[P] You've Got So Far To Go

[Arran Fir-Chlis]

OOC: Wordtober October 9: repulsive | WC: 302

A goat has escaped (again) and is stuck in a tree.

IC:
Arran wasn't sure what it was about the goat and sheep paddock that had the goats constantly trying to escape from it. It wasn't like the paddock was repulsive by any means. Sure there was some poop here and there, but Arran tried to keep that pretty clean so that there was plenty of grass for them to eat. Sometimes  he even took them out of the paddock so that they could eat grass somewhere else, too, so it wasn't like they were always cooped up here.

But no, of course they had to escape. Sometimes together, sometimes alone, but always into trouble. With all the time Arran spent searching for them, he thought he should be a master tracker at this point. Alas, he was mastering tracking goats, which seemed to make him a little better at tracking prey, but since deer, rabbits, goats, and the rest behaved differently, it was not quick the case that the skills transferred directly. He supposed the fact that he was good at tracking goats was better than nothing.

He trotted along with his nose to the ground, following the twisty trail that the goat had taken across the field towards the woods. It had become almost routine at this point, but he still enjoyed it. He especially enjoyed it when one or more of his kids was tracking it with him. They were all busy today, so it was just him this time.

After a bit, he realized he was also picking up a fresh trail of one of his packmates and he lifted his head to look around. Up ahead, he spotted Tora.

"Hey!" Arran called out. "Have you seen a goat come by here at all?" Maybe this goat would prove easier to find than the last one had.

[Toraberā Tanaka]

Tora's nose picked up the faint scent without waiting for his input or consent, his tail wagging at the smell of something that he could bring down and eat without too much trouble. But as much as his body wanted him to give chase and catch some prey to fill his belly his mind was firmly against the idea. He was nicely sprawled out in the shade of a tree with his journal and charcoal, comfortably sketching the sky without having to worry about chores or contracts or repairs. Comfort was a rare aspect of Tora's life and these minor hunger pangs weren't nearly enough to stir him into action.

The sheep or goat or whatever it was would get to go uneaten for another day.

Gradually another scent began to intrude on the first, getting stronger and stronger as time wore on. So it wasn't a surprise when Arran appeared, Tora nodding at the pretty eyed Heartward. "Hello Arran, off chasing something?" His question was immediately answered, Tora stripping off his robe and swords and tucking them in a little hollow under the tree. "I thought that's what the smell was. I haven't seen it but I can help you chase it."

The wolf was already shifting down into his Secui form, letting his bones restructure themselves into a shape more fitting of a hunt. "You'll have to forgive any mistakes I make, I'm not used to moving like this." 

[Arran Fir-Chlis]

WC: 250

"Great!" Arran barked excitedly, tail still wagging. He sniffed around a little as Tora shifted. Arran did not often stop at his Secui form since he normally found he needed endurance rather than power, but maybe he would learn something from Tora that would make him rethink his Lupus over Secui form ideas.

"That's okay! We'll find her eventually." Arran sniffed around again, trying to figure out which area of scent was the most recent one. Eventually he settled on the one he thought was right and he nodded to it before starting off at a trot that he hoped Tora could keep up with easily enough. Even as his nose was stuck to the ground he chattered at Tora. "I really need to figure out how they keep escaping. They never do it when I'm watching them of course." He frowned slightly. "I can't help but think that's on purpose. Sometimes they don't seem particularly smart, and other days I think they're smarter than me and my Gramma combined." He looked over at Tora, tongue hanging out momentarily with a goofy smile before he went back to sniffing.

The scent seemed to be getting stronger, which he was sure meant that they were getting closer. It was a good sign that they were at least going the right way.

"Do you usually use your swords to hunt?" Arran asked since Tora had said that he's not in his Secui form often.

[Toraberā Tanaka]

The finer details of shifting and the different of values of different forms had always escaped Tora and likely always would, the wolf using his Secui form because it was more comfortable. If the extra bulk was what caused him to lose the creature then it wasn't meant to be caught by him anyway. "Let's get after it then!" Was that... real enthusiasm in his voice? How strange. There was something about Arran's genuine enthusiasm that resonated with a small part of the samurai's soul, that miniscule shard of heart that wasn't totally burnt black. Maybe it was because Tora had no zest for life that Arran's entranced him so.

Tora took up the rear, letting the professional animal-wrangle lead. "If it's just a structural problem with the fence then I'd be glad to take a look at it.  Anything that gets me working with my hands keeps me happy." Relatively happy anyway. "I think a lot of animals are smarter than we give them credit for." 

The scent was certainly stronger as they continued on, Tora at least competent enough to recognize that they were getting closer to the source. "Oh no, not when hunting animals anyway. I prefer to use my bow and sometimes I hunt from horseback." It was just how he did things. "Although I do want to get better at using my natural forms. Would make it easier to bond with my kids I think." 

OOC: Ahhh Myst thank you so much for waiting! Bless ur heart <3 Wordcount 240

[Arran Fir-Chlis]

OOC: no worries!! WC: 317

IC:
“That makes sense! I like spending time with my kids on four paws, too, although they do less of it now.” They definitely spent more time on two legs than Arran did. He did not dislike using his Optime form; he just really liked running around on four paws and he especially liked digging! When he was allowed to, and only where it was okay. Of course. Usually. Sometimes it just hit him and he had to dig a hole right now. Arran refocused on the task at hand since now was not the time for digging - not when there was a goat to catch!

He continued following the trail as it as it meandered through the trees until, confusingly, it seemed to end. Arran tipped his head and followed it around a large tree that seemed to have split into several trunks or something when it was small, and then grew into how it was today. There was a definite circle around the tree where the goat ran around it. For a moment, he wondered if it did the clever thing where it backtracked and then hopped off the current trail to try to throw him off.

“I don’t get it,” he said, looking at Tora. “It seems to just--” A loud bleat interrupted his words and Arran stopped, mouth still open as the most confused expression crossed his face. He kept his eyes on Tora for a beat and then, slowly, looked up at where the sound had come from. Sure enough, higher in the tree than Arran thought should have been possible, was the wayward goat.

“Um,” Arran said, sitting down to make looking up more comfortable as he continued to stare in confusion. “I have no idea how she got that far up there.” It would be impressive if he was not going to have to go up there to get her.

[Toraberā Tanaka]

Arran was an interesting one, much more feral than the type of person Tora was used to. It must have been interesting to have one's perception focused so low to ground, constantly on the scent of people and animals. Was it hard not to just break off after every deer and squirrel? Was there an urge to dig holes? Was the loss of thumbs really made up for by staying in tune with that side of the Luperci conscious? He was probably just thinking too much about it. Some people liked the speed and maneuverability four legs offered but Tora would always feel safer with a sword in his hand and a horse beneath him.

They kept moving, chasing the freedom loving goat who had so kindly left a trail for them to follow. Until it suddenly stopped. With no idea of where to go from there Tora simply followed Arran in a circle around the tree, wishing he had the ability to shrug. Goats weren't smart enough to cover their tracks right? But how else could it have pulled this disappearing act? "Maybe it got eaten?" As unfortunate as it was cougars had gotten close to the animals before, a common enough occurrence that Tora had fought two of them. 

The bleat interrupted that train of thought, Tora following Arran's eyes up to stare at the cloven hooved bastard who had somehow gotten herself lodged up in the branches. "Hmm." Well that made things interesting. "If we both shift one of us can climb up their and knock it down, the other catches it?" That was hardly an elegant solution but Tora didn't like the thought of trying to clamber back down while holding an unruly goat. Better for the animal to get injured instead of one of them.

OOC: Wordcount 304