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Whats black and white and red all over?
A Sanjah and a Tig with a sun burn, that's what!
Sanjah groaned, his dirty brown nose slightly red and very hot. He and his 'pet', Tig, a white fox with black stripes, were sprawled out in the coolness of a shadow a tree created for them. Neither were used to the warmth. They came down from the north where it was cold and.. well.. not hot!
"Ahhh Tiiiig," Sanjah groaned, "Has the sun hidden behind the clouds yet?"
"Not yet, Sanny. He's still watching us!" The fox replied, looking through the canopy of the leaves to little white glares where sun broke through. "He's still hot."
Sanjah rolled onto his back, slightly twisted to the side at the bottom. "Ug. It's so hot. My body is hot all over!" His eyes were closed tight and he rolled in the grass, hoping the dirt could cool him off.
Tig perked his ears and looked about. He jumped over Sanjah, who smiled at the breeze, and walked to the edge of the shade to sniff at the humid air. "I hear, and smell, a.. some sort of body of water. Maybe a river, maybe a lake. But its definitely water!"
Sanjah rolled onto his side and looked at the fox, who he said looked like a white tiger, and smirked. "I've always envied your abilities to hear and smell!" he concluded, standing up on all fours in an awkward way and then straightening out.
Tig smiled. He liked it when Sanjah praised him.
"Maybe we can go for a nice dip and cool down our hot spots?" he asked, pacing over towards his friend. "But, oh, how I don't want to go into the sun again!" he winced at the sun, and slowly edged out into it and quickly receded back into the cool shade. It hurt his sensitive eyes and having the sun tangle in his thick fur made him feel like he wanted to shave it off.
Tig happily walked out into the sun. Somehow, the hot rays didn't make him so sensitive to the hotness over his body. He was red, too, but it didn't seem to bother him too much. The sun did seem to make him more optimistic, though. Which was nice. "Oh come on. It's not far, and you won't regret the feeling of your hot spots melt away in the water!" He gave a cheesy grin that he knew Sanjah could never resist. He was also quite far into the sun.
Sanjah gave a happy sigh. He hesitantly inched his way into the sun until he was exposed to the burning ball's wrath. "Ouf." he mumbled, and he trotted towards Tig, flipping back his lock of black mangy hair. "Alright, show me this water, Tig. I'm counting on you!" He chuckled, looked down at his friend who then raced off with a bark and then followed after.

"Are we there yet, Tig?" Sanjah asked impatiently, "I can feel my skin boiling." he then complained, wanting to eagerly to get his fur dirty and roll in mud - and he hated getting dirty!
"Almost, Sanjah!" the fox shouted happily, picking up the pace.
Sanjah groaned and walked. It would take longer, but less work to walk.
Splash
Sanjah groaned, but happily. Tig found water! Sanjah smiled under his mop of hair and kept his head low with his eyes closed.
Splash
He walked right into the river. He gasped when he surfaced, looking panicked, maybe even cold, and swam to shore. "Ah, Good heavens!" He cried, shaking off his soaked fur.
"Isn't this what you wanted Sanjah?" Tig asked, swimming around playfully.
Sanjah turned around. He growled and sat on a fish that lastched itself to his hind quarters. It flopped about on land and it flailed deeper into the forest without a sense of direction.
"Yes. Thank you, Tig." he smiled. He felt much better and slowly dragged himself into the water.

"Why look at this!" a voice called, "A land fish!" he chucked. He picked up the fish in his mouth and started to walk back to the river. He padded along happily. He didn't like fish.

He put it nearer the river and let it plop back in. He looked up to a cat coloured wolf and fox. "Hello, you two!" the brown wolf cried. "Sun too hot for you, Sanjah?"
"As always, Mateus." he sighed, swimming ashore to greet him by nuzzling him. Stupid. Mateus made only Sanjah do this. But Mateus was Chieftain of the tribe. He had to do as he was told. To someone not in the Hardizan tribe, one could have assumed they were mates!

Tig paddled up to the shore to shake off water in his fur. "Did Aure come with you, Mateus?" he barked happily, wagging his tail.
Mateus smiled and nodded towards her. She came up the trail slowly. Tig laughed and raced towards her. They went off to play.

Mateus sat down with Sanjah across from onlooking eyes. "How are you today, Sanny?" he asked. Everyone in his books had a nick name. Everyone.
"As always, burnt." he sighed and left his head on Mateus's back. Mateus's fur was softer than his own. "Does it ever snow, down here in the sun?"
"Sometimes," he replied,"It snowed last season."
Sanjah smiled. "Good. Then I wait until the next snowfall," he lifted his head off his friend back to yawn. "What season do you like, Mateus?"
"Hm." he started. He loved nature too much to pick and choose favourites. "Well, I can telly ou I don't like Winter. Everything dies." he looked between his paws at a blooming flower. "There is spiritual and meaning behind the seasons, though. They do not touch us, these meaning, but they touch the plants. I feel for them."

They talked. And talked. And talked. Until finally Sanjah got annoyed with Manteus's babbling and laid his head between his paws. His ears twitched occasionally to be attentive to branch falls and twig snaps. "I think we might be watched," he stated, keeping his head on his paws.
Mateus laughed. "Course we are. The sun and the tree's watch us."
Sanjah sighed, unhappily, and stayed attentive to rattling bushes.

Sanjah didn't flinch, but Mateus paniced. "Does you sun sneeze, Mateus? I think not." He lifted his head with an evil cheezy -i told you so- grin but still didn't move.
"Aure! Tig!" Mateus cried, "Come back!" He stood up and swished his tail in front on Sanjah's face on purpose to punish him.
"Mother fluffer." he mumbled but merely turned around to watch. He wasn't phazed. He was stronger than most wolves down in these parts. He cold winters up north toughened him up.
"Yes?"
"Hiiii!"
A tiger and a dog cam running out of the forest and jumped on Sanjah, who didn't have a care in the world. Tig crawled over him a lot already. Kids.
"Someone's watching us." Mateus said nervously, staring at the sneeze location.
The familiars froze jumpedoff Sanjah and sat up straight and attentive. "Sir!" They said in unison, standing on all fours and running into the bush at the watched location.
"Think they'll get em? They're awfully small." Sanjah laughed at how upset Mateus got.
"Hush you! Do you down your own Tig?" he asked licking him on the brow - he knew Sanjah hated to be licked even by Tig or Aure or girls. He wasn't used to affection!
He shrugged it off and both males looked back into the bush.
"You're a wimp for letting them go first, you know." Sanjah sighed, putting his head back on his paws.

The two familiars giggled, and chomped on his tail.

"I hear shouting, shall we go see who our visitor is, Mateus?" Sanjah asked, with a chuckle. He stood, not waiting for the Chief and peeked his head into the bushes. "Hello there, lost one." he smiled a toothy grin, to make him look dangerous.
"Sanjah!" Mateus whined and crawled towards him. For a chief he was whiny. But he had good scenes and a strong nose for justice and peace. "Who's there?" Meteus said, peeking over the bigger totems shoulder.
"Just a runt," Sanjah continued. "A tasty little one that won't run from a big strong man like me!" he licked his lips.
Mateus looked appealed. Even though he was only trying to scare the other wolf, Sanjah looked serious. Was he a cannibal up north? Is that why he said people would die if he was chief? "SANJAAAAAH" he shouted. "Don't eat him!" He pouted and pushed by the large wolf.
Sanjah huffed, he spun around and sat on his rump.
"Tig. Aure. Off!" Mateus commanded, musing the familiars to get behind him. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" he asked, looking at the new face.

Sanjah smiled evilly. His wipe pupil looking scary in the dark purple of his eye. Peculiar eyes that frightened a lot. "You'll be my lunch if you can't run like me, runt." he was intent on making him mad. He wouldn't eat another wolf. He liked to tease. He even teased Mateus. His eyes made it more menacing.
Tig and Aure obeyed, hopped on Natsu one last time and ran behind their masters.
"We caught him!" Aure shouted.
"That we did, Aure!" Tig shouted back, not needing to. She was standing right beside him after all.
Mateus glared at the purple wolf. "What peculiar colours. I don't think I've seen any wolf like you before!" he smiled happily. He accepted anyone until proven ruthless. Everyone had a blank slate in his mind, even if he got word that they did a bad deed. He gave everyone a chance.
Sometimes it wasn't always a good thing.
Sanjah liked his lips. He was hot, thirsty, and hungry. "Dear Mateus, I am hungry. May we eat him?" he looked to the chieftain, giving him puppy eyes.
"No Sanjah!" he glared now at Sanjah, starting to think all north wolves were cannibal! "But we can bring him back to Hardizan and have us a feast. I'm sure Deeren is lonely in the hut all alone." Deeren, a small pup who suddenly decided to follow Mateus. They looked simalar, both deer like in markings.
"Awright. Fine." Sanjah pouted. Mateus always killed his fun. "Come on, runt. There's probably fish and berries and othet delicasies and morsels back home." Suddenly on a lighter, less fearful tone.
"Yes!" cried Mateus, already starting to walk, "And I can share with him some stories!" he smiled. He'd do anything to share a story. Sanjah heard them all, if not twice or even three times. The ricks of being around a talker.
"Sorry, runt," he called back to Natsu, "Looks like you're in for a lecture or two or three." he almost hoped he'd come.

Sanjah smiled. "Fluffy? Up north, the more fluff ya got, the better ya survived!" Ahhh. The cold. How he almost missed it from this dying heat! And it wasn't the good kind, either!
Mateus brimmed and Aure and Tig made a game of dancing around the large wolves paws without getting stepped on.
"Deeren is my follower. He wants to travel the world while I stay here. He's such a cute child. Docked tail, though. He looks more like I deer than I do!" he was so proud of Deeren. He already knew a handful of tales, and he looked like Mat but lighter. He had horns, too. The only thing he disliked about Deeren was he didn't have the power of illusion, like himself. It was what Mateus's stories enjoyable!
The cat coloured wolf laughed. "Deeren is a runt as well," he started to say, when he got a kick from a friendly, patient, chief who never got angry.
"Just because people are smaller than you, we aren't runts. You just grow too tall up north! Land of the Giants!"
It was true, Deeren was a runt, but Mateus hated when people called him that. It was also true, Sanjah was large for a wolf. He was at least a head taller than Mateus.

Sanjah sighed happily, and then gave another toothy grin. "Tales of Cannibalism and danger and --OOF." Two tiny fluffy butts crawled their way onto Sanny's back.
"Cannibalism?" Cried Tig.
"Danger?" Asked Aure.
"Sounds Dangerous!" Tig stated obviously, but Aure laughed.
"Mrrrrr." Sanjah grumbled and stood up carefully with their guides on his back. "Kill me fun." he ended with.
Mateus giggled and stepped in their onversation. "Stories of anything you want! I can make one up, if you wish. The Cannibal Cat and the Runt Wolf?"
He smiled.

Sanjah growled at the purple wolf. How dare he. If Mateus wasn't with them he could surely put the runt in his place.
"Now place nice, Sanjah!" Mateus ordered, looking back at them. He slowed to walk along side the new comer to make sure he didn't get eaten. "Though, I don't want to make my stories too far fetched," he joked, inadvertently saying Sanjah couldn't be eaten by any wolves around here.
Sanjah growled to himself, and bit on his lip. "I'd like to zee you wiz zat coat of yurs stand up te mine," he said with suddenly a thick accent. And accent his parents had. But he didn't talk enough up north, or was with them enough, to inherit it. "Pah! I bet in ze wintuurrr 'ere you freeze and 'vine." He did wish winter would come.
Mateus laughed. "That was terrible, Sanjah."

Mateus gave a sigh, but smiled. "A story of.. of a chief and his friend? That would be a boring story." he concluded. There. That was his story.
Sanjah huffed. "I agree. Mayhaps he'd rather a poem of your great Rain Crow? OR of Cloud Bears and Snow Elks?" he suggested.
"Perhaps," Mateus said, sounding like a tease, "Or maybe one of your sooongs?"
Sanjah looked shocked, and then looked away. "Heh. My songs? He wouldn't understand them. They're not even in your language, Mateus."
Mateus smiled. "So are most of your poems."
Sanjah sighed and agreed to let Mateus tell him a story when they got back.

Mateus smiled as they walked towards a bustling area in the woods. Painted and carved trees and tree houses where humans dwelled.
"Mateus Mateus!" called a little voice. Deeren with a large grin came running up to the three wolves with his bell hanging in his mouth. He placed it on the ground to talk better. "Where have you been?" he asked. "Sanjah! Look what you did! You made Mateus vanish!"
Sanjah growled and lied low to the ground to crawl at him, he looked more like a lion stalking something small. "Oh? And who says you don't run off either, child? How many times has Mateus gone looking for you?" Deeren shut up. Even if it didn't make sense, no one argued with the big bad wolf.
Mateus sighed and shoved Sanjah. "Don't yell at him. Deeren, I know Sanjah is old enough to be on his own, but I needed him."
Sanjah gave Mateus and awkward glance. "That sounds so weird..."