[PRP] All Bark (Anii, Aya) - FIN

[Mogami]

Anii sat down after a long run, looking somewhat dignified despite the fact that she was panting heavily. The wild dog snorted as she watched the dark-colored hare that she’d been chasing just a few moments before disappear from her sight. Normally, losing one small prey wouldn’t really bother her but she was hungry and it didn’t seem like she was going to be able to find anyone to help her today. This was the obvious drawback of being a not-very-big lone predator and she accepted it without resentment. You won some, you lost some. Her freedom was worth more to her than a full belly every day.

Knowing she was close to the location a large lake that had just recently filled up, Anii stood up and started making her way towards it. All sorts of creatures went there to drink and while it might be dangerous, she was certain that she’d be able to catch a frog or two if nothing else.  

[SilverLutz]

Water. That was all that was on his mind at the moment. Aya and his sister had been walking for days without sight of a single drop. Too weak to go on, his sister had stayed in the shade of a tree and he had gone off to find even just a small stream. Thankfully he didn't have to walk far to find one.

Once he caught the smell of water on the air, he ran. His huge - for a wild dog - body made massive waves as he splashed into the water, soaking the other animals around him. The turtles and frogs didn't mind, but a few hares and waterbucks fled the scene immediately. Aya lapped up water for quite a few minutes, eventually sinking down to lay in the somewhat shallow, now murky section of the lake.

He heaved a sigh and glanced around, finally taking in his surroundings. Not a bad place! There was enough prey for him and his sister to hunt, some trees and rocks for shelter, another wild dog, mountains off in the distance that promised a valley on the other si-

Wait. Wild dog?!

Aya whipped his head back around to stare at the female, his whole body going tense. Great, so much for keeping up appearances! A big, tough dog wouldn't go charging into the water like a pup.

Mogami

 

[Mogami]

SilverLutz

I'm so sorry, I had a crazy week/weekend but things are back to normal now.

Anii froze at the water’s edge, dropping quickly to a defensive position when all the prey beasts in the area seemed to disappear as something loud disturbed the once peaceful waters. Well, someone. She sent a particularly plump hare a look full of longing before sitting down to watch the wild dog that obviously hadn’t noticed her. She sighed, head slowly tilting to the side as she watched the male drink for what seemed like an eternity until their eyes finally met and he had the decency to stop looking so carefree.

He wasn’t bad-looking, she had to admit even if he might be a little goofy. After a few moments of stern staring, Anii allowed her mouth to turn into a wide and almost playful smile. Her tail wagged slowly and she breathed out some of the initial tension so as to look more inviting. Would he approach her, she wondered.  

[SilverLutz]

Oh no. She's made eye contact. Aya was still frozen and soggy in the water, staring at the female. He couldn't even pretend to put on a front now! Oh no...good thing Mica wasn't here or he'd be in pretty big trouble for acting like such a goof.

But then the female gave a wag of her tail and shifted her body language from startled to welcoming. The large male tilted his head just a bit, his anxiety and fear leaving his body, helping him unclench his muscles. Phew...she didn't seem upset, even though he'd probably chased off every bit of prey from here to Kilimanjaro.

"Hello," he called out weakly, his own tail wagging just a bit in the water. "Sorry about that! Haven't had water for a while and...ah...well." She had seen the rest. He laughed weakly at himself, turning away to hide his grimace. Gods above he was so stupid!

Mogami

Quite all right!]

 

[Mogami]

SilverLutz

“It’s quite alright.” Anii said pleasantly in a way that made it seem as if the male had just intruded upon her private lake but she was gracious enough to tolerate his presence. She sat down more out of stubbornness than anything else, consciously avoiding to be the one to approach the other. If he wanted to talk, he better get closer because she wasn’t moving her rump anytime soon. “But I believe you owe me lunch.”

A meal… or two. Anii was used to getting free meals wherever she meant and she hoped this male wouldn’t be any different. Well… he was rather good-looking… so things might actually be a little different this time.

“A bit of company would be nice, as well.” She added casually but her eyes blinked in a slow and suggestive way.  

[SilverLutz]

Aya wanted nothing more than to shove his head under the water and walk away until he was out of sight...which would be pretty hard considering he wouldn't be able to breathe, and the whole pond was visible from where the female sat. Instead he lifted his tail just a bit, trying to preserve some of his dignity.

"Right! I can do that," he said with a huff, attempting to slide into his tough-dog act without her noticing. He doubted it would go over very well, though. He looked this way and that, but all the prey had disappeared. Except for the ones swimming right under his feet. He glanced down at his reflection and saw the ripples of fairly large fish pass by his paws. He dunked his head quickly and game up with a flopping fish caught safely in his teeth. Ha! It was pretty decently sized, too, bordering more on meal rather than snack territory.

Aya removed himself from the water, deciding to walk rather than swim over to the female. He trotted happily, pleased with himself that he'd been able to meet her requirements. Maybe now he wouldn't look so goofy. He approached her and dropped the fish at her paws, which was now flopping a lot less intensely.

As his company was requested as well, he nodded and plopped his rump down on the dirt beside her, the slow blink and suggestive gaze lost on him for the time being. "Very well," he said with a little sniff, tail wagging just a bit. He always made a fool of himself in front of the prettiest of females, and today seemed to be no exception. At least she wasn't laughing at him. "I'm Aya, by the way," he said, hoping she'd give him her name as well.

Mogami

 

[Mogami]

SilverLutz

Anii grinned, a little surprised by how easily the male had agreed to her request. She was even more surprised by his skills at fishing, honestly impressed at how quickly he’d managed to get a nicely-sized fish at her paws.

“Aya… that’s a pretty name. I’m Anii.” She leaned closer to the male and sniffed him briefly – eyes rising to meet his gaze - before her head dropped to the fish in one fluid motion as if that had been her only intention all along. She placed one paw over the fish and gave the male a more honest smile, watching him from head to tail. “You’re very skilled, Aya. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had fish.”  

[SilverLutz]

Anii. Also a pretty name. Aya tilted his head just a bit as she reached in to sniff him, and he returned the favor before she dropped her head to the fish. He felt his chest swell a bit as she complimented him, and he silently had to thank his sister for being such a glutton when it came to fish. He had lots of practice hunting the animals because of her.

"It's a pretty normal food for my sister and me," he said, shrugging as if it were no big deal. "Took me a while to get good at it. And fish just kind of swim towards me so it's like they're asking to be eaten."

He allowed himself to laugh just a bit before settling down, getting comfortable to watch Anii eat. He hadn't been so carefree around another animal in such a short period of time in quite a while. He was so used to coming off as the big, tough guy that he normally scared them away...or ended up being the one chased off by those who saw through his bluff.

"So what are you doing out here all alone?" he asked. Normally wild dogs were part of a pack or at least had a traveling companion.

Mogami

 

[Mogami]

SilverLutz

“Your sister?” Anii looked around the male as if she expected another wild dog to suddenly pop out of the foliage. She wasn’t entirely pleased about the idea of competing against this unknown female for her brother’s attention. She laughed when Aya said that the fishes seemed to be trying to get eaten but she wasn’t sure if he was serious about their tendencies to get close to the other wild dog. “Maybe you could teach me…”

She paused midway with a little piece of fish popping out of her mouth when Aaya spoke again. It was common question and for once, Anii didn’t feel like giving the practiced response.

“I travel alone. I can’t stay in the same place for too long before I grow restless.” It was as much honesty as she was willing to give the male and it was already more than she usually did. “Maybe one day, I’ll find a pack that also travels around and I’ll stick to them. What about you?” And your mysterious sister...  

[SilverLutz]

Aya nodded slightly. Mica was, of course, nowhere near here, so he was confused as to why his new friend glanced around a bit before returning to her meal.

"I could teach you, if you wanted," he said with a little nod. "But really it's mostly just luck. And waiting. I'm good at waiting," he added with a proud wag of his tail. He watched Anii eat, pleased that he had been able to help her out a bit.

"Oh, I see. My sister and I are sort of the same," he said with a nod. "We were part of a pack, but we had to go out on a coming of age quest...and we had some very important things stolen from us." His voice darkened as he spoke, hackles raising just a bit. "So we vowed not to return until we find them and take back what is ours! So we just...walk around everywhere," he said, waving a paw at the open space.

"It's a good thing I'm a good hunter, though, otherwise we wouldn't be doing so well," he added, looking at Anii sheepishly.

Mogami

 

[Mogami]

SilverLutz

“I haven’t been on my own for too long. I guess you can teach me many things.” Anii said innocently though her thoughts were anything but. She was still worried about Aya’s sister but hopefully Anii would be long gone by the time she arrived. She was, however, terribly curious about the quest the male was talking about as it sounded like a fascinating story.

“Someone stole something from you? Who? What?” she left what little remained of the fish and sat down with a curious expression. What could possibly be worth the trouble of leaving one’s pack and begin a long journey to retrieve it? How valuable was this object? Interesting, very interesting.  

[SilverLutz]

Aya shrugged just a bit. Usually wild dogs that were out on their own knew pretty well about fending for themselves. But then it registered that she might be talking about something else...she didn't appear to be too old, and hey. It was that time of the month when the females would go out in search of males. Perhaps she'd never had pups before. He hadn't (to his knowledge) but he certainly had done the deed.

He settled down with Anii, focused now on her body language. It took a bit for things to sink in for Aya but, once they did, they got his full and undivided attention. "Our pack had very special...trinkets, I suppose you could call them, that held meaning to us. Everyone got one when they were a pup and you added to it with bones or rocks or gems, whatever you liked. My sister had a bracelet and I a necklace. We took them off to go hunting and left them under a tree, hidden in the roots, but we saw a pack of hyenas make off with our things while we were looking for a meal," he muttered, ears drooping a bit at the reminder.

"So we're trying to find them. We have their scent, but not much else."

Mogami

 

[Mogami]

SilverLutz

Anii was very surprised and that probably showed in her expression. She had already considered Aya to be an interesting fellow before he’d admitted to be chasing after hyenas. Now she was positively fascinated by the male’s bravery… and potential stupidity. Honestly, one had to be pretty crazy to go chasing after a pack of hyenas!

“Well, I hope you can get your things back but… what will you do if you find them…? Those smelly beasts can break bones in a second.” She was trying very hard not to look impressed but she was failing miserably. Her eyes glowed like gems and she leaned closer to the male before she caught herself. “Where is your sister, anyway? Is she going to be here soon?”  

[SilverLutz]

"We'll make those laughing freaks pay!" Aya said, slapping his paw down on the ground in front of him as Mika was wont to do when she said those words. He honestly just wanted to get their stuff and run. Hyenas were scary guys! But he'd do as his sister told him, since she was the brains of their operation.

"Mika? Oh, no, she's not coming," the large male said with a little laugh. "She stayed behind while I went to find water. She's probably napping," he added, shaking his head. "I'm supposed to go back once I find water but...I can talk a bit longer."

Anii was so nice that it was hard to drag himself away. That and the way she kept looking at him was making him hope she'd ask him to stay to do more than just talk. "She's not even within hearing distance. Unless I howled or something...but she wouldn't come even then."

Mogami

 

[Mogami]

SilverLutz

So sorry that I took so long to reply!

This was the perfect outcome to her little dilemma. Knowing that they weren’t going to be suddenly interrupted by a nosy sister quickly put her worries to rest and Anii stood and stepped away from the large male, glancing at him over her shoulder as if she expected him to follow her.

“Ah, good. It’s fine then. I don’t think we’re going to be that loud.” Finally, she allowed a more obvious little grin to creep into her expression, making her intentions perfectly clear. “I guess she won’t miss you for a night… or two.” Her grin grew wider and she gave Aya a slow wink full of promise.