Hunting Bear

[Foxfoot Lonebuck]

Fox steeped out of Ohtar's pub and stretched in the afternoon sun. He stood and waited for Siranna so the hunt could begin.

[Siranna]

Siranna followed him. "I do hope swords are allowed." She smirked.

[Foxfoot Lonebuck]

Fox turned and saw Siranna approaching. "Since its just furry little bears we are after, I don't think swords will be nessecary." He then reached down and pulled two knives from his boot, the blades being no longer than his hand. He offered one of the knives to her. "This should be sufficient enough in the hands of a skilled elf. And add a bit of a twist to the game."

[Siranna]

Siranna pulled out her sword and a hidden dagger and put them on the ground. Then she took his fighting knife. "Ok then. Ready?"

[Foxfoot Lonebuck]

Fox smiled. "Ready as always." He turned and started walking into the forest, but turned back to Siranna a moment before stepping out of site. "Do be careful Siranna. Watch the teeth and the claws. They do tend to get grumpy when you stick them..... and be carefull not to get into a tangle with Beorn." Fox then slipped into the shadows of Mirkwood forest, walking silently through the woods in search of sign of a bear.

[Siranna]

Siranna walked through the woods and after walking a few yards she noticed deep large tracks and she began following them.

[Foxfoot Lonebuck]

Fox followed a well beaten trail that soon took him deep into Mirkwood. The canopy now crowded out most sunlight, save for a stray beam slicing through the branches here and there giving off just enough light to see by. The trail was one mostly used by elves and travelers and was now nothing more that tight packed dirt. Fox walked until he came to a low spot between two small hills, here the rain water had pooled a bit, leavign the trail soft. Crouching down he examined the tracks left in the mud. There were quite a few: Fox, deer, bob cat, and a large unmistakeable impression of a bear paw. Fox ran his finger along the inside of a particually impressive buck track. The mud was dry and hardened, not giving at all to his touch. He then did the same to the bear print, running his finger along the outline. The sides were startingt to dry and dirt flaked away as he touched it. The center howerver was still wet and soft-the track was not terribly old. He stood and looked into the thicket in which the track was pointing. As he stood watching he felt the wind pushing gently at his back and decided not to follow the tracks directly. Instead he back tracked about twentyfive paces and left the beaten trail, paralleling the tracks left by the bear.

[Siranna]

Soon Siranna found a huge bear, the biggest ever but she heard something else, a small cry. She looked and saw two cubs. She would not kill it. It was a mother, only a brutal person would kill it so she moved on looking for more tracks. If one was nearby, surely there were others.

[Foxfoot Lonebuck]

After some time of walking parallel to the he had found Fox looked down to see that the tracks now crossed in fron of him. He turned in the direction of the tracks now took, the wind blowing at his side instead of at his back. He now followed the tracks directly, walking slowly and silently. As he went along he found a tuft of brown hair snagged on a branch, he could sense he was nearing his prey.

[Siranna]

Siranna found another pair of tracks. She followed them carefully seeking out the bear.

[Foxfoot Lonebuck]

Fox stepped from behind a bush to where he could get a good look down through the thicket. Several yards ahead he saw a flicker of movement and a flash of brown fur. In a split second Fox silently scaled the tree next to him and started moving forward slowly along the giant branches. As he crept toward the hulking brown mass he looked down to see a very large bear just yards in front of him now.