canyon chasers [hunting]

It’d certainly been a while since anyone had had the chance to go hunting for goats. With winter loomed in and taking over the area it had just been by far too dangerous to go and proceed into the mountains however… they had been closed off, told to the villagers to avoid until the spring thaw. Things were still chilled enough but a few of the forward scouts had said the passes were again clear there – things were opening back up again.

With the village having exhausted a lot of their supplies through the long winter it only made sense that those who were able to head out and get some real hunting done. They had wreaked havoc on the goat population the year prior… surely this would be no differently this year! All good things for them, right?

Alaina had some serious decisions to make and she finally headed out with a decently sized group of tokotas – five hunters as well as a goodly chunk of her younger tokotas who needed to gain some experience first in order to be more prepared for when it was their turn to hunt and fish.

Pickle was the one she was most concerned about. The little toki was always such an adventurous type but he almost certainly had the tokota equivalent of small dog syndrome, always thinking himself capable of so much more than his small stature often allowed. It was certainly commendable but also worrisome but the woman had enough faith in her own skills that she knew she could stop him from trying to join up with the hunters. His little toki friend Mayur didn’t seem as overly thrilled as he was; her pristine white fur was getting dirt everywhere on it! Not fun!

She could hear a little bit of bickering back and forth behind where she rode on Fawn, trying to get the pretty dappled female used to a rider, but a quick glance only told her that it was the brothers Atlas and Hyperion scuffling around a little bit… the two males always causing all sorts of mischief and mayhem. Their half-sister, and Fawn’s full sister, Steele did not look in the least bit impressed by all that was going on. Not even remotely. The albino was perhaps painful levels of serious however so perhaps that wasn’t exceptionally surprising.

Nothing new there to be completely honest.

Those tokotas were here to watch and learn from those far more experienced than they themselves were. Riggs, Ripley, and Nuka were certainly old hands, metaphorically speaking since they had paws, when it came to the hunting game and especially when it came to hunting mountain goats. The little black merle Absinthe and the sphinx lady Royce were a bit on the newer spectrum when it came down to things, having only really been fishing before, but it was a good thing for them to get out and learn to hunt too. They’d both proven dependable enough to be given this chance however – especially with fishing turning out to have been such a success for them before. All good things came in time and their time was now.

Traveling to the mountain range wasn’t the most difficult thing in the long run. Fawn was especially obedient and willing to follow what her handler wanted for her to do – always observant and willing to listen – and it seemed that for the most part the tokotas were a bit subdued today. The night’s prior storm might’ve been it or, in the case of the younger ones, maybe it was the daunting newness of the mountain range itself. It was rather difficult to say. Given how Pickle tended to be that in and of itself was a blessing in its own right so Alaina wasn’t exactly going to argue too much when it came down to it.

Shifting his weight a little bit Riggs shouldered into Nuka lightly but it wasn’t even remotely an aggressive gesture at all. He just wanted the merle half mane to budge over a little bit, finding himself crowded into a bit more than was comfortable due to the narrowness of the pass they were headed through to actually reach the proper mountain goat hunting range, and it was with a huff that the other male finally shuffled a bit to his side. Ripley was almost certainly unimpressed too but the roan lady’s attention was divided anyway… trying to keep track of the younger two females directly behind her. They were certainly needed for this and needed to keep close enough for now.

It didn’t take long to make it through the pass, perhaps an hour or so at best, before they reached properly into the range where the goats were at. Explorers had reported back to the village that there were goats in the canyons just to the north, a decent sized herd, and while this would be particularly interesting to hunt at it was there that the handler took her tokotas.

Settling at one of the higher ridges she dismounted from Fawn, moving to shoo off her hunters. The younger tokotas as well as the little toki as settled down along the edge of the ridge, able to get a good view from there – even better the fact they wouldn’t immediately and oh so easily fall in at this point. Atlas and Hyperion looked interested, intent and eager, while Steele lingered close to her sister as she watched.

Riggs took the lead of course although Nuka was almost immediately on his heels as they charged into the canyon. Ripley was a bit easier as she moved with the two other young ladies, Absinthe and Royce, along the edge of the ridge… seeking to work their ways down from there behind where the goats were situated. This was to be a pincer movement – they would pinion the mountain goats between them so they wouldn’t be able to have an immediate and swift escape in the long run. Seemed a good enough tactic… one that the younger two females would be able to remembered in order to use for hunts in the future, right?

The mountain goats didn’t even see it coming.

The large sphinx male jackknifed his weight fully into one completely unsuspecting prey, teeth seizing it as he spun it around. It managed on frantic bleat before Nuka’s teeth clamped down in a vice like grip on its throat… promptly snuffing out the creature’s existence. It was a swift and rather merciful enough death in the long run at the very least – the animal didn’t suffer considering how fast the attack had happened. A good thing really too because the meat and the prized pelt hadn’t been damaged either which was only good for the village in the long run.

Meanwhile the females were certainly busy enough at work! When Riggs and Nuka had attacked the bulk of the herd sought to flee away from them, driven by prey instinct, and that drove them right into the waiting jaws of the ladies. Perhaps surprisingly enough Absinthe had been the one to actually strike first, teeth snapping down hard enough on the back of a younger goat that there was an audible crunch of bone snapping. Thankfully the little animal didn’t feel any pain and its death was even swifter, teeth at its throat.

Royce moved swiftly, tongue lolling as the silent female sought to divide the herd. One flushed mountain goat ran directly into Ripley from the side, leaving a few scratches, but ultimately paying price with its life for it. The mute female sphinx was a cunning shadow, flushing more of the goats one way or the other and giving her fellow hunters more kills before she finally managed to take down two herself in rapid succession.

Really, they had done so well!

Moving carefully Alaina called her waters to her before making her way down into the canyon, heading over to make certain her hunters were okay. After treating to the little cuts on the roan females side, wanting to avoid infection, she moved to load up the carcasses on the others – Atlas and Hyperion were a little uncertain concerning the heavy loads, nipping at the goats but not damaging them, while Steele remained shock still until their owner moved again. She could accept this. Only Fawn, Pickle, Mayur were actually without any sort of burden but that was certainly okay – the dapple female had her tack on after all and Pickle was just too much trouble to trust when it came to carrying a mountain goat. He’d probably run off with it or eat it… if not both! The white female toki turned her nose up and away from all of the filth, tail high as she led the way back towards the village.

All in all it was really a job certainly well done.