Bitterroot Valley Out the window

Although it was October now, the afternoon air was warm when the trio set off from the borders of Drageda, loping toward the sprawling valley just south of the volcano. When they arrived, Wildfire paused and motioned for @Freyja and @Gavriel to do the same. She exchanged a look with the guardian, then squinted out over the inviting grassland. Everything appeared calm, quiet and still. The yearling ran her tongue over her bottom lip, then made a decisive motion and began walking again.

"See these?" she spoke aloud as they approached one of many ruts crisscrossing the shrub land. "This is a game trail. The deer and elk walk in single file, more or less, wearing these patterns in the grass." She looked over at her young charge. "Go ahead and see if you can find any fresh scents," Wildfire invited, her black tail lifting into a slow wave as she double-checked Gavriel's position about thirty feet away.

Freyja had barely slept the night before. Despite her better judgement, and the fact that she simply could not sleep, the Feisripa had decided to stay up and envision what the next day would bring. When the day came, and Gavriel woke, Freyja was quick to stick to his side. Soon after he woke they met with Wildfire and their adventure begun.

Despite her lack of sleep she was awake. Perhaps it was the adrenaline or perhaps it was the excitement, but she was rearing to go. The territory beyond the volcano was sprawling and very unlike the mountain terrain. Luscious fields met them and with the abundance of greenery came an entirely different group of smells. She attempted to not get distracted by all of them.

She was quick to drop her muzzle to the beaten path as Wildfire introduced it and she breathed in heavily to take in the smell. Though the scent was not the most fresh, perhaps a day or two old, it would probably lead them in the right direction.

“It’s a little old,” she reported as she looked from Gavriel to Wildfire. “But, I think that we should follow it because it will probably lead us in the right direction.”  

Never has Gavriel turned down a job, or duty, that required his service, and perhaps if Freyja had not been involved, he might have. He stuck to his word, however, and began the trip early into the valley. His daughter isn't at his side for long, picking up next to Wildfire while he remains in the distance, making sure they direction they are going is safe. Hardly does his gaze rest on the two figures in the distance where he keeps his eyes back and forth of their surroundings.

Her eyes tracked the girl's movements as she dropped her head and began combing for scents. She trusted Gavriel to keep an eye on their surroundings, so Wildfire could really focus on Freyja's form and technique. Of course, there wasn't a whole lot of skill required for sniffing. The corner of her lip twitched at that thought and she glided toward the youngster when she appeared to have struck a trail.

The Bandrona dipped her head to sample the scent, then lifted it again and looked into Freyja's face. "It is a little old," she agreed in a tone that praised the girl for her keen observation, "but not so old that it's not worthwhile. Do you recognize the scent?" she wondered, wondering if the Feisripa was familiar with mule deer.

Freyja nodded in agreement when Wildfire shared that the scent was worthwhile. When she was asked to identify the scent, Freyja reached down and sampled it again before turning to Wildfire again. “I think it’s deer,” she answered. Though the scent was different than the deer scent around Sleeping Dragon, it was the closest thing that she could compare it to. “But, I’m not too sure because it doesn’t smell like our deer.”

The trapper smiled at the mention of "our deer." She knew what Freyja meant. "There's mostly white-tailed deer around Drageda," she agreed, "but this scent belongs to black-tailed deer, also known as mule deer." In fact, the one was a subspecies of the other but the she-wolf wasn't to know that. "They're generally larger than white-tailed deer. And they have enormous ears." She could have pointed out the other differences but it was there in the name and Wildfire knew Freyja was a clever girl who would put two and two together.

"Can you smell the individuals?" she asked next. From what Wildfire could tell, there was at least one buck, a handful of does and some of their offspring. She wasn't sure of exact numbers, since the scent was already decaying. If they decided to target these particular deer, they could glean more details and information as they closed in on them over the coming hours.

The more expeditions Gavriel goes along, whether as an attendee or guard, is when he gets his scouting accomplished. Most of his time remains closer to their mountain home and protecting the borders but, and most often with Wildfire, his time away is put to good use. The way the goes is vaguely familiar having gone through this way for a third time now, he’s bound to have a good grip on their location. Nothing remains amiss and his distance is kept, but close enough so that he can still hear the lesson at hand and alert them should something arise.

A black tailed deer. She listened closely to what Wildfire had to say and nodded as she took in the information. She wondered how she could use this to their advantage and quickly, an idea came to mind. “How big are the ears?” she asked, looking for some clarification. Perhaps if they were big enough, Freyja could leap up and bring it down by the ears! Her tail curled at the thought and a smile crossed her lips.

When asked on individuals, Freyja nodded. “I smell a lot of does, kids, and one buck,” she said before sniffing the trail again for good measure. “The male smells really bad, too.” She observed after a moment, a sense of amusement dancing in her dark eyes as she looked to her mentor.

The question momentarily stumped her, as Wildfire scrambled to come up with something for comparison's sake. "Maybe as big as your tail? But wider," she said, wagging her own black appendage. It stilled slightly as Freyja answered her own question in turn, her assessment matching the Bandrona's. Wildfire felt that familiar flicker of pride at the pup's astute observations. She couldn't have hoped for a cleverer pupil, really.

Chuffing quietly at the girl's observation, Wildfire began to slowly walk in the direction the herd had surely gone, knowing her two companions would fall into step beside her. "This is where our tracking really begins," she thought aloud. "We'll trail them and try to close the gap. As we get closer and we can pick up more details, we can choose which one would make the best target."

She walked for a minute, then stopped suddenly. "Unless," she said, facing Freyja, "you'd like to search for another lead instead of this one." Her red head tilted. This was a solid trail, yet they could always try to strike up one even more promising. She left the choice up to the tracker-in-training.

Feel free to skip me from here on out! I'll post as needed/

Occasionally Gavriel will tune in to what they're talking about, picking up information in their exchange. How eager his daughter is to learn keeps a softer expression on his face and Wildfire teaching her with just as much enthusiasm leaves him a little conflicted. He'd always been fond of the girl, but there had been an obvious separation even as she'd ascended to leadership status. Uncertain where to lay his opinion, now that she'd truly become Drageda, he forces himself back to his job and breaks his ears away. Instead, he follows along but puts a little more distance between his daughter and the teacher, and scans the direction they are going for further signs of threat.

In turn of what Wildfire offered in regards to just how large the deer’s ear were, Freyja regarded her mentor with and nod and then promptly turned to examine her tail for a moment. It seemed probable that they might be able to bring it down by the ears, but there was more that Freyja had to ask. “Can you jump high?” she asked suddenly, returning her eyes to Wildfire with a grin.

The trio soon started off in the general direction from where the trail lead them. Freyja easily fell into formation at Wildfire side and she listened closely. Nodding to what the leader had to say, Freyja did not add anything else to the conversation and instead took note of where this adventure would take them.

But, just as quickly as she had silently accepted this, Wildfire paused to ask a question. Without another thought, Freyja shook her head. No, this is the trail that they would follow.

“I want to keep going with this trail,” she offered as she leaned over to nudge Wildfire’s shoulder.

Figured this was actually a good place to segue it. :)

The Bandrona didn't feel strongly opinionated about the matter, so when Freyja took a moment to consider it, then decided to pursue the trail, she simply nodded. She glanced over at Gavriel to be sure he'd heard the game plan, then refocused on the aspiring tracker.

"Take point," she invited, waiting for the girl to do so before falling into step at her shoulder. The scent trail was going to lead them south. "We'll have to set a pretty brisk pace to gain ground on the herd. Drop your nose about once a mile to make sure we're on the right track. We'll see more signs of their passage and glean more details the closer we get," she repeated what she'd already said.

With a final and eager, "Let's go," the party of three began traipsing across the valley in the direction of the neighboring cuesta.