Welcome to Gaia! ::

((A. You follow the tracks she left. Hoofprints show clearly in the fresh-fallen snow, though you might have trouble if she went over ice or rock.))

The look of dismay on Creeping Cloud's face as he watched the kimeti turn and vanish into the swamp was nothing short of comical. She'd been right there...

But he soon grinned, as the realization struck that this was another test. Fresh from his perceived success with bringing down the hare he carried, the young buck weighed his options. Wind and cold had chilled the air, and scents would be difficult to pick up...and he was not nearly familiar enough with this area to guess where they might be. Well, that was alright. He could use his eyes, spot her hoofprints, and barring ill luck, follow the trail. Brimming with confidence, Creep began to follow the light, clear hoofprints in the snow.

For a time, all was well. The fresh-fallen snow showed a clear trail, and Creep made good progress. He even had time to lament the fact that the hare he carried would no longer be quite so fresh when he got there, but at least it would still be in fine shape. Then he hit a rocky, icy patch of ground, and the trail seemed to vanish. Creep drew to a halt.

Well then.

It was no use standing around--both he and his prey would only grow all the more chilled that way. Creep began casting about, trotting first one way, then the other as he moved forward. Once he found the edge of the rough ground, it wasn't long before the trail was picked up as well.

(A) Moon Cloud and his lynx, Sun Fire follow the tracks she left. Hoofprints show clearly in the fresh-fallen snow, though you might have trouble if she went over ice or rock.

Moon and Sun picked up their boar from where the lynx dropped it. Moon wasn't sure they would be able to follow the doe's trail that easily, but they found her tracks. He looked on the way she went and sighed. "Well, looks like I need to carry that more than you. Put it on my back so we can get there faster." Kneeling down, the lynx moved the boar onto his friends back.

Afterwards, he shuffled up ahead, a little bit, looking at the snow and for any other signs. Soon enough, he spotted her ahead and growled back to Moon. The buck shifted his shoulders and took off after Sun Fire. The trail was surprisingly easy to follow, once they crossed over some rocks. Her hoof prints stood out in the snow, even under some of the trees, Moon Cloud was able to see where to go. Crunching through the snow crust, him and the lynx made it.

Choice C with Treacherous Snow

Treacherous Snow bent down to where she had set the boar down when Shattered Sky had approached and taking it up again by the neck. She hefted it up higher so that she could see better and, taking a few steps forward, Cornice glanced down to see if the hoof prints would be consistently clear enough to follow, especially with snow still falling lightly. With the extra weight of the large boar to carry with her, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the other doe and, with the snow, the tracks might get covered up and lost. Making her decision, Cornice began trekking in the same direction that Shattered Sky had left, following the hoofprints for as long as she could before they tapered off and became indistinct because of the falling snow. At that point, Cornice paused and set the boar down to survey her surroundings. She took in the snow coated features of her environment. It took her moment because of the shifts in snow fall, but she was able to orientate herself using her knowledge of this area of the swamp.

Cornice shook off the snow that had accumulated onto her back and then went still as she cataloged the different places two kimeti and four large gryphons could lie together in wait. Perhaps they were separated, but it would seem more likely for the group to be together. If she couldn’t find them in the places that she knew would allow them to stay together then she would start moving on to places that could accommodate a kimeti and two gryphons. She would start with the better hidden areas before moving to the successively less hidden areas. It wouldn’t be a test if they weren’t hidden fairly well despite their large group but Cornice was confident in her knowledge of the area.

Taking up the boar again, Cornice started off towards the most logical area. It was a medium sized clearing of sorts surrounded by a dense wall of trees and where there were no trees, there was a stone outcropping that only would have occurred this far north. It was odd to find something so tall and wide of stone in the swamp, but here at the very edges of their once warm home, Cornice had found several places where stone and dirt were more prevalent than the soft bogs of the swamp and sheltering trees. There were other clearings that were surrounded well enough for hiding, but they were obvious. Along the way to the first area, a place that would be a very good hiding place, especially from those who were unfamiliar with this northern stretch of swamp, Treacherous Snow took a few detours to nearby sheltered areas, but they were not to be found at these more obvious areas. She carried the boar high, keeping it clear of her hooves as she trotted at the fastest pace she could with her prey.

*****

Treacherous Snow stopped in the clearing and set the boar down. It hadn’t been very long, but at the fast past she had set herself at, she was able to comb the area that had been in front of her when the hoofprints had trailed off. She had methodically picked out all the surrounding areas where a group of their size, or half their size, could conceivably hide and now she was at the very farthest reaches of the swamp, having already gone to the major hiding spots that she had thought they would choose. Despite all this, she had yet to find them. The swamp was vast and without hoofprints or scent to follow because of the snow, Cornice had decided to rely on her wits. Standing calmly in the center of the clearing, Cornice refused to allow something like snow keep her from completing her task. Smiling humorously, the doe once again took up her load.

Not knowing exactly where she was going Cornice took off and out of the clearing with the thought of following the edges of the swamp that she could reach because perhaps they were simply getting as far as possible. As she began picking her way along, lithely bounding over obstacles with the boar swinging from her jaws, it suddenly occurred to her that perhaps Shattered Sky had double back to throw her off. It had been logical to think that Shattered Sky had continued forward, especially because of the direction and pressure marks that the last hoofprints showed, but with the rest covered, it was conceivable that the other doe had eventually made her way back the direction she came. It was a guess, but Cornice didn’t get to where she was now by not taking risks. Her decision made, Treacherous Snow set a moderate pace for herself, too fast to be comfortable for kin unused to strenuous movement with the extra weight of prey, but not too fast to tire herself out unnecessarily. There was to be at least one more task in front of her and she wouldn’t let herself become too tired out from this journey, but she would still make it to the area in a timely manner.

Gracefully loping along, Cornice single-mindedly pressed onwards through the snow and as she approached the area, she slowed down and evened out her breath before taking measured, quiet steps towards the closed in clearing. It was especially hard to approach since there was only one way to the clearing and she hadn’t immediately thought of it because of the direction, but also the way that kin would gain access to it. It was through a dark tunnel of sorts made of overgrowth that finally led to a clearing that was completely closed in by trees and other plants. It would be a crowded place for the group, but they would definitely fit and it was a hidden area worthy of a test. Reaching where she had last found the entrance, Cornice set down the boar to nose around the undergrowth, finding the hidden entrance in good time. Picking up the boar, Cornice pushed through the growth that shielded the entrance and into the tunnel. She walked silently, the barest sound coming from her steps and the boar’s bottom hooves brushing against the ground. When she emerged from the tunnel, she found the group waiting for her. Treacherous Snow set down the boar and stood, silent and ready, for the next task.

Choice A!

The kimeti disappeared into the swamp’s trees, but with the owlcat now as deadweight Hurry Up could not simply chase after her and be done. He tested its heft in his mouth – it was not altogether the heaviest prey he’d caught, no. The wind still bit at his ears, though, so he followed the kimeti’s hoofprints first into the trees for some cover. He did manage to follow a trail of hoofprints for some lengthy minutes before he realized quite belatedly that she hadn’t been the only creature dashing about this morning, or evens the only kin. He frowned; Hurry Up had a powerful nose but not nearly enough of a method of distinguishing scents when faced with the much closer smell of his recently-killed prey or the wind blowing confusing scents and cold into his nostrils. He wasn’t even sure that what he’d smelled while she’d been nearby was exactly her scent, either. And he could not simply stride into the swamp and seek out hiding places, where he was still a new resident: he enjoyed his time here but had not spent any of his time mapping the swamp out or looking for nooks where two kin and four (six?) gryphons could all fit comfortably. Especially not this far north.

He pressed his head closer to the ground, eyes narrowing. He could differentiate his own hoofprints from hers; he stepped more heavily on the ground and anyway his prints were of a different sort of shape. Several kin had walked near here, though, and probably multiple of them were hunters. It also didn’t help that there were patches of ice where there were no hoofprints, and rocks where they faded quickly. He gave an experimental sniff – but no, it was no easier to find that kimeti’s scent with the cover of trees than with the wind biting into him from all sides. Hurry Up would have to stick to looking for her hoofprints.

He could remember the direction she’d headed at first, of course, and turned that way to look – he doubted that she would take a roundabout route, so her trail would probably pick up somewhere in this direction. Right? He paused, glancing down at the ground. But no, there were rocks up ahead, and if the snow had wet her hooves and forced her to carry an imprint of her prints ahead, that water was long gone now. He ambled up on top of the rocks anyway. He could search from a higher vantage point, right? But the trees, again, provided an impediment to his scouting. Or did they?

Craning his head to the left, he noticed a kimeti’s hoofprints stamped clearly into the snow on a path– the marks of a kin in a hurry to get back to griffin cubs, maybe. They were spaced far apart enough that they could be a kin running, anyway. He glanced around for other marks, maybe – but no, that trail was made by a heavier kin, and that one had been made with deliberate steps. So it was the first set of prints he’d seen that held the answer. He dragged the owlcat’s corpse with him toward them and began to run, sure that he'd found the right path.

Choice B

Now this was more to her speed. A simple game of hide and seek. She sprang forward to sniff the lone feather and assigned it to the appropriate owner. It was easy in the beginning, just follow the tracks--a nice warmup. Abruptly the trail ended and an icy fallen log greeted her. Hazy tendrils of the sought after scent lured her closer to a makeshift cave. It beckoned. She ventured in. Darkness engulfed her and a musty scent smothered her senses. Spinning around, she tried for that scent. Circle after circle to no avail.The jerboa, a heavy weight, in her mouth twitched its ears, taunting her. Her tiny prisoner screeched, sending echos through the cave. "Stop that" she mumbled around its frame. She will just have to get this done. Somehow or another. Glossbones was fond of this bait and switch tactic, except he was more playful.

Determined but irritated at the energetic jerboa in her mouth, she closed her eyes. That curly tail of hers was kept taut and away from her body to feel along the edges of the cave until she was free of the jerboa's sounds and damp walls. But out here, the scent was completely gone, buried under fresh snow. Seems like River-Swollen spent too long in the cave. She spotted delicate frost flowers. She stood in place, swinging her tail as she pondered the next veritable course. The jerboa was too small to eat. She went over to the flowers, intending to drop off the jerboa and head home in defeat. At least she would have gorgeous flowers to show for something.

Well la de da, it seems like she wasn't the only kin to have taken notice by the icy florals with red centers. She caught the scent again. She registered the icy log as a clever decoy, and followed the trail of icy flowers that led her to her preying party.

Choice B

Moon Cloud walked about halfway to the group and lowered the boar to the ground. It caught on his shoulder and he shifted to let it fall. Besides seeing them as possible hunting partners, he knew from his time with Sun Fire that they would be seeing the meal as for them only. At least until they became use to each other with training and bonding.

As soon as he stepped back, the group seemed to swarm around with barely a glance at him. He shrugged, but was happy to see them eat his offering. It was more than he truly expected. He walked backwards so he could watch what the gryphons would do as he left them to their meal, and to lead the lynx back a bit further.

Choice: B

Honeyed walked half towards the young nestlings, only to be greeted with hisses. Ears flicking back he dropped the small meal and backed away quickly. What had he done this time, looking at the small griffons he watched them sniff at the bird. He tried coming a little closer, but was hissed at again. plopping down on his rump, the young buck stared at the nestlings hard, watching those that could, take a mouth full of the bird before it was gone completely.

Choice A - still with Hurry Up

Little gryphons.

He could not say his heart was moved by them, or anything so poetic. They were small and obviously cranky. Hurry Up clutched the owlcat in his mouth and moved it toward them, eyeing them just a little bit nervously. He doubted they were too dangerous, being so young, and anyway the two kin sponsoring the...event, he would call it, were nearby, and clearly watching in case anything strange happened. They were children, he thought, so it would be appropriate to bring the food up to them. Was that what prey did in the wild? His own mother had done that, when he was younger.

They fidgeted, though. Were they unpleased? Was owlcat not to their liking? (He wasn't sure that it was to his, being that it was so unfamiliar to him, but he wasn't disdainful of the meat. The swamp was rife with them, and their meat was succulent enough.) Did they think it too bloody? Probably, he thought. And perhaps they weren't fond of fur in their food - well, they had beaks and talons, didn't they? Hurry Up wasn't fond of picky eating, though, so he simply stared at the gryphons, who were making little noises of displeasure - shrill hisses - and turning to face him with aggression. He had patience for this, he reminded himself (and they would learn to eat when they had no other choice - after all, they would not always have one. He wanted a companion, but not if it wasn't appropriate for his lifestyle.).

They squawked at him, obviously waiting for some other source of nourishment. But it would not be found. Perhaps he should have chosen some other prey - but it was too late now. He stared them down immovably until one, finally, began to rip into its meal.

There. All creatures had to eat, after all.