriousness in her voice. "I'd kill anyone who tried." that was a distinct impossibility with her lack of skill in fighting, but Csitri knew how to poison others if necessary. And she'd poison damn near the whole world if it meant keeping the peach man before her safe. But that was a very deep conversation to be had another day.

Shaking herself to hopefully help rattle the foul mood she was falling into out of her, the lioness would straighten and fix Arkyn with a decidedly playful, faux-serious expression. A snort breeze through her nostrils when he plodded through the mud then turned to her for an answer. This one was easy peasy!

Glancing around for a moment, she'd grab a branch from a nearby bush that was sturdy and thickly foliaged enough for the job. Csitri would then proceed to brush at the paw prints in the mud. After a thorough brushing, she'd sit back to admire her work - eyes shining triumphantly up at Arkyn.

"An' ye keepth it fer as ya go." she explained through the branch in her teeth.

@Arkyn

CODE / YUMPY

(0/2) +10 Teach someone how to mask their scent (double xp activated)
(1/2) +10 Practice covering your tracks (double xp activated)
(0/2) +10 Practice hiding your scent (double xp activated)
His eyes follow @Csitri as she makes her way toward a bush. She rips off a branch covered in foliage and he watches as she begins to swipe away at their prints, making them near impossible to recognize. "That's right," he respond with satisfaction lacing his words. He, too, would move toward another bush and would grab a stick full of leaves for himself, beginning to help cover up the tracks they had made down the path. Even though he was teaching it never hurt to sharpen up your own skills.

Once satisfied, Arkyn would toss the stick to the side before tongue rasped across his lips to rid of debris and any loose bark. "What other way do you think you'd be able to get rid of them?" As he spoke, the brute began to pad once more down the trail they had just cleared of prints, creating more deep impressions.

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It's actually a decent time, sweeping away their footfalls in the mud. She hardly even flinches as mud speckles her soft coat. The familiar warmth and elation of pride fills her chest, sending the woman to puffing up like a rooster when he praises her. Csitri wasn't as hapless as some might think! But then the man goes and ruins their work, and she flings her branch off to the side with a perplexed look on her face.

He wanted another demonstration? This she hadn't quite prepared for. Her brows screw together, head cocking to the side as she considers her next move. Adding her scent to the mix didn't seem like the greatest idea, and rolling around in the mud would be far too tedious a feat for every square inch of space they tread.

Tail thumping at her side, swishing the leaves behind her, the healer would consider a moment. She'd only ever learned the simplest of ways to do this, the little tricks she could use in a pinch. The woman was by no means a master. So she'd give up, curious of what his next instruction would be.

"I'm not sure." Cissy admitted, teeth worrying her lip. How disappointing.

@Arkyn

CODE / YUMPY

(1/2) +10 Teach someone how to mask their scent (double xp activated)
(2/2) +10 Practice covering your tracks (double xp activated)
(0/2) +10 Practice hiding your scent (double xp activated)
He would have been shocked if @Csitri had gotten this answer correct. It was by far a rather unusual way to keep your your tracks concealed, but it was a way he’d taught himself as a cub and always found it fun when he was younger. But now it was more difficult to do with him being as large as he was. “Have you ever heard of the term ‘doubling back’?” Arkyn waits a moment before beginning to slowly walk backwards, his skull turned slightly so that he could see the paw prints in the mud better.

He would follow his own tracks backwards, making sure that each paw stepped into each track carefully. “This is a more difficult and time consuming way to cover them, but if you need someone to think you went the other way than the way you came, this may come in handy.” He would stop right after he stepped onto his last track, giving his body a good shake to rid the muscles that were beginning to grow tired - walking backward worked out muscles he didn’t even know could be worked on. “Now it’s time to learn how to mask your scent.” A grin spreads onto his lips as eyes watch her face, having a feeling that he knew what she was thinking and how much she didn’t want to do it. “What around here can you use to help mask your scent?”

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The following instruction piqued her interest. Watching a man as big as Arkyn walk backward was honestly something she'd never prepared to see. The sight of it had her cracking up, nearly stumbling back into the brush behind her. "Oh my gosh, no. I've never seen that done before!" There was no doubt the beast looked rather silly doing it, but when she observed the outcome of his hard work, she couldn't deny that it was a rather impressive idea. With her smaller build, it would be much easier for her to do so than him.

Practicing a few steps, whipping front to back and deftly placing her paws in each dip she'd made was actually quite fun. Panting lightly when she was done, her face would fall in horror at his next suggestion. The healer wasn't usually adverse to getting down and dirty, but mud was awfully difficult to get out of your fur once it dried.

Almost frantically, she'd whip her head this way and that to look for an alternative other than mud. "Ummm I'm sure there're some strong-smelling flowers somewhere we can rub against and roll on." she'd chatter, hoping to change his mind. "Or some pine needles? Those have a strong scent." Not the mud. Don't you dare make her roll in the damn mud, Arkyn.

@Arkyn

CODE / YUMPY

(2/2) +10 Teach someone how to mask their scent (double xp activated)
(2/2) +10 Practice covering your tracks (double xp activated)
(1/2) +10 Practice hiding your scent (double xp activated)

A snort left him whenever he heard her laughter, but soon enough he knew he’d be getting his payback by means of using what was around them to cover up their scents. Arkyn watched as @Csitri so desperately tried to find something else to suggest other than the mud itself, and a thoughtful hum would come from him whenever she suggested flowers around them. “When there are flowers around that would work. But do you see any flowers?” Brow rises as his eyes scan around them, coming up empty of seeing any flowers around them.

“But there is thick grass that has a strong scent of its own!” the brute would then say after a rather long period of silence, wanting her to counter to flounder in thinking mud was the only way. After he spoke, Arkyn moved toward a patch of dewy grass and allowed for his body to throw itself down on top of it. From there, he’d roll around to make sure he was rubbing the grass all over the parts of his body it could reach, wanting to be thorough. “You can use almost anything to help cover up scents, but do you know what works the best?” He now rises, shaking off once more before eyes settle back upon Csitri.

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The jerk knew what he was doing. She knew he knew her feelings on this, and this was an elaborate way to tease her. One that was most definitely going to end up with her in the mud. Fuck. Csitri wildly looked around for the flowers she'd mentioned. Weren't there some nearby? They could grow pretty much anywhere! They were in a perfect place for flowers to flourish. Or maybe that was the denial talking.

A gasp left her maw when he mentioned grass. Oh yes, a good save! She'd watch him roll in the grass, suppressing another snicker as she watched him roll around like some sort of dog. But that'd come to an abrupt halt when he stood and hinted at the next order of business.

"But...the grass! Yes, the grass was a good one. That's probably the best way to cover up your scent. The dew and the smell, and it's pretty refreshing too. You're so smart." she'd nod as if that concluded that, letting the silence stretch. It was a horrible last ditch effort, but a girl had to do what she had to do.

Cissy knew Arkyn though. He wouldn't be satisfied with her skirting around what he truly intended. She wasn't a fool, mud was the best trick in the book to hide your scent. She'd been avoiding it because it'd be a pain later, but that was obviously not gonna get her anywhere.

So like a feral animal pushed into a corner, she attacked. With near-rabid speed, she'd scoop up a paw full of sticky mud and fling it right at Arkyn's big fat head. "Or the fucking mud. There. Happy?" she'd holler, knowing she'd have to face it eventually. Better to let it smack him - literally - in the face first rather than her.

@Arkyn

CODE / YUMPY