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 Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:03 pm
It had been discovered that, right at sundown when everything was silvery and still almost a little bright and warm, that there were bugs out. The young pup woke at twilight, her blue eyes sleepy but her energy high as she bounded out of the den to play. She snapped at a moth, then chased a cricket until it vanished into a bush. It took her a few moments to disentangle herself from said bush, which would have been easier if her wagging tail hadn't gotten restuck twice. But Gigglepaws couldn't help that. She was just having so much fun right now!
Eagerly, she began stalking towards a flash of light that she recognized as a firefly. They weren't hot, even though some pup had told her they lit things on fire. One of the nice grownups had explained, and then demonstrated, much to the little dog's horror, by touching one. Nothing had happened, and once again Lika was free to chase the fascinating glowy things to her hearts content...
...or her splotchy tail. Chasing that was fun too, especially since running in circles made her dizzy, and then it seemed like everything in the world was running in circles, and that was fun too. Giggling madly, she staggered and wove back and forth as she tried to find that same firefly once again. Or a different firefly. Or a beetle. Or...something. Not that she could walk in a straight line just yet, much less chase something.
It was still fun!
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:23 pm
Damu had his head ducked a little as he walked close to the borders - just within them. He had barely recalled the memory of this place - the place his sister was dropped off in the middle of the night. The pack was boisterous at the time, and rising. They woke at night, he had learned later.
He in turn had been dropped off in a young family who had later joined a pack that was all about mornings. It was a huge difference for him. He frowned. The sun had only just gone down, he was sure others were simply waiting to rise from their sleep.
He was the second out of his siblings to be dropped off in random places - Twana was the only one he knew the location of. He wished he would have know of his other sisters, but they weren't dropped off here. His mind swirled with possibilities. He needed to find the sister he at least knew of.
Of course, thats when he saw a white pup with splotchy paws and tail. He stared on in curiosity as she chased... something.
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:31 pm
Wobble wobble wobble...wobble wobble the other way...she could do it, she could...wow dizzy... "Gotcha!" she squeaked delightedly as she pounced, before falling flat on her face as the beetle flew away. "Aww..." But she was hardly down for long at all, and her tail never stopped wagging.
Blinking, she wobbled to her paws asthe world finally finished settling into place...and just as the world stopped spinning she saw him. He was big and white, with splotchy markings in yellow and red, like she had splotches in yellow and brown. A new friend!
"Hiya! I'm Gigglepaws, but mostly people call me Giggles!" she said brightly, bounding over to him eagerly. Someone else who was up early, maybe he'd catch bugs with her!
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:53 pm
What a bright and chipper young girl. He blinked at her for a moment. Well he hadn't really expected that, but he quirked a smile. "Well, nice to meet you, Gigglepaw... Giggles," he amended after a brief pause. He hoped he didn't sound too stuffy or arrogant.
He just didn't know how to reply!!
"I'm Damu'Johari. Damu is what most people call me though," he told her. He felt a little... solemn... next to the happy girl, and he wondered if he were ever that happy or rambunctious. He couldn't recall a time.
He was always so... somber.
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:57 pm
"...Damu?" she repeated, looking at him curiously. That didn't sound like the sort of names packmates had. They were, like, Goldentoed or Skygaze, not like...that. Maybe he wasn't from in the pack then. Maybe he was like Vashti and was just around for a little while but didn't belong.
"Where are you from then?" the young dog asked, bright with curiosity. New friends were nothing to be scared of after all, and she was in her home. Daddy wasn't far, and neither were the other grownups, which was sometimes annoying but she didn't really mind. It meant she was safe here. From firebugs and al'gators and everything else that sounded scary.
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:10 pm
Was he that obvious? He supposed so. She had a name like Gigglepaws, he was bound to stick out with a name like... his own. He supposed the pack had different naming traditions and everything.
"Ah, I came from down south - the Amani'Kikundi lands," he told her. The pack already looked a lot larger than what he considered his homelands. "Its a pack that foster the relationship between Hyenas and Dogs," he told her. He thought it was quite a unique combination of things.
After all, he was told in the past that dogs were used as slaves in these Hyena packs.
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:15 pm
Oh, so he was from the south. From a pack in the south that fostered relationships between dogs and...and...
"What's a hi-yee-na?" the pup asked curiously, "And what's a fostered? Is that like being friends? Do you get to play games with the hi-yee-nas? I like games, games are fun. Do you wanna play a game? Giggles babbled happily, already bouncing around the older dog. Just because he was bigger didn't mean he wouldn't want to play! Playing was fun, everybody played games!
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:24 pm
How was he supposed to explain a hyena? "Um... They're like... Large... dogs, but not really?" He tried to explain, though his attempt was like a dead bird trying to fly again. It just didn't work. Fostered was easier though - "Yes, it's like being friends or family," he said, with a soft laugh.
Njozi and Mkodi, he sucked at explaining things.
"Game?" He asked. "I... I don't know any games," he admitted softly with a frown. "I've never played any games, you see," he told her in way of explanation. Once he got to Amani, he threw himself into 'work,' even though he was terribly young.
He just never found time to play. The woman he clung to as his Mother had done the same. She was already an esteemed hunter by the time he was old enough to wander again on his own. And she was barely older then he was when he started working.
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:32 pm
"Like big dogs?" she repeated, taking the time to pause in her bouncing and frown thoughtfully. It would be so cool to meet a hi-yee-na! What if they could even see over the tops of trees? That would be so cool! Her tail wagging hard enough that it looked as though she might sprain something, she was about to bound over to him and pepper him with questions when he spoke next.
"...what?"
Okay. Okay that...that wasn't possible. How could someone not know any games? Poor Damu! "That's okay," she hastened to assure him, "I know lots of games! I can teach you! Running games, jumping games, hiding games...lots of games!"
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:54 pm
"Teach me? Oh. Okay," he gave a nod. "I suppose I can give it a try..." He just hoped he didn't completely fail at playing a game - something he never played before. He was good at learning though! Maybe it wouldn't be so dapper.
He didn't know there were that many games though! "Are there really so many games?" He asked shyly. It was something he had very little knowledge on. It made him feel out of place.
Of course, when he was a pup, there were no other pups in the pack, now that he thought about it. There were pups when he was older...
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:03 pm
Lika nodded excitedly. "Yes, there are lots and lots! I like them, and it's fun to make up new games too! So of course there are lots!" she looked around, fishing for an idea that wouldn't be too hard to teach him. Tag wasn't fair, neither was wrestling, he was too big... oh!
"We could have a bug hunting contest!" she squealed gleefully, having glimpsed a firefly flash as she looked around. "The first person to catch a...a...a beetle wins!" Because beetles were easier to catch without squishing than most bugs. "Are you ready? Three...two..." Giggles began her countdown, but kept an eye on Damu. Just in case he didn't understand, she didn't want to make him lose because she didn't explain properly. That was hardly fair!
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:11 pm
"I see," he said. He felt bad for not knowing any. He didn't know you could simply make up a game either. "Bug hunting...?" He questioned lightly, but she explained it quickly.
He gave a small nod in response, and hoped he could catch one. Beetles were... small. Was there a point to this game? He supposed it was supposed to be 'fun'. He could live with that. "Alright," he said in agreement.
He figured the rules were simple - just catch a beetle, right? That should be no problem...
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:16 pm
"...oneGO!" Lika finished very quickly, he had agreed after all. And then she was off, bounding after a buzz of wings and batting at the air as she tried to catch it. Her tail wagged as she ran in a circle, still snapping at the bug before another diverted her attention and she turned to give chase there instead.
It wasn't long before she'd tripped over herself, giggling madly as she caught a leaf and then a pebble instead of the quick little bug.
See? Games were fun! She barely paused in her romping as she turned to see how Damu was doing.
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:31 pm
Damu couldn't tell one bug from another in the air and he stared up at the sky for a moment and at the blinking bugs that Janja had once called 'lightning bugs' - not beetles, then.
So he looked to the ground for bugs. There were ants, of course. Damu had gotten bitten by one once, and his paw itched for a long time afterwards. He didn't like ants either.
Well, he had no luck so far. He looked over to Giggles to see how she was going about it, and she seemed to be having fun.
Was he doing it wrong?
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:37 pm
...Damu didn't seem to like this game after all. Lika stopped what she was doing, giving her head a shake when the beetle she'd been after buzzed in her ear. "Maybe we should play a different kind of game," she suggested, glancing around and wondering if she'd think of a better idea...oh!
"What kind of things do you like, Damu?" she asked eagerly. If he liked running, then they should play a running game, if he liked finding then a finding game, and so on and so forth. There were plenty of games to chose from, she'd try to pick one he would definitely like this time!
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