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 Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 11:09 am
"Yes," the buck says, looking down at the branch; a good third of it is missing, chewed into oblivion by the tortoise, but somehow luck has been on Slide's side. Most, if not all, of the berries -- ripe, juicy, glistening with a black sheen under the sun -- are intact. Apparently the big shelled lump wanted only the crunchy bark. "Come with me, and see; you'll need that," he nods to Water Hunter, "to keep the turtle away from the berries."
Leaving the branch to her, and her alone, he wheels and begins to make his way back to the cave. The ground underneath them rolls upward, a small hill; the borderlands are on a sort of low plateau, which is why they did not flood. The soil becomes dryer under their hooves, but no less springy -- the soil here mixed with sand. "This is not a hard place to find. It is a hard place to survive in. Are you sure you are up to the challenge?"
The correct answer is 'yes,' as he hopes any of his offspring would know without having to think about it. One ear swivels around for her answer.
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Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 11:18 am
Although carrying the entire branch on her own was not exactly what Desert Spring had had in mind when she offered to help the buck, she does not flinch away from the task. It is a kind of test, she is sure, and she is eager to prove herself -- if she is to live out here in the Borderlands with her father, then she will have to undertake much harsher tasks than carrying a branch. Her eyes narrow, determined, and she looks the thing over, figuring out the best way to hoist it. She clicks to her wolf and his ears flick forward, waiting. "You heard him, Water Hunter. Keep that turtle away from the berries." The wolf yips and skitters off to do as told, chasing playfully after the tortoise. Spring slides herself under the branch, hooks a crook of branches over her horns, and follows after her father.
In response to his question, she snorts -- half amusement, half skepticism. "Of course I am," she replies, undaunted by his warning. She is her father's daughter.
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