[B] Along With The Breeze (RBF, Musk)

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Real Big Fish sniffed the air as she absently dug for crabs in the silt by the side of the water. There was an unmistakable whiffiness to it. Not a bad whiffiness, just a strong scent- distant, but coming closer. There was a muskwolf headed her way, which meant there was very likely a kin headed her way. Muskwolves were interesting beasts, and she'd never seen one without the company of its kin. They were pack animals through and through, and if she remembered correctly, quite territorial.

She'd never really been close to one before. This could be interesting, especially because the scent of the creature brought with it an owner- and she was eager to see what they wanted. (She knew, but it was always fun to see how they asked.) She lounged on the bank, waiting for her new acquaintances to find her.

[Anhelisk]

Musk had lived in the swamp long enough to know one thing: The kin blessed by the Motherfather had the ability to help ease the coming of a clutch. And if Must's affectionate behaviour as of late was indicative of anything, he'd be asked a question soon enough... and soon enough after that, they'd have pups of their own to look after.

He'd taken the time to carefully work together the offering-- working clay with the peculiar scent-fixing, oily stuff that muskies so readily groomed into their coats, taking special attention to work on their large, banner-like tails. They could be scented from miles off when they wore something distinctive, but conversely, the right choices of scent would make a kin's own smell all-but disappear. The choices he'd made for this balm were selections of dried flowers, plucked before the sun had disappeared... and after having help from his daughter to pack it up in a broken skull with a waxy leaf on top to help seal it, he had something that he hoped would appeal to the one he found.

Now, he simply had to keep walking. Apparently, if he simply put his intentions into the world to look for one, it would attract one of them....

[Scaramouche Fandango]

The smell got closer, and the bouquet blossomed into something even more complex. Whoever was coming her way was far more interesting than mud crabs. Rising to her feet, she loomed up above the reeds. Scent tracking wasn't really her thing, but the breeze brought her a trail that was as clear as any she'd ever followed. Her upper lip curled back and she just held the air in her mouth for a few seconds, rising to her rear hooves as she explored the scent.

It wasn't hard to find them. They looked as much alike as kin and companion possibly could- she almost had to check for hooves. The scent was intoxicating up close, its sillage diffused in a delicious cloud surrounding them. She felt almost hungry from its strength, which was an odd thing, because she wasn't much of one for actually eating flowers. But that's what a smell that strong could do, she supposed. She gazed from kin to muskwolf and back again. "I think you were looking for me- but before anything, I have to know. Do they always smell like this? It's incredible. So complex!"

[Anhelisk]

Twin pricks of golden glow gently popped up in the brush as they proceeded, and Musk watched as the kin worked towards them with an infectious sort of enthusiasm. She was big, and burly, and about as much like a bear as any kin he'd ever seen-- almost as bearlike as he and his family were like the muskies they raised.

Musk rumbled in a laugh at his new acquaintance's question. "They always smell of something, but not always flowers. We recently made scents with them to trade. I am Musk-- and it's their own musk that carries scents of things they take interest in along with them. Are you one of the Motherfather's chosen?" The twinkling in a Totoma's eyes had once been something he'd thought to be-- like for the kiokote-- a sure sign, but he'd recently met some totoma and some kiokote with glows of their own during the cursed quest they'd taken to try to force the Sun back, and he could no longer be certain of that.

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"Sure am. They talk to me, I talk back. They tell me weird cryptic stuff in dreams, and I go around trying to help out where I can. I'm Fish- Real Big Fish. It's nice to meet you, Musk- you and your friend here. It's always nice to encounter something truly new, and this is the first time I've ever seen such a creature up close." She leaned in to get a closer look. "But something tells me you're not here to show me your muskwolf- you're expecting pups of your own, aren't you?" She eyed him up and down, from nose to fluffy tail. There was an air about him of experience- he was a pack animal, too.

[Anhelisk]

Musk smiled. "Well, I shouldn't be quite yet," he responded, "But my mate has been getting cuddlier lately, and that generally precipitates a specific question. I'd like to be prepared if I can." He turned to look over at Mist, making a noise at her to indicate she should come to greet the kin standing opposite him.

At the noise, her tail fluffed up, and she stepped over, snuffling with interest. "This is Mist. She's tolerant to most touch, but she dislikes having her fur pulled on. If you have any questions about her, I'd be happy to answer? And I came with a gift to offer." He knew that gifts were traditional.

[Scaramouche Fandango]

"If you've brought a gift, you've brought me two- knowledge is one of the best gifts there is." She chuckled. "Hokey line, I know, but it's true. Best thing about communing with the Motherfather is realizing how much there is to learn- and with the obelisks, travel is so much easier now. But even with all of that, there's still plenty of newness under the... sun." She looked up to the sky. "It's normal here, I think. Hopefully the rest of it goes back to normal, whatever that means for us now."

Her eyes dimmed, then resumed an even brighter glow. "So if you'll indulge me, what are they like, other than highly scent-oriented? Are they more like wolves, where they stick to a pack and a territory, or more like foxes? Or, if I had to guess, are they more like their own thing?"

[Anhelisk]

The buck nodded quietly as the Totoma mare spoke of the new normal... and her hopes for things to return to a semblance of normalcy. As she asked her questions, he was happy to answer. "They're pursuit hunters through and through, though they enjoy nibbling at things that aren't from a prey animal, especially if whatever it is smells interesting, and they'll sometimes eat grass to be sick if they're not feeling well." He paused, considering.

"They den like wolves and foxes when they have pups, but the females and young males migrate to follow prey patterns, and many of our girls spend part of the year too far north for us to follow-- the Ache, you see, doesn't affect them at all. They'll come back south after some time, sometimes with pups, or they'll wander to a male's territory down here to settle and have more, mostly during the spring and summer." He watched as Mist bowed to smell at the totoma's muddy chest and legs, then as she started to sniff at the doe's side and plating, keeping an eye for if the canine started pushing any boundaries.

"The males will leave the packs when their manes start coming in," he added, "Though some females sometimes also decide to find a territory and guard it. Generally there's only one or two on a space, but I've seen small packs of related muskies stay together, on occasion... and the females bond more readily to a kin, treating them and their own as her pack. My daughter has a snow fox who's been basically adopted as a member of the pack we look after, and we've been able to home many others with kin who already had bonds with... many different kinds of other animal, with differing degrees of success. The males, my mate likes to say, are a little more firm in their habits, whereas the girlies are more gregarious..."

He trailed off as he noted Mist moving to sniff further back on the Totoma. "Mist, heel." In an instant, the muskie's tail and nose went up, and she became the perfect picture of innocence. "She knows that's not polite-- we've been working on it."

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Fish had to laugh. "It's funny, the things animals do when they think they can get away with it. My shuppy- he's not with me now, he prefers staying at the beach- likes to lie down in front of you, then play all innocent when you have to hop over him to avoid tripping. And there's the digging- but you can't train that out of a shuppy, it'd be like... well, like trying to stop your muskwolves from migrating. It's fascinating, really- the mysteries of migration, where the animals go- even in the mountains, where I was born, we used to wonder about where the snow geese went in the winter." She reached out to nuzzle the animal. "You're a good girl, Mist. Delightful, and so soft! Probably better for wafting scents- not at all harsh like a wolf's outer coat. Much more like a fox." She looked up at the soon-to-be father. "How are they with foals?"

[Anhelisk]

Musk smiled as Mist moved to flop herself against the totoma, tail wagging. The dog had always loved pets of most kinds, and she had very little concept of what a stranger was. At the question, he tilted his head, looking someplace faraway and nonexistent at the same time as he reflected. "It varies from dog to dog, as you'd imagine, but they're pack animals, and as long as the person keeping them in line doesn't allow anything untoward, they're very good with them. Otherwise, well... they may ignore them, they may treat them like they're puppies, or they may try to steal them for themselves. I caught one of our girls trying to steal our foals to put in her den, and well... the only trouble with that is she didn't like them trying to explore. We've only had one case of one biting a foal, and that's when they were older, and she was getting ready to have puppies of her own. Scent was old enough to know better, we warned him she didn't want to play, and the bite was more of a warning than anything else." He shook his head slightly.

"We rehomed her anyways."

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Fish nodded, knowing exactly what this Kiokote's clutch needed. "Understandable- but still an uncomfortable situation. For your future pups- and theirs- I give you the gift of getting along. At least until they're adults, just being around them will charm animals to the point where they'll run away rather than bite. Very useful for mouthy dogs... and crocodiles. They'll always have an innate understanding- they'll know where the fish are, they'll know where the rabbits are denning and where the tastiest bird eggs are. They'll never have trouble feeding themselves, and they'll always have the love of their dogs- and their parents, of course." Fish's eyes surged as the promise was made. "Do you want anything else for them?"

[Anhelisk]

Musk shook his head. "I couldn't ask for more than that-- the ability to take care of themselves and to get along well with animals is..." He shook his head slightly... "Kind of staggering, really. If you wanted the opportunity to meet them, we'd be happy to welcome you as a guest-- and if you decided you wanted a muskie of your own, we'd do our best to help you find and train the right one for your needs. Also, here--" He shrugged the sling he was wearing off, nudging it so it would be easy to slip into. A couple curved branches made it easy to get one's head underneath, and made the tortoiseshell easy to transport. "A gift of the scent of autumn flowers-- it won't work to completely mask a scent for hunting purposes, mind, it's just for the joy of it."

[Scaramouche Fandango]

Fish took a deep breath, letting the floral fragrance play across her nose. "This smells amazing- thank you. And thank you for the invitation- I'll have to stop by sometime and see how the pups are doing. You and your mate are going to have a lot of fun with this clutch– I can tell." She winked, then petted Mist again. "I'll probably not come with my shuppy, though. The trouble they could make together!" Fish chuckled. "Even after all these years, pets can still be surprising. Same with kids. You head home now, and tell your family that all will be well."