He didn't usually go this far, but for now, the male didn't really care. It was perhaps dorky, he was grinning ear-to-ear. Again, it may perhaps be stupid, but recently he'd had some.. very, very good news. He could see her! Not often, and in a very stinky place-- but he could see her! Once a month, every full moon...
Sadly, that had been a few days ago. Result? He wouldn't see her for another few weeks... Might aswell kill time. This time he'd wandered further, past the hyena part of the graveyard, to the lion part, then towards the mpinzani. It'd taken a few days to get across al lthe terrain(no territory is very small!) but he still thought it was good. At least time seemed to go by faster if you were 'busy'.
Kadogo was out on a regular patrol. Once or sometimes twice a day he'd mosey on down to the border and check for any fresh pugmarks, any dog new comers or other creatures. He'd been doing it since he was a pup and now he had puppies of his own he wasn't going to stop now. His brush with the lioness Asali, who'd eaten a dog like himself, just before their birth....well, he felt protective. And patrolling made him feel like he was keeping his family and beloved pack safe.
misseditgirl: At the moment however he'd finished his checks and lay on the stony couch of teh mountainside. It was here he'd met his beloved Oak. And the rock gave an excellent view of the entire border. If anyone came he'd be able to see them.
He didn't catch it. At least, he didn't bother to look around before realizing he might just be walking across a border. At least he didn't /look/ hostile. More like 'hey, lets walk to the edge of the earth, turn back, and maybe it'll be full moon when I get home!! '
Yes, he was the type that might think like that. Or not, perhaps...
Soon enough, the male stopped, tilting his head curiously at a small rock. The dog prodded it a bit, as if to check if anything were interesting about this particular rock.. nope. Lets just lie down and rest for now, a few feet across a pack border!!
Kadogo tilted his head as he saw a wild dog - male by the size...aka bigger than himself - approach the border. Huh. Well, time to leap down off his rock and go meet and greet the stranger. Body language curious and friendly, he headed on over at a steady pace to where Kuto was.
Again, idiotic as he was, it took a while for Kutu to notice the other. Simply because he was too distracted imagining Kelello again-- how she'd be next time they met. Would she be happy, sad..? Either seemed possible in the place she lived in.
Finally, though, he heart the pawsteps, and shot his head over the bundle of fur that was the rest of his body, ears perked. He was not, however, particularly afraid, though he should be, maybe. He might have walked into pack territory, but...
He was too happy.
"Hello there!" The Mpinzani dog called as he neared the stranger. The other male didn't look a threat at all and seemed like a happy sort from Kaddy's first impression. So he didn't bristle or bark that he wanted to know who he was. That was reserved for the dangerous-looking types or stalking lions or laughing hyenas.
Instead he smiled.
"Are you a traveller, friend? Because our pack lands start here."
"What, traveller? " He blinked, tilting his head at first. Their pack lands.. started.. here. Ooooh, yes, he'd done it. Ah, pity. He had been so careful not to walk into anyone! "Sorry! " He said, though he didn't actually look sorry. Not that he looked proud, either. He just looked.. normal.
"No, not a traveler.. I'm a time killer, so to speak. " He said with a meek grin, standing up and wagging his tail. He at least knew some manners, having been prince and all! ... to a dead pack. Oh well.
"Fair enough. And don't worry, we're not a bad sort of pack, we won't eat you for a visit in our home." Kaddy winked. It was true. They were a nice lot and besides a few seasons under Twawa's paw they always had been as far as he knew.
"I'm called Kadogo. Who're you?" He asked, inclining his head and letting his fluffy tail wag.
"Ah, good! Though, just by not being hyena I'm happy. " He said, though the word hyena was a bit bitter. He wouldn't make faces at every hyena he met of course, but Kelello was slave.. to hyenas, yes. And yet, it seemed sort of willing, she was to oafraid to leave..
"My name is Kutu! Pleasure to meet'cha. "
"Pleasures mine....hyenas you say?" Kadogo's smile faded slightly. He'd had his fair share of run ins with hyenas. More than his fair share really. On his long patrols. For a runt with no one to back him up he'd been insanely lucky to drive of the odd hyena and discourage them from coming near the Mpinzani. So he picked up on the word automatically. Hyenas??
"Yes.. yes, hyenas. " Kutu said, looking distractedly away. He'd been distacted lately, but just thinking of hyena's made him think of how Kelello had to live.. it angered him, but he couldn't take her away from it. She'd lived there the whole life.. and she didn't want to leave.
"The pack I'm from borders their territory. Or used to, it dispersed. "
"I can't imagine that. Every hyena I've ever met wanted to hunt us dogs." It was literaly unimaginable. Kaddy would have never slept if they'd been hyena territory too close to their lands. He was already a we bit obsessive about his job (okay, very obsessive) but if they'd been established hyena lands nearby...well, Oak'd never see him! He'd have been down at the borders that much.
"Sorry to hear of another pack breaking up."
"Hunt! " He couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Ours are worse. They enslave. Took my sister. " He sighed, shaking his head. Ticdat.. though, should he bring up Kelello? Maybe he should.. maybe he souldn't.
"Ah, yes.. The pack. It'd always been kind of small.. Evnetually it just broke apart. "
"Enslave? What's an enslave?" Kadogo wasn't a dumb dog but that was a term he'd never come across before. But he had a feeling from Kuto's tone that whatever it was he wasn't going to like the explination one bit. Horrid hyenas. Always picking on the little guys. Namely wild dogs from Kaddy's point of view.
"Slavery. " He blinked, sitting down and looking at Kadogo again. "Basically.. they take you like you're property, not something.. living. "You do whatever they want, when they want. Do it wrong, they beat you up. Bad feeding-- I bet its worse than the lowest rank in a pack. " He shook his head. "My sister is blind. Was blinded by a badger. They took her because she was.. easy. "
He looked away for a moment. "And I'm the idiot who fell in love with a slave, too. "
"How many hyenas? We could try to free them." While it was obvious his anger wasn't directed at Kuto, it was also obvious the concept had riled Kadogo. When he heard of other dogs suffering he could be quite the hot head.
He blinked, obviously not having expected such a response. It was the sad truth that Kutu was growing unsurprised by slavery. "Its a whole pack.. Don't know the numbers, I invade a lot, though. Many scents, that aren't dogs. " He frowned, folding his ear back.
"I think my sister would be happy to get out.. Kelello, however.. " He sighed, looking to his paws. "I asked her to run with me, we meet every full moon, in a very stinky patch of plants near the border so they don't sniff us out. She grew up there, can't leave. "
"That's sad, to hear of dogs who aren't their own. I wish we could help." He sighed, some of the tension leaving him. Nothing he could do against a whole full pack of hyenas especially if some of the dogs on the inside didn't want to leave. But that sounded so wrong and so screwed up. It made him glad that he and his were free.
"Yes.. I hope to free her, maybe. If I can show her that outside isn't so bad, she might change her mind about staying.. " He said, a small smile and a flicker of hope, then.. "But I doubt it. " Despite the words, Kutu kept his smile on; a sad smile, but a smile none the less.
"I can't see my sister, though. They keep her too deep in the territory, where there aren't places for a dog to sneak past all the hyenas. She's blind, so they keep her close.. " He bit his lower lip, a thought had just occured that hadn't before. "... oh... " He shuddered, lying down for a moment, as if exhausted. "I get why they keep her alive.. A blind dog, useless to them for everything but one... "
Kaddy couldn't do anything but shake his head. That was no life for a wild dog. Kept in, kept for a purpose, kept from family...at least it seemed one of the enslaved had something going for them. This girl of Kutu's had him. And maybe in time if he could get her to come out, freedom.
"If you ever succeed in getting your girl free and need somewhere to lie low for a few days, somewhere hyenas can't come - my Alpha isn't a bad dog and I'd vouch for you guys."
"Yes, yes.. " He said, now seeming more distracted than before as he sat up. "I appreciate the offer.. " He said, forcing a small smile though his gaze was distant. "I.. I must go, I might be an uncle. " He sighed, shaking his head. Would they really use his sister, Ticdat, for that?
"Good bye, friend! Perhaps I'll walk by some other time. " He said, a weak smile on his maw before he got up and trotted back where he came from, only this time, his head hung slightly. Hyenas..
"Goodbye. Goodluck go with you, and to your family." They'll need it, Kaddy thought. And with that farewell he headed straight home to Oak and their puppies. He needed to see them and smell them and nuzzle them and know that they were safe and happy. He was so lucky. Kaddy knew.
