Reckon sighed. Over in L'hatzif there was apparently a sudden rise in Nukap numbers. After a local rancher had passe, nobody had wanted to take over the care of the hogs, and eventually they had broken free and spread all throughout the region. Appearently this had happened earlier in the year, giving the animals plenty of time to reproduce. Colonies all over L'hatzif had been hunting them down, trying to prevent them from wrecking the ecosystem.

Being one of the colony's few dedicated hunters, Reckon had been called over to help. She had met up with Reach near the border between L'hatzif and Mireh, along with Quartz. She had already seen some unusual animal tracks around here, and the implication that the Nukap might have already breached into the other region were worrying to her.

"I think another Mireh colony already took out the few that were roaming around here." Reach spoke, sensing her concern.

Reckon and Quartz nodded, following the purple Tsabhua further into L´hatzif. It wasn´t long until they found more tracks, a trail of hooves disappearing into the bushes.

"They're close," Reckon muttered, crouching to study the tracks. "Judging by the depth, it's a herd. A big one."

Quartz groaned, shifting her spear around in her beak in an attemp to get a more comfortable hold on it. "You're saying we've got to take on a whole herd? Great. Just great."

Reckon frowned, examining the ground alongside Reckon. "A herd of them wouldn't be so bad. We can easily take down a few of them, and it means we can spend less time on tracking them."

Reckon stood. "Let's move. If we wait, they'll disappear into the swamp, and we'll never catch them all."

The three moved quickly but carefully, following the trail deeper into the fungal forest. The air was thick with humidity, the scent of earth and damp foliage almost overwhelming. The sounds of their steps were muffled by the soft, waterlogged ground.

As they pushed through a thicket, the Nukap came into view. The herd was massive- at least a dozen of the bulky creatures rooting noisily through the underbrush.

Quartz let out a low whistle. "That's a lot of them."

Reach tightened her grip on her bow. "We start with the largest ones. Take out the leaders, and the rest might scatter."

"Might," Quartz muttered, but she readied his spear regardless.

The group split up, encircling the herd with practiced ease. Reach climbed a low hill, giving her a clear vantage point over the herd. She drew her bow, steadying her aim on the largest Nukap. With a sharp exhale, she released the arrow. It struck true, piercing the animal just behind the shoulder.

The herd erupted into chaos. Some Nukap bolted into the surrounding forest, while others turned toward the source of the attack, their small eyes glinting with aggression.

"Scatter and regroup!" Reach shouted, already drawing another arrow.

Quartz and Reach sprang into action. Quartz hurled her spear, striking another large Nukap in the side. The beast stumbled, allowing Reckon to move in and finish it off with a swift thrust of his blade.

Two younger Nukap charged Reach's position. She fired an arrow at the nearest one, striking it in the neck. The second Nukap was almost upon her when Reckon appeared, her knife flashing as she drove it into the creature's flank.

"Close one," Reckon panted, pulling her blade free. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Reach replied, though her heart was racing. She glanced around, taking stock of the situation. The remaining Nukap had scattered into the forest, leaving only the bodies of the fallen ones behind.

Quartz jogged over, wiping sweat from her brow. "Well, that was a mess. But we got some of them."

Reckon nodded. "It's a start. We'll mark this location and come back later to track the rest. We can't let them keep spreading."

The three hunters worked quickly to pick up the fallen Nukap, tossing the carcasses into carts they had brought along and left on the road. Reckon was quite pleased with her work, she could already tell that these Nukap would provide great pelts for the colony to work with.