The rocks could wait til later. I was tired, but I wanted to find Sierra and Savanna. Sierra would want to hear about the course. I still felt like running, I hated walking. It was slow and time consuming. I found my friends in the crowd.

"So you won, eh?" Sierra laughed. A smile spread across my face. "Yeah, but it was hard. I smashed my face on the rocks."
"Hey! "I don't wanna hear about the course, it has to be a surprise!" Sierra hissed. "Sorry." I muttered. "You hit your face?" Savanna asked, concerned. She was so much like a mom at times, it was kind of weird. "Yeah. It hurt." I laughed. "Probably! There's still a bit of blood on your face." Savanna said with a hint of disgust. "Oh, do I look tough?" I laughed, posing. "Looking like a warrior!" Sierra giggled. I wiped my arm across my mouth, and found more blood than expected. "Hmm, must have been worse than I thought." She explained. "Sure you don't wanna be healed?" Wondered Savanna. "No, mother. Being healed is for wussies afraid of blood. Plus, it's not that bad, Mouth injuries always bleed the most." I said.

"Good job out there, babe." Congratulated Carter, walking up. "Thank you." I said, wiping off more blood. "I guess now would be a good time to say I was one of the chasers." He laughed. I was puzzled. "You were? Its weird I didn't see you."
"I'm just that sneaky." He laughed while picking me up and spinning me. "I beat you." I teased. "Yeah, well you're fast." Carter pointed out. "And you're a sore loser." Cut in Sierra. They all laughed. Savanna absent-mindedly turned the bracelet on her wrist. It was leaves woven into a pattern. She always wore it, her mother gave it to her when she got her strips.

"So what do we do now?" Sierra signed. After a few minutes of deciding, they chose to hide an oddly colored rock that matched their strip color, and make someone find it. It had to be between the karminyurs pond and the lake.

I set off towards the lake to make the others think I was going that way, then after a few minutes, turned left and sprinted towards the pond, not wanting to be seen. There was a gap between two tree roots beside the trunk, and I stuck my rock there. They weren't allowed to bury them, but could cover them. I found a large leaf and set it over top, then scattered a few leaves around to make it seem less suspicious. For a good measure, I created a pile of leave near a different tree, making it obvious there was a rock there to throw them off. Perfect.

I made a large half circle and raced back to the meadow. Just as she arrived, Savanna and Carter appeared as well. Only Sierra left, and she always took forever, always made hers well hidden, always trying to win. I would always end up finding it. They all stood in a circle, waiting for Sierra. "So, Savanna will find mine, I'll find Sierra's, Sierra will find Tallia's and Tallia will find Savanna's?" Carter suggested. "That works." I agreed. "Yeah, sounds good." Savanna threw in. Moments later, Sierra finally emerged. "About time." I called. Sierra just laughed and shook her head, while running towards the group.

"So, you'll be looking for Tallia's, and Carter will be looking for yours." Savanna explained to Sierra. She looked up at him. "Good luck." She bragged. "Meet here when you find it!" I informed, running into the bush. Her friends split off into different directions. Sierra, going to the lake. Ha-ha. I'm a sneaky one, aren't I? I laughed to myself. The trees were blurry, like normal. My friends told me that they didn't see a blur while running, it was strange. I stopped and stood as tall as I could. I could faintly smell where Savanna had been. It was a thing my mom taught me when I was little.

I closed my eyes and followed thee scent. I was a great tracker, but not many knew that. With my eyes closed, my smell increased and it was easier to follow scents. Savanna's scent was getting stronger now, I was close. I opened my eye again and found a small cave in front of me. Oh, good spot, Savanna. Very clever, but shouldn't underestimate people. The scent was clearly coming from the cave, and I strolled into the darkness. Even with the sunlight, it was hard to see. My night vision was blurry. I stumbled around until I found the back of the cave, and check behind some rocks. It took a few minutes, but I figured I had found it. Just before leaving, another scent caught my interest.

It was so faint it would be extremely easy to miss all together. I inhaled again, but closer to the ground this time. It was a scent that I had never smelled before, clearly a defels. But I knew what everyone smelled like. Judging by the faintness, it had been a long time ago. This cave had been abandoned for quite some time. I inhaled again, more near the back wall for a good measure. Definitively never smelled before, but shockingly familiar. It smelled like home. This defel hadn't been here in My lifetime, but shortly before that. One idea pulsed in my mind, but seemed highly unlikely. Did Estil stay in this cave before?

I inhaled once again, then left the cave. The sunlight hit the rock and it was the correct one. Savanna's rock. I glanced back at the cave, then ran back to the meadow.

Upon arrival, I realized Carter had beat me. He saw me, smiled and tossed the rock into the air. "I win." He bragged. I swatted the wind in a 'whatever' gesture. "So where'd you find Sierra's rock?" I wondered. "In the lake, right by the shore. Almost missed it, but the sun hit it just right and it shone in my eyes." He laughed. "In the lake! That's Sierra for you." I giggled. "Yeah really. Where'd you find Savanna's?" Carter wondered. "In the back of a cave. I wouldn't have found it, but I had smelt that Savanna had been there earlier." I explained. "You smelt it? That's totally normal!" He mocked. I nodded. "Who hides their rock in a cave?" He laughed. "Apparently Savanna." I replied.

As if on cue, she appeared in the meadow, inspecting the blue stone. "Found it!" She hollered. "I can see that!" He yelled. "Where'd you find it?" I questioned, curious. "He hid it inside a pine cone!" Savanna screamed. "I would still be looking, but I bumped a tree, and the pine cone fell from the branch. It hurt more than it should have so I looked at it and found this." She explained, holding out the rock. I gave him a questioning look. He was clearly enjoying himself.

After another few minutes, Sierra still hadn't shown up. "Not like her to take this long, should we go and look for her?" I suggested. "She'll get mad." Savanna explained. "I don't wanna wait around all day for her, let her get mad." I joked. Carter shrugged and they walked over towards the forest.

They found Sierra in the spot where I hid it, but had not found it yet. She had even knocked over the pile of leaves. I had a smug look. Sierra was frustrated. "I've looked everywhere! You're cheating!" She accused. I shook my head, kicked out the leaf and picked up the rock. "Nope." I laughed. "What the hell! You're not supposed to show me!" She exploded. "Oh well." I replied. Sierra was fuming. The stone sparled in my hand.