Logan wasn't as good of a tracker as his brother, but he was better at it than he gave himself credit for. Backtracking his way back to their cave didn't prove to be difficult and he made it before full dark, giving him enough light left to take the horses out one at a time to get a good, long drink at the nearest stream before he had to worry about night-time predators prowling too near. He didn't need to rush the horses either - both were eager to get back into the protection of the cave as night fell.
Carefully adding dried moss to the embers they had banked that morning, Logan rebuilt the fire and settled to wait on his brother. There was no knowing how long it would be until Vic came back, but Logan doubted he'd be able to sleep until he learned whether or not Vic caught up with Katie and the trapper. Part of him was still fond enough of her that he hoped that Katie would escape, but he also felt that Katie had pressed her luck too far when she ignored Vic's warnings. The trapper? He didn't have feelings one way or the other about him and wouldn't lose any sleep if Vic were to gut him.
For his part, Vic had already found that he couldn't travel very fast with his young daughter. Worse, the distressed sounds she was constantly making were putting his nerves on edge. His instincts were yelling at him to do something, but the trouble was that he didn't know exactly what it was he needed to do.
A chuffing noise from nearby told him that the little one had drawn something else's attention and he found himself meeting the eyes of the same type of cat that Sinopa had named him for. The scent told him that the cougar was female. The scent of milk and of other cougars nearby told him that she had cubs.
The big cat's tail was switching back and forth. The cries of the young girl sounded very much like those of her own young, but the large man made her nervous even though he didn't smell like any other human that she had ever encountered. Looking from his daughter to the female, Vic was torn, but decided he needed to take the chance. Moving forward slowly, he laid the infant down and backed away.
The female cougar gave a warning growl at him before easing forward and sniffing over the girl. With the scent of milk reaching her nose, the infant's cries increased and, to Vic's vast relief, the cougar settled down near her. The infant showed she was her father's daughter again by being far more coordinated than a human baby would have been, squirming and shifting until she was able to latch onto one of the cougar's nipples.
A scuffling and yowling from the nearby undergrowth preceded the appearance of the cougar's own two cubs. Each gave the newcomer a sniff, but paid no further attention as they settled in on either side of the girl and began feeding themselves.
Satisfied that the cougar was going to feed rather that eat his daughter, Vic turned his attention to a matter he could do something about. Easing further away, he left and began to hunt. If the cougar was willing to fill the belly of his kid, he would return the favor and bring the cougar as much meat as she could eat.
It took about an hour, but he returned with four rabbits only to find that the cougar had moved. Tracking her to her den didn't take long and he looked over the small, dry cave and approved of the location. The cougar gave a rumble of a growl, but didn't offer to attack when he didn't come in any further than the entrance. He tossed her two of the rabbits and she kept a close eyes on him as she snapped up one of them and began to eat.
Behind her, in a small indention in the rock, his daughter now had a rounded belly and was curled together with the equally full cubs. Nodding in satisfaction, Vic came in just a little further and gave the cougar the other two rabbits as his peace offering,
"We'll make a deal here, gal. You keep my kid and your kids fed - I'll keep you fed and if anything threatens you when I'm around? I'll take care of that too."
The cougar, of course, understood nothing of what he said, but the rumbling undertone of his voice and the gift of enough rabbit to fill her own stomach made her agreeable to Vic's presence. Finishing up her meal, she made a noise that he figured must have been a purr as she moved further back into the cave and settled down not far from the youngsters.
Figuring that leaving his daughter where she could get the food she needed was the best thing for now, Vic backed out and carefully made note of the location so that he could find it again. He found himself reluctant to leave, but he needed to get back to his brother. Besides, he'd bring Jimmy back and introduce him to his niece. Of course, that meant that Vic had to figure out a name for the little gal.
One thing was for sure - that name wouldn't be Katie.