Fido snorted from her spot, flopped carelessly on an abandone termite mound. Or at least, it seemed abandoned or.. in the very least, empty, to her. Nothing had come out to greet her with bites to her paws.
She was, once more, hanging around the sidelines. Tibuka and that purple guy.. Leith, wassit? were out.. somewhere. Maybe. She had seen a suspicious purple lump moving about in the distance, but didn't try to pay any attention to it. It was.. no big deal. Leith wasn't her boss, Tibuka was. If Tibuka showed up, then she'd do something.
Not that she minded this set-up. She was used to being the dog, the pet. She had enjoyed her moments of freedom, when she didn't have the collar, but it was back now. A kind of silent agreement between her and the muddy male. He was boss, she was pet, she wore the collar. No arguing; he was bigger than her, and she had no clue how to survive out here anyway.
She was a pathetic hunter, though. And while she was improving a bit, he wasn't so keen to let her ruin any more hunts.
"Lazing about, are we? " She practically jumped at the voice, rolling ungracefully off her pile. "Ey! No fair! " She whined, rolling her head to look up at Leith. Yep, that purple blob had been him, and now he was standing with his front paws crossed over the termite mound, leaning against it.
"I'm telling, " He twitched his tail, eyebrows raised. Leith wasn't in a good mood today; he would usually leave Fido be, but he was in the mood to pick on something, and he knew picking on Tibuka was hopeless. This left Fido, the pathetic and scrawny female. "I'm not supposed to be doing anything. " She defended, ears vanishing in her scruffy mane.
Leith frowned, that did leave picking on her a bit trickier. Well... "Now you are. Catch me a hare. " He said, ears laying backwards slightly as she didn't move to follow his command. "Well? " He raised an eyebrow. Fido had never stuck him as a defiant sort. She was so submissive.. usually. "Yer not my boss. " She said simply, though she didn't bother getting off the floor.
The purple male blinked. What did she mean he wasn't her boss? He was certainly better ranked than her in the little trio, she followed Tibuka, might as well follow him, too. "B'sides, I don't hunt well. " She added at his expression, considering for a moment that, while not as big as Tibuka, the purple male was still larger than her.
Well, that was true. He'd witnessed a few of her pathetic attempts at hunting. "Fine, then. " He grumbled, defeated, but climbed up fully on the termite mound, peering over her. "Still, you're not supposed to answer back to me. " He grumbled, brows furrowing. Fido perked her ears slightly, her eyebrows raising.
"Suuure, whatever you say, grape-puff. " She rolled her eyes, collecting her paws beneath herself to stand up again. When she got up, though, Leith reached a paw out and his her on the shoulder, hard. In surprise, she yelped, tumbling to the side and crouching against the floor, head turned in his direction and ears flat. "Oi! What was that for? " She growled, though it faded slightly into a whine as she saw his face.
He growled, now standing on the termite mound, tail raised. "That was for the grape-puff comment. " He looked angry for a bit longer, before moodily flopping on the termite mound again, paws crossing over each other. Leith wasn't usually very aggressive, but, once more, he was in a pretty nasty mood. Fido was catching on to this; Leith usually just lied around lazily in the background.
"What bit you today? " She grumbled, head turning so she glared at him through the corner of her eyes. He blinked down at her, not enjoying the tone, but not finding enough ground to snap at her. "Nothing. I don't need a reason to be in a bad mood. " He growled slightly, looking away. "Uh, ya, ya do. If you're bringing attitude onta others. "
He glared, and now her eyes diverted. Fido hadn't been herself lately either, but she had a better excuse. She wasn't used to the harshness of the outside world, and was a bit crabby about the change. It had been her choice, but how could she know she'd run in to Tibuka?!
"Whats that, anyway? " Leith said, changing the subject a bit. He pointed his nose slightly towards her, trying to indicate her collar. She blinked, true, he hadn't asked about that yet. "Its ah collar. Two-leggers use it. Put it on dogs to show their 'theirs'. " She shrugged. "Funny thing is they don't stop ya from runnin' off. " Some did, but Fido had never heard of shock collars.
He blinked, eying it. "You're not with two-leggers. " He said, quietly. "I was. And Tibuka liked the idea. Er sumfin. But eh, he's boss. " She shrugged. Truth be told, she didn't mind it much. Fido wasa follower, not a leader.
Leith pondered this a bit. "Is it like slavery? Y'know, with the two legs? " He perked his ears. Leith had been a slave up until adolescence. It wasn't a big of deal either, to him. It was all he'd ever known. Keep your mouth shut and do your job, and the pride didn't kick your butt. He had been caught being snarky on more than once occasion, though.
She tilted her head. "Eh, I dunno. Depends on how ya see it. Wasn't so bad. they fed me an' gave me shelter fer rain. And stuff. But if I screwed up they hit me. " She shrugged. And she'd admit, she liked the small ones, when she played with them, it was great.
The purple male pondered a bit longer, before getting up and easly stepping off his perch on the termite mound. "Make yourself useful and try to hunt. I'm going for a walk. " He said gruffly, without looking at her then beginning to walk away. Somehow, he wasn't in the mood to pick on her anymore.
Fido blinked, watching the purple male go and remaining wher eshe was a bit longer. Then deciding that being useful wouldn't be so bad, and got up. If she caught a hare, maybe Tibuka would let her hunt with him again.
