Catch the Animal:

Yet another mission for Bōei although this one was sure to be a bit easier than the previous boar hunting mission. All he had to do was to chase down some family's pet deer, a seemingly menial task. With his extensive knowledge of deer, he figured this would be a perfect mission for him as he understood their temperament and behavioral patterns which should make catching it relatively simple. As he walked through the southern forest, he kept his eyes and ears opening looking for any clue as to the whereabouts of the deer he was after. He knew he had to catch it relatively quickly as the forest was full of predators which would be its down fall should it be out after dark. From his estimates he figured he had about 2 hours left until nightfall.

He searched the ground floor for any clues as to where the deer had gone such as foot prints, broken leaves, or anything of the like. As he searched he noticed a small hoof print in the ground, with clean unbroken lines. "Fresh print...must be somewhere close," he muttered to himself. Upon further investigation, he uncovered more prints hidden underneath some foliage which appeared to have covered them with the help of the breeze blowing through the forest. Using the direction of the prints as clue he headed southwest following the prints as closely as possible. Remaining upwind, he tailed the tracks until they trailed off into a clearing. He jumped up into the tree to gain vantage point on his target should it be nearby in the clearing or otherwise.

As he scanned the clearing he spotted his target grazing in the corner. Realizing he could not afford to scare it and have it run off, he contemplated a plan to catch it quickly before it could notice. For the time being he was upwind of the deer so he was positive that it would not be able to smell him from his current vantage point but to capture it he would have to venture downwind temporarily to get close enough. "I'll catch it with my shadow prison then take it back. Should be easy enough..." he muttered under his breath.

WC: 376

Remaining high above in the tree line, Bōei swiftly moved toward the deer hoping to catch it off guard while it was grazing. He hopped from tree branch to tree branch, closing the distance between him and the deer. He quickly approached but his concern was validated as he slipped into the slight area which was downwind from the deer. It's head shot up as it appeared to have caught a glance of his scent. With a graceful stride it darted into the tree line avoiding Bōei's approach. "Damn...what a drag," he sighed. Realizing his time was winding down to catch this deer before night fall, he accelerated his plans to catch the deer. Shifting into a full on chase, Bōei lept from branch to branch staying in close proximity to his target. As the deer began to slow down thinking it was safe from his grasp, Bōei switched from a full sprint to a slow stalk. This time he was determined to not let the deer escape from him once more. The deer stopped for a moment, giving him a chance to make his move. He slowly crept his shadow down the trunk of the tree in preparation to trap the deer in his shadow prison to capture it. The shadow crept silently towards the deer who seemed oblivious of its impending capture. At that moment, a juvenile wild dog came running from the brush to the left of the deer causing it to flee in fear. The dog set its sights on the deer and began to give chase followed by a larger adult wild dog.

"Shit...." he muttered as he sprinted after the deer grabbing his special kunai from his pocket. Forced to act quickly he shifted to has fastest sprint to overtake the three animals. He flipped down landing between the deer and the juvenile dog. Using his shadow, he propelled his left leg with a great amount of force into the smaller dog launching it into the tree to his right. As it hit the tree it let out a yelp and then its body slumped down at the base of the tree. The larger dog continued to give chase and attempted to pounce on Bōei seemingly enraged at the treatment of its fellow canine. The larger dog was significantly more powerful than he anticipated as it knocked him from his feet, landing on top of him trying to chomp upon his face. Luckily he was able to grab the beast by its neck, keeping its sharp fangs at bay for a short time until he was able to stab it in the side of its head. The blood began to flow down his arm with drops landing on his face as he continued to stab the beast until its fury had been quelled. Covered in blood, Bōei threw the large dog off of him watching its lifeless body fall to the ground.

As he looked around for the deer, he noticed it had hunkered down behind a rock waiting for the danger to go away. He wiped some of the blood off his hand and reached into his pocket for a treat to entice the deer with. "Come here...I'm here to protect you," he whispered slowly to the deer. Interested in his treat, the deer lifted its head and slowly emerged from behind his safe hiding spot and walked over to Bōei. He extended out his hand with the treat in it and the deer began to sniff it out of curiosity. After satisfying its curiosity, the deer took the treat from his hand and began to much on it with a smile upon its face. Given its size, Bōei could easily pick it up so he decided he would just carry the pet home to its owners to prevent anymore distractions. The sun was beginning to set anyways and he knew he would have to get by other predators once the sun had made its retreat. He picked up the deer and jumped up into the treeline headed back towards the village and its owners. "You know, you are one lucky deer..." Bōei laughed to himself.

[~Exit Thread~]

WC: 719
TWC: 1095
Mission WC: 1000
Remaining WC: 1095-1000 = 95