Moonspear but i'm telling you, and i hope i am heard

@Hydra - tracking thread  #sq

they made their way up the higher reaches of the mountain, where the going became gradually more treacherous, and ice rimed nearly every surface of stone open to the world. here, where the air was breath-takingly thin, and the mountain air cruelly cold, arcturus felt in his element.

they were tracking the lone scent of a bighorn. hydra had detected it first, some several hundred feet above the whelping den. the prospect of a meal - a warm one - had arcturus' excitement mounting.. yet as they threaded their way up the slim throat of the mountain, the scent grew gradually stale, and it became more and more difficult to track.

Where the trail had once been strong, it now was not; but that did not mean anything to Hydra, who had tracked this sort of quarry many-a-time. She did not know or suffer from disappointment as they moved to where the beast(s) had once been but no longer were. Licking her chops as she assessed their surroundings, Hydra turned on her heel and followed her nose to where the scent had been stronger and began anew. 

Arcturus followed, and Hydra felt bolstered to see scat; she moved closer to it to determine the who, what, and most importantly, when of it. Male; goat; some days old. Several, by the look of it. But for a wolf, that was nothing—not for a good meal. Renewed, Hydra looked to her brother and chuffed.

arcturus waited besides the trail as hydra inspected the scat. when she moved over, he took from it what clues he could: the scat was rounded, small -- pellet-like, and not so different from hare. only, the scent was different and the forms larger -- "goat." he announced, knowing hydra would have already figured it out herself.

he looked around them, curious -- mountain goats had good vision, and were clever. if there was one here, it like was aware of their presence. he moved to a shadowed overhang of pine and nosed along the snow -- there was no scent here, save crisp water and pine needles.

He confirmed what she had been thinking; Hydra added, old, but not old enough that we cannot find him, she drawled with a sway of her tail. Pleased for this, Hydra's gaze followed his own; but none could be found here yet. Likely in the upper reaches. They were sure-footed creatures, and in her youth Hydra had learned much from them by ways of navigation in places where it seemed impossible. There was nearly always something to gain a foothold upon, and if you had that, you had a path. 

As he sniffed at the pine and snow, Hydra began to move ahead. Her ears swiveled as she listened for any sign of one such creature here, though no scent indicated as much to her. Most seemed stale, but for once this did not lead to a dead end it seemed.

the beta nodded, following hydra's gaze to the cold, lonely peak. it was there they would likely find the scent freshest. naturally, it was no easy climb.

not one to be dissuaded by physical effort, arcturus smoothly followed after the fleet step of his sister. the scent was interspersed between crystal flakes of snow and sodden leaves, but there was just enough of it there that their path uphill was kept supplied.

Hydra maneuvered as she needed to; now and then, her course would adjust so as to accomodate the trail. There were difficult portions to scale made for the species they pursued, but the three year old had navigated these heights many a time to know the different access points in their reach that would bring them closer to their present quarry. 

They went about the better part of a day; the matriarch was not one to give up, and finally their trail yielded results when again the sun began to rise. With it was the silhouette of horned ram, and Hydra paused to revel at the sight of him. It had been much too long, and the respect she had for such a creature grew tenfold. Just as it had survived, so too would they.

arcturus was nearing the end of his rope as they came across the ram. when he laid eyes upon it, silhouetted in a furious halo of tangerine sunset, he could not help the quiet gasp that wreathed frost round his muzzle -- for never had he seen so stunning an autumnal splendor.

it made him hesitant to move, to disturb that tranquil picture. for that moment, he savored the savage beauty of the world as it was doused in sunfire -- and said nothing as he watched the sun sink beyond the horizon, illuminating the ram in a way that would have had greeks calling for chrysomallos reborn.

It was impressive, and beautiful too; Hydra's ear turned at the sound of her brothers gasp, and shortly after ewes joined the picture that was painted. They both remained still, though Hydra's heart beat within her chest at a rapid pace to behold such a sight that she had not seen in much too long. Prey was seeming to return; the flock that had gone had returned again. Where had they gone, she wondered?

Today was not the day for hunting them. Today was when they would analyze the creatures, suss out any injury—new, or old—upon them. Hard though it was to break the moment that had felt spellbound, Hydra did. She kept to the mountain wall to blend with it as best she could, the wind in their favor. The eyesight of each of these creatures were impeccable, and she did not desire to spook them before they could even be assessed. Slowly, slowly she picked her way up to meet them (from a distance), the ram presently otherwise occupied.

soon, the sunfire dipped below the horizon, wicking all the world in chrysalis-green where blue met orange. arcturus studied this picture in awe, noting hydra was moving along the shadows.

they were to track the sheep, and count their numbers. he moved behind her at a panther's slink, sharp eyes counting.

one, two, four, eight -- the ram on top making nine.. it was a poor time to count, given the glare of sunset that lingered in the backdrop, but by arcturus' count he could spot eight ewes and one male.

She dropped to a predatory crouch whilst Arcturus counted and the sunsets colors shifted by the minute. Once darkness fell, she would seek any obvious weaknesses. Did any of them carry a significant limp? A subtle one? How old was this ram—had rutting season brought him lasting damage? Had the famine effected any of them adversely? 

And soon, it blessedly set in. Her eyes adjusted as moonlight poured itself over the summit; she watched them move. Off-guard as they were, she hoped to detect something sooner rather than later... and as her eyes settled on one particular ewe, Hydra thought that she might have succeeded. She gestured in her direction slowly, for Arcturus to have a look; she wondered if her excitement for their return might have caused her eyes to deceive her.

nine shadows moved under the feeble moonlight. arcturus gazed at the sky, which was a murky duskfire congealed in teal. several minutes passed before the remnant shards of orange light faded, replaced by a silvery moonglow.

he followed hydra's gaze, noting a ewe that grazed between two shields of stone. he could not see much of her from this vantage, for his eyes were still adjusting -- so he looked to the queen curiously, wondering what it was she had detected.

there, among the herd -- a band of them, five females and a single buck. arcturus counted their numbers hungrily. several were of breeding age -- two looked to be naught but yearlings.

he reported such findings to hydra, who confirmed his accuracy. together, they watched them for some time before turning back to the spear.