Sniffing the ground, the scent of a rabbit came to the Alpha's nose and his ears twitched. Rabbits were always a good source of food for the pack. Sure some were small but some could become big, alas nothing like the boar that Leander and the hunting party had gotten that one time and the deer that lived in these lands. Of course there would be hunts that would allow them to get the bigger prey for now, they would make due with the rabbits. Turning his head so he could look over his shoulder, his emerald gaze landed upon the others who came with him.
"Stay together, Tenderfoots stick to at least one Preyfinder. No wandering off." Magus instructed before turning his gaze to the land before.
The woods were always lovely and the day was a good one at least. It was hot but the heat wouldn't stop them from hunting. The pack needed food and they would get food, that was the task of the Preyfinders as well as Beta and Alpha. That was just one task at paw.
Face struggled to follow along, raising his nose to the wind and wondering what it was exactly that the others scented. Regardless of how hard he tried, Face couldn't catch scents like the other Tenderfoots, quietly pondering on whether it really was his nose or not. But even that boar Leander had brought back--Face hadn't smelled the scent of blood and prey nearly as immediately as some of the other dogs at camp, mostly noticing the kill once he actually saw it.
It was more than frustrating, being out with Preyfinders who were obviously very capable and Tenderfoots who were learning--it was embarrassing! He wasn't sure why everyone wanted him to be a Preyfinder so badly when he consistently insisted he wanted to be a Fighter. Still, from what he understood, Tenderfoots had to try and learn both before they chose one calling, so he pushed his nose to the ground and pretended he could smell what every other dog was saying they smelled.
face // male // jack russell mix // fawnstalker // tenderfoot
Taking several steps forward as he sniffed the air, Magus soon came to a halt once more. There was no need to rush and the young Alpha couldn't help but worry about those who were with him. Sure the Preyfinders were strong and fully capable of handling themselves. However, what of the Tenderfoots? They were young and inexperienced, but if Magus kept them at camp all the time then they would never learn nor gain any experience. So taking the Tenderfoots with them as the only way for them to learn and know what to do. Thank goodness relations with the Rotstalker Pack seemed to be going well and no strays were around to pose a threat if they were.
Magus turned around to see how the others were doing, though his emerald gaze was soon directed toward Face. The youngster seemed to be having a little bit of trouble. Either that are Face was just taking things slowly and carefully. Taking several steps toward the youngster and coming to a halt four pawsteps away from the Tenderfoot, he gave Face a kind smile.
Jeez, what awful luck. Hunting in itself took concentration, but watching all the tenderfoots made it more difficult than it needed to be...especially since the one that had chosen to gravitate towards Cypress seemed completely and utterly clueless. Cypress walked close by, trying hard not to snort in frustration as the young pup wiggled the front of his head towards the ground in useless manner.
Not that Cypress was well-versed in scent-hunting himself. His skill was in catching sight of their prey, as well as helping them chase it down. Sniffing out that which was hidden just wasn't something Cypress could do as well as others, and as such he left that role to those who were fit for it.
Magus soon took interest in Face's activities, and Cypress immediately halted behind Face. He did his best to put on a good appearance for the Alpha: alert, ready to hunt, but also with his head slightly down; respectful of Magus' control. Whenever he would do this he would just end up looking awfully stiff and unnatural, and it was these postures that Cypress was well known for: he was often mimicked in jest by others, or would be the punch-line to jokes.
This dog didn't care about the jokes of others, however, as it was only those above him that mattered. He kept his attention on the conversation in front of him, careful to catch every one of the Alpha's words.
Perched on a clump of tall branches a few yards ahead of the rest of the pack, Drake was where he could be most useful, snout in the wind eyes on the ground. Other trackers always had their nose in the dirt, but the Pointer didn't have those kind of limitations.
Sometimes he liked doing things "the old fashioned way", but the majority of the time he used his bird's eye view to his advantage. He also kept his eye on the rest of the Pack down below, taking private joy in being able to spy on what everyone else was doing. It made him feel more involved, more important.
Like any tenderfoot, he paid attention to the older dogs and waited for their signal, so when the Alpha stopped he didn't hesitate before leaping down and fluttering to the ground behind them. When he returned to the ground, his huge wingspan badly disturbed the trail, so he'd learned after many a rough scolding, that landing behind the Pack was always a better idea.
Cocking his head to the side curiosly, Drake loped up beside Cypress, bright green eyes examining the Saluki for answers, before he'd even think of interrupting Magus and Face.
"What's going on? How come we stopped? Can I help"? he asked eagerly, his tail thumping. Drake wasn't he most intelligent dog in the Pack, but he meant well.
While waiting for a answer from Face, Magus turned his emerald gaze to Cypress. Giving a smile to the Preyfinder and having a kind expression on his face. Yes, Cypress did look a bit stiff though Magus could see why that was.
The Alpha knew that Cypress was merely just showing respect though it seemed a bit odd when the dog was so stiff looking. Sure he knew that Cypress didn't mean for the stiffness to be there or give that appearance, but it was just how it worked for some reason. Turning his gaze to Face, Magus took a seat on the ground. Perhaps he was mistaken? Face seemed to be having a bit of trouble though...was Magus wrong on that? Sure the husky mix knew that he could be wrong and accepted that but there was no harm in making sure right? And if something was wrong, then Magus would do his best to help.
Hearing Drake's voice, Magus's ears twitched and the older dog turned his gaze to the other Tenderfoot. Keeping the same kind expression on his face. The wings that Drake held were a surprising thing, something that Magus didn't think would end up on dogs. Alas he was wrong and knew that Drake's gift with those wings could be of aid. Drake could go farther than others and see in a whole new way. Rather useful for hunting.
"Everything is alright Drake, my apologizes for us stopping." Magus started to answer. "I was just making sure that Face was doing alright."
Face tensed uncomfortably as it slowly went from one pack member asking what was wrong with him to several, and he shifted on his paws, all six of them awkwardly kneading at the earth while he tried and failed to figure out what to say.
Obviously the Alpha would notice he couldn't do this, but he'd hoped he'd be able to put it off longer; he hadn't even wanted to go on the hunting trip, and he didn't know how many times he had to say he wanted to be a Fighter before the rest of the pack gave in and let him be a Fighter. It wasn't like Fawnstalker had tons of them anyway--the pack was far more Preyfinder oriented and getting more Fighters would be better for the pack anyway.
The pack had welcomed him among their own when he entered their land but he knew better than to think they'd let him stay if he had no use to them. If they found out about his nose, his best hope was to become an Omega, and spend his life cleaning up the camp after them and looking after babies--assuming any Dam would let someone with a face like his near her pups.
"I'm just--" he floundered, a light whine coming from his muzzle as he tred to work a way out of this. "I think I'm a little sick, my nose is stuffed up. It's hard to hunt... I can't scent things as... well as I normally do with a stuffed up nose." He flicked his ears, trying to look very honest and definitely not like he was lying.
face // male // jack russell mix // fawnstalker // tenderfoot
Cypress let out the smallest huff from his nose when Drake began talking to him. Another problem with having to work with the young dogs: they couldn't tell when Cypress was busy, not even a bit. But before it could bother him much, Magus gave the saluki the okay to relax.
He dropped some of his pose immediately and turned to Drake, though he kept an ear open for any information from Magus. "You heard him," Cypress said with far too much confidence for a dog that just heard the information himself, "just checking on Face." After glancing around a bit, he lowered his voice further and emitted a low whine. "To be honest, I'm not completely sure what he's doing, but if he's sick it better not travel."
Even with the fear of there being illness among the pack, Cypress couldn't help but feel as if Face was lying. The pup looked guilty, not sick, with his unusual number of legs shifting uneasily from under him.
Magus's attention was fully given to Face as he waited for the youngster to give some sort of answer. Tilting his head curiously, he wondered if Face was just a bit uncomfortable with all the adult members of the pack? Perhaps feeling a bit useless? It was a possibility, the amount of adults might be making the youngster nervous and lowering their confidence. That does happen with some Tenderfoots. Plus there was the fact that Face wasn't always part of the pack, the youngster might still be feeling a bit out of place. Wait...how long ago did Face join again?
Thoughts were broken as he heard the voice and light whine of the Tenderfoot before him. Emerald eyes showed the full attention the youngster was being given as well as concern. Sick? Hm.....well with the hot weather it was possible for anyone to get sick. Though...something didn't quite feel right with the youngster's explanation.
"Perhaps we should take you back to camp then, a stuffed nose can lead to other things. A visit to Caelum is in order as well. That is, if you want to go back to camp right now or do you want to stay with on the hunting party? You can still learn by observing us." Magus replied to Face.
Hearing the low whine from Cypress, the Husky mix's ears twitched as his emerald gaze glanced him. Rising to his paws, he gave a kind smell to the Preyfinder.
"Don't worry Cypress, I'm sure if it was catching more than young Face here would have it. Besides, whenever we do get to camp you can make sure Face goes to Caelum for me. Is that alright?" Magus started, once done he turned his kind gaze back down to Face awaiting a answer.
Drake's skinny spotted tail, which had up until then had beat a steady rythmn started to slow down until it instead resembled a pendulum on a clock that had rusted considerably. He cocked his head and glamced down at Face, his floppy ears lifting in concern. Instinctivley Drake knew that if the entire hunt stopped for him, Face would be embarassed half to death, and he wanted to be the one to keep his friend company instead of having the alpha escort him back- if it were possible. Plus, he wanted to figure out what was going on with him without every dog in the Pack watching.
The bird dog stepped forward, stirring leaves at his feet. "Uh Magus, I could take Face back couldn't I"? he suggested. "Then the hunt can keep going without us. You know, 'cause we're both Tenderfoots and all...".
Face could only cringe--thankfully hidden behind the skull he wore over his face--as progress on the hunt slowed to a grinding halt. He'd been trying to act like there was nothing wrong with his nose, pushing to train as a Fighter so he wouldn't have to pretend he could smell things that he couldn't while everyone around him seemed to be pushing for him to be a Preyfinder. So what if he had a lot of legs and he could move fast? As it was, the Preyfinders in Fawnstalker outnumbered the Fighters--he wouldn't have expected so much resistance to a candidate open to fill the role!
"I don't think I really need to go back..." Face muttered, shuffling all six of his paws anxiously. "I could just observe..." His ears perked as Drake offered to take him back, stepping closer anxiously to his friend. "Yeah, if I have to go back, Drake can take me! We don't have to stop everything for a sniffly nose..."
face // male // jack russell mix // fawnstalker // tenderfoot
Turning his emerald gaze to Drake as the Tenderfoot spoke, Magus waited for the younger dog to be done. He wanted to take Face back if the youngster wanted? Hm....perhaps Drake was just too nervous due to being around all of these more experienced Preyfinders? Or the Tenderfoot was merely helping a friend out.
"There is nothing wrong with having Tenderfoots on the hunt, you both are here to learn. As such the hunt isn't being stopped or interrupted." Magus explained to Drake. "Food is important but so is the teaching of Tenderfoots like Face and you. Teaching Tenderfoots is just as important, no matter what anyone else tells you."
Hearing Face speaking in his muttering, Magus's turned his gaze to the six legged Tenderfoot. A kind expression on his muzzle.
"If you believe you don't need to go back then you don't have to Face. You can stay and observe the rest of us." Magus answered.
Cypress stood uncomfortably, keeping still while waiting for them to make a choice. As far as he was concerned, he was okay with the two leaving. It would be less to have to watch, optimizing the chance of a successful chase.
And really, it was better for Face as well if the two left, Cypress thought. Learning how to hunt wouldn't help alleviate any sickness he may have caught, and we can hunt fine enough without the help of the young trainees. Face's absence wouldn't be a burden, but his presence would be.
Cypress remained quiet and continued to try to rationalize away the small amount of guilt he felt over wanting to his companions to leave, waiting for the smaller dogs to come to a decision.