Exploring: The Search Begins

A slight breeze blew through the trees, rustling the orange leaves. Birds flew back and forth between the branches, catching bugs while the sun slowly rose on the horizon.
Two tokotas and their riders slowly made their way along a forest path, listening to the chirping of the birds above them.
One of them, a brown yeti, the other one a reddish-brown, walked next to each other listening to the birds and the chatting of their riders.
Embla and Sozin were out searching for a glade that they had heard about, it was said to look like it was taken straight from a fairytale.
They had gotten the general direction, and knew of a few landmarks that they needed to keep an eye out for, as it was difficult to find without them.

“You know, I really like your clothes. They just look fantastic!” Embla said giving Sozin a smile.
“Thank you! Indigo really suits you.” Sozin replied.
“And I’m really jealous of your braids. I can never manage to get my hair to stay in one.” Embla sighed.
“When we make camp I could try to make you one.” Sozin smiled, as did Embla.
They kept talking about various subject while their tokotas walked on along the path.
Their tokotas just looked around and didn’t really listen to what the girls were saying anymore as it didn’t really concern them anyway.
Soon they came to the edge of the forest, and they stopped. Embla and Sozin looked around, searching for the landmark that was supposed to be there.
They dismounted so that they could have a better look around. As they looked around, they let their tokotas roam, giving them the chance to stretch their legs, or take a breather.

Valkyrja and Nanna looked at their handlers while they stood and looked around, pointing occasionally, as they tried to spot the landmark.
Nanna looked around, and spotted a small river not far from them. She got up and walked over to it, being followed by Valkyrja.
They quenched their thirst and laid down, resting while they had the chance. Valkyrja put her head between her front legs and sighed, enjoying the feel of the sun on her fur.
Nanna followed her example and laid down, watching the dragonflies and damselflies hovering over the water. She was entranced by their iridescent colors, shifting in all kinds of colors.
Following a blue colored one with her eyes, she perked her ears when it flew in front of her, hovering for a few seconds before landing on her nose.

Valkyrja looked over at Nanna, and it almost looked like she had a staring contest with the dragonfly on her nose. She sighed, that girl sure could be strange sometimes.
The two females raised their heads as their handlers called them over. They had found the landmark, a single willow tree surrounded by a single rock pointing in every cardinal point.
They trotted up to the two girls, who got into their saddles and they started on their journey again. This time they went to the east, after following the marker.
They kept going for a few hours, they found the second landmark fairly quickly and kept going right away. The girls decided to dismount and walk for a bit, feeling the need to stretch their legs.
Hardly twenty minutes had passed when Nanna felt a raindrop hitting her nose. She snorted and shook her head. Shortly after Valkyrja did the same, after getting a raindrop on her nose.

Sozin and Embla looked up at the sky. It had been clear with not a single cloud in sight and now it was filled with rain clouds, and the rain had started pouring down like a waterfall from the sky.
Together with their tokotas they started running for cover, wanting to get out of the rain as soon as possible.
Sozin spotted a small cave entrance not far from them, she tugged Embla’s sleeve to get her to follow her.
They ran even faster, with their tokotas close behind them. As Valkyrja and Nanna saw the entrance they sped up and was there within seconds.
Not long after so was Embla and Sozin. The two girls moved past their wet tokotas, further into the cave, being trailed by the tokotas.
Embla took out a few things from the pack on Nanna’s saddle and together with Sozin the two managed to start a small fire.

Nanna and Valkyrja were both lying down eating while Embla and Sozin finished making their own meals. The rain didn’t seem to want to let up, so the two had decided to stay in the cave until it stopped raining.
It hadn’t taken long for their clothes to dry, and Nanna and Valkyrja were also dry and cozy next to the fire.
The four listened to the sound of the rain as it seemed to intensify outside the cave. Nanna got more drowsy by the second and before they knew it she had fallen asleep next to Valkyrja, leaning on her slightly.
The yeti yawned and settled her head down on her pawn, following her friend's example, and was soon sleeping soundly.
Sozin and Embla were talking a little trying to pass the time, as neither of them were sleepy. While they talked Sozin sat behind Embla trying to get her hair to stay in a braid.

“You weren’t kidding. Your hair almost seem to have a mind of its own.” Sozin said.
“I know, it’s a total pain to deal with sometimes.” Embla laughed.
“I can understand that.” Sozin said with a slight giggle.
Embla didn’t really know who she managed to do it, but after a while Sozin clapped her hands.
“All done.” She said cheerfully.
Embla looked back, and to her amazement she saw that Sozin had actually managed to give her a braid, and it was holding.
“It looks amazing. I’m a bit surprised that it’s still holding.” Embla said with a smile on her face.
“Who knows it might break free during the night.” Sozin said returning the smile.
They sat talking for a little while longer until they both yawned, and they both slipped into their sleeping bags, said goodnight and shortly after they both fell asleep.

In the morning they woke up to their tokotas barking outside the cave. It had stopped raining, and the sun was shining.
They took their things, and quickly packed them up, and joined their tokotas outside.
A few deers were staring at them, tails raised and ears pointing towards them. Sozin and Embla didn’t pay them any attention, they got up in their saddles and got their tokotas to go forward, the deers watching every step they took.
Embla and Sozin decided to let their two girls run off some energy and got them into a canter. They seemed to really enjoy it, letting out happy barks as they ran side by side.
The girls couldn’t help but laugh, the happiness their tokotas felt was infectious and they also felt the excitement as they were.
The rush of the wind against their faces and the feeling of it going through their hair felt incredible. Embla thought to herself that this was something that she needed to do more often.
Sozin looked over at Embla and smiled.
“First one to that tree over there doesn’t have to make dinner today.” She said pointing at a tree further ahead of them. Embla smiled and nodded as they let their tokotas take off in full speed.
If they were lucky the weather wouldn’t take a turn for the worse again, and hopefully they would manage to reach the glade without any incidents.