Echo's in the Snow

The snow was a slow drift to the already frosted peaks of the winter's scape. The trees littering the scape bowed under the unyielding snow that clung to their frozen needles. Hot steam wafted into the air from the wet nose of a hefty full mane male. His handler stood only yards away adjusting her unbroken boots for the unknown adventure ahead of them.

"You better not wander off too far," The handler called to the brute without looking up from her preparations. "Echo and Bael will be with us soon. Their handlers are already on their way here." The Tokota grunted, not exactly wanting to backtrack to the handler after looking for a nice resting spot, but he otherwise had no choice. The graying male came to stand still by his trainer and let out a small huff of steam. The female smiled to the beast and righted herself once she was finished adjusting her equipment. Now that they where so close, the female took both sides of the brutes face and let her gloved fingers glide through the male's cheek fluff. "Who's my Fat Boy?" The girl ask the brute affectionately. The Tokota lifted his chin to her, enjoying the bit of attention. She took the hint and began to scratch at the male's chin, but this position didn't last for long when a scent was carried on by the wind that interested the fat Tokota.

The male Tokota pulled his face from the gloved hands of the female and cast his eyes out down the path they had come. The female, who's curiosity was perked, turned her own head towards the direction her Tokota was looking. He wasn't growling, so it was not a predator, but it was enough to catch the attention of her beast.

It couldn't have been more than mere moments until she finally heard the crunch of snow come from further down the path. Only a short time later did she see the familiar faces coming to greet them. Even the Tokota she was riding seemed excited to see them. Then again, that Tokota was usually more happy than not.

"Hey Skye!" the familiar female said, sliding off the back of her beast. The Tokota wagged its tail at the sight of the other male Toko. As soon as her handler was off her back, she tromped her way over to the brute, snuffing with pure excitement. The male Tokota sniffed at the female, but hardly acknowledged her presence beyond that.

"Hey Mana," Skye smiled to the girl. "I'm glad to see you and Echo looking so well!" Mana looked over to her Toko, Echo, before looking back to Skye.

"As do you and Borderland!" Mana said with a cheeky smile before leaning in and whispering. "But Boar could stand to lay off the fish."

At her words, Skye nervously laughed, but wasn't about to admit that fish was the only incentive she could find to get Boar to do anything. Skye took in a breath to speak until she heard a howl rip through Echo's throat. The girl winced, not entirely use to hearing the female Tokota's voice. It was more that the inexperienced handler. Mana, however, was hardly phased by it, and turned on her heel to see what all the commotion was about.

"Hey Liam!" Mana called as the final member of their party came riding into view. Liam's mount was the most commonly grumpy Tokota, but seemed to be focused on the path his handler was leading him down. Borderland wasn't half as interested in the approaching Tokota as Echo was. The female Tokota was shaking in her skin as her tail wagged behind her. Her tail seemed to be scraping out a rivet in the snow.

"Sorry about my wait," Liam said as he got closer to the small group. "I couldn't find Bael's halter." The male slid off of Bael's back and came to join the two females who stood collecting snow in their hair. The boy pulled out a rather warn paper from inside his jacket. "I found it in the trees.." He said, unrolling the paper which turned out to be his map. "We want to travel this way..."

The Tokotas were less interested in what the handlers were saying, and the males were even less interested in each other. Borderland was still new to all the training, and inexperienced at most hunting and fishing. His handler, Skye, was a very curious being and took him out on smaller expeditions. She was also new to even owning her own Tokota. But now Boar was registered and could start earning his rights.

Boar lay down in the snow, hardly motivated to even pay attention to Echo as she jumped from one male Tokota to the other trying to provoke play. Neither would show any sign of interest to her. One would even believe they had no notion to her presence had Bael not given her a low warning growl that signaled his annoyance. Echo backed off the brute not wanting to take another of his vicious bites. Instead, she opted for attention from her handler.

Mana, however, was getting herself ready. Liam was collecting his map rather confident in their path. Skye was heading over towards Borderland, ready to halter him for their adventure. For the two newbie adventurers, this was going to be a new experience. Skye feared she had over packed for the small outing, unsure of what exactly Liam was planning for the small group.

Moments later, the three Tokotas were running as one. Bael took the lead, with Borderland on one flank and Echo on the other. The steam that wafted from the beasts muzzles burst forth in unison with the heaving of their chests as they ran. The snow was beginning to pick up as they bustled down the path, and Mana knew their tracks would soon be covered in the dry powder and the visibility would become low.

Perhaps today wasn't the best day for an adventure.

The doubt drained from her when the group met the forest. With the bowing trees catching most of the snow, the white flakes were sparse, though the great trees couldn't mask the growing flow of ice. Now that they were in the thicket, the team had to move along the scape dodging trees, and even loosing eye contact with the others. No matter. Each rider was focused on their location; a clearing in the woods where there's said to reside a large tree, unlike any that grows in this area.

Mana's mind was adrift to the path they where suppose to follow. Enough to rely on Echo to do what she did best. The Tokota was dodging trees following the sent of Bael as the group leader. Without quite realizing what happened until the snow erupted around them, a boisterous yowl of surprise came from the female Toko. Mana snapped from her mindless state to see what looked like a bear emerging from the snow.

Mana took a tight hold of Echo's reins and tugged sharply on them trying to lead Echo away from the monster. The white pelt of their attacker blended with the great puff of snow as if it had been a part of the mound Echo had treked over. The two veered off to the side and Mana knew she would run into the two pack mates, but the more people who knew of the beast would know what to do.

Echo's heart raced quicker than her legs and the female tripped over her own feet trying to bound away from the white mass. Mana threw her eyes back to see the streams of fresh powdered snow roll off the shoulders and flank of the beast, but could make out the mask of the on comer. It was a Tokota! And an angry one at that! Echo's fearful whimpers seemed to ring off of each tree they passed, and could only imagine what the others where thinking!

They where shocked and had already slowed to come to a stand-still between each other. "Liam, what is that sound?" Skye ask, her eyes wide with surprise.

"It sounds like a hurt animal," Liam frowned, his head craned in the direction of the sound. Underneath them, their Tokotas where nervously shuffling. Boar more than Bael. They both knew the sound was not a hurt animal, but a frightened one. They never expected they would find out what had been so scared until Echo seemed to hurtle herself out of the trees to their front.

Mana caught site of the two handlers and called back to them. "Run," was all the female could yell before she was walled off by trees yet again.

The two handlers had no clue what Mana meant and were even surprised themselves. The Tokotas, however, knew just what Echo was afraid of. They began to move away from the area, following the way Echo had gone without direction from their handlers. It was only until the furocious sound of snarling came from behind them. The two handlers looked back as the male Tokotas picked up speed to get away from the monster.

"I know that Tokota!" Liam hollard to Skye. "It's Sialuk!" The masked Tokota was already gaining ground on the two of them and nipping at their heels. The elder was hard to outrun since it was already well into full speed, but the two males where young and agile. They leapt over a fallen snowy log blocking their path and by then they seemed to have a pretty decent grip on how fast they must go to keep away from the furious female.

Around them, the trees became slack before falling behind all together. The wall of wind that hit the two brutes and their riders was enough to slow the beasts down by half. The ground was wavy with the mounds of collected snow, and Mana and Echo where no where in sight. The blizzard was now in full swing, picking up already fallen snow and dropping fresh snow on them. The two couldn't see more than a few feet in front of them, and the females sent was washed away.

"We can't keep going through this!" Liam practically shouted above the roar of the wind. He pulled a rope out of his saddle bag and handed one end over to Skye. She had no idea what to do with the length until she saw Liam tying it around his waste. She followed in suit, realizing this would keep the two together and in sight of one another through the snow. She also noticed that they where no longer being chased by the old Tokota that had effectively gotten them lost.

"What about Mana!?" Skye cried, trying to be heard over the storm.

"She's experienced," Liam retorted. "She knows what to do. We couldn't go looking for her in this mess anyway. We'll have to find a place to hold up for the night."

Skye nodded, taking Borderland's lead just as Liam took Bael's. The snow was already up to Boar's elbows and whipped around the trainer's faces as they made temporary paths in the snow. The handlers couldn't help but think of Mana out in the cold. Her and Echo where alone in this mess... the thoughts where whipped away quickly when the two Tokotas began to walk a bit quicker in an unseen direction. Skye glanced towards Liam who wasn't nearly as confused, but Skye understood when a grotto came into view.

A sigh of relief escaped both of the handlers at it's sight. The grotto didn't seem too big, but the closer they got, the more restless the team became. As soon as the handlers dismounted the Tokotas where ushered into the grotto. There was hardly enough room for the beasts to stand, and their shoulders scraped the top even when they hunkered down. The two handlers crawled in after their beasts, though there was little room to spare.

In the back of the cave, there was no snow, but the two Tokotas made a circle with their bodies. Boar was thankful to lay down in the dry warming place. Bael, though usually too grumpy to get so close to another, was thankful to find himself this close to the chubby male. The handlers discarded their top layers to keep the wet snow from getting to their mounts and crawled in the middle of the circle.

Skye was surprised at the warmth the two males generated, though she didn't dare complain. The word was a trigger for Borderland, as he knew this meant treats for him. The male excitedly began to struggle against the wall and the others. This earned a warning growl from Bael, but Skye knew her Toko. She already had a treat in hand for the both of them, setting the dried meat in front of the two. When Skye heard the sound of chomping from the two beasts, she happily handed over a piece of dried deer meat to Liam. They ate in silence, but even without the words, they both knew how one another felt.

Mana and Echo were out there alone.

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Word Count :: 2205 Words
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Word Count HP :: 11 HP
Starter Tokota :: 2 HP
Handler Bonus :: 2 HP
Non-commissioned :: 1 HP (Only for Borderland)
Exploration Bonus :: 2 HP
New!Tribe Bonus :: 2 HP
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Total HP
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Borderland :: 20 HP
Echo :: 19 HP
Bael :: 19 HP