Private Vulpinsula & Surroundings Bows n' flowers

[Amatis Moontail]

Dr Moontail trudged through the countryside, pulling his winter coat close over his sweater. Despite the cold, he breathed more freely than he did in Bouillabaisse Harbor or on the Golden Hide. Here he was alone with nothing but his thoughts as he breathed in air as clean an crisp as the snow and leaves crunching under paw.

As he moved among leafless trees he scanned the space looking for the small orange flowers poking through the exposed leaf litter or the patches of snow. Eranthis plants usually bloomed in late winter to early spring, and were therefore far easier to find without having to freeze your whiskers off, but now he was looking for the more elusive Eranthis Vulpinus, which only bloomed during the middle of winter. What exactly was supposed to be pollinating them at this time of year still eluded botanists who had been in the field for years longer than Amatis had even been alive, and that was unlikely to change over the course of his weekend break, but this search was just about finding one and bringing it home. Any additional study would be a bonus that the weather would have to permit.

Speaking of the weather, he should set up his tent. It was quickly becoming dark and if he wasn't mistaken, he could see storm clouds coming. Well, best hope that it was simply a light snow and not a full-blown winter storm. He'd set out this weekend

He found a large and flat enough space to drop his pack, and started setting up his tent, tying off the required knots with practiced and fast paws. He would be more than ready by the time night truly fell. Tomorrow he would spend his Saturday looking for the Eranthis Vulpinus. He knew that it grew around here from a survey the museum had conducted the prior year, he just had to find it.

The campfire was lit and his dinner of herring potato pie was heated. He ate it slowly as he just sat in the silence of the natural world, muffled pleasantly through his knit hat. He was quite happy with this purchase for certain, with the button-on ear covers that had certainly done their job of keeping his ears warm.

He could listen to this silence all day for the rest of his life.

Settling in for the night, he closed the tent's door and wrapping himself in his bedroll, slowly drifting off as the plans in his head crumbled and melted like the snowballs he had been pelted with the other day.

Dr Moontail awoke to the sound of the storm and the shaking of his tent. He pulled himself from where he lay, shivering in the freezing wind that slipped through the canvas. Peaking through the flap, the outside world seemed to have been erased.

For now, at least, his knots hadn't failed and his tent was holding against the storm. Unable to do anything, Amatis crawled back into his bedroll, adjusting his tail-cover as he did so, and tightening his hat. He lay, unable to sleep with the noise through the thin walls as the wind howled and snow fell in thick furies.

He hoped it would be clear by the morning.

The next Monday, his absence wasn't felt until around midday when his colleagues found themselves passing by the sour-faced botanist's door. Usually the wildcat would have stepped out at exactly the same time as he did every day, but today the door stayed firmly shut. One finally decided to risk it and knocked on the door. Finding it unlocked, they poked their snout in only to find Dr Moontail wholly absent. Someone was sent to his tenement, as this absence was very much not in character for their usually prompt colleague, where it came to light from the landlady that Dr Amatis Moontail had set off after work the prior Friday.

@Marble

 

[Marble]

The disappearance of a local scholar quickly became the talk of the town by the late evening, as more details came to light though, Miothiyle would reflect on how this was a familiar occurrence that she had had to deal with back home. An eccentric individual who was somewhat recluse, going out into the wilds on their own, not taking into consideration the weather, not telling anyone where they were going and when they would be back, whilst she was hoping to find this Doctor Moontail alive far too often in the past she had only found a corpse. Of course the vixen kept this to herself as the colleagues and landlady gave her all the details of the missing cat and any clues of where he might of gone. Of course with the heavy snow over the weekend there was almost no chance of finding tracks, physical objects may still be visible but unlikely, and of course if the Doctor was in some way incapacitated, yelling out might not get a response.
"I will look for him as best as I can but I offer no promises." There was little point in obscuring the reality of the situation from the group, the cold could kill in minutes and with how long he had been missing. "I can also not risk my own safety in such an endeavour, whilst I am sure you want me to go out this instance the light is fading fast and the cold will set in. You may be able to find another hunter who is foolish enough to go out but then I will be bringing back two bodies. I will leave at first light tomorrow and I will be absent if not back by Friday mid. I will tie these red bands to trees to mark my progress so if you do need to send someone after myself it should be easier."

It would have been safer to have more people and hunt in a pack, but given how long it had been and the desperation for her to find the Doctor there was little time to do so. Miothiyle had practically been picked off the street that was how desperate it was. So the vixen gathered up supplies and warm clothing, including spares for the Doctor, some dry kindling, everything that might be needed when she found him. As promised she did head out on first light, heading out where his colleges expected him to have gone. The morning light starting to drift through the trees with the air still sharp and snow thick under foot as she made her way down the roads looking for any sign of where the scholar had gone to, apparently looking for some plant so she expected he would have gone off the roads and into the wilderness. So it was she tied her first marker, bright red against the bark of the tree and with the tail pointing in the direction she intended to travel and with that the fox set out.