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 Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:17 pm
 Zaafarani was bored... nothing new. She always seemed to have nothing to do now-a-days. It hadn't used to bother her, she had been on her own ever since she had been a teenager... but ever since she had been meeting other creatures, she had begun to... well, actually want to meet other creatures. Weird.
She didn't activly seek out new creatures... honestly, that just seemed like too much work. More than she was willing to put into anything. Anything that seemed like work... was too much work. So she generally didn't do it. Well, except eating and drinking. That was work, and if she wouldn't have died, she honestly probably wouldn't have bothered doing either one of those things... but she had to. Which was a real shame.
So, as she had done for what seemed like years, Ani wandered alone across Africa... out of a jungle... into what seemed like a grassy plain. Nice enough. Maybe she would stay there the night... after all, she wasn't likely to find a better place. Ani hadn't even had to look for this one.
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Posted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 6:40 pm
Tai'ruka was in a content mood this evening. His stomach was full after his recent meal and he was close to falling asleep - almost like a food coma. But alas, there were too many sounds, too many scents, not enough strangers to meet.
The adult male quickly placed one tan paw after another, his pace a little faster than usual despite his oncoming sleepiness. What was there to do? Tai's blinking eyes swept across the horizon, immediately catching the yellow-ish animal on the other side of the plain. Instincts immediately awake, senses suddenly sharper, the canine froze for a second and then relaxed, chuckling at himself.
What was with that reaction? He shook his head and restarted his leisurely pace towards the other, hoping they weren't going to be harmful in any way.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 10:19 am
Zaafarani blinked for a moment as she saw another wild dog moving towards her on the horizen. How interesting. She wasn't used to being approached by other animals, but he seemed like he had taken some interest. Normally, she would have ignored him... but as he seemed to be headed towards her, that seemed rude.
Ani was never deliberatly rude, but she had been called 'blunt and to the point' before, and she supposed that could be a type of social 'no-no'... So she would do her best to be polite. Though she wasn't entirely sure what that entailed... especially since everyone around her seemed to have such a different view of what it meant.
"Hello there." She said as he came closer to her... though she was unsure of exactly what else she was supposed to say. All the thinking she was doing was beginning to get... too much work. That was what it was. Maybe she would get lucky and he would carry the conversation for her. She had never really liked 'carrying' anything.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 7:10 pm
Tai'ruka beamed at the other's greeting. Well, there was a simple, friendly start. He paused a couple paces away from the female, and nodded his head. "Good evening," he replied, as gentlemanly and politely as he could muster. "Now, what's a lady such as yourself doing out here all alone?"
Surely she wasn't alone. But then again, the canine had learned many times beforehand that looks could be deceiving. The female stood out like a star in the night with her yellow pelt. No wonder his gaze had immediately caught sight of her.
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 12:44 pm
Ani couldn't help but be a little suprised by how happy the other wild dog was that she had greeted him. Normally, others were cautious or friendly... or if they were pups, maybe easily excited. But it almost seemed like she had just made his day. That... well, it made her happy, though the emotion did not exactly show. It never really did. But it was something.
"I'm..." Well, she had been alone for a while, so how could she answer that, "Well, I've been alone for a long time. I just... travel... sort of. I used to be in a pack. Not anymore." Might as well start off honest, after all, what use was there getting to know someone based on a lie? That just seemed stupid.
Besides, it wasn't as though she had something to hide, "What about you? You're all alone as well." An obvious statment, but who knew? He could have been a scout from a pack for all she was aware of.
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:44 pm
He looked about his surroundings after her blatant comment about him, pretending to be surprised that he was - in fact - alone. Tai chuckled, turning his head back to face the female. "Well, I guess I'm alone aren't I?" he agreed, the same bright smile still on his face. Evidently, loneliness didn't bother the dog much.
But his ears tweaked as he refocused on her explanation of being alone. "Used to be in a pack hm?" He sat down on his haunches, tilting his head to the side a bit for good measure. "I've never been in a pack before," he stated, the grin never fading. "I'd rather be free and travel on my own will, such as yourself."
Still, Tai'ruka remained curious. "What's being in a pack like?" He asked.
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Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 10:55 am
Ani blinked, following his eyes around. She hadn't been expecting sarcasm or a joke... she honestly wasn't entirely sure what he had meant to accomplish by that... odd. Round-about. But certainly different and interesting... perhaps meeting new creatures was something she would have to do more often.
"I... don't mind traveling alone. It doesn't bother me." Nothing did, for the most part. Even when she did feel lonely, it was never enough to make her actively seek out other creatures. That just seemed... like too much effort for something that wouldn't be too rewarding.
"A pack..." Now that was a question, "I've heard of ones that weren't like mine... but mine was... militant. Feline haters. They trained their whole lives to fight against lions... leopards... cheetahs... whatever they could find. Wanted to defeat everyone else. Be the best. Usually were. But... fight enough times, you run out of warriors I suppose, whether you win or not... I left, when I was a teenager... but I hear they all got killed off." She explained, nearly completely deadpan about the whole situation.
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Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2008 1:00 pm
Lion haters!
Tai'ruka's mouth would have dropped open if he wasn't minding his manners in front of the lady. Instead, he kind of... stared at her, not in horror but rather with an aghast face. Surely she hadn't taken part in these fights. Tai had a good lion friend he'd met before - very good-natured and friendly. Surely not all felines were bad.
Still, the canine relaxed a bit at her last phrase. "Oh, oh I see," he frowned, ears drooping. He was at least glad that she had left before she too had been hurt or injured or perhaps, even worse, died.
Wait, what was he doing, obsessing over the safety of the stranger before him?
He cleared his throat, continuing, "Well, you seem very apathetic about all this. Did you have any family members or friends in there?"
He hoped he wasn't prying too much.
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Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 1:12 pm
Ani didn't seem bothered by the question, "Oh... no, not really. I didn't really agree with the pack's principals... hating an entire group based only on their species seemed riddiculous. That was why I left... but there, you were loyal to the entire pack. Only the General knew who was in what family... I'm not sure who my parents or siblings were. And making friends was... silly. They were all more likely to die than to stay alive..."
She blinked a little, wondering if this talk was depressing the other wild dog. She honestly didn't feel one way or the other on the subject. They had been her pack, and she had thought of them as an important point in her life... but honestly? The world was better without a group like that.
"I was never hurt... I was a battle-messenger when I was a pup... As long as we were fast, we didn't get hurt. And then I was a medic when I was a little older... I helped get the injured off the battlefeild... and I left when I was a teenager. I didn't like all the fighting... it was... unpleasent. I've traveled ever since." She explained, about as apathetic as she had been before. For her, it was a story that she had lived, but removed herself from. It had happened a long time before.
"What about you? Why are you all alone?" Was that the polite thing to ask? She wasn't sure... she had been alone a long time. But he had been kind to her... and listened to her, and seemed concerned in his own way. She had no wish to offend or upset him.
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Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:59 pm
Tai'ruka took the next few minutes to process all this information, nodding solemnly in the right places. He'd decided that gaping might just embarrass the female and thought better of it.
He smiled slightly when she asked of his background.
"I've been alone since I was a pup actually. Never knew who my parents were. Learned to fend for myself and such," he explained. He didn't even bother looking miserable about it as he had endured it his entire life. Actually, he still had that small smile. The canine continued: "I met some friends along the way but we always parted in the end and I don't know what's become of them anymore." Still, he would be overly joyful seeing them again.
"Anyway, enough talk of such depressing things," he stretched his legs, ready to move. "It's getting dark. Have you eaten yet?" Though he had already had his fill for the evening, Tai was more than eager to catch her something. Speaking of which, he just realized that her name escaped him.
"And I do apologize for not introducing myself. My name is Tai'ruka. Tai for short," he grinned sheepishly, tilting his head. "And you are..?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:19 pm
Always alone? It wasn't exactly odd for Ani, she had spent a great deal of her life that way... moving from one spot to the next. But if she hadn't learned from her pack, so long before... would she have been able to survive? She couldn't really be sure of that. Still, she didn't pity the male in front of her.
If it didn't bother him, then it didn't bother her. And even if he had been bothered by it... well, Ani wouldn't have known what she would have felt about that. Bad, perhaps, that he hadn't lived his life as he had chosen to? She didn't know.
"Ah..." Eating. She had forgotten to eat. Odd. She wasn't usually so careless. Still... two hunters were certainly better than one, "No, I have not actually... We could find something together maybe?"
Names. Another thing she had forgotten. Impolite. Still... she liked his name. Had a rather sweet sound to it. Not hard like hers was, "Zaafarani is what I'm called... Ani though. Everyone always calls me Ani. Tai." She nodded to him. Not smiling, but she seemed more interested now that she had something to call him.
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Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:13 pm
Tai grew excited at the idea of hunting. He always did. The adrenaline coursed throughout his entire body, displayed by the wagging of his tail. "Sure Ani," he replied, keeping his tone level. Tai briskly looked about the fields, surveying the area for any herds that might have been around.
His gaze fell on black specks against the yellowed tall grass and smiled surreptitiously. Despite the distance between the herd and the two wild dogs, Tai was certain he'd catch a meal tonight. He'd be embarrassed out of his mind if he were to fail in front of Ani.
"Do you see what I see?" Tai asked, motioning towards the moving specks.
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Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 3:05 pm
Ani didn't seem to be quite as excited as her new friend, but she was still interested in the idea of hunting. She was, after all, curious, despite what she would have thought was her better judgement. Her own hunting skills were reasonable -if only because she had never really thrown in an effort like she should have- but she wondered how Tai would go about this hunting business.
She watched him, and eventually followed his eyes to where the specks were. She looked more carefully and then nodded when she was sure she was seeing what he was seeing, "I do Tai..."
Ani tried to get a baring on exactly how their prey was moving, glancing over at him, "How do you want to go about this?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 12:30 pm
"Quite simple really," Tai began, licking his lips. He started towards the herd, motioning for Ani to follow, and because they were still a distance away, he had time to explain in his regular voice. He led the way through the tall grass, rustling quietly here and there.
"One of us rounds up a couple beasts, the other goes in for the kill," he shrugged, hoping it wasn't too straightforward. He sort of knew she could handle it. He remembered learning this tactic from someone a long time ago. And it happened to be a success. There was no doubt in his mind that the same results could be achieved, especially with two wild dogs.
"Which job would you like? I don't mind either," he smiled, looking back at Ani.
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Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2008 7:37 pm
Ani watched and followed, occasionally glancing around to make sure that everything around him was in order. She listened thoughtfully, knowing very well that he spoke thr truth. He seemed to know what he was doing, and that was certainly a bright side.
"I can round them up if you like..." Ani said, knowing that most wild dogs tended to like going for the kill. She was rather indifferent about the whole affair one way or the other. She was going to end up being fed, and for her, that was on par with still breathing. Nessesary, but not something she thought most about.
"Or, if you want me to go for the kill... I could do that also." She mentioned, unsure of which he would prefur. She didn't want to be in the way of what he wanted, "Sorry I... don't make choices... well."
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