Closed To the Wild! [Deer Hunt]

[Minosayaa]

Now that everything with the little red pup seemed cleared up Mino gave a series of barks. It was a way to check the rest of the dogs she lead."Okay, all ready and able to pull?" One by one the dogs responded with barks and howls of "Ready." Mino mentally grinned as the pup Sizzle gave a long enthusiastic yowl of ready. Honestly for his master being so upset of having him pull, he seemed quite excited to do so. She'd keep a close eye on the pup, if he tired she'd slow down. "Sizzle, if you get tired let me know so I can adjust my speed. Okay?" Ryon allowed Mino to do her role call and any other explaining she might need to do. Giving Ryon a readied look and a small yap, he nodded and the sled began to move again. Mino's pace started slow building speed until the team reached a pace they could all keep up, even small Sizzle. Who may have lacked the finer points of sled pulling, but made up for it with his happy bounding through the snow sometimes running and sometimes hopping. All in all Minosayaa believed he was doing good for his first run. Perhaps she could mentor the small dog.. With his enthusiasm, he'd make for a great sled dog. Maybe even make lead someday.

[Lorelle]

Her mood shifting from feeling embarrassed and naive to irritated, Lorelle tries not to be annoyed that her question has gone ignored. She stands with arms crossed, looking over the things in the sled as the dogs are fastened the harness pulling it. Distracted, the girl doesn’t notice Jack around till she hears his voice yelling at Una. Glancing over to the two of them, Lorelle raises her eyebrows. What has gone on between the two she isn’t fully sure. All she knows is that that night when they were all stuck at the library, something did happen. Something that changed her boss’ mood. Whether that was a good or bad thing she isn’t fully sure. To see him outside of the library is unreal as was to see him care for Una enough to keep her from the tundra.

Rolling her eyes as she watches the male Vantha wins the short battle between the two, Lorelle gets into the sled. She doesn’t know what is going on and she doesn’t care. Her emotions become mixed as do the colors of her eyes. She is glad when they begin moving. The wind feels nice against her face. Cold, but distracting. Her eyes peer out at the tundra landscape as she gapes in its frozen beauty. She still doesn’t fully know why she is doing this, but she is. And it is to late to go back now.

At the sight of the deer, Lorelle stares for as long as she can. Till they have melted away from the pure white landscape. A faint smile brushes against her lips. Maybe this will be good for her. No matter what though, it will be interesting. An experience. Hopefully something to learn from. To teach her and prepare her for what is to hopefully come in the coming seasons. A lesson of sorts.

Sighing, the girl hugs her knees to her chest. Focusing on keeping her balance. It is a lot harder than one might think it would be on a moving sled. Hopefully short work will be made of the journey. Lorelle isn’t to keen on being on this sled for too long. She just wants to get moving on with this hunt. Get that Frostfawn deer and return to her home with what she guesses will be a tired body and a grateful smile. That is, if everything goes as planned. And hopefully, it will.

[Ablation]

OOCSo, I withdrew Una anyway in case this happened (Since it would be harder to withdraw her once in the tundra) but Stefan has stepped down as a Guest ST. However! I have an exciting plot laid out for you guys so we are going to continue on regardless! I hope your ready!

The other group was still lagging behind them and without sleds. They would be heading north into the mountains while their own hunting party would be heading south along the open tundra. More herd hunting was available in those areas making the dogs not only a help but a necessity.

Another hunter steps behind Lorelle to replace Una and grins boyishly. "Ram." He introduces, offering an awkward hand to her. The hunters nicknamed each other for ease of communication on the tundra. While they used their family given names in Avanthal, the tundra was its own world with its own rules and traditions. His blue eyes giggled, matching the thick blue streaks that poured like molasses from the top of his head to the bottom of each strand. He was significantly taller than Lorelle, almost large for a Vantha and had the awkward ungainly arms and legs of a teenage boy.

There were 3 other teams to carry everyone else, making it a rather cacophonous event as the dogs began baying and whining with excitement. Slipping into an easy run Mino, Ram, and Lorelle settled into a nice pace at the back of the pack to accommodate Sizzle.

The remainder of the lead dogs growled at Mino as they passed her in the line. She was becoming a talented puller but in the world of dogs, it took more than talent to earn your place at the top of the pack, it took fang.

They moved across the icy snow top easily, the sleds swayed slightly losing friction at times, forcing the riders to work at their balance. Ram leaned in close to Lorelle, showing her wordlessly how to guide the sled back on track. Leaning left when the sled went right he was careful not to lean too far over that the edge of the runners caught in the snow.

There was little to amuse the group as they sped across the landscape but the unexpected slippery snow kept them all occupied enough that the travel continued in unusual silence. Hunters, a noisy bunch prone to loud song as much as extreme silence, went as quickly from silence to raucous laughter when an inexperienced Icewatch member leaned a little too far. The runner edge caught in the snow sending the sled out from under their feet and them flying.

Landing face first they easily broke through the crisp outer layer to the several feet of fluffy powder below. The dogs stopped immediately, corners of their mouths tilting up as if they too laughed at their incompetent riders.

[Minosayaa]

Minosayaa who was normally gentle and kind, did a thing not like her as the other leads passed she made sure to snap and growl at each one of them. Petching idiots, I know my place! It'd be best if you nursing pups did too! She made her anger quite clear to each who passed. She WAS the best at what she did. The Vantha knew this already. But if these guys needed some extra proving, so be it. Despite the anger boiling in her belly, she kept up her moderate pace to accommodate the young new puller behind her. Sizzle. She'd guard him with her life. From the tundra and from the other dogs. They were just as bad as the wilderness if not worse. As a leading sled tipped Mino let out a bark. Nice going, letting your riders tip! The sleds now brought to a stand still, Mino took a moment to check up on Sizzle behind her. A bit of bonding between the two. oocUna if you really want to get rid of Sizzle, let mino buy him from you instead of killing him off.

[Lorelle]

“Lorelle,” the female Vantha says as she looks over the hunter who has come in Una’s place. She takes his awkwardly offered hand and gives it a slight shake with her own before letting it drop back down to her side. Ram. What an interesting name. Lorelle has a hard time believing it is his real name. Even the Frostfawn wouldn’t name their children after animals. Would they? Must be a nickname for that is all that makes any sort of logical sense.

Facing forward once more, Lorelle stares at the ice that surrounds them. Cold and white in appearance, the landscape is bland. There isn’t much to look at. And yet, in its own way, it is beautiful. Lorelle watches the other sleds as well, glancing over to them every once and awhile. She takes Ram’s silent instructs and does as is implied. Leaning as he leans. Careful not to lean to far for reasons unknown to her. Helping the sled stay the right side up.

Lorelle is perfectly fine with the silence. Finding the sound of the runners moving along the frozen snow sound enough. She is surprised when there is a sudden burst of laughter and the sled stops. She looks over, seeing one of the sleds in front of them has tipped. Her eyes turn to a slightly amused color as she hides laughter from the humor she finds in physical pain and mistake this is. She stays silent, looking around. Wondering how something like this is dealt with. Having never done this or witnessed it before.

Standing still for the most part, Lorelle glances back at Ram. Should they do something? She waits for his guidance. He looks to be younger than her with his strangely proportioned body, but in this instance he is the one to look to for instruction. So she waits for it, ready to act and obey. Should it come.

[Ablation]

The lead sled dog of the tipped sleigh backed away from Mino when she barked at him bowing his head in deference. Laying down to moan pitifully the dogs all laid down patiently awaiting their riders to fix the sled. The riders on the other hand, were much less regal. Head first into the snow they had begun to grapple playfully, shoving each other into the snow as they attempted to right themselves.

Scowling the large man who had greeted the two hovered over the two and hauled them up by the back of their jackets. "'Nuff!" His voice boomed making the men cower much like their dogs were doing. Setting them back on the end of the sleigh the group began moving forward again. The tone had changed quickly and the silence descended like a heavy blanket.

Sizzle on the other hand was immune to the solemn mood that had descended. It wasn't often he got out from under Unas doting attention and got to run like a real dog should. Bounding through the snow, tongue lolling behind him he followed Mino dutifully.

_____________________________________________________________

The sun was beginning to descend when the group finally set up camp. The wind on the tundra had turned into a blinding howl on the trip sending the group scurrying into a deep wedge. Long and thin its sides were supported by long wooden timbers that kept the snow from collapsing in on them. They weren't often seen in the southern parts of Taldera but were more useful than the more common tree rings when the wind picked up.

Several of the hunters ruffled Minos and the other dogs fur for their efforts. Besides Mino and Sizzle who was under her watchful gaze the other dogs were strung up on a rope along one wall while several of the hunters went about butchering and slicing their dinner.

"You. Lorelle?" Ram queried, "I'll get the fire going for the men and pooches. Why don't you set up the tents and unpack the food. We eat the meat first since it doesn't keep as long." The fire took some time to build when he managed to get to it, the wind kept blowing it out and it took everyone huddled around the outside to protect it from the wind long enough for it to spark into life. Fortunately, the wind blew over their heads and the fire soon roared into existence blanketing the small hole in musty piney warmth.

OOCFeel free to thread about setting up the tents Lorelle, or tending to the dogs Mino. You can both control any of the hunters or Icewatch members. After each of your posts we will get into the hunting.

c

[Minosayaa]

Mino happily played with the red colored pup wrestling gently while keeping eyes on the rest of the dogs. Later she would have to put a few in their place, but not now not around Sizzle. Speaking of which he seemed to have boundless energy, bouncing here and there. Mino finally laid down and turned to the red ball of energy.... and yawned. It was a tactic mother dogs often used.Calm down Sizzle, it's time to relax. Save your gusto for tomorrow's run. Dinner will be soon so just rest. The red puppy stared at her for a few ticks before finally Sizzle yawned himself and settled down close to her. She inwardly grinned. Yawns were funny things, humans yawned when they were tired and sleepy. But dogs used yawns to relax and calm themselves in stressful situations, yawning at a puppy was pretty much telling them to sit down and calm themselves. With her small friend now calm and quiet Mino looked over to the Vantha woman who had accompanied them on this hunt. Lorelle. She looked over to her as if to say hi. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After dinner as things settled down Sizzle had nodded off into a deep slumber. Carefully as to not wake Sizzle Mino got to her feet and quietly made her way to the other dogs who were still awake she singled out the sled leads who had dared to snap at her. She growled and gnashed her teeth as a warning to the dogs. But there was one leader she snapped at. The lead jumped back in surprise and whimpered. Making her point Mino returned to the sleeping puppy and curled up around him and fell asleep.

[Ablation]

Sizzle already felt deep fondness for Mino as they settled down for the night and happily tucked his blazing red snout into her fur and began to snore. The other sled leaders were less infatuated with Mino and snapped back at Mino when she had turned her back. He had been a sled dog much longer than she and wasn't about to be pushed around. As much as a dogs mind could, he began to plot.

__________________________________________________________________

The day that awoke was surprisingly calm and brilliant. The usual gusty wind of the north was only bustling their clothing rather than ripping it right off and the sun was hidden in a haze of clouds that obscured its otherwise blinding rays that rebounded off the snow.

The hunters had begun tear down at dawn before the woke the last of the dogs that had chosen to sleep in and soon everyone was hooked up and off again. Sizzle was exhausted from the day before and was detached from the sled and tied to Minos collar. "Since you seem so fond of him snowflake," One of them spoke tenderly ruffling her fur. Though he had to run faster than usual to keep up with her long strides he was no longer pulling weight behind him as well.

They tore up the icy snow easy, sleds whistling behind them as they darted into the horizon. The day passed easily and quickly as the dogs focused on their footing on the slippery ground and soon they had reached their permanent camp site for the hunt and everyone began setting up and preparing several small fires.

~In progress

c