Not heeding his son, Far'lan whistled softly and Novato burst out at the herd, spooking them just as Far'lan had said would happen. With a horrendous cry out in alarm, the small herd bellowed as they stampeded away from the surprise. Some kicked and flailed before finding their footing to join the others, kicking up a combination of mud and ice as they ran. Artaygo braced himself, feeling an odd kind of fear take over him as he watched the stampede rapidly get closer.
Far'lan, like a swift shadow, darted out from their hiding space and grabbed at the legs of a passing Hojenst and managing to cause it to stumble its footing as it ran. Quick as a darting raptor Far'lan managed to hook his other arm around the back of the Hojenst and loop a thick rope around its neck which caused it to kick and flail - Far'lan did not let go.
Novato appeared in view just as swiftly, as he had burst out to surprise the Hojenst, this time circling around the far side of the landing here to direct them towards where Far'lan was and Artaygo awaited.
Artaygo remained frozen, eyes wide and unable to will his body into moving - not even out of the way of an incoming Hojenst bull which clipped his flank as it stamped past.
Far'lan yelled out, words Artaygo could not make out, but somehow jolted his body into moving without his minds input. Standing up and running frantically, Artaygo barrelled straight into a calf which caused them both to topple over into the now muddied and trampled ground.
Novato called out in pain as he received a swift hoof to the chest, yet he did not release his Hojenst which he had grabbed by the legs and they both flailed around in the mud. Far'lan quickly leapt to offer assistance by restraining the neck and head.
"Quick, your rope!" Far'lan yelled over the bellowing Hojenst, however the words were unnecessary as Novato had already started looping rope around the neck to the best of his ability given their horizontal position.
Artaygo could only watch, holding on to the calf instinctively, almost as if he were hugging it instead of restraining it. After what felt to Artaygo like an eternity, but in reality was mere minutes, the chase was over and the hunt successful. He blinked slowly, managing to gradually return back to the present to find Novato standing before him with concern plastered all over his face.
"Artaygo? Hey, Artaygo? Dad.. are you alright?" Novato was loud, trying to get to his father through the haze.
"Huh? Oh, yes. I... I don't know what happened." as if on queue, the calf in his arms kicked and cried out a panicked cry then settled once more when it's efforts were clearly in vain. Despite his shock, Artaygo had a good hold on the calf. "What.... how did-" Artaygo frowned down at the calf, not recalling how he ended up holding it.
Releasing a sigh of relief, Novato handed the rope he was holding to Far'lan whom was already struggling to keep the one he already had in line, and earning him a 'hey!'. Novato leaned down to help Artaygo stand and brushed some of the dirt off of him.
"You had me really worried there for a minute."
"Can you both hurry it up please?" Far'lan growled as he struggled against the two wild Hojenst.
"Oh yes, sorry!" Novato rushed over to regain the Hojenst he was holding. "We should get these back. It will be a long walk with these two wild ones fighting us."
-
The trio started trudging their way back once donned their packs and ensured the Hojenst were well restrained in makeshift halters. The ground proved to be quite slippery beneath their feet which made their footing even more unstable as they were being pulled back occasionally by their newly caught wild livestock. Artaygo carried the calf in sling so he could comfort it as they walked; possibly to comfort himself as he stroked it whilst lost in the recesses of his mind. Far'lan kept glancing back at Artaygo, growing more and more concerned for his son as he seemed to constantly lag behind and abandoned his usually chipper self. Far'lan eventually decided to slice through the relative silence.
"It would appear that we have managed to capture a bull and a cow." Far'lan started, pausing for a response or acknowledgement. When he did not receive one, he continued shot a pointed glance to Novato who took the hint.
"That will go a long way to help the Aerobic tribe to feed themselves, assuming they keep the Hojenst alive for breeding." Novato agreed, joining in the speculation. Artaygo still did not respond.
"Should we give them the calf also?" Far'lan asked, directed at his son. "Artaygo? What do you think?"
Hearing his name, Artaygo shook his head and blinked as he snapped out of his thoughts "Sorry, what? Oh, the calf..." he looked down at the small and lanky Hojenst in his arms. "I.. I do not know.." he stroked its neck gently.
Far'lan and Novato shot one another a silent look of concern.
"You did say that our own stock did not perform well this season, maybe... maybe we should keep her?" Novato prompted gently.
"Yes, maybe." Artaygo agreed noncommittally.
Far'lan sighed and turned back to watch where he was walking, not wanting to slip and fall into the woody shrubs around them despite his Hojenst bulls best attempts to throw off his footing. They still had a ways to go until they were back amongst the Or'sol clans farms, and the trek was made significantly slower with their newly caught wild animals in tow. The sun had been in the sky for a while now and warmed the air enough to melt the icy dew which crunched underfoot earlier in the morning, however this meant everything was sleek and slippery. Far'lan and Novato joked about how much they were looking forward to getting back to the farm and hose off the Hojenst as well as themselves.
Artaygo: 3 mentions
Novato: 2 mentions
Artaygo: 4 mentions
Novato: 2 mentions
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Artaygo: 3 mentions
Novato: 2 mentions
Artaygo: 3 mentions
Novato: 2 mentions
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