FourDayz

Shinook 10662 | Lumiska 11806 | Kealoha 14893 5840 Words Marina nervously tugged her cloak over her tail as far as it could go. Now that they’ve stepped onto the main road, she only just noticed how much she had grown. Its edges barely covered the pink clouds on her sides. The tip of her tail hung way too low for the cloak to reach, leaving her pink curls exposed. At least she could somewhat rely on her mane to cover her face but there was nothing she could do about her pink nose. Now she regretted not attempting to stuff her hair into her helmet, as stupid as she might’ve looked. “Mornin’!” A man called to them from his cart as they passed. Shinook and Lumiska returned the greeting, Shinook is as cheerful as ever, waving her white puffy tail, and Lumiska was, well, Lumiska. The older scarred runner could only spare a grunt. The man’s gaze flicked over to Marina, expecting her to say something as well. She quickly ducked her head and kept walking as if she didn’t hear anything

Loyalty Trial: Never Leave a Man Behind Shinook 10662 | Lumiska 11806 | Kealoha 14893 Previous: Strangers in the Snow Pt.8 1055 Words Lumiska wanted to keep watch on the retreating bison, but he didn't have it in him to ignore Marina when she started shakingly apologizing to him. Wasn't this ironic. He turned to her, relief overflowing as he nuzzled her shoulder. "Hey," he said softly, trying to take a page out of Shinook's book and keep the gruff to a minimum, "I'm not mad at you, I never was. I'm just glad you're safe." Now that things had settled down somewhat, he couldn't help the shaking that took over, threatening to pull him to the ground. Lumi locked his leg in place; if he fell out here, he wasn't sure he'd be getting up. He pushed all that aside for now, and leaned back to look her square in the eyes, "I'm sorry", he took a deep breath, this was important, "I was never angry at you, and I'm sorry I made you feel that way. Today has been... eventful, and you've

Training Rank 3: Veterans in the World Shinook 10662 | Lumiska 11806 | Kealoha 14893 Previous: Strangers in the Snow Pt. 7 || Next: Strangers in the Snow Pt. 9 1537 Words Shina hadn’t seen his face, but she’d heard his tone and she’d watched as it shattered the semi-hopeful look that had started to linger in their companion’s eyes. She knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t mad at Marina herself, but she didn’t know that. She’d though the puller had looked dejected before, but watching her sit on her own by the fire, shoulders tense and glaring at the fire was making her heart ache with a furious need to offer comfort and reassurances. Instead, she peeked into the shelter, unsurprised to see Lumi plucking away, gaze lost in a desperate and lonely past. She slid inside and her presence bought his awareness back to the here and now. Shinook proceeded to wordlessly coax his attention towards the one that needed it, her small figure dark against the brightness of the flames.

Sustain Trial: Traditional Hunt Shinook 10662 | Lumiska 11806 | Kealoha 14893 Previous: Strangers in the Snow Pt. 6 || Next: Strangers in the Snow Pt. 8 1783 Words Marina waited for Shinook to settle down comfortably with Lumiska, then she set out for the tree line. She stood within the cover of the bare trees and looked out to the silent white plains. She watched the wind pick up the snow and dance with it through the air until she was satisfied, then started making a large circle around their little camp. Just to be sure no large feral predators were lurking about, she kept a careful eye on her surroundings for large footprints and marred trees. She dropped her head to the snow and began sniffing around. She caught the scent of pine, dirt, scat and old scent trails but nothing like that of the creature, nor that foul rotten scent from the moose carcass. If she was going to hunt too, then there was no point in stalking prey. Without her cloak, her blue and pink coat would be

Training Rank 2: Findings Our Bearings Shinook 10662 | Lumiska 11806 | Kealoha 14893 Previous: Strangers in the Snow Pt. 5 || Next: Strangers in the Snow Pt. 7 1403 Words Shinook hadn’t answered her question. Marina helped her pull Lumiska out of the wind. It wouldn’t be enough. The wind still pushed through the branches, carrying flurries with it. She shivered but the cold she felt couldn’t compare to what Shinook and Lumiska were going through. “Shinook?” She called out to the runner but both remained silent under the cloak. She needed to take action. Even if she couldn’t make a fire, she could at least build them something to block the wind. That was something she had plenty of experience with. She scoured the forest floor, searching for any thick sticks. She rolled them back one at a time and built a wall, pushing them into the snow and using the surrounding foliage to prop them up. With the base set up, she ripped the branches off the nearby pine trees and stacked them

Journey Trial: Expedition Shinook 10662 | Lumiska 11806 | Kealoha 14893 Previous: Strangers in the Snow Pt. 4 || Next: Strangers in the Snow Pt. 6 1676 Words From where they stood, they had a good view of the river, but the wind blowing across the frozen expanse raised swirling flurries that blurred the finer details. As they continued their hike, even the hazy horizon couldn't hide the extensive darkness of a brand new opening in the ice. "I think it just might," said Lumi, not quite managing to hide his astonishment. Further, in one of the rivers many bends, the ice had broken apart in an explosion of shards. It must've gotten a foothold in the shallows and launched itself out of the freezing waters. It may have avoided a watery grave, but between its long dip in subzero conditions, and its previous fight with the moose, the strange being's continued survival was either a miracle, or the darned thing was way stronger than they had previously suspected. *** “Scary…”

Loyalty Trial: No Man Left Behind Dayani 16003 | Reon 16688 | Stranger 15706 | Eli 15175 Previous: Echoes Pt. 2 1705 Words “What’s so funny?” Reon snapped. He glanced over his shoulder at Dayani who’s confused expression mimicked his own. “I didn’t say anything?” She responded, offended that he’d think she would find this situation funny. They both looked Stranger, the only one focused on the path ahead at the moment. “You’re hearing things, Reon.” The runner said. Well, duh! That’s what happens when your ears work! Was what he wanted to say. He was sure he heard one of them chuckling to themselves and as much as thought Dani might be lying, he could tell she was worried about leaving Eli. Stranger too. There was a dark streak in the bushes way off to his right. He barely registered the motion and thought to ignore it when two more passed him. A long, low whoooop sounded somewhere behind him and suddenly the thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. “You guys get

Sustain Trial: Hunt Dayani 16003 | Reon 16688 | Stranger 15706 | Eli 15175 Previous: Echoes Pt. 1 || Next: Echoes Pt. 3 1443 Words Reon collapsed onto the hard packed earth. His breath created little puffs of dust clouds with each pant. “Oh man, I’m not looking forward to the way back.” He gasped. Dayani nudged his side with a dirt caked paw. “Get up! Or you’ll pass out!” Dayani herself could barely stand. Her legs felt like jello. Stranger leaned against her other side. Reon protested but obeyed. It turned out the first leg of the journey was the easy part. After a few hours of rest, Eli had them running long into the night before letting them sleep a few hours and taking it up again. Nevertheless, they made it. Though they couldn’t see the herd yet, a chorus of bellows and stomping hooves could be heard some distance away. “Y’all did just fine,” Eli said, steadying his own breathing. He unhooked the young pullers from the sled and secured it to a tree. “Water

Journey Trial: Expedition Dayani 16003 | Reon 16688 | Stranger 15706 | Eli 15175 Next: Echoes Pt. 2 1770 Words The sky had just begun to lighten when the door to the longhouse creaked open. A brown patchwork chaser padded in quietly, his eyes scanning the fur beds for his targets. The first was a young puller by the name Reon. Eli reached around until he felt a muscled thigh under his paw. He shook him until a slitted green eye opened and glared at him. “Up an’ at em, son.” Eli murmured. Confused, Reon raised his head to check the time. He could still see stars twinkling in the greying dawn sky. “Eli? What? The sun’s—” Eli silenced him with a twack from his long tail and moved onto the next bed. Dayani lay in this one. The white lines tracing her brown hide were quite easy to spot even in this light. Dayani was much quieter waking up than Reon, who refused to even get out of bed. She lightly stepped onto the floor and stretched her back and legs. Lastly, was Stranger