Kalb trotted happily through the dust. It rose up and coated his dark fur, getting caked between his toes and paw-pads. Some got into his eyes, forming crusts on the edges as he blinked them away, making his nostrils tickle. He paused and shook his head, sneezing most of it out of his face and lifting a hind leg to scratch idly at one of his ears as it flopped rather comically over his face. He gazed across the land, looking interested as he spotted two other figures in the distance. Getting to his paws again, he galloped towards them, tongue flying out of the side of his muzzle as he ran.
Ianthe's paws ached as she did her best to keep up with Zuri's pace. She had been tired, more than just physically though. When were they every going to make it to the ocean? It seemed like never. Did that bird really help them, or merely just take away her pretty flower for selfish reasons? No. The wild dog shook her head, clearing away those dark thoughts. They'd make it! She would see it for herself, she would! And Zuri was still right beside her, sticking with her throughout this journey. Everything was aaaalllright!
Her ears perked up as she heard a scuffling nosie before her. She was worried, but once her pink eyes had seen that it was something running towards them (in quite an awkward manner), she stopped. "Zuri, what is that?" she asked. "It looks...weird." She'd never seen anything run like that before!
Zuri's paws were sore, as well. He had tried to get the bird to understand that they couldn't walk as fast as it could fly, and it had mocked him. He wrinkled his nose. If they didn't need it to help them find the way... Glancing sideways at Ianthe as she looked up, he followed her gaze, brows furrowing. What WAS it? "Good question." He replied, squinting at the approaching Kalb. "It looks like a d-"
But as he was about to finish his sentence the younger dog barrelled up to him, grinning madly and panting, tongue lolling from his mouth in exhaustion. Still, he seemed to have enough energy to wag his tail, which he did. A LOT. Dust clouds rose up as it thwacked against the dry ground. "Hello!!" Kalb said happily, eyeing the other two with unbridled enthusiasm.
Ianthe's pink eyes blinked just as much as the young wild dog's tail wagged. What...what...wait what? How did he get here so fast? Whaaat? She stared at him, still stunned that he seemed to appear out of no where, like magic! And he was obviously quite 'in your face' and exciting, with just rushing up to them with a huge smile on his face.
She took a couple steps forward, offering her own smile as the shock of this 'magic' wore off. "Hi!" she replied, bobbing her head in a nod. "Who're you? You run really fast, y'know? I didn't even realize you were here 'til...you were here! It was like magic, wasn't it Zuri?" she said, turning her attention to her purple companion. He looked a little concerned, but that was just Zuri. Always stern and never lossening up, was he? Silly dog. "I'm Ianthe!" she said brightly, turning back to face the dark wild dog. Wooow. While she was like a pretty flower, he reminded her of dirt! In her simple mind, that was neat! Flowers needed dirt! If she actually had said that out loud, though, it certainly might of been an awkward moment.
Zuri quite agreed with Ianthe that the other dog seemed to have come out of nowhere. He quickly got hold of himself, though, and took an 'alpha' position, head lifted high above the younger male's, starn expression on his face. He was about to demand to know why the dog had approached them when Ianthe's stream of questions erupted from her mouth. He signed, his posture drooping. "Yes, Ianthe." He agreed, defeated. "Yes, it was just like magic."
Kalb's hind end wriggled with excitement, tail wagging so fast it was almost a blur. "Really? Do you think so?" He asked, eyes wide. Magic! Wow! He lifted a forepaw to gnaw some of the caked dirt out from between his toes. "I'm Kalb!" He replied between gnaws. Dislodging a large piece, he spat it onto the ground in front of him. Zuri wrinkled his nose again.
Okay, eewwww. Maybe he was like dirt in the literal sense, since....there was dirt growing out of his toes! She couldn't help but draw back a bit, hiding part of her body behind Zuri. Her ears were still perked up, though, curious on this 'dirt' Kalb. Her mind conjured the idea that if he grew dirt, why couldn't flowers grow out of her? A bit of envy waved up in her mind, but she did her best to not show it at all. "Kalb?" she repeated, letting the word play around in her mouth a bit. It tickled, even! She giggled, nudging Zuri a bit to have him lighten up. Sure, the mud/dirt he was spitting out was kinda icky, but he didn't seem mean!
"Whatcha doooing?" she asked, curious. Was he just...running around and spreading dirt everywhere? She was shy to ask, just in case he really did have some of this magic stuff in his paws and didn't want her to figure it out. She was a smart one, all right!
Zuri relaxed a bit as Ianthe leaned against him. Right, weird he might be, but the younger dog was clearly not a threat. He cleared his throat and, feeling incredibly stupid, spoke to Kalb. "Ehrm. Hello, Kalb. I'm Zuri. He offered, still giving him a somewhat suspicious look.
"I gots dirt atween my toes." Kalb explained, chewing on one of his claws. "I was in some mud and then it dried up." He added, thrusting his other paw out to prove this to Ianthe. Indeed, his paws were lighter brown than the rest of him with reddish dirt.
Ianthe's eyes wiened, but then she looked away for a moment, a bit disappointed. Really? Was that it? "So...dirt doesn't grow between your toes?" If that was true, then there was no way that she could ever have flowers grow on her, huh? She never thought that it might be painful, and kind of...weird. Ianthe never really thought things out too well, ever.
Well, sometimes it worked. Her mind was still set on seeing the ocean one day, and she'd never give up on it until she saw it. "heeeeeeey!" she called out to him (even if he wasn't far), sticking next to Zuri as if he was her bodyguard. "Do you know anything about the ocean?" If he knew something, then maybe they'd get there soon!
If Zuri could have facepalmed, he would have. She thought dirt grew between his TOES?! He had grown very fond of Ianthe in the time they had spent together, but every now and then he would be reminded of how truly... dim she could be. He gave her a reassuring lick, privately rolling his eyes.
"No!" Kalb replied brightly, placing both paws back on the ground again. "Why would they do that?" He asked, tilting his head at Ianthe. Did many other dogs grow dirt? Of they did, he'd never met on. At her question though, he looked even more confused. "The whatshion?"
She ignored his question, really, since she was more focused on telling him about the WONDEROUS ocean! Even....if she'd never actually seen it before. "Well! It's supposed to be this greeeat place! Water as far as you can see, really soft dirt that tickles your toes. Weird birds, pretty things called 'shells', and even other kinds of flowers, maybe!" There! Yes, it really was that wonderful to her, even if she knew nothing about it. Everything she knew had been told to her by others, and she didn't know (or care) if it was true or not. She wanted to see for herself.
If she could have, she would have clung to Zuri a bit smugly, if only because she felt proud in knowing so much. "We're going there to see it!"
Zuri's heart softened as Ianthe extolled the sea's virtues to the other dog. Maybe not the brightest bulb, but she more than made up for it in enthusiasm.
Kalb just stared at her, clearly not completely comprehending what she was saying. "Water as far as you can see??" He repeated, scratching his ear. "I don't think I'd like that much." He added honestly. Kalb liked his water in small amounts, where he could be sure it wouldn't do anything weird.
Defeated!
"Really? Why nooot? I mean, you can't drink it anyway, it's supposed to taste funny," she said, her ears and head drooping a bit. "All it does is move a bit, but it's supposed to be so neat. Like...like how the savannah grasses sway in the breeze!" She was trying to convince him otherwise, but didn't think she was doing a very good job.
"Well, I want to go because it's supposed to be pretty," she said, gaining a bit of confidence with Zuri next to her. Maybe a bit stubborn as well. At least he wasn't laughing at her, right? "And I'm totally sure that it is pretty."
Kalb wasn't terribly interested in pretty. Perhaps if he had know that the sea had waves to chase and dead fish to roll in, he would have been more enthusiastic. "S'nice." He said noncommitally, scratching at his neck with a hind paw. But no matter how pretty she said it was, a big water what smelled weird and you couldn't drink from.. well, he'd rather stay faaaar away from that.
Zuri smirked. He was inwardly pleased that Klab didn't show interest in the ocean. After all, if he had then he might have wanted to come with them! Zuri had no intention of allowing THAT.
"Hmph." Ianthe was a bit irritated now. It was pretty! He must of just had a lot of dirt in his ears or something. Yeeeah, that was it. He just didn't know what might be good for him! That...felt a bit mean, but it was Ianthe's dream to see the ocean. To have someone sort of shoot it down like that was a new experience for the wild dog.
She fell silent, looking upwards at Zuri now. Well, he seemed okay with that answer, didn't he? She had no idea what he was thinking, but it wasn't like he was saying anything either. Oh well. Zuri was aaalways like that, but she did like having him around. It was comforting.
"Then what're you doing? Do you just run around here all the time, or are you going somewhere?" Ianthe had always been looking for the ocean (well, not always, but it felt like it), so it was hard to think of him as just...running around, even if he was younger than her.
"Mostly just run around!" Kalb replied cheerfully, flopping onto his side and chewing on one of his claws. "I don' really like stayin' anywhere too long." He explained, tail thumping the ground.
Zuri rolled his eyes again, nudging Ianthe. "Well," He said, "we *are* going somewhere, and if we don't keep going, we'll lose that damn bird."
"Oh! Umm, oh, okay," she stumbled over her words, feeling like she got a bit shaken. She had gotten so focused on convincing the other male that the ocean was so grand that she didn't realize just how much time had gone by. Yes! They needed to make sure that the bird really was guiding them the right way. Ianthe did pay the pride.
"Well, have fun running around then, Kalb. Maybe we'll see you again if you just run everywhere, okay?" she said with a smile, sticking close to Zuri. They were going to pick up the trail again, and make it to the ocean at the end of that trail!
Kalb looked unconcerned, reached around to gnaw at a flea on his back. "M'kay!" He said, voice muffled. "Ha' f'n!"
Zuri snorted and got to his paws, shaking off the dust that had settled on him from Kalb's wagging tail. He smiled at Ianthe and scanned the clear sky for that infernal bird.
