Cloudbreaker

Cloudbreaker's predominantly white hide flashed in the light of the sun as she galloped headlong across the Eskers, heading north out of the Prairie. She had managed to recruit one ally to her cause, though a desperate cry for additional reinforcements had been uttered by the mare more than once on her journey back to the land of frozen, sandy ridges.

From a gallop to a quickened trot, the zorse eased her pace back as she began to feel to loamy soil beneath her hooves again. Now her senses went back on high alert, especially as she caught the scent of humans on the wind. Cloudbreaker slowed her stride further when the stench of canine hit her nares, along with that of a foreign horse, all entangled with the odor of the two-leggers.

"The humans are here." She murmured to Axis. "My friend shouldn't be too far off. Are you ready for this?" She couldn't yet see Darkia or the humans, but she was getting nearer to where she'd last seen the other mare, and the smell of humans was only getting thicker.

Axis

Axis held close to the stranger at about two of his body lengths away. His bounding gallop fell to a skipping trot in pace with the zorse. On the way his senses had radiated outwards in case anything should observe them. When the odor of humans wafted into his nostrils, they focused abruptly upon it. He could detect canine in there, as well as horse. A sharp snort left his nose, and he shook away the strong aversion that threatened to make him turn and run the other way.

The chital nodded silently in response to the zorse's question. He cast his gaze about in search ofcover. The ground was uncomfortably loose underhoof, and there weren't too many trees. It made him feel awfully exposed, and the idea that had been cooking in his mind--a surprise distraction--was quickly draining away.

Cloudbreaker

With Axis' nod, Cloudbreaker pressed onward, following the scent of the humans until she could clearly see their tracks in the loose earth. Fear began to grow stronger in her, threatening to overpower her bravado and will to fight the creatures. Self preservation begged her legs to turn her around in the opposite direction. But the zorse ignored these things, using her training with the Shadow Haunters to keep her on task and speeding ever closer to one of the Valley's most dangerous predators.

Before long, another, more acrid odor stung her nose. Peculiar tracks intersected those of the humans and lone horse. Cloudbreaker wasn't entirely familiar with what vehicles were, but she'd heard and smelled enough of them on the wind to figure out what they were now following, and to realize it was headed straight for where she'd left Darkia.

Cloudbreaker's heart sank when at last she reached the small pond nestled between two large eskers, and found the area to be utterly empty and devoid of her friend. There were many tracks here, and just enough smattering of blood on the ground to suggest a struggle had taken place. White ears pressed back against her head, and she raised her head in Axis' direction. "...I think we're too late."

Axis

Continually on edge now, Axis followed dutifully to his word, though the distance between the two slowly grew as the scents became stronger, flipping his flight response into a red alert, muscles twitching anxiously in preparation for action. His ears pinned forward, tight to the wind and the odors that it carried, but the world was silent. The stench of fumes permeated the air, and when they stopped, surrounded by a mess of tracks with nothing but the lingering scents, the deer knew what had happened.

He dipped his head solemnly for the stranger's loss, hooves carrying him back to give her room to mourn. It seemed to him that their efforts had been in vain--they were too late. The splash of blood suggested to him that it most certainly wasn't a peaceful encounter. He imagined a crack splitting the air, the sharp pop of a bullet that ripped through muscle and tendon and bone, and shivered.

Naturally, not being a horse himself, and not having seen humans riding horses before, he assumed that they did the same to horses as they did to deer. While secretly he was relieved that he needn't encounter the hunters, he at the same time felt guilty for being unable to do anything.

Watching the zorse closely for her reaction to all this, the chital quietly offered his condolences.

Cloudbreaker

Cloudbreaker's eyes flew over the myriad of tracks around them, trying in vain to decipher what had all taken place less than an hour ago. Those strange, parallel markings from the tires confused her, and the sight of those weird, oblong prints of the humans simply made her skin crawl. And then there were the distinct paw pads of the canine, sprinkled liberally among the turned up earth. But it was the blood that really got to her, even if didn't actually belong to her friend.

The zorse turned her eyes away from the scene, ears still pasted firmly back against her broad skull. It took several long, frantic moments before her wits truly returned to her, and she remembered not only the chital that had so kindly offered to help, but the crucial role that Dally was to play in all of this if things went horribly south. And south they had gone!

"We have him still." It was a murmur at first, and then an outspoken statement as she lifted her head and looked full on to Axis. "We have Dally to help us. Darkia, my friend - she was certain the humans would take her alive if they found her.. And if that happened, Dally was going to track her." Hope came back to her words and shone with renewed determination in her darkened eyes. "We only have to wait for him."

Axis

Axis lifted his head, an expression of confusion creasing his features.

"Alive?" the deer echoed in disbelief. His eyes fell onto the tracks again, focusing once more on that spot of blood. There wasn't too much of it, but...alive? Whatever for?

As the zorse mentioned waiting, the chital paused to scan their surroundings.

"Here?" he asked, a bit of his nervousness leaking into his voice. He didn't much like being stuck on the side of such a barren mountain--no, not one bit. He'd wait with the horse regardless--partly because it was a good trek back to the prairie alone--but it wouldn't make him any less anxious. The sooner off these exposed slopes, the better.

Cloudbreaker

While Axis looked around, Cloud looked up, squinting her eyes at the bright blue sky and the fluffs of clouds that drifted by. "Yes." There was that determination in her voice, perhaps assisted in some small measure by knowing that the humans were gone from this area and not an immediate threat to them at least. "Dally, he's-" Cloudbreaker looked squarely to the chital and shook her head, "-he's a falcon, it's kind of a long story. To make it short, he's an old friend of ours, and the one that warned us about the humans." She knew it was a lot to be laying on the deer, so Cloud avoided any mention of the Haunters, and stayed straight to the facts. "If things went south, he was going to follow her, find out where they took her, and come back to let us know. Now... it's just a waiting game." Her squinted eyes turned upwards again, roving the heavens for that dark smudge against the backdrop of blues and whites. It would be a few minutes more before the peregrine falcon would come into view, as he was now making his way from the western mountain ranges, but the zorse had full confidence that he would return.

Almost as an after thought, the nervousness in Axis' voice dawned on Cloud, and as she looked again to the spotted cervid, she realized just how uneasy the poor fellow was. Cloud snorted softly, "Hey, thank you again for offering to come along." With her own nerves settling - if only momentarily - Cloudbreaker focused on her unlikely companion's, "If you don't want to see this through to the end, I can understand. I honestly don't know what we're about to get into. But either way, perhaps I can make this worth your while after it's all said and done. I don't know if you're the loner sort or the herd sort, but I do know of a few deer in the Valley that you could meet."

Axis

The deer's head spun as the zorse explained. He couldn't imagine how a horse managed to make allies with a falcon, and moreover one that would go to such lengths! Anxiously, impatiently he paced around the scene, keeping an eye out for any would-be predators. He stopped when the zorse made mention of him not needing to see this through to the end. She must have noticed his nerves, and he cursed himself for not hiding them well enough. Some stag he was. Fortunately she was no hind that might spread it throughout the valley.

"I said I would help," the chital said, "and as yet I've not been useful. As such, my promise to you remains unfulfilled." He would loathe to break his word, nervous as he may have been.

His ears pulled forward when she spoke of other deer, pulling his interest even more so than the strange talk of a falcon friend. "You would show me to them?" he asked.

Cloudbreaker & Dally

The zorse was now actively keeping a lookout for dangers alongside her companion, but remained mostly stationary. Between the frequent swiveling of hear cream-white ears, and careful scans of the cold, barren landscape, she'd cast her eyes up now and then for the raptor. That attention all shifted back to Axis when he responded with determination to stay the course and continue to help her.

The mare's eyes shown with a faint smile, "Your bravery is commendable." He reminded her so much of Nightshade, one of the few remaining deer who had been a part of her old clan. They had been an incredibly brave group of stags, albeit ones that didn't have much choice in the matter. Keeping those wistful memories to herself, Cloudbreaker responded to the chital's question, "I will, once Darkia's been freed and we can find ourselves a safe place to rest."

Her thoughts turned to those very deer she promised to lead Axis to. "It's been a while since I've spoken to them, but I know their haunts well enough. There's a few of your own kind amongst them - the spotted folk. Other than that, it's mostly the white-tails and red deer."

----

High above them a little ways out, Dally was cruising towards the rendezvous at maximum speed. A detour on the way had slowed the falcon down a bit, but now he had the horse and deer in sight, and would be upon them in mere minutes.

Axis

Axis listened intently to what the zorse had to say of the herd, his eyes catching a double-take on the zorse when she mentioned that there were other chital among them. That was the last thing he'd expected to hear--well, after the falcon bit, of course. After a while scanning their surroundings, the deer began to relax a little. Though his gaze remained set on catching any approaching dangers, he finally stopped circling around the area and settled with standing watch a short ways uphill. He'd nearly forgotten what they were waiting for when he caught sight of a small speck in the sky.

"Is that him?" he asked, squinting against the sun. It was so small that he couldn't tell which way it was heading, or if it was even anything more than a smudge in his eye.

Cloudbreaker & Dally

She smiled inwardly at Axis' surprise when she brought up the presence of the other chital in the Valley. There weren't many, but their population had begun a slow increase from the first few that had escaped a local deer farm, and there were a number of hinds out there. And if that would make her deer companion happy and repay his kindness today, Cloudbreaker was more willing to scout out these spotted cervid. Afterall, Cloudbreaker had learned the importance of building strong alliances, and making friends with other species often had its advantages.

The two fell into silence for a few long moments after that, each relaxing a little more under open skies, with no sight or scent of predators in the area. It never once lulled Cloud into any sense of false security, but her heart rate had at least returned to normal. At the deer's next words, the zorse's head jerked upwards, eyes darting about until they locked onto the speck that he'd seen.

"That... that could be." As the speck grew and drew closer, Cloud quickly recognized those short, sharply pointed wings, and that bullet-shaped body. She snorted with anticipation, "It's Dally."

And sure enough, that little speck eventually morphed into a Peregrine falcon. He briefly mourned his stolen meal as he began a rapid descent towards the pair, seeing only a few white feathers scattered on the grounds, the sad remains of the ptarmigan he'd caught just before everything had gone south. Ignoring the growl in his little stomach, Dally came to a landing just a few feet away from Cloudbreaker. His caped head swiveled between her and the spotted stag, "I've got her location. Found a few Haunters on the way back, so we'll have additional help." Dark eyes focused on Axis for a moment, "I see you've gotten a recruitment yourself. That's good, we'll need it where we're going. Now, you two ready?"

Axis

Axis watched as the falcon descended, quirking an ear as the peregrine spoke. There was that word again--haunters--that the zorse had cried out. He wondered whether it was a native species of some sort, but he didn't think to ask because, as was necessary, things were already moving along fast, and having a few more companions in this endeavor would certainly be appreciated. If the humans had taken the horse back to their village, he knew that they would have a heck of a time getting her out, if they could do so at all. The chital nodded, stepping closer to the zorse to show that he was ready to get a move on.

Cloudbreaker & Dally

"Good, good." Cloudbreaker nodded at Dally's news of additional help, and didn't let the falcon's grim report of Darkia's location deter her. Wherever it was, she was bound determined to set her friend free.

Looking now to the chital, who'd stepped closer in preparation to head out, the zorse realized she'd never gotten his name yet. In all the panic, she'd skimmed right over formalities! There was little time now, so Cloud reminded herself to ask this question once their mission was complete, and they were back in safe lands. Keeping her head up, she spoke simply but sternly, "Stick close. Humans have decent eyesight and okay hearing, but their noses are weak. They're also slow on foot, so we have the advantage of speed."

"They have dogs." Dally interrupted pointedly, just before vaulting back into the sky in a rush of wing beats, allowing for no further questions or comments. Cloudbreaker's heart quickened, but she held onto her determination and began to gallop after the bluntly spoken raptor. She glanced back only once, to see if Axis was following, before putting all attention on the low-flying avian and the landscape that now swept by them.