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 Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 9:30 am
Laika frowned thoughtfully, coming to an abrupt stop. Did she really promise? That was a difficult decision. After all, if she really promised then she had to keep her word, but the whole reason she had not really promised was to bring him back and turn him into a smelly bug with her. Perplexed, she sat down and looked up at the sky.
She liked to use the clouds to solve most of her problems. She would chase them when she was bored, or bark at them when she was lonely. She had never tried to ask them for advice, however. Frowning, she did not think they could talk, since she had tried to introduce herself to so many, and none ever gave her their names in return. Maybe they were busy doing cloud-things, and she was being rude by interrupting them.
Sighing, she turned her eyes away from them, now concerned about upsetting them if she asked for guidance. Looking back at Pebble, who was a good distance from her, she wagged her tail and stood up. She liked it better when he was closer.
"Okay, I promise! I won't make you a smelly bug! We can go find water and I can be not-smelly again! I like being a not-smell dog better, anyway, because I'm not a very good bug. I can't fly! So I really promise!"
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 10:11 am
Pebble’s ears perked when she stopped, watching her carefully. She looked like she was thinking about it. Or at least, he thought she looked like she was thinking about it. The wild dog had such an obvious look of concentration when he was thinking that he didn’t understand why nobody else seemed to look like that too. They could be thinking and yet not even show it on their face! Like Cricket. You could never tell if she was thinking or just staring at you waiting for the right answer. How was he supposed to know if she was thinking if she didn’t look like she was? Life was just full of mysteries like that.
She seemed to be looking up at the clouds, and thus the wild dog mimicked her. Was she looking for some sort of answer in the clouds? Did they spell out “Don’t Make Pebble a Smelly Bug?” Or perhaps they said “Rub Your Nose in His Fur?” Pebble sincerely hoped that it was not the latter. He’d get in trouble from Cricket if he came home smelling like a Smelly Bug. She wouldn’t even groom him like usual! And that would be Very, Very Bad. He’d be a Smelly Bug forever! Woe!
The wild dog noticed movement and looked away from the sky, eyes on Laika as she got up. Was she coming to get him? He hesitated, looking as though he might run, but then she decided that it was bath time and not smelly bug time. Pebble grinned instantly. “Okay! Let’s go find water so you can be a wild dog again and not a smelly bug!” He giggled at this, but started off at a trot, nose to the ground as he sniffed out the water. Laika needed to be Laika again!
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 7:54 am
Laika bounced at the idea of being herself again. As much fun as it was, chasing him around, she didn't really want to be smelly forever. The scent stung her sensitive nose and eyes, which were beginning to burn from the exposure. She felt like she had to sneeze, but it wouldn't come out, and that was not a very pleasant state to be in. Scrunching her nose and shaking her head, she tried to force a sneeze but had no luck.
"I like water!" She said suddenly, trotting after him and letting him sniff for it. She was never good at trying to find water by nose: to her, it didn't smell like anything. Everyone told her that it did, in fact, have a scent, but she was beginning to believe everyone was playing a trick on her. Or perhaps she just didn't know how to recognize it. Either way, she wasn't able to do it. Her little home was close to a water source, and that was good enough for her.
"Mito taught me how to fish! My sister Yi doesn't like the water, though. Sometimes it's too cold and I don't like it, either, but I'll still go in if I need to! I float, do you float? I float and it's funny. But when it gets too deep I can't swim down for fish very well. I don't like my head going under. but I guess I'll have to if I want to get this smell off!"
There was water flowing nearby, though she hadn't discovered that through smelling. The sound of trickling water floated to her, and she trotted off in that direction, as if drawn to it. "Hey, over here!"
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Posted: Sun Nov 09, 2008 5:14 pm
"I like water too! But only during the day 'cause sometimes at night it can get really cold and you don't want to be cold and wet! Then you get the shivers!" And then Cricket would yell at you for dripping all over her and getting her shivery and wet. Pebble remembered that time well. He had a good memory for the times that his sister lectured him, though that was about all his memory was good for. Even then, some of Cricket's lesson seemed to leak out of his ears whenever his brain was being over-filled with other good things. That was one of the downsides of only having two brain cells.
Pebble smelled the wet smell of damp earth at the same time Laika heard the sound of rushing water. With a grin he trotted after her, blue eyes bright with excitement. "You'll be you very soon!" Not looking where he was going, the wild dog didn't realize they had found the water source until he was knee-deep in it. But of course, being Pebble, that didn't seem to deter him in the slightest. He was in the water now so why not make the most of it! Still grinning his flounced around in the water, sending mini waves towards Laika. "C'mon Laika! You have to go back to being you!"
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 8:09 am
Laika had slowed when she saw the water, but Pebble's grit determination to plow right into the shallow, flowing river was almost a direct challenge to her sensibilities. Not often one to ere on the side of caution, she grinned and followed the other wild dog, bounding into the water with terrific splashes as her paws haphazardly flopped their way through the churning liquid.
"Hey! It is cold!" She pointed out, wagging her tail furiously and sending water in every direction. She slipped on a smooth rock and the pull of the water sent her stumbling forward. Her front paws moved from under her and she flopped into the water, her face submerging for a moment before she righted herself. Dripping, she shook her head and laughed.
"At least I won't smell like a smelly bug anymore!" she said. Though, when she tried to sniff the air in front of her muzzle she managed to get water up her nose. She sneezed and knocked herself backwards, flopping onto her rump and sneezing again. Licking at her nose, she huffed at the lingering taste of the bugs spray.
Undeterred, she bounced to her feet and pounced on Pebble, "you're not wet enough! You need a bath, too!"
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Posted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:54 am
"Cold is good! Cold makes the heat go away!" Pebble sing-songed as he waded about in the river. When he had been young, Cricket used to take him down to the little pool not too far from their den on hot days. There, she had dabbled her feet in the shallows while he splashed around – careful to avoid splashing her of course – and they'd both returned home especially cool. Thus, Pebble had a great love for water, no matter what the temperature. It was a very fun liquid to play in!
A school of small minnows caught his eye, and soon the wild dog was following them around the river with his nose mere centimetres above the water. They were so shiny and cool! Shiny fish, he named them, and giggled as he waded after them. "Come back shiny fish! I just want to sniff you!" Apparently, they didn't want to be sniffed, because they were doing a very good job of avoiding him. He was just about to grab one in his mouth when he was pounced upon by Laika.
"Whaaa!" He toppled over with a large splash, resurfacing moments later. "I am too wet enough! And you scared the shiny fish!"
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Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 7:09 am
"Shiny fish?!" Laika righted herself and, splashing gracelessly, looked around for the shiny fish. She remembered all her lessons in fishing, from Mito and from the friends she had made through the activity, and stopped moving. Standing still, not even her tail flicking, she searched the water with just her sea green eyes and frowned, not spotting any trace of a shiny fish.
Pouting, ears low, she looked up at Pebble and shook her head, "I'm sorry! I didn't know fish swam where the water was moving, too. Mito's water and the water by my house don't move at all. But at least now we're both clean! I don't like being dirty. My fur is too light for mud and dirt, but it's okay because it always comes off!"
Blinking, something caught her attention and she turned away, wandering carefully through the water. Her movements were slow, to the point where she was barely getting anywhere despite how long she took to get there. She did not want to upset the water, after all. Nose gliding on the surface of the water, she crossed her eyes to look through the river flow to focus on a strange looking shell that was resting on the rocks.
Dunking her head in the water, she tried to pick it up, only to realize that it wasn't a shell at all. It clipped her nose angrily with little pinches, the strange creature not being much bigger than the rocks it was sitting on, and she recoiled with a terrific splash. "What kind of bug is that?!" she looked back at Pebble, the small crab disappearing in the wake of her movements, "did you see that?!"
Moving to the side, she hauled herself out of the water and shook off her bright pink and white coat furiously, making herself dizzy. Sitting down, she tilted her head at Pebble and grinned. "I think I'm safer over here. Do you think your Cricket will be mad if you go home wet? Mito doesn't like it when I come home wet and then get him wet."
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Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 12:53 pm
"It's okay." He gave a small shrug, blue eyes still focused on the water. "They were pretty fish though." For a moment, the wild dog seemed rather saddened by the lack of fish. But then he remember that he was with his friend and therefore he didn't need to spend time with his fishie friends. He could come back and harass play with them later. "They swim wherever there's a lot of water! Moving water is easier for them 'cause then they can swim away from hunters! Like lions!" Or like wild dogs, but he didn't catch fish. Fish were friends, not food.
The splash caught his attention and Pebble lifted his head in time to see Laika emerging with a shell in her mouth. "Don't touch those!" He called, but it was too late. The Pinchy had found his friend and pinched her on the nose. Poor Laika! He'd been pinched on the nose before and it really hurt! "Aaaaw you got bit by the Pinchy! They're really mean, no matter what time of the day!" She was wise to move onto the bank. Pinchies were very dangerous foes. He gave the Pinchy quite a wide birth, instead strolling casually around in the water, hoping for more fishies.
Cricket? For a moment, Pebble hesitated. Then he came splashing out of the water after Laika, giving himself a good shake once he was out. "Cricket won't be mad if I come home wet, but she'll be mad if I'm late! I promised her I'd be home when the sun was right there," he pointed his paw up towards the sky, "and it's almost there now! I'll make sure to sniff you out again!" With a wide grin, the wild dog bounded off in the direction of home. What a fun day it had been!
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 8:52 am
Laika giggled as he shook the water from his fur and splashed her with it, giving herself another good shake in turn. Tongue hanging out of her mouth, she seemed to have already forgotten about the strange little fish thing that had pinched her nose. Wagging her tail she watched as her new friend pointed to the sky, following his paw. She nodded sagaciously, as if knowing the importance of that particular height in the sky.
"Okay! But remember that I don't smell like that bug all the time!" She didn't want him coming to find her, only to find a smelly bug or someone who had been sprayed by one. She watched him as he bounced off, sitting for a long time before leaping to her feet and running off in another direction. She wanted to go tell her dad about this new friend, though in all the excitement she had forgotten to ask him to be her brother.
She would have to bring it up the next time they met.
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