It was nice not travelling alone for a change, and better still to be able to spend some quality time with his sister. The journey had been rather uneventful, filled with the odd reassurance from Chord that this was still a good idea and general distractions to try and keep Rhythm's worries at bay. Perhaps the toad hunt would distract from those worries rather nicely, it had been postponed until later into the journey so as not to cause too much stress dragging it far from home. Now though they were definitely nearing Abaven's territory. Walking along the Eastern outskirts of Redbud Nook, Chord knew that Threar lands started just a little further East and Abaven lands were just North of that. "Right, when we see a toad try not to kill it." Chord teased in reference to the story that had started this crazy plan as he glanced to his sister, a grin finding its way to his lips. So close to the lands perhaps actually it was a good idea to delay the hunt. Gave her less time to get anxious as they drew closer to her former home and once they had the toad, well he'd definitely be able to drag Rhythm to Abaven from here if he had to.

Had they been heading anywhere but Abaven Rhythm would have enjoyed very much the journey with Chord. She missed spending so much time with them, having her brother at her side gave her a comfort she hadn't felt since before she'd been brought to Imperium. He kept her mostly distracted as they walked, and had he not she might have never gotten there. She was nervous, she felt it in her belly worse than ever before. She was thankful for one thing, Chord didn't make her pick one of Imperium's toads. The creatures tasted simply foul and she had no desire to carry one in her mouth all the way from the southern pack. They weren't quite close enough to smell the pack yet, but every step closer they drew the more nervous she felt. Just as she was pretty sure she was going to completely stop and turn around Chord's voice would break through her thoughts. Find the toad. Had she not been to terribly unsure of herself she would have given him the satisfaction of a smile as it was all he'd receive was a sigh. "Right." She'd offer rather seriously as she tried to focus on finding the amphibian and not where they were walking. ""

The closer they got to Abaven the harder it seemed to get to calm Rhythm, now so close she was completely serious, not even a small smile finding it's way to her lips or any real response given to his comment, simply a single word of agreement. Hopefully she'd find that smile again when they got to Abaven, he wanted a happy reunion not a strained one. Of course even he knew there wasn't bound to be smiles, at least not right away anyway. His gaze would linger upon his sister as she began the search without another word, clearly focussing her energy on that distraction rather than anything else. He wished there was something else he could do but unfortunately so far this was the best plan he'd had. A toad. It was a pretty ridiculous mission really, one he could hope Bass would find the humour in. He chose to leave her to the hunt, planning on searching the other direction himself, though as he turned his head out of the corner of his eye he spotted something move about ten feet to the other side of Rhythm. "Stop." He told her, voice low though he wasn't actually sure how good a toad's hearing was. "That's a toad isn't it?" He looked more carefully now, the damn thing was incredibly camouflaged and it was only by luck really that Chord had spotted it in the first place.

She didn't know if she'd find her smile again, but if she had she might have felt better. Maybe. That was the goal though wasn't it? She had to believe that she was going to bring their family back together. With a toad. A toad. How did Chord convince her to do this again? She'd look like she was trying to find the toad, maybe if they didn't find one they wouldn't have to go. "Stop." Her paw froze above the ground, her whole frame becoming still. Chord's voice was hushed as he went on his gaze a little to her right. She'd quirk an eyebrow at him before searching for the creature he spoke of. Quite distracted by the task at hand now that one had actually been spotted. How lucky to have found it so soon after even thinking of it, not that they were uncommon creatures. The girl would see it, amazingly as the young forest floor was littered with places for it to hide. She hadn't tried to catch a toad in... so many seasons. She'd take a deep breath, there was so much riding on this one tiny creature. "It is." She'd answer him, but her voice was slightly muted falling into a hunter's stance. Her eyes would dilate as her breathing evened, with great care she would slink towards it, only pouncing when she got close enough to press her paw to its back. She did not want to catch it in her jaws, it would pee on her if she did that. Still now she had to be careful, she had to squish it just enough so that it cleared it bladder. What she didn't look forward to was carrying the thing, it secreted a nasty tasting poison, keeping that in her mouth for so long... it was going to be a difficult time. It was worth it though, especially if this crazy plan worked. She would stand over her catch, being aware of the pressure she put upon the creature. Sighing the girl would look back to her brother, "Alright, I've got it." Her ears had fallen back to her skull, she wasn't looking forward to this meeting. ""

Chord certainly hadn't imagined that they would be able to find a toad quite so quickly. If he had he may have delayed the search even a little bit further so they were practically on the Abaven borders before looking and then before Rhythm knew it, it would have been too late to turn back, they'd be on the doorstep with the toad. They did have to catch it first though. Neither were bad hunters of course but Chord couldn't recall the last time he had tried to catch something that was not food. They wanted the toad alive, they had to be careful but hopefully not too careful that it escaped. Rhythm didn't need any prompting for catching the toad though. Once she had spotted it she stalked closer all on her own. For someone who had seemed so worried about the plan she certainly looked determined to catch this toad now and it wasn't just an act. She had it! "Well done!" He congratulated her with a smile. "You made that look far too easy, and you didn't squish him." Though to be fair, Chord doubted that the toad was particularly happy about the whole ordeal. He'd been sat there, minding his own business and now a pair of fully grown wolves had decided to pounce on him. "Let's go, the quicker we get there the quicker we can get him out of your care."

While she still had her doubts about this plan she did give a good effort in acquiring the animal, she'd peer down at it, the creature fitting nicely between her toes, as Chord found his way to her side. She had done well, obviously, she had neither killed it or let it escape. Now all she had to do was carry it a few more miles. Oh goodie. "You ever doubted the great huntress?" She would tease, actually becoming a bit playful before he suggested they get a move on. Really though, toad excrement would be the last of her worries by the end of this trip. Sighing one last time she would bend her neck to transfer the toad from paw to jaws. Immediately she regretted the decision, but there wasn't much to do about it now. She'd resist the temptation to hurl, mostly by hanging her tongue out of the side of her mouth so she didn't have to taste the thing right now, though she knew that all of her food was going to taste horrid for weeks. However, the toad would do its job in completely distracting her as she followed after her brother to Abaven. ""