“What do you think girl? Should we take it?” a hooded older man that looked to be near fifty as the blond hair of his eyebrows were graying asked a woman which looked to be about half his age.

“We might have to wait a little more.” she had pointed to the unfolding seen of a predatory cat, a lynx, facing off with a mother boar with her piglets cowering in the hollow of a tree's roots behind it.

The sow itself was as large as the man and maybe weighed double his own as the big cat was also his size, only leaner.

Both the man and woman wore a similar kind of dark brown cloak with a hood over their heads and armor underneath which was comprised of splints of plate across the forearms and shins held fast by leather and cloth. Their chests and torso were also similarly protected as the plate across the front and back were partly sculpted to their form and some light padding was worn underneath all of it but only enough as to not constrict motion.

The younger lady with brunette bangs visible from under her own hood, not minding being called a girl made a gesture to another pair in cover, just out of sight of the sow and to the flank of the snarling big cat.

Heran had caught the signal which meant “to nock an arrow” which she mirrored towards the canopy of a nearby tree as her partner kept a lookout around them.

This time Heran lacked her chain shirt and salet which was stowed in the branches of a nearby tree along with some of the groups effects. The clinking of the mail would have alerted the animals, especially the ones they were staring at not but it also left her a little bit exposed in terms of defense.

An uncovered head of leaf green hair and yellow eyes caught the gesture and began raise a bolt to crossbow string which was also being done by the older man from the first pair as Heran and her partner were placing rocks in their slings and were at the ready.

The two animals were about to clash as a bolt just pierced into the back of the big cats head which caused the sow to freeze in place. A different bolt then met the sow in the side of the ribs as a pair of stones followed and snapped from the other side of it and into its head, knocking it over and making it land on the bolt that was further pushed into the wound. From one lung, it was driven into another and the barest tip of the fetching was left.

The three crying piglets were shortly captured and secured with a simple net over the tree's roots and a swift blow to the head with a cudgel when they tried to scramble out.

“This catch gives us with more than enough for the rest of the journey and some extra. Won't you say miss Fairhand?” came the remark from the slender female figure climbing down from a tree.

“Yes it would Tula. More than enough when counting the piglets and the forest lynx and again Heran is fine.”

“That it would ladies and this is just how we are miss Heran. But first we have some butchering and cleaning to attend to before we can preserve some of the meat.” said the partner than Heran had which also used a sling.

“I know Elna, so I leave that to you as I found a patch of wild vegetables a little bit ahead.” no sooner did she say this that Tula was already turning to the direction and was out of sight behind a few trees.

Elna simply sighed with her older sister's behavior though she did welcome the thought of having some wild greens as they ran out of their pickled vegtables a few days ago. She then turned to see the other pair as they dragged a sack while a trail of blood dripped through it.

“Why did you do that for Flinel, you old man? And why’d you let him Rina?” Elna near shouting at the pair.

“No use in wasting time.” the older man, Flinel replied now with his hood down and revealing short cropped fading blond hair and a pair of long pointed ears and his partly gray and pale brown complexion.

“I couldn't stop him even if I tried, you already knew that, sister.” Rina stated as a fact which just got Elna to sigh again.

Elna’s hair color was a little in between her older and younger sister as it was a brown with green hue though all of them sported a tied back ponytail and similar length of hair ending at the shoulders.

“Fine. Fine. Now help me here and Heran with the sow and the lynx before the blood attracts anything troublesome.”

“Here.” Heran handing the pair a nice sturdy pole to hang the sack of piglets from.

The two pairs then slung their catch between the poles with Heran and Rina carrying the Lynx and Flinel and Tula with the sow and sack of piglets.

They all stopped at a stream which was just outside of view from where the face off took place and they began to dress the bodies.

The carcasses were skinned and then hide was scrapped and thinned. The bellies were opened and the innards removed. The organs, viscera and blood were washed by the water’s edge though a bit of the fluids were collected. Stomach, liver, intestines, lungs and heart were set aside as the rest was piled up and placed a few paces away on the ground. The heads were removed, skulls were then cracked open and brains collected in different vessels for the pigs and big cat.

By the end of a good couple of hours, there were headless bodies free of most of their blood and organs, some collected and some placed on a pile along with the skulls which were missing some tusks and some teeth. The pile was left to the other residents of the forest to partake in and draw away attention from them.

Truth be told, magic could have made the whole ordeal of capture to campsite easier but the issue of this forest was also part of the strange distribution of mana in it or the lack of it. This causes all the mana-sensitive creatures to be keen to any magic used within the forest and trigger a predatory hunt for the casters as they feed off of mana which strengthens them, even plant eaters and docile animals turn rabid for the nourishing energy. Aura is a little less detectable but cases the same effect on the animals.

Elna had joined them halfway on the second hour with her own small haul of wild roots, herbs and bunches of berries. She had cleaned these by the stream before helping with the rest of the group.

It took near an hour of walking back to their camp which was only a little ways upstream. Once there, they proceeded to cut the meat into parts with some skewered for cooking and others placed on a rack for smoking. The hides were stretched and strung unto frames and a concoction of brain and other viscera was used to tan it.

Elna was the one leading the cooking. Tula and Rina took care of the smoking. Flinel cleaned off any drops of blood that might lead others animals to the camp and then checked on Heran who was tending to the hides.

“Your doing good for someone who hasn't tanned anything larger that a rabbit.” Flinel complimenting Heran’s progress.

“Never had the time to practice the trade. Just had chances to help out here and there but I was really on the acquiring the materials.”

“Explains the way you were proficient with the skinning and rending steps.” Flinel’s statement bringing a grin to Heran’s face.

“Thank you Flinel. So isn't it about time for dinner?”

It was around noon when the group happened on the scene and took most of the rest of the days light for them to finish preparing their haul.

“Yes it is. Again, good work with the skins.”

Flinel gave Heran’s work a quick once over before walking to the fire only several paces away.

The group chatted as they at the feast of roast boar piglet and skewered bits of innards and some wild roots and greens and left the sow and lynx to dry in the smoke. They set watches for the night and tending to the smoking. The next day they had leftovers from that night’s meal as breakfast.

They stayed another day to finish off the smoking and the tanning. After that they broke camp and got to a beastkin village after a few days of careful hiking and stopping only for meals and rest. This made the week long trek a day longer as they chose to dash through on the first two days and slowing on the third, taking a more reasonable pace on the fourth for a hunt on the fifth.

The group was welcomed by an older farmer with a bit of gray in his dark brown coat. The farmer was a large thing as it towered a head taller over tallest of them which was Flinel making the farmer over two heads taller than Heran.

“Haloo travellers! I see you pushed through the quicker roads. I guess you all might be from the direction of Scaleshard.” the large bipedal ox warmly stated.

Heran remembered the manegator she and her Dwarven friends last hunted and the person greeting them looked to be the same size of the beast.

“This one is called Cern and I judge you all might be looking for the village chief?” Cern had said with a parting of his large lips showing a nice pair of rows of flat teeth.

“Thank you Cern for your welcome. My name is Heran and these are my companions. We are simply traveling through though yes we are also wishing to meet the head of this haven before we pass.” Heran answered for the group

“You are most welcome travellers. Now please follow me.” Cern said smiling the whole time and shook and patted some bits of dirt and dust of him as he began to lead them into town and stopping several huts into the walled area.

“Here we are travellers.” Cern softly said as he knocked on the door and announced himself shortly after.

The door opened to reveal a graying of the same height of Cern though was quit leaner but not gaunt. “Welcome travellers and thank you Cern.”

“It is my pleasure Mother Ara.” Cern bowed to the noticeably less harry and strangely shapely ox lady as Cern wore only pants and a belt as his fur was thick enough to not warrant a shirt but the lady was more clothed with a matching pair of a roughspun white blouse and brown pants and an ornate open vest that covered half her upper torso.

Turning to the 4 Elves and one Erun, Cern said“I leave you to her good travellers as I have to return to my field.”

“Thank you again Cern.” Heran said as their group all nodded to him.

“Come in everyone.” Ara directing the whole group into the large circular hut.

The hut had just one entrance and two windows halfway up the roof. Immediately in the door, the first half of the space was a gathering area of sorts with a fire pit in the middle and cushions place around it for seating. The other half had a curtained partition closing it off. The curtains had the ornate pattern and color which was the same with the vest Ara wore. Only some of the floor was covered by mats of woven straw over the hard packed ground.

“Please everyone, sit.” Ara motioned for them all to sit around the fire pit with the cushions on the woven straw mats.

The group sat themselves in the order of Flinel on one end, then Rina, Elan and Tula, and Heran on the other end.

Ara returned from the other side of the curtained partition with a small jar and a kettle she placed on a hook over the firepit and she sat herself in front of the group. She proceeded to stoke some embers and then fed the fire up to a steady flame bringing the water the kettle to a boil before placing in the herbs from the small jar she brought.

No sooner did the steam escape the spout that the curtains parted revealing the form of a much larger person. He was dressed similarly to Ara down to the vest except for the addition of a row of jet black curved spiral tips sown on the hem of the split of the vest and round the collar. He had a pair of horns on his head which was different to the smooth ebony of Ara and Cern and most of the other oxen beast kin. His were pointed in a slight split and had a spiraling texture and jet black color identical to the tips sown unto his vest.

He sat down and his head was at the height where Flinel was before sitting and his horns extended a half a head over that. He bowed to all of them as Ara poured some tea into the cups she laid out for all six of them.

“Welcome to you all. This one is called Arbao and I am the chief of this village named Oohma.” a low and regal tone clung to his words, one which did not go noticed to the group.

“Many thanks for having us Sir Arbao of the Clovenhoof, Auroch of Gold and High councilor of the court of Horn and Hooves. ” this time Flinvel was the one that spoke with a tone of respect for a superior, a straight back and a salute in the form of the right fist over his left chest.

The ladies of the group were slack-jawed in Flinel’s pronouncement as Ara gave a soft smile which did not reach her eyes that were in an easy yet keen appraisal of Flinel and the rest. Arbao was also smiling and his was one which was clear in his gaze and shortly breaking him into hearty laughter