There's A Storm Coming (Toyoll)

[Kender Bard]

Thavan was enjoying a bit of quiet free time, doing simple little jobs that let his mind wander as he worked. He was looking for random wood to take home, dry out, and use for firewood. His thoughts drifted into daydream as he strolled along. Shade was back at home where it was snug and warm. Thavan did his best to keep one eye on alert but even his Beast senses and natural intuition didn't pick out the nearly indistinguishable form in the distance.

Evidently the hunter saw what he wanted. A sudden bolt of lightning raced forth and struck Thavan viciously, causing thunder to resound in the area. Thavan gasped and went down, but wasn't out for the count yet, though he had trouble seeing anything through the white spots caused by the searing light. As he stumbled through the snow, looking for cover so he could get his bearings back, a second lightning bolt struck him and he went down, this time not to rise again.

The hunter moved in.

[Toyoll]

Back home, Aakel emerged from her hut to prepare for the changing of the guard. She sniffed the cool air and called for her mate, but he didn't answer. So she simply assumed that he had gone hunting and would return later, but something nagged at her from the back of her mind...

Trying to shrug the feeling, the vixen decided to take a walk, but when she went by Thavan's hut, she noticed a familiar scent, Shade, apparently, was still home.

Bored and needing some company, Aakel wandered in, "Shade? You still 'round?"

[Kender Bard]

Shade gave a wide yawn. "Yep. Thavan said he'd be back soon, that he wanted to gather wood to dry out for burning later. I don't really care for all that cold and stuff, so he said I could stay here where it's nice and warm."

[Toyoll]

Aakel nodded in agreement, "I don't really know anyone who likes it, 'cept maybe them arctic types...." She sat down and pulled her roe fawn coat a little tighter.

Again she felt the nagging sensation, more persistant this time. Aakel shivered slightly, "...Shade," she asked carefully, "How long has it been since Thavan left, you think?"

[Kender Bard]

Shade seemed startled. "Well, gee, I'm not sure. It was before dawn when he left." Waddling around until he could get a glimpse of the sky, he exclaimed, "Wow! It's been a while now. I wonder why he's not back."

[Toyoll]

Aakel's expression changed instantly and she jumped to her feet, "C'mon, little hedgehog, we have to go." She bent down, lent her arm to the small creature and tucked him away in the collar of her coat before running out the door.

In her rush, she almost ran into two familiar faces. "Where are you off to?" asked Celt, "Not late for your shift, are ya? Look at that precious expression!" laughed Nueve. Aakel grumbled, she hadn't realized what kind of face she was making. But she was in a hurry, so, with great difficulty, she swallowed her pride, "H-hey...have you guys seen Thavan? He...He hasn't come home yet..."

The brothers looked at eachother, "You know it's winter...right?" said Celt carefully, "And the Belegites are jousting for prey...." added Nueve. Aakel bit her tongue before a whince escaped from her mouth. The vixen shook herself, "He's not that weak....We've run into them before..."

The three of them stood silent for a long time, "Well," ventured the brown brother, "We can tell your subordinate to cover your shift...?" Nueve snorted in agreement. Aakel simply nodded, not really knowing what to say, she wasn't as eloquent as her mate and didn't know how to thank the rams. "I have to go..." she said, so she took her leave and ran to the forrest's edge as fast as her legs would carry her, leaving Celt and Nueve both shaking their horns.

By the trees, Aakel stooped down low and scented the air. The snow covered almost everything and finding a trail was near impossible, so after a few frustrating minutes, a flustered, nearly frantic Aakel paused to pull out Shade from her collar, "Where'd he go? I can't find his scent anywhere!"

[Kender Bard]

"Maybe instead of trying to find him, you should try to find what doesn't belong," Shade offered. "Somewhere that looks like there might have been a struggle; blood, strange smells, anything like that. Or you could pretend you were him and go where you'd be likely to find firewood."

[Toyoll]

Aakel nodded and covered Shade up again before dashing to where she thought Thavan would have gone for wood, a dryer place, where the snow wasn't so deep.

Eventually, the vixen came upon the area in question, immediately, she noticed how much stronger the odours were, she stopped and closed her eyes, shutting out all other stimuli and took a deep breath. At first, all Aakel could smell were the usual things because her nose wasn't as sharp as a dog's, wood, earth, animals...Suddenly, she wrinkled her nose and made a face, a strong, tangy, almost metallic odour hung in the air, heavy, so unlike anything she's ever come accross and it made her growl. Underlying it all, however, was the faint scent that she had been searching for.

Aakel's heart leapt, but the trail was airbourne, so Thavan was still some distance away. Without so much as thinking, she tore through the snow, following the trail like a vixen to her prey, all the while, looking for any visible traces.

Then Aakel came to a skidding halt. Footprints.

With a determined look in her blazing amber eyes, she ran down the trail.

[Kender Bard]

The footprints continued far away, occassionally marked by a strange depression in the snow where something may have been laid or dragged. After a while, the footprints suddenly gave way to hoofprints.

The direction was clear - northeast.

[Toyoll]

((ZOMG! What's this? Free time? lol I'll wrap this up and get going to Ekaitz!))

Aakel followed the hoof prints with her eyes and fought the urge to just bolt down after them, from what she could see, this was going to be a much bigger undertaking than she had originally anticipated...

---

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" bellowed Sloan, the elk pounded his hoof on the ground, making the earth shake. Aakel flinched at such a display, but quickly recovered,

-But we can't just sit here!

-I will NOT allow you to run off with an entire division! The vixen's Warriors will stay here, no matter how much she fumes!

-But, Sir!--

-Young fawn, Sloan understands that the hedgehog is your first love, but we can not all go hunting after lost mates! Plenty of our own have fallen prey to Belegites, or worse! Do not be so selfish!

- ...

-I will allow you to go on your own, Warrior Weiss will be your temporary.

Aakel was livid, but she bit her tongue before she said something stupid. He was giving her a chance, after all and picking a fight with the general would be counter-productive, to say the least. So the Fire-Beast saluted stiffly and walked home, ignoring the stares of the crowd that had gathered. Among them, a pair of stormy wolfen eyes...

Back at her hut, Aakel was packing furiously, flinging things into her pack and cursing colorfully. She was in such a rage that the fire pit would flare whenever she growled. "The greasy-pelted, no-good, greedy son of a COW!!!! Forces damn him!" Aakel roared, her temper getting the better of her. She shook herself and took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, right now she needed to think.

She looked to Shade, who she had put on her bed, "What else should I bring? I don't think we'll need food, we can hunt for--" A loud snicker from behind the vixen cut her off, "Trust me, fox, you'll wanna bring somethin', hunting's different outside the Beastlands...."

Nyala stood there with a sarcastic grin and threw some cloth-like bundle at her, "You should probably wear this, it'll be a hell of a lot warmer than those leathers, 'specially if you're gonna be traveling..." Aakel, very much annoyed, unraveled the bundle to find a thick wool cloak, a simple tunic and a pair of trousers, they reminded her of Thavan's old clothes..."You're about my size, so it should fit." Aakel looked at the other woman suspiciously, "Oh, don't worry, fox, he's all yours! I just don't want to lose the only decent sparing partner this place has!" said the she-wolf and she left with a chuckle, "Good luck!"

Aakel watched her go, then hurriedly slipped on the trousers and stuffed the rest into her bag, along with some food. "Come on, Shade, let's get going!" She scooped up her mate's companion and put him back in the collar of her fawn-skin coat before running out
into the cold winter air....