“Strong First Eyes, Swift, Fierce, Scrawny, we need to go now!” We were deep-sleeping, not now. “All-Pack Guider^ sent me. A patrol smelled buzzer-paste. Luckily one of them knew what it was.”

“We haven’t even got our cache-pouches ready.” We feel Scrawny’s panic at not having enough scent prompts to record anything he finds (he’s “secretly” thinking of this as a research-trip).

“Never mind that, if Wilful is nearby we might not need anything in them. We might apprehend her tonight and come straight back to Pack.”

( But we might not. ) Swift grabs her cache-pouch, which was already prepped because, of course it was. I can’t remember what is meant to be in there but I’m sure it’ll be more useful than nothing. We all run into the air and at full pelt to the barrier. Silky fills us in as we run.

“It was by the edge of the ape-compound.”

“Do we think it would be better to dig our own passage or use the existing entry?” I trust this pack with our lives and don’t want my tired mind to make a rash decision. Be smart, use Pack, like No Eyes First Eyes Runt^.

“Well, if she is as smart as she appears to be then she will have something to monitor the key entry points… but she may also just avoid them.”

“A new tunnel would certainly inform her we were coming .”

“If she found it.”

“Was the scent smelled from in the compound?”

“In the compound-tunnel. At the near end, between bee and ape-compounds.” Why were there any dogs patrolling there? I thought Pack was not in the compounds any more. Silky seems to not have enough information to rush incautiously in but I’m sure No Eyes First Eyes Runt has sufficient information if she sent him in such a rush.

“So it’s closer than going to the entrance but would the energy saved travelling less distance be lost in digging a tunnel. Any thoughts?”

“I say we run, none of us are good diggers and it would be the most explainable to Pack. She will know soon enough that we stalk her, no need to prioritise stealth from her.” Fierce is better than me at holding all the pieces in her mind at once. The other three agree and we swerve to aim for the ape-compound entrance tunnel, another degree^ at least, further South^.

The Rise hunting degree begins. We have not managed to take advantage of the stealth advantage. There is no sign of Wilful or buzzer-paste anywhere.

“Shall we return to Pack? We can prepare as intended and set off in a few more days.”

“We obviously haven’t found her.”

“But she could be nearby, I think we would be foolish to abandon our search yet. Also, if we have startled her she might try to breach and that would make her easier to track.” Silky’s counsel has never guided us astray before and he is the most experienced, if lowest-ranked dog. A wise and great guider listens to every pack-member. Maybe he has done many dog-hunting missions.

“Wouldn’t it be better to prepare for the mission. It is not a rush, as you and All-Pack Guider pointed out.”

“That was when Wilful was thought to be a long way from Pack. She was close today. It will be a far shorter mission if we do not let the trail get cold.” What trail? I don’t smell anything except the unmoving air trapped within the ape-compound. There’s still a smell of mammalian fear. It is very unsettling that the scent hasn’t dissipated in a cycle. Silky suddenly raises his nose and dashes off through some bracken towards where I can smell the remnants of the human settlements, and the smell of the ape-pack research team. So much for a social visit to No Eyes First Eyes Runt. So much for a well-planned mission. At least Swift has her cache-pouch and whatever it contains.