No Easy Task (Hunting for Bears)

It was time for a hunt, but not just any normal hunt. While most hunters went for the smaller mammals such as deer, elk and fox, this hunt was more for a much larger prey. One known to be a fierce and clever creature. Bears roamed through-out the wooded forest in search of food, and even more so during the summer months. Bugs, berries, meat and fish were among most of their diet, which also lead to them being hunted a bit more easier than in their sleeping dens. Sadly, with no snow on the ground, it was harder to track them. At that moment in time, the young handler known as Cassandra finished tacking up her prized Tokota mount Ragnarokkr while she moved about the rest of the small pack to inspect them for any small injuries or issues. Today would be a little different than most hunts. Not only did she have her own two Tokotas joining in, but also two others. Delani and Rhoswen. Both were owned by separate people, but had been dropped off earlier that day to join in the hunt. While their handlers didn’t have time to join them, Cassy was happy enough to let the two help out. Bringing down bears with two Tokotas was a bit of a challenge, but four may just do the trick! Plus, the light piebald and the grayish tawny female were being rather good, even though both of the newcomers didn’t seem too thrilled to be without their handlers. “Don’t worry. You two will be fine. Butthead one and two over there are pretty okay,” Cassy grinned as her boys behind her snorted in annoyance. “Stop it you two. You know I love you. Nightwing? Echos?” Using their all-to-familiar nicknames, the male Tokotas seemed to relax as their handler walked over to give them both a soft scratch upon their foreheads. Now, time to mount up and take off! Swinging herself in the worn saddle, Cassy fluffed the fur around her jacket collar and with a high-pitched, fingers-to-mouth whistle, the mixed pack headed off into the wilds of the north.

Brown, tan, gray, and white coats blurred through the brown and green forest as the pack of four, plus one human, made their way deeper into the wilderness. Ragnarokkr, or Echos as he was so lovingly nicknamed, in the lead followed by half maned youngster Kanosak aka Nightwings; Rhoswen, the large pretty girl; and of course playful follower Delani bringing up the rear. So far they had been traveling for at least a few hours and nothing of any substance had appeared. Where were all the animals? Surely there was still some around right? Cassy wasn’t about to give up, but instead let the Tokotas do their thing. Sniffing the air and tracking through the plant life. The group seemed split on where to go before Rhoswen lifted her head high and let out a sharp barking noise. ZOOM! The group suddenly took off and it took all of Cassy’s strength to hold onto that damn saddle as Echos followed after the group. Low tree branches and leafy bushes smacked the handler in the face as the pack of Tokotas ran through the forest undergrowth. All four knew where they were going, but Cassy wasn’t so sure about that. Luckily for her, the four finally slowed to a stop and the poor girl was allowed a calming breath. “What in the… hell?” It took everything she had not to dismount and discipline the group. Taking off like that was just so irresponsible! But before she could utter a word, the handler heard the nearby rustling of bushes and just a yard into the clearing before them came two very large and very hungry bears. TWO?! Well that was a shocker. A mating pair perhaps? It was possible, but now was not the time to think on it.

“Guess I shouldn’t doubt you at all. You guys rock!” Cassy quickly slipped herself from her mount as she untied his saddle and removed the headgear from Echos’ face. There. All four were completely naked of gear and could move quickly as they took down their prey. Giving a shake of his heavy mane, Echoes slowly lead the party of giant beasts toward the clearing where the bears appeared to be nibbling on a lone blackberry bush. Cassy could only kneel nearby and watch. Hopefully everything would go according to plan. As Echos glanced from one Tokota to the other as he took lead, Nightwing quickly swinging around to walk beside Rhoswen, who had taken to slowly walking outward alone the tree line. She knew bears couldn’t see well, but they made up for with sense of smell. Delani moved herself into a hunched crawling position as the Tokotas moved to circle their prey. Luckily for them, the wind had died down, which left the perfect opening for a surprise attack. Slowly the four made their way even closer, and like a pack of wolves, took a couple of seconds pause before finally unleashing their assault. Rhoswen was first to smash her large furry body into the smaller of the two bears. Like a ninja! She wanted to startle them enough to cause a bit of confusion. This girl knew how to hunt. The impact itself had been so rough that the bear had been sent rolling a few feet away. Nightwings’ smaller form bolted around the female and he snagged the bear’s furry throat. While this had been his first hunt, Nightwings felt his instants kick in and told him to go for the throat. Snarls soon filled the air as Rhoswen and Nightwings held the bear down by the neck. While they had caught the bear by surprise, it was no easy feat for them to hold it down. Thankfully, Rhoswen knew what she was doing and with a quick twist of the beast’s neck it was all over. Sitting back happily, Nightwings whined softly as he cockily trotted around the bear and the female Tokota. Rhoswen merely rolled her eyes, but the hunt was far from finished. There was one more bear that had to be taken care of. As the first of the two bears had been taken down, the other bear had escaped the first pounce and had quickly taken off into the forest. Boy those things could run. Echo and Delani both had gone from a stalking crawl to a flat out run in mere moments. With the first bear down and two of their packmates left behind, the large piebald boy and his grey female partner did their best trying to keep up.

Dodging trees and rocks slowed them some, but it didn’t help the bear either. The creature seemed intent on doing its best to escape the fang and teeth of the two Tokotas, until it came to a sudden halt. Before it was a maze of thorn bushes and there would have been no way through it without serious injury. Inside, the bear stood on its hind legs and turned toward the Tokotas that were chasing it. Both Echos and Delani slid to a stop before quickly leaping away from the long, clawed paw that had been aimed toward them. Grunting and growling at the two, the bear launched itself forward a few times in an attempt to bite one of the larger beasts. Like a deadly dance, bear and Tokotas snapped and snarled as they tried getting the better of the other. Finally it was Echos who seemed to dart forward and grip himself a bit of bear flesh in the form of the beast’s front leg. The sudden pain caused the bear to let out an animalistic howl of pain as it tried ripping the male’s Tokota off itself. Luckily, Delani took the opportunity to leap onto the bear’s back and bite down on the thick handed neck. With the weight of the Tokota upon its back and the amount of energy spent running, the bear could do nothing as its body fumbled forward and hit the ground. Echos had sustained a claw mark across his flank, but nothing that would cause his life to be in-jeopardy. If Delani hadn’t pounced when she did, he would have gotten worse. Like Rhoswen and Nightwings, the two held the bear down until it stopped moving and slowly began to drag the body back to the clearing.

“There you two are! Are you both alright?!” Cassy spotted the two Tokotas dragging the bear’s dead corpse free of the thick vegetation before the sight of blood along Echo’s flank began to worry her. Rhoswen and Nightwings both jumped to their paws as they quickly went to help the other two drag the bear back to were it had first been located. “You need to be more careful! Getting a rip like this.” The handler could only sigh as she gave Echos’ shoulder a soft pat. What was she going to do with him? Luckily, the wound wasn’t deep and was easily cleaned up. After finishing with her Tokotas’ wound, Cassy made sure each of them had gotten a special treat for doing so well. “Two bears at once huh? Guess this was a successful hunt!” Grunts and whines of approval filled the air as the small pack jumped and bounded about the kills. Wait until they got back! Surely this was something they could tell everyone back home.