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Evening. Wednesday night, about 7:00. It was already dark. Frost freckled windows and the stars were as cold and sharp as daggers. The moon was the thinnest splinter of light in the sky. The coarse scent of smoke hovered in the air, the remnants of someone's burn pile. The snow on the ground was just deep enough to cover the brown grass... and to leave crisp, clean pawprints in the snow.

Larkie knelt, touching the crushed snow with a gloved hand. Tiny diamonds of melted snow sparkled up at her. The print was fresh, very fresh. Cupun dipped his coal black head to sniff the print, eyes warily scanning the nightscape. He stood out against the thin, white snow, a shaggy black creature in the dim light. Larkie rose, brushing snow from her hands and leaning gently against Cupun. "C'mon lad." She whispered. "Not far now."

Larkie struck out, crunching through the shallow snow and into a thick cluster of pine. Cupun followed carefully, his sense of smell clouded by the scent of pine. Larkie followed the prints deep into the trees, cautious but not scared. This was not a man eater that she was after. Not even a grumpy dire. Ned liked the dires, but Larkie was just fine with her normal tokos. No, this was a clever little lass that Larkie and Cupun had met twice before. A Monet commonly known as-

Bambi. Oh shanks. Larkie halted, freezing as she came face to face with inquisitive brown eyes and a pink nose. Behind her, Cupun froze too. Warm breath gusted against Larkie's face, coming from partially open jaws. Partially open jaws that revealed pointed ivory teeth. Larkie was as still and silent as death, her eyes wide open. The wild, Bambi, was inches from her.

And then she sneezed. Damn her those are new boots. Came the ridiculous thought as Bambi splattered Larkie's boots with toko snot. Larkie flinched and stumbled back. Cupun flinched and stumbled back. Bambi stared curiously at the two and reached up an immense pale paw to swipe at her nose.

Larkie let out the air in her lungs in choked cough, her muscles ever so slowly beginning to relax. Cupun shuffled in the snow, taking a cautious step forward. Bambi looked at the black yeti, her ears pricking. Cupun approached her, tail wagging in an amiable manner. Bambi lightly touched her pink nose to his, whuffing in a friendly manner. Cupun's tail gave a faint wag and he yipped, bumping Bambi with his nose. Bambi bumped him back, stomping her feet in the snow and grinning playfully.

Larkie reached out one hand as slowly as molasses in December and rested it against the warm, wiry muscles of the mottled wild's shoulder. Bambi cocked her head at Larkie, forehead wrinkling. Larkie froze for a moment, but then cautiously smiled at her. Bambi's tongue lolled out and she turned back to Cupun, subtly flirting with the charcoal male.

Larkie let her hand drop as she watched Bambi sidle up to Cupun. She was a very pretty wild. An almost cream white heavily spotted and patched with Monet spots of tundra. The spots flowed along her coat, curling up and curling down with the silky hairs. Her eyes were the color of grass in the fall, pale brown. Dun stripes were visible running down her withers as was the blanket marking. Bambi was tiny, only just a little bigger than a toki. She couldn't have been more than 150 centimeters.

Larkie had heard the rumors about this wild. She was reportedly a darling, but also devilishly smart. Small and quick witted, Bambi was known for escaping any and all traps. She dearly loved treats and belly scratches though.

Ned had been the one to tell Larkie about the Monet. He'd told Icarus about the Vitiligo half mane and when Larkie had shown interest in helping Icarus if he wanted to attempt taming, Ned had mentioned the other wild that had been tagged by the TCA, a Monet female from the same pack known as Bambi. Larkie had long fancied the Monet gene, but she was always too busy to attempt a breeding and to poor to purchase one.

Bambi stared coyly up at Cupun, tilting her head up to tenderly touch the tip of her nose to his jaw. This was going a lot better than the two times before that the trio had met. The first, Bambi had stayed feet away, silently watching the yeti and the human. The second time... Bambi got spooked and fled, leaving Larkie and Cupun to trudge back home in the rain. Perhaps Bambi was warming up to them?

Larkie clucked at the petite toko, cautiously reaching her hand out to brush against the tundra and white fur of Bambi's mane. The Monet stopped flirting with Cupun, turning her attention to Larkie. Her ears flicked forward, eyes focusing on the handler. Bambi stepped forward, curious but ever watchful. Larkie held up her other hand, so the wild could see that Larkie didn't have any rope or muzzles. One hand resting just behind the lynx sideburns, she placed the other on the bridge of Bambi's nose.

Bambi whuffed and stared at Larkie, her nose twitching as she sniffed the woman. There was a moment of stillness and then Bambi backed up, snorting and pinning her ears. Cupun stepped defensively between the wild and Larkie, in case Bambi became aggressive. The Monet glared at Cupun before whirling around and fleeing into the green depths of the forest.

Larkie vaulted onto Cupun's ebony back and urged the yeti into a cautious trot. They followed the pale ghost that was Bambi deep into the pine. Bambi's coat was starkly visible in the dark, but she knew the forest well. Cupun and Larkie did not. Somehow though, they managed to track the wild to a sluggish river several miles into the forest.

The river was wide and black, but moved at a snail's pace. The pebble shore crunched underneath Cupun's feet as they padded towards the water. Bambi stood ankle deep in the river, watching her pursuers stop at the edge of the water. Nobody moved for a moment, each waited for the other to make take a step or speak a word.

Cupun stepped into the water. Bambi took a step back. Larkie watched the river swirl around Cupun's feet, she leaned down to murmur reassurance into his ears. The black yeti carefully plodded deeper, stepping where the wild had stepped. Bambi continued taking a step away from them for every step they took towards her.

The water was up to Bambi's belly, and just below Cupun's elbow when the Monet turned and suddenly leapt deeper, now swimming. Larkie urged Cupun on, the water beginning to seep into her boots. Bambi was still several feet ahead of them, but Cupun was slowly gaining on her. Until he couldn't touch the ground. Cupun splashed backwards in fear, nearly upsetting Larkie. The soaked yeti stopped and nothing Larkie could do got him to move forward.

Larkie watched Bambi scramble up the opposite bank and vigorously shake the water from her pale fur. The wild paused to stare at the two who stood motionless in the water. Then she disappeared into the dark trees.

Larkie turned Cupun around with a sigh and headed towards the shore. At the bank, Larkie dismounted and tugged her boots off, dumping the water inside them. Cupun shook like a dog, showering everything, including Larkie, in a rain of river water. Larkie laughed and helped wring out the water trapped in his thick mane.

The pair of tamers made their way through the forest, drying off as they plunged through the trees. Larkie was disappointed she had not been able to spend more time with Bambi, but this meeting had gone far better than the others. Cupun seemed to have had fun!

Larkie yawned as they came in sight of Ned's cabin, patting Cupun on the shoulder. It was late and both toko and human were dreaming of curling up in a soft bed and sleeping.