12-27-2010, 05:25 PM
OOC: If the AniWaya lived in a city, Nian would be parkour king. 
As he led the way along the scent trail, Nian became more certain of of the location of the herd, to the point where he was able to follow his nose rather than his eyes. Small signs indicated the presence of elk that had passed through, such as a few bare branches bearing the signs of ruminant teethmarks or the odd collection of dark scat against the white snow that let him know when the trail was fresh. He was glad that he had taken the time to memorize the landmarks of the woods during his first weeks in AniWaya, as now he was able to guess where the elk were heading and take routes that were faster to reach the same locations. While the elk may have elected to walk around clusters of boulders or fallen trees, Nian and J'adore could easily climb over obstacles, crawl under logs, cross clefts and water via fallen tree trunks, and essentially take more direct paths to catch up with the herd. Every time he took a more unorthodox path, he checked behind him to make sure J'adore was following him okay and stopped if he needed to.
After a while of scampering through the forest, they burst out into a large clearing. Nian stifled a yelp and dove immediately back into the trees. Across the way, a few elk were grazing on pale dry grasses that could be seen under the eaves of some pine trees, where the snow did not cover the ground like it did elsewhere. Secreted behind the trunk of a tree, he watched the elk and started to size them up. "There's only a few of them," he whispered. "The rest of the herd must be further back in the forest."
As he led the way along the scent trail, Nian became more certain of of the location of the herd, to the point where he was able to follow his nose rather than his eyes. Small signs indicated the presence of elk that had passed through, such as a few bare branches bearing the signs of ruminant teethmarks or the odd collection of dark scat against the white snow that let him know when the trail was fresh. He was glad that he had taken the time to memorize the landmarks of the woods during his first weeks in AniWaya, as now he was able to guess where the elk were heading and take routes that were faster to reach the same locations. While the elk may have elected to walk around clusters of boulders or fallen trees, Nian and J'adore could easily climb over obstacles, crawl under logs, cross clefts and water via fallen tree trunks, and essentially take more direct paths to catch up with the herd. Every time he took a more unorthodox path, he checked behind him to make sure J'adore was following him okay and stopped if he needed to.
After a while of scampering through the forest, they burst out into a large clearing. Nian stifled a yelp and dove immediately back into the trees. Across the way, a few elk were grazing on pale dry grasses that could be seen under the eaves of some pine trees, where the snow did not cover the ground like it did elsewhere. Secreted behind the trunk of a tree, he watched the elk and started to size them up. "There's only a few of them," he whispered. "The rest of the herd must be further back in the forest."