Laughingstar snuck away for a much-needed session of alone time. She loved her new pups, and Cleankill was already a fantastic father to their darling six newborns. However, her lifemate could not afford to hunt continuously and be expected to spend a decent amount of time with the pups. She had to eat a lot of meat in order to make enough food for the pups. So she had decided to give her mate a break and go hunt her own rabbits.
The wild dog searched around the borders of her pack for any scent or rustle that a prey animal could make. Soon enough, her nose picked up a rabbit not too far away, and she slowly moved towards it
Manyangalo now known as Dippedpaw was finding this new pack slightly odd. She wasn't use to how a pack functioned and so everything was confusing her slightly. She tended to stick near what she had been told were the borders mostly to remember what life use to be and why she was so happy to have found home. It was still all so new though.
She had become a hunter in the pack because she knew she could do that. Hunting with others was also a new experience and one she was getting use to but it was at least something. She was getting use to something and that surely was better then nothing?
Today she had wandered towards the borders alone. She slightly feared the other dogs, they seemed to be so comfortable in the pack and she was just, well new. Everyone seemed nice but she hadn't spoken to anyone to actually make a friend and that saddened her.
Laughingstar pounced upon the rabbit within a few minutes of finding it. That was easy, but she needed about two or three more to make a meal for her now much-larger family. She lifted the rabbit into her mouth and headed back towards the border, intending to hide her kill and go back out for more.
But as she neared it, she smelled another wild dog. A new female; the scent wasn't familiar, but she knew that if there was someone out here, so close to the pack, it had to be a member. Carefully and quickly, she wandered over to where she knew were a small cluster of rocks. Feeling with her paws and muzzle, she hid her dead rabbit and covered it up as best as she could feel.
Then she turned, found the other wild dog's scent to be stronger and therefore closer, and called out a greeting.
"Hello! I take it you're new to the pack, if you're out here wandering around the borders." Her tone was friendly and cheerful.
The sound of another's voice had surprised her slightly and so she looked up rather suddenly. She let a smile find it's way on to her face though as she picked up on the cheerful, friendly tone.
"Hello and yes, is it that obvious?" She let out a soft sigh and wondered if it was that obvious to pick out a newbie whether everyone knew she was when they saw her coming. How long would it take her to settle in to pack life?
She looked over the other female and smiled, she looked healthy. Always a good sign that the pack was well and that at least made her smile. She had indeed found a good home, she just had to stop worrying about it all the time.
Laughingstar chuckled and shook her head. "Nah, I just guessed, really." She could hear the padding steps of the other female as she came closer.
When she had first joined, Laughingstar had been lucky enough to have her brother with her, to help teach her about their new surroundings. Soon enough she had learned where the den was, where good hiding spots were, which way out of the pride led to a decent amount of prey to hunt, and other useful things that a blind wild dog should know about. This new member, however, sounded like she had no such help.
"How long have you been in the pack?"
Dippedpaw let out a soft sigh when she said she had guessed. That at least was something. Maybe it wasn't so obvious after all? She so hoped so!
"Not long at all, a few days or so, I am still trying so hard to get use to everything. It leaves me so confused. Have you been part of the pack long?" She was curious, she knew she wasn't the only rogue to join but she wondered just how many dogs had joined and how many were born here.
"What is your name if I may ask?" She wasn't sure what to call the other dog and getting use to these different names was more difficult then she had originally expected.
She nodded and thought about the recent happenings in her life. "That explains why I haven't met you before. I recently had a litter of six pups, so I've been shut away in my den with them." She chuckled for a moment. "My lifemate has even been pretty stern with doing all the work, like hunting, and not having me move a muscle. I was so fed up with it that I escaped today while they were all sleeping."
A rustle nearby made her ear twitch in its direction; then the flapping of wings told her it had been a small bird rustling around for food of its own. Not worth the hunt.
"I came here as an adolescent, with one of my brothers. His name is Riverfur, if you get the chance to meet him. And I'm Laughingstar. Welcome to the pack," she added with a soft smile.
Listening intently she couldn't help but smile as she spoke of her pups. Dippedpaw was envious there was no doubt about that. She longed for a family of her own and maybe one day it would happen here. She wouldn't mind that.
The flick of Laughingstar's ear got her attention but watching the bird fly off she wondered why the other female hadn't just looked. Maybe she was use to the creatures around here.
"It's nice to meet you then Laughingstar and thank you. I will keep and eye out for Riverfur, does he look much like you?" Would be easier to see him for sure if she had a rough idea what he looked like.
Considering how freely the pack members shared mates, there was no less of a chance that the new female would be able to find a mate and have pups of her own one day.
"He's told me that he has blue fur and green and white markings on him, in a few places," Laughingstar replied. "I wouldn't know myself, but I trust him enough with that."
Coming to the realization that she wouldn't be able to find anything else to hunt in the near future, she sat down and got comfortable. After laying down for a long time in her den, you'd think that she would have a boundless amount of energy to run around outside, in the sunshine. But she really didn't. She felt sleepy, to her chagrin.
"How are you liking the pack so far, then? And may I know your name as well?" Her light pink eyes gazed past the other female.
You haven't seen your brother?" Yes she was slow but the female didn't look obviously blind, she seemed so... happy and content that she really wouldn't have known. He was blue? So different to her. She would try to remember that though.
"I have been named Dippedpaw and I am finding the pack hard work. I haven't been in a pack before and all this is rather new to me. Hunting with others is hard and how the pack works and well everything..." She stopped herself from ranting too much. She could go on for ages about everything she was finding hard but she decided it was best not to.
Laughingstar's smile softened and she shook her head. Dippedpaw had not noticed her blindness. "No, I haven't seen him or any other of my family members, since birth. I can't see you, and I can't see my mate or our new pups." She had been sad about that, to be honest: she wanted almost desperately to lay eyes and see how her pups had turned out. But she was content with Cleankill's description of them and could picture them in her mind quite well.
"My siblings and I come from a strange mix of parents. My father is blue and green, much like Riverfur, while my mother is a mix of different browns."
She listened to Dippedpaw's rant with a sympathetic ear. "I promise that you'll get used to it, eventually. If you'd like, you can practice hunting with me and practicing," Laughingstar offered. She wouldn't mind a set of eyes to help her ears and nose while hunting.
Dippedpaw was saddened by what she was told. To have a mate and pups that you can't see? That was harsh, really harsh. She would have said something but she didn't know what to say without possibly upsetting the female.
"I honestly wouldn't have known you were blind!" She smiled as she spoke hoping to reassure her before remembering she couldn't see. It was slightly odd now she knew she was blind.
"Oh really? That would be awesome. I would love to hunt with you!" Not only could she get to know how to hunt with someone else she would also see how a blind girl hunts and that defiantly interested her!
Laughingstar expected pity (she was used to it, after all, having gone through her whole life and meeting new creatures that reacted the same way she would if she had been in their situation), but didn't want it. She felt that her life was amazing with or without her eyes.
"Good! I must be passing for a regular wild dog pretty well then," she joked and her smile widened.
She nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't mind having a helper. And you'll keep half of whatever we manage to find. Sound good?" They could start now, even. She needed to bring back some food for her family, and she knew that Dippedpaw needed to eat as well.
Dippedpaw was more then happy to go hunting with the other female and she was so happy that she made the other female smile as well.
"Sounds good to me!" She wasn't overly hungry though so she was more then happy to just take the food back to Laughingstar's den, after all she had a family to feed.
She let Laughingstar lead the way, at last she had a friend in this pack and it was starting to feel somewhat more like home.
