68th of Frost, 4621
Tracks. Laid out in a trail through the tall grass. The impression of some weight moving through the field as it was parted like the cleave of meat that he sought. The sun was at its highest point in the sky; there was no shortage of light to help him find his way.
The subject of his hunt? Antelope, he believed. He'd found some feces while on the prowl for meat, and believed he'd found the trail of some animal leading away from the site. All he had to do was catch up as quietly as possible, then deliver the killing blow.
Step by step, he quietly made his way through the same tracks the beast had made and inspected the flattened grass on his way through. He found subtle bends toward the bottoms of each blade, where extra pressure had been applied in groups. This, he imagined, was created by the weight of the antelope, and the rigid edge of their feet. Occasionally he sniffed at the air in hopes of catching a hint of the beast he sought, and when he found it, he quietly closed the gap.
Not quite an antelope, he realized. In its stead, he found a herd of impalas... Not unlike the one he'd encountered while traveling some couple of months ago. Quietly, Arkash crawled as close as he could to the edge of the brush without being seen. His darker scales did wonders to give him away against the pale yellow of the dried grass. When one of them lifted their head and turned to stare in his direction with those black eyes, he knew it was over.
As quick as a flash, he bolted from the grass and launched himself toward the herd without a second of pause. Quickly, he drew his black sword and brought himself to collide with the nearest impala just as chaos and confusion broke out through the herd.
A spatter of red on the dried earth was quickly followed by a second spray, and the flow of shadows away from the scene danced across the pale grass.
He only brought one of the impalas back with him, though. The other was a quick meal in the wild. The one that he dragged by the feet would serve as material to repair Vesper's wounds. Quietly, he drew it into the mouth of the cave and clambered down the slope with its full weight in tow. There came a point where Arkash was afraid its hide would become caught on a stalagmite if he was to drag it any further, so, with great difficulty, he lifted the beast onto his shoulders and carried it along to rest beside his Necromancy kit.
There laid Vesper upright against a stalagmite, draped in his poncho.
Again, Arkash checked the feline's breathing for any abnormalities, then sighed in relief when he found none. He imagined the cat would be waking up soon, so he made haste with his work. Quickly, he severed, and ground up a piece of the antelope with the Mortar and Pestle to create more Sinew foam, then scraped the milky white paste into the Sinew Gun, which he'd emptied closing a few other wounds that had gone unnoticed during the initiation. Vesper's thigh, cheek, and back all still needed to be repaired.
Quietly, he crouched before the sleeping feline and lifted his poncho a bit to expose the leg wound. Using sway, he unblocked the coagulated slash. As he began to bleed again, Arkash began to fill the empty space with Sinew Foam, slowly but surely.
