Hyoga's Activites and Events

"The cave is just past here." Sakari laid out the map on the table and pointed to a point that sat between two nearby mountains. Shokou was looking over the map with Sakari as they sorted out their route while Hidenka stood next to the tokotas. Fable and Hyoga were lying down, calmly relaxing before they headed out. Fable was unaware that they were going on an exploration and Hyoga just did not mention it because he knew how excited Fable could get about such things. Zera had gotten comfortable around the other two tokotas and was standing all proud and trying to show off how much of a prize she was compared to Fable, but both the other female and Hyoga were ignoring her.
"And this is supposed to be an easy cave to explore?" Shokou looked hesitant to accept a caving exploration.
"Yes, it is not really caving. It's a tunnel in the side of the mountain. No climbing necessary, no small tunnels to crawl through, it is supposed to lead to a hidden clearing in the mountains that you can't get to otherwise except by air." Shokou sighed.
"I think it sounds fun." Hidenka piped up, running her hand across Zera's neck as the sphinx tokota moved closer, enjoying the attention.
"Fine, we'll go, but if it ends up being too difficult we are turning around and returning, no arguments." Sakari shrugged. She would just continue on without them, taking Fable with her to finish the exploration.
"Great, let me finish packing the food and then we will head out." Sakari left the porch and entered the house before returning with a bag and a cooler. "I'll take the cooler if one of you does not mind taking the bag with the rest?" Shokou took the bag of food and strapped it to the back of his saddle.
"How long will it take to get there?" Hidenka checked Zera's saddle before swinging onto the back of the sphinx tokota.
"It is going to be a long trip, hence why I told you to bring sleeping backs and a tent." Sakari was already in the saddle on Fable's back, running her hands through the thicker fur of her neck.
"So the clearing is supposed to be a good place to camp?" Shokou tightened his saddle on last time and checked his supplies, making sure they were all strapped down properly. Hyoga waited patiently as the man swung up into the saddle.
"When I researched it there is a nice spot just under an overhanging ledge that is a good place to set up camp. Flat surface with shelter from the wind, and shelter from any rain for the tokotas just in case." She headed towards the gate, leaning down to unlatch it and swing it open and then closed it once Hyoga and Zera had trotted on through with their riders. They started out towards the wilderness.

It was a sunny spring day with a nice cool breeze to ruffle the fur of the tokotas. The sky was blue with soft white clouds that slowly glided across the sky and they could hear the rustling of the leaves. The canopies were filled with bird songs of all kinds. Fable had figured out it was an exploration expedition and not a hunting or fishing trip, so she was more excited them before. Shokou and Hyoga had to take the lead as Sakari tried to keep Fable from running off her wasting her energy early in the trip, especially on such a nice and somewhat warm day. Hidenka and Zera hung back with Sakari and Fable, the ladies chatting away as Shokou studied and eyed the map in his hands, looking from the paper to the landscape around him.
"So where did you want to stop for lunch?" Shokou called back, keeping his eyes on the map.
"There was a nice lake used for fishing nearby, though it would be a good place to stop so that our furry companions can eat as well." Sakari called back up. Fable stopped prancing at the word 'fishing', she hated the water and so fishing was something she absolutely dreaded. Zera and Hyoga did not mind fishing and so when they arrived the two of them trotted into the water, enjoying the coolness of the lake as it soaked through their fur.
Hyoga shared with catch with Fable who was grateful that she did not have to go into the water to catch her meal, she was not so grateful to Zera who chose to shake herself off right next to the fluffier tokotas. Shokou, Hidenka and Sakari were sitting on a blanket they had laid out, chowing down on the sandwiches Sakari had prepared for their lunch.
"Think we will make it there by evening?" Shokou asked in between bites, looking towards Sakari who was packing up the leftovers in the cooler and food bag. Fable was standing still now as Sakari lifted the saddle and prepared the tokotas to head out.
"We should be unless we get distracted or take a detour." Sakari replied, not looking back at him as she started to saddle up Zera for Hidenka was the slowest eater of the three of them. Hyoga was sitting and waiting patiently for Shokou who finished up and then proceeded to follow Sakari's example, strapping the saddle into place now that Hyoga's fur was dry.

They reached a path that thinned out so they had to proceed single file between the stone walls. It was the final stretch to tunnel opening and Sakari was once again struggling to control Fable who wanted so badly to rush ahead and see what laid beyond the long and thin path. She was in the lead with the map in hand, Hidenka and Zera right behind her, Shokou and Hyoga had taken the rear.
"There it is." Sakari said, folding the map again and placing it into the saddle bag pocket in front of her. They could see the entrance from where they were and soon stood at the entrance as the path widened just slightly, though not enough for two tokotas to stand side by side. Sakari and Fable did not hesitate to enter the tunnel and she flicked on a flashlight.
"Do we have to worry about any forks in the tunnels?" Hidenka asked, flicking on her own flashlight. Zera was trotting a little quickly as she tried to keep up with Fable who was fighting Sakari at every turn.
"There were a few as far as I know. The directions say to stick to the left, so follow the wall on the left and we should be fine." Sakari replied.
"Do you not have a map?" Shokou called up. He was encouraging Hyoga to speed up to keep in pace with the two female tokotas ahead of him, though Hyoga did not mind being a little slow in comparison to the excited females.They passed a fork in the tunnel but continued to follow the wall on their left. Zera's ears perked as she heard some dripping water from the tunnel as they passed. Her head turning to look back at the path as they passed before flicking it back to follow Fable, running right into her behind. Hidenka also fell out of the saddle but managed to pull herself back up. Fable was glaring back at the sphinx and Sakari was turning around to see what was going on.
"Sorry, Zera got distracted." Hidenka said, Zera looked thoroughly embarrassed as she looked from Fable and then back at Hyoga who was now caught up with them.
"Are you alright?" Shokou asked, sounding a little worried.
"I'm fine." They continued on and soon saw light at the end of the tunnel. It opened up and they left the darkness behind. It was bright and beautiful, the weather was still nice and the small clearing was blooming with flowers of all kinds creating a rainbow that blanketed the ground. The grass stopped at the edge of a shadow where the stone jutted out from the mountain and created a sheltered corner that was clearly used by explorers as indicated by the stones placed for a fire.

They settled into the little corner and allowed the tokotas to roam the field and relax.
"It's so beautiful!" Hidenka was sitting at the edge of the clearing before the grass vanished under the ledge. She was taking flowers and braiding them together to create a flower crown that was all the colors and flowers she could find. Shokou was setting up their tent and Sakari was preparing a fire. She had to take Fable and Hyoga through the tunnel again to get enough wood for the night.
Fable and Hyoga were flopped down in the grass, relaxing after the long trip and excited for the next day where they could just explore and relax. Zera was already at work checking out every corner of the field, trying to find anything of interest besides the flowers that flooded her nose with their powerful smells. They spent the evening eating, sitting by the fire, and for the tokotas they spent the evening laying in the grass and enjoying the cool breeze that ruffled their fur. They rejoined their humans as night came. Hyoga and Fable made themselves comfortable near the back of the stone shelter, welcoming the wind breaker. Zera tried to sneak into Shokou and Hidenka's tent but was chased out by the man who did not want to sleep with the sphinx as well. Sakari stayed up a little longer, watching the flickering flames shrink and vanish before she slipped into her tent, leaving Zera to cuddle with the other two tokotas. They listened to the wind as sleep took them and they dreamed of the morning as the light first lit up the field of flowers.