A Matching Set Hunting Trip

“So, we are now on our way to find out how we will be hunting with this time!” Sleeping cheered and flared her wings out as she traveled up the mountains to where they will be meeting the third member of their hunting group. Nubi shook her head despairingly, but there was definitely fondness in her gaze as she walked ahead of her handler.

“Yes, we are,” Birch smiled and laughed at Sleeping’s enthusiasm. He was riding Sol again thankfully. Sol’s side was doing spectacularly, there was only a bandage on it because Birch wanted to keep dirt from entering the wound and causing it to get infected.

“Do you know who we are meeting and if they have a handler or if it is just a ballator that we are going to be working with?” Nubi grumbled out, she did not appreciate having to admit that she did not know and ask the accompanying stallion.

“It is just a mare that we will be meeting. She will be another mountain mare. To my knowledge, she will not be accompanied by a handler,” Birch said as he tracked on. As much as his injury had mellowed him out so that he was not as aggressive to other, he still did not like dealing with others.

“Nope, I am alone on this entourage,” a feminine voice spoke up as a white mare approached the group. She, Angelus Mortis, was striding with intent, the golden shoes on her feet making her height over the group’s occupants even more terrifying. The spiked cap on her horns gleamed brightly in the minimal amount of sun showing through the thick cloud cover. Overall, the mare was intimidating beyond everything.

“Are you Angelus?” Birch asked the ballator as he slid down from Sol’s back. The mare nodded at Birch, watching him with her unnerving stare.

“Well, what are you all waiting for? For the mountain lion to come and eat your bones? Come on!” Angelus turned around and flipped her tail to motion to the other to follow her up the path. Looking at each other, Birch and Sleeping could only shrug their shoulders and follow the mare. They were just happy that their bags for their stay would be arriving later on a large cart so that they would not have to deal with them and the mare that wanted to go.

At her words, Nubi and Sol locked eyes, they had come to an understanding over the course of their traveling that they would pretend the other did not exist unless they were actively hunting, but Angelus made them instantly dislike her bold nature. She did not go well with their personalities. Thankfully it would only last for a single hunt, but they needed to last that single hunt first.

“Hey Birch,” Sleeping whispered to the rider next to her. When Nubi and Sol had locked eyes, the two riders had led the two closer together to talk to each other, “I think they do not like each other.” Sleeping motioned at the giant gap between the leading mare and Nubi and Sol. Birch nodded.

They wandered around for a while before the night drew it closer. Knowing that they were nowhere near where the cabin that they should have been staying in was, Birch spoke up, “We have passed a few caves around twenty minutes ago, I propose that we strike up camp there for the night and then try again tomorrow.” Sleeping nodded her agreement – or was that from her nodding off to sleep – from on Nubi’s back. Angelus just huffed, but followed the group when they turned around to head towards the future site of their camp for the night.

Hours later, a cry woke everyone up. A figure that belonging to that of any of the group was standing in front of the cave’s only exit. The cry had come from Nubi that had alarmed everyone to the sight of the predators, there were three mountain lions. Prowling forward, each of the ballators quickly claimed their own target, but the mountain lions had their own target. They were aiming for one of the weaker members of the group: Birch.

A crash and a loud boom were the only warning before a torrent of rain fell from the sky, falling from the clouds that had moved in while everyone had been sleeping. Lightning illuminated the dark cave for a moment before all chaos broke out. The mountain lions had taken the lightning as their cue to jump at their prey. Nubi and Angelus were on their prey in a moment, growls and rattling filling the air as they fought. Sol was slower due to his injury making him stiff so his mountain lion mark made it to Birch. Thankfully for Birch, the arm that the mountain lion had gotten to was his wooden one. The claws latched onto his shoulder before Birch managed, with Sol pulling and tearing into it too, get it off him. The cougar got in one last shot though, swiping and scratching Sol’s non-wooden leg. Sol snapped then, with rage he struck out hard with his hooves onto the cougar’s back. The cougar died quickly.

Following the trend, Nubi did the same as Sol. It had worked when they took out the coyotes and it worked again when taking out the mountain lions. Angelus did not follow the trend though, she severed the spinal cord at the base of the neck with a well-placed bite.

The thunder crashed again outside as Birch relaxed against Sol’s stomach while treating his leg. “Are you okay?” Sleeping asked worried as she watched Birch tear the end of his pants to get at the bleeding wound below. As much blood as there was, it was not too bad of an injury. As much as he had to bandage it, he was not worried about the wound. It would heal easily with some of his ointment and his quick healing.

“I will be, don’t worry,” Birch smiled and went to stand up, but Sol did not let him. Sol pulled him down again and then got up. From there Sol just pulled Birch onto his back. Nubi was not helping at all when she went and pulled the cougar carcasses onto the sled they brought with them to carry the bodies.

“Well then,” Sleeping said as she got onto Nubi. Angelus was already through the mouth of the cave and into the drizzling rain, she was pulling the sled as she headed back to the cabin ahead of the group which was not too good since she had the best idea on where to go to get back.

“I guess that we should get going then,” Birch remarked as he led Sol in a run after the quickly moving mare – how was she going that fast while making sure that she did not lose any of the mountain lion bodies? – with Sleeping and Nubi quickly behind him. As with the trend between the two, Nubi and Sol started trying to get ahead of the other in a race to the cabin. Birch and Sleeping could only sit back and hold on as they ran.