Harvest Struggles [RoS]
Today was the day of Faena’s Rite of Strength. She was more than a little on edge about getting it completed and over with. Sedna, Visigoth, Kokomo, Butler, Moriel, Calvin, Breithla, Ruthie, and Mirabel were here but could offer little advice. They were all in the prestige breeder faction, so this was all out of their realm of knowledge. Mira'Sol, Karvas, and Legacy were here too, but they were completely different species so they were no help. Faena felt confident in herself, but she was ready to get this over with. She'd come so far; she couldn't mess up now! Coen was here to offer his support and guidance, but he was a little nervous too. Pack Leader things weren't his forte, but he was keeping to his promise that he'd help Faena through her Rites. Today they'd be doing farmwork. Everyone would busy themselves with picking crops that were ready to be picked, ploughing new terrain, planting seeds, and scaring off any critters. Faena would keep watch tonight to make sure nothing came after her crops. There was plenty to do, so Visigoth, Kokomo, Butler, Moriel, and Mirabel had decided to help too. They wouldn't be judged like Faena, but they could still assist. Sedna, Calvin, Breithla, Ruthie, Mira'sol, Karvas, and Legacy were just here to watch. They'd grown fond of the vitiligo dire and wanted to watch Faena succeed, as they knew she would.
They were told to begin, starting with plowing a new section of farmland. “Alright then, let's do this.” Coen patted Faena affectionately, starting to lead her forwards. Visigoth, Kokomo, Butler, Moriel, and Mirabel decided to which with Sedna, Calvin, Breithla, Ruthie, Mira'sol, Karvas, and Legacy for now. There wasn't much that they could do, for the moment. The plowing part was entirely up to Faena. She needed to prove herself strong and smart enough to pull the plow behind her in perfect, neat rows. Kokomo’s dog and Mirabel's cat were having an exchange of blows at the moment, barks and hisses filling the air. They grated on Faena’s nerves badly, but she did her best to block them out. Mirabel’s stork and Kokomo’s tapetoe, fortunately, weren't causing any issues. Coen had led her over to the plow and hooked her up to it. He double checked to make sure that everything was attached right and then sent her forwards. Faena started off in a straight line. It too some effort to pull the plow for sure, tearing up chunks of earth as she did so. The gazes of the others on her back didn't seem to help. Mira'sol flying above her made her feel stalked. Karvas and Legacy were paying little attention, fortunately. Kokomo and Mirabel’s companions had stopped their fighting, so she was actually able to focus now.
The day trickled by. Visigoth, Kokomo, Butler, Moriel, and Mirabel eventually got bored. Kokomo and Butler ended up playfighting, Visigoth trying to goad her grandmother into doing the same, but Breithla wouldn't have it. Mirabel fought sleep. Fortunately, Calvin, Ruthie, and Sedna poked her awake and made the others stop so that Faena and Coen could concentrate. Mira'sol caught snacks and shared them with Karvas and Legacy. It was weird seeing a horse eat meat, but she was a carnivore after all. Karvas was an omnivore and enjoyed his snack. Finally, Faena had finished plowing the field. According to judges, she'd done a great job and made close to record time. Faena was already tired, but she had only finished one leg of this rite. It was time to the move onto the next… planting. Visigoth, Kokomo, Butler, Moriel, and Mirabel were allowed to help this time. Kokomo’s tapetoe was a bit distracting, as Faena kept seeing it slither down his back out of the corner of her eye. Some handlers placed the seeds into the ground, the tokotas nosing the dirt back over them and mashing them in with their paws. Coen and Faena moved along quickly. Faena would nudge the dirt aside, Coen would sprinkle seeds, Faena would cover them up, and finally she would mash them in like the others were doing. Sedna, Calvin, Breithla, Ruthie, Mira'sol, Karvas, and Legacy watched in silence, the non-tokota critters fighting sleep after they'd had their bellies filled. It was a challenge keeping Mirabel's stork out of the seeds, but they eventually managed to shoo the tall bird off for good.
Once the seeds were planted it was time to move on. By now it was evening and soon dark would fall. They needed to hurry. It was time to pick corn that was ripe and put them into baskets. There was a certain way to do this for sure, to keep from damaging the crops. Faena had never been shown, so this was going to be a challenge for her. Gently, she bit down on the bottom of one stalk. It broke apart and, to her delight, didn't seem to harm the actual ear. Sedna, Calvin, Breithla, and Ruthie, were impressed. Mira’sol, Karvas, and Legacy wouldn't have known the difference. They'd fallen asleep! Visigoth, Kokomo, Butler, Moriel, and Mirabel were busy with their assigned handlers. There was a lot of corn to pick, so they were helping out. Moriel seemed to be really struggling and Faena couldn't help but grin smugly as she placed her perfect corn ears into the baskets. Moriel’s looked horrible, missing several corners and a couple ends. She was tearing them off too roughly. Nothing was gentle about the starmarked longmane. Kokomo and Mirabel's companions were keeping themselves entertained. His tapetoe had disappeared, going to search for something to eat, but would return. Mirabel’s cat was batting at some ears of corn, the stork pecking at a couple. Kokomo's dog barked furiously in an attempt to ward them off. Eventually a judge came over to shoo them away.
Finally, all of the good crops had been picked. The judges went home for the night and Faena’s final task began. She needed to ensure that no varmints got into the garden and stole seeds, or any ears of corn that weren't quite ready to be harvested yet. She was more worried about Kokomo’s pug and Mirabel’s cat and stork than anything though. The tapetoe had returned, but it didn't do anything other than creep her out. Lizards were so… weird. Coen made a fire, as these Tokotnan autumn nights often got chilly. Almost everyone crowded around it now. They would eventually sleep, but Faena would have to stay up throughout the night to protect the garden. Sedna, Calvin, Breithla, and Ruthie were the first to fall asleep. Karvas, Mira'sol, and Legacy hadn't woken up to begin with from where they'd fallen asleep earlier. Visigoth and Butler drifted off next. Kokomo and his companions seemed to crash simultaneously. Mirabel and her companions fell asleep shortly after, followed by Coen. Soon, it was just Faena and Moriel awake. Moriel looked to be fighting sleep, but she was staring Faena down. What was her problem!? The urge to beat the elegant longmane into a pulp arose again. No, she couldn't so that. She had to focus. She had to pass this Rite. She couldn't let Moriel goad her into screwing everything up now!
She was so tired. The snoring of the others didn't help. At one point Mira’sol, Karvas, and Legacy woke up to keep her company but since they were different species they could actually hold a conversation. Faena’s eyelids drooped. She was so ready to go to sleep, but she couldn't until she got home in the morning. She didn't think she'd been this tired even throughout her first two rites, which had covered many miles! That plow had done a number on her. Time trickled by and only one incident occurred. A raccoon slipped into the field and Faena spotted it. She charged after it, waking Calvin and Breithla up in the process. After scaring the masked bandit away she returned. Everything was quiet for the rest of the night. Calvin and Breithla decided not to go back to sleep, keeping her company along with the other animals. In the morning, Visigoth, Kokomo, Butler, Moriel, Ruthie, and Mirabel awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed. Coen woke up too, and prepared for the judges to arrive. In the end, Faena passed her Rite and her right to breed was secured. Honestly the vitiligo dire didn't care so much at this point… she was just ready to go home and collapse into bed.