Nadeem & Inkavikai

A few miles north of Atroe City, Nadeem waited along the edge of the road for the rest of the impromptu group of citizen-scientits to show up. Towering next to him was the Rover, a nearly 20-foot long, all-terrain, semi-amphibious tank of a vehicle he and his crew at EARTH had acquired after years of grant requests. It had already proved invaluable during his research of the Sora Asiatic pride, able to withstand not only the boggy, uneven ground of their territory, but also the fangs and claws of the big cats that lived there. He was eager to give it a go here at the Sandhills next, at least to drive the group and his equipment to their first destination - past that, they'd have to abandon the Rover and head out on foot for the next day or two of travel, as the ecosystem he was most interested in was too delicate for the likes of such a giant vehicle.

Inkavikai watched as her human scaled the side of the Rover, utilizing an imbedded latter to reach the top. From this vantage point, he used his satellite to try and pinpoint any of the animals that EARTH had collared over the years, looking primarily for the Aspen Grove pack, or the Sora Asiatic - above all else, he wanted to make sure he wasn't steering his group of volunteers into the jaws of the Valley's more... aggressive residents.

With a yawn, Inka stretched her long legs and padded around to the front of the vehicle. Her dense, slate-gray coat was already beginning to fill out for the winter months ahead, making her wolvish build look all that more impressive. Nestled into her ruff was a bright white collar, marking the wolfdog as a pet, and a far more obedient one than Nak, Nadeem's other wolfdog that had been banished from these outing, and left at home with Abhay.

Karl & Clementine

In preparation for the chilly nights and sunny days, Karl was wearing his usual black pullover jacket, blue baseball cap, blue jeans, and sunglasses. He carried a heavy backpack on his back, and a folded tent in one hand. He had heard tales of people getting overcome by the elements out here in the grassy dunes and was determined to be prepared.

Clementine strode alongside him, dressed in black jeans, a red button-down shirt, and a black vest. Her red hair hung in a loose braid, with a few stray hairs framing her freckled face. She packed lightly, with little more than a small backpack. She had to be nimble, as Karl had sought her out as protection against any aggressive animals. Reports of cougars and wolves were increasing. For this reason, Clementine was armed with a hunting rifle. Karl wasn't sure how Nadeem would handle the idea of a rifle being in the hands of somebody who was a stranger to him, but Karl trusted her with his life after she bailed him out of several close calls that Clarke, unsurprisingly, had gotten them into.

Karl approached the Rover and whistled to get Nadeem's attention. He was eager to go on this multi-day trip, after Jess organized a joint expedition between her intern and Nadeem. She would be here, but she had a child to raise. Clarke had a mild concussion and a broken rib after being struck by a car, so he was unable to watch the child. So Jess sent Karl, her intern, hesitantly placing her trust in him. His job title was still "custodian," after all, as he had not finished his internship and education.

Karl shifted his weight, adjusting the heavy backpack. He called out to Nadeem as he got closer. "You got a place in that beast of a truck to put our supplies?" Clementine, meanwhile, quickly noticed the wolfdog, her stoic demeanor replaced by sheer joy. "Hey pooch!" She extended an inviting hand in the dog's direction, hoping that Inka would see her gesture as an friendly greeting.

Nadeem & Inkavikai

After a few minutes of searching, no pings had come back on any of the collared animals, and a quick search with the binoculars further assured Nadeem that they were alone on this stretch of the sandhill. He began packing up the satellite when Karl and Clementine approached, and paused to give a friendly wave and a nod to the pair. "Welcome to the expedition! Karl, right?" He knelt on the edge of the roof, swiping back a stray lock of black hair that had fallen into his face, "Uh yeah, just in that back compartment there-" A hand pointed to the rear of the vehicle, where a compartment was located to store luggage. "Or you can take it inside, there should be plenty of room."

His eyes fell on Clementine next, and if Karl had been watching, he might notice a slight unease fall upon the man's expression upon spotting the rifle. Whatever complaints he might have were shelved though, as Nadeem piped up in a cheerful greeting, "Clementine, right? It's good to have both of you here." He swung a leg over the side of the Rover and began to climb down the side ladder, speaking as he went, "I plan on waiting another half hour, going through our gear and getting our route finalized. That'll give others time to show up, then we'll head out."

Unlike her master, Inka showed no reservations about the gun. She was a little hesitant at first about Clementine herself though, if only because of her wolfish lineage made her somewhat aloof towards strangers. That hesitance didn't last long, and after a moment or two to study the woman, Inka's long tail swayed slightly and she moved in to give the hand a sniff - and then a nudge, requesting a pet.

Isabella Wayson

There were so many things around her home that Isabella hadn’t been able to explore. She had always been the type of person who loved going on adventures and learning about the things around her but with the kennel and everything, she had just been so busy. Though, when she had heard that there was an expedition going out to the sand dunes that could use her skills as a photographer, she had jumped on the opportunity. She had always loved taking pictures and had been able to have a few of her nature photos published in smaller magazines but she thought maybe it was time to branch out a little bit. She had always loved watching and photographing wildlife and nature, so this just seemed perfect! She had luckily been able to have a friend watch over the dogs for her while she was going to be away.

She was running a little late to the expedition as she drove to the meeting spot, it was a bad habit of hers, she always tended to be just a little bit late. Luckily, it seemed that they hadn’t left yet and there were a few people still loading their things in the back of the Rover. She parked her car where she would be leaving it while they went out on their expedition and climbed out of the SUV. She moved to the back and opened the hatch, speaking to the dog who was waiting there in his crate and released the latch on the crate so that the dog was allowed out to stand beside her.

She grabbed a small bag with some extra provisions in it as well as her camera bag before closing the trunk. Turning towards the others, she walked over to the group. She had dressed for the occasion, she hoped. She knew that things could change at the drop of a hat here in the Valley so she wore her most comfortable pair of jeans that would easily allow her to move without worry so she could get that perfect shot no matter the circumstances as well as wearing a t-shirt with a hoodie over top of it. A thicker jacket was carried over her arm just in case. She had dressed mainly for comfort rather than fashion, but she thought that was the best way to go. As she walked over, Luther remained at her side. The Belgian Malinois watched the things around them but his attention was mainly on Isabella as he had been trained. The woman hoped that no one would have an issue with the dog tagging along but she almost never went without one of her dogs, especially not after the incident with those scary men who she was still scared would come after her.

A small smile and a wave was given to the others as she got over to the group. Hi, I’m Isabella. I spoke with someone about coming along to take pictures?” She said, knowing she had never actually met these people but being more than willing to meet new people and work with them. Luther sat at her side, his tail thumping against the ground a couple of times in a greeting of his own but he never moved from his owner’s side.

Nadeem & Inkavikai

Nadeem was busy finalizing the routes when another vehicle pulled up, snapping the man out of his work and bringing an instant, friendly smile to his face. He tucked the papers into a satchel at his side and reached out a warm hand to shake Isabella's as she approached the group, "Good to have you along, Isabella. I'm Nadeem, and this here is Karl and Clementine. We're grateful to have you along; I'll be busy with notes, and we don't have much of anything in the way of camera traps out there yet, so please feel free to take as many pictures as you'd like. I'm particularly interested in getting images of the wildlife, but any landscape photos would be helpful too." Unlike the sight of Karl's gun, the presence of Luther had a much easier impact on the fellow, who had spent plenty of time with canines.

Inkavikai cocked her head, slate gray ears pulled forward in curiosity. Right off the bat, she could tell Luther was a well-trained dog, staying obediently at his human's side, and not dashing around like a maniac, as Nak would be doing right now. "Welcome aboard. I'm Inka." She greeted, without moving closer to the shepherd just yet - there were a lot of people around, and she wasn't entirely comfortable squeezing through the small crowd to meet this stranger nose to nose yet.

While the canines had their own quiet meet and greet, Nadeem was moving towards the side door of the Rover and pulling it open, "Now that you're here, I think we've about got everybody. If everyone wants to load in and get settled, I'll start our trip and go over a few things about our mission this weekend. Um, does anyone have any questions before we leave?"