Dawnlark Plains Duties, duties, and more duties

"Um, okay. I guess I could try this time." He said with uncertainty. He did find a trace, however that didn't mean he could find out where the pheasant was. With Laika watching over him then maybe he could at least try. She would guide him a little if he was doing a mistake right? He decided to just try while feeling not so confident in himself. He began by using this nose, Circling the area. There were two lingering scents linked to the pheasant. One was from where it came from and the other was where it went. But which was which was the next question.

He looked at Laika, about to ask a question but actually stopped himself. He wondered if she was testing him or something like that. He didn't want to disappoint her after all. When he looked at the ground he saw the clues that would give him an answer. The foot prints told him that the bird went that way. He decided to follow it that path with his nose. After a while of being completely focused on tracking he never realized he was so close to it that he spooked the bird and in returned scared him and made him jump back. It was so sudden that he almost at a heart attack. Esaro started breathing quickly, he was kind of used to his body over reacting out of fear but the effects were hindering him. For now he focused on calming down.

Laika followed Esaro through he tall grass, pleased with the fast way he followed the scent.  She was on his heels as he found the bird and the female almost ran into him when he suddenly jumped back, scaring himself  and the bird. The pheasant went flying into the air. She frowned. 

"Next time, make sure you realize the distance between you and your prey." She could hardly hold back the slight laugh before she nodded in the bird's direction. "You should probably go after that. I'll follow you." 

Esaro nodded, he should have been more aware of the distance. He was glad to have actually found the bird, it felt easy to track for some reason. Then again maybe he was just lucky. Before going after the pheasant he look at Laika and spoke. "You are going to help me this time right?" He asked since he wanted to know if he was being tested or not. He also didn't want to battle a bird for another couple of minutes before killing it, that was way too tiresome.

He followed the pheasant and this time he got it in his sights. He stalked closer to it. He kept in mind that all he had to do was repeat the same actions as before. He didn't exactly wait for Laika to take any sort of position instead he moved in at jumped towards to bird. He aimed slightly higher like last time except the pheasant did not react like the other. For some reason it didn't jump and it simply ran straight passed Esaro. He turned around hoping Laika managed to catch it, if not it was back to finding it once again.

Laika's ears twitched at his question and she nodded in response. Before she could open her mouth to make sure he knew her answer, he had taken off again to catch the bird. She smiled and trotted after him, getting in position to leap at the bird if all else failed.

Apparently, all else failed because Esaro leapt as if he expected the bird to take flight. Instead, the pheasant ran straight out from under him. Fortunately, Laika was in position and shot out of the bushes as the bird rushed past. She sprinted after it as the terrified animal darted as fast as it could. She took a leap of faith as she left the ground and landed on the bird, flipping over from the momentum and snapped it's neck quickly.

Esaro turned and was glad Laika was helping him this time but it also showed that he had much more to learn. He felt a little disappointed in himself for failing. He approached Laika and simply apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would do that." Although it likely didn't even matter but he still would feel bad about it. At least now they caught a third bird. That meant it was time to pack up and return to the pack.

He stood there waiting for instructions but this time he could kinda guess what they were. To make sure he waited on Laika's call before deciding to go anywhere. He hoped that the birds they buried weren't found and taken. That would make all efforts go to waste. He was eager to get moving though. He could maybe show off what he managed to catch on his own with Laika's advice. Everyone being proud of him was definitely something he wanted to see and experience.

Laika's chest heaved from the exertion from the hunt. She stood with the bird dangling from her mouth. Her ears pricked as gave her a sorry. "No need to say sorry," She scolded gently. "You just have a lot more to learn. There's a lot to reading a bird's language and even I make make mistakes sometimes."

She padded up to him with bright blue eyes. "Okay," She said around the bird. "We should head back. One important thing to always remember is how to get back to where you buried your catch. Lead the way. We'll go to your pheasant first." She wanted to see if he could do it without someone showing him first.

Esaro never thought it was even possible for Laika to make a mistake. She was so experience that he couldn't imagine her messing up somewhere. He didn't like making mistakes but he did want to try his best anyway. In the end he was learning so simply trying gave him hope of improving. The next step was what he predicted. However when he looked around for the landmark where his bird was buried he spotted two trees that look exactly the same. They were almost the same distance away. He started moving towards one but stopped as he hesitated. "Um, which tree did I bury mine at? That one or that one?" He said while pointing at each tree once with his nose. He moved slowly toward the tree he was first going to as he waited to see if Laika could remind him which tree it was.

Laika followed close behind and couldn't help but laugh as Esaro hesitated. He pointed to each tree and she narrowed her eyes. She couldn't quite remember herself where he had buried it but that wasn't her job anyways so she didn't feel to bad about it. She gave him a shrug and a smirk and let him wander closer to the first tree before saying anything.

"Something I always do when I forget where I burry my prey is to retrace my steps by following my own scent trail. That will usually lead me straight to it," she advised, making sure her voice could be heard around the pheasant's feathers.

In the end, Esaro decided to just keep going and hoped that it was the right tree. He didn't exactly want to retrace himself when maybe he could just be lucky enough to avoid having to go retrace his steps. Once they got to the tree he was happy to see the spot where he buried the pheasant. It was a small dose of relief. He turned when he spoke to Laika. "Looks like there is no need to retrace our steps." Afterward he began digging out his pheasant. Before taking it he wondered if Laika remembered where her other catch was. He didn't remember seeing any land marks where she buried her pheasant. "Do you remember where your first one is?" He asked. He obviously forgot where that one was. He picked up the pheasants and prepared himself to follow her.

Relief flooded Laika. She was half worried that Esaro had really lost his catch. She smiled when he unburied it and picked it up then asked her if she remembered where she hid her pheasant. "Yup." 

She turned and began padding back to the small Boulder lying in the middle of a small clearing of short grasses. She navigated her way to it and dug up her catch. She tossed the pheasant she already had in her mouth over her shoulder and picked up the other. "Lead the way back to camp." 

Of course Laika wouldn't forget where she hid her catches. She was flawless which made him wonder how much work it took for her to reach that point. Or was perhaps that she was born with it? Esaro still believed he wasn't born with talent however by working hard he could feel improvements. He may not be talented but he can still get better, he just had to keep trying. He followed her the retake the last pheasant and then she asked him to lead the way.

That wasn't going to be so hard! "I always know the way back home!" He said pridefully but started going the wrong way for a few seconds. He noticed the landmarks didn't add up so he looked around for a moment before seeing where he was actually suppose to go. He corrected his path and began marching onward back to the pack, He added "This way actually." He couldn't wait to show off his catch. Laika did help him out a little but he did do most of the work. He felt it was something to be proud of and it did boost his confidence in himself.

fade? even though it's the last thread before he gets into a huge mess :P

Haha, sure. This will be my last post. She will miss Esaro. That's for sure. But she'll also be pretty mad at him lol.

Laika followed him, occupying herself with placing her paws in the excact places Esaro had. Her ears twitched as she noticed unfamiliar landmarks and she looked up. He said he knew where to go! She thought with amusement. She twitched her tail and waited for him to realize where he was going. 

Eventually, he got back on track and they were off once more. It was difficult balancing two birds - one on her shoulders the other in her mouth. Her neck and teeth hurt from the first bird and the second weighed down on her forelegs and paws, making it more difficult to walk than it should be. Still, she kept going without a peep of complaints. She'd expirienced worse. 

Soon they could see the Maplewood looming up in front of them, abscuring the late afternoon sky with their leaved branches. She smiled as her home grew closer and closer until eventually they were within it. The nearest cache came into view and she dug it up, revealing the few remains. She let the pheasants slide from her shoulder and mouth, her muscles relaxing almost immediately. She gave a sigh of relief before turning to Esaro.

"That's was fun. You did good today. Just trust yourself more. I know you have the skills." She smiled and murmured a goodbye, explaining that she needed to check up on some things near here and then take the rest of the day off. With another smile, she turned and left Esaro in the little clearing holding the little food cache. However, she did not know she was leaving her friend forever.

Everyone will be mad at him :P

Esaro lead the way back to the pack up to where a nearby cache was at. Together they stored their catch for later consummation by them or other members. The pheasant was proof of his catch but he though it was better to put it in the cache instead of carrying it around in order to show up a little. At the very least he could still talk about it and Laika would likely support him. Before leaving she gave him a few encouraging words and then a goodbye. Esaro felt great. He accomplished something he should have been able to do and didn't fail too much. He obviously got better and he did trust his own ability a little more now. It was thanks to Laika though. If he was still on his own he wouldn't learn much at all.

He was feel tired and was ready for a good nap. "I hope we can hunt together again soon." He watch Laika leave, happy that she let him hunt with her. Once she was out of sight and turned and went his own way. He just needed to find a shady spot to nap in and if there was still time he might go around hunting for something.