*Over the dunes is boring, it's just endless hills of sand. Let's see if we can unearth a rabbit, chasing one will be fun.* He thought as he started toward the brushy area to one side of the clearing.
I followed his lead, watching carefully how he moved with ease in and around the brush we were now headed deep into. I didn't notice the sagebrush until he brushed up against it, as the much stronger odor of creosote seemed to overpower the mild scent until we were right on top of it and that surprised me. I pushed my way through the long branches of the bush, ducked under the thorny arms of the occasional mesquite and carefully avoided the frequent patches of cactus. It didn't take long for Brandon to startle a jackrabbit in to running from him, and the chase was on.
I was at a dead run, dodging back and forth after the small animal. I found that chasing the small animal was more fun that I’d thought it would be. We leapt over the smaller obstacles as we chased the smaller creature that easily darted under and through much smaller holes than we could manage. Before long the two of us were working together without thought, working different sides of the chase, running parallel to the animal but on either side instead of together. The small animal would turn one way and catch sight of one of us, turn and dart in another direction, only to spot the other and dart back toward the first. After we had run several hundred yards Brandon suddenly sprinted forward into the rabbit's path and caught it. With a sharp snap of his jaws, he broke the small animal's neck.
I really didn’t want to watch him eat the small animal, so in order to avoid seeing the whole thing I turned and started back toward where we parked as he settled down to enjoy his snack. I was in no hurry so I made the trip slowly, taking time to investigate all the scents that caught my interest along the way. I was about halfway through the trip back when I caught a scent I couldn't identify.
I called out through the mental channel we had been using all morning.
*Brandon, can you hear me?*
*Yeah, I'm not far behind you. Didn't take me long to finish him off.*
*Come up here and tell me what this scent is, please,* I asked. *I can't place it,* I heard the padding of his feet on the ground as he walked up behind me.
*Where is it?* He wanted to know.
*Right here. What is that scent?* I was eager to know as he bent down to sniff the spot I had indicated.
*Ahh.. That's javelina. You don't see them much during the day, but watch out for them around dawn and dusk. They're mean little shits.*
*I've seen them before, I know what they are. But we're bigger than they are, wouldn't they be afraid of us?*
*No more so than they're afraid of humans. Your best bet if you run across them is to just keep your distance and leave them be, they're almost never alone, and they're wicked fast too.*