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Haldor was far too old to just be going on his first Viking now and for that he placed blame entirely upon his lazy, flower-blooded father. Now his youth was wasted by the poor example set by Snorre and he had to work hard to make up for it. That his Captain was about his age was most galling about this, though Anwar being female didn't help his mood either. His determination to make up for his father kept him in line, though, and he was dead-set on making himself useful and proving he wasn't the lazy coward he had been raised to be.

So he stayed close to the group, followed orders and stays serious about the endeavor. He knew what he hoped to accomplish while he was out and about but more than anything, he had to prove himself capable of becoming a proper Reaver.



Kali was seemingly in a different boat than Haldor, but was motivated by many of the same things. From a large family, she had never been able to standout and now sought to prove she was more than what seemed.. and she didn't seem like much, considering how small she was. An unfortunate side effect of having a dozen littermates was starting smaller, and she just never caught back up. She had insisted on bringing her thralls with her on their viking, and even the younger lioness in her care was already larger than her.

That upset Kali, considering the thrall was actually her niece and from a similarly sized family. But she'd come to peace with it because Thana proved to be an obedient thrall, even as she grew taller than her master. She had some fear of losing them while they were viking, but that was a risk she was willing to take.

She was among the newbies who needed to improve on her stalking. While Kali had managed as a pilgrim and rogue on her own well enough, her size and colors cancelled each other out and left her relying primarily on skill. In a group, it wasn't as easy as it had been on her own.



((Back-dated a bit to when Thana was still adol, Xuyen is an adult))

Keeping close to Kali were the two thralls she insisted on bringing. With no one to keep an eye on them at home, Thana was under the impression she had to come along. She had never expected it to actually happen, she had half-expected her master to stay home as a Freeborn and find herself a Reaver husband.. that seemed more her style, but it turned out Kali was willing to work for her status. That and the fact she had little to complain about despite being enslaved by her kept Thana loyal, and while she had Xuyen she wasn't alone anyway. Even the small jackal was pretty well treated!

Amazing, Thana was doing a better job than Kali at stalking along with the group. Her only detriment was the clumsy jackal walking along at her feet. Xuyen, more than anything, was determined to keep Thana safe while they were outside the Myrsky Syntynyt .. and he was tripping over his own paws to do it.

Haldor was so focused on staying in line and trying to learn from those more experienced than him that he completely missed the tracks, and as soon as Snijden brought them to attention, it seemed so obvious. He came to a stop and looked off in the direction the tracks led, spotting more but no immediate signs of their originator.

He looked to Anwar.

Kali came to a stop when Snijden alerted them to tracks, looking back to Thana and nodding before looking back to the rest of the group. The tracks were small and scattered but that was more promising than anything else, something lions could handle easily- even lions the size of Kali. She was eager to investigate and waiting for those who actually led the group to decide was a challenge for the independent lioness, but she didn't jump to take the lead.

Thana stopped when Kali stopped, and when she met Kali's eyes she looked down to Xuyen. The small jackal reluctantly stepped away from his companion and went over to investigate the tracks Snijden found, first noting that they were bigger than his paws before sniffing at them curiously. He didn't have much experience outside the pride but had a pretty good nose.

Haldor obediently followed Anwar's directions and was already moving with Snidjen to start following the tracks prior to being nudged along. He didn't get out much, of course, and he was curious about what they would find at the end of the tracks but wouldn't let himself get too distracted staring at the ground. This was too important to lose focus on now.

Kali made a face as Anwar started giving orders in strange gesture form. She was pretty sure she got the gist of it, but she didn't necessarily like it. She nodded to Thana and moved closer to their captain, ready to follow her lead. She'd had so few opportunities to hunt in a group like this but .. she was pretty sure she had it figured out.

"Xuyen!" Thana called in a hushed voice, following after Kali and Anwar hurriedly. The jackal perked up, watched the males go to one side and then scrambled back to the ladies himself. If there was one thing to pair of them could do, it was follow orders. Neither had any idea what to expect but they would do as they were told, even though Xuyen itched to rush ahead and see where the tracks led on his own.

Haldor paused at a particularly well preserved track and placed his paw beside it to consider. It was significantly smaller than his paws, and so clear that it could only be freshly made. The scent of water brought it all together. In unclaimed lands, a source of water would be shared widely.. this looked like a lone creature, hopefully they would not run into more than they expected..

Looking back at Snidjen and across to the women, he wasn't sure it mattered how many tiny things they ran into. They were here for a reason. So he moved ahead with greater purpose and intent. He had a plan, he would follow through.

Kali glared behind her at Thana and Xuyen, sensing Anwars irritation at them- or perhaps correctly imagining it. Hunting the unknown was different, the element of surprise mattered plenty in hunting for food but this wasn't picking the weakest out of a herd.. or it didn't seem that way so far.

It didn't really matter what she thought, though, since she was far from the lead and only had to follow the others. And hope that Thana and Xuyen were smart enough to either follow along or stay out of their way.

For all of Xuyen's excitement, he was suddenly nervous as he followed close to Thana. Everything got so quiet and tense.. and he could feel the anxiety coming from Thana as she followed along.. they just had to stay out of the way. The thralls exchanged a look and kept going.



Adhama was alone and unsuspecting. She was part of a small pack but had been left behind after getting lost in a hunt, so she sought a well known place where they would all meet up once again. The wild dog was well aware of the other creatures around her, as she approached the water's edge she saw prey-beasts across the way and paid them no mind.

All of them around the waterhole were quiet and at ease, not knowing a viking band was headed directly for them.

Haldor focused his attention fully on their target and the situation around her. If there were other wild dogs here, there was no sign of them. If she was uneasy, it didn't show either. They couldn't have found a better target, and she was exactly what he had hoped to find. Travelling with the brightly colored ladies opposite him hadn't done much to change his mind about the suitability of lions as thralls, it was only Thana's submissive personality that seemed to keep her in line. Her master was smaller than her. Maybe it worked now but it was a terribly long-term plan.

Not to mention other.. complications.. of owning thralls that were lions.

Kali followed Anwar's orders and spread out, nodding to Thana & Xuyen to follow her and then gesturing to them to stop at a point while she continued quietly along. Though they had stumbled along the way, the three of them seemed especially cautious with a target in sight. A wild dog would certainly be a preferable thrall to a lion, she thought, not knowing Haldor was thinking the same.

Maybe there would be more, but for now they had one.

Thana waited where directed by Kali, lifting a paw to pull Xuyen close to her. She was being trusted with a pretty serious job and though she and Kali had their own way of doing things, she was still a thrall and now that they were truly faced with another potential thrall.. she wasn't sure she could do it. She glanced up to the sky and prayed to whatever gods might listen that the canine would not come in her direction.

Xuyen was feeling the same way. He was fiercely loyal to Thana and, to an extent, Kali.. but he knew his place and he wasn't thrilled to be a part of something like this. Instead of just hoping that he and Thana wouldn't get involved, he fully wished she would find a way to escape.

Neither were terribly optimistic about her chances, though.

Haldor didn't go right into attack mode. With the others spread out to cut off an escape, he chose to casually walk forward and simply join her at the waterhole. He saw the more attentive beasts across the way saw him immediately and sensed the danger they were in, but the rainbow-marked wild dog didn't seem to. So he walked up and calmly took a drink.

Adhama was just getting comfortable when Haldor walked past her and started to drink from the water. She saw him, but she didn't think to be suspicious of him and she didn't notice as a few of the more perceptive visitors to the waterhole started to wander away. She wasn't completely oblivious but she wasn't the sort to let even reasonable paranoia run her life.

He wasn't looking at her so she didn't bother to hide it as she stared at him. He wasn't unkempt but he wasn't exactly well groomed either, though the braids in his mane were interesting. You didn't see very many lions around with braided manes.

She didn't look away when he finished drinking and turned around and the moment they locked eyes, she knew she was in trouble. Her dark eyes widened and she was back onto her feet in a flash, but she wasn't fast enough to completely evade her attacker.

While he didn't immediately pin her down, he managed to cut off an escape that would have taken her away from his companions and he did manage to get his claws on her. It wasn't enough to break the skin but it was enough to scare her, and they both ran back towards the viking band. Adhama caught sight of them before reaching them, but by then it was too late to change her path and the hesitation was enough to let Haldor catch up to her.

"Stay down and you might survive" he said, half laying on top of the canine and digging his claws into her shoulders.

Kali glanced away from the chase to see the prey-beasts in the waterhole had all scattered now, but there were some birds and reptiles around that were watching from the safety of the trees and water respectively. When she looked back, their target was pinned. It was still not guaranteed, though, and she started moving in.

Thana frowned and suddenly realized she had been holding her breath. With a sight, she released it and.. couldn't make herself move in closer as the others did. How could the possibly make sure someone who had previously been free didn't find a time or way to escape? Would she have to be injured to keep her with them? There were only four Stormborn and two thralls here..

Xuyen stayed by Thana, wondering the same.

Adhama's eyes widened at the threatening display from Anwar and she looked back at the giant pinning her down and digging his claws deeper and deeper into her as she tried to process what had happened. Instinct made her struggle anew but the futility of it sunk in quickly. She looked around the group and saw only two sets of eyes she could stand to meet, and it was Thana and Xuyen as they looked on in muted terror. The hopelessness in their eyes told her everything she needed to know and she gave up.

Meeting the captured canine's eyes made Thana start shaking but she quickly pushed it back down. This was not as horrific as it could have been, she thanked the gods that Haldor turned out not to be the type to mutilate his prizes for fun.. but it was only a small comfort.

Since it seemed settled, Kali turned her attention away from Haldor and the hyena and walked over to her own thralls. Even while they worked hard to keep it together, it was plain to her that they were uncomfortable. It was enough to keep the small lioness somewhat grounded in the thrill of such a hunt, but it would never change her mind. This was her first viking but she chose this. It was what she wanted.

If they were going back home.. would they get another chance for what else she wanted? It didn't really matter, in the end, she had to follow orders if she wanted to come out again.

Haldor was thinking of the journey home while he waited for the wild dog to give up. An injured thrall would just be an inconvenience and this one was destined to be a gift, so long as he was allowed to keep it. The better condition it was in when they got home the better it would be for him. He would find other ways to satisfy any bloodlust, his property was not the appropriate target.

When Adhama stopped struggling, he removed his claws and got to his feet again. Though his claws took no fur, there were spots of blood from where he had dug in. He could have been far more cruel, and still looming over her menacingly as she got back up to her feet, he could tell that she knew.

Haldor, she's yours.

The lion grinned wickedly at the declaration, very pleased with himself. The warning about Snidjen made him look back to the orange lion, but it was not for either of them. It was a warning to his new thrall: this is who will catch you if you run. Though Snidjen was obedient, there was still a look to him that plainly said it would not end well if she tried it.

Adhama followed Haldor's gaze to Snidjen and then looked abruptly back at her captor, weighing her options hopelessly. It crossed her mind that she might goad them into killing her, but they all sounded too organized. It wouldn't happen if they intended to keep her alive, she would surely suffer but she wouldn't die. She looked away from Haldor again to seek out those sympathetic eyes but the other thralls seemed intent on avoiding her gaze.

If she was going to escape, she would have to be careful.. but for now, the best thing she could do was whatever she was told. So she looked fearfully up at Haldor and started walking along in front of him as he pushed her in line.

Kali didn't say anything to Thana or Xuyen as they all got back into line for the walk home. It would be interesting to see how they all fared, she wondered if Haldor would keep his prize in line or if Snidjen was going to get his chance with her. She hoped for Thana's sake that the wild dog remained cooperative. From her view, there was a chance her thralls would try to help the wild dog escape but equal was the chance that they would comfort and guide her.

She'd have to keep an eye on them. The last thing any of them needed were angry reavers coming for them, Kali was kinder than most masters but she wouldn't be able to protect them if that happened.

Thana and Xuyen were silent. Xuyen looked as defeated as Adhama, but Thana was much more careful to remain neutral. It was going to be a long, long march back home.

Fin!