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Description
The storm had died down a bit, either that or Robyn and Zavala had finally gotten far enough up that the blizzard was below them. Now all they faced was a steady, but manageable snowfall and a sharp but not breath-taking wind. Robyn had her eyes out for a possible camp; light was precious here on the mountains. Zavala was also keeping her sentence, though to her, supper was more important than shelter. She had occasionally scented a rabbit or fox, but those would do little to sate her larger appetite. After all the white out had expended quite a lot of effort on both their parts, leaving the creamy tokota feeling a voracious hunger, and exhaustion had started to set in for Robyn, her eyes barely staying open at times.

But even if Zavala had chosen to go after the rabbits or foxes she scented their trails were days old. Most of the larger animals would be back down the mountain, such as the grass-eating prey like deer or elk. Bears and other animals would also be hibernating, making it harder to track them.

Just then a scent Zavala didn't recognize wafted by her nose. It was not a fresh scent and it smelled of iron and copper – blood. A hunter-predator had left this scent, obviously not a bear. Perhaps a wolverine, or lynx? Still the scent was very tempting for the hungry young tokota. She tried to pull on her reins to go toward the scent but Robyn was too tired to put up with the tokota trying to throw her weight around.

And Robyn thought she had finally spotted a place that would be good for them to spend the night, and with a tug of the reins, her numb, despite the thick gloves she was wearing, fingers struggling with the reins for a moment before she turned Zavala toward a small outcropping where a hollow in the rocky surface had been carved out with the passage of time.

“Please.. please be an empty cave” Robyn whispered and she dismounted Zavala, her legs trembled as they bore her weight for the first time in hours. Zavala went on guard the instant Robyn dismounted, protecting her rider from the elements as best she could and keeping a watchful eye for any sudden surprises.

The two of them went into the opening together, the cave did not go very far, it was more just a hole in the wall then anything else. Zavala blinked, her blue eyes quickly adjusting to the light, Robyn's human eyes taking a bit longer to adjust to the dimness within.

Digging through a knapsack she fumbled with a flashlight for a moment before with a click she turned it on. Though the cave was not as large as she would have liked it was enough for a fire, their supplies and close sleeping quarters.

She took off Zavala's tack after she started a fire, first warming her fingers so she did not fumble so much with the straps and she carefully laid the tack away before they both warmed up by the fire.
Robyn felt herself growing more and more tired, but she managed to get some of the food she had brought and gave it to Zavala, and she ate as well. The food did manage to sate Zavala's appetite and Robyn had curled up next to the tokota's warm body, glad to be sharing this small space.

Zavala took a little while longer to go to sleep, now that she had food in her belly she had a chance to assess their stronghold a bit more thoroughly. She peered out into the night, but there was nothing but blackness and snow. Robyn snoring and the fire crackling and her own breathing were the only sounds her attentive ears picked up. There were no sharp scents, at least none of any predator. There was the scent of a rodent, perhaps a stoat or mouse, and much much more distant was the same scent she had smelled earlier along with the blood but it was such a long ago scent Zavala finally stopped worrying about it, closed her tired eyes and went to sleep.

Zavala and Robyn were both up before the dawn, It had stopped snowing at some point during the night, so they could look around a lot better. Robyn had been up before Zavala, as the creamy tokota had awoken to the smell of rabbit cooking, a pleasant smell for her once again empty belly. Stretching, Zavala nuzzled Robyn and she scratched the tokota under her chin.

“Breakfast will be ready soon girl. Why don't you look outside and see if you can find anything else out there?”

There was no sign of any threat having come across them while they slept. No strange scents, or familiar on the wind, there had been a rabbit sniffing around the cave, Zavala could see its tracks in the snow, it had probably been searching food, or had perhaps been going to use their shelter and had thought better of it when it had scented Robyn, much less Zavala. Or perhaps it was the same rabbit that was cooking up for breakfast now.

Zavala stepped outside, the rays of sunrise were starting to cast light on the snow, by midday if more clouds did not come in then they might have to worry about snow blindness. The air was cold, Zavala took a deep breath, feeling herself wake up more and more as she stretched, her legs and back reminding her of the work she had done yesterday.

It was not long though until breakfast was ready and Zavala joined Robyn once more in their warm hidey hole. Despite hunger starting to gnaw at the tokota's belly she hard learned long ago that wolfing down her food would get her no where fast and she took her time to chew each bit of the rabbit's meat though she did tear into it aggressively. Robyn did not take any of the rabbit, but ate more of the jerky, and melted and boiled the fresh snow for their water supply.

“Alright, since we seem to have found ourselves a safe place here we should try to hunt, and acclimate to the heights, we do not need to be getting altitude sickness now, not when we're getting so close.”

They spent a little longer in the cave, Robyn tiding up their supplies and re-checking everything for any unexpected leaks, breaks, damage, etc. Zavala spent that time grooming herself, not an easy task with this much fur but a necessary one when they might not get anywhere close to a bath for several more days.

Robyn chose to completely tack Zavala up again, and get all their supplies. They did not want to leave anything behind, Robyn was not sure they would be able to find the cave again, doing so would certainly be a nice bonus, but they needed to be prepared.

Zavala waited as Robyn swung back into the saddle and bent her head to the ground, using her nose to try and find the freshest scents.
There was obviously the rabbit, but now upon closer inspection Zavala could tell that it was indeed the rabbit she had for breakfast as she could pick up Robyn's familiar scent and the slight tang of blood where Robyn had likely shot the animal with a bow and arrow.

She chose to continue along the valley they seemed to have stumbled upon the start of, the sides of the mountain rising up around them and she saw trees in the distance. Where there trees there might be deer, or perhaps mountain goats. Maybe if she were lucky they would find a hibernating bear and be set for supplies until they got through the mountain pass and down to more populated lands.
The trees also provided some protection from the glare of the sun on the fresh snow so that was another reason to go toward the towering, but sparse trees.

Robyn had already readied her bow, even though Zavala tried her best to alert her to prey before she saw it, one never knew when a weapon or even a signal like an arrow being shot up into the sky would be needed.

There were no tracks from deer among the trees, though the bark had been torn at at one point, perhaps earlier in the winter or in the late fall there had been deer here that had migrated down the mountain as the cold drove them down.

Mountain goats were not to be found either, perhaps they would be farther up, or perhaps they were not in the right territory for the little creatures. However there was still hope, fox tracks, fresh in appearance and scent promised some tasty morsels if they could find the cunning creatures.
Now foxes were not Zavala's ideal prey, the things, like rabbits, changed their coat color for the winter, blending in with the snow, and they tended to be craftier at hiding just out of reach of a hungry tokota's teeth. With Robyn along though she could shoot down any teasing foxes.

Zavala had also not smelled the mysterious scent from yesterday either, another good sign. While there was always a chance of a hawk or other predatory bird swooping in for a kill Zavala had a harder time scenting them, and they often were not the best source of meat, tending toward the lean side and the feathers often took far too long to clean for the small bit of meat they provided to be worth the effort of hunting. Now turkey or quail were another matter, but it was unlikely Zavala would find either this high up.

Instead the pale tokota focused souley on finding the foxes, the fresh snowfall aiding her in the fact it meant the tracks were not overly mixed as of yet and it covered some of the older scents as well.
It made tracking down the den almost too easy. After careful consideration both Zavala and Robyn found a good place down wind of the den and waited.

They did not have to wait long. A fox peaked out of the hole and even though Zavala trembled at the sight, her hunter's instinct kicked in and she went completely still. Every muscle in her finely tuned body was tensed, she only had eyes for the prey now. Robyn immediately spotted the fox as it made its way cautiously out of its den.

The waiting was the torture, waiting for it to get far enough away that any other foxes would not hole up in the den for the rest of the day if they heard the fox's death scream, so that the fox started to feel safe, to stop using as much cover as possible, though its white pelt still blended with the snowy surroundings.

Finally Robyn drew the drawstring back, arrow tensed. She aimed, fired and with a soft thunk the arrow neatly pierced the fox's chest, instantly killing the small prey. Carefully Zavala made her way over to the animal, the red blood staining the white snow with the fox's death.
Robyn tied the corpse to the saddle, one down. They left the den for a while, searching for other prey, staying close the trees hoping the sparse vegetation would provide them with more life.
Zavala managed to catch a rabbit unawares and had quickly closed her large jaws over its neck before the small animal knew what had come for it. The den taunted them, they did not know if another fox lived inside, and they had no choice but to wait it out, not daring to get too close lest any fox that was there smell them.
Their patience paid off as another fox emerged from the den, perhaps looking for the first, but whatever drew it out was its undoing for as soon as she Zavala had actually gone in for the kill this time, stalking the fox and finally getting close enough where it sensed them. It had run, but it was too little too late and Zavala had brought her paw with its sharp claws down upon the fox's neck, crushing its windpipe as it struggled underneath her watchful, hungry eyes. Again Robyn strung the animal up, it was not much, it would barely be enough for dinner and then breakfast tomorrow, but after sniffing around the den and listening carefully Zavala could tell if there was anything in there it was not coming out.

Slowly they headed up, past the trees, looking for any more lucky breaks, but there did not seem to be any sign of a larger prey around. They were too high up, in too cold and barren a territory, or perhaps the animals had been able to sense the blizzard that had hit them yesterday and most had evacuated to hiding places or further down the mountain long before the storm hit and it had even a chance of wiping them out.

Robyn had decided turning back would not be worth it, if they could not find prey here today they should just get down the mountain as quickly as they could safely manage it, so instead she urged the creamy tokota away from her task of finding food and onto the task of covering as much ground as she could before the sun started to set.

Description
The storm had died down a bit, either that or Robyn and Zavala had finally gotten far enough up that the blizzard was below them. Now all they faced was a steady, but manageable snowfall and a sharp but not breath-taking wind. Robyn had her eyes out for a possible camp; light was precious here on the mountains. Zavala was also keeping her sentence, though to her, supper was more important than shelter. She had occasionally scented a rabbit or fox, but those would do little to sate her larger appetite. After all the white out had expended quite a lot of effort on both their parts, leaving the creamy tokota feeling a voracious hunger, and exhaustion had started to set in for Robyn, her eyes barely staying open at times.

But even if Zavala had chosen to go after the rabbits or foxes she scented their trails were days old. Most of the larger animals would be back down the mountain, such as the grass-eating prey like deer or elk. Bears and other animals would also be hibernating, making it harder to track them.

Just then a scent Zavala didn't recognize wafted by her nose. It was not a fresh scent and it smelled of iron and copper – blood. A hunter-predator had left this scent, obviously not a bear. Perhaps a wolverine, or lynx? Still the scent was very tempting for the hungry young tokota. She tried to pull on her reins to go toward the scent but Robyn was too tired to put up with the tokota trying to throw her weight around.

And Robyn thought she had finally spotted a place that would be good for them to spend the night, and with a tug of the reins, her numb, despite the thick gloves she was wearing, fingers struggling with the reins for a moment before she turned Zavala toward a small outcropping where a hollow in the rocky surface had been carved out with the passage of time.

“Please.. please be an empty cave” Robyn whispered and she dismounted Zavala, her legs trembled as they bore her weight for the first time in hours. Zavala went on guard the instant Robyn dismounted, protecting her rider from the elements as best she could and keeping a watchful eye for any sudden surprises.

The two of them went into the opening together, the cave did not go very far, it was more just a hole in the wall then anything else. Zavala blinked, her blue eyes quickly adjusting to the light, Robyn's human eyes taking a bit longer to adjust to the dimness within.

Digging through a knapsack she fumbled with a flashlight for a moment before with a click she turned it on. Though the cave was not as large as she would have liked it was enough for a fire, their supplies and close sleeping quarters.

She took off Zavala's tack after she started a fire, first warming her fingers so she did not fumble so much with the straps and she carefully laid the tack away before they both warmed up by the fire.
Robyn felt herself growing more and more tired, but she managed to get some of the food she had brought and gave it to Zavala, and she ate as well. The food did manage to sate Zavala's appetite and Robyn had curled up next to the tokota's warm body, glad to be sharing this small space.

Zavala took a little while longer to go to sleep, now that she had food in her belly she had a chance to assess their stronghold a bit more thoroughly. She peered out into the night, but there was nothing but blackness and snow. Robyn snoring and the fire crackling and her own breathing were the only sounds her attentive ears picked up. There were no sharp scents, at least none of any predator. There was the scent of a rodent, perhaps a stoat or mouse, and much much more distant was the same scent she had smelled earlier along with the blood but it was such a long ago scent Zavala finally stopped worrying about it, closed her tired eyes and went to sleep.

Zavala and Robyn were both up before the dawn, It had stopped snowing at some point during the night, so they could look around a lot better. Robyn had been up before Zavala, as the creamy tokota had awoken to the smell of rabbit cooking, a pleasant smell for her once again empty belly. Stretching, Zavala nuzzled Robyn and she scratched the tokota under her chin.

“Breakfast will be ready soon girl. Why don't you look outside and see if you can find anything else out there?”

There was no sign of any threat having come across them while they slept. No strange scents, or familiar on the wind, there had been a rabbit sniffing around the cave, Zavala could see its tracks in the snow, it had probably been searching food, or had perhaps been going to use their shelter and had thought better of it when it had scented Robyn, much less Zavala. Or perhaps it was the same rabbit that was cooking up for breakfast now.

Zavala stepped outside, the rays of sunrise were starting to cast light on the snow, by midday if more clouds did not come in then they might have to worry about snow blindness. The air was cold, Zavala took a deep breath, feeling herself wake up more and more as she stretched, her legs and back reminding her of the work she had done yesterday.

It was not long though until breakfast was ready and Zavala joined Robyn once more in their warm hidey hole. Despite hunger starting to gnaw at the tokota's belly she hard learned long ago that wolfing down her food would get her no where fast and she took her time to chew each bit of the rabbit's meat though she did tear into it aggressively. Robyn did not take any of the rabbit, but ate more of the jerky, and melted and boiled the fresh snow for their water supply.

“Alright, since we seem to have found ourselves a safe place here we should try to hunt, and acclimate to the heights, we do not need to be getting altitude sickness now, not when we're getting so close.”

They spent a little longer in the cave, Robyn tiding up their supplies and re-checking everything for any unexpected leaks, breaks, damage, etc. Zavala spent that time grooming herself, not an easy task with this much fur but a necessary one when they might not get anywhere close to a bath for several more days.

Robyn chose to completely tack Zavala up again, and get all their supplies. They did not want to leave anything behind, Robyn was not sure they would be able to find the cave again, doing so would certainly be a nice bonus, but they needed to be prepared.

Zavala waited as Robyn swung back into the saddle and bent her head to the ground, using her nose to try and find the freshest scents.
There was obviously the rabbit, but now upon closer inspection Zavala could tell that it was indeed the rabbit she had for breakfast as she could pick up Robyn's familiar scent and the slight tang of blood where Robyn had likely shot the animal with a bow and arrow.

She chose to continue along the valley they seemed to have stumbled upon the start of, the sides of the mountain rising up around them and she saw trees in the distance. Where there trees there might be deer, or perhaps mountain goats. Maybe if she were lucky they would find a hibernating bear and be set for supplies until they got through the mountain pass and down to more populated lands.
The trees also provided some protection from the glare of the sun on the fresh snow so that was another reason to go toward the towering, but sparse trees.

Robyn had already readied her bow, even though Zavala tried her best to alert her to prey before she saw it, one never knew when a weapon or even a signal like an arrow being shot up into the sky would be needed.

There were no tracks from deer among the trees, though the bark had been torn at at one point, perhaps earlier in the winter or in the late fall there had been deer here that had migrated down the mountain as the cold drove them down.

Mountain goats were not to be found either, perhaps they would be farther up, or perhaps they were not in the right territory for the little creatures. However there was still hope, fox tracks, fresh in appearance and scent promised some tasty morsels if they could find the cunning creatures.
Now foxes were not Zavala's ideal prey, the things, like rabbits, changed their coat color for the winter, blending in with the snow, and they tended to be craftier at hiding just out of reach of a hungry tokota's teeth. With Robyn along though she could shoot down any teasing foxes.

Zavala had also not smelled the mysterious scent from yesterday either, another good sign. While there was always a chance of a hawk or other predatory bird swooping in for a kill Zavala had a harder time scenting them, and they often were not the best source of meat, tending toward the lean side and the feathers often took far too long to clean for the small bit of meat they provided to be worth the effort of hunting. Now turkey or quail were another matter, but it was unlikely Zavala would find either this high up.

Instead the pale tokota focused souley on finding the foxes, the fresh snowfall aiding her in the fact it meant the tracks were not overly mixed as of yet and it covered some of the older scents as well.
It made tracking down the den almost too easy. After careful consideration both Zavala and Robyn found a good place down wind of the den and waited.

They did not have to wait long. A fox peaked out of the hole and even though Zavala trembled at the sight, her hunter's instinct kicked in and she went completely still. Every muscle in her finely tuned body was tensed, she only had eyes for the prey now. Robyn immediately spotted the fox as it made its way cautiously out of its den.

The waiting was the torture, waiting for it to get far enough away that any other foxes would not hole up in the den for the rest of the day if they heard the fox's death scream, so that the fox started to feel safe, to stop using as much cover as possible, though its white pelt still blended with the snowy surroundings.

Finally Robyn drew the drawstring back, arrow tensed. She aimed, fired and with a soft thunk the arrow neatly pierced the fox's chest, instantly killing the small prey. Carefully Zavala made her way over to the animal, the red blood staining the white snow with the fox's death.
Robyn tied the corpse to the saddle, one down. They left the den for a while, searching for other prey, staying close the trees hoping the sparse vegetation would provide them with more life.
Zavala managed to catch a rabbit unawares and had quickly closed her large jaws over its neck before the small animal knew what had come for it. The den taunted them, they did not know if another fox lived inside, and they had no choice but to wait it out, not daring to get too close lest any fox that was there smell them.
Their patience paid off as another fox emerged from the den, perhaps looking for the first, but whatever drew it out was its undoing for as soon as she Zavala had actually gone in for the kill this time, stalking the fox and finally getting close enough where it sensed them. It had run, but it was too little too late and Zavala had brought her paw with its sharp claws down upon the fox's neck, crushing its windpipe as it struggled underneath her watchful, hungry eyes. Again Robyn strung the animal up, it was not much, it would barely be enough for dinner and then breakfast tomorrow, but after sniffing around the den and listening carefully Zavala could tell if there was anything in there it was not coming out.

Slowly they headed up, past the trees, looking for any more lucky breaks, but there did not seem to be any sign of a larger prey around. They were too high up, in too cold and barren a territory, or perhaps the animals had been able to sense the blizzard that had hit them yesterday and most had evacuated to hiding places or further down the mountain long before the storm hit and it had even a chance of wiping them out.

Robyn had decided turning back would not be worth it, if they could not find prey here today they should just get down the mountain as quickly as they could safely manage it, so instead she urged the creamy tokota away from her task of finding food and onto the task of covering as much ground as she could before the sun started to set.