Seal Hunt

It was early morning and the sun was just starting to rise its rays above the land. A dark brown bearmarked tokota and her handler could be seen walking across a field listening to the birds and insects that still sung their tune at this time of day. Kayia, the young handler of Kuma, her bearmarked tokota, often spent her days being a tokota care taker of sorts. Her job was to take tokotas out for pack socialization and activities like hunting, fishing, exploring, etc. Today was going to be a day of a few firsts for her. First time she will be working with a toki- she was quite excited about it though. It would be her first time working with a sphinx tokota who was slightly aggressive, and it would be the first time she went out for a seal hunt. Well, that was the plan anyway. Kayia hoped that things wouldn’t get out of control. She looked over her review sheet of each tokota she was on her way to meet and pick up today. The first they were headed to was the one she was most concerned over, Anubis the sphinx tokota.

“Has a bad habit of nipping and prefers the company of female tokotas. Well, thats fantastic.” Kayia muttered to herself dryly. “Im gonna depend on you to keep him in check ok my love?” She cooed to Kuma as she leaned forward and rubbed the tokota behind her ear as Kuma grunted happily with understanding.

Kuma was a strong willed tokota and loyal to her handler. If Kayia depended on her, the handlers trust was not misplaced. After getting Anubis, Bliss the little toki was the next on the list. Kayia figured to start the day with Anubis getting used to the girls for today and the last to be added to the pack would be the only male; Benji. After crossing the field, Kayia and Kuma came to a little cabin where a handler and sphinx was waiting outside.

“Here we go love.” The handler reassured her tokota as she slid off her back and talked to Anubis’s handler as the sphinx tokota approached Kuma.

Kuma stayed relaxed, there was no reason to be tense until Anubis gave her reason to be. If he tried to attack her, Kuma was confident she could defend herself just fine but the sphinx was supposedly fond of females so Kayia surmised that Kuma would be the best tokota to bring to keep the peace. Anubis’s name fit his looks well, he was a greying tundra tokota with a black neck and legs with grey eyes. His looks were striking but even Kuma would admit, his stare was a bit piercing. The two sniffed each other politely and Anubis kept quiet as Kayia said good bye to his owner and remounted Kuma.

“One down, two to go guys.” She smiled down at Anubis. “And you sir, had better behave. You have the name of one of my favorite Egyptian gods so don’t disappoint me.” She waggled her finger at the tokota who actually wagged his tail a bit in response.
The trio then picked up Bliss the brown toki who had a crescent mark on her forehead. Anubis took a step back at Bliss who is very energetic and quite social. Her bubbliness and energy irritated the sphinx who preferred solitude and quiet. Both Kayia and Kuma kept a close eye on him, making sure not even a lip curl appeared which none did. Kuma automatically had a fondness for the little toki. Bliss had the same color coat as Kuma and had a spunk Kuma couldn’t help but to like. The older tokota had a tendency to be motherly to her other pack mates and she already felt protective to the toki that could almost pass as her own pup.

“Now for Benji..”

Kayias voice trailed off in a slight worried tone. So far so good with Anubis’s behavior but Kayia was nervous how he may change toward the male. When they came to Benjis house, Kayia actually dismounted Kuma and let the tokota greet Benji. Kayia stayed back with Anubis, talking to him softly and trying to make sure he behaved. Kuma approached the vitiligo tokota who seemed shy and had a bit of separation anxiety from his handler, Ana. He was such a mammas boy and as crazy as he was at home, he became timid around others. Kuma gave him eye contact and grinned, trying to reassure him and it worked. Benji stepped closer and remained close to Kuma when he was led back to the rest of the group. Anubis stiffened and Kayia jerked on his halter she put on, knowing she might have to use it. Kayia gave the newly formed pack a talk about the behavior she expected. She felt like a school teacher making sure kids kept their hands to themselves, but she wanted to make sure the pack knew their place. She was to have no fighting today for she never had an issue before, and she didn’t want to begin now.

The young handler rode on Kuma taking the lead with Benji close to Kuma’s right flank and Anubis on her left side being held by a halter by Kayia. The only one of least concern was Bliss who was a bubbly little spirit who was free to trot around the pack. Once the tension of the pack relaxed between Anubis and Benji, Kayia took her eyes off them and looked at the map she planned out for today. She got an early start today not just because of all the tokotas and personalities she had to cater to, but because the beach she wanted to go to was a few miles out. Ribbon seals were her goal of the day and they don’t come to land a lot, they mainly stayed on ice floats at sea but where were some hunters earlier that week that reported a pod of seals were at the coast of the Chukchi Sea. Except for Bliss of course, the pack still seemed uneasy and quiet so she decided to make a game of this.

“How about we have a race guys, what do you say?”

The tokotas pricked up their ears; she got their attention. Bliss was just excited to go and the boys had that edge of rivalry between them, so a race? They were ready.
“We are going to the Chukchi Sea which is quite a bit north from here but I thought we could maybe race to the Chukchi bay which is basically the entrance to the sea. First one there gets some treats I bought for us.” Kayia took out the bag of home cooked treats she had and shook the bag to get everyones attention.

Kuma loved the treats but she knew she could get them at home nearly whenever she wanted so she was going to throw the race which was designed more to cut the energy between the boys. Bliss licked her lips and was nearly bouncing out of her skin she was so ready!

“Alright guys, to the bay, no unsportsmanlike moves, lets be fair to everyone alright? Ok, on your mark, get set and GO!”

Bliss took off like a bullet, taking the lead first, and even Kayia was impressed with the tokis speed for such little legs. Benji and Anubis were pretty closely matched in speed and Kuma took up the rear. Getting closer to the bay meant the terrain got rockier and little Bliss bounced off the rocks like a pinball in a pinball machine game. Benji then started pulling away from Anubis, making the sphinx tokota snarl and push his pace harder. Kuma was urged to keep up with the boys to be able to step in if needed. Seeing the sphinx approach out of the corner of his eye, Benji was distracted enough to trip over a rock and inadvertently stumble into Anubis which enraged the sphinx who responded with a threatening snarl. Kuma surged forward, pushing the boys apart from each other and snapping in Anubis’s face. ‘NOT ACCEPTABLE’ was the basic translation and the tundra sphinx got the message as his ears flattened. Kayia re clipped the halter back on him and pulled him forward. Kuma looked back to Benji who pushed himself against the bearmarked tokota for reassurance and attention.

“You’re fine buddy.” Kayia told the tokota. It wasn’t that she didn’t care if he was hurt, but she also wasn’t going to pamper the mammas boy; he had to grow up.

“Well, it certainly seems I know who won this race!” her tone changed to a cheerful one, seeing Bliss yipping happily at the bay waiting for others. “You’re so fast! I can’t believe it! I may just get a toki because of you cutie.”

Bliss giggled and yipped happily in the praise and waggled her tail, eager for her treat. Kayia chuckled and tossed the deserving toki the promised treats but to soothe Benjis hurt ego, she gave him a treat as well, and of course she had to give one to Anubis as well so he wouldn’t hold a grudge.

“Getting to the Chukchi Sea isn’t much further from here but does anyone want to take a break after our run?” Kayia didn’t want to push everyone into the hunt if they weren’t ready but at the same time, eating before a hunt wasn’t the best idea. If the pack wanted a break though, who was she to deny them? They were the ones doing the hunting, not her. Kuma shrugged, the boys didn’t seem to care if they stopped or not, and Bliss was always just ready to go being the enigerizer toki she was. Kayia’s reaction mirrored Kumas; with a shrug.

“Alright well… how about we just take it easy getting to the sea and if you want a water break along the way, thats fine too.” Again, the boys didn’t seem to care one way or the other, they were just done being in each others company. Kayia sighed and gave Bliss a big hug.

“I think you’re the only one who cares here but thats ok. Just means more treats for you later sweetie.” Bliss yipped in gleeful agreement and licked Kayias cheek.

“Yup, totally getting a toki now.” Giggled Kayia.

After fawning over Bliss a bit, Kayia knew they had to get moving before Benji emotionally shut down and before Anubis started picking on him again. Without mounting Kuma again, Kayia just walked alongside the tokotas, focusing on giving Benji the much wanted attention he craved. The pack moved forward, as they got closer to the sea the barks and echos of the seals started to get louder and the saltiness in the air grew stronger. Kayia turned to the pack and again freed Anubis from his harness.

“Im trusting you boys to be mature. You’re here for a job; to get them seals out there. Be careful, the rocks are slippery and male seals can be aggressive. Not everyone has to work together, but just do your best.” The handler smiled and ran her hands over the sphinx’s neck, giving him attention as well and then unpacked Kumas packs that carried supplies for the hunt. The tokotas looked to Kayia expectantly and then she realized she never formally released them.

“What the hell are you waiting for, go go go!” urging them on, Kuma took the lead and bounded to the shore line.

Kayia watched the pack go. It was quite the site; a small toki with a sphinx with a bear like tokota and a speckled one as well. She usually helped with hunts, guiding the tokotas direction or hunting strategy, but she thought maybe they just had to be on their own for a while. Besides, she wasn’t very nimble on slippery rocks and she wouldn’t be of any help in the hunt anyway. She giggled watching Bliss start chasing birds instead of the seals. ‘Such a silly girl’ She thought to herself as she turned her attention to the boys. Anubis pulled away from the pack and was chasing seals out of the water, making them move slower, and trapping them against the rocks. Benji kept close to Kuma which was no surprise but they worked well together. They took turns chasing and pinning and surrounding seals and they looked to be quite successful in their endeavors. When most of the seals escaped into the water and when the pack looked done and tired out, Kayia pushed herself off the rock she was watching them on and jogged to the waiting pack.

“Oh my god guys look at this!”

Kuma and Benji certainly got the biggest mound of seals compared to the others but they had the most hunting experience and had helpful items they were equipped with.

“Wow, Benji and Kuma, way to go guys, I’m so not carrying all of this back, you have to help me with it.”

Kuma and Benji both yipped and barked in joyful agreement. The successful hunt was very fun and boosted Benji’s confidence and ego. Even Anubis seemed very content with himself for her got a couple of seals as well and he worked alone. He felt especially prideful at his independance and rightfully so. Kayia was impressed he was able to catch seals with no help.

“And look at you little Bliss-y!” Kayia threw her arms around the little toki whom she has just about fallen in love with. “Let’s see what you caught here my little love bug.”
Bliss climbed half onto Kayia’s lap as Kayia counted 2 birds the pup got.

“What about seals hun? That was the objective for today silly.”
The toki barked and hid her face in her paws. She actually did try to catch a seal but the size ratio was hard for her and though she ‘caught’ one, she wasn’t able to hold on to it as it was too close to the water and it escaped so the toki had fun catching some birds which was just fine.

“You gave it a good try hun, that’s all that matters. Maybe next time you’ll catch one of them seals.”

Kayia pulled out some big bags and rope she bought with her and hoped it was enough for what Kuma and Benji caught. Typically she would skin the hides of the animal there on site so there wouldn’t be so much literal dead weight to carry home however, many of the seals hunted technically belonged to the owners of the other tokotas and she promised to leave the hunted animals alone for the owners to do what they pleased with them. She loaded up each tokota with their own catch and treated each tokota for a job well done before they headed home, dragging their bounty. Kayia decided to not ride Kuma back home for the bearmarked tokota not only was tired from the trip there and the hunt itself, but she had her share of seals to carry and no one was going anywhere fast so Kayia actually carried a small seal as well as she walked with the tokotas. It seemed the hunt was exactly what everyone needed because half way home, Kayia realized she didn’t clip a halter back onto Anubis and he had no issue with Benji. In fact, they were actually walking next to each other with Kuma and Bliss on the outside of the pack. It seemed the boys were able to relax around one another; Anubis got out some aggressiveness on the seals and Benjis good hunt gave him confidence he needed in himself. It looked to Kayia that the boys were even becoming friends! Benji kept looking at Anubis’s haul and seemed impressed he did well solo, while Anubis nosed the pile of seals Benji had strapped to his back. Both had new respect for one another and when Benji was dropped back to his handler, Kayia was very relieved to report that he behaved well and it was a great day. Benji pulled off the rope and seals he was caring and tackled his owner, licking and whining happily to be back with mom. Kayia dropped the seal she was carrying herself and raved about Benji to Anastrianna, his elf handler who was so glad Benji seemed to get comfortable with the group by the end of the hunt.

“I know he can be a bit attached to me but he seems so happy, I would love for him to be out with you and Kuma again. He also seems to have taken a liking to Kuma you know.” Anastrianna smiled and pushed Benji teasingly as the tokota dipped his head.

Ana knew her boy well and he was mildly fond of Kuma but his mom didn’t need to admit that out loud where Kuma could hear! Seeing his bashful reaction, the two handlers laughed and agreed to make more plans in the upcoming future for Benji and his other packmates to get out more.

Next on the drop off list was Bliss whom Kayia clung to when meeting the owner who was quite amused hearing the toki hunted birds instead of seals. Upon leaving the toki behind, Kayia made a mental note that she had to look for tokis available for adoption somewhere. Last but not least was Anubis. Knowing he was close to home, the tokota broke out into a run back home just like Benji. He was glad to be back in the comforts of his home and didn’t need to deal with others anymore. Kayia explained to the owner the slight mishap that happened earlier that day but that after a successful hunt, Anubis seemed to be in much better spirits and she was confident with a bit of work, he would be great socially.

Done with the day, Kayia and Kuma went back home to collapse and deal with the seals later.

“I know it was a bit of a long day physically and emotionally but are you alright my bear?”
Kuma’s eyes seemed to smile as she nuzzled to her handler affectionately. Of course she was fine, she loved hunts and she loved her handler. Any drama that happened along the way was just part of life and Kuma shrugged it off instead of holding on to it.

“I know you liked little toki Bliss too didn’t you? Would you like it if we adopted one ourselves?”
Kuma barked in approval over the idea for she did care for the little toki’s spunk.

“Alright, alright. I’ll see what I can do, but for now, it’s bed time.”