"Alright, you two, how are things looking so far?"
"I think we're on to something, Aviva. If we're right about this, then this is going to be one of the biggest discoveries of the decade!"
It was a fairly sunny Sunday morning in eastern Japan. A perfect 69℉, not a cloud in the sky, perfect weather for a creature adventure! At least, that's what Martin and Chris thought as they walked through this dense forest in search of an answer. An answer to what, you may ask? Well, an answer to a report they'd gotten from this area of the country. Apparently, a Kratt Kid named Yuki, as well as several locals, have reported sightings of wolves near their homes and in the woods.
Yeah, you read that right. Wolves. Normally, this wouldn't be something to get all excited about. I mean, wolves were probably one of the more common types of animals the crew saw in their line of work. What would be so special about these wolves that the Kratt Team just had to come all the way to Japan for? Well, it's very simple…
"Wolves have been extinct in Japan for over a hundred years by now! By the early 20th century, a combination of rabies, habitat loss, and hunting killed off both populations of Honshu and Ezo wolves." Aviva explained through the creature pod. "It shouldn't be possible for any to be left, let alone enough to form a whole pack…"
"And yet here we are, following a trail of what clearly looks like wolf tracks!" Chris exclaimed excitedly as he turned the pod screen to the ground. Just as he said, there were what appeared to be large, fresh paw prints scattered about the soft soil. The sizes ranged from 3-4" to about 4 1/2", though it was hard to see the minute details unless you were looking closely.
"Yeah, I can see that. But how can you guys be so sure that these really are wolf prints?"
"We may be going off of only what Yuki and her neighbors told us, but I've just got a feeling that we're going to find something huge at the end of this. There are just too many tracks to belong only one wolf and from what I can tell, domesticated dogs around here don't have paws this big!" Martin was just as excited as his little brother about their little expedition.
"I guess I can see what you mean, MK. Just…be careful out there, alright? You're already pretty deep into the forest as is. It'd be a big problem if you two got lost out there."
Chris raised an eyebrow at his friend's concern. "What? The Tortuga can fly, Aviva. You know that you can always just fly over to our location and pick us up, right?"
"Except you forgot one thing, CK. We landed the Tortuga in a city with multiple airports and plenty of people who really need to get from one place to the other. It'd take us a while to even get the Tortuga off of the ground, let alone fly over safely."
Oh, right. The brothers had kind of forgotten about that detail. In their excitement for this little adventure, they didn't really give a damn about where the crew landed so long as they could still get to this forest relatively quickly. From what Chris can recall, they planted their giant turtle-ship in a rather spacious park in a little city called Mita…uh, Mitako…?
"'Viva, what's that city's name again? The one where we landed?"
"Chris! I can't believe you've forgotten already! I even messaged you the name, how-
Ugh, never mind. Just remember the place is called Mitakihara Town, okay? That way, you aren't trying to explain to me how you ended up on the wrong side of the country at 3 in the morning."
Chris let out a soft laugh. "Only if you try not to worry about us so much. Me and Martin here have this whole thing under control, so you don't have to split any hairs about us!"
Aviva sighed. "I'd hope not. I'll see you two later tonight."
"See ya, 'Viva!"
"Later!"
With that, Aviva's face disappeared from Chris's creature pod and the device returned to its home screen. The younger brother placed the electronic, letting out a loud yawn as he stretched his arms above him.
"Hope this won't take us too long to solve…"
Martin looked back at his brother with a smile.
"I don't think it'll be much longer, bro. Look, the tracks are starting to look a bit fresher," The older brother pointed to the trail before them. The trail did indeed show more signs of recent activity. The prints looked more pressed in than before and if they weren't mistaken, the Kratt brothers could see hints of droppings every once in a while.
"Huh, guess we're getting close. I just -yawn- wish it weren't so early in the morning…" Chris let out another yawn. Unlike his older brother, Chris couldn't always miraculously keep his energy up twenty-four/seven. Sometimes, he preferred to sleep in a bit before going out on a creature adventure or rescue or whatever, especially on Sundays like today.
Martin, the ever-eternal bundle of energy that he was, wrapped an arm around his little brother's shoulder with a big grin. He looked as though he hadn't stayed up until 2:00 a.m. out of sheer anticipation. "C'mon, bro! Isn't the thought of rediscovering a long-thought dead species enough to get you raring to go?"
"I'm about as excited for this as you are, Martin. Really, I am. But it's also 6:30 in the morning."
"So? We've gone out earlier than that before and you were fine!"
"That's because I was able to drink some coffee before we left. But today, you practically dragged me out of bed and hurled me into a bus…"
Martin sheepishly glanced away, shyly rubbing the back of his head. "Hehe…Sorry 'bout that. I couldn't wait, y'know?"
In the end, the brunette couldn't help but snicker at his brother's actions. Honestly, he wouldn't expect much less from Martin.
"It's fine, bro. Let's just get in there and make this discovery 'of the decade,'" Chris put on a sort of announcer voice at that last bit. The two brothers heartily laughed at their goofiness as they headed further into the bowels of the forest.
Off in the near distance, tucked behind a large tree, a young girl with raven hair watches the two men with a concerned eye. In her left hand, she grips a shiny purple gem.
"Damn it…This isn't good. They're headed straight for the barrier…"