[RoK] Three Man Chess

     Tynan peered across Mielikki’s back at the dark haired, tanned woman, Dena and the pale peppermint cat-girl, Esme. The two women seemed relaxed and comfortable with each other, even cheerful in their idle conversation. Mielikki shifted and grunted at Tynan, attempting to shake her saddle off when the Panther paused too long in cinching it. “Stop that, Mielikki.” Tynan gently scolded the graying tawny. Mielikki huffed at her and hung her head, tail weakly wagging in apology. Tynan’s feline eyes turned back to watching the new woman and the cat-woman, her black ears straining to listen to the conversation between them. 

     It should not, the panther thought, be so difficult to hear what they are saying. She cinched the saddle and slid the protective fender back down over the cinch-knot to smooth the stirrup into place. A creamy-red ear twitched up and over in Tynan’s direction from the peppermint’s head and the panther sighed. How had she heard so easily when the panther was still having to strain? “Are you ready, Tynan?” The peppermint called, shaking her red and white hair out of her face. Tynan swung up into the saddle and nodded. “Excellent.” The woman grinned, slapped Dena lightly on the arm and leapt lightly into Monte Carlo’s saddle.

     Dena peered at the curly tokota and shook her head. “Rotten luck,” she muttered to herself, taking Perseus’ reins in hand. “That you got the coin toss!” Esme laughed cheerily at the darker woman and Dena climbed onto her snow-roan tokota’s back. Perseus grinned at Monte Carlo, who gave him a bland look and walked out.

     “I’m sorry, Dena. I happened to enjoy Carlo’s company on the endurance ride last time and I thought I’d enjoy it again this time.” Esme leaned down and gave the tokota a pat on the shoulder. “Anyway, if we don’t get started now we’ll never get our catches in before the time runs out.” Esme turned to include Tynan in the remark and the panther tilted her head as she observed the cat-girl. “Right, Tynan?"

     “She’s right, Dena. If we take too long starting we’ll never get everything done in time.” Tynan shrugged and Dena nodded to her. “We’ll begin now?” Esme chuckled and clucked Monte Carlo into a trot with Mielikki and Perseus falling into stride behind her. 

     “Do you have any plans on how to track down our illustrious prey, friend Esme?” Dena called up to the cream-red catgirl. Esme turned her ears back as she listened to the question. She twisted in the saddle, bracing her palm on the back of her light saddle to focus on her tribe member. 

     “Naturally,” Esme grinned at the woman. Dena arched a single brow and waited for Esme to elaborate. The cat woman did not. 

     “Would you… care to explain?” Dena ventured, carefully. Tynan glanced between the two of them. Esme gave an aggravatingly cheerful grin, wiggled her nose in a most animal-like gesture and twisted back around in her saddle, whistling, cheerfully, off-key. Dena rolled her eyes up at the sky and mouthed ‘help me not kill her’ to no-one that Tynan could see.

     “Is she always… a problem for you?” Tynan asked Dena. Dena shrugged.

     “She’s usually very timid, and shy.” Tynan arched a brow at Dena and the woman shrugged again. “I’m sure she wasn’t last time you saw her, when she’s relaxed she warms up to people and then opens up. But, yes, I think Miss McDowell takes a personal pleasure in being as problematic for me as she possibly can."

     “I heard that!” Esme called back to them.

     “You were supposed to, Esme!” Dena answered her. Emma laughed, again. “Hey- oh!” Dena shot up in her stirrups, cutting herself off as something darted past them in the trees. Esme and Tynan turned to look where the woman pointed. A tawny blur darted from the trees, a vivid blue tag on his near ear. The curly tokota, Voltaire, grinned at them and wagged his tail, sliding to a momentary stop before darting off again at an enthusiastic run. 

     “well,” Esme remarked in a cheerful attempt at being dry, “that was easy! Follow Voltaire!” She tapped her heels on Monte Carlo’s side and the curly piebald surged after the tagged tokota. They wove through trees and leapt over obstacles in their path as the team chased after the tagged, tawny male. It didn’t take long for them to come across the pack that he’d been separated from, and racing back to. “Oh boy,” Esme grinned, reining in Monte Carlo to stand up in her stirrups, palms braced against the piebalds withers, and lean forward.

     “Great, you let him slip away.” Dena snapped at her. 

     “No, look.” Esme pointed. “Voltaire’s there, but there’s two more blue tags, and look there, three green tags. Looks like they want us to each bring them back, not all together…. I call dibs on Voltaire!” Like a rocket Monte Carlo was off again, surging forward to plunge directly into the pack, ignoring the sharp yips and snarls of startled and disgruntled tokota’s as his rider reached to free the lead line she had brought with her.

     Dena shook her head and turned Perseus to the left to try and cut off the retreat of the shifting pack. Perseus yipped, wagging his tail as he moved under her guiding touch, shoving past an untagged tokota as they bolted past. “You dolt,” Dena grunted under her breath, “you weren’t supposed to let them past you.” Another untagged tokota slipped by and Dena groaned and rolled her eyes. “Eagle preserve me but I’m going to kill him."

     Perseus half bowed, suddenly dropping beneath the swearing tribe chief and grinned at a green tagged tokota. “Sterling?” The graying sand roan shook herself out at Dena’s question and attempted to leap over the obstacle of Perseus’…. butt… and rider. “Sterli-No! What are yo- No!” Dena yelped and rolled out of the saddle as the graying sand roan collided with Perseus and knocked the snow roan down. Perseus yelped, suddenly tackled by the female and thrashed in an attempt to get free. Dena scrambled out of the way, ducking behind a large rock as the pack scattered and massive paws came crashing down to the earth to churn up the damp loam.

     Mielikki fidgetted anxiously as Tynan held her in, examining the chaos that Esme and Dena had created. Admittedly the two knew what they were doing, normally. They’re control of their individual tokota’s had said as much, and the behavior of Monte Carlo at least attested to that, but they hadn’t paused to consider a plan, really, and it had left things in a crumbling mess. The panther held her mount in and watched as the pack bolted after Sterling’s attempt to jump Perseus. For a moment the panther fretted that Dena, the only human among them currently, would die under the avalanche of Tokota’s. Then she glimpsed the light blue leathers of the woman behind a rock and sighed. I might have known. 

     “Alright,” Tynan released Mielikki. The graying tawny bunched herself up with anticipation and launched forward just as Tynan was distracted by a triumphant ‘Ah-hah!’ to her right from Esme McDowell. Briefly the panther glanced to see the woman clutching the lead attached to a halter on Voltaire. The tawny curly sneezed at her and rubbed a paw on his face, unable to dislodge the offending device, and that was all Tynan saw as Mielikki gave chase to the retreating pack, rushing down their trail and leaping over the rock Dena sheltered behind.

     Dena stared blandly at Perseus, trapped beneath Sterling who was busy gnawing at her paw in an attempt to chew off the saddle harness trapping her down. Perseus licked his nose in an attempt to lick his out-of-reach handler. “I hate you.” Dena remarked in a tone as dry as her bland expression was blank. His great tail whump-thump-thumped and she shook her head as Esme rode over, leading her captured blue-tag.

     “What happened to you?” Esme dropped down from the saddle, securing Voltaires lead to one of the brassy rings and started untangling sterling from Perseus as Dena rose and dusted herself off. 

     “You took the herding master after Voltaire and sir goofs-a-lot attempted to herd… or… cut, I’m not sure what Perseus was doing, but he attempted it and Sterling tried to jump us and then woosh! Everything flew by.” Dena bent to the task of assisting Esme with freeing the tangled beasts then slid a collar onto her own captured green-tagged tokota. “I suppose we should follow the tracks for Tynan and Mielikki in case they get into some sort of trouble.

     “Uh-huh…” Esme eyed Dena up and down, shoving Sterling bodily off of Perseus. The snow roan rushed to his feet once freed, carrying Esme up into the air with him. The cat woman yelped, balanced across his back on her belly and stared down at the retreating ground. “A-a little help here?” Dena laughed, grabbed her companions arm and yanked Esme down off of Perseus as he shook off the dirt all over him.

     “Let’s catch up before we really lose them.” Dena chuckled, leaping into the saddle and securing her prize.

     Mielikki adored this. Running through the forest. The fresh scents of soft, damp soil and new growth bright in the air. The mottled sunlight through the budding trees and the feel of the earth beneath her paws, between her toes. She opened her mouth as she ran, chasing after the pack with no real inclination to overpower them or cut anyone off. Tynan rode easily upon her back as though nothing was special about the day. Balanced perfectly the panther shifted when Mielikki needed it, countered her weight to support her and gave the tokota her head when asked.

     It was glorious, running with a pack. The only thing that would make this better, so Mielikki’s growling stomach commanded, was if the race had been a hunt. A nice, juicy deer or a rabbit or a lynx or- “Pay attention, Mielikki.” Tynan grounded her tokota with a gentle voice and Mielikki tilted her head slightly to listen. Just then, there to the tokota’s right, a pale tundra with bearmarks fell into stride beside her with a bright red tag on her ear.

     Moulin glanced at the woman and Mielikki, the red tag flapping annoyingly in her vision, and tucked her hindquarters for a hard stop and a roll back. Around the tundra spun and back the way she had come. Tynan sank backwards in her saddle, pulling Mielikki to a stop to turn around and chase after the escapee. “We have to catch her.” Tynan told the protesting female. 

     Finally she had Mielikki turned around and racing after the escaping tundra, Moulin. They charged right between and past Monte Carlo and Perseus with their baffled riders, Esme and Dena. “She turned left!” Esme called helpfully after Tynan. The panther twitched an ear and glanced to her left. Sure enough, darting between the trees was the zig-zagging Moulin. Tynan watched for a place to turn and urged Mielikki around the trees to follow the tundra. 

     With a great howl Mielikki bored down on the red-tagged Moulin and Tynan reached, rope in hand, to slide a loop over the Tundra’s head. Moulin barked, slowing at the gentle pressure of the rope and curled a lip in frustration. Around in a large, looped circle Tynan worked Mielikki, tugging the Tundra with her until they were calm enough to stop and stand there patiently.

     “Well,” Esme grinned at Tynan, ducking under a tree branch. “That was an adventure… Ready to turn these guys in so we can begin again for round dos?” Her eyes twinkled with far too much humor for Tynan’s comfort. Dena’s frown reflected Tynan’s own unspoken reservations and Esme clapped her hands gleefully. “Excellent! Since that’s all settled, lets get started!” Dena groaned and Tynan shook her head. The cat womans enthusiasm was going to get them all killed.