RoH:. Collab

The snow was falling heavily, large chunks of icy fluff fell from the sky in a shower of cold. Lucus brought his hand up to cover his eyes, narrowing his gaze whilst trying to catch any movement from the herd that they had caught tracks of a few miles back. His hand was splayed across the side of the neck of Cupcake, gently running his hand up and down the black brutes arched neck.

With the weather being as cold as it was, Cupcake was decked in a sweater, keeping his chest, shoulders and back warm. He wore no saddle, ditching it back a few miles on a rangers shack. Though a bridle was still upon his head, giving Lucus something to grip on to. The rain marked brute let out a chuffing sound. White misty seeping from his mouth as he rose his head up high. He was scenting the air, but all he could smell was wet and cold.

Beside the pair was Akira, the black haired man was decked in a woolly hat, ear muffs and large mitten like gloves. Not to mention his well padded jacket. It was a well known fact he was not made for the cold.

His ride, Knik was much more suited. Of course not as suited as yeti or a Barbary but her thick curly mane was enough to battle the chill of the air that had settled around them. The extended marked female took a deep intake of breath. Her chest heaving as she let the air out.

Right next to the curly mane was Nico, another extended marked Tokota. But this time male, a merle and a normal mane. The younger brute was using the female’s body as a barrier to the icy wind that drifted down from the mountain. Catching his pelt and cause shivers to run across his spine.

Nico wasn’t there for the Rite of Hunt. He was just a tag along. To help out with the corralling of the herd. He was on strict orders not to physically help. Just be a barrier of sorts.



Dasha was not the greatest of hunters. Dane knew that, long before he ever decided she needed to earn her right to breed. But ineffective as she was alone, she was still fast--she’d be great alongside Nico, steering the herd towards the more confident Knik and Cupcake.

Cupcake. A Tokota named Cupcake was probably better at hunting than Dasha was.

The blond straightened his back atop his blond Tokota, and shielded his eyes as if it may help him see further ahead. See where that damned herd was. The tracks, when they found them, had been fresh; so there was no reason they shouldn’t have stumbled on the animals already, or at least soon.

He reached forward and scratched Dasha, slow and firmly, between the shoulderblades. “Where, oh where, did they go…?” his voice was kept low just in case the herd was close. Giving away their position then would have been humiliating.

Beside Dane and Dasha, Poallu stood, pausing only to shake the snowfall from her light coat. She was borrowed, for a time, as an additional pack animal.

After all, if they were going to hunt, they were going to do it right. Especially if there were so many Tokotas at hand.

Dane urged Dasha to move ahead at a steady pace while his eyes scanned the horizon. Just along the edge of his vision, he noticed something: Heat. A lot of heat. It rose in a fog-like haze above the snow, and he realized that there was a drop of some kind ahead. Whatever was giving off the heat--probably the herd--was down below in a valley, he was sure of it.

Glancing towards his partners for this trip, he nodded in the direction of the sighting. “I think we’ll find something good over there.”



Lucus pushed himself further up on Cupcakes back, eyes narrowing even more as he tried to spot some thing. Any thing. Alas, he had no luck. Letting out a frustrated grunt he sat back in his seat, running a hand through his blonde hair that was no damp and slick from the snow flakes that were coming to land in it.

He wasn’t the only one growing frustrated. Even Cupcake, a usual sweet hearted brute was starting to become antsy. He wanted to get home. This was the last rite he needed to accomplish.  And then he was home free.

And with that thought in mind he pushed himself on further. Keeping his head down, and making sure to keep his eyes attentive.  

When Dane’s gruff voice broke through the high pitched wind it was Akira that replied to him. “Alright!” He called back, wincing when he came back to face the direction of the wind. “Lead the way Dane.” He knew the man was more adept to lead the way. He was practically a Tokota himself.

Knik on the other hand wasn’t as fond of the idea of being led. She wouldn’t mind the dominant starter doing so. For she respected status. But Dasha was a submissive Tokota. So, with that thought in mind Knik let out a snorting chuff before pushing herself on faster. Lifting her legs up higher so she could cover more distance.

Though by her doing this. She left Nico in her wake.

The merle brute let out a pitiful whine. The wind hitting him straight on now without his shield of protection. Grumpily grunting under his breath he furrowed his brow before curling his upper lip. His eyes danced around the group, deciding on his next victim. It so happened to be Poallu. The dom female was more than content in letting the younger Tokota stick by her side. Using her larger form to help shield him from the frozen air.



Poallu nipped affectionately at Nico’s head, trying to get the merle to join her in an easygoing trot. The winds could chill you right down to the bone, yes; but if he could keep up with her, they could mooch off one another’s additional heat. And the faster they moved, the warmer they’d get.

Dane nudged Dasha into a light run at Akira’s request. He didn’t want to get too far ahead, especially with the knowledge that this hill they were apparently on eventually sloped downwards, and from what he could tell at a distance, it sloped quite suddenly. Nearing the edge, where the heat in the air was much more visible even in the snowstorm, and at a point where the sounds of the herd below were muffled, but not entirely silenced, by the storm; Dane pulled Dasha to stop. From here they could overlook the cluster below and make a better judgment call than the one they’d have made so far away.

It looked like the herd was huddling together to shield one another from the storm. The youngest, the smallest, were obviously pinned closer to the middle; while the older males--Dane knew from the sheer weight of their antlers--shuffled around on the outer rim.

Now. How this went down depended entirely on what their goal was…

Bring back the biggest?

The fastest?

The most…?

Dane inclined his head to the side as he processed the information below. Dasha turned, pacing shortly along the edge, watching the herd just as intently as her handler.



Nico let out a noise between an enthusiastic yip and a dramatic depressing yowl. He loved being out, but he did not love the snow. But none the less he picked up his pace to stick by her side, even if he wasn’t happy about it.  

Akira gave Knik’s ran a light pull. Keeping the extended marked female from full out bolting to stay ahead of Dasha. That was the last thing they needed. Competing Tokotas. Especially in this weather.

He kept a hand on her thick curly mane, hoping that his soothing pets were helping to keep the girl calm. Knik would get her chance to prove herself, especially when they made way on their attack of the grouped herd down below.

Lucus and Cupcake almost let out a howling cheer, if it wasn’t for common sense telling them that if they wanted the group to stick around they needed to keep their traps shut.

Lucus could feel the tremble of excitement that ran through the black brute’s body. He was excited. That was for sure. He paced backwards and forwards, keeping a little further back than the others. Even in the thickness of the blizzard he did not want to give the pack away with his lack of camouflage.

With the wind bringing the scent of the deer’s up towards them, Nico soon forgot about the cold that had deeply embedded in his bones. The merle boy crept slowly forward, body low, not low enough to hit the floor, but low so he wasn’t perceived as such a big mass. When he clocked the herd his tail gave an eager wag. He was definitely not as bothered with the cold any more.



From the display before him, Dane determined the other handlers and their Tokotas were perfectly capable. They knew what they were doing well enough that, without waiting for instruction, he said: “I’m going to circle around them,” and spurred Dasha into a sprint. They ran parallel to the edge and down the other side of the slope, out of sight of the herd. Even if they didn’t manage to catch any working together, Dasha could likely run down one of the deer that the others flushed out. Either way, he had his mind set: She wasn’t going to fail this, at least.

Poallu stayed by Nico, though was less intent on keeping warm now herself. She was energized, as usual, and by the time the other Tokotas were all ready to go, so was she. Still, she was a good listener and waited, somewhat impatiently, for Lucus and Akira to call the shots; tail swaying high above her back to illustrate her eagerness. When she looked ahead, Dane and Dasha were making a wide circle around the herd. For the most part they had gone unnoticed, though a couple of deer nearest to the two did scatter further into the cluster.

In that way, the deer below moved almost like a school of fish—when some of them moved the others did as well, but only until the swell was over, and then they calmed. Not all of them were onto the danger just yet, and those that were felt perfectly safe in their new places within the crowd.

Dane slowed Dasha down to a standstill, watching the two atop the hill and waiting to see what they had planned before making any further decisions.



Lucus and Kiro bobbed their head at Dane’s declaration. They both knew that it was best to have the herd surrounded for an efficient hunt. The pair then turned to face one another, a silent conversation passing between them. it Was when Akira gave one singular nod of his head, a click of his tongue, and a slight urge of his heels did he and Knik make way to the opposite side to which Dane and Dasha had moved to.  

Knik knew that the hunt was drawing nearer and nearer. The curly maned female practically danced across the sand. Making sure to look oblivious to the herd as she could muster. She didn’t want to be the reason for the herd to bolt. In fact, she wanted to be the one to take the kill down. All though, she wasn’t entirely sure how she was supposed to muster that with a human upon her back.

The same thought was going through Cupcakes mind. He was eager to get going, stood on the slope he panted as he watched the deer twitch and move. A few flaring their nose as they tried to scent the air for the movement that had caught a few of their eyes. But it was futile, the wind was too harsh, the snow to thick. Even with his dark pelt the brute felt invisible.

When Kiro slid from the saddle, quickly taking to unsaddle the girl. Knik started to tremble with anticipation. She resisted the urge to let out a noise, instead choosing to stand ridged as she waited for the others to be ready.



Dane also fell from Dasha’s back--gracefully, but loose and inconspicuous, so he wouldn’t cause any alarm amidst the herd. He was ready, though he slinked off to the far side to avoid getting caught in the middle of the chaos, once it did start. He couldn’t help, after all.

Poallu was content to stay standing precisely where she was. Center of the herd. Right in front. She leaned against the edge of the hill eagerly, leaning further and further forward with each second until she had to move a paw forward to keep her balance. Her ears twisted to listen to the humans around her, but she remained fully focused on the prey.

Then she charged.

When the deer started moving, Dasha’s ears flattened and she hesitated. She’d never had anything run towards her before; yet at Dane’s harsh call of reassurance, the cream-coated female snapped out of it and was, suddenly, all game. She twisted herself, aiming to knock down the nearest deer though it leapt sideways and past her. She gave chase immediately, her long loping gait unable to keep up with the deer just then, but if she kept almost catching it, kept veering it from one side to the next, it would either eventually lose its balance or she’d get a lucky jump.

Its leg caught in between a cluster of rocks and it fell, skidding across the snow.

Dasha’s strategy had worked, though the back-and-forth of it had tuckered her out as well. She didn’t let the deer go, grabbing it by the neck and holding it as she flopped down onto her side. Weight alone, and the sheer strength of her jaws, would prevent the animal from escaping.



Once Lucus was off Cupcakes back he bolted, Nico eagerly now by his side. The extended marked merle letting out a bark as he went, the sound vibrating out all around them. Rattling the herd in to even more chaos.

Cupcake moved much quicker than Nico, already a few yards ahead of him. The black brute bravely ventured in to the fold. Not bothered at all that there were flying forms of brown and hooves near his face. He snapped his jaws, eagerly, a vibrating growl rattling from his maw. He didn’t waste much time to pick a target, fully aware that Knik had joined the group.  

With one powerful push of his hind legs he throw himself at one of the deer’s, body hitting the creature straight on. Claws gripping and teeth finding flesh. The deer put up a good fight, but it was nothing but victory for the skull faced brute.

Knik ventured differently from Cupcake, now with Nico at her flank the pair moved around the edge of the group. Pushing their muscles to exertion, keeping up even with the fastest and fittest of the bunch. It was one of them that was her target. Panting hot breaths of white steam, the curly maned girl pushed herself on harder and harder until she leaped.

And like that she went rolling, Nico barking all the way behind her. When the Tokota and deer came to a stop, Knik didn’t even have to put her teeth to its neck. The impact crushing the deer quickly. She paused, confused and a little disappointed. That was until Kiro was in her face, and pulling her muzzle side to side in an over excited form of affection.

Lucus let out a holler from on top of the slope. Fist pumping the air as Cupcake blundered up to receive his praise of a job well done.