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"That is a good idea, thank you! It will save us some time trying to get us all lined up." Ochre says, mind swirling with many and more questions about the obelisk, and how it would get them home. But Red-stained Blossom also has a long and painful journey ahead, and Ochre doesn't want to delay her more than needed. Sometimes it is best to put your worries aside and just trust.

"You'll be ok, right? I can leave Bubbles and the eaglehounds with you, if you need?" Ochre offers to Red-stained Blossom, there are not many animals who predate on Kin, but a Kin afflicted with the ache could be seen as easy pickings.

"I think we should keep Wanders with Roots and Baby with us, just in case something does happen, we'll at least have them to help with whatever." Ochre says to Mirage. Trying to keep the four of them together would be a lot more doable than trying to keep all eleven of them, or eight, should Red-stained Blossom accept the offer. At least the dogs won't suffer the ache, one less thing to worry about should something go wrong. "And we should set a meeting spot in case this thing just plops us down where ever. Is Rise and Shine's market well known enough you could get there?" She asks Mirage. There were a few other well known land marks in the swamp, but if Ochre remembered right, that particular one had some connection to the troup Red-stained Blossom is in, which is likely why the Acha thought of it first.

Mirage gave an appreciative smile at Rouge’s advice. He couldn’t see the dramatic pose, but her voice was enough to make him give a light chuckle. She was such a good leader. He appreciated the suggestion that they encourage the puppies to approach the obelisk first, and he nodded at Ochre’s response despite a nagging wonder if they would show up in the same place as the dogs when they followed. Hopefully if not they would be close enough to locate the dogs.

But Rouge’s offer to bring any pups left behind safely home couldn’t have landed on more appreciative ears. The buck stepped forward to offer her a friendly nuzzle as thanks, “It would be appreciated. Thank you, friend.”

He nodded again at Ochre’s suggestion that they keep Baby and Wanders with Roots. He could find his way without Roots if he needed to, but he would rather try to keep her with him, and keep close to Ochre as well. A meeting place was also a good idea. He squinted slightly, “I believe I’ve either been there or heard of it.” He tilted his head slightly, “But I’m sure that I could ask around and find it soon enough…” It did put him much more at ease to have a meeting place if anything went wrong. He couldn’t imagine losing Ochre again, but if he did arrive alone, at least he knew there was a place he could find her again.

"Thank you! And absolutely, we will find you when this is all done." Ochre says to Red-stained Blossom. She watches their friend trot off before turning back to Mirage.

"I'll get my pups lined up and through and then we can get us going." Standing, Ochre scans the group, making sure everyone is still here. "Baby, come, sit." Ochre taps the sand with a hoof, smiling when Baby obeys. "Stay." she commands, turning to the rest.

"Burn, Bear, Rainbow, come." she calls, deciding it's best to do this in groups. When they come Ochre nudges them in place, being extra careful that none touch the obelisk before she's ready. It takes a lot of nudging and shifting, but she finally gets them all touching and almost nose to stone with the obelisk. "Blue, Bubbles, come." she calls next, repeating the process to get all five dogs touching each other. "Bee, Badger, come." the last two take take a bit more work, Ochre checking to be sure everyone is lined up right.

With everyone in position there's no reason to delay, and even though Red-stained Blossom trusts the obelisk, Ochre still has a slight uneasy feeling in her belly. She clears her throat and shoves the feeling aside, no time to doubt. "Touch the stone." she commands, touch they knew, Ochre hopes the obelisk being right in their faces is clear enough, but just in case she uses her body and tail to give them all a gentle push forward.

And it seems to work, one moment they're there and the next they've vanished. "Well they're through.. Our turn I suppose. Think we should get Baby and Whispers up onto our backs?" she asks, looking between Mirage and the dogs, size at least isn't an issue.