if we live a life of fear / I'll wait a thousand years
just to see you smile again

She highly doubts Harou would approve if he saw her teaming up with a bunch of strangers to maul an elephant. Nyaxia isn't even entirely sure she approves of it herself, but pregnancy has only made her stronger – and hungrier. She can't recall the last time she's tasted elephant and now that she knows it's an option, her mouth is salivating at the opportunity. There were enough that she shouldn't be the main focus of the beast’s ire, hopefully, and the plan was to be home with her slice of the kill before Harou even knew she was gone.

The huntress is grateful no words are needed because she doesn't think her brain could formulate anything intelligent anyway, not when she's locked in. She is small and knows to use that to her advantage, sneaking in a bit wherever possible.

4yrs | no perks
Hunting Party Total Hits: 15/30
Hunter Hit Roll:

Rolling 2d20: 4 + 3

Hunter Luck Roll:

Rolling 5d20: 1 + 13 + 3 + 12 + 14

+20 Take down hard or extra hard prey (dice-roll)
+10 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt systemart by ryuu

So once again, she finds herself in a vast expanse of sheer nothingness. At least the badlands had had its crumbling rock formations and sparse clumps withered trees to break up the landscape. Here, in the desert proper, Kinga struggles to find anything worthwhile beyond the rolling waves of sand, sand, and more sand.

This time, she seeks out the lilac hunter and his entourage on purpose, for if she doesn't find something to occupy her attention, she might be tempted to tear off her lovely coat to ease the sun's sweltering heat.

And the awe-inspiring silhouette of a fully grown elephant is certainly enough to capture her attention.

Sunlight gleams brightly off the dangerous curves of its tusks, and Kinga's wide eyes dilate with childish want as she focuses upon them. Such an extravagant trinket simply must be hers to have. "Mother, please guide us - grant us the power we need to slay this giant so that we may partake in your most bountiful feast, I shall carve its tusks with your praises." The prayer is spoken rapidly between her quickening breaths, her heart pounding in her ears as she throws herself headlong into the fray.

The greatest treasures come with the greatest risks.

+20 Cast a curse or blessing on a character/group (x2)
+10 Meditate or pray on your own or with someone else (x2)
+10 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system (x2)

---

Yearling | N/A
Hunting Party Total Hits: 15/30
Hunter Hit Roll:

Rolling 1d20: 14

Hunter Luck Roll:

Rolling 5d20: 2 + 11 + 20 + 8 + 14

art & code

She'd hoped that the desert would be a more tolerable place to explore this late in the year. Sadly, that seems to be just another assumption she can add to the list of things she'd gotten wrong. Or maybe this is the wasteland's cool season, and her dark coat is just sucking up every drop of heat it can, to her own detriment.

Why must things always be this way?

Regardless, she is certain she can power through the discomfort so long as she has a goal to work towards, and the hunting call offers her precisely that - though she must admit that she hadn't expected the 'goal' to be quite so...unreasonable.

This elephant is far beyond the age that would classify it as 'prey,' in her eyes. She has to blink a couple times to make sure she isn't suffering from some heat-induced hallucination, but the sight before her does not waver - these lions are trying to fell a titan.

And somehow, it almost looks like they might win.

With a deep breath and multiple second thoughts, Maven would sprint to their aid, her straining muscles accompanied by gasping breaths as she agilely ducked beneath swinging tusks, darting towards the giant's flanks. She would seek to latch her claws into the thick hide of a massive leg, pouncing towards the wrinkled knee that towered above her head.

If she could manage to climb a rhino's back, then surely she could do the same to an elephant.

+10 Exercise to gain endurance (excluding spars) (x2)
+10 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system (x2)

---

3 Yrs | N/A
Hunting Party Total Hits: 17/30
Hunter Hit Roll:

Rolling 2d20: 3 + 19

Hunter Luck Roll:

Rolling 5d20: 3 + 4 + 16 + 13 + 11

ART BY SPU, CODE BY DEE

Okay. Okay.

That - that is an elephant, guys. Like, a fully grown, angry elephant. Even Bela has doubts about this, and that’s saying something. He’s not really one to think about things, let alone second guess an idea. But there’s a lot of hunters already there, so it’ll be fine. Besides, he’s his mother’s son, and Leila was nothing if not the best hunter, ever. According to his pa - and his pa is never wrong.

Bela launches himself into the fray, mindful to keep out of the way of those massive feet and the other lions. Unfortunately that isn’t the only thing he should look out for. That big head swings down, around, and suddenly something hard and sharp slams into Bela’s side, bodily picking him up -

For a second, he’s airborne, and then his back slams into a jutting red boulder before he slides down it, limp.

+20 Join another Ranger’s group hunt
+20 Take down hard or extra hard prey (dice-roll)
+10 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system
(Double exp thread)

1 Year | No trade perks
Hunting Party Total Hits: 18/30
Hunter Hit Roll:

Rolling 1d20: 7

Hunter Luck Roll:

Rolling 5d20: 6 + 12 + 18 + 9 + 7

OOC: Medic exp anyone? Boy got yeeted.

Find me where the wild things are

I lose my balance on these eggshells You tell me to tread, I'd rather be a wild one instead. Don't wanna hang around the in crowd. The cool kids aren't cool to me. They're not cooler than we are. So aye, we brought our drum and this is how we dance. We will carve our place into time and space, We will find our way, or we'll make a way. We have no apologies for being. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are.

code by corvus || art by drifty

No, he categorically was not stalking the golden boy.

Was he sticking to the shadows as Béla moved carelessly through the lands, keeping an eye and making sure that nothing happened to him? Maybe.

But it wasn't stalking and he didn't care about what happened to the giant golden boy. When the boy had ventured further than Fen had been before and into terrain that was both not his friend and not enjoyable for the melanistic beast, it had been annoyance on his features as he'd followed. Just to make sure he was safe - afterall, he was perfectly willing to throw himself into various situations that would have killed the younger tiger in his old home.

Trying to stick to the shadows meant he was a little way behind the unkempt sunbeam. But the sudden crunch and thud of a body being thrown was difficult to miss and Fen scaled a dune in time to see Béla hit the rock and crumple. A startled and pissy hiss erupted from the smaller tiger, who moved without really thinking about what he was doing. Plenty of others had gathered to try and take down an elephant, surely he wasn't needed. But instinct had him stepping forward, over the golden males prone body in a protective stance. At the same time, he gave a fierce roar-hiss towards the elephant nearby, claws swiping and body launching forward every now and then to both ward off the enormous creature and perhaps catch a trunk or an eye or anything.

+10 Scout a neutral territory
+10 Complete a hunt in neutral territory using the hunt system
+10 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system

1 Year | No bonus
Hunting Party Total Hits: 19/30
Hunter Hit Roll:

Rolling 1d20: 1

Hunter Luck Roll:

Rolling 5d20: 18 + 4 + 15 + 14 + 19

@Béla
"SPEECH."

code by scorpixia♡︎

The cooler season made her more willing to venture into the arid region, even under the high sun and amidst the dunes, with clouds providing some relief from the oppressive heat. As she gently collected the fleshy leaves of aloe from the plant, preparing to move on to gather senna from the neighboring wasteland, a familiar roar echoed through her ears. It was no longer startling; she had come to recognize the distinctive call as a signal for aid in a hunt. Swiftly, she stuffed her findings into her pouch and glided towards the source of the sound.

This time, however, the reason for the call was more alarming than her usual nervousness around the crowd that had gathered. She observed a furious elephant surrounded by the encroaching party, her ears instinctively pinning back. Surely, they weren't intending to make the bellowing bull their quarry? She cast a nervous glance at the crowd and recognized the massive stranger who frequently issued the call for help. Her attention then fixed on @Nyaxia, her happiness at seeing her friend slightly overshadowed by the worry slithering in her belly.

Her concern soon shifted to a new figure as she watched their golden form being hurled away from the colossal creature. The hard surface they hit offered little cushioning, and she winced sympathetically at the impact. Her initial instinct to assist in the hunt was displaced by the sight of the arrival of an odd feline—a stocky build that was too substantial to be a leopard, yet no leonine scent. The creature now stood protectively over their fallen ally, driving Elara forward to offer her help. The fallen creature was as unusual as the one defending it.
"Oh dear, are they alright?" she called out to the defender as she approached, wishing to assess their condition.

+5 +10 Collect herbs
+5 +10 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system

2 years | trade hunt perks (if applicable)
Hunting Party Total Hits: 21/30
Hunter Hit Roll:

Rolling 2d20: 18 + 13

Hunter Luck Roll:

Rolling 5d20: 5 + 16 + 1 + 2 + 6

@Bela @Fen

everything is better in california

code by loki

TASKS (PALADIN): 5xp 10xp - Exercise to gain endurance (excluding spars) (1/2) (DOUBLE XP FROM DOMINIC).
5xp 10xp - Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system (1/2) (DOUBLE XP FROM DOMINIC).
TASKS (RANGER): 10xp 20xp - Take down hard or extra hard prey (DOUBLE XP FROM DOMINIC).

---

Was it, perhaps, a little unseemly of him to sweep into a hunt when the beast was already on the cusp on toppling and the other lions had already done all the hard work? Perhaps to some - Ilarion himself had judged others for doing it when he'd been on the other end. In other situations, he probably would've moved on and found his own quarry. But he saw - clear as day - the unfortunate golden cat go flying, and some of the others look to assist them. It was another elephant, too; not the easiest of prey to fell by any stretch of the imagination. Reasoning that they would need all the help they would get, especially with one of their hunters now fallen - and hopefully not dead - Ilarion would quickly assimilate himself into the mix with swift, decisive movements, sprinting in a bid to close the gap. He would not move toward Bela; not out of callousness, but simply because he would be no use in that regard. The others seemed to have it covered.

The sooner they brought this creature down, the safer everyone would be.

And so he would use his fangs and claws in the way he knew best; to rend and tear into the impossibly thick hide of the tusked creature.

[ 9 YEARS | N/A ]
Hunting Party Total Hits: 23/30
Hunter Hit Roll:

Rolling 2d20: 17 + 5

Hunter Luck Roll:

Rolling 5d20: 13 + 20 + 18 + 2 + 1

code by flea, art by yumpy ♥

TASKS (SLEUTH): 5xp 10xp - Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system (1/2) (DOUBLE XP FROM DOMINIC).
5xp 10xp - Practice reading lips (DOUBLE XP FROM DOMINIC).

---

When she'd seen Bela arching through the air like a ragdoll, she'd winced visibly, muscles tensing in an already hunched-over and crouched position. Farrah's stomach growled angrily at her, hunger gnawing at her gut... and yet seeing the poor liger fall in such a way was off-putting. She was no coward, but she was all about self-preservation - wasn't any self-respecting cat the same? The mahogany wraith knew she could probably find easier prey around here if she put her mind to it, and yet this opportunity.... well, the amount of meat that could be salvaged from that carcass would be enough to feed them all, and then some. She'd be an idiot to walk away, right? When the elephant was already so wounded. Clearly not enough to not be a threat, judging by the bruised and battered liger, but... it wouldn't take much more, right? Just a little extra nudge off the precipice? She lingered a moment longer, watching the two felines that stood with - and over - the fallen hunter. The band lioness squinted slightly, focusing on the mouth of the pale brown lioness - Elara - in a bid to pick up the question she asked the spotted defender. Is he alright? Poor bastard would quite possibly be lucky to live, if the horror stories of elephant hunts were anything to go by. And yet, with a sigh through gritted teeth, Farrah would steel herself as she bolted from her vantage spot nearby. The spot where she'd been quite comfortably, up until this point. The lioness veered towards the hunt, dodging around Bela and the two who stood tending to him in a swift jog, then slinking into an opening in the mass and latching onto a large, grey, trembling pillar.

Spirits, she hoped she didn't end up regretting this....

[ 3 YEARS | N/A ]
Hunting Party Total Hits: 26/30
Hunter Hit Roll:

Rolling 2d20: 17 + 15

Hunter Luck Roll:

Rolling 5d20: 1 + 11 + 10 + 18 + 6

He felt like a king waiting for his servants to do all of the difficult work. It was... interesting. For a while, he slunk in the distance, hiding his form as he could so that none would notice him. Already, he had rolled in the hot sands, hoping to mask his scent into something indistinguishable from the vast desert expanse around them. But no more. A beast needed to be felled and so it would.

Charging in to join the fray, he positioned himself where best he could, snapping teeth and raking claws in time with the others to maintain pressure on the creature.

+5 +10 Practice covering your scent (2x from Dom)
+5 +10 Practice speed or stealth (2x from Dom)
+5 +10 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system (2x from Dom)

2 years | N/A
Hunting Party Total Hits: 29/30
Hunter Hit Roll:

Rolling 2d20: 2 + 3

Hunter Luck Roll:

Rolling 5d20: 5 + 3 + 4 + 11 + 17

ART BY SCARF, CODE BY DEE

+5 Participate in a hunt using the rolled hunt system
+5 Study the landscape of an area
+5 Practice disguising your appearance

---

The smoothly poured lines of the dunes, by now, seemed interrupted by an oil fire of tracks and blood. Not the mention the trumpeting. The yowling. Anyone in the area, by this stage in the hunt, must know what was going on. Weimar hung back, hesitant to attack an elephant, deciding it was more their regal and near-sacred aspect rather than the palpable risk to his precious life that birthed his caution. He maintained his watch by pacing along a higher ridge that was held in place by a line of sturdy scrub brush. The other dunes shifted with the winds; this one would endure. It would likely be here next time he chanced this way. His steps pelted up dust and at first he wrinkled his nose, but then he succumbed to superstition (and an itch along his back) and rolled around it the sand, blurring out the telltale strawberry spots and adding more streaks to his mane. Hopefully he looked more of a common peach than the unusual strawberry he usually proudly bore. So the spirit of the elephants would be less likely to get pissed at him.

Because: and get this: he didn't want to attack, he really didn't, but it was obviously doomed anyway. And he was hungry. And if he waited any longer, he could claim no part in the kill at all, and then someone might chase him off for daring to eat anyway and... he did need to eat. It was important. So he did attack, trying desperately not to look like he was moseying in to leech the kill credit. Held himself all slinky like. You know, like he'd been strategizing this whole time.

3yo | no perks
Hunting Party Total Hits: 29
Hunter Hit Roll:

Rolling 2d20: 8 + 15

Hunter Luck Roll:

Rolling 6d20: 14 + 5 + 20 + 10 + 11 + 18