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Nov 26, 2017 5:15:46 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2017 5:15:46 GMT -5
"You're fine with taking care of them while I'm gone, yeah?"
"Yes. I don't know the Antarctic team very well, but they aren't fighting with our Alaskans so I think we should be okay. You have everything?"
Gale nodded, resting his elbows lightly on the handle of his sled. His dogs howled loudly, tails wagging as they waited for the command to set off. Those who weren't coming with him watched with tilted heads, not quite barking but not quite remaining quiet as they tried to hide their own excitement. He shifted his weight a little to balance himself out and, as he stood up a little straighter, the dogs began to rile themselves up again.
"I'll be off, then," he smiled faintly. "I'm not sure how long I'll be, mind you. Could be a week, could be a month. Could be longer."
"Remember to make up the stews," Harvey smiled in a bemused fashion. "Be careful."
"Yep," he laughed. "Don't worry. If we run out, I'll let the dogs hunt. No big deal. I've done this before, Harvey, trust in me."
With a small sigh, Harvey nodded and turned heel to tend to the other dogs - they were instantly distracted from the team ready to go, and instead they focused on their handler who held a bucket of food.
"Alright, Tex, Shasta - hike."
The howling grew a little louder as the two lead dogs pulled, and instantly, the rest of the dogs copied. They began at a fairly slow pace as the dogs grew accustomed to the weight - but as they all settled into their positions, the speed picked up and they were well on their way out of Anchorage, heading towards...nowhere. That was the issue. Gale knew the rough location of where the target was, but he'd have to hunt them down. Perhaps that had been why he'd brought Tex; she was good at sniffing out humans, and it made her more useful than he could have ever known.
Keeping the dogs hyped up was easy enough; occasionally howling with them, egging them on with a constant hike, come on, hike, and sometimes adjusting their path accordingly. They made good time as the dogs charged through the snow, managing to stay in line and on course. From time to time, to help the dogs move a little faster, he pushed his own foot down and pushed off from the ground, giving them a small burst of speed temporarily. Considering these dogs hadn't run for a few weeks, they seemed content to continue on; he kept an eye on the dogs who he knew had lower stamina, decided that they could slow or take a break depending on how they went.
It took nearly four hours until one of the dogs showed any signs of wear; Denali, surprisingly.
"Easy," Gale called, waiting for the dogs to slow. They began to, and once they did he called out, "whoa," while pressing on the breaks. By this point, they'd entered a thick forest; he'd been here before while exploring, but he hadn't gone very far. This was, he realised, the furthest he'd been into this forest, which was a little unnerving but - well, he was armed and he had his dogs.
He stepped off the sled and put one hand on the sled, pushing it along. He whistled for the dogs to move at a slow pace; their pants, combined, were rather loud. Once he found an ideal place, he settled them all down and gave them the water they needed; a few of the dogs flopped down in the snow, aware that this was resting time and not play time. Later, he would cook some rich stew for all of them (including himself), and that would keep them going once they were rested up. It was a schedule the dogs were used to, when they were running for a long time.
For nearly a week, Gale kept up the schedule. Running for four hours, resting for four hours; it suited the dogs well, made good distance, and helped. It was on the sixth day that any sort of issues occurred; and it wasn't with his dogs.
Grey clouds swarmed above, which usually wasn't an issue. It was the beginning of Winter, of course snow would happen - but glancing up, he paid attention to the darkness. A storm? he thought, glancing to his dogs. They were anxious despite only running for a couple of hours, their howls scattered here and there was if they wanted to be quiet, but they also wanted to warn of danger. A blizzard, perhaps. And that settled his mind - the next cave he came across, he'd go there and settle until the storm passed. He was experienced, knew Alaska as well as he knew Egypt, at this point - and he didn't want to risk going into territory he'd never been in while there was a blizzard.
"C'mon, Tex, hike," he called. She began to pull a little more and as a result, so did Shasta; this led the entire team to move a little faster. It was a small blessing, being able to push them harder if they weren't going to run for as long.
Unfortunately, the snow began before they found a hideout. The dogs had to turn their heads to avoid the wind, their howls becoming yips and chirps of annoyance. He sighed in relief as he spotted a cave off the trail.
"Gee!" he commanded, and the dogs turned. "Easy, easy," he had started jogging with the sled, now. They were in the cave, now; it was empty and fairly large, but he reached the back of it with little trouble. No bears. That was good. The dogs seemed pleased and stopped of their own accord, settling down. He reached into his sled to grab various pegs and pushed them into the hard ground, attaching chains to all fourteen before he attached them to the collars of each dog, and then he removed their harnesses. The dogs knew that this meant they were resting for a while - and so a couple of them began to tousle and play, while others simply took the opportunity to sniff around.
Gale was glad he'd brought supplies for camping; he was able to start a fire and set a pot above it, throwing in the cold remains of their previous meal plus some. Once he had a decent meal cooking, he grabbed his sleeping bag and set it on the floor, before sitting on it. Echo trotted over and settled next to him, her warm body pressing against his leg. He scratched behind her ear and smiled.
From the sled popped up Nanook; he'd been settled in with the supplies under the bag for most of the run, only leaving when they set up camp. It was just an arrangement he'd come to understand, considering he was a puppy. Gale watched as the little pup curled up against Shasta's belly, and smiled.
"Looks like we're here for a bit," he told them. They weren't loud - but their panting was certainly filling the silence. He leaned back against the sled and watched the fire. Despite the heavy snowfall outside, he found that he was rather warm; both because of his clothing, and the dogs. The fire itself provided some warmth, too.
Echo whined softly and rested her head in his lap, watching the entrance with perked ears. Perhaps she could hear something; he hoped it wasn't a predator. Or, even worse; the person he was hunting. That would be awkward and unfortunate.
"Yes. I don't know the Antarctic team very well, but they aren't fighting with our Alaskans so I think we should be okay. You have everything?"
Gale nodded, resting his elbows lightly on the handle of his sled. His dogs howled loudly, tails wagging as they waited for the command to set off. Those who weren't coming with him watched with tilted heads, not quite barking but not quite remaining quiet as they tried to hide their own excitement. He shifted his weight a little to balance himself out and, as he stood up a little straighter, the dogs began to rile themselves up again.
"I'll be off, then," he smiled faintly. "I'm not sure how long I'll be, mind you. Could be a week, could be a month. Could be longer."
"Remember to make up the stews," Harvey smiled in a bemused fashion. "Be careful."
"Yep," he laughed. "Don't worry. If we run out, I'll let the dogs hunt. No big deal. I've done this before, Harvey, trust in me."
With a small sigh, Harvey nodded and turned heel to tend to the other dogs - they were instantly distracted from the team ready to go, and instead they focused on their handler who held a bucket of food.
"Alright, Tex, Shasta - hike."
The howling grew a little louder as the two lead dogs pulled, and instantly, the rest of the dogs copied. They began at a fairly slow pace as the dogs grew accustomed to the weight - but as they all settled into their positions, the speed picked up and they were well on their way out of Anchorage, heading towards...nowhere. That was the issue. Gale knew the rough location of where the target was, but he'd have to hunt them down. Perhaps that had been why he'd brought Tex; she was good at sniffing out humans, and it made her more useful than he could have ever known.
Keeping the dogs hyped up was easy enough; occasionally howling with them, egging them on with a constant hike, come on, hike, and sometimes adjusting their path accordingly. They made good time as the dogs charged through the snow, managing to stay in line and on course. From time to time, to help the dogs move a little faster, he pushed his own foot down and pushed off from the ground, giving them a small burst of speed temporarily. Considering these dogs hadn't run for a few weeks, they seemed content to continue on; he kept an eye on the dogs who he knew had lower stamina, decided that they could slow or take a break depending on how they went.
It took nearly four hours until one of the dogs showed any signs of wear; Denali, surprisingly.
"Easy," Gale called, waiting for the dogs to slow. They began to, and once they did he called out, "whoa," while pressing on the breaks. By this point, they'd entered a thick forest; he'd been here before while exploring, but he hadn't gone very far. This was, he realised, the furthest he'd been into this forest, which was a little unnerving but - well, he was armed and he had his dogs.
He stepped off the sled and put one hand on the sled, pushing it along. He whistled for the dogs to move at a slow pace; their pants, combined, were rather loud. Once he found an ideal place, he settled them all down and gave them the water they needed; a few of the dogs flopped down in the snow, aware that this was resting time and not play time. Later, he would cook some rich stew for all of them (including himself), and that would keep them going once they were rested up. It was a schedule the dogs were used to, when they were running for a long time.
For nearly a week, Gale kept up the schedule. Running for four hours, resting for four hours; it suited the dogs well, made good distance, and helped. It was on the sixth day that any sort of issues occurred; and it wasn't with his dogs.
Grey clouds swarmed above, which usually wasn't an issue. It was the beginning of Winter, of course snow would happen - but glancing up, he paid attention to the darkness. A storm? he thought, glancing to his dogs. They were anxious despite only running for a couple of hours, their howls scattered here and there was if they wanted to be quiet, but they also wanted to warn of danger. A blizzard, perhaps. And that settled his mind - the next cave he came across, he'd go there and settle until the storm passed. He was experienced, knew Alaska as well as he knew Egypt, at this point - and he didn't want to risk going into territory he'd never been in while there was a blizzard.
"C'mon, Tex, hike," he called. She began to pull a little more and as a result, so did Shasta; this led the entire team to move a little faster. It was a small blessing, being able to push them harder if they weren't going to run for as long.
Unfortunately, the snow began before they found a hideout. The dogs had to turn their heads to avoid the wind, their howls becoming yips and chirps of annoyance. He sighed in relief as he spotted a cave off the trail.
"Gee!" he commanded, and the dogs turned. "Easy, easy," he had started jogging with the sled, now. They were in the cave, now; it was empty and fairly large, but he reached the back of it with little trouble. No bears. That was good. The dogs seemed pleased and stopped of their own accord, settling down. He reached into his sled to grab various pegs and pushed them into the hard ground, attaching chains to all fourteen before he attached them to the collars of each dog, and then he removed their harnesses. The dogs knew that this meant they were resting for a while - and so a couple of them began to tousle and play, while others simply took the opportunity to sniff around.
Gale was glad he'd brought supplies for camping; he was able to start a fire and set a pot above it, throwing in the cold remains of their previous meal plus some. Once he had a decent meal cooking, he grabbed his sleeping bag and set it on the floor, before sitting on it. Echo trotted over and settled next to him, her warm body pressing against his leg. He scratched behind her ear and smiled.
From the sled popped up Nanook; he'd been settled in with the supplies under the bag for most of the run, only leaving when they set up camp. It was just an arrangement he'd come to understand, considering he was a puppy. Gale watched as the little pup curled up against Shasta's belly, and smiled.
"Looks like we're here for a bit," he told them. They weren't loud - but their panting was certainly filling the silence. He leaned back against the sled and watched the fire. Despite the heavy snowfall outside, he found that he was rather warm; both because of his clothing, and the dogs. The fire itself provided some warmth, too.
Echo whined softly and rested her head in his lap, watching the entrance with perked ears. Perhaps she could hear something; he hoped it wasn't a predator. Or, even worse; the person he was hunting. That would be awkward and unfortunate.