It's the Lupos, really, who walk. They are far larger in bulk than we are, and much less agile. They walk slowly - it's a stately, dignified gait - and their ears are always turning and their noses always sniffing. But their eyes are on their companions as they hold a conversation; or, if silence prevails, their eyes are on their path ahead of them.
They told me, once, that their eyes are not as keen as Panthera eyes, but that their noses are far more distinguishing. Knowing as I do the difference between a wild cat and a wolf, I am not surprised, and I believe it. They neglect their eyes, watching what is unlikely to change, so that they can pay most attention to the senses that are their best.
Humans walk, too. It's usually a swinging walk, hips swaying side to side as though ricocheting off invisible trees that line their path. Their arms move with their legs, and their heads always turn as they talk loudly, but their words are what's holding their attention, not what their eyes and ears and noses tell them. They are easy to ambush and easier to avoid, and they can't track by scent worth anything.
Avans? Hmm. I don't often hunt them; I skirt their territories if I am near, and that isn't often. They have lost whatever quickness of gait they might have once had; their bodies are long and lean, almost gawkily so, and they seem suited to short bursts of swift movements. But the few I have seen are standing, or thoughtfully picking out solid ground with their talons as they fight. It seems as though they should have eyes on their talons, with how much deliberation they put into where and how they stand, but their eyes are always level, darting. The one time I have seen an Avan not in battle walk, it was a very slow stroll - a step every few seconds, eyes in a book cradled in both hands, direction seemingly erratic although the gait was smooth.
Ironic, isn't it? That we Panthera Walkers do not walk often, that our allies and enemies walk more than we. It is always difficult to match a Lupos' pace as I move alongside him, and often I will pause, then quicken my stride to surpass him, and then pause to wait and let him pass. Tehar Suncaller is good at tolerating this, but others... well, I try to walk more steadily for them.
Such strange trains of thought pass through my mind as I wait for the next kill to come.
- I'm feeling:
hungry - I hear:Blind Guardian
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sun_huntress- Kusani
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