Chapter 69 – Hunting

The group continued their journey towards the beastfolk capital. Still, after Sophia had accidentally turned herself into one as well, their progress had become severely impacted for the next couple of days. The new tiger-girl was still fighting with balance issues caused by her tail. Because of that, everything faster than simple walking had become impossible for her at the moment, and even getting that fast took her a while and a lot of concentration to maintain.

"I'm sorry..." Once the group stopped for their camp in the evening, Sophia suddenly apologized. "We didn't make any progress because of me."

"It's fine."

"Yeah, it's not like you're doing it on purpose." The two didn't mind at all.

"Thanks... Seriously, from being the fastest to holding everyone super back. I hope I improve soon!"

"You already did. I mean, you can walk again." Maya tried to cheer her up.

"I somehow can't feel happy about that." It didn't help her at all. "It really sucks because I like to move around and run, but I can't. So incredibly frustrating!"

"Don't worry, once you get fully used to your tail, you'll be faster and more nimble than ever! That's what our tail is for, after all. It keeps our balance in complicated situations, or making tight turns and the likes when chasing something."

"Really? So it actually isn't just a cute accessory once it doesn't interfere with my balance anymore?"

"Of course. That thing wouldn't make much sense if it doesn't give us any benefits, right?" Maya looked at her own tail, moving it around while saying so.

"That's great. I'm looking forward to it. Especially because I have the strong urge to hunt something... To the point of feeling all itchy, actually. And I don't mean my tail for once!"

"Ehehe~, your instincts are pretty strong, huh?" The cat-girl chuckled at how she was trying to resist the feeling.

"A-Ah!" Sophia only now noticed why she had the itch to hunt something. "I hate this!"

"How about you try to hunt something?" Fen egged her on. "I know that itch, especially when it's not taken care of." As a predator himself, this sort of instinct was very dominant in him. "It could also help with regaining your balance."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"We look for a slightly fast monster, and you try to catch it. It's not like anything could harm you here, no matter how clumsy you are right now."

"Oh, that sounds like a great plan!" The tiger-girl liked his idea, and it wasn't just her instincts speaking. "But is there even anything I can hunt that fits the description? Even in my current state, a stupid kow wouldn't be much of a challenge."

"There are some baors nearby. They would work pretty well."

"Baor...? What's that?" Sophia tilted her head at his suggestion.

"A wild pig-like animal will bristly fur and fangs. Very delicious." Fen's last detail was slightly unrelated.

"Ohhh, a boar! Wait, but a pig is still a pig? I seriously don't get this world!"

"You want to hunt them or not?" The wolf didn't want to deal with that again. "They can't sense magic, so you're good on that side, but they have good reflexes. You have to sneak up on them."

"Oh, that's perfect! I don't know why, but stalking my prey sounds really alluring~!" There was a playful tone in her voice.

"Hehe!" Maya had to chuckle at this textbook-like feline behavior.

"A-Ah." The tiger-girl got embarrassed. "Now that I think about it, Fen, would the actual appearance alteration magic do anything against those stupid instincts?"

"Aww..." Maya didn't like the idea.

"Nope." He quickly shot her down. "It doesn't actually affect your body after all. And, no, it also wouldn't help you with your balance issue for the same reason." He already knew what Sophia would ask next.

"There goes that idea..."

"Yay~." The cat-girl was happy again. She really came to like the new Sophia.

"Okay, screw it... I-I need this hunting itch to be taken care of!" Fighting one's instincts is a surprisingly challenging task.

"Can I join you?" Maya seemed excited. "Seeing you all fidgety about stalking your prey... made me kinda itchy as well."

"I-I wasn't fidgety! Okay... maybe." She gave up. "Sure, let's do it together."

--------------

Fen guided the couple to the group of baors, and the two cats hid behind a nearby bush. As it had become already slightly dark, it was relatively easy for them to not get spotted by their prey. They were currently developing a strategy while their two pairs of shiny eyes scanned the area.

"They're still a couple of hundred meters away, huh?" Sophia stuck her head out of the bush while watching two singled-out baors. "So, how are we doing this, master?"

"M-Master?!"

"You're the expert here, aren't you? I've never tried to hunt stealthily. Actually, my only hunting experience is killing some kows."

"Right... Let's see," The cat-girl thought about a plan. "Well, as I'm currently the faster one, I should take the lead."

"No objections here." She was painfully aware of this fact.

"We should first sneak a little closer to the baors. There are still some more bushes between them and us, so we should be able to get really close."

"You're really good at this, Maya."

"Ehehe~, I did this kind of hunting a ton when I was little." She had a playful expression while remembering it.

"Y-You already hunted baors when you were little?"

"Yep."

"What a rowdy girl. I like it!"

"I stopped hunting like that when I started being able to use magic. By then, I could simply set them on fire. Made things much easier."

"W-What a rowdy girl." Sophia repeated herself.

"I had no idea how much I missed it. Thanks for reminding me, Sophia. I'm somehow really looking forward to it. You might not like your new instincts, but I'm a fan." She looked at the tiger-girl with a genuine smile.

"D-Don't do this to me, Maya... I-I want to be angry at them!"

"You should embrace it instead~. I really have the feeling your transformation, including those instincts, will bring us even closer together."

"Uuh." It was hard for her to keep complaining after this. "L-Let's focus on the hunt for now." Changing the topic was her only solution.

"Yeah, let's!" The cat-girl agreed.

Stealthily sneaking up to the baors, the two feline girls got really close to their prey without getting noticed by hopping from one bush to another. All while making no sound whatsoever.

"Ehehe, this is great." Sophia was in a good mood while smiling broadly. She stopped caring about having lost to her instincts.

"It is!" Her eyes were fixed on their prey, but she, too, was having a really good time, as indicated by her equally big smile.

"So, how are we going to continue?"

"You go over there-" The cat-girl pointed to her left, at a small range of trees. "While hiding there, I'll get closer to the baors, and then I will chase one towards your direction. Once you think you can get it, break into a sprint and go for it."

"I'II probably mess up, but I'll try my best!"

As instructed, Sophia stealthily moved towards the trees and waited for Maya to take action while she was hiding. The cat-girl waited a bit longer but then shot out of the bush and raced after the baor that fled towards the trees after it got surprised. Running in a slight slalom to make sure her prey doesn't change direction, Maya kept her distance while also not letting the animal have any room. She could catch it at any time, but that would defeat the purpose.

Once the animal was close enough, the tiger-girl sprang into action as well. She jumped out of her hiding place and tried to cut off the escape route of the fleeing baor. She ran towards their direction and even managed to somewhat keep her balance while doing so. Noticing Sophia, the animal panicked and made a sharp turn, immediately changing its direction.

"A-Ah!" The girl tried to do the same but unfortunately didn't manage to do so. "O-Ouch!" As she had no idea how to use her tail for sharp turns yet, Sophia failed miserably in her attempt. She moved it in the completely wrong direction and splendidly lost her balance. Tripping over her own feet while attempting the turn, the tiger-girl made a summersault in the air before planting her face deep into the dirt.

"W-Wow, that must've hurt..." Maya was watching her crash with a grimace on her face. "A-Are you alright...?" She stopped the chase to check up on her girlfriend.

"Y-You little-" Though dirty, she seemed perfectly fine. "I'll end you!" A fire was burning in her eyes, and her scratched-up face showed a sinister smile while something had apparently awakened inside her.

Getting up, Sophia's eyes fixated on the fleeing prey again. Immediately after, the tiger-girl jumped into a full sprint and chased after the baor.

"W-What just happened?" Maya had no idea what was going on but rushed after the girl a moment later.

Sophia continued to run after the baor and was somehow getting reasonably good at it. She was still nowhere near as fast as in her previous body, but her balance problems seemed to be getting better. The tiger-girl's tail was working as intended most of the time all of a sudden because she was able to take relatively tight turns without kissing the dirt anymore.

This went on for a good while, and Sophia kept consistently getting closer to the animal. Maya, noticing how much fun she was having, decided to stay in the background while making sure the baor wouldn't be able to get away.

Minute after minute, meter after meter, and turn after turn, Sophia inched closer to her target while having a great smile, and her glowing eyes never let go of it. Once she finally got close enough, the tiger-girl leaped at the baor. After successfully catching it, she used both her hands to press the animal's neck down in the dirt, making it unable to move.

"Aaaand THAT's how you do it!" She looked incredibly smug and satisfied while dominating the baor.

"G-Good job..." Maya was a little surprised at how much she had gotten into the hunt. "What now?" She stared at the caught animal.

"Setting it free and catch it again?" Sophia wanted to play around with the baor some more and spoke like a true feline.

"Let's... not do that."

"Aww... Hmm, what else?" The still excited tiger-girl tilted her head while thinking about it. "Ah!" She seemed to have a plan.

After sharing her idea with Maya, the couple got back to their camp where Fen was waiting. A little while later, once the preparation was finished, Sophia found out that baor meat is surprisingly delicious. Though, having hunted it herself while chasing it all over the place with a massive grin on her face might've affected her opinion ever so slightly.