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 Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 4:43 pm
It was hot. Really hot. So hot that Aya grumbled a bit as he was sent out to find water and Mika got to lay under a nice tree in the shade. She had a lighter coat than him...shouldn't she be out finding water? Oh well...he'd get to take the first drink of water once he found it, so that was a fair trade, he supposed. The only problem was they hadn't seen hide nor hair of any living thing larger than a snake for the past day, and that usually wasn't a good sign. The large wild dog panted heavily as he walked under the sun, his paws burning on the hot ground. There had to be water somewhere nearby. There was that nice big tree, after all! Now and then he'd see patches of grass and sniff around them, hoping for some water buried in the dirt, but so far he had come up with nothing. He found a shady spot to rest for a few minutes and put his nose to the air, hoping to catch a whiff of water. There seemed to be some sort of promising smell blowing his way, but the wind died down and he lost it. With a sigh, Aya resigned himself to waiting until the wind picked back up again. Hopefully he'd be able to catch the scent of the water once more and he could move on with a more sure direction.
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 6:26 pm
 Parched. The hot African sun was baking down full force. It had zapped all the moisture, all the energy, from Lani’s lithe form. She could barely muster the desire to plod through the dusty, barren desert. No sniff of food or water anywhere. Not even urine marks from other animals. Wherever Lani had ended up, it was bad. Barren. She was hopelessly lost and getting tired. Weak. With a low whine, she smacked her lips and licked futilely at the corners of her mouth.
Soft paw falls.
Lani jerked her head up and twisted her ears forward, straining. That sounded like… yes… like someone else. Another animal out here in the dust? She scurried forward, crouching low in pitiful attempt to hide herself. Her bright pelt gave her no defense at all against potential prying eyes. She reached the crest of a dune and paused, peering down to see…
Another dog! Immediately her ears perked. She grinned and popped up to reveal herself (if indeed she’d been missed, unlikely with her blues and yellows). She was panting from heat, unable to help herself, but swallowed hard and shouted out regardless.
“Stranger!” she dropped into a play bow, flagging her tail in the air, before taking off down the dune with a bounce in her step. Maybe this fellow knew his way out of the desert.
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Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 1:38 pm
Aya sighed softly as he settled his head down on his paws after getting comfortable. The wind today had been kind of spotty, so he doubted it would pick up again any time soon. Oh well...he hoped Mika wouldn't be upset with him if he came back in a few hours rather than a few minutes, like she had told him. It wasn't his fault that there was no wind and no water! Eesh. A sharp bark of a single word made the large wild dog lift his head, ears alert and eyes scanning the area for the stranger. Oh please don't let it be a lion...leopards and cheetahs he could deal with, but lions were so scary! They were the ones that had stolen his and Mika's necklace and other decorations, after all. He pushed himself to his feet in time to see another wild dog, much brighter than he, charging towards him. His heart beat faster in his chest, prepping his legs to run, but he knew he had to hold his ground. Using that surge of adrenaline as fuel, he lowered his head and bared his teeth, fur standing on end to make his already massive figure appear even larger. "What do you want?" he barked back before she could get too close. She appeared to be friendly, but he couldn't take his chances. It was best to just be mean, as Mika had said. This way nothing bad would happen to him.
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Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 8:25 pm
Lani yelped and scrambled to a halt, ducking her head low and immediately twisting her bushy tail across her flank. The stranger was huge, and right now all teeth and bulk in her eyes. Lani was an unusually small and dainty wild dog; an average sized male was more than enough challenge for her, let alone this massive brute of a fellow. She had no hope to win any sort of physical challenge.
Even posturing made her nervous. She huddled low to the ground, her bright fur brushing the dry sand. Her paws had little purchase in the soft desert sand, but she flexed her claws into it non-the-less. Her thighs tensed, muscled coiled. If he attacked, she was prepared to make a dash for it.
“No harm meant, mister,” she murmured,” I just ended up in the wrong part of the desert, and I’ve gotten ever so thirsty. Not a sniff of water anywhere since I’ve got here, and I can’t find my way out.” Back home, at the edge of a thicket, where water was much more abundant. She had come out looking to scavenge or hunt, but now she was more likely to become a buzzard’s lunch.
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Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2012 4:44 pm
Aya kept the aggressive posture even as the small wild dog recoiled from him. He realized now that she wasn't a threat, but that could very easily change if he let his guard down. Keeping his hackles raised but ceasing his snarl, he kept a close eye on her as she spoke. Water, huh? His fur de-fluffed a bit as the conclusion came to his head very slowly: they were both looking for water, so maybe if they worked together they could find it faster. "Water," he repeated, standing down from his position, ears swiveling forward. He was so thirsty that any help at all was welcome at this point. Then he could go back and get his sister for a drink and they could go on their merry way. "I got a whiff of some before the wind died down, so there's some in the area. Don't know where, though," he added, his whole massive figure drooping as he spoke. he was such a failure without Mika here to tell him what to do! Couldn't even find some measly puddle. "I figured I should wait until the wind picked back up but...so far it hasn't."
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Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:07 pm
“Oh my, I haven’t smelled anything,” said Lani. She lifted her muzzle and inhaled deeply once, then twice. But, of course, there was nothing at all to be found. She wasn’t used to being stuck in such arid conditions. Even if they found some animal to chase down, at least there’d be moisture. Then again, hunting took a great deal of energy. She’d be even thirstier after a chase. Wasn’t an option.
Besides, there weren’t many fresh animal trails out here anyway. Lani couldn’t conjure prey out of thin air.
She frowned, her tail wagging hesitantly, low between her legs,” If there’s some close, maybe we could find it.” Lani rose to her hind legs, standing on the very tips of her toes, as if the added height might help her spot some water. But the landscape was fairly flat and barren, and Lani much too small to see far. What they needed was high ground.
Or birds. Birds flocked to water.
“If there’s birds or trees, that would help,” she offered a resolute nod, and sidled a few steps closer to the larger male,” And I’m Laniluana, but mostly I go by Lani. If you wouldn’t mind the company, we could help each other. I admit, I don’t know much about passing through a proper desert – I like the savannas and scrub lands myself – but two noses are better than one.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 2:55 pm
Aya tilted his head a bit as Lani stood up on her toes. It was a very odd position and he wasn't sure what she was trying to accomplish by doing it, but it made him relax a little. If she was so goofy she couldn't possibly be a threat. "There's this tree," he said, nodding to the one he had sat under. "But that's it. My sister is under one a ways away from here...and then there's some grass, but I've already looked around there." It was disheartening, really. But he knew there was some in the area! He had smelled it... "Maybe we can walk around the tree. Keep it in our sights but go further to look," he suggested, tail wagging a bit at the idea. That sounded like something Mika would have come up with. It sounded smart to him, anyway. His ears pressed back against his head as he remembered one thing he had to ask. "You're alone, right?" he growled, needing to make sure this wasn't an ambush. He didn't have anything to steal, but he needed to make sure she wasn't plotting some weird kind of attack with a pack.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 3:09 pm
Lani glanced up at the tree, narrowing her eyes. It was a rather impressive thing, for being out here in such arid conditions. “Trees need water,” she said with a nod,” If only they kept their roots on top of the ground, so we could follow them.” She snorted at the tree, yipping out a half-hearted growl. Dratted thing, keeping all its secrets to itself!
She perk her ears at Aya’s plan, then grinned toothily, tail wagging furiously behind her,” That’s a lovely idea, mister… uh… mister-“ Had he offered his name? Lani didn’t think so, she didn’t remember it. How very odd. This was a strange fellow she’d met. “Well, mister,” she concluded,” That way we won’t get lost. The water can’t be all that far away from this old man anyway.”
Lani was all hot-to-trot and ready to prance off in search of water, her hope renewed, when the male let out a growl. She stopped in her tracks and wheeled around to face him once more, tail tucked. She really didn’t want a fight. All her perkiness drained for a moment, she shook her head,” I’m alone.” No friends, no pack, no family; not for some time now.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 3:29 pm
Aya glanced back at the tree and frowned a bit. That would be much easier...why did trees have to be so rude? They could always dig up the roots...but that would take a lot of energy and then where would they be? Exhausted and thirsty. He'd never get back to Mika. Turning his attention back to Lani, he adopted the gruff expression to make sure she wasn't lying. The timid look on her face and her body language let him know she was telling the truth and, after a moment, his ears lifted again and his tail gave a happy wag. "Okay," he said, heading off in the direction of the sun to begin with. Then they could make a nice wide circle around the tree. "I'm Aya," he added, realizing a bit belatedly that she had been fishing for his name. "That's my nickname. But my real name is stupid so you can call me that." That's what Mika had always said anyway. Short names were better, or nicknames. Long names took too much air to say.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:57 pm
Okay? That was all? What an odd dog, indeed! Lani cocked her head, one brow furrowed quizzically. Well, there was nothing for it. She sprung up and trotted eagerly after him, bushy black tail swishing behind her. She cast one more glance back at the tree, making absolutely sure it wasn’t going to up and run off while they were searching, then quickened her pace and bounded forward. She sprung and bounced with each step, tail wagging this way and that. As unthreatening as one could be.
“Aya! That’s a pretty name,” perhaps this tough dog didn’t care for pretty, but Lani thought nothing of it. A compliment was a compliment,” My proper name is long and silly too, so I like Aya.” Who wanted to say Laniluana again and again after all?
“Does your sister have a silly name too, Aya? Do you have a pack?” Being in a pack was nice, the best, but Lani couldn’t see why a pack of dogs would be out here in the desert searching for water. There were better places to call home.
Her ear twitched. A bird cried above their heads, flying toward the sun. But it was a single old buzzard, not much of a promise of water at all. Lani frowned and paused in her trotting,” Should we follow it, do you think?”
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 4:24 pm
Aya lifted his head a bit as Lani caught up, sniffing the air for any traces of water. Still nothing. If only that breeze would pick up again, he was sure he'd be able to find it. Or at least put them in the right direction. If there was a breeze and no water, then they would continue moving down with the wind to find their watering hole. He glanced down at the smaller wild dog as she spoke up again, his head cocking to the side a bit. Pretty? Well, he wasn't sure it was pretty, but it did make him step a bit higher at the praise. "Thank you," he said with a smile, tail wagging a bit. "Lani is a pretty name as well." And truth be told, she was a very pretty dog as well. Her coat was far more colorful and bright than his own. It probably made hunting hard, but it wasn't bad on the eyes at all. "No, Mika doesn't have a silly name. It's nice and short," he said with a nod. "And we do, but we're not in it anymore. Our mother sent us off on the journey all dogs in our pack must do, but we don't want to go back anymore, so we're our own pack now." Truth be told, he missed his mother dearly and wished to go back, but Mika was very adamant about staying out in the rougelands until they met the bandits who stole their mementos from home. The bird call made the larger dog look up as well, and he squinted against the sun as it flew on. "Nah...it'll probably lead us off course," he said as he kicked at the dirt with his paws. "Buzzards like doin' that if they notice you." He had learned that the hard way when he was a pup. Thankfully his father had tracked him down before he had fallen from exhaustion. Buzzards were crafty things. Distracting himself from his thoughts, he looked back down at Lani. "What about you? Do you have a pack?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 1:19 pm
Lani offered a toothy grin, her tail swishing gleefully behind her. It did not pass her notice that Aya trotted with a bounce in his step after her compliment. “You’re very welcome,” she replied. Lani pranced forward, dipping down to a sloppy play bow in front of him, her teeth flashing ear-splitting grin. She didn’t remain so for long, though, bouncing back to her toes and trotting daintily to Aya’s side once more. A foolish expenditure of energy, especially when one didn’t know where the nearest bit of watery lay.
But at least Lani was no longer alone in her travels. Having a friend near – or, a friendly dog, at least – was a great comfort.
“Isn’t it?” Lani said, finally, at compliment of her own name,” It means sky joy. My mother gave it to me, because of my pelt.”
“That must be very frightening, being sent away from your pack. Why do they do that? Is it a rite of passage into adulthood?” She’d heard of many packs and prides doing that sort of thing. Sending off their members on name quests and to hunt on their own. If Lani had a pack she would gladly have herself considered a pup forever, if it meant never leaving her new home. She hated this life in the rogue lands, living day to day. Alone.
“I used to have a pack, but we weren’t very large… in number or stature,” she let out a bark of laughter, shaking her fur off. She was a tiny animal, small even for a female of her species. Her family had been very much the same, built for speed, not strength,” A few of us died. The rest couldn’t get enough food to feed as all. I was just a pup then, I don’t remember much, except leaving with my mother and my siblings.”
But it didn’t last long, of course, one small female couldn’t feed a little of pups and herself on her own.
Lani lifted her eyes to the sky, following the buzzard as it disappeared into the horizon,” Birds can be tricky, can’t they, Aya?”
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Posted: Sun Oct 21, 2012 9:24 am
Aya glanced over his shoulder to check the tree, and decided to head west. It was a small tree now and he didn't want to lose sight of it. "Your pelt is very pretty," he said with a nod as he turned to look at his companion once again. "Very bright and cheerful. I like it! My full name means 'one who follows orders'. I liked following my sister around when we were little and doing what she said, so my mother named me that. I don't think Aya means anything though, it's just short so my fully name isn't stupid." He nodded his head and swished his tail as he walked, a proud strut to his stride. He liked being known for being obedient, and Mika would be the first to tell you how much he listened.
"Yes, every adolescent wild dog has to leave and return with something from the rouge lands. My older siblings did it and one of them brought me back crocodile teeth! The merchants made it into a necklace for me, and I was going to try to do the same thing for her, but when Mika and I got out here, a group of bandits stole it." His ears and tail drooped considerably at the memory.
"Mika had some stuff stolen too, so instead of going back, she decided it would be better if we stayed out here. Plus we don't have to do any of the pack rules now. We can just do what we want. I miss my mother sometimes, though. Mika's nice, but..." But she wasn't their pack. Of course, he wouldn't abandon her out here. He's stick with her as long as she wanted to be away from home.
"They are really tricky," he agreed, before freezing. The wind had picked up again! Sniffing frantically, he turned his head this way and that until he gave a bark of delight. "There it is! Can you smell it? To our left!"
They ended up finding a nice cool spring to drink from. After having their fill, they parted ways.
[End]
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