Mountain Lion hunt with Ghoul

The weather in the mountains was nowhere near as foul as it could quickly become, a small blessing to the Tokotas traversing the treacherous bottom pathways that would quickly scale upwards with little warning. Areas were either packed tight or loose enough that a misplaced paw was sure to send you cascading down and to a nasty injury. For Creme Soda, it was asking for trouble and he had enough sense to watch where he put his feet when looking over the rocks in a lazy trip towards where his instinct was leading. He’d set out to go fishing but had lost his way to the river and instead found a mountain dominating his entire view. The expanse of jagged rock jutting from the land wrapped almost entirely around a valley covered with snow and rock, looking as if stuck in a perpetual state of winter. The Tokota snorted at the rocks, shaking his head in dismay when nothing seemed to set him to the correct path, and a dark shadow lurched forward from his peripheral. Shocked, he lept back with a startled grunt and came face-to-face with a grinning female that had enchanting silver eyes with whisps of a steel-y blue hue swirling amidst the desaturated tone. Creme Soda was astonished, not because of her grin or her eyes but because there was a strange animal so close to his face he could feel her breath and see each twitch of her nostrils.

Hi? Did he greet her? Did he turn his back and run the opposite direction? These were things he should have thought of but which he didn’t concern himself. The creamy colored male barked, wiggled his whole body, and shamelessly rolled onto his back in submission to show that he had no bad intentions. Mountains were big enough for them both, to be sure, and he had no goal to take away from the female’s activities. In fact, she may have been able to direct him to the nearest source of water so he could fish and then return home but before he could communicate his task she was nudging him in some other direction with a sly glance.

Curious, the Tokota trotted alongside the reddish female and glanced all around to get a feel for the landmarks they passed by. It all looked the same to the untrained eye and Creme Soda possessed a very lacking observation skill.

The female Tokota wasn’t interested in his original objective, instead keen on just following her nose to whatever held her attention for the moment. Currently it was a strange spiced smell that vaguely hinted at a smaller predator and as nice as a mountain goat or deer seemed it always tickled her to bring home something better. Midna could use this chance meeting with another Tokota to increase her odds of bringing back something that would impress her handler. Pelts were useful all year round, for clothing or trade or bedding for the home, and she intended to bring back whatever that smell was coming from. Whether the other animal was willing to go along or not mattered little, seeing as he was following without protest, and Midna’s tail flicked up to show herself as the little leader of the small group for the time being. Now the task was to gather herself a few others so the whole event might go over much more in her favor. Lead them all in to do the work and reap all the benefits.

Kanel panted, catching his breath as he looked up ahead of him towards the steep climb that was ahead of him. He cast a glance over his shoulder at the furry friend rider who was on his back, weighing him down and slowing his pace as the other tokotas ranged out ahead. He recognized Tsulo’s and Jackdaw’s scents wafting on the breeze ahead of him, and was already familiar and settled in with the two males from a few different outings with them, but the two new scents of a male and a female tokota intrigued him. Kanel caught sight of the new female ahead, padding around a set of jagged rocks up ahead, and the male, who seemed to be following her at a respectful distance. He was also able to pick up the light flanks of Tsulo and Jackdaw’s dark ones as they moved after the reddish female’s lead. She seemed intent on something, and Kanel wondered what she had found, until the sharp scent of mountain lion drifted to him on the breeze. Kanel paused and sniffed at the air, turning his head before lowering it to the ground to get a better scent. A mountain lion had definitely been through here recently, and Kanel made an effort to catch up with the rest of the group, despite the heavy rider on his back.

Ahead,Tsulo and Jackdaw had caught up with the two new tokotas. Tsulo shouldered past Jackdaw, earning a whine from the easygoing tokota before prancing past the new tokotas with his head held high in the air. It was obvious that he meant business and wanted to lead the pack, but he kept a careful eye on Midna, unsure of how she would react. Jackdaw padded up to the male with his tail wagging and head lowered, showing his friendly intentions as he nosed along his side, picking up on his scent. He didn’t take too much notice of Tsulo and Midna eyeing each other warily, and instead focused on the friendly male before him.

Creme Soda didn’t mind following after Midna if that was what she wanted him to do and his paws were careful with each step he took. Mountain terrain was a whole new experience for the light colored Tokota and he was looking at the place she’d directed him away from with a weighted stare. Midna didn’t seem to like how slow he was moving, the distance between them, and made it obvious with a gruff growl directed in his direction. Creme wouldn’t have minded if he didn’t detect the scent of his handler a bit farther back from where he’d come and he knew Patch would be upset if he moved on without his handler there to direct him. Getting lost when you were a Tokota was one thing, he could realistically find his way back home easily enough, but Patch had no way to contact anyone if he got lost. All the Tokotas in Creme Soda’s home could understand Patch’s communication but not everyone could and he put a paw down when Midna tried growling at him to force him to move faster, snapping his teeth close to her tail in a rare display of temper.

Midna was aggravated, whipping around to meet the gaze of sudden strangers with a calm ferocity. She didn’t want to back down but if it meant leading from the sidelines she would do so, keeping her stance proud while regally allowing the newcomers to take over if they wished. Maybe they could get the other male she’d found to move faster, before the prey completely left this side of the mountain in a search for food and she was sent home without a thing to show for her hours spent out on the hunt.

Patch had lost sight of Creme Soda for sure but he hadn’t lost the trail of scent carrying him to his Tokota and that was the most important part. The young man heaved a soundless sigh, breath whooshing past his teeth with a vague whistle, and he readjusted the bridle on his shoulder as he pushed himself farther up the mountain to follow the path of his Tokota. Creme Soda wasn’t the best at finding his way around on the best of days but even the pale coated Tokota knew better than to wander off this far without at least letting Patch know he was going somewhere. The fact not even a howl went up was worrying but made much more sense when Patch caught the silhouette of a small clustering of others with the wandering male.

The greeting he got from Jackdaw made Creme yip in excitement, easily butting up against the other Tokota’s side, and it allowed his handler time to catch up. Midna seemed vaguely interested, watching the exchange of odd gestures with dull curiosity. What sort of handler didn’t verbalize? Even her own rider would speak, not just gesture wordlessly with hands and expect it to be understood. The fact Creme Soda seemed to not only understand but could respond without vocalization gave her pause, the intelligent and cunning portion of her brain registering that tricking them all might prove far more troublesome than she’d first imagined.

Rather pleased with himself now that Midna had appeared to back down from his advances, Tsulo padded out in the front of the pack with his head held high, demonstrating that he was in charge of the group of tokotas. Archer chuckled quietly at the male’s display, shaking his head as the group padded over another rise, following Tsulo as he padded along. Meanwhile, Jackdaw excitedly nudged Creme Soda, dipping himself into a playful bow as he was successfully distracted from the hunt. He yipped and lunged forward to playfully mouth one of Creme Soda’s forelegs before darting off and running ahead of his playmate. Kanel hung back slightly, somewhat unused to his handler’s silence. He didn’t particularly mind, as he didn’t vocalize much himself, but normally when he went out with Archer the young man would keep up a chatty conversation, particularly if some young women were with him. Kanel huffed and tossed his head as he tried to figure out why Archer was silent, especially with some young women that he was riding with, returning his focus to the sparse scent of the mountain lion on the rocks.

Ahead, Tsulo pricked his ears as the smooth sounds of a running stream came from up ahead. He picked up his pace slightly, eager for a cool drink after the morning’s steep climb. He rounded a bend and the sounds of the water became louder as he set his eyes on the sparkling water. Tsulo padded up to the edge of the stream, looking around before dipping his head to lap at the crystal clear clean water. Jackdaw and Creme Soda padded up and moved off to the left, keeping a respectful distance between themselves and Tsulo. Jackdaw playfully bumped against Creme Soda before turning his pale eyes upwards to look for the source of the bubbling stream, which was a few hundred feet above them. The clear water splashed and cascaded down a series of steep rocks before reaching more level ground where the tokotas were standing. A small indentation had been carved into the rock by the passage of the water, giving some depth to the mountain stream. After Jackdaw had drunk his fill, he sprang into the stream, sending sprays of cool water over all of the tokotas. Archer raised a hand to protect his face from the water kicked up by Jackdaw before climbing off of Kanel’s back and dipping his water jug in the stream, refilling it before drinking a few handfuls of water. Kanel padded off towards Tsulo and Midna, making it clear that he wasn’t bothered much by the two even when Tsulo curled his lip at the cream colored tokota as the curly got too close for his liking. Kanel simply dipped his head into the stream, lapping at the cool water before Tsulo gave a growl and padded across the stream.

Creme Soda didn’t much mind the other Tokotas once he had his handler by his side, easily allowing Patch to get onto his pack without the bridle so he could trot along with the small pack. Midna seemed to prefer sticking close to the cream coated male, watching the others with a very suspicious glint to her bright eyes. Patch didn’t think before reaching out and ruffling her ears to hopefully soothe her ruffled pride. The young man was perfectly content to hold back, Creme Soda reading into the mood and keeping a slight bit of distance between himself and all the other Tokotas for his rider and companion’s comfort. Midna was watching everyone and she seemed to be judging them for something, not that it mattered much to Creme as he’d originally followed her for little else than her pushy manner.

Patch may not have been her handler but Midna accepted his touch well enough and followed along behind their current leader, though it was made perfectly clear she didn’t think of him as much of a leader in the slightest. When they arrived at the stream she shouldered Creme in a direction that gave them a fair bit of distance, drawing a clear line between who she governed and who Tsulo had control over. Patch shrugged it off since it didn’t appear his Tokota was fighting back or showing any aggression towards the pushy female. The stream proved a valuable chance for them to all get a long drink, Midna and Creme delighting in the cool water on their palette while Patch draped over Creme Soda’s back like he was a lumpy bed.

Tsulo’s growl was met with a quick snarl from Midna and a very curious stare from the male he’d been growling at. Midna wasn’t normally keen on a fight but the attitude rubbed her the wrong way and there was nothing worse than a pushy Tokota thinking it was alright to get aggravated simply because proximity. Patch watched helplessly, directing Creme to put a bit more distance between them and the others to prevent a fight. Midna may not have understood the hand gestures but she followed along willingly enough, her mane looking like she’d been shocked by lightning with how it stood on end.

Archer sighed as he straightened up, tightening the cap on his water bottle before walking over to try and straighten out the group of tokotas. Thankfully, the issue was mostly solved with a little bit of separation between the various tokotas. Kanel trotted back over to Archer once he had drunk his fill, nosing his handler’s pockets in case he had a few treats or a snack. Archer gently pushed his head away, instead walking around to his side and climbing back into Kanel’s saddle. Tsulo finished shaking out his fur after crossing the stream before raising his head as he caught a tantalizing scent on the breeze. He let out a yip, alerting the group to the scent, and Kanel brought his head up. He padded towards the tawny male with his nose to the ground, picking up on the scent of mountain lion that had been in the area recently. The rest of the group gathered around Tsulo, noses to the ground as they sniffed the wet stones as they all picked up the scent of mountain lion. Archer leaned from the saddle, peering at the wet stones and thin layers of mud on the ground, and saw a small pawprint in the soil.

Tsulo padded off with his nose to the ground, climbing up a slight incline and sending pebbles flying from his paws as he skittered up the slope. Minda followed close behind Tsulo as the tawny male made his way up the slope. Tsulo and Jackdaw kept their noses to the ground as they tracked the scent up and over the rocks. The group worked their way up the slope, moving slowly as they picked their way around large boulders. Archer tilted his head back, looking at the jagged stones as they walked past. Tsulo  followed the scent to a dug out hole in the ground at the base of a large rock, but padded past it, sniffing as he wound his way around a few large boulders before pausing beside a jagged grey stone, ears pricked as he looked out over the side of the mountain. He nosed the dirt, noting how the scent was much stronger here and seemed to flow from the hole. Jackdaw and the other tokotas padded up behind him, sniffing the air as they tried to find the mountain lion.

Jackdaw caught movement off to one side, and saw a brown form go slinking off, and he yipped to alert the others before charging after it. Tsulo shouldered past him, running out ahead as he leaped and grasped the mountain lion’s tail in his teeth. He slid to a stop, jerking his head back as the rest of the group surrounded the mountain lion, growling. The feline spun, trying to swat at the large canines surrounding it, but they kept away from it’s flying paws, ducking and darting in to snap at the mountain lion. Tsulo blinked and Jackdaw suddenly had seized the mountain lion’s neck with his jaws, shaking it with a crack, before dropping the still body to the rock beneath their paws.