Location: Still in orbit of an unknown planet
Ship Time: 08:29
Log Entry #2: Nezun Skyfire
Rest was well and uninterrupted. My wounds seemed to be fully healed so I no longer needed the bandages; yay for nano-tech! I beamed down to the planet's surface setting for the northern hemisphere in a forested region; S.A.I.L had picked up some strange signals there. It's there were I decided to start an exploration to find more info.
"Some nice, fresh air at last! A cool minus 50 degrees. Refreshing!" I thought to myself. With nothing but bare-feathers and a plank of wood I began exploring my immediate landing area. The landing area was in a fairly large clearing within a rather dense forest. I set up a mound and marked it by usual means. I'll use that area as my Point of Return location and soon make it my hunting grounds if nothing goes wrong. It felt odd doing this without the others.
I scrounged up vines and roots from a nearby cave in which I used to make some traps for smaller game if anywhere to be found. Another stroke of luck, I found multiple trails of small creatures, it looked to be the equivalent to earthen hare; slightly bigger stature as the prints were well ground into the snow. I tailed the trail to some low-laying branches and set up my trap; I placed out several traps along other trails in the area. Hopefully when I return I'll have some actual food. Mmmm...meat.
Using the rest of the vines, I fashioned a stone about the size of a fist at the end of my plank and made myself a primitive mace. It'll do for now. I decided to explore beyond the landing zone; "Remember to mark a trail Nezun!" I reminded myself.
Yay! Something had been caught in my trap when I returned from my uneventful exploration! It was still alive when I found it, but not for long! My mouth watered as I proceeded to end the creature's life. It was-to my surprise-rather fat. Much more plump than a normal hare, but a lot of similar key features. What stood out most was the horn on its head. It was about 4 inches in length. I found that it was rather dense; I tapped it with a fairly good amount of force against a rock to test its frailty. The point was very sharp, I pricked my finger with it and drew a fair bit of blood. I could use this as a shiv if needed be. I then used some vines as a rope to fashion a belt around my hip.
I proceeded to set-up a camp fire and roasted the horned-hare. It was so delicious, I even cried a little as I bit into it for the first time. Meat truly is the best thing to eat.
After eating I put out the fire; if it wasn't for the wind and snow, I think I might have died from the heat. Life sucks as an ammonia-based life-form when the best meats are roasted. The risk is worth the taste though.
I heard something moving around the forest shortly after putting out the flames, I attracted some bigger game. "Mmm... more meat." I stopped recording for a while in an attempt to figure out what I attracted.
"Okay... that hurt." I spoke out loud to myself post-fight. I guess I wasn't fully healed. I twisted my ankle and nearly fell which almost cost me my life. The creature in question was HUGE! It was at least twice the size of a fully grown mountain bear and then some. Its fur was a cream white for the majority of its body, the upper half being a shade of black. It had what seemed to be arms protruding from its head. I've never seen anything like it before.
The creature put up a large struggle. Taking down trees with a single strike as I attempted to gain some cover and higher ground. I was faster than it, and thanks to my much smaller frame, I could dodge its attacks when my footing was good. Weaving between attacks, I made strikes the best I could, stabbing and bashing at the creature where the opportunity arose. I had used the fallen trees as my footing as to give myself another advantage. It's when I went to make the killing blow that the creature threw what seemed like a tantrum and caught me off guard. Determined to end it then, I made the mistake and jumped on the ground. There, I twisted my ankle in the loose snow. The creature moved in and tried to shallow me whole. In that moment, I ignored my ankle and planted my feet into the snow, leaped up into the creature's gaping maw and shoved the horn up through the creature's skull.
It was an exhilarating experience to hunt larger prey without a pack backing you. It kind of scared me actually. I almost died; but it was fun. The thought of fighting a much larger, stronger creature with my life hanging in the balance, it was a rush I could never feel with the of a pack. That's what scared me. Avali are social creatures, and suffer greatly from being away from a pack for prolonged time frames... but I wasn't anxious. I put the thought out of my head, I didn't need to over-think such a thing.
I proceeded to clean my game and keep as much of the material from the creature as I can. I hung the meat to bleed and stretch, cleaned the pelt and hung it to freeze dry. With some more vines I scrounged up, I fashioned its teeth into a necklace as a trophy. I'll have to store the meat in the ship's cargo hold and turn the air coolers on to keep it fresh... bloody hells, I could have done that last night and slept more soundly with the temperatures down.
With my victory and some meat secured, I decided to call it a day and beamed back to the ship with meat in tow. After several more attempts in communications, I went to bed... with the temperature turned down. Yay coldness!
*end log*
