Hunting Mammoths

Deep within the Tartok mountains and underneath a cloudless sky, Keeonah raced towards the cliff that overlooked the hidden valley. Today was the day! She would join a few friends hunting mammoths. The female bounded forwards, driven by excitement to try what was rumored to be a truly dangerous activity...

The sun was bright as the four Tokotas stood staring down into the valley. Far below, strange beasts with curved, thick tusks and long wooly fur ambled slowly through the yellow grass. The Tokotas could hear their strange, trumpeting sounds as they called to one another. Jarrell, a greying brown Tokota with blue stripes painted under his eyes stood with a black cat perched on his back. Beside him, Calandra, a tawny long-maned Tokota stood with Locutus, a greying black male with a dark colored mountain lion pacing back and forth next to him.

"Well, shall we head down?" Mina asked. The cream tawny piebald female had a large porcupine at her side. Long sharp spines stuck out in all directions as its small beady eyes blinked in the sunlight.

"We're waiting on one more companion," Jarrell answered. "She knows the territory." As the greying brown male finished speaking, a sound from behind them made him turn.

Trotting towards them was a cream tundra Tokota with pale green eyes. A peregrine falcon looped and whirled about in the air near her head, causing the black cat to hiss.

"Behave yourself," Calandra told the cat. "That's a hunting bird, not one of the common pigeons or crows that bother you on a regular basis."

"Besides, I'm pretty sure it could eat you if it wanted," Mina said with a laugh. The black cat crept closer to Jarrell's  greying brown mane, his yellow eyes never leaving the bird of prey's graceful movements.

"Hey there!" The cream tundra called out the greeting as she approached the four Tokotas waiting with the black cat, the porcupine and the mountain lion.

"What is your designation?" The greying black Tokota asked. "We are Locutus."

"What?" Keeonah stared at him, confusion clear on her face. She had never met someone who spoke in such an odd, jarring language before. Mina giggled.

"She hasn't got a designation, she has a name - Keeonah." Jarrell said to the black Tokota, before turning to face the half-maned female. "Never mind him, he's...different. His name is Locutus and this," he nodded at the piebald female, "is Mina. They're going to be your side hunters. Calandra and I can go around behind to cut them off - unless you have a better idea? You do know the area after all."

Keeonah was staring down with excitement at the wooly creatures far below them. "Oh, uh, that sounds great," she said, as if she was only half listening. "Let's go then!" With a leap, she lunged forwards to plummet down the steep slope, her paws pounding into the rocky surface and her falcon swooping along beside her.

Jarrell stared at Calandra in shock. "I thought we were going to try to make a plan first..." he said, his voice trailing off. The tawny long-maned female stared back, completely speechless.

"Planning is irrelevant," Locutus said, his golden eyes focused on the herd of mammoths below as he launched himself after the half-maned female, his dark mountain lion matching him pace for pace.

"Come on!" Mina called over her shoulder as she raced down after Keeonah and Locutus. Her porcupine waddled slowly to the edge and then flung itself over and curled into a ball. The procupine picked up speed and bouncing off the rocks as it rolled down the slope in a prickly ball of terror. Once, a ground squirrel narrowly missed being pummeled by the thorny ball before managing to launch itself out of the way just in time.

"There's not going to be any food left for us if we don't hurry!" Yowled the black cat on Jarrell's back.

Calandra rolled her eyes. "Don't you see how many mammoths are down there?" she asked. "We'd be fed for months before we ever ran the risk of running out."

Jarrell let out a bark of laughter. "I think Keeonah might be a bit of a bad influence," he said, shaking his head. "She seems to rush into things without thinking, and those two followed her without a second thought."

Calandra watched the three Tokotas as they rushed down the steep slope. "Perhaps we'd better join them," she said. "These mammoths are supposed to be dangerous - it'd be best if we all stuck together." The greying brown male nodded his agreement.

Calandra and Jarrell bounded down after Keeonah, Locutus and Mina. The black cat clung to the greying brown Tokota's mane, blinking as the wind rushed into his face. As they made their way down into the valley and over to where the other three Tokotas stood waiting in the shadow of a huge boulder, the black cat scowled. "Don't they know how to wash themselves?" he complained, wrinkling his nose. "It stinks down here."

"I'm sure they taste better than they smell!" Keeonah replied, catching her breath, her falcon perched on a low branch of a nearby tree. Mina giggled at the remark and turned to see her porcupine stumbling through the bushes, dizziness causing it to trip and fall more than once. As the feeling wore off, it started to waddle off through the tall grass towards the herd of mammoths.

"Alright," Jarrell said, staring at the group of Tokotas and their small companions. "We need to be careful."

"We are ready," Locutus said from where he stood, watching the large wooly animals as they slowly padded through the tall grass not far away.

As a group, the five Tokotas lunged out from behind the boulder and charged towards the mammoth herd. The huge wooly creatures turned to run,  but Keeonah, Locutus and Mina managed to separate a smaller one from the herd. The dark mountain lion and the peregrine falcon darted in, nipping at its legs and ears before turning away and then rushing back in to attack again. Jarrell and Calandra rushed up behind the mammoth, snarling and snapping at its hind legs as it ran. Suddenly, it let out a loud desperate trumpet and flung its head to the side, whipping around its long trunk. Keeonah, who was closest threw herself to the ground just in time, but the mammoth's thick trunk caught Locutus in the chest and flung the greying black male away into the grass. Mina howled and bit the mammoth's leg that was closest to her. The mammoth turned, raising a huge front leg only to trumpet with pain as the porcupine popped up out of the grass and smacked its thorny tail into one of the mammoth's hind legs.

"Locutus, are you ok?" yowled the black cat, leaping down from Jarrell's back and bounding through the tall grass, with Calandra right behind him, her dark mane streaming after her as she ran. However, the Tokota was already rising to his feet, his golden eyes filled with pain but also stony determination.

"Resistance is futile," he snarled in his monotone voice before throwing himself towards the mammoth again.

The rest of herd had escaped, running away through the tall yellow grass. Keeonah, Locutus and Mina continued to attack the mammoth's legs, winding in and out, sometimes just narrowly missing being trampled as it stomped across the ground, trying desperately to get away. Jarrell and Calandra continued to chase the huge wooly creature, blocking its path whenever it tried to turn. The black cat stayed some distance off, yowling encouragement to his friends as they continued the attack. The peregrine falcon and the mountain lion charged together, darting in to attack the mammoth over and over. The loud trumpeting calls became more frantic as it tried to escape, but its desperate attempts were in vain.

Finally, the huge mammoth fell and with one last exhale, it was still.

The silence seemed deafening as the five Tokotas slowed, their sides heaving and their hearts racing. Keeonah stared at the huge still form of the mammoth. It had been terrifying and exhilarating to hunt such an enormous creature. Her falcon landed nearby, its wise eyes watching her. Mina was nearby, inspecting her porcupine's long spines.

"Is anyone hurt?" Calandra asked, stepping closer.

"Pain is irrelevant," Locutus said, his narrowed eyes scanning the area around them.

"Is anyone else hurt?" Jarrell asked, rolling his eyes. Locutus had probably bruised a few ribs, but everyone else seemed to be in once piece. The greying brown Tokota's gazed fell upon his black cat, where he sat perched on the large head of the mammoth.

"I call dibs on a leg!" The cat yowled, his yellow eyes bright. "Dark meat is my favorite!"

Laughing, Keeona, Locutus, Mina, Jarrell and Calandra gathered around to feast on the spoils of their hunt.