Anubis (other tracker dog mentioned in this prompt)
Petty bickering. That’s all Tutelary heard whilst he was trying to have some well deserved rest. He occasionally picked up some words but did his best to ignore the constant arguing that was afoot. A familiar scent soon flooded his nostrils as he heard his handler speak with a gentle tone. ‘Today you’re going to work with Anubis. He is another tracker dog who specialises in finding lost people. The current circumstances are too dangerous for a handler to go along with their tracker so you’ll be replacing them’. Tutelary let a small huff escape from his mouth before he a small jingle reached his ears. ‘You and Anubis are both wearing bell collars to help locate each other if you get lost’ his handle spoke whilst gently stroking his head. The familiar click he’d grown accustomed to was soon heard and slowly rose and stretched and padded over to his station and soon a gruff voice reached his ears ‘Right let’s get you sorted for you job’.
~ 1 hour later ~
Tutelary jumped from the tray of the vehicle and his paws were instantly met with a grainy hot feeling. ‘Sand, great’ he thought unhappy about the arrangement. A faint smell flooded his nostrils and he suddenly knew why the handler was taken off the assignment. ‘Sandstorm is coming in soon’ he thought hoping they wouldn’t be caught in it. He soon felt a brush against his hide and realised it was Anubis. ‘Ok you guys are out to find a missing person’. spoke his handler. A deep bark was heard from Anubis as if he confirmed he knew what his mission was. Suddenly Anubis took off, clear he had a faint scent of the person and Tutelary raced after him, surprised at how nimble Anubis was. Soon the click click of the car engine was nothing more than a mere noise and all was heard was the sound of their paws padding softly in the grainy sands. The silence was enough to send anyone mad, but he admired the ferocity of Anubis’s will to find the person. Feeling the wind picking up, flinging pebbles of sand against his hide, he wished they would find the person soon, fear of being caught in the sandstorm nibbled in at his mind. After what felt like mere hours, an excited yap escaped from Anubis’s mouth as he bolted towards a lone cactus, a misshapen image lay next to it. A huge gust of wind tore across the desert and a painful yelp echoed throughout the desert. Ears pricked up, he soon smelt the tang of blood as he rushed to Anubis’s side and soon located the problem. The strong winds tore of a piece of cactus and unfortunately landed on poor Anubis. A wave of sorrow washed across Tutelary, unsure of what to do. Soon his mind clicked and calmly reassured Anubis with a lick on his muzzle and bent down to help the person to there feet, but with the weak state they were left in was soon a tedious task. Realising the dangerous situation they had now become intangled in, Tutelary sent out small clicks and a rough shape soon showed up in his mind. Beckoning Anubis to follow the trio amble over to what soon became clear was a cave and made their way inside. Met with darkness, they found some rocks to use as shelter and made themselves as comfortable as they could. As soon as they were settled, howling winds reached his ears as the sandstorm seemed to settle, clear it wasn’t going to leave in a hurry. A troubling thought floated into his mind ‘How are we going to get back to the truck now’. Knowing only one solution, he activated his GPS tracker hoping his handlers would be able to find them once the storm settled. With Anubis out of action, Tutelary soon set up post as close as he could to the mouth of the cave, persistent to stop anything from entering if it meant risking his life. And so began the tedious hours of waiting, growling at anything that dared move in his way. Many hours passed, he could feel himself grow tired and weak but refused to give in to the pressure of sleep. As night turned to day his ears perked to to slight sound of a familiar click click of an engine. Teeth bared and his posture became rigid unsure of what threat was outside. Just as he was about to lunge a scent filled his nose and a reassuring voice graced his ears ‘Tutelary my boy you’re ok’ and soon a pair of arms wrapped around his neck. Slumping into his handler he gave a weak thump of his tail, and once released weakly padded over to where Anubis and the person lay trying to recover from their injuries. ‘You’ve done an outstanding job Tut, you’ve earned yourself a well deserved rest’ his handler spoke, and soon he felt himself being lifted and placed into the back of the car, sounds of various footsteps moving back and forth. Finally being able to rest he soon let himself succumb to slumber, feeling his muscles relax and the worries wash away from him.
