when you wake up on your own.

*manipulates time like a god* Some minor PP in assuming Jace will just follow quietly for a while, hope you don't mind... :D

Summer nodded as his friend spoke and assured him that he was strong enough for this adventure. The boy was not about to argue with that or the man's determination to join him. He would be glad for the company. He had no intention of facing off against the cougar, if they even found it at all. His only desire was to make sure it was denning far from their pack and that the rest of its tracks showed it heading North, and its journey to Sunspire had been nothing more than a fluke.

Without a word, Summer turned and began to follow the trail. All senses were employed as he moved, his father's words again in his ears. Nose, ears, eyes... He slung his head low exploring the ground and low-lying brush as he went, searching, making sure that he did not stray from the trail. The ground they walked upon was covered in debris--old fallen leaves, small twigs, and undergrowth scattered beneath the trees that loomed like giant stalks overhead.

The trail was a meandering one. It seemed this creature moved without much purpose other than to explore. It didn't move with the purposeful direction of a creature on the hunt--at least not one who had yet found quarry. When a while into the venture they came upon a stream about as wide as a wolf, Summer hesitated. Suddenly the scent seemed to fade into the new onslaught of smells that came with water, sand, and aquatic flora and fauna. He glanced to Jace uncertainly and bit his lip, his mind racing to remember the lessons his father had taught him.

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