Date: Spring, Day 50, 507 AV
It was not because she had decided to take some early morning stroll that Caoin found herself wandering through the Sea of Grass. In the dark hours of the morning, with the dew still fresh on the grass, something had spooked her family’s herd and they had lost one of their best striders. The prized stallion had broken free of his confinement by jumping a fence, and he had taken off into the grasslands before any of the hands could calm or catch him. They were lucky enough that he was the only one who managed to get free, but not so lucky in that the family now had to venture out to retrieve him. He was too valuable and loved an animal to risk letting him remain loose. So the order had been given that anyone in the family that was gifted or knowledgeable in the arts of webbing or tracking was to help with the search, while everyone else was to tend to the rest of the herd and ensure that they were alright and taken care of.
There were not many in the family that could be spared for the search, and so, after much argument and persuasion, Caoin had finally convinced her father to allow her to search on her own, rather than being paired up with someone. This way they could cover more ground. She was almost twenty and she hated that, as the Ankal’s youngest child and only daughter, the family continued to baby her, but she was glad when he finally relented, with his one stipulation being that she take a few of the family dogs with her for protection, and she had gladly agreed. The dogs would provide her with some company and a bit of protection, and in addition to that, the dog’s tracking ability combined with her use of webbing might offer her a better chance at finding the strider. Her father had given her two of the family’s akinvas and with the two deerstalkers in tow, Caoin had made her way to the family stables where the strider’s yvas was kept; she had offered the tack up to the hunting dogs for them to get the scent of the lost horse. After, she was sure the animals had the strider’s scent she had taken them to where it had last been seen. The plan was to follow the dogs until they lost the stallion’s scent and then she would have to rely on her webbing to find him. It was a plan that would save her from tiring herself out early on by using webbing though.
At least, that was the plan that had led her to the edge of the Sea of Grass, following behind the dogs, and then deeper still into the dangerous wilds. She was confident though. She had packed all that she would need to survive if she got a little lost herself, and she already had her bow out, with an arrow knocked and ready to fire should the dogs alert her to the presence of a predator. Not that her own senses weren’t focused on listening for or seeing movement in the brush, though she was hoping that if she came across anything, it would be the strider, rather than a predator… or worse, an entire pack of glassbeaks. The last thing Caoin needed when she was trying to prove herself was to be torn to shreds by glassbeaks.
Caoin shook her head, clearing her mind of such distracting thoughts as she followed the deerstalkers through the grass. Her attention turned to the dogs, their noses practically dragging along the ground as they huffed and sniffed. Occasionally, one of the dogs would swing his head upwards to sniff at the long blades of grass that made up the sea or to investigate some other scent that lingered on the air, and then he would drop his nose to the ground again. It was clear that the dogs were following the scent of the horse, and it was confirmed that they were on his trail when Caoin inspected the ground to find his hoof prints.
As the dogs led her to the top of a small incline while following the trail, Caoin called for them to halt in their tracking. She was just high enough that she could see out over the grass and she took the opportunity to look around. She knew that the members of her family who were searching were all spread out to her left and right, and she could see the grass moving where the closest members to either side of her were (at least, she hoped it was them). Ahead of her, there were no signs of movement that indicated the horse was nearby, and she knew that it was likely that he had gotten farther they anticipated. He was a strider who was frightened, not only was his adrenaline pushing him to run faster, but he had the additional boost to his speed that the web provided for his breed. The deerstalkers weren’t made to be tracking dogs, and eventually they would lose his scent. But for the time being, Caoin indicated to them to take the trail once again, and the trio were off down the other side of the incline.
MizNo Word Count885
It was not because she had decided to take some early morning stroll that Caoin found herself wandering through the Sea of Grass. In the dark hours of the morning, with the dew still fresh on the grass, something had spooked her family’s herd and they had lost one of their best striders. The prized stallion had broken free of his confinement by jumping a fence, and he had taken off into the grasslands before any of the hands could calm or catch him. They were lucky enough that he was the only one who managed to get free, but not so lucky in that the family now had to venture out to retrieve him. He was too valuable and loved an animal to risk letting him remain loose. So the order had been given that anyone in the family that was gifted or knowledgeable in the arts of webbing or tracking was to help with the search, while everyone else was to tend to the rest of the herd and ensure that they were alright and taken care of.
There were not many in the family that could be spared for the search, and so, after much argument and persuasion, Caoin had finally convinced her father to allow her to search on her own, rather than being paired up with someone. This way they could cover more ground. She was almost twenty and she hated that, as the Ankal’s youngest child and only daughter, the family continued to baby her, but she was glad when he finally relented, with his one stipulation being that she take a few of the family dogs with her for protection, and she had gladly agreed. The dogs would provide her with some company and a bit of protection, and in addition to that, the dog’s tracking ability combined with her use of webbing might offer her a better chance at finding the strider. Her father had given her two of the family’s akinvas and with the two deerstalkers in tow, Caoin had made her way to the family stables where the strider’s yvas was kept; she had offered the tack up to the hunting dogs for them to get the scent of the lost horse. After, she was sure the animals had the strider’s scent she had taken them to where it had last been seen. The plan was to follow the dogs until they lost the stallion’s scent and then she would have to rely on her webbing to find him. It was a plan that would save her from tiring herself out early on by using webbing though.
At least, that was the plan that had led her to the edge of the Sea of Grass, following behind the dogs, and then deeper still into the dangerous wilds. She was confident though. She had packed all that she would need to survive if she got a little lost herself, and she already had her bow out, with an arrow knocked and ready to fire should the dogs alert her to the presence of a predator. Not that her own senses weren’t focused on listening for or seeing movement in the brush, though she was hoping that if she came across anything, it would be the strider, rather than a predator… or worse, an entire pack of glassbeaks. The last thing Caoin needed when she was trying to prove herself was to be torn to shreds by glassbeaks.
Caoin shook her head, clearing her mind of such distracting thoughts as she followed the deerstalkers through the grass. Her attention turned to the dogs, their noses practically dragging along the ground as they huffed and sniffed. Occasionally, one of the dogs would swing his head upwards to sniff at the long blades of grass that made up the sea or to investigate some other scent that lingered on the air, and then he would drop his nose to the ground again. It was clear that the dogs were following the scent of the horse, and it was confirmed that they were on his trail when Caoin inspected the ground to find his hoof prints.
As the dogs led her to the top of a small incline while following the trail, Caoin called for them to halt in their tracking. She was just high enough that she could see out over the grass and she took the opportunity to look around. She knew that the members of her family who were searching were all spread out to her left and right, and she could see the grass moving where the closest members to either side of her were (at least, she hoped it was them). Ahead of her, there were no signs of movement that indicated the horse was nearby, and she knew that it was likely that he had gotten farther they anticipated. He was a strider who was frightened, not only was his adrenaline pushing him to run faster, but he had the additional boost to his speed that the web provided for his breed. The deerstalkers weren’t made to be tracking dogs, and eventually they would lose his scent. But for the time being, Caoin indicated to them to take the trail once again, and the trio were off down the other side of the incline.
MizNo Word Count885
