Trapping : Nine Tails' Grace
...sweat poured from his brow as he took out his trusted knife and cut into the wood for the fifteenth time this afternoon. It didn't help matters much that a strong heat wave has hit the Wilderness. Then again, it was summer afterall.
"...still trying to get your dream to work, eh?" said the voice behind him. The long haired Ranger looked puzzled as the young one didn't even look up from his work. "...practice makes perfect Hal...didn't you ever learn that in your old age?" Halbarad smiled and left the busy ranger to his work. "..just one more piece right there...and...PERFECT!" Ouned stood back and admired his finished trap. "...Nine-Tails...you're mine.."
Night was fallen as he walked the streets of Buya. In his head, Ouned was swimming in a sea of thought. The fabled Nine-Tails fox was Ouned's dream to capture. Many times before, he meet eye to eye with that graceful creature...but time and time again, he could never catch it. He used every single trap he could learn about, and each time, the fox foiled his plan. He knew that this time...it will be different...
Once inside the cave, it was damp. In the distance, he saw some foxes feasting on a rabbit corpse. Ouned pulled on his hooded cloak so he couldn't be seen by the hungry foxes. Peering through the tunnels of the cave, he came into a room that was lit up by the molten earth around him. Ouned sat down and made sure his newest contraption was still in order. Surveying the area, he knew that Nine-Tails was somewhere. He slowly moved quietly through the the area, trying not to upset the foxes around him. All of a sudden, he heard a growl behind him. One of the foxes as picked up on his scent!
Throwing back his cloak, he let loose arrow after arrow to the gathering hoard of foxes that lunged at him. With pinpoint accuracy, every arrow landed it mark, taking down fox after fox after fox. Fighting for his life, Ouned concentrated as he quickly reloaded to escape being a feast for the foxes. With the final fox killed, he let go a quiet sigh of relief as he escaped death once again. Bending down to try to take out the arrow of a slain black fox, he heard another growl behind him. Ouned slowly turned his head and saw eyes of red behind a cascade of moving tails. The Nine-Tailed fox found him.
Ouned quickly rolled away as Nine-Tails lunged at him with great agility and grace. Peering into the face of his dream catch, Ouned shook off his nerves. "...we meet again...let's dance!", Ouned said to the sneering fox. He quickly rolled away again as Nine-Tails lunged toward him at breakneck speed. Ouned ran toward the nearest wall, digging a small hole for his contraption to set in just as Nine-Tails came up and bit his leg. Ouned screamed in pain, and reached for his bow to let loose a arrow that landed in Nine-Tails's side. Hurt, but not down, Ouned ran from the trap as fast as he could as Nine-Tails gave chase.
"You can do this..concentrate!" Ouned thought to himself as he quickly dodged another attack by Nine-Tails. Jumping over the beautiful fox, he ran in front of his trap. He glared over to where Nine-Tails was standing, angry as ever. Reaching for his quiver, he found only one arrow left. He laid the arrow into the notch of his bow and aimed it for Nine-Tails. "...gotta make this count..", Ouned said out loud. Nine-Tails ran as fast as he could toward Ouned, but Ouned did not move. Just when Nine-Tails's teeth was just about to lay into him, Ouned rolled away. A metal clamp was quickly brought down onto Nine-Tails's front feet. Moaning in extreme pain, Nine-Tails knew he has been beaten. Ouned looked up from the ground and smiled. His dream fulfilled. "Nice try..but I rule this day.." Ouned said to Nine-Tails. Reaching down, he freed Nine-Tails from the trap. Taking some wool bandages, he carefully wrapped the fox's feet. "Go now...be free" Ouned said to Nine-Tails as he picked up his trap, pulled up his cloak, and walked away.
