Roasty Toasty Goatsies
------[Mehen]
"Gott im himmel!" Korbin exclaimed, practically faceplanting into the neck of the half-mane, Dorian, that he rode upon. "It's like we're in the sun's armpit." He grumbled. It was too hot. "Summer is trying to get a head start I see." UGH. He wanted the cold back, the cool air and rains of spring.
It had literally only been the first hot day, but he hated it already. How the hell would they survive summer if it was going to be like this?
The tokotas seemed to agree, with Dorian wearing a collar of ice packs to keep him cool and thus less fussy, and the rest of the pack moving somewhat slowly. Nux was close to Riggs, but not pressed against him. It was too warm. He knew it was too warm.
Really the only one of the large group that seemed to be uneffected was the toki- Ellie. She was hot, but she was also young and lower to the ground and that left her cooler than the others, save the other tokotas along.
His own tokota, Leon, was walking beside his partner's curly, Luis. They were a good pair, and Leon didn't seem too bothered yet. Just behind them were Ada and Capable, each with a small cart-sled to carry the goats back on. It would be good learning for the newer tokotas, and Korbin was sure that they would do well.
If they could survive this heat.
"Maybe our goats will come pre-cooked." He laughed, or well...he tried to laugh. It was too hot. Why this.
------[Cantbreakthis]
It was so dang hot. Miserably so. While Russell had been enjoying the warmer weather – it had been much nicer than the misery of winter after all – this certainly brought a whole new level of utter misery that he hadn’t anticipated. Even the tokotas he brought all seemed rather miserable. Quartz, always steady and loyal, drooped a little bit under his rider.. making occasional unhappy sounds.
Ones that were echoed by the redhead. “This is just awful. Nevah thought I’d be sick of the heat so fast.”
Riggs moved to nuzzle his friend, but they weren’t all close like normal. It was too miserable and gross for that. Ripley and Steele both seemed all but unapproachable, made irritable and prickly from the insufferable temperature but doing their job regardless of it. Woe to the mountain goats the two huntresses happened to come across.
Unlike his partner Luis appeared a little more bedraggled… but perhaps that was understandable. He had so much more fur that it was making him overheated as well. Thank the gods he wasn’t a yeti this would be just… awful. And then some. Roswell, the extended dun half mane, kept relative close to Justice… both of them alert and curious as to the proceedings but relatively calm.
It was the long mane Zevran that seemed besotted by tiny nubby tokis. Paprika and Bhadra both appeared curious over the relative newcomer to Alaina’s pack. There were other long manes she owned – she was getting to be a good breeder of them after all – but they had never been out hunting with one before.
From time to time little Bhadra stopped however, ears pricked forward as she looked away shyly. Where was her friend Cherry? The female, Quartz’s sister, seemed to be absent this time and that… that was actually a first. She kinda missed her.
It was only when she stopped before the sphinx Roland and his brother Lance that she finally found herself gently nudged forward, the big male calmly guiding her to catch back up with the others. Now wasn’t the time for this sadly. While he wasn’t going to be joining in the hunting he wanted to see what was all going on – it was important after all, something to focus on. Lance moved to shake himself a little bit, tongue lolling out as he panted – it was too dang hot!
“I’unno, mebbie if we’re lucky. Ain’t figurin’ they’re gonna be runnin’ too much. Too hot for that.” An advantage for their hunters but he worried they might get overheated in the process… thankfully in the pack on Justice’s side was extra water in case they weren’t able to actually hit up a stream properly after the hunt was finally over.
“Do’ya think it’ll get cooler when we go higher up?” The mountains thankfully were generally cooler than the lower lands but he thought it a good question to ask, a hand reaching out to ruffle through Luis’ curls when the orangey-brown male drifted a little bit closer to him. He could almost feel the misery hovering off the tokotas – this had probably not really been the best of days for them to have decided to come out to do this. Poor guys.
------[Mehen]
Korbin was not a warm weather man. Sure, he had dealt well enough with the heat of their old base but damn, he preferred cooler environments. It just worked better for him in the end. The pack was suffering even more than he and Russell were though, and he felt so horribly for them. The poor beasts.
At least Dorian was dealing well enough with his cold collar, but no one else had that benefit.
"This isn't heat, this is hell." He said, clearly overstating it a bit but oh well. They were suffering in this heat!
Nux whined softly at the nuzzle, looking dismayed to his friend. He wished he was bald like Riggs now, it was so miserable. Even worse, it put Ripley and Steele in a mood and that wasn't good at all.
Leon could tell Luis was upset about the heat, and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it. He panted as he walked, looking around miserably at the group before licking Luis' cheek. Maybe that would help? Somehow? Doubtful, but nobody could fault the roan for not trying!
Ellie moved curiously between the tokotas in the group, giving the huntresses a wide berth, but poking her nose about Roswell and Justice. The little toki was curious, but not intensely so. Once she'd gotten a good sniff she moved off to sniff the others. The heat had put a slight damper on her usually overly playful personality.
Finally though she moved to join the other tokis with Zevran, his hair amused her. She'd never seen a tokota with hair like that before, and she liked other tokis a lot!!
When they got back, Bhadra would be sure to get time with Cherry, the half-mane would practically be beside herself if she didn't get to see her little buddy.
Ada was stubbornly toughing through it, not showing signs that she was hot and tired and suffering in the heat as much as the others. Nope, she was...definitely fine, totally 100% for sure not at all bothered. Nope. Not one bit.
Except she totally was.
Capable moved just a bit ahead of her, panting, but wagging her tail. It was hot, everyone was miserable, but she was still glad to be out with the group.
"It should be over quickly, and then we can get back and let everyone cool off." Korbin said calmly, frowning a bit. "We should get what we can, but don't overwork the hunters. In this heat it could be very bad." Heatstroke was never fun.
He thought about it. "Heat rises but....the higher into the atmosphere we get, the colder it gets anyways. It should be somewhat cooler up where the goats are, but not significantly so." He doubted they'd see snow anyways, but it would give them time to cool down a bit anyways. More of a reasonable temperature for large fluffy bear dogs anyways.
------[Cantbreakthis]
Unlike his lover Russell honestly didn’t mind the warmth. This however was too dang uncomfortable even for him… it had the sort of oppressive heaviness to it, a mugginess that meant it really needed to storm something fierce to make it stop. Pity there wasn’t even a single cloud in the sky to promise any sort of actual relief in the long run.
“Yeah, sounds ‘bout right there.” At the very least the younger man agreed with it. He’d been just fine with the heat at the old base because it had been the dry heat… nothing like this madness.
If anything Quartz drooped even more beneath his rider. The roan half mane might be better off than any of the other mane types barring the two sphinxes and the other half manes but this was still not an enjoyable experience for him either. He longed to go home. At the very least there was readily available water to lounge in there.
Shifting his weight just a little bit Riggs pressed his muzzle briefly against his friend. The piebald had to be completely and utterly miserable under this sort of weather – he did have do much more fur than the sphinx did after all!
Pity that Steele was almost always in a mood. The albino female moved ahead with Ripley and the moment they hit into the mountain range they were on complete and utter alert, focused on trying to scent out the goats they were surely after. Their prey for the day wouldn’t likely be too mobile due to this horrid weather.
Luis was simply not happy but he accepted it all in stride. It was the weather after all… there was nothing that any of them could do to change it. He appreciated the roan male’s lick however and offered him one in return across the top of his muzzle, seeking to comfort his own misery too.
When the little toki approached Roswell almost immediately stopped, ears pricked forward as he studied the stubby little tokota before him. He didn’t offer friendliness nor hostility – simply uncertain over it all. Justice, on the other hand, virtually ignored her… simply shifting her weight as she moved forward with the precious burden of water she carried. She was working. Right now that had to be the focus of her attention.
The moment the third toki joining the other two Zev finally huffed and seated himself. Almost immediately Paprika glanced towards the newcomer female before she moved over towards the long man… trying to get that better look at him. All that fur was neat! After being nudged by the brothers Bhadra caught up with the others too, peeking around Zevran’s side towards the new toki on the scene.
Who was she?
Shifting his weight in order to stretch the big sphinx Roland trotted forward, passing the little group and heading towards the riders. They knew what was up surely. Although he didn’t move as quickly or efficiently the merle Lance was a few steps behind his brother, trusting his lead without a hitch.
“Mebbie we should get on of those inflatable kiddie pools for them.” It was a silly suggestion at best. “Or hit up the lake onna way back.” That one seemed a little more plausible at least – someplace where all the tokotas would be able to cool off and have some fun doing so in the process. Also a place where he and Korbin would be able to cool off and relax as well… that sounded very nice. It wasn’t as often they got any form of alone time these days to just… hang out.
------[Mehen]
Korbin didn't mind a little warmth but this was hell! This was human-melting hell on earth and he loathed it with ever fiber of his being. They needed a damn thunderstorm to shake the humidity, or a snowstorm. A snowstorm would be nice too. It would certainly make things much cooler for them!
Dorian whined softly, moving to lean a bit against Quartz- almost as if trying to share his cold collar with him. He felt a little bad for the other tokota, realizing he didn't have a nice fancy cold collar. How awful! The poor guy!
Nux was definitely miserable, whining softly. His paws were warm, his everything was warm. Why was he so fluffy! HE NEEDED TO BE UNFLUFFY SO HE COULD BE COOL AGAIN. WHAT DID THE COLD EVEN FEEL LIKE?
Was it as nice as he remembered? Nux missed it.
Leon knew he couldn't change the weather, but he wanted it to stop being so damn hot. He and Luis were suffering, the whole pack was suffering. The lick was appreciated, but oh he wanted this heat to end. They needed a pool to lay in, right now.
Ellie seemed amused by the reactions she got, but it was Bhadra that had her interested. She waddled over to boop her nose against the other toki's, tail wagging as if to say HI, HELLO, HI!! This little toki was cute and interesting! Who was she? SHE NEEDED TO KNOW!!!!!
Oddly enough the first one to notice goat smell was Ada, wuffling forward to the hunters- just a note. Be on the lookout basically. Capable watched her curiously as the other tokotas moved on forward.
At least they seemed to have a trail.
"Not a bad idea." Korbin laughed- stopping only to note to the hunters. "Go find 'em!" Then he turned back to Russell and nodded. "I think Anik has some kind of...pool or other for them, but the lake sounds like a good idea actually." A really good idea. "We can cool down too." He grinned. They could spend some quality time together and just wind down, resting and relaxing.
He would damn well look forward to that.
------[Cantbreakthis]
Sadly it was something they were just going to have to deal with, wasn’t it? They might’ve hit the lower levels of the mountain range but while there was a notable dip in temperature it was hot enough to definitely still count as miserable. It really needed to storm something badly if only to bring down the humidity and mugginess so it wasn’t so awful.
Although he shied away a tiny bit at first Quartz finally accepted the unexpected contact, relishing the even temporary coolness that came from the collar around the seal male’s neck. That was nice. That was very nice. Alaina needed to invest in these sorts of collars too one day… even though she probably never would.
She didn’t have exceptionally spoiled tokotas after all.
Riggs was certainly something unhappy that he wasn’t able to help his friend. Lifting his muzzle towards the sky to growl at the sun only made it seem to beat down hotter on the pack and he moved to shake himself a bit, trudging forward even more. If they hurried and got this done then they could go home, right? Just where were the mountain goat scents? That was surely what they were after since they were all the way up here!
It was true though – Luis especially was certainly suffering beyond belief. He felt like he was melting slowly into a puddle of orangey brown fur… unhappy and miserable. He didn’t audibly whine or complain however… instead he bore his suffering in mostly silence, attention still on the handlers riding before them and his also overheated friend by his side.
While Zevran was certainly interested in the new toki much of his attention was taken up by Paprika. Certainly the merle female was all personality and fire, taking up the attention wherever she went. It was enough that even Roland and Lance ventured over to check out what was going on, investigating curiously, and all the faces were enough to cause the half mane toki Bhadra to back up even more.
Uncertainly she glanced towards the new toki with a little whine, ears pinned shyly backwards, but she didn’t back away further… simply holding still for a moment.
Justice’s ears flicked before she moved to call Ada’s signal forward. Roswell glanced backwards towards the female before he moved to do some meet and greeting himself, reaching out to try to get a snuff towards her and her companion.
The signal was all that Steele and Ripley needed.
Ears picked forward and tails high both females were oh so suddenly on the move, charging forward the moment that the mountain goat scent reached them. Riggs seemed a little more on the reluctant side when it came to moving but he finally shook himself a last time, huffing audibly as he moved to chase after them.
Needless to say it wouldn’t be long before the hunters came upon the herd itself. It was made up of a good chunk of yearlings… utterly miserable due to the foulness of the weather. At least it was shared. Poor inexperienced little mountain goats didn’t stand too much of a chance when Ripley pulled down first one and another, Steele and Riggs dividing up one of the larger males to keep from sustaining any injuries.
They wouldn’t remain still, going after more of the goats too. The albino even tried to flush a few towards some of the other hunters too – wanting to make certain everyone got in on the action even as she herself pulled down a second one. They all needed to work here too.
------[Mehen]
Sure they were in a cooler region now but it was still insufferably hot and humid. Disgustingly warm, and Korbin thought he might actually melt into a puddle just out of Dorian's saddle. With a groan he shifted uncomfortably before going to remove his shirt. He tucked the cloth into a saddlebag, and though it helped it....really wasn't by much.
At least Russell got a nice view. Probably.
It wasn't like anybody was around to judge except the tokotas, and they probably didn't care. Dorian didn't seem to give a damn after all, more interested in pressing his cold pack into the other half mane contently. Quartz seemed to like it anyways. That was good, right?
Anik believed strongly in making tokotas more than comfortable, and he went extra lengths for that. Surely some of the collars would make their way into her stable somehow.
The medic laughed at the way Riggs snarled at the sun, as if he could command the weather to stop. He was a good friend it seemed, trying to protect Nux from anything- and he certainly meant anything. The pied male seemed to appreciate it greatly though, making a happy little noise at the gesture. He appeared to understand that it was a protective one. Silly Riggs.
Leon's tail wagged weakly at being close with Luis at least, but he was obviously in misery. He just wanted to go home and relax in the cold with Luis, because that’s just what he wanted to do. Instead he was here hunting.
Ellie opted to ignore the commotion around Zevran for a moment. She snuffled at Bhadra, and moved to lick her nose in a friendly way, before skittering off to investigate the other tokotas. There were so many of them now!! Who were all these tokos? SHE NEEDED TO KNOW.
At Roswell's sniffing, Ada flattened her ears a bit, nervous but not outright aggressive. Just...absolutely unsure about him. Capable on the other hand moved immediately to investigate, curious and friendly.
Nux quickly tore after the hunters, eager to get him some damn goats. If they got goats, they got to go homne. That was key here. Home meant cool stables, and cool water and not dying of heat melting.
It took Leon a moment to pull away from Luis, but he had to- he needed to go do his job. He licked his cheek and then bolted off alongside Nux. Running in this heat was hell, but the quicker they did their job, the quicker they could forget about this heat.
Nux was quick to grab a goat, and then another, hauling them down and finishing them quickly. Leon was less aggressive, but still efficient, and by the time the rest of the pack had caught up they'd have a good pile of pelts on their hands.
Korbin whistled sharply, signalling the end of the hunt. They had enough, and he deemed that any more would be too much for them. He turned to Russell. "That should about do it....we should get the goats packed up on the sleds-" A glance to Ada and Capable- "And then we can head to the lake and get in some relaxing." He smiled to him, hoping the man approved of the plan- though all signs pointed to yes.