Exploration - Rescue Mission
Spring in the Alaskan tundra was at random, up to the gods to determine what the day would be like. It could be warm, nice weather with the sun shining bright or the furious gods above would smite the earth with it's unforgiving storms of cold, dangerous winds and snows. The mountains would get the worst of it, being met with aggressive winds and skin piercing pelting snow that would sting the face. The village below the largest chain of mountains had previously sent out a hunting party, not able to notice the storm approaching them at an alarming rate. The group has not returned home for an entire day and the village grew anxious about their whereabouts, soon being forced to send a rescue party of five handlers and five Tokota's. The rescue group packed all kinds of pelts for both human and Tokota to keep warm as well as other provisionals including food and water, material to make fire, blankets and extra pelts. They also packed medicine material just incase.
Teddy Trooper, the large tundra dire, nosed his volenteer handler Kenai anxiously. He let out an impatient groan as Kenai packed up Teddy's tack. Kenai grinned, petting the large canines muzzle carefully, whispering words of encouragement and comfort. Beside them, Piroska and her volenteer handler, David bonded together as well. Piroska was more relaxed than her packmate but not taking likely to the handler she was working with packing her up. However, she knew it was time to be serious and knew they were on a rescue mission. The longmane, Riordan, lay next to his volenteer handler, Sasha. They had finished packing up their belongings and waited for the okay from the rest of the group to set out. In the corner, Ruvik growled at the volenteer handler with him whose name was Kaden. The young handler was pretty new to the whole scene of handling one of these almost feral beasts. David quickly rushed over, calming down the more aggressive Tokota and giving Kaden a stern look.
"You must be calm and gentle with these creatures." David explained to Kaden who looked petrified. "I was, this guy is just very mean." Kaden retaliated, folding his arms impatiently.
The shadowmarked Tokota glared towards the two men, snorting before settling down at the kind, gentle words and touch of the handler, Sasha who smiled at the tawny boy, petting him lightly. He calmed down a moment, trusting this woman as she seemed pure and kind natured. Sasha smiled towards Kaden, lifting to arm to point her thumb towards Riordan the longmaned boy, "You can take Riordan." She offered, petting Ruvik further with a peaceful look, "I can handle this guy." Kaden nodded, quickly taking the trade and grabbing his belongings before walking over towards his new partner who would hopefully be easier. The longmane was easy going, thankfully, allowing Kaden to get to know the male and pack his belongings onto his tack. The group was now ready as Jabba and his handler, Courtney, arrived all ready and packed up. Jabba was happy to see his pack members, lowering his chest to ground excitedly and peering through his furry bangs at all of the others. He was excited to be a part of all of this! Ruvik trotted over with his tail raised, his teeth bared, whipping Jabba into shape. Jabba whined lowly before all the handlers hopped onto their Tokota partners and exchanging a few words before setting out of the barn like building, into the storm that awaits them.
Everyone was equipt with thick coats and furs to keep them very warm, and bundled in their coats around their ears and some of their faces. Each of them had a bandana around their noses and mouths to get as much safety as they can from the snow. They also had goggles around their eyes to keep their eyes protected and be able to see as much as they can. Outside, the snow pelted the Tokota's and their handlers, forcing everyone to bundle up tightly in their winter clothes and hold on closely to their Tokota's. The beasts bounded through the snow, their large paws easily grabbing hold of the ground beneath the thickening sheets of snow, making them easily able to hop through the snow. Each Tokota had thick furs strapped around them to keep the Tokota's warm and comfortable, as well. Before they set out, a familiar follower began trotting towards them. Amarok was all geared up, having been put on the mission as well to keep the Tokota's in line should there be any problem. He was a natural born leader and a guide to Tokota's and handlers alike. He pushed his way in the pack of Tokota's without protest from the others.
The group travelled to where the original hunting party had set out and followed their assumed path to look for a scenting trail. Teddy Trooper and Kenai led the group, the large dire the most fit for leading the group and the best tracker as far as scent goes for the group. Kenai leaned forward, holding tightly to Teddy who was busily sniffing the ground and looking up for a glimpse of their sourroundings- or the most he could see, as it was nearly impossible to get a good look out in this snow storm. Amarok marched forward eagerly, his eyes peeled for any sort of clue but at this point, so early in their journey he would not find anything of use. The group stuck close, the handlers having a system to keep close for the safety of the group. Splitting up and getting lost was a bad situation, as they were already out looking to rescue an already lost group who could be anywhere by now.
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The hunting party had been caught in an avalanche, but luckily for them they hadn't got the worst of it. There were four hunters with four Tokota's bundled closely in a caverns crack. It was the closest shelter they could get, unable to afford travelling too far to find home as they had two injured men, two injured Tokota, and one of the members of the party and his Tokota were lost. The group had a little fire going and with the warmth of all four men and four Tokota's, it really wasn't too bad. They kept the injured members of the hunting party in the middle of the warmth of the group, offering as much heat and safety for them as possible. The group had low spirits and no words were spoken between the members. They were crowded closely around the small fire and everyone slept except one guy who was the designated lookout. The man sighed, cuddling closer to his Tokota companion, his eyes heavy but he was looking out for potential help.
Desi was his name. He looked towards his injured hunting partner with a worried frown. His friend had a wounded leg and they had wrapped it up to a straight stick to keep it in place. They had made a stretcher of sorts, as they have come prepared with materials, but too many were injured for the group to make any decent progress during this horrid weather and with so few able bodied men. Their hope was for a rescue party to come their way or else Desi just might have to leave one able man behind with the injured Tokota's and injured men, to go find help. But for now they would wait until tomorrow to go for help and to search for their lost friend, the fifth man and Tokota of the group.
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Piroska let out a growl then a bark, her tail raising to signal everyone else she has caught a scent. The rest of the Tokota's sniffed busily around where she was, following her and picking up the same scent she has scented. The Tokota's grew excited by the scent they have caught, all sorts of tails wagging excitedly. Of course the handlers exchanged high spirit looks, but their mission was no where near done quite yet. The Tokota's followed the scent for two miles before it grew faint again. The storm made it hard to keep an uncovered trail or scent but the Tokota's did not give in, pushing forward. Riordan stopped, his ears rotating on top of his skull, his eyes narrowed looking into the wood next to them. The rest of the group grew quiet and stopped in their tracks, some of them alert with their heads up and the other Tokota's with their heads lowered, snorting quietly in the ice cold air. They shifted uncomfortably... something was out there. The handlers tried to get a clear view of the wood lines. After a moment, a lumbering dark figure shot out and the group realized it was a large grizzly bear. The beast was angry they were on his territory, that was for sure. He lifted on his hind legs, his small beady black eyes moving quickly, looking at all of the Tokota's and handlers before letting out a mighty roar. The handlers jumped off of the Tokota's, huddling together and flocking behind the Tokota's who were standing their ground, holding aggressive stances and prepared to protect eachother and their handlers from the angered creature. The bear sized up his competition and it was apparent to everyone this was a male grizzly, similiar in size to the large dire, Teddy, even. He charged towards the biggest threat, Teddy of course, slashing and thrashing towards the large beast Tokota but also not allowing the Tokota's to circle around his hind. A claw caught Teddy's chest and he let out an angry growl, snapping towards the grizzly. The rest of the Tokota's fanned out to try and circle the bear but the bear charged for the line, body slamming into Piroska who whimpered and was thrown back. Ruvik and Riordan charged forward, grabbing hold of one of the grizzly's hind legs and jerking at it, getting enough of the bears attention to force him off of the dazed Piroska, giving the Tokota the time to get up and flee from the dangerous position. The Tokota's needed to get out unscathed and able to conserve their energy for their rescue mission. They had to get rid of the bear without fighting it. David took lead of the handlers, quickly signalling for them to follow him. They raced together towards safety, David stopping to ensure everyone was together. The Tokota's were still trying to scare off the bear, grouping up to bite and nip at the bear from all angles to aggitate the bear and scare it away with numbers. The bear grew angrier every nip, slashing around at each Tokota in an attempt to get a blow on one of them. He reared up to let out a large roar before Teddy tackled him down, grabbing his thick fur and shaking his head viciously. It was successful and the bear got up once Teddy was off of him, racing back towards the woods in defeat. The Tokota group gathered back together, checking eachother and making various noises to ensure they were all safe. They then spotted the handlers a few yards away, trotting towards them with body language saying they were successful which included raised tails and ears.
David petted Piroska who leaned into the affection. "Let me see, are you okay?" David searched Piro for any scarring or injuries of any kind but Piro was alright. The rest of the Tokota's, other than Teddy, did not take any hits from the bear. They quickly hopped back on the Tokota's, David taking lead of the group with Piroska. "Let's get out there and search for our men and Tokota's," he demanded towards the group. Sasha gave a small look of relief, "The storm seems to be clearing up," she said lightly, "Hopefully they are all warm." They travelled forward more at a decent trotting pace, picking back up on the trail the group had left behind. The scent trail was getting more frequent even after the disasterous storm the previous night and tonight, which was a truly lucky happening. Amarok let out a signal bark of sorts, commanding the other Tokota's to come his way and alerting the handlers he had found something. The sphinx waited for everyone to come his way before leading them towards what seemed to be recently abandoned pack of a person. Amarok looked towards the handlers with a low whine. Kenai hopped off his Tokota, walking towards the possible evidence and crouching down to examine the items better. He narrowed his eyes as he looked through the few leftover belongings until they heard a cry of sorts. A man, specifically. The Tokota's and handlers stood confused for a second, exchanging looks and wondering if they were all hearing things right until another cry of pain rung through the area. Without further hesitation, the group raced towards where the noise came from, listening for it again and again until they found the man who was yelling out. David yelled for everyone to come towards him, and everyone hopped off their Tokota's racing towards him. Under a large log, a man from their village lay with a very obvious injured leg or perhaps both legs. Kenai gasped, looking towards Kaden who exchanged a similiar glare of fear towards Kenai. Sasha took charge of the situation, looking around at everyone. "Well? Get the thing off of him!" They all bounded towards the log, using their strength and the Tokota's joined in to lift the log from the man. Piroska snagged the man, pulling him from the clutches of the log and allowing the heaving group to put the log back down. They gained their breath then aided the man who was very obviously freezing, literally. They gathered extra furs and blankets from their Tokota's packs and covered the man up in extra clothes to keep warm. The man was unable to use his legs, it was quite obvious.
Once they got him onto a Tokota with Kenai and Teddy (for the size of Teddy, and the extra man he could easily support), the man who they realised was one of the men from the hunting party, a man they knew named Jay, finally spoke up. "Thank you." He said in an out of breath voice, his eyes heavy and the poor man was quite obviously tired. He sat in front of Kenai who offered support and physical stability for the man, offering kind words back, "You're welcome." He replied, "Get some rest, please. We're still searching for your friends." Jay offered a tired, thankful look towards Kenai before dozing off from exhaustion. Kenai looked towards Sasha with a frown and she exchanged a frown back. He leaned over as their Tokota's walked side by side, "We need to get this man medical attention as soon as possible," he urged strongly. Sasha nodded then frowned more, "We have a mission. We've got to rescue all of these men, and we can use every single one of us. I wouldn't trust you could safely make it back without all of us," she replied with a heavy heart. Kenai understood and looked doubtfully towards his injured passenger.
The group went on, making sure their passenger was as comfortable as he could be despite his injures and what he had been through. However, the man was missing a Tokota... where could his Tokota be? They dared not wake him up, allowing him to rest as the man could barely stay awake as it was. They stopped to talk about it. Kaden spoke up, "This man obviously had a Tokota with him. We cannot just leave the Tokota here, if it's still alive out there?" Sasha nodded, "The storm has calmed down a bit. Perhaps we can split up temporarily to send two of us, Kaden and I, to search for the missing Tokota around this area while the rest of us keep following any trails left behind by the rest of Jay's party? You guys can go on, and we will catch up by following your tracks. They will be much easier right now to follow, anyways." After some thought and throwing around suggestions, the group settled on staying together, considering the possibility that the storm could come back at any given time and they truly needed the numbers. During the conversation Jay woke up, looking around confused before getting an alarmed expression on his face. "Where is my Tokota?" He questioned. They all exchanged looks before David took charge, "Where do you last remember your Tokota?" He asked the dazed Jay who took a few moment to think. "Ahh, I don't remember much from the avalanche. Basha and I got split up from the rest of the party... then I wokeup and found myself under the log." He frowned at his inability to remember what happened to his Tokota companion. The group went silent for a moment, looking towards the ground in a wave of sadness before silently setting off again. Kenai leaned over to whisper towards Jay, "We'll look for Basha on our way back unless you or your men are too injured. If so, we'll send out another party to look just for Basha. Promise." Jay nodded, closing his eyes once more to rest more. He needed it.
The mountain grew loud, a crashing noise echoing through the air, alarming the party and making the Tokota's ansty. The handlers calmed the Tokota's, looking up towards the mountain that now creaked with terrifying noises that could perhaps mean another avalanche was undertoe. David looked towards everyone, "Let's keep an eye on the mountain. Keep quiet, and be prepared to head for cover should the mountain decide to create another avalanche." They were in a very dangerous spot but they were determined to find these lost men and get them back to safety. "We're not turning back anytime soon. Not until we have found these men and are bringing them back to the village," David said again. "I hope we find them in time," David said doubtfully, looking at the starry sky above with narrowed eyes. The night was quiet, the only sound was the slight wind whispering to them from the lower ground and howling at them from the mountain. There was no more snow other than the light flakes lifted from the sheeted ground by the wind. Regardless of the calmed nature, it was still horribly cold, especially up in these parts. They were approaching the mid-range of the mountain chain which was where it was usually colder year round, especially the higher you went. There was a glimpse of hope as Sasha sniffed the air and wiggled excitedly on her Tokota perch, pointing forward, "I smell smoke! From a fire!" She exclaimed with joy. The others joined in on this joy, but keeping quiet as they still shouldn't stir the mountain to trigger another avalanche which was easy to do at this height. They saw the smoke raising up to the clouding sky a few miles ahead. Kenai looked hopeful with a relieved smile, "That better be them, but who else would it be? Whose crazy enough to be up here." The Tokota's trotted towards the area, each of them a bit excited- even the grumpy Ruvik who showed his teeth in a happy manner. Sasha petted the aggressive Tokota lovingly, "You did it boy." She praised him lightly, the Tokota wagged his tail happily at her kind words. Amarok snorted, dashing forward easily through the snow. His lack of fur made him breeze quickly, similiar to a greyhound, but he was warmed by layers of warm furs and clothes applied to him by his handler before setting out. He was going ahead to scout towards the waiting hunting party. Piroska picked up speed as did Riordan, heading towards the smoke with Amarok. Teddy and Kenai as well as David and Piroska stayed behind, not wanting to cause too much motion for the sleeping and injured Jay who needed his rest. They travelled at a decent pace but slow enough not to disrupt Jay's comfort at all. He had a broken leg, afterall. David and Piro stayed behind just to ensure their safety, as nobody was allowed to be alone up in these parts. It was much too dangerous.
Ahead, the members of the rescue party that had picked their speed up to find the source of the smoke had come close to the source, busily sniffing around for a trail of sorts that could lead to their exact location. Amarok was very good a tracking and had found the groups trail quickly, following it towards the mountainside.
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The night felt like forever and Desi lay tired but unable to sleep due to his duty to stay awake on lookout for their lost man or help of sorts. He couldn't sleep anyways, scared for him and his mens life to be able to fall asleep. His eyes were heavy and he felt the result of the avalanche crashing onto them. They were truly lucky to survive, he thought to himself as he looked around at his injured and sleeping men with a frown. He closed his eyes for a moment, laying against his Tokota to catch a break before hearing snow being stepped on, growing closer and louder at a rapid pace. The closer the sound got, he could hear the busy nose of a large beast. He grew a scared look, hoping it was not a territorial bear of any kind. His Tokota lifted his head, narrowed eyes and baring his teeth, peering out their crack of a cave in the mountainside. Amarok peered inside, tilting his head briefly before wagging his tail and entire body with excitement. He let out low woo's of sort, signalling the group. Behind him showed up the familiar faces of Desi's village members- Sasha, Kaden, and Courtney. Everyone of the rescuers dropped off their Tokota's and almost ran towards the group. One of the injured men woke up from his slumber, his eyes growing wide with happiness and a smile planted across his face. Desi got up, walking towards the fellow villagers and giving them each a long lasting hug, almost crying. "I thought we were going have to try to make it back ourselves," he began, tearing up. "Thank you so much. Thank you so much." He repeated, looking towards his fellow hunting men. "We have two severely injured, one man and his Tokota missing, and myself and Tanner here," he pointed towards the other man who wasn't severely injured, "We're just bruised and cut up. We were able to drag the injured men here to safety and keep everyone warm. We also have two badly hurt Tokota's," he pointed towards the injured Tokota's who looked like one had a badly injured leg and the other was cut up and had two injured legs.
Sasha looked towards them with a gentle smile, "We'll take care of you all. We brought medical supplies which include pain killers. We'll give you those and pack ya'll up to start heading back towards the village, unless you guys just want to camp here?" They shook their heads, "We want to leave now." Sasha nodded, looking towards Desi. "I'm glad to say we have found your missing man. Both of his legs are injured, one may be broken, but he is alright. Warm and safe with us," she frowned, "Thought we did not find his Tokota. We were going to give it a whirl on the way back." Desi grew happy, hugging Sasha tightly, "Thank you so much. I'm so glad you found him and he's alright. We'll find his Tokota."
Kenai and Teddy along with David and Piro made their way finally at the camping site. They exchanged hugs and greetings before packing everyone up. Courtney's father, Thom, was one of the injured men. She ran up to him, whispering words of comfort and keeping close to him. He would ride on her Tokota with her. Teddy would aid a quickly made sled to carry the injured Tokota's with Piro's help. After everyone was given pain killers and given extra warmth and comfort, they hopped on the available Tokota's, two to a Tokota for the most part, and began heading backwards. The injured sat at the front of the Tokota's backs and were able to rest and sleep pretty comfortably considering. Courtney aided her father and kept him bundled up.
Sasha looked towards Jay and Desi, "Now let's find your Tokota. Do you guys want myself and Kenai to search for her? Or all together?" Desi frowned, unsure where to even start. Jay shook his head, "Let's all go. She ought to be on the way towards the village, anyways." Sasha frowned lightly, "Jay you must be able to deal with the possibility that Basha did not make it." Jay shook his head, stubbornly replying, "No. She made it alright. She always pulls through, shes a strong girl. If anyone of these Tokota's could have made it, it would have been her. No doubt about it."
Among the way back, Amarok heard a familiar noise of a Tokota. He raced off into the woods quickly. Basha was found wandering aimlessly through the woods almost near the village. Jay was all too happy to find his girl alright, although with a twisted ankle it seemed. They reunited happily, and Basha was given warm furs to cover herself to keep comfortable on the way back.