[RoF] Beautiful Things

    Day One: Beginning

   Cassandra was more than reluctant to be taking Tazzy Devil out for the rite of fortitude. He was, by nature, a little pup, and he had to be focused if he was going to complete this rite. They had so far gone in the order they had needed to. With the Rite of Merit being done before the Rite of Fortitude, but it was for exactly this reason. Cass simply was not sure if he was ready for this. The Tokota was certainly a stud, and she wanted to be able to breed him, but she did not know if it would be worth letting him run loose in the woods for almost a week.

   Despite her reluctance, they were up and ready early in the morning on the day of the start of the journey. Both Tazzy Devil and Cass were yawning wildly as they got dressed, tacked up, packed, and ready to go. They were not used to getting up this early; Cass had gotten them both up at 4 AM when her alarm went off to make sure they would both be ready for this. If they were going to do this, they were going to do it right, Tazzy’’s hard-headedness be damned.

   The journey would take them down through the valley, through a nature reserve for at least three days (which meant three days of no hunting), through the mountains and out to the other side where they would be judged. It was going to be a long, hard journey, but the journey itself was not what worried Cass. She just wanted to make sure Taz would behave himself during the journey. The last thing she needed was for him to run off or get injured while they were out in the middle of nowhere. Along with that thought, she packed some extra supplies just in case.

   Most of the first day was uneventful, with them trekking long miles across a lot of flat ground, treeless plains, and sparse woodlands. Tazzy was bored and Cass knew he was, but attempted to keep him from straying too far off the marked path anyway. He did chase a few squirrels and field mice, but other than that he was strangely obedient, allowing Cass to lead them through the landscape.

   When they laid down for bed that night, Cass was feeling good about her decision. She could only hope it would continue on into the next morning.

   Day Two: Rabbits

   On the morning of the second day, Cass woke up to find Tazzy Devil gone. She cursed and wriggled out of her sleeping bag, getting to her feet and looking around, trying to spot the missing wolverine marked Tokota. Of course he had run off, of course, what did she expect from him? They had named him after the damn tazmanian devil, after all. What had she been thinking? Just as she was working herself up into a tizzy, she felt something nudge her on the back. Whirling around, Cass prepared to defend herself, before finding herself staring into the face of her Tokota. He was holding a rabbit in his mouth, which he dropped at her feet, tail wagging slowly.

   Cass gave a sigh of relief, picking up the (slightly slobbery) rabbit and examining it. “Next time, tell me before you go hunting,” she laughed, sitting down to get to work on saving the meat and pelt for later.

   Once she had taken care of the rabbit and gotten them both breakfast, it was time to get moving again. The food pepped them both up, and it was a good thing they had packed so much; they were about to reach the river that separated the free land from the nature preserve, so Cass made sure to check and double check the food rations. It took a lot to feed a huge, hungry Tokota, and with Cass added on top of it it was a pretty big amount. Tazzy carried most of the food in the saddle bags on his sides, which was easy for him considering how big he was. He also had not tried to escape from the saddle once yet, which was also a good thing. Cass feared what might happen to the contained food should it be crushed on the ground due to Taz wriggling out of it. If anything happened to their food supply, they would be in serious trouble.

   Thankfully, the rabbit Tazzy Devil caught that morning seemed to help at least a bit. It would at least be enough for Cass to eat while they were traveling. She gave Taz a pat on the back upon thinking about it, smiling to herself. Perhaps it was not such a bad idea to take him. Perhaps he would actually behave this time. Perhaps he would prove her wrong.

   Perhaps.

   Day Three: Sanctuary

   The animal preserve they crossed into upon crossing the river was absolutely beautiful. It was closer to the base of the mountains than they had been before, so the land went from grassy and flat to rocky and rugged. The earth seemed to metamorphosize in front of them, and it was beautiful. Everything seemed so quiet and pristine. Even the wildlife was at peace, with a doe and a buck white-tailed deer grazing quietly even as Taz and Cass passed through, apparently not recognizing the Tokota as a threat. That was to be expected, though; because hunting was not allowed, it was highly likely that they had never really come in contact with one, except for the occasional wild one that strayed across the path. Tazzy was obviously tempted, but he managed not to chase after the deer, which was a good thing. Cass reminded herself to give him some treats when she had the chance.

   Everything seemed so well preserved here. Free from the grip of human influence, nature had been allowed to grow untamed, which provided for a lot of opportunities to explore and sniff around for Taz. Making sure they did not stray too far from the path, Cass did let the wolverine marked Tokota explore a bit, allowing him to sniff at some markers and explore a few hidden areas. They even came across a little clearing tucked away in the forest, where they found a deer and her newborn fawn, stumbling onto shaky legs, fur still slick and wet from birth and being cleaned by its mother. They stayed quiet the whole time, watching the tender moment for a few minutes before moving on, letting the doe and her fawn bond in peace.

   Taz was behaving very nicely indeed. He had not lunged at the doe or her fawn once, and though Cass could feel him trembling with excitement, he did not break his form. Cass was proud of him, for listening to her for once. He was doing... quite well, actually. She had faith that they would reach the end in one piece, and together. Their biggest challenge, however, would be crossing through the treacherous mountains and cave systems. At their current rate, they would reach it by the next day, which gave them a full day to work their way through and get to the end. Time was not what Cass was worried about, though; she was worried about Taz. Even though he was behaving, going through caves was tough, and he had not done it yet because he was not yet dominant.

   Still, Cass tried to have faith. Tazzy Devil had proved her wrong before, and had been proving her wrong this whole time. Perhaps the caves would not be so difficult for him. Taz had been in the mountains before, and he was generally a sure-footed creature, not too prone to falling down or off of things. They would both be fine.

   Day Four: Caves

   They reached the caves the next day like Cass predicted, and at first Taz was a bit hesitant. Knowing they were going to have to do this, Cass had packed a few head lamps and flashlights before they had left, so she secured one to herself and another to Taz, even though he would have much better eyesight than her in the darkness. Better safe than sorry, and Cass most certainly did not want to be sorry.

   And so they went, journeying into the great caves. Every step they made echoed off of the walls, and their lights reflected off of crystals stuck in the cavern walls, glittering with every move. They were cast in a rainbow of light, all reflecting off of their two head lamps, and it was beautiful. This whole journey had seemed like something out of a fairytale to the both of them. They had never travelled so long or so far, and while she thought she would despise it at first, Cass was coming to love the journey and everything they had seen.

   The gentle sound of a rushing waterfall filled their ears as they walked past it, and Tazzy stopped to look to his right where it was coming from. A ray of light filled the gap opening up in the cave, spreading warm glowing light through the cave and over the Tokota and his handler. They both paused to bask in the beauty of it, Taz sticking his nose close to the opening to feel the water vapor spray onto his muzzle and the front of his mane. It was almost like he was sticking his muzzle into liquid gold, with the way the sun was lighting up the waterfall and them at the same time.

   It truly was beautiful.

   Day Five: Finish

   The next day brought them out of the caves and into the other side of the mountains. They were officially twenty miles away from the ending, or at least that was what Cass’s map told her. It all seemed like a dream; it had only been less than a week and yet they both felt like their lives were changed forever. There were things they had seen on this journey that would stick with them for the rest of their lives. The deer and her fawn were one of them, and especially Taz sticking his nose into the liquid golden waterfall. It made Cass wish she had brought a camera along if only for that moment, so she could have it to carry around. But then, it would always be immortalized in her memories.

   Tazzy Devil whined as he sensed his handler start to go off into her own head, and Cass was shocked back to real life, tightening her grip on the halter as she removed the head lamp from her and Taz’s head. “Yeah, yeah, I hear you boy. Go ahead and take us home, alright?” Taz’s tail wagged at the command and he started to walk forward, Cass steering him to make sure he stayed on the path. Although it was the last day, there was no real rush for them to get anywhere. They were twenty miles away, which could easily be crossed in a few hours at a slow trot, like what they were going at now.

   Fresh tracks in some of the leftover mountain snow told them there were rabbits nearby, and even though they were out of the reserve and therefore could hunt if they wished, Tazzy kept to the trail. They were so close to finishing it did not matter anyway. They even still had some food left over in some of Taz’’s saddle bags, which they were planning on eating for a celebratory dinner once they were finished and back home.

   By the time the ending poles were in sight, it was only about noon, as they had started their journey early and planned on ending it early too. A quick scan of the area up ahead told them at least one of the teams had beat them to it, but this was not a race. They had probably missed all of the beautiful things Taz and Cass had seen, too, and that would be a real tragedy. How many people could say they had seen what they did?

   “Thanks for being a good boy,” Cass said, leaning down to whisper in Tazzy’’s ear before giving him a final celebratory pat. They had finished the race.

   Together.