Myths and mud

It had been a particularly miserable day to begin with, so no one was all that surprised when it ended up being something even worse. The rain hadn't let up for at least a day, the ground had therefore changed to mud, and although the handlers had been more than happy staying under cover within the tribe, someone had the brilliant idea to tell Liam some stories about some treasure that was supposed to be near by on a small island... Thanks Roy... Liam's eyes had sparkled with that look that only adventure could give, and then it was decided, they were going to be heading out... in the rain... to find some treasure that may or may not exist. It was times like this that really made Mana regret that she had stayed with her brother... But then again, no one was very pleased with this idea... So why not ruin someone else's day while they were at it...

It being Roy's stupid idea to bring it up in the first place, he was definitely going to be in the group that left. However, Syn wasn't overly pleased with the idea and was more than happy to stay at the tribe with the rest of those not going, so Roy was left to handle both dires on his own. They weren't usually too bad, in fact it was only really Ruffnut that was the issue, so he tacked up Ruff so that he could keep an eye on him. Tuffnut was never much of a problem, unless his brother caused trouble first...

Liam had decided to tack up Adair to take her out, and the long maned van gogh female was currently staring daggers at anyone who came even remotely close to her. It was pretty common knowledge in the tribe that Adair only liked Liam, and even then it was really only half the time because if she didn't want to do something, she was going to play up regardless of who was handling her. Still, she definitely did have some sense of loyalty towards her handler, as rare as it was to see it, because she would come to his defence if she was needed. She certainly wouldn't do that for anyone else... She had left Mana to die out in the wilderness the last time Mana had tried to handle her, and no one wanted to make the same mistake again. Swishing her tail, her ears pinned back, Adair glared down at the mud that was clinging to her snow white fur as if she could destroy it with her mind. Sadly she could not, and she was stuck with it, but she was going to complain bitterly to anyone that would hear it... and mud was going to fly at anyone who dared laugh, or even smile, at the sight.

As Liam was going, Mana felt that she needed to go as well. To make sure he didn't do anything stupid and get himself killed. So she tacked up Sobek, deciding that the dire's size would help her stay clear of the mud. It wasn't that she couldn't deal with a bit of mud, it was more that she didn't want to have to deal with it. Getting mud out of clothing was a nasty task, and Liam wasn't going to do her clothing as well as his. Sobek didn't look too happy about being sent out in such poor weather, but he knew he had no choice. His handler asked it of him, and he would do it, though this reluctance would reflect in his attitude. Usually he would offer a playful challenge to the other dires, but he wasn't in the mood for play, and they could sense it, so for the moment at least all was quiet. From the Tokotas at least...

The final member of their group was complaining a lot more than everyone else about being sent out, though it really was all his fault that he was out there to begin with. Damien had the unfortunate idea to tease Mana about running off after her brother in the rain, so very much against his will, he was going to be doing just that. Ammon didn't seem to care. But then again he never really seemed to care about anything, so it was difficult to tell what he was really thinking about the situation. Still, he offered no resistance, so that was a good sign. He trudged on, carrying Damien away from the shelter of the tribe's structures while his handler pouted above him, arms folded across his chest like a child that had been told to clean his room.

Grey swirled in the skies above them as they travelled on the backs of their mounts, the clouds mixing with the bleak colours around them and blocking out the sun. Not even the finest of rays could pierce through the thick darkness dancing between the ground and the sky. Mud squelched under the paws of the Tokotas, and attached itself to their lower legs, gripping tightly onto the short hairs and not letting go. Adair in particular found this most intolerable, however none of them seemed particularly comfortable. This was made even clearer when, whilst climbing only a small gradient in the otherwise level ground, all three dires slipped in the mud. Their larger size, and increased weight was working against them in this situation, and they were beginning to become frustrated. Even Tuffnut who was usually so level headed was losing his temper, and both Roy and Mana were having difficulties controlling the large males that they were in charge of. Sobek and Ruffnut had a semi-friendly rivalry up to this point, but no longer. The teeth had come out, and the two handlers had to put as much distance between them as they could so that they wouldn't full on attack one another.

Not that any of the handlers could really blame them. They too were feeling the frustration that the Tokotas felt. Liam's frustration came from the difficulties that they were having in finding this small island that might not even exist, while the frustrations of the others were partially due to their situation and partially feeding off of everybody else's mood. The atmosphere was not a pleasant one. Surprisingly, only Damien managed to stay calm and keep himself as he normally was. While Mana and Liam shouted at each other over the sound of the rain, Sobek and Adair squaring off as though they too were at each others' throats, Damien just kept his head down, kept quiet and kept searching. If this island did exist, the sooner they found it, the sooner everyone would calm down. Typically he would be up in everyone's faces, but even he recognised that the storm was changing those around him. Of course that didn't stop the muttering under his breath about how he was the one left to get everything done, or how foolish they were all being, or how scary yet somehow still attractive Mana was when she was angry... Maybe not that last one, no, definitely not that last one. It was in that moment that he was glad that no one was paying attention to him, that could be a little embarrassing... He could just see Ammon rolling his eyes at his handler's thought processes, but of course the black merle piebald male wasn't rolling his eyes, he was staring ahead as he usually was, just trying to find a safe route to travel.

Tired of all of the fussing by the handlers, Ammon's pace grew quicker. His keen eyes found him the perfect route to take so that he didn't run into any problems, and very soon the rest of the group were out of sight. Both Tokota and rider visibly relaxed a little when they were alone, away from the emotions of the others. The pair continued on for just a little while like this before they stumbled on something quite unexpected...

“Well I'll be damned...” Liam's stupid island thing did exist.

Ahead of the pair stretched the muddy banks of a small lake. Within the lake was another piece of land, and on that land, just like in all the stories, was a chest. How... cliché. Damien scowled a little at the display, like a page out of a children's story book, but he breathed out a small sigh and reluctantly turned Ammon back so that they could fetch the others. Then, they froze, every instinct of Ammon's telling him not to move. A loud splashing came from the water of the lake. Damien was tempted to just go forwards, and pretend that he hadn't heard it, but at the same time he knew he should see what it was... His thought patterns were interrupted when a Tokota came dashing past the two of them, pushing Ammon rudely out of the way as if they hadn't even seen that he was there. They turned to watch the beast as it launched itself into the water, and then emerged moments later with a very miserable looking handler. Her clothing was soaked through, and as a result, her body was shaking as the ice cold temperatures gripped her. With a growl under his breath, Damien dismounted then sent Ammon on to fetch the others while he attempted to help the other handler.

“Well how about that. You can be nice.” Mana grinned down at Damien from Sobek's back, her tone very much meaning to tease him for the kind gesture. Still, she knew there was a time and a place for foolishness, and so she removed a spare coat from her saddlebag then tossed it over at Damien to give to the other handler. She needed it or she could freeze to death out here. Mana wasn't overly fond of strangers, but even she wasn't that cold-hearted.

Leaving Mana and Damien to look after the handler, Liam and Roy decided that they would head for the treasure chest. The water was freezing, as they had expected based on the look of the stranger who had just taken a dip. A thin layer of ice rested on the top of the water but it was easily broken through by the power of the Tokotas. The three dires were very glad for the distraction so threw their weight around for a good purpose this time, breaking through anything that they needed to do and swimming across in only a few powerful strokes. The water was no obstacle for them, and very soon after, the chest was in the possession of the two handlers with them. Almost holding his breath, Liam opened the chest, his entire being deflating when it was revealed that they hadn't been the first ones there... Someone else had come by, found the chest, taken the treasure and just left the chest behind. Sighing in disappointment, the two handlers each took hold of one side of the chest, and it was thrown into the lake, to rest there, empty, until the next group of idiots came searching for it... It didn't help that Adair looked almost smug as she paddled in the shallows of the lake to remove the mud from her legs. As if she had been the one to plan it all in the first place, which was impossible, but the female van gogh was definitely the type to do it.

The stranger's Tokota, confident that these other handlers were taking care of their own handler, was relaxing a little way off though still keeping a watchful eye on everyone. With Adair, Tuffnut, Ruffnut and Sobek in the water and therefore out of the way, her job was pretty easy... Ammon didn't seem concerned about her or her handler in the slightest. He didn't seem overly concerned about anything, though she didn't really care enough to really question it, what with her handler still shivering not so far away from her. Satisfied with the results of her observations, the chocolate roan piebald female lazily set her head down between her paws, huffing out a small sigh. She was usually quite the goof-ball, but right now wasn't really the time for jokes and attempts at laughter. She had tried to be funny before, but instead had tripped on a root exposed by the mud, and her handler had ended up flying out of the saddle into the icy water. So she was going to stay as still as she could while the mess was sorted out. Still, she was bound to be back to her usual self soon.

Feeling a little pity for her Tokota as she had meant well by the action, Kanna raised herself to her feet once she had dried off a little and nestled into the roan's furry side. Speaking in a soft voice as she played with the female's hair, she smiled warmly. “It's alright girl. We'll go hunt after this, when the rain has stopped, you'd like that, wouldn't you?” To this, she definitely perked up, but she wasn't the only one. Whether that was at the mention of the hunt, or of the rain stopping though, who could really tell... The chocolate roan's tail began to wag at the suggestion, her ears perked up from their previous show of disappointment.

Eyes flicking over to the other handlers that had helped her out, Kanna brushed her hair off her face and adjusted her coat before walking over to the nearest pair. Holding out a hand, the other kept back behind her to keep Sasha still, she smiled and greeted them. "I'm sorry for the intrusion. I'm Kanna, and this is Sasha. We... had a bit of trouble in this weather, so thank you for helping us." She blushed a little, though tried to hide her embarrassment. Even so, it was a little silly of her to have been so careless in such poor weather conditions. Sasha nudged her handler's back with her snout, whining a little until she was allowed to wriggle her head underneath her handler's arm to stay close to her. Despite her handler already trying to convince her that she was forgiven, as it really was just a mistake, the roan piebald female wanted to be certain that she was redeemed in the eyes of her handler. Plus the three dires that were now standing around watching her were a little intimidating with their obvious size and strength advantages on her... But they didn't move towards her, so she was comfortable enough for now.

The handlers closest to her accepted her gesture, greeting her back and introducing themselves, and then their companions who were standing a little further away. They seemed friendly enough, after all they had stopped to help her, and Sasha didn't seem too concerned by their presence. But the chocolate roan female could be a little silly at times, as their stunt earlier had proven, so perhaps she should be a little more careful herself. Just in case.
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HP  -
Word count (2507) - 12HP
Handler bonus - 2HP
Exploration bonus - 2HP
Tribe bonus - 2HP
Non commissioned bonus - 1HP

Totals - In description