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It was time, Jacob knew that he had been putting off doing the tasks… dun dun dun. Not that they were not to be taken seriously, but joking around, even with just himself seemed to help. Now, he had done the tasks before, Tiberius and others had completed the arduous experiences that made up the Rites of Dominance. Starting the tasks was always difficult, right off the bat your tokota was supposed to face their worst fear. Now Jacob generally had an idea of what that was, and it was no different for Montgomery, the blind, curly maned, brown tokota, the son of Tiberius – Montgomery, or Monty for short.

As much as the tokota loved snacks and food, one might think his greatest fear was going hungry for a few hours, but Jacob knew if it came down to it Monty's survival instincts would kick in and the tokota would find any food, not just the good stuff. No, Monty's fear was something deep, and maybe even part of the reason he was such a chubby buddy. The tokota was blind after all, and he had every reason to fear what he couldn't see. And some how Jacob had to figure out how to help the tokota face that fear. He ran his hand through his dark brown hair and sighed, the rest of the tasks were no easy feat either, but the first one was always a challenge. Starting was half the battle and all that. Why did he always think in cliches when he was stressed out?
Some barking interrupted Jacob's ruminations, and he got up tiredly, it was late, he could think about this some more tomorrow. First though, he had to go check on the tokotas. By the time he got to bed it would be thoroughly dark out, the sun was setting earlier and rising later, as it tended to do this time of year. Always though he would be tired at the end of the day. Even though the tokotas could and often did hunt for themselves they still trusted him to care for them when needed and that helped Jacob do this day after day.

Morning came, the sun lazily crawling its way up the pale blue sky. The orange, yellow and red leaves swept gently down from the oak and other such trees. Even the pine trees would grow browner as winter set in, but it was not time for that yet. Fall was still in its early days, and animals were just starting to prepare and Jacob was awake early, the chores seemed endless, the mass of fur and fluff he faced every day, who would have thought this is where his life would lead? Winter was coming soon as well, that meant it was time for him and others to start really stocking up and if he wanted to complete Monty's rites he'd have to really hurry things along. Today though, today would be dedicated to hunting. It had been a long time since he had taken Monty for a ride, the lazy fella was getting too chubby for his own good. With that decided Jacob gathered the tack and supplies and took his time tacking up the blind tokota, soothing him as the bridle and saddle jingled and the tokota patiently stood still for the promise of a “treat” after.

Jacob had plenty of those on hand, after all if there was one thing Monty loved as much as his cuddles it was food. And really, wasn't every tokota's favorite thing food of some description? Monty just happened to love all the food but that made it easier for Jacob so he hadn't really done anything to change that behavior. Plus it was nice to have a tokota to cuddle with when the days got cold.

Today though was not particularly cold, though it was autumn, the leaves changing color and frost that sometimes covered the ground in the early morning were proof enough of that. Fortunately it was either late enough that all the frost had thawed into dew already or it was warmer then it felt. Despite having lived through a winder before Jacob was never quite prepared for just how cold it got. Fortunately he had tokotas like Monty's fuzzy butt to keep him company as well as warm.

Jacob mounted the brown tokota, situating himself in the saddle as the leather creaked a bit under his weight. Using a combination of words and the reins he guided the tokota forward. There was no rush to find their prey, it was early yet and Jacob wanted to conserve Monty's energy for when they were actually hunting something. So with that in mind they started following a deer path, they had been down this way before but it had been a while, hopefully they would find something.

Despite many many rides together it was always a bit tricky getting used to guiding the blind tokota again. Monty was out of practice as well, his lazy nature kicking as he tried to move even slower and even sit down at points. But patience, patience was key and Jacob actually kind of liked the peaceful, relaxed nature of the ride.

Hours passed, the morning light was turning to afternoon heat, well if it could be called heat anyway, really it was just slightly warmer and the wind had died down a bit.
Jacob pulled Monty to a halt, it was time for lunch and he had the feeling that Monty wouldn't miss lunch for the world. He pulled the tack off the brown tokota, and rummaged through the saddle bags for what he had brought along to eat while Monty nosed at him eagerly, making wuffing noises as he eagerly sniffed at Jacob for food. With a smile Jacob obliged the large beast, setting out what he had brought.

Monty curled up beside Jacob, making Jacob's jacket not even necessary as he leaned against the tokota's warm side, the curly fur of Monty's mane refusing to stay put and kept getting in Jacob's way, but at least it was soft, pliant fur that didn't mind getting pushed back and made a great place for a nap. At least that's what Jacob wished he could use it for and Monty certainly wouldn't have minded, the two had taken many a lazy afternoon nap together. But, no, they had a mission and Jacob was going to do his best to make sure the two of them came back with something.

So after digesting lunch and relaxing a bit more Jacob put the tack back on Monty, mounting the tokota again, and urged him to go a bit faster, and though Monty let out a grumble he trusted his human and let Jacob be his eyes while he used his sensitive nose and ears do the rest of the work. Even his feet were extra sensitive, feeling the terrain better then other tokotas might.

It was not long after lunch when it seemed that Monty scented something and he signaled to Jacob with a tug and his ears flicking, so the two veered off the deer path they had been following, travel was slower now as Jacob was careful to guide the tokota around any obstacles while Jacob concentrated on following the scent. Trees loomed up all around them, closing in on the tokota and rider, but nothing uncomfortable enough to make Jacob and Monty turn back.

From other, more visual signs, such as dung, bushes being bent, and hoof prints it seemed they were following a deer. Nothing too large judging by the hoof prints, perhaps a bachelor stag, fending for himself for the first time, loosing his antlers and trying to find a place for the eventual winter. The amount of broken branches and such also seemed to point to a more inexperienced animal.
Normally once Monty got a scent it didn't take long to find his prey, but today it seemed the stag was more wily then Jacob would have thought. Perhaps it was older then Jacob's first guess, hard saying.

Jacob was careful to note which way they came from though, while he was pretty sure Monty could find his way home by scent if he had to he did not want to make the tokota have to face his fears, not yet.

He could hear the water rushing long before he could see it, and it appeared that the water would prevent them the further following of their prey. However, just before they reached the river Monty turned and it seemed all was not lost after all. Which was a good thing because the fall rains seemed to have swollen the river's banks, making muddy water spill over the sides and make the ground slippery. While Monty had never been afraid of water per say he was always stubborn about going in, after all being unable to see and losing the feeling of ground underneath his paws, and losing some of his hearing and smelling senses would panic any tokota. It was only the trust Monty and Jacob had developed that likely kept the brown tokota calm in water. Still he did not exactly want to test that trust in the more violent, unsettled, muddy river.

The river did bring one good thing with it though, a land mark, if they got lost Jacob knew to follow the river upstream and it would lead them closer to home. He could turn is concentration back to getting Monty through the mud and away from the slippery banks.

Jacob sighed, Monty would need a good bath after today, and his curly fur could be a pain to get clean. Hopefully they could make this all worth it and actually catch the stag. At least giving Monty a bath was not the worst thing Jacob would have had to do with a tokota and Monty would actual enjoy getting said bath and be cooperative -well maybe not so much cooperative as non resistant and too lazy and relaxed to care.

Just then Monty's head shot up, his lazy walk turning into a spring forward and all of Jacob's attention turned to the chase and directing the tokota around the trees and rocks. A young stag sprang out of the bushes, startled from its hiding place. With the prey in sight Monty became even more motivated, his stride lengthening as he pushed forward. The stag's eyes were wild, his legs moving swiftly as he sprang away from the tokota and rider, determined to live another day.

Monty and Jacob though wanted that stag dead, as cruel as that sounded, to take each part of the stag and salt and dry it for the upcoming winter. To feed it to the hungry tokotas when winter hit the hardest. So it was a nescassary thing they did to want the deer dead.

You could hardly blame them for missing the signs, the water sound growing louder, the mud getting stickier as it grabbed at Monty's paws, each step making a squelching sound. The deers more graceful strides managed to carry it even further from the pair, but Monty had one thing in mind, food and he was determined not to loose his prey and Jacob was busy trying to make sure Monty did not run into anything.

And that is how it all went wrong, the signs were either ignored or rushing by far too fast when Monty slipped sideways, his paws flailing, his ears going back. Jacob was thrown sideways, straight into the roiling river. Monty fell, straight on his face, mud splattering his white underbelly. The blind tokota started to panic, where was his rider? Where was his guidance? The roar of the river and his heart beating distracted him and his head was pounding as the tokota tried to calm himself. Surely Jacob couldn't have gone far? Where had Jacob been last? On his back, then sideways, the tokota tilted his head sideways, the river sounds grew even louder but as he honed in he could hear Jacob crying out.
“Help! Help! Monty!” as well as the sounds of flailing and water splashing.
Monty struggled to his feet, gathering his senses as the mud tried to claim him once more. But he couldn't let a thing like mud stop him. But … how would he rescue Jacob exactly? The river held unknown terrain, he could run into rocks, and who knew how deep the water was?

“He...lpppp” the cry was more faint now, farther down river. Had Jacob hurt himself? The thought spurred Monty into action, the curly maned tokota sprang into the river, flailing as he tried to adjust to the current of the water, listening to new sounds. Part of him was still paniking, his breathing was ragged and his paws where flailing entirely too much to be of any use. He had to calm down, he let the current carry him as it would, listening for Jacob. There, up ahead, the human sounded closer, much closer now!

With determination Monty swum toward the shouting and splashing, navigating blind, literally. He bumped into a rock with a thud, and he wanted to stop this, what if the next rock he ran into was sharper?

Another cry from Jacob pushed that from his mind and Monty listened even harder as he swum forward, until finally he reached Jacob. The human was splashing and sputtering and had given up shouting by now. Monty pulled Jacob toward the shore scrambling onto the muddy banks with relief.

Jacob sat, his left arm hanging limply at and odd angle. Cursing Jacob tried to move it, only to yelp out in pain. Monty nuzzled him worriedly, choosing the wrong side to do it on though causing Jacob to wince. “I am okay Monty, its okay, just dry off.” Monty shook himself dry, as Jacob had told him too, though he remained rather muddy and crusty. “You .. jumped in the river for me. You had no guidance, you could have been hurt you know. You .. faced your fear for me. Thank you” Jacob reached up to give Monty scratches, instinctively trying to use his left hand and wincing and yelping again. “You ready to face it again boy? I don't think I'll be able to really steer so well on the way home.”

Monty cocked his head and nuzzled Jacob's right arm carefully, already having learned that for whatever reason the tokota didn't totally understand that his left side hurt for Monty to nuzzle.
They sat for a bit longer before Jacob finally managed to struggle his way into a standing position, touching Monty's shoulder to make the tokota kneel. The tack was rather waterlogged and slippery so it was still a bit of a struggle for Jacob to settle into the saddle.

Finally though Jacob was ready, taking the reins with his right hand, and for a moment Monty hesitated, waiting for Jacob's signal, Jacob, unable to do so just gave the tokota tap with his heels and with trust the tokota walked forward. His ears swiveled and his nose was constantly sniffing, paws feeling the texture of the ground as he made his way home.

It took hours for them to reach home but finally, finally they got there. Jacob had somehow managed not to fall out of the saddle all the way home but when they got there he was able to finally slide out of the saddle, wincing as he hit the ground.

Before Jacob went inside though he rubbed the tokota's face gently with his right hand. “You did a good job today boy. Such a good boy. You faced your fears, and were courageous in your efforts to save me. So, thank you again Monty.”

Description
It was time, Jacob knew that he had been putting off doing the tasks… dun dun dun. Not that they were not to be taken seriously, but joking around, even with just himself seemed to help. Now, he had done the tasks before, Tiberius and others had completed the arduous experiences that made up the Rites of Dominance. Starting the tasks was always difficult, right off the bat your tokota was supposed to face their worst fear. Now Jacob generally had an idea of what that was, and it was no different for Montgomery, the blind, curly maned, brown tokota, the son of Tiberius – Montgomery, or Monty for short.

As much as the tokota loved snacks and food, one might think his greatest fear was going hungry for a few hours, but Jacob knew if it came down to it Monty's survival instincts would kick in and the tokota would find any food, not just the good stuff. No, Monty's fear was something deep, and maybe even part of the reason he was such a chubby buddy. The tokota was blind after all, and he had every reason to fear what he couldn't see. And some how Jacob had to figure out how to help the tokota face that fear. He ran his hand through his dark brown hair and sighed, the rest of the tasks were no easy feat either, but the first one was always a challenge. Starting was half the battle and all that. Why did he always think in cliches when he was stressed out?
Some barking interrupted Jacob's ruminations, and he got up tiredly, it was late, he could think about this some more tomorrow. First though, he had to go check on the tokotas. By the time he got to bed it would be thoroughly dark out, the sun was setting earlier and rising later, as it tended to do this time of year. Always though he would be tired at the end of the day. Even though the tokotas could and often did hunt for themselves they still trusted him to care for them when needed and that helped Jacob do this day after day.

Morning came, the sun lazily crawling its way up the pale blue sky. The orange, yellow and red leaves swept gently down from the oak and other such trees. Even the pine trees would grow browner as winter set in, but it was not time for that yet. Fall was still in its early days, and animals were just starting to prepare and Jacob was awake early, the chores seemed endless, the mass of fur and fluff he faced every day, who would have thought this is where his life would lead? Winter was coming soon as well, that meant it was time for him and others to start really stocking up and if he wanted to complete Monty's rites he'd have to really hurry things along. Today though, today would be dedicated to hunting. It had been a long time since he had taken Monty for a ride, the lazy fella was getting too chubby for his own good. With that decided Jacob gathered the tack and supplies and took his time tacking up the blind tokota, soothing him as the bridle and saddle jingled and the tokota patiently stood still for the promise of a “treat” after.

Jacob had plenty of those on hand, after all if there was one thing Monty loved as much as his cuddles it was food. And really, wasn't every tokota's favorite thing food of some description? Monty just happened to love all the food but that made it easier for Jacob so he hadn't really done anything to change that behavior. Plus it was nice to have a tokota to cuddle with when the days got cold.

Today though was not particularly cold, though it was autumn, the leaves changing color and frost that sometimes covered the ground in the early morning were proof enough of that. Fortunately it was either late enough that all the frost had thawed into dew already or it was warmer then it felt. Despite having lived through a winder before Jacob was never quite prepared for just how cold it got. Fortunately he had tokotas like Monty's fuzzy butt to keep him company as well as warm.

Jacob mounted the brown tokota, situating himself in the saddle as the leather creaked a bit under his weight. Using a combination of words and the reins he guided the tokota forward. There was no rush to find their prey, it was early yet and Jacob wanted to conserve Monty's energy for when they were actually hunting something. So with that in mind they started following a deer path, they had been down this way before but it had been a while, hopefully they would find something.

Despite many many rides together it was always a bit tricky getting used to guiding the blind tokota again. Monty was out of practice as well, his lazy nature kicking as he tried to move even slower and even sit down at points. But patience, patience was key and Jacob actually kind of liked the peaceful, relaxed nature of the ride.

Hours passed, the morning light was turning to afternoon heat, well if it could be called heat anyway, really it was just slightly warmer and the wind had died down a bit.
Jacob pulled Monty to a halt, it was time for lunch and he had the feeling that Monty wouldn't miss lunch for the world. He pulled the tack off the brown tokota, and rummaged through the saddle bags for what he had brought along to eat while Monty nosed at him eagerly, making wuffing noises as he eagerly sniffed at Jacob for food. With a smile Jacob obliged the large beast, setting out what he had brought.

Monty curled up beside Jacob, making Jacob's jacket not even necessary as he leaned against the tokota's warm side, the curly fur of Monty's mane refusing to stay put and kept getting in Jacob's way, but at least it was soft, pliant fur that didn't mind getting pushed back and made a great place for a nap. At least that's what Jacob wished he could use it for and Monty certainly wouldn't have minded, the two had taken many a lazy afternoon nap together. But, no, they had a mission and Jacob was going to do his best to make sure the two of them came back with something.

So after digesting lunch and relaxing a bit more Jacob put the tack back on Monty, mounting the tokota again, and urged him to go a bit faster, and though Monty let out a grumble he trusted his human and let Jacob be his eyes while he used his sensitive nose and ears do the rest of the work. Even his feet were extra sensitive, feeling the terrain better then other tokotas might.

It was not long after lunch when it seemed that Monty scented something and he signaled to Jacob with a tug and his ears flicking, so the two veered off the deer path they had been following, travel was slower now as Jacob was careful to guide the tokota around any obstacles while Jacob concentrated on following the scent. Trees loomed up all around them, closing in on the tokota and rider, but nothing uncomfortable enough to make Jacob and Monty turn back.

From other, more visual signs, such as dung, bushes being bent, and hoof prints it seemed they were following a deer. Nothing too large judging by the hoof prints, perhaps a bachelor stag, fending for himself for the first time, loosing his antlers and trying to find a place for the eventual winter. The amount of broken branches and such also seemed to point to a more inexperienced animal.
Normally once Monty got a scent it didn't take long to find his prey, but today it seemed the stag was more wily then Jacob would have thought. Perhaps it was older then Jacob's first guess, hard saying.

Jacob was careful to note which way they came from though, while he was pretty sure Monty could find his way home by scent if he had to he did not want to make the tokota have to face his fears, not yet.

He could hear the water rushing long before he could see it, and it appeared that the water would prevent them the further following of their prey. However, just before they reached the river Monty turned and it seemed all was not lost after all. Which was a good thing because the fall rains seemed to have swollen the river's banks, making muddy water spill over the sides and make the ground slippery. While Monty had never been afraid of water per say he was always stubborn about going in, after all being unable to see and losing the feeling of ground underneath his paws, and losing some of his hearing and smelling senses would panic any tokota. It was only the trust Monty and Jacob had developed that likely kept the brown tokota calm in water. Still he did not exactly want to test that trust in the more violent, unsettled, muddy river.

The river did bring one good thing with it though, a land mark, if they got lost Jacob knew to follow the river upstream and it would lead them closer to home. He could turn is concentration back to getting Monty through the mud and away from the slippery banks.

Jacob sighed, Monty would need a good bath after today, and his curly fur could be a pain to get clean. Hopefully they could make this all worth it and actually catch the stag. At least giving Monty a bath was not the worst thing Jacob would have had to do with a tokota and Monty would actual enjoy getting said bath and be cooperative -well maybe not so much cooperative as non resistant and too lazy and relaxed to care.

Just then Monty's head shot up, his lazy walk turning into a spring forward and all of Jacob's attention turned to the chase and directing the tokota around the trees and rocks. A young stag sprang out of the bushes, startled from its hiding place. With the prey in sight Monty became even more motivated, his stride lengthening as he pushed forward. The stag's eyes were wild, his legs moving swiftly as he sprang away from the tokota and rider, determined to live another day.

Monty and Jacob though wanted that stag dead, as cruel as that sounded, to take each part of the stag and salt and dry it for the upcoming winter. To feed it to the hungry tokotas when winter hit the hardest. So it was a nescassary thing they did to want the deer dead.

You could hardly blame them for missing the signs, the water sound growing louder, the mud getting stickier as it grabbed at Monty's paws, each step making a squelching sound. The deers more graceful strides managed to carry it even further from the pair, but Monty had one thing in mind, food and he was determined not to loose his prey and Jacob was busy trying to make sure Monty did not run into anything.

And that is how it all went wrong, the signs were either ignored or rushing by far too fast when Monty slipped sideways, his paws flailing, his ears going back. Jacob was thrown sideways, straight into the roiling river. Monty fell, straight on his face, mud splattering his white underbelly. The blind tokota started to panic, where was his rider? Where was his guidance? The roar of the river and his heart beating distracted him and his head was pounding as the tokota tried to calm himself. Surely Jacob couldn't have gone far? Where had Jacob been last? On his back, then sideways, the tokota tilted his head sideways, the river sounds grew even louder but as he honed in he could hear Jacob crying out.
“Help! Help! Monty!” as well as the sounds of flailing and water splashing.
Monty struggled to his feet, gathering his senses as the mud tried to claim him once more. But he couldn't let a thing like mud stop him. But … how would he rescue Jacob exactly? The river held unknown terrain, he could run into rocks, and who knew how deep the water was?

“He...lpppp” the cry was more faint now, farther down river. Had Jacob hurt himself? The thought spurred Monty into action, the curly maned tokota sprang into the river, flailing as he tried to adjust to the current of the water, listening to new sounds. Part of him was still paniking, his breathing was ragged and his paws where flailing entirely too much to be of any use. He had to calm down, he let the current carry him as it would, listening for Jacob. There, up ahead, the human sounded closer, much closer now!

With determination Monty swum toward the shouting and splashing, navigating blind, literally. He bumped into a rock with a thud, and he wanted to stop this, what if the next rock he ran into was sharper?

Another cry from Jacob pushed that from his mind and Monty listened even harder as he swum forward, until finally he reached Jacob. The human was splashing and sputtering and had given up shouting by now. Monty pulled Jacob toward the shore scrambling onto the muddy banks with relief.

Jacob sat, his left arm hanging limply at and odd angle. Cursing Jacob tried to move it, only to yelp out in pain. Monty nuzzled him worriedly, choosing the wrong side to do it on though causing Jacob to wince. “I am okay Monty, its okay, just dry off.” Monty shook himself dry, as Jacob had told him too, though he remained rather muddy and crusty. “You .. jumped in the river for me. You had no guidance, you could have been hurt you know. You .. faced your fear for me. Thank you” Jacob reached up to give Monty scratches, instinctively trying to use his left hand and wincing and yelping again. “You ready to face it again boy? I don't think I'll be able to really steer so well on the way home.”

Monty cocked his head and nuzzled Jacob's right arm carefully, already having learned that for whatever reason the tokota didn't totally understand that his left side hurt for Monty to nuzzle.
They sat for a bit longer before Jacob finally managed to struggle his way into a standing position, touching Monty's shoulder to make the tokota kneel. The tack was rather waterlogged and slippery so it was still a bit of a struggle for Jacob to settle into the saddle.

Finally though Jacob was ready, taking the reins with his right hand, and for a moment Monty hesitated, waiting for Jacob's signal, Jacob, unable to do so just gave the tokota tap with his heels and with trust the tokota walked forward. His ears swiveled and his nose was constantly sniffing, paws feeling the texture of the ground as he made his way home.

It took hours for them to reach home but finally, finally they got there. Jacob had somehow managed not to fall out of the saddle all the way home but when they got there he was able to finally slide out of the saddle, wincing as he hit the ground.

Before Jacob went inside though he rubbed the tokota's face gently with his right hand. “You did a good job today boy. Such a good boy. You faced your fears, and were courageous in your efforts to save me. So, thank you again Monty.”