10 Glade 4622
With Swift out of the way and happy, Sam got to work investigating the meadow. He headed back and started from the few signs he had spotted of activity earlier and knelt down. There was a game trail, a faint one but travelled enough that individual paw prints were too obscured for his abilities. He follows along the game trail a bit towards the edge of the forest. He spots a lot of rabbit feces but a different poo catches his attention. He knelt down and was happy to find a decently fresh canine pile. It had to be a fox! It was small and the paw prints around it looked like a fox. This all hopefully meant that the fox Swift had spotted a while ago was still in the area, or at least a new fox was around.
He guessed that his push and pull logic for rabbits would work on any animal, included carnivores. What he didn’t want happening was for the rabbits to get drawn in by the farm fields and then trapped by the carnivores that came in for them. Sam wanted to try and build up a larger predator base before the rabbits got pulled onto the fields with the promise of food.
He wasn’t exactly sure how he would draw more predators here or even what he was going to do with the fox around here. He went with his gut and tossed the rabbit carcass from before down in an open spot and walked away about 5 or 6 feet and sat in the grass. He would at the very least try to draw out as many local predators as he could to get a headcount and see if they were brave enough or comfortable enough to come out and eat.
It was moments like these. The peaceful, quiet, slow moments that Sam craved. He enjoyed his time with Swift 100%, but being able to put it all down when she was resting and just listen to the world around him. It was an appreciation that was amplified by Resonance. He could close his eyes and feel the world around him. He could almost picture it all in his mind as he listened, amplifying and dampening without much thought as the noises rolled in.
He truly wondered what life was like before he was inducted into Resonance. The ability to scale sounds, pick them apart and dissect them. It was beautiful when he had the time to sit and enjoy the process, expending minimal ether here and there as he played around with the sounds around him.
After a few hours of patiently waiting, he heard a rustle, then another in the grass. He opened his eyes and spotted a clump of red in the sea of green grass. The fox was watching him fully. It slowly inched its way ever closer to the carcass. Reacting to a sudden thought, Sam cast Entangle on the carcass, wrapping roots around the rabbit to anchor it down, preventing a snatch and run situation. The fox was a little spooked by the roots but kept it’s focus on the rathor. It waited longer as the fox assessed the situation. Sam smiled as he could almost see the wheels turning. He watched on as the fox determined if the risk of being caught or harmed by the unknown rathor was worth the risk of a free meal.
The predictable move exploded into action. The fox bolted for the carcass and grabbed it, tugging hard to take it with but the carcass was held fast. In the burst of motion, the fox was only able to snag a small bite before retreating into the woods. Sam smiled, he had seen this before and it usually played out in his favor. Ever since getting initiated into Druidism, animals tended to be calmer around him and that made gaining trust much easier and faster. Baiting a fox into one area might take someone a couple weeks to a month whereas Sam was confident it would only take a few hours to a couple days to build a bond with how responsive this fox was to him. The bond would need to be nurtured over a few days to make it last if Sam left for a few days.
Indeed, it wasn’t long before the fox returned. This time a little more confident as it glided through the grass like a gentle breeze. It closed in on the carcass and looked about ready to eat. But Sam needed to push this fox just a bit. The fox was in great condition and clearly took care of itself quite well. As such, free meals weren’t free. Sam slowly moved his arms. Mostly seeing if the movement would prompt a full flight or not.
The movement spooked the fox a little but the fox didn’t run away. Instead, it hunched down, leaving only it’s eyes and ears poking above the carcass and grass as it watched the elk-rathor. Samoset spoke softly, “Easy there. I won’t hurt you. Go on and keep eating.” He encouraged. His soft voice seemed to soothe the fox a bit as it slowly stood back up to full and started eating again.
Sam slowly scooted across the ground. Inching his way closer and closer. He would continue to try and soothe the fox with his words and pausing his movement when the fox paused. He was able to close half of the distance with this slow routine that interrupted the fox enough to have not actually eaten a whole lot. He knew he was at the fox’s threshold when the fox would completely stop eating and take a half step back from the carcass entirely. This is where Sam stayed put for a moment, letting the fox decide. But to sweeten the deal of staying, Sam pulled out one of Swifts earlier bites she hadn’t finished and tossed it towards the fox. “That’s good! You’re okay.” He encouraged softly.
He hadn’t meant to throw the bit of meat directly at the fox but it almost landed right on the canine’s back. The fox watched the piece of meat, almost knowing that it would just barely miss as it didn’t move to dodge. The piece landed next to the fox with a light dust cloud puffing up from it. The fox would quickly look back to the rathor and back away slightly. Keeping its eyes locked onto Sam, the fox knelt over and sniffed the piece of meat before eating it slowly. Sam exhaled, not realizing he had been holding his breath. He smiled and chuckles a little to himself as the fox stepped back up to the carcass to start eating once more.
Sam inched his way closer still, noting the change in tone now. Instead of pausing, the fox would just glance up at him for any threatening movements. This continued as the sun began to wane, soon the fox would have it’s fill however and depart. This was all well and good for Sam. Today was productive he concluded. He would get up and leave the carcass. It would be eaten by others and hopefully attract more predators.
Standing up the elk would put on his gloves and gather himself. “Swift, glove!” He calls out towards the tree she was roosted in. She took a moment before soaring under the leafy outer shell of the tree and landing on the glove. “Very good girl. Let’s get home and check out that feather.” He rewarded her again with food and set off for home for the evening.
The pair headed home and settled into the small abode. The small building was tall enough for the rathor to stand up, he had made sure of that, and wide enough in each room to inspect wings if needed. He let Swift perch on her perk close to the ground. He tied her to the perch with a reasonable leash length. Sam unpacked and settled in with a sigh and a smile over towards he bird who watched him closely.
“We are a lonely pair aren’t we these days?” He chuckled and spoke to her. In truth he did get lonely at times, often wondering if he should take to the road again. But he could feel in his soul that right now, Amoren was where he needed to be. It was easy for him to describe it as his Purpose, but other races would call it a hunch or calling even. He had a few friends and plenty of people to talk to. With a happy half call, Swift reminded him that he would never be alone with her around, or more likely that it was dinner time and she was hungry from working all day.
“Okay girl, you earned it today for sure.” He walked over to his pack and pulled out the last chunk he had saved for her. He tossed it on her plate and walked over to the perched eagle. He knelt down, offering the plate and meat. She quickly, but as gentle as talons can be. Grabbed the food from the plate and started picking it apart on her perch. She was a good girl. The best bird he had ever had the pleasure of working with or around by far he would gander. He stood up and went about his nightly routine, resolving to fix her feather in the morning.
