Rattleskin Redoubt scale

seven lizards taken from beneath the overhangs of limestone.

his own feet churned a protective cloud of dust to break the lines of his form into seamlessness.

eight lizards.

more mist.

zoug slunk carefully as the sun fell toward earth, taking a circuitous route back toward the ravine. five he carried. three he cached. 

the coyote trotted on.

The dark coyote pup shadowed his father. Trailing his scent, yet keeping at enough distance so that A., he wouldn't disturb his father's hunting and B., so that he didn't get corralled back into the direction of home. 

The son was always curious of where his father went when he strode off from the red arches at the rising of the sun and returned much later in the day, often with food. Gaara had only been beyond the borders but a few yards before and his desire to go beyond was at an all-time high. 

This place was far different from home. Tall rock formations in pale hues instead of the ruddy red curved arches that much of their family mimicked in color. There was no large pools of water here nor creeks which snaked through the land. He sniffed and dug at many nooks and crannies and when the sun dimmed and his father was on the move again, so was Gaara.

at last he noticed gaara. after a moment's stern look. zoug grunted in the boy's direction. gaara should come with him now.

tribekin trotted the land. 

he tossed a lizard in the air, directed gaara to bury it in the ground here. now, when you come back, you will eat well, he explained, his single eye glowing at the lesson.

Ruddy red ears swept back at a stern look, his small teeth showing as he gave a sheepish grin and tail swayed low. Oops. 

Yet his father was on the move again, beckoning his son to follow. Of course the boy did and jumped up, snatching the lizard in the air as it was tossed towards him. 

He wanted to eat it now yet followed his father's command, however disgruntled about it. It would be saved for when it was needed.

three more times they would bury lizards along this trail.

see where the ground is turned? you will see it when you come back. see how the sun is there? when it moves to another place, these mounds of earth will cast a shadow.

westward, the small patches of sand were hardly noticeable. but on an eastern return, each would cast a subtle shade visible if the watcher was looking.

in this way was a trail marked and the traveler fed.

Gaara took each lizard as they were given to him, digging in the places where directed and burrowing the kills into the sand. They were ways of hunting, ways of survival. Though Gaara may want to eat until he was horribly full, it was not a wise thing to do. One could go days without a successful hunt or food stolen by the enemy wolf and it would be these items which would be needed to keep his energy. 

The young, dark coyote listened. He learned. He would not go without question. What if they are found? Maybe there was always the risk, that the food would be found by another. Gaara was raised that the wolf was larger, stronger. The coyote was more self reliable and resourceful, but the fox was sly against the coyote.

if they are found, we bury more. it is why we put so many in the sand. a single set of jaws cannot find them all.

if you are robbed, wait to see if they return to the cache. do not take from it again. if it be a fox, kill. if it be a wolf, hide yourself. they are too full of greed to see the path.

His father speaks now, in the words of Clan and the quiet son listens well. 

They would loose the food. Yet in return, they would know their enemy. His face, his scent and know to avoid him. If it were fox, then they would have an even larger hunk of meat to eat then the lizard. 

Gaara imagined a scavenging wolf, one thin and weak without its pack. Gaara was a large boy... maybe that wolf would be food for Tribe as well. 

The son nods with silent agreement and begins picking up the pace once more.

last for me! <3

gaara would learn.

perhaps one day he would carry on the ways of tribe and of clan.

zoug offered a small but warm look to his son as they went on into the sands.