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Description
White, check. Blinding, check. Windy, check. Miserable and no fun to be out in, check, and double check. Yes, this storm had all the earmarks of being a white out.

Even Zavala could not see in front of her and tokotas usually had better eyesight then humans. She was barely moving, only the fact she was out in the open and the fact her rider – Robyn was depending on her made her take one slow dragging step after another.

Every inch of ground was hard won, every step seemed to be accompanied by the wind pushing them back two. Snow clung to Zavala's fur, crusting over her eyelashes, and filling her nose with a constant cold, stinging sensation.

Robyn was as protected as she could be, riding atop the tokota instead of walking, relying on Zavala to get them to safety. She could barely feel the warmth of the tokota's body under her, but she took what little heat and comfort she could from it. Protective layers of clothing swaddled her body as the wind howled around her, catching any loose fabric and penetrating any hole in the cloth it could find.

She was wearing leggings, long johns, sweatpants and snow pants, a tank top, tee shirt, a lighter turtleneck and a heavier sweater with her tanned seal skin jacket with the black, white and brown speckled+6 wolverine furred hood on top. The hood was drawn close over head, atop a tightly fitted hat that was pinned in place with snugly fitting earmuffs, a ski mask covered her lower face and goggles protecting her eyes. Two pairs of gloves, three pairs of socks and boots that had little gripping spikes along the bottom, all of this a combination that in any other case would have left her overheated.
Now though, she was grateful for every piece of that outfit as it left her mostly protected from the cold though her fingers had grown numb and stiff from gripping the reins so hard.

This had all started when she and Zavala had gone on a trip to see Hunnin and Munnin in their castle along with all the other members of the Sosin Tribe that frequented the area – Haakon, Arved, Unnuk, Jurgen, Remy, and Sofie.
It had, after all been almost a year since Robyn, or any of the others had been to see the tribe, the last time they had been with all of them was when they had joined the tribe.

Now Robyn wondered if she shouldn't have brought the others along, or at least more tokotas as well, but all the others had encouraged her to go alone, after all it was just the beginning of fall, even if she took longer then expected they had not foreseen such a storm blocking her way. True, she had made many stops along the way to the castle, after all that was also another reason she had taken this trip.

She had been making jewelery out of natural stones, fur, bones, antlers, feather and hide – leather, and other such materials. Something small for those of those who did not want to buy something like a whole tack set or did not want a whole head of this or that prey mounted on their wall. The jewelry was especially popular with the younger couples, as pretty gifts for one another. Along the way to the castle she had made many stops to sell and deliver her wares as well as take new orders.

At the castle she had shared what trinkets she had left with those interested in her odds and ends, and traded for her supplies for her trip back home. She had also traded gossip, stories, news, notes on wild life behavior she had taken along the way, and had spent a week with the group before she decided it was time to head back and not press their hospitality any longer.

Munnin had offered to provide a guide along the way back and now she was regretting not accepting the chance when she had had it. But she had believed she could make her way back, after all she had made her way there without a guide, and only a map and landmarks to guide her. Then again would Munnin even been able to fly in this weather? She highly doubted it, and even if he had been able to warn her of the weather ahead … well it would have been useful and easier then this, but like her mother used to say hindsight is twenty-twenty.

As for bringing along other tokotas or other people with her those would have brought disadvantages to her current situation, as well as advantages. Someone could have scouted ahead for example, but they could have gotten caught in the storm and Robyn would not wish that on anyone. The less people and tokotas along, the less food she had to worry about so in a way having to just take of herself and Zavala was a distinct benefit, but at the same time if there had been others along they could have split up to hunt and possibly brought back more game.

It was impossible though to predict, or even think of all the maybes that would or would not have happened if things had even slightly, but thinking about anything other then the elements currently trying their best to halt her and Zavala in their tracks seemed to help.

Zavala stumbling brought Robyn back with a sharp jolt to the present and she was quick to offer support with her legs and voice, even if the creamy female tokota could not hear her over the howling wind. Recovering her balance the tokota took another step forward, and for a while Robyn simply concentrated on encouraging her in every way possible, despair was starting to creep in, the voice in the back of her mind whispering to give up.

As for Zavala for herself she was also long past the point of tiredness and approaching exhaustion quickly, her muscles screaming at her to stop, the wind cutting through her fur seemed to be stinging her eyes with every passing second. Instinct had taken over, and while Robyn was not sure which was up any longer Zavala kept trodding on, trusting her paws to carry her onward and upward.

Robyn's head felt light, her breathing felt labored. Were they getting higher? She could not tell, blackness was starting to encroach on her vision as her head dropped, then sharply back up as she tried desperately to keep her eyes open. Zavala felt her human's grip faltering but she dared not pause now, she felt so close.. to something, if she could just make it a little further her brain told her they would be safe.

Desperation, determination, an extra drive Zavala was not even aware she had kicked in and she dug into the packed snow, her claws gripping for purchase against the slick rock. She leapt forward, her body soaring over the snow for an instant, bounding upward, again her legs pushed against the surface, her breathing already growing labored. The storm fought back, the wind pressing against Zavala, trying to push her back.

With a grunt, Zavala scrambled forward again. All the jostling from Zavala's leaps had woken Robyn out of her stupor for the time being and she was now gripping tightly with her hands and knees. Where Zavala was taking them, she did not know, she just had to trust the tokota to guide them to safety.

Description
White, check. Blinding, check. Windy, check. Miserable and no fun to be out in, check, and double check. Yes, this storm had all the earmarks of being a white out.

Even Zavala could not see in front of her and tokotas usually had better eyesight then humans. She was barely moving, only the fact she was out in the open and the fact her rider – Robyn was depending on her made her take one slow dragging step after another.

Every inch of ground was hard won, every step seemed to be accompanied by the wind pushing them back two. Snow clung to Zavala's fur, crusting over her eyelashes, and filling her nose with a constant cold, stinging sensation.

Robyn was as protected as she could be, riding atop the tokota instead of walking, relying on Zavala to get them to safety. She could barely feel the warmth of the tokota's body under her, but she took what little heat and comfort she could from it. Protective layers of clothing swaddled her body as the wind howled around her, catching any loose fabric and penetrating any hole in the cloth it could find.

She was wearing leggings, long johns, sweatpants and snow pants, a tank top, tee shirt, a lighter turtleneck and a heavier sweater with her tanned seal skin jacket with the black, white and brown speckled+6 wolverine furred hood on top. The hood was drawn close over head, atop a tightly fitted hat that was pinned in place with snugly fitting earmuffs, a ski mask covered her lower face and goggles protecting her eyes. Two pairs of gloves, three pairs of socks and boots that had little gripping spikes along the bottom, all of this a combination that in any other case would have left her overheated.
Now though, she was grateful for every piece of that outfit as it left her mostly protected from the cold though her fingers had grown numb and stiff from gripping the reins so hard.

This had all started when she and Zavala had gone on a trip to see Hunnin and Munnin in their castle along with all the other members of the Sosin Tribe that frequented the area – Haakon, Arved, Unnuk, Jurgen, Remy, and Sofie.
It had, after all been almost a year since Robyn, or any of the others had been to see the tribe, the last time they had been with all of them was when they had joined the tribe.

Now Robyn wondered if she shouldn't have brought the others along, or at least more tokotas as well, but all the others had encouraged her to go alone, after all it was just the beginning of fall, even if she took longer then expected they had not foreseen such a storm blocking her way. True, she had made many stops along the way to the castle, after all that was also another reason she had taken this trip.

She had been making jewelery out of natural stones, fur, bones, antlers, feather and hide – leather, and other such materials. Something small for those of those who did not want to buy something like a whole tack set or did not want a whole head of this or that prey mounted on their wall. The jewelry was especially popular with the younger couples, as pretty gifts for one another. Along the way to the castle she had made many stops to sell and deliver her wares as well as take new orders.

At the castle she had shared what trinkets she had left with those interested in her odds and ends, and traded for her supplies for her trip back home. She had also traded gossip, stories, news, notes on wild life behavior she had taken along the way, and had spent a week with the group before she decided it was time to head back and not press their hospitality any longer.

Munnin had offered to provide a guide along the way back and now she was regretting not accepting the chance when she had had it. But she had believed she could make her way back, after all she had made her way there without a guide, and only a map and landmarks to guide her. Then again would Munnin even been able to fly in this weather? She highly doubted it, and even if he had been able to warn her of the weather ahead … well it would have been useful and easier then this, but like her mother used to say hindsight is twenty-twenty.

As for bringing along other tokotas or other people with her those would have brought disadvantages to her current situation, as well as advantages. Someone could have scouted ahead for example, but they could have gotten caught in the storm and Robyn would not wish that on anyone. The less people and tokotas along, the less food she had to worry about so in a way having to just take of herself and Zavala was a distinct benefit, but at the same time if there had been others along they could have split up to hunt and possibly brought back more game.

It was impossible though to predict, or even think of all the maybes that would or would not have happened if things had even slightly, but thinking about anything other then the elements currently trying their best to halt her and Zavala in their tracks seemed to help.

Zavala stumbling brought Robyn back with a sharp jolt to the present and she was quick to offer support with her legs and voice, even if the creamy female tokota could not hear her over the howling wind. Recovering her balance the tokota took another step forward, and for a while Robyn simply concentrated on encouraging her in every way possible, despair was starting to creep in, the voice in the back of her mind whispering to give up.

As for Zavala for herself she was also long past the point of tiredness and approaching exhaustion quickly, her muscles screaming at her to stop, the wind cutting through her fur seemed to be stinging her eyes with every passing second. Instinct had taken over, and while Robyn was not sure which was up any longer Zavala kept trodding on, trusting her paws to carry her onward and upward.

Robyn's head felt light, her breathing felt labored. Were they getting higher? She could not tell, blackness was starting to encroach on her vision as her head dropped, then sharply back up as she tried desperately to keep her eyes open. Zavala felt her human's grip faltering but she dared not pause now, she felt so close.. to something, if she could just make it a little further her brain told her they would be safe.

Desperation, determination, an extra drive Zavala was not even aware she had kicked in and she dug into the packed snow, her claws gripping for purchase against the slick rock. She leapt forward, her body soaring over the snow for an instant, bounding upward, again her legs pushed against the surface, her breathing already growing labored. The storm fought back, the wind pressing against Zavala, trying to push her back.

With a grunt, Zavala scrambled forward again. All the jostling from Zavala's leaps had woken Robyn out of her stupor for the time being and she was now gripping tightly with her hands and knees. Where Zavala was taking them, she did not know, she just had to trust the tokota to guide them to safety.