Activity Rolls: Dutch + Seaspray Hunt

Dutch leered down at the pathway below him. He knew this was a popular path, and therefore, an excellent hunting spot. He shook his head and walked further into the undergrowth, heading to a clearing where Seaspray was waiting patiently, already practicing her limp and distressed warble. The Mad King nodded to her, taking his place in a copse of trees and brush. He was completely hidden in this spot. Now, he would wait until he could hear a group of humans.

 

This part was the most dull, yet exciting. Every nerve sung as he waited patiently, letting Seaspray keep up her practice. After all, it'd be suspicious if she suddenly started wailing after he spoke. He'd run this ploy for decades, perfecting the sounds of the common human languages. 

 

Ah. Humans. With several animals in tow, this was likely a herd of cattle being moved. If they were lucky, this would be a feast that walked right into their mouths. Dutch grinned as the noises drew to what he had learned was an acceptable level for humans. 

 

"HeLlO?" He cried, his voice a mockery of a human calling for help. "Is AnYoNe ThErE?" The steps ground to a halt as someone called back.

 

"Who's there?" They called back. 

 

"I nEeD hElP", Dutch said. He grinned sharply before schooling his expression. "A sTrAy RhAkOs AtTaCkEd My SeAsPrAy." The humans hesitated. Clearly, his impression wasn't the best, but in this case, it was still good enough. A handful of the group, likely anyone with mild experience treating injuries, shambled closer. Dutch watched as they emerged from the treeline to see the unharmed Seaspray leering at them. She stopped her injured act to spring, easily catching one as Dutch wordlessly grabbed the second before he could react. In a flash, the two were gone. They didn't even have time to scream. 

 

Dutch grinned widely. Too widely. Now, it was time for his favorite part of this act. Once again, he opened his mouth.

–

 

Trayt stared quietly at the forest where two of his companions had vanished. He gripped his crossbow a little tighter when the same scratchy voice from earlier called again. 

 

"PlEaSe, I nEeD hElP," it warbled. He didn't like it. Something about this guy sounded off. He knew some small species of stryx could imitate humans, but this didn't sound like them. Normally, they repeated words, calling back to humans as a joke or trying to offer advice. This sounded like something out of the horror novels his darling Prim loved to read. 

 

The voice got closer, almost to the treeline now. A pair of glowing blue eyes emerged as the massive beasts jaw worked, the warbling approximation of language coming from this titanic brown stryx.

 

"WoN't AnYoNe HeLp?" The dragon asked, inching upon the ranchers. The cows, unaware of their handler's hangups, darted away, only to be captured and killed by a similarly sized blue stryx. The new creature huffed, similar sounding to humans laughing, as it advanced on Trayt and Recet. Trayt felt his brain kick in as the pair lunged at him. He dodged, running under the brown one as fast as his legs could carry him. He could hear that Recet had suffered the same presumed fate as Beck and Soad. The cows were also consumed, as best he could hear. 

 

The pair of stryx laughed in the background, turning to leisurely chase down their quarry. Trayt ducked into a nearby bush, forcing himself to stop trembling and breathe quieter. The blue one stopped right in front of his bush, lowering her head down to be eye level with the plant life. His tracks clearly ended nearby, and he felt his heart stop when he noticed a massive orange eye peering through the branches of his hiding spot. She apparently didn't see him, snorting and moving forward. She shrieked in rage when the brown one shoved her aside to check for himself, launching at him before Trayt could be spotted. 

 

Trayt took the chance to crawl away as the pair wrestled, each seemingly trying to win the chance to be the one to kill him. He moved as fast as he dared, managing to make his way to a slightly more sheltered bush by the time the fighting stopped. Apparently, the scraggly blue one had lost, given her irritated clicks. The brown one, with his glossy brown feathers, leaned back down to peer into the bush, snarling in fury when his supposed easy quarry wasn't there. The two moved further out, spreading out slightly. 

 

Trayt decided to wait for the stryx to leave, and then, he'd go to the nearest town and report the pair of man eaters. If nothing else, at least people would be aware of the horrific fate that lay among this trail. His plans were for naught, however, as a single ghostly blue eye peered straight at him. He didn't even have time to scream.