Caribou Tracking

Their paws fell heavily, sinking into the cold powder snow with each step. 

A thick layer of snow had fallen the night before, blanketing the entire mountain in a sheet of white. The air around them was deathly still, amplifying each loud sound with a heavy echo. The snowstorm had long since passed, but as far as the Tokotas could see were swarms of bloated clouds, a hanging threat of more snow at any moment.

Oliver, Too Many Cooks, Kana, Keeonah, and Mahkate kept mostly quiet, their voices hushed when they had to speak and footfalls careful. Their handler kept completely silent, electing to watch from the comfort of Kana's back. While it was unlikely that their voices themselves would cause an echo or even a ruckus, the last thing they wanted to do was lose their prey with one slip up. 

Keeonah and Too Many Cooks seemed to have the hardest time keeping quiet. The two half-mane Tokotas had been bursting at the seams with their excitement, their feet moving a little too quickly in their haste up the mountain. Mahkate, the oldest of the group, had already given them a stern quip, and since the two had seemed to settle down. Though they mostly slowed down, the two continued to whisper excitedly to one another in hushed tones, much to Mahkate's dismay.

Even the short furred duo both seemed mostly unaffected by the particularly cold weather, although they both seemed to tremble when the wind blew past them. And the further up they got, the colder the air seemed. 

Lusa wrapped herself in a furred hood, trembling on top of Kana's body. The morning's snow had been the first of the year, and although the Tokota's could handle it with their fur, their handler only seemed to get colder.

From the foothills up to the winding paths the pack of Tokotas had been tracking footprints, big and small, as far as they could follow. The large pack spread out as wide as possible, keeping themselves within sight to look for breaks in the prints. Their handler, Lusa, sat atop Kana's back, occasionally checking a map for land marks or adjusting herself.

All five Tokotas and their handler spread out, searching the ground for any signs of life. They'd spent most of the day finding small prints of birds, hares, and other small creatures that disappeared within a couple of steps. It took until the sun was hanging high in the sky that they had got a signal that they'd found something. The older Tokota male, Mahkate, sat just in front of a small trail, his body hunched over, nose pressed against the snow. 

“Caribou.” Mahkate says simply, his voice deadpanned as he straightened up. The rest of the pack perk up immediately, abandoning their other fixations.

Keeonah and Too Many Cooks are the first to reach him, their tails wagging in unison as they trotted to his side. Kana and Lusa, and Oliver follow to meet them next. Stretched in front of the black Tokota were long, sporadic lines of hoof prints. They trampled a long trail up into the rocky hills, disappearing until the pack couldn't see them anymore. And by the looks of it, they were still fresh. Keeonah and Too Many Cooks lower their noses, breathing in the scent of the large animals.

“There are so many prints,” Keeonah says, her eyes lighting up in excitement. Her paws rhythmically tamp in the snow, her excitement obviously overflowing. Their handler, Lusa, gives a hearty laugh. 


“Mm. We definitely found them,” Oliver says, the big Dire's eyes following the path until he had to squint to see them. “Now we just need to get up to them.” 


“I’ve heard a rumor of a giant herd of them that live up in the cliffs,” Mahkate says, his silver eyes looking up to the pointed rocks. “Could be just a rumor, but it’s worth a shot.” He says, shrugging slightly.

“I suppose we'll have to climb the rocks up to find where they're hiding.” Oliver agrees. He turns to Keeonah and Too Many Cooks, beckoning them over with a nod of his head. Keeonah and Too Many Cooks run to him immediately, their energy on the same level of a pup's. His face is a mask of amusement as they trot to stand at his sides.

“We're gonna need to go up those rocks as quietly, and quickly, as we can. They're probably going to be close by, considering the freshness of their prints. Can the two of you do it?” Oliver's voice is hushed, so much so that the tall Dire has to bend his head down to speak to the two Tokota's in front of him. Too Many Cooks and Keeonah's faces brighten up immediately. 


“Of course we can!” They say in unison, and Mahkate shushes from behind them. Keeonah sighs, lowering her volume level. “Of course we can find them. What do you want us to do?”

“Just scout it out. If you see any sign of the Caribou, just come down and tell us. Kana, Mahkate, and I wait here.” Oliver says. The giant Dire finishes his sentence by plopping down in the snow, his haunches landing in it with a whomp.

The two half-mane Tokotas nod immediately, and after sharing a mischievous look between them, Keeonah and Too Many Cooks bounding up the path of hoof prints. The lightly colored duo bound up the hill quickly. In a blink of an eye, Keeonah and Too Many Cooks disappeared into the white distance. 

“Hopefully they don't scare them off,” Mahkate says, lying down in a heap. 


It was a couple of quiet minutes before they had returned. Kana, Mahkate, Oliver and their handler Lusa waited patiently beneath a large pine tree. Mahkate and Oliver sat close to each other, whispering strategies and old stories. Kana, the youngest of the group, laid down near the base of the old pine, resting up as much as she could manage. Lusa sat on top of her back, easily getting the memo that they were waiting for Keeonah and Too Many Cooks. She tinkered with something in between her hands, sewing together what the Tokotas could only guess was a toy of some sort. 

The three Tokotas sat in silence, and Kana found herself nodding off. Mahkate seemed to snore next to her, the older Tokota taking any moment he could to nap. The sleep was dashed from her the moment she heard the tell-tale signs of running paws hitting snow. The shape of the two tundra half manes comes into view, frames illuminated by the afternoon sun.

Lusa shifts on top of Kana's back, her head stretching to look up at the returning Tokotas. Too Many Cooks and Keeonah come striding into view. Their handler looks up, her hands fumbling to tuck her needle into the toy’s arm. Hastily, she slides it back into her pack, knowing that her Tokota’s were soon to move out.

Keeonah and Too Many Cooks make their way back to them rather quickly, paws kicking up snow with each stride. Oliver sits up on his haunches, ears perked. Mahkate is rather rudely woken up by a chunk of snow hitting him on the top of the head, and grumbles loudly in annoyance. The two Tokotas reach them in record time, their chests heaving. 

“We found 'em,” Too Many Cooks says, between gasping breaths. 

“How far up?” Oliver says after a moment. The two half-manes sit in front of them, catching their breath for a moment before they finally spoke. 

“About a ten minutes’ walk up the path and around the cliffs,” Keeonah says, her eyes glinting. “Not too far. And there's a couple of them,” 

“Good job. Lead the way, you two.” Oliver says.

Keeonah seems to puff up with pride at the praise. Both of the half mane Tokotas nod quickly, giving each other a mischievous look before turning on their heels and beginning the fast walk up the mountainside. Oliver, Mahkate, Kana and Lusa follow them, matching their long strides. 

The mountain seemed to stretch on forever, and because of the winding paths the ten minutes’ walk seemed like an eternity. Coupled with the excitement that hung in the air around the pack of Tokotas, all five of them seemed a little antsier as they moved up the mountain side. 

As they got closer to the crest of the cliff, Oliver, Too Many Cooks, Keeonah, Kana, and Mahkate quieted, their paws slowing down to creep up the trail as silently as possible. The breeze howled between the peaks, covering up the sounds of their foot falls. And as they inched closer, they could see the silhouettes of the caribou and their sharped antlers illuminated in the sun. 

And as the five of them stepped up into the rocky mountainside, staring at their prey, they all hoped that today would be a successful day for hunting.