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The sun had risen, bright and warm, to chase away the night. Of course, she had risen earlier. The term motherly really did not describe her and yet as soon as she realized what her hound had done -- well she liked her hound most of the time and she had no want for it to lose the puppies it carried in its belly. Perhaps if she liked one she'd have two splendid hunting hounds.

She had shaken sleep from her body and gone off to perch herself patiently by the mongoose burrow she knew was teeming with small felines. It had not taken long to nab three of the furry snacks and she might have had a fourth if the sound of an owl hadn't caught her attention. Needless to say she was a little miffed when it caught the last mongoose she'd been eying and she had every intention of having owl for a nighttime snack. Even if it wouldn't be that particular owl.

With one mongoose hanging limp from her mouth and two thrown carefully over her neck, she'd gone to wake her hound. Only upon arriving she found the circle wherein they'd slept the night empty. The still warm corpse fell from her mouth as surprise spiked her heartbeat. It wasn't until she'd called at least a dozen times until panic set in. And by then she'd already set off to find the mutt.

"Eyes! Eyes!" she began to shout -- eyes faintly catching the faintest of tracks. Damn, why hadn't she slept in a muddier place?

Once more her mouth formed the first part of her hound's name. There was a feeling of ridiculousness; when others had seen her dog's rounded stomach there had been advice to keep her eyes on it. She had pretended to take the advice even though she had thought her well-trained hound would have more than enough sense to stay near her. It appeared however that there may be some instinct that even training could not diminish when it came to motherhood.

"Eyes Wander!" she shouted as her red-pink eyes scanned the ground for any track. The ground was hard here and there seemed to be little chance of an imprint -- her own hooves barely made an indent and something lighter would be like walking on stone. A scowl pulled at her mouth. In any other instance her hound could track by scent and it made her wish once more that she had some feline. However those were much more headstrong than hounds and she'd probably have to kick it into submission.

She huffed; irritation sparking at her wandering mind. "In the name of the Motherfather, you'd best be alive when I find you," she growled darkly, "because I want very much to kill you!" The volume of her voice rose and she stood there for a good moment with her eyes narrowed. Then once more she went forward, crying out with her hound's name.

The echoes of her shouts rang in the swamp and through the trees. A few birds had flown from branches as she called out, but otherwise it had been quiet. She had about finished crying out, tongue scraping against the roof of her mouth, when a shout in the distant sounded -- echoing into her pricked ears.

For a moment she stood, debating on drawing the other into her search. She gave her head a shake and turned; if this voice wanted to help her it would come after her. The fate of her hound wasn't to be left to the first thing to call out to her. It was impossible to tell exactly what it was and what it might demand.

She had continued on and, with no more inquiries being shouted back, was beginning to feel a little lost. A front hoof stamped in annoyance, leaving only the vaguest track in the hard soil. The entire length of her body quivered and then once more she heard a voice that wasn't her own call out. Oh what the hell.

"I'm here!" she acquiesced. Of course now she'd have to wait or have a shouted conversation. Neither were pleasing options but what else was she to do? Abandon the hound altogether? Not likely. She sighed, tail swinging to and fro before curling around her hind leg. She would wait and call out when the other voice needed direction.