Jynn couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. The sky was bright and clear and the sun was shining and she was enjoying seeing all the interesting wolves and their crafts. Of course she couldn't really get anything. She didn't have anything to trade herself so she had to settle for admiring their work. Jynn walked easily through the tall green grasses until she came to a beautiful, crystal blue stream. Bending her long neck she took a swift drink before looking out across the horizon.

There was nothing but green in every direction and not a tree in sight. On the horizon to the south she could see clouds building. They were lumps of gray and white, starting to look a bit like mountains. She eyed the weather for a moment but there weren't any strong breezes and she couldn't quite tell which way the clouds were headed. She only hoped it wasn't going to storm later that night, not while the festival was going.

Ooc: thread for navigators to meet each other and explore, craft, whatevs.
Deadline: August 17, 5:00 pm central time US

Svala picked a spot among the other navigators, some who were exploring and others who were crafting. She had some special items with her to make a compass. Now it wasn't going to be the most mobile friendly thing but she had been wanting to experiment with this for some time. Svala pulled out one of her ceramic bowls and picking it up in her jaws she trotted over to the nearby stream and scooped up some water. She gently set her bowl down and started rummaging around for the rest of the items she'd need. She didn't have a fancy bag and threw all her equipment into the scrap of deer hide and thus it wasn't always the best organized.

Svala picked a spot among the other navigators, some who were exploring and others who were crafting. She had some special items with her to make a compass. Now it wasn't going to be the most mobile friendly thing but she had been wanting to experiment with this for some time. Svala pulled out one of her ceramic bowls and picking it up in her jaws she trotted over to the nearby stream and scooped up some water. She gently set her bowl down and started rummaging around for the rest of the items she'd need. She didn't have a fancy bag and threw all her equipment into the scrap of deer hide and thus it wasn't always the best organized.

Shilah took a moment to observe the weather before starting on his sundial. The day was warm and inviting and very few clouds were visible in the sky. There was a gentle breeze coming up from the south, warm and sweet… at least for now. As the heat of summer moved in the breeze would become less welcome.

Shilah focused back on what he was doing. It was an excellent day to build a little sundial. Shilah hoped for it to be a prototype for a sundial he could take with him. He was still working out how best to have a traveling sundial and make it work accurately.

Shilah busied himself scraping rocks and dirt off a flat surface of dirt he planned to experiment with. Taking a stick in his mouth he carefully stuck it into the dirt, trying to work it far down into the dry soil. Perhaps the plains could use some rain after all.

Jynn couldn't sit still long enough to work on any sort of craft so she took to exploring the area. With her nose to the ground she scouted along and quickly found a curious set of holes in the ground. Sniffing thoughtfully at one she identified the scent as prairie dog. She should've guessed there'd be a prairie dog town here. Maybe that meant there'd be some burrowing owls as well. She really liked watching those little owls. It was so amusing when they'd hiss at her if she got to close. In the distance she heard the sweet song of a meadowlark and a number of other birds. She found herself wondering if perhaps there were prairie chickens here. It would be strange if there wasn't.

Svala pulled out a charged piece of iron and set it down between her paws. This part required careful movements. She had a needle that she'd found in an old human dwelling. Gently she seized the needle in her teeth and rubbed it along the piece of iron to charge it. She then set the needle down and did a little bit more digging. A warm breeze came up from the south and she paused a moment to enjoy it. A little warmth did the body good after a long, hard winter. She was eager for the arrival of summer and the plant life that would come with it though she preferred the spring time temperatures to the heat of the summer.

Lynvarr put the stick away and rolled up his map. He kept it in his mouth as he trotted along the stream. It was a gorgeous, clear stream and when he paused to take a look closer he could see the rocks down at the bottom of the stream as well as small schools of minnows. There were likely some frogs as well and maybe birds like herons stopped by this stream for fuel on their flights.

As he moved on ahead he ran into a curve in the stream. Hmm… maybe he should document this kink in the stream. It was something that he could reference on future trips to the dancefloor as there were so few land marks to use for navigation. Again, he set the scrap of hide down and pulled out the stick. Dipping it in the silt he carefully drew a line for the stream of what he'd seen so far, trying to accurately sketch the curve.

Shilah stuck the stick down and made sure it held in the dry, clear earth. He cleared off the dirt surrounding the stick, working to smooth away loose grass and gravel. Ok, that looked like a good starting point. Shilah took the stick in his mouth and carefully angled it toward the north, or at least some what close to the north based on the season and the position of the sun. The clock would become less reliable as the year went on but that was fine. He patted in a bit more dirt where the stick leaned. Shilah took a few steps back and then examined the sundial. Yes, that would do. He settled down and thought about where to put the marks.

Jynn paused to sniff at an elderberry bush growing out of the ground. She sniffed lightly at the beautiful white flowers that were blooming all over the plant. Bees and butterflies and a number of other bugs were flitting to and fro. Jynn new it was some sort of healing herb but she didn't know exactly what it did. Turning away she kept on her journey, bouncing back over toward the stream for a moment before she leapt right over it. Her long legs enabled her to make an easy jump. Tahmores wasn't so lucky, he fell right in then scrambled out soaking wet. Jynn let out a laugh and raced on through the grassland.

Svala pulled out a chunk of bark and carefully chewed off a smaller piece. She picked up the piece and set it in the bowl of water. She then delicately picked up the needle and set it on the piece of bark. Now all she had to do was wait. The needle twitched then slowly spun on the bark. It swayed for a moment back and forth in smaller and smaller arcs until at last it picked a direction. Svala grinned, pleased that her compass worked. She looked to the north where the needle pointed, taking in the mountains that were just visible in the distance. Now all she had to do was find a good way to carry all of this.

Lynvarr continued his travel alongside the stream. It looped gently through the prairie and tumbled over stones and rocks. At one point a startled prairie dog scrambled away from the stream and he chuckled to himself as it scrambled back over to its prairie dog down. Maybe that would be something good to mark on his map. Lynvarr set his map down and unrolled it. Taking the stick and dipping it in the silt he made a few small dots on the map to represent the town. It probably wouldn't be super obvious to anyone but him what it was but he didn't really plan on sharing his map. Lynvarr waited for a few moments for the silt to dry then he rolled up his map and put everything away before heading back to the festival.

Shilah walked around the sun dial before reaching out with one of his claws and digging a line at the top. He did another at the bottom and then a line on each side to divide the sundial into fours. He could mark it down finer but he didn't really feel a need to do so. It wasn't like he had anywhere to be in such a short- oh, well… that wasn't true. He examined the sundial then relaxed a bit. He was participating in the fighting tournament and he certainly didn't want to be late to that. He was more a navigator than a fighter but he was eager to sharpen his battle skills so he could be more of a help to other loners as he traveled.