Hyoga's Activites and Events

The day started out as just cloudy, some blue sky peaking through the clouds and wind rustling the grass and leaves around them. Shokou had stopped his travels before reaching the mountain range, staying over night in a tent, not wanting to head into the mountains in the dark. He left his home the day before, refusing to let Hidenka join him, but she was not mad, knowing he was just trying to protect her, but in return she insisted that he take three of their tokotas with him. He wasn't sure at first, but had to agree, choosing to bring along Shaka, Caelas, and Hyoga, the three most serious of their small pack. Hyoga was the tokota he decided to ride and lead them through the mountains. He was late heading out and so he was heading out alone, no one else traveling with him through the mountains. Hyoga wore a light brown english style saddle, the cinch and chest piece carrying small engravings. Blue tassels hung from the front of the chest piece and he wore straps on his front legs. A tan blanket, as well as a blue and white fur sat under the saddle, cushioning it on his back. The halter was made of leather and was thin, small strands of blue thread decorating it, and the reins connected under the chin, the bridle bit-less. Caelas and Shaka each had the supplies divided between them, the weight spread out enough that they could move fast and more flexibly if they needed to.

Shokou put out the fire once everything was packed and the tokotas were tacked up. Shaka and Caelas had the bags hanging from either side of them, and Hyoga was wearing the saddle, ready to carry the handler. He connected a lead shank to Shaka's halter, tying it to Hyoga's saddle, and then he connected another lead shank to Caelas' halter, connecting it to the equipment Shaka wore. He did not have to do this the day before, but he did not know what the mountains would be like and would rather not risk the other two getting separated from him. He had the ropes tied in a quick release knot, so if anything happened he just had to pull the ends and they would come undone, allowing the tokotas to move in whatever way they needed. They headed out, only leaving a tiny bit of smoke coming off the fire pit they left behind, though they doused the fire pretty good to make sure it wouldn't light anything around it on fire. Hyoga started at a walk, all three of the tokotas warming up their muscles, then Shokou picked them up in a trot, not liking the looks of the sky and hoping to hurry before bad weather hit. The wind picked up as they started to rise, following a slightly rough path up the mountains, becoming rougher and more hard to navigate as they traveled further into the mountain range. It was not long before they were officially in the territory of the Desna pack, the pack of giants. Shokou watched the landscape as it passed by, hoping to spot one of the elusive creatures, but nothing came into view as they padded along, though he felt as though eyes were watching him, spying on him no matter what corner they went around. Hyoga and Caelas seemed to sense this as well, growling once and a while as they moved along. Shaka was more calm about it, never attacking unless attacked, so he did not see any threat from the strange feeling unless it tried to harm anyone in their group. Caelas was the one who seemed most agitated by the strange feeling, being very protective of his owner and not hesitating to hurt anything he deemed as a threat.

The sky darkened with every step they took and Shokou became more and more worried, hurrying the tokotas along while trying to not get them into trouble with the rough mountain trails, only stopping once before the bad weather. All the trees were gone, far below in the valley now, only rocks and cliffs surrounded them, no shelter or safety from what was to come. They reached the peak of the trail, and descended on the other side, only to have to climb another rise again before reaching the sheltered valley below. Shokou looked down into the valley, wondering if it would be better to head down to take shelter, but he knew he was needed at the base, so he kept moving, heading up the rise. The wind started to pick up even more, like cold claws it raked across Shokou's uncovered face, forcing him to lift his thick hood over his head. He bowed his head, bringing his chin to his chest to try and shield his face, he pulled up his gloves to keep his hands warm and zipped up his jacket so that it covered his lower face. He regretted his decision, but it was too late to turn back by the time he realized his mistake. There was no turning back now, only moving forward. The snow was light at first, only sharp by the wind blowing it with such force, but before shelter could be found it started to thicken.

The snow was blown around so fast and so thick that a white wall formed before them, preventing them from seeing much further then a tokotas length ahead of them. Shokou was glad for the ropes that kept Shaka and Caelas from getting lost, and so were the tokotas. They allowed the ropes to pull them, following the direction it went. Caelas could not see Shaka, and Shaka could not see Hyoga, the only thing telling them the others were there was the pulling of the ropes. Hyoga was careful with every step he took, bringing them down to a snails crawl as they hiked through the ever deepening snow, but Shokou did not mind, he just only hoped they would find shelter, and soon. He allowed Hyoga to lead the way, unable to even lift his head with the snow biting like sharp fangs against his skin. He wrapped his hand in the mane of his companion and tried to take a look back, worried for the other two, but they were still there, heads down as they tried to cover their eyes from the icy blast and flying snow. Shokou had not thought about pulling his goggles out from his bag, meaning he was without them, though he wished he had thought of it, knowing they would have made this a little more tolerable. He turned back to face forward, bringing his hood down to try and shield his eyes, Hyoga still steadily following the path as best he could. Hyoga was determined to get his handler and pack-mates to safety, pushing forward and watching for any sign of shelter or life, anything that could be of use. The snow beneath his paws was thick and he trudged slowly, leaving prints for the other two to follow in. The prints were soon covered and gone after the other two followed them, leaving no sign that any tokotas had ever been there. For a long ways Hyoga found the ground stable and safe, though a ledge of ice had formed above a steep incline, leading down to a platform on which the base sat, but the base was invisible in the thick storm.

The group trekked up the ridge and followed the ledge, slowly, steadily, each followed the one before as they wandered, feeling lost now as there was still no sign of shelter. Shokou wondered if they had missed it, if they had taken a wrong turn. He looked around as best as he could through the snow, searching for any landmarks he could use to tell where they were, but nothing was clear enough to see. Shokou had a fearful look on his face as he shook his head and allowed Hyoga to keep going. They heard the cracking of the ice beneath them, their weight was too much, but before Shokou could back them up, a sound like shattering ice filled the air. With a yelp, Hyoga fell, Shaka and Caelas nearly going down with him, but Shokou had rushed for the rope, pulling it loose before Shaka fell over the edge as well. Shaka and Caelas howled in horror as their pack-mate and handler plummeted below, unable to be seen from the ledge above. Shaka paced the edge, his eyes wide as he looked for any sign of them, but nothing came into view. He looked back at Caelas, a sad and worried look on his face, shaking it. Caelas looked shocked, still not able to believe it.

Hyoga slid down the slope, trying to keep upright as they rode down the snowy slope like they were on a toboggan ride, though much more dangerous. Shokou held on for dear life worried about what was at the end, a drop off, a stone wall, maybe worse. Hyoga leaned back, sitting as he slid, his eyes wide as they continued to descend. Hyoga was not prepared to hit the landing like they did, sending Shokou flying over the head of the Tokota and hitting the snow hard. Hyoga hit the snow hard as well and slid a bit before coming to a halt. He shook himself off once he got to his feet, first looking for Shokou who was now unconscious in the snow. Hyoga looked around then walked to the base of the slope, letting out a howl in hopes the other two would find them, but the howling wind stopped it from reaching their ears. A few more attempts proved as in futile as the first, so he left the base and wrapped himself around Shokou, trying to keep him warm till the storm passed. He blocked the wind, then realized a better way to help, he dug a deeper put in the snow, blocking the wind. He dragged Shokou into it and jumped in himself, cuddling against the handler, warming him up.

Shaka and Caelas kept moving, finding a safer way across and to the path leading down the slope. They stuck together like glue, howling into the sky every once and a while in hopes of a reply from Hyoga, but it was not the snow roan who responded, but a different Tokota. A Tokota from the base heard their howls and let out a response. The two booked it for the response, reaching the base and shelter. Some of the men brought them in to warm up, wondering where their handler wasps they saw the loose lead shank hanging from Shaka's halter and all the supplies on their backs. They knew they had to act fast to find the missing handler, so they racked up and headed out, all with wallow talkies and scattering to cover as much ground as possible. They stuck in groups of two as they searched the mountain. Hyoga saw a light skim across the snow, a flashlight. He was unsure what to do at first but voices brought him to reality. "Hello! Are you out there! Please respond if you can hear us!" Hyoga howled, weak at first, still not believing his ears, but the voices yelled out again. Hyoga's howl intensified as he raised his head in the air, howling at the top of his lungs, desperate to get their attention. "Over there!" One yelled, but Hyoga kept howling, he howled right until a man and his Tokota appeared at the top of the little put he had dug. Hyoga stopped, moving slightly so that they could see Shokou who was still unconscious. "We found him!" One spoke into the radio as the other slid down to check on Shokou. He looked up at Hyoga who was watching him. "What a loyal boy you are." He patted the snow roan on the neck and picked up Shokou, getting the help of the other man to get him out of the pit. Hyoga leaped out with ease and Shokou was quickly on his back. Each handler got their tokotas on either side of Hyoga and Shokou, keeping the unconscious man balanced and mounted. They trudged slowly back to the base, the others already having returned to help the rescuers when they returned. They hiked into the yard, two men bolting from the building to remove Shokou from the back of Hyoga and bring him inside to warm up. One of the rescuers brought Hyoga to the shelter for the tokotas, getting a soft bed ready for him and some food, as well as untacking him.

Shaka and Caelas bolted up, so surprised and relieved to see their pack-mate alright, but worry still filled them as they had not yet seen their handler. They greeted the snow roan gratefully, happy that one of their friends was alive, meaning there was a chance that their handler was. The men brought Shokou's supplies that Shaka and Caelas had been carrying into the main building, preparing a room for him. Hyoga padded over to the bed next to Shaka and Caelas, getting some rest. The other two fell asleep right away, tired from the hike and from worrying so much. Hyoga on the other hand, he laid there some time before he fell asleep, watching the door for a few hours for any sign of his handler and friend. He whimpered as he curled up and closed his eyes, finally falling into a steady sleep. Even in his sleep he could not get the thought of his human friend out of his head, dreaming of the possibilities that could have happened. He also dreamed of the fall, of what could have happened if they had slid off a cliff and plummeted. His sleep became restless as he tossed and turned, the images taking over his emotions.

Shokou woke with a start to find himself in a warm bed. His heavy winter clothes were now hanging from some hooks on the wall, and his boots say on a mat next to the door. He still was wearing his jeans and t-shirt, as well as some socks. He looked around the room, finding that his bags of supplies sat in a pile next to the door. He felt confused as he sat up, his head spinning a little as he did so, forcing him to stop moving and allow his head to settle. He heard the door open and he looked at figure walking in. "You are finally awake." The man smiled as he walked over to Shokou. "Where am I?" He looked at the stranger, still comfused about what all happened. "You are at the dire research base. I must say, you are lucky. You took quite a fall, but your Tokota was very loyal and looked after you the whole time." The man responded, making Shokou remember everything. "Hyoga!" He leaped out of the bed and tried to rush into the hallway, but the stranger stopped him. "Where are you going?!" "I am going to check on my tokota!" The stranger sighed. "Alright, but you have no idea how to get to where they are, do you?" Shokou stopped, realizing the man was correct. He sighed. "Could you show me the way?" The man nodded. "You need shoes firstly."

The two walked down the hall and around a few corners, leading to a door that connected the main building to the Tokota shelter. The tokotas lifted their heads as the door opened, Hyoga, Shaka and Caelas bolting upright as they heard the door opening. They so hoped to see their handler, know that he was okay. They watched eagerly as a man walked in. It was not Shokou, but soon they saw another figure walking in behind him, a very familiar figure that had long white hair in a ponytail and gold eyes. Hyoga howled, catching the attention of the handler who's eyes went wide. "Hyoga!" The tokotas bolted towards him, all three crowding him happily. "Shaka! Caelas! You boys made it! Thank goodness." He had tears come to his eyes as he hugged and parted each one of them, happy that they were all alright. The stranger stood off to the side and allowed them the moment. Once they settled Shokou looked to Hyoga. "Thank you boy, you saved my life." He leaned his forehead against the tokota's, making the Tokota feel proud for saving his handler and friend.