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 Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 4:12 am
"Sometimes if there's male puppies they don't want, they come here," he said, conversationally. Oh, sure, he wasn't in a rush to throw himself at Antianeira, and Aya's clear horror amused him. But he was old enough to understand nuance, and so he shrugged off the somewhat barbaric practices. "From what I understand, the males have a choice whether to stay in the pack as slaves, or leave and live someplace else. Not really a great choice, but better than nothing I guess. Give me a big family pack any day."
He hesitated a moment, then continued. "I think we're allies with Antianeira because they're strong. They're all warriors -- the females, I mean, not the slaves -- and we're...not. So if anything DID happen to us, we'd need help defending ourselves. That was the idea, anyway, I think."
The river loomed before them and he padded up to the bank, leaning over to lap up some water. His ears flicked at the hesitation in her voice, and he cast his gaze over his shoulder to look at her. "...I'm sorry," he said, carefully. "Was there....a war...or something?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 6:32 am
Well, that didn't sound quite so bad, she conceded to herself. On the one hand her mind cried out at the idea of a wolf allowing themselves to become a slave but the other half said that it was just a word and sometimes you didn't need to be called a slave to be one.
"Something..." she said, still looking at the ground. She was usually, and had been up until now, rather chatty so the silence that followed that statement seemed to hang around her and she cast about for something to fill it.
"You mean to say.. they leave little orphans out here, these 'Antee' she-warriors? Little boys who ain't got anybody to care for them?" she couldn't keep the hint of hope out of her voice. It must be terrible, she thought, to have been orphaned or to have to give up a pup, but if there were little ones who wanted for a home she could not pass by the opportunity.
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Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2011 2:20 pm
"Most of them are here with their fathers," he said, looking curiously at her. He was expecting her to sound horrified, but she seemed almost excited. Now, that was a very odd concept. He knew that his mother had been delighted to adopt Guinevere, but it had never really occurred to him that anyone might actually seek out a male puppy to take in. "But we raise them all like our own. One big family, see?"
He didn't miss her reluctance to discuss her past, and it fascinated him. He didn't want to pry, but curiosity wriggled up in him like a worm.
"You like pups, don't you?" He said shrewdly, realizing that every time the topic came up she lit up like the sun. "I do, too." He added, not wanting her to feel like he was judging her for it.
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 4:39 pm
"Oh well, I don't really feel like life is truly as colourful with a handful of little ones under your feet" she smiled. "They just bring so much into the world with 'em. Or well, I should rightly say they bring a lack of things which is endearing all in it's own way. They don't have anything that's a 'must be' or a 'shouldn't do'. And well, there ain't nothing cuter than big, ol' puppy eyes, right? That's why so many young gentleman like yourself make them to girls - ain't any can resist such a thing!".
Aya in full flow was quite a thing to behold. Enthusiasm near poured out of her in a torrent with her words. She smiled her big, warm smile and a little tension from the discussion about Antianeira slipped from her shoulders, for now.
On the edge of her hearing there crept the sound of running water - a faint rushing, gurgling tone that set her tongue to feeling fuzzy and thick. "Well, if my mouth ain't as dry as an old bone now that water's nearby!"
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 3:09 am
He smiled. "My favorite thing about pups is how they say what's on their mind, not what they're supposed to say. Granted, my brother Apollo does the same thing..." He chuckled, settling down to his haunches as they stopped at the riverbank.
She was...well, she was certainly unlike any other wolf he'd met. And she was so friendly! He was really not accustomed to friendly, mild-mannered females. He could definitely get used to her company, he decided. Hopefully she'd stick around for awhile.
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 6:14 am
Oh dear sweet delicious water!, she thought as she leant down to drink. Her eyes still lingered on the young male, wondering what strange luck she'd had in passing by here, in meeting him and that his pack were so welcoming. A couple of miles another way and she might have come across this other pack he'd spoken of.
To set down roots again would be wonderful - perhaps it had been meant to be - for her to have this hardship so that eventually she could turn up here, in a place where some boys turned up without mothers. Time would tell, she supposed, and she tried not to let her hopes have free reign in case they turned out unfounded.
A little speck, though, a sparkle, crept into her soul - a feeling that life might be allright again.
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