Sheep killers

There was a brief moment of confusion for all at the small camp when they first awoke. Liam and Mana woke first, the pair's memory impaired by sleep for the smallest of moments until it all came back. They were still heading to the farm, but they had gotten a little side tracked by finding out that someone had almost drowned in a lake, with them needing to save their hide. Mana glanced over her shoulder at the still sleeping form, wrapped up in blankets, but significantly warmer than he had been now that his barbary maned Tokota rested by his side. This left the three half manes a little more chilly with only one side covered by a furry Tokota in the form of Jeta, but Umbriel tried to do her best to keep them warm with her thicker fur on the other side to replace the barbary. She was capable of being nice, she just didn't enjoy it very much so it was rare. Still, the sight brought a smile to Mana's face, and she reminded herself to give the black van gogh a treat later because of the unprompted act.

Together the two handlers started packing away the camp, restoring it to how it had been before the small group had stayed the night. The noise they were making, despite their attempts to keep quiet, woke the anthropomorphic feline handler due to his more sensitive ears, so after a period of confusion much like theirs, he slowly joined in to help pack up. Once the sleep had left his system.

“Morning... Archer? You said your name was, right?”

He didn't reply verbally, caught in a wide yawn just as he was trying to talk, but he nodded and smiled sleepily back at the pair, which seemed to work just as well. “So, you two were headed towards a farm? Mind if I tag along?”

The pair didn't even have to exchange glances, they just agreed. Liam seemed almost happy to hear it, while Mana merely shrugged, but not in an unfriendly way at least. She just seemed a little confused as to why he would want to drag himself into their tribe affairs, but no matter, if he wanted to help then they would likely have use for him. After all, the farm owner hadn't actually said what the problem was, so it could be anything.

Once packed and ready to move on, the group opened up their Tokotas' pace to get to the farm as quickly as they could. After all, they were already a day late. The ride was short, and uneventful, but filled with chatter so no one minded too much. It was better to be uneventful than to have problems like they had the day before.

When they arrived, Archer was left with the Tokotas while Liam and Mana discussed the issues at hand with the farm owner. The feline handler didn't mind, after all, he didn't know the guy whereas they did. Plus this was their tribe business apparently, while he was not in their tribe but one of the others and was just passing through. Gently stroking his hand through his barbary's mane, he felt a nudge at his shoulder and turned to look at the extended dun half mane. He seemed a little annoyed that he was being ignored, so Archer soon fixed that by scratching behind the male's ears. Jeta and the other two handlers' Tokotas stood back and watched, a little bored, but entertaining themselves more or less. Castor and Pollux seemed to be trying to play-bite one anothers' ears, and were swaying to get out of the reach of the other. They seemed to want to run around, but dutifully stayed in one place until their handlers returned to them. Umbriel and Jeta were much less interested in playing, and stood side by side, watching the others. Sometimes the pair would make small nosies as if talking quietly to one another, but Archer couldn't be sure.

Mana clicked her tongue, gesturing for Umbriel to follow her as she wandered off, leaving Liam and Archer with the others. She quickly mounted up onto the female's back, one hand loosely holding onto the female's mane since she was untacked, then headed away, disappearing as she turned around the corner of the main farm building. Liam explained that she had gone to check out a few claims made by the farmer about off the property, while they went to check up on the livestock.

Nodding to show he understood, Archer mounted up onto Quebec's back as Liam mounted up onto Pollux's. Not the Tokota he had been riding before, but apparently it was better to lead with the female as the male would follow, whereas there was no guarantee that if he rode on Castor, Pollux would follow. Fair enough.

When they approached the livestock, they barely received any reaction. Not surprising for creatures so used to seeing Tokotas, and feeling the excitement of shows. They looked happy enough, and their numbers were decent, but apparently a few had been lost recently. The farmer couldn't find any gaps in the fencing, but he had told them that he had to fill in a few holes made under the fence recently. He just couldn't figure out what was making them.

Leading the Tokotas to one such site that was pointed out to them, Liam nodded in Archer's direction and asked him to dismount to take a look. Liam dismounted as well, the pair studying the marks around the fencing carefully. Most tracks were distorted. Some Tokota, some belonging to the livestock themselves, but there was something else, accidentally hidden by the others as they were smaller.

“Coyotes, right? We're both thinking the same thing?”

Archer nodded in agreement, frowning a little. Usually coyotes hunted further out, far from people, but apparently they were becoming more bold. Though it was none of his concern, Archer knew that the tribe couldn't afford to have their farm attacked by wild animals, so he came up with a plan with Liam then set it into motion.

First they would track the animals from the fence out into the wilderness. Then, they would have a bit of a hunt. Maybe catch a few, but that wasn't the main part. It was mostly to scare them off, so that they thought twice about attacking the farm in the future since it was unlikely that they would manage to get the entire group in a single hunt.

Quebec led the way, following her nose to try and find these coyotes. It was a difficult task due to all of the other scents around, so Castor and Pollux were up with her, just a little further back and spread out to the sides, just in case they picked up something that the barbary missed. Wrath trotted along behind them, Jeta keeping a close eye on him so he didn't wander off. He didn't seem to mind the attention, and kept making loud noises at her to try and make sure her attention stayed on him. She didn't seem to mind the attitude, in fact, it looked as though she was glad to be able to watch over Tokotas again, even though he wasn't exactly a pup.

A small howl silenced everyone else. Quebec stopped and looked around, a little puzzled, until Mana rode up to them from behind. She told the other two handlers what she knew, that they were dealing with a pack of coyotes of unknown size, and that the farmer's concerns had been correct. Archer had no idea what she was talking about, so questioned her on it. Apparently various snares and traps had been seen around the area to catch small prey, so Mana had been sent to see if it was true. It was, so it was no surprise that the coyotes were having to attack the farm, they had no food. So thinning the numbers a little would be fine, and Mana had destroyed many of the traps, leaving the tribe's mark on the disarmed equipment. If they had an issue, they could take it up with them. After all, they were interested in finding out why someone was setting traps up on their tribe's land...

Back as a group, moving forwards again now that they knew what they were dealing with, the group started tracking once again. This time, the scents were a lot clearer, as there was less traffic this way. Quebec still got a little distracted by scents around, as there were still a few to choose from, but they were following the right track, and very quickly started seeing signs of the coyotes around.

A little while from there, they found something to confirm that these were their culprits. The carcass of a sheep, mostly eaten already but it was somewhat hidden so that the pack could return to it. The handlers left it there, moving on but this time at a slower pace, following the tracks instead of the scents, as the scent of coyote was all around them now.

Umbriel froze, her movement (or lack of it) very sudden and causing the others to pick up on the hint. Wrath was a little slower, but Jeta soon sorted him out, nipping at his neck to tell him to pay attention. Very soon after, everyone had seen what the black van gogh had spotted. Coyotes, laying out in the sun, clearly having not spotted them yet. The den must be nearby.

Dismounting as quietly as they could, their actions slow so as not to draw attention to themselves, the handlers moved back out of the way. The Tokotas that hadn't had riders were already moving themselves into position, holding themselves low to the ground to try and disguise their shapes in the long grass. It was hard to hide, particularly with the various pelt colours possessed by the Tokotas, but somehow they managed it.

Jeta moved first. She was the most experienced Tokota there, and knew what she was doing. Wrath moved with her, seeming much more focused at the task at hand than he had been before, coping the older female's movements to ensure that he stayed hidden. They were very quickly in the position they wanted to be in, leaving the others to split into their groups.

Castor and Pollux did the same on the other side, moving as one, as they usually did. The pair was completely in sync, knowing exactly what to do with the other to get into position as quickly as they could without blowing their cover.

This left Umbriel and Quebec in the middle, the pair not really working with one another, but at least tolerating the presence of the other for the sake of the end goal.

It all seemed to happen so fast. Quebec and Umbriel made the first moves, charging at the coyotes and getting them to scatter. The frightened canines didn't know what was happening. Some ran away from them, heading off in a direction where the Tokotas hadn't blocked off, but some veered off to the sides and were trapped by the groups there.

Closing their ranks to surround their prey, the Tokotas each did their part, working with their partner, to get as many of the coyotes as they could. Some still slipped through, one even having the courage to run right under Pollux, through her legs, narrowly avoiding snapping jaws, but the group weren't too concerned. After all, as they stood there at the end, they had removed quite a few of the coyote pack, so they were less likely to cause trouble in the future.

Quebec seemed pleased with herself. She was covered in dust kicked up as they had raced around during the hunt, and she was loving it. Her tail wagging madly behind her. Hanging limply from her jaws were two coyotes, which she placed in front of her handler very proudly.

The others collected up their prizes, handing them over to their handlers in similar manners. This left Wrath and Jeta, who just decided to give their prizes over in favour of getting some treats. After all, they had no need for coyotes. They were covered in fur and didn't taste particularly nice, not like a rabbit, and certainly not like Tokota treats. Wrath seemed pleased enough with the treats, smacking his lips for more and getting a little disappointed when no more came. Still, he would follow them in case more appeared later as the handlers seemed to have run out for now.

Deciding now was a good time to leave, Jeta wagged her tail and said her goodbyes to the other Tokotas before making her way to the handlers. They stroked her mane and scratched behind her ears, thanking her for her help, then watched as she trotted away, happy as can be. She knew what she was doing, she would be fine.

As for the others, they had another journey ahead of them, to head back to the tribe. Archer was invited along, and although he was hesitant at first, the idea of a nice warm meal, a proper meal, was too good to resist. After all, to reach his end destination, he still had a little more travelling to do, so it would be worth it.
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HP -
Word count (2230) - 11HP
Handler bonus - 2HP
Hunting bonus - 2HP
Starter bonus - 2HP
Non commissioned bonus (Umbriel, Castor, Pollux) - 1HP

Total -
    Umbriel, Castor, Pollux - 18HP
    Quebec, Wrath - 17HP