Prey
"Well," Guer'Re said grinning, "if you can go either way and I want to hunt them, it looks like we're going to hunt them."
"Fair enough," Dor'Vool said. "But we do need to find their tunnels sooner or later."
"Later, then" Guerre said, getting up. "I'll grab our weapons."
"Oh...no weapons," Dor'Vool interrupted. "Just tooth-and-claw."
"Tooth-and-claw?" Guer'Re was incredulous. "On prey you've never seen before?"
"I like a challenge," Dor'Vool shrugged, landing the ship silently on a road near the humans' camp.
"I like the way you think," Guer'Re laughed.
Tooth-and-claw is a very literal translation of Dor'Vool's preferred fighting style. It is actually a single word in Radinri, referring to a tradition among hunters. While Radinri weaponry can reduce a human to a pile of ashes in an instant, many warriors prefer to fight without weapons or armor. Actually coming into contact with prey gives the hunt an almost sensual element.
The hunters took only a pair of watches for the humans they were stalking. They waited in the underbrush, watching the sleeping bodies. Guer'Re programmed the watches gleefully.
"You'll like these animals," Guer'Re said. "Fast, strong, intelligent. They make great prey."
"I'm a little peckish, actually," Dor'Vool answered. "How do they taste."
Guer'Re shrugged. "Alright, I suppose." Guer'Re handed a watch to Dor'Vool, and they crept closer to the sleeping humans. Closer inspection revealed them to be one male and one female, sleeping close together, facing each other. "Dibs on the female," Guer'Re whispered.
This, however, woke the humans up. They shot up and froze, staring wide-eyed at the hunters. Typical weakling prey reaction, Dor'Vool thought, until one spoke.
"Please," the male said, "please, sweet Jesus, no...Don't hurt us," he went on, begging for his life. Guer'Re laughed.
"I love the noises these creatures make," he said.
"You don't understand them?" Dor'Vool asked.
"You do?" Guer'Re replied.
"I always study an opponents language before going to war," Guer'Re answered.
"This isn't a war, it's a slaughter," Guer'Re chuckled, dropping his watch. Guer'Re hesitated, then dropped his. They scuttled over to the humans, and each one latched onto one of the humans' wrists.
<spanFullTF>"Oh God...no!" the female screamed. Immediately their legs gave out, and they sprawled on the ground in agony. Dor'Vool watched as the pair slowly changed...their fingers stiffened and then fused together into hooves. Short fur grew on them--dark brown on the male, gray on the female--and they both grew considerably larger, tearing out of the clothing they were wearing. For Dor'Vool, however, the most fascinating part was the look in their eyes, especially as the faces changed, expanding outward. It was an intense physical pain, but there was an emotional anguish he never got to see in a non-sentient creature before.
"M-m-monsters," the male said just before his voice changed to a whinny. "Monsters" was the last word he would ever say. As their feet became hooves as well and they sprouted tails, the change was completed. They stood, shakily, moving awkwardly in their new bodies.<spanFullTF><spanSumTF>The humans turned into horses, although Dor'Vool wouldn't have known what to call them.</spanSumTF>
"These are called 'horses,'" Guer'Re explained. "A favorite of mine."
"They're not running," Dor'Vool complained. "They won't be any fun to kill if they just stand there."
"Give them a moment," Guer'Re answered, "let instinct take over, and then..." He roared loudly at them. The horses spooked, reared up, and then darted off into the forest. The hunters waited a little bit, and then ran off after them.
Chasing his petrified quarry through the overgrown park, Dor'Vool felt more alive than he had in ages. Occasionally he would catch a flash of Guer'Re's lavish coloring, but mostly he was alone with his prey. The panicked horse ran erratically, stopping and changing direction every now and then, making the chase all the more fun. Soon enough, though, Dor'Vool was upon it. He pounced, and pinned the creature easily. The horse turned to look at him, and he sensed that, even transformed, there was still a fully sentient human trapped in the horse's body. Dor'Vool decided that enough was enough. Still pinning the creature with his forelegs, he reached forward with his humanoid but still cat-like arms. He cradled the horse's head, almost tenderly, and then with one swift movement, snapped its neck. One more flash of pain in the prey's eyes, and it was over. Dor'Vool bit into the former human, and enjoyed his first meal on this strange new world...
Written by Zodiac on 05 April 2009
