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 Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2022 2:46 pm
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2022 5:32 pm
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The day had started out frigid, and the clouds had hung low in the sky, hinting at the burden they carried within. She had headed out with the other gatherers early in the morning, as usual, and they had planned to return earlier than usual, to ensure that everyone was back before the snow finally hit. And while they had headed out beyond the protection of their valley home, to gather whatever resources they could out there, some of the more experienced gatherers had recognized the storm coming in and had turned back, to be closer to the herd lands.
Lona, however, had been further out, and had missed the call to head back with the others. She often wandered away from the other gatherers, as she enjoyed the quiet that being on her own offered her, and sometimes she ended up on the outer reaches of where they normally gathered.
She had lost track of time, losing herself to the motions and simply relaxing while surrounded by the quiet winter air. The snow had started falling around her, and while it made her shake her head to get the flakes the landed on her hair and skin off, Lona had thought little of it. She was used to working in snowfall, and what she was dealing with now was nothing unusual for her. It wasn't until the snowfall quickened that Lona realized how much time had passed since she had last seen or heard the other gatherers.
The snow was piling up around her, already making branches above her bend and bow; her hooves and ankles were already entrenched in heavy, cold snow. The mare recognized it was going to be too difficult to walk through, especially with no other tracks in the snow to guide her back to the Kateri's home.
Her head tilted as she thought of what to do. While she couldn't deny the slight jump in her heart, the quickening of her pulse, she knew it was better to remain calm and levelheaded. Panicking would do little for her in this moment. She needed to find a way to keep warm and shelter herself from the ever-increasing snowfall.
She looked down to the woven basket that she had filled to the brim with black walnuts, root vegetables, crab apples, oyster mushrooms, and branches intended for kindling. Lona always tried to bring back a plentiful amount of foraged goods to the herd, and she was thankful that she had spent the time gathering now that it seemed she would be out in the snow for a while. She was well beyond the safety of the valley's enclosure, the cold would be brutal if she simply stood there and waited, but she at least had some foraged items to keep her fed and warm.
The mare glanced around the woods around her. If she could find an old conifer, she'd be able to use its branches for protection from the snow and as a barrier between her body and the ground beneath her. Alright, let's see what I can find.
With her basket securely tied to her side, Lona searched for a place to make shelter from the storm.
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2022 7:19 pm
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Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2022 9:57 am
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Lona trekked through the snow with purpose-filled steps. There was no sense in standing in the middle of the woods and freezing, and she had gotten herself into this predicament by straying away from the other gatherers and losing track of time. Staying idle certainly wouldn't help her, and if there was anyone looking for her already, being chilled to the bone would make their job all the more difficult. With a head as cool and collected as the snow that had piled up around her, Lona sought out shelter.
It took her longer than she would have liked to find a suitably large enough pine tree that she could shelter under. Most of the trees she had passed were too young and their branches practically touched the forest floor with how bent and bowed the snow had made them. There was no space under them for her or the foraged goods she had carried with her.
Eventually, though, she finally found a large tree that she could fit under. Its foliage had been dense and sturdy enough to keep the layer of fallen needles beneath it safe from the snowfall, and she would be able to break branches off and give herself an additional layer of protection from the cold earth she would be resting on with plenty of head room for herself. It took her some time to set up a shelter, but the mare managed to set up a bed of branches to rest on and enclosed the space as best she could by layering broken-off branches from a branch still connected to the tree she had claimed for her shelter.
The biting cold was finally getting to her, even with all the work she was doing. At least with her shelter made, she could get a fire going. Lona did her best to dig a space out in the snow, making it large enough that, once she built and lit her fire, the smoke would be (hopefully) visible to any search parties looking for her. After collecting rocks, wood, and kindling, Lona dug through her basket to find the fire striker that she carried with her. She never envisioned herself as a survivalist, but she appreciated practicality, and having the tools necessary to get a fire going on her seemed plenty practical to her.
It took her a few strikes to get a flame going -- she wasn't nearly as practiced with starting a fire as her preparedness would suggest -- and she introduced the small flame from her kindling to the much larger fire pit she had dug to alert others to her presence. Lona had built herself a smaller, personal fire to keep herself warm closer to her shelter. The fire crackled and hissed as it ate into the fuel she had provided it, smoke quickly rising into the air.
With her tasks done, Lona went to lay in her shelter, taking a much needed break after her hard work. It was better to conserve her energy, after all.
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Posted: Thu Feb 03, 2022 10:36 am
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While flying was much faster, walking afforded the stallion a better view for searching. He didn't mind the walk so much as the time it was taking to find the missing group as well as the creeping anxiety that he was looking entirely in the wrong area. After all, the group could literally be anywhere, and since they all likely took shelter under the trees it would be impossible to spot them from the air. So Tocapo trudged through the deep snow, his large claws and hooves throwing the snow before him as he walked. He kept his head on a swivel, looking for even the smallest indication of another living soul. His ears turned this was and that, listening closely to the unnaturally silent forest for any peep out of the party he was looking for. What he hadn't expected was his nose leading him in the right direction. He couldn't see or hear anything, but he smelled the faintest hint of smoke. His heart skipped a beat before racing at the thought. This couldn't be a wildfire, as the blizzard would have stopped any from forming. This was an intentional fire. The gathering party!
He began running in the direction he thought the fire was coming from and before he knew it he began to see the smoke and steam, hear the hiss of the wet wood as it burned. His heart soared! "Hello!!" he called out, his voice booming in the strange quiet that follows a snowstorm. "Hello, anyone here! It's Tocapo! I'm here to take you home!" He finally found the signal fire and saw all the hoofprints and disturbed snow and branches. Even through his excitement though he could tell there was only one set of prints. His heart sank. This wasn't the party, but it WAS someone. He would help them of course, but his worry for Lona and the others grew. Were they all separated? It's so much harder to survive alone, not to mention how impossible it would be to find every last soquili if they were all scattered. No, not impossible, he corrected himself. Difficult, but doable. His determination strengthened. No one from the Kateri was dying from this blasted blizzard. He couldn't allow that.
He kept looking around the signal fire and then decided to follow the footprints that lead away until he saw what must be a makeshift shelter. "Hello?" he called softly, not wanting to scare whoever was hiding. "Hello my name is Tocapo and I'm here to help!"
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Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2022 7:19 pm
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Lona stayed close to the fire she had brought back to her shelter, shifting her body closer to the warmth it offered her. The night had practically chilled her to the bone, and the sleep she had gotten had been light and easily interrupted as the wind picked up and the deafening silence of the snow building up around her. Every so often she would wake with a jolt to see her fire dying out, charred remains with embers flickering at what little bits of viable fuel remained, and she would have to quickly toss on some new kindling from what she had in her basket.
When then morning came, she was up before the sun's light had touched the snow that blanketed the ground. A sigh escaped her. She knew she could make do for a few days out here, if that's what it took, but if she was found sooner, she'd be all the more grateful.
Lona rummaged through her basket of foraged goods, finding a few things to eat to tide her over for now. Conserving her food was important, she knew that, and she carefully took consideration over how much she should eat.
Time passed, and Lona stayed close to her fire, her gaze staying trained on the flickering of the flames. Her ears flickered at the sound of someone calling out, her gaze lifted to as she trained her ears on the sound. That voice... was it?
"Hello!" She returned the calls. It was hard to fight the smile that came to her mouth when she heard the name that belonged to that oh so familiar voice. "Tocapo? It's me, Lona!" With careful movements, the mare shifted her weight and stood up from her spot to meet Tocapo outside of her shelter. She winced as the harsh light of the sun reflecting off the snow hit her eyes, and she blinked rapidly to help her eyes adjust. Once she was able to see again, she smiled softly at the Stallion. "I have to say, I'm glad to see you, though I wish we could have met today in better conditions."
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Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2022 9:17 am
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Posted: Mon Feb 07, 2022 6:54 pm
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The mare nodded her head and smiled reassuringly at Tocapo. "I'm fine, I'm fine, I promise," came her gentle, calm response. She had made it through the night, warmed by her fire, and had no injuries to speak of; Lona had made it through the blizzard unscathed, aside from the slight chill she had had to endure through the night.
"I missed the others. I got too far away from them while gathering, and when I returned to where I had last seen them, they were already gone." She gazed over her shoulder at her encampment before looking back to the stallion. "Though it seems gathering extra was useful, all things considered."
"Unfortunately, I don't know where the other's headed," she sighed. "To be honest, I don't really know which way home is from here. I got turned around quite a bit while I was looking for shelter in the snow storm."
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Posted: Tue Feb 08, 2022 12:51 pm
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Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2022 2:29 pm
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Lona couldn’t help the titter that escaped her as Tocapo dove eagerly to retrieve the supplies she had carried with her. She returned his beaming smile with one of her own, dipping her head in a deep show of thanks. “Thank you very much, Tocapo,”
“If you know the way home, then I think we should head towards it, at the very least.” She gave a thoughtful hum as she considered their plan of action from there. “It might be better to head directly back home. If the others have already made it we’ll know it, and the others back home will at least know we’re safe, as well. If the other gatherers are still out, we’d be able to look for them together, at least. Two would be better than one, don’t you agree?”
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Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2022 4:24 pm
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