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 Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:57 pm
 Lazarus blinked at the sight before him. He had never seen anything so singularly strange before. Not that he had never seen a cub before, of course. He had. But none of them had ever looked so much like him. Tail limp and between his legs, the male jackal watched in wonder as the pup moved away from the den, toddling toward the nearby water source.
The adult jackal had returned to this place to find Miki, and perhaps see if she was interested in another adventure with him. He had not been expecting to find not just one puppy, but three living with her. He did not imagine she had gone out to find puppies that reflected his image in order to remember him forever, so he could only assume that they were the result of his previous encounter with her. Clearing his throat, he debated drawing closer, no longer sure if he was that keen on visiting with her.
He was not a bad guy, but he was no father. In his mind, it was better if they never knew him, because he would never be the kind of jackal that could settle down and teach them anything important. Their growth would be limited under him, considering he would either never be there for them or force himself to stay and just get depressed. Shaking his head, coming to a decision, he turned and moved quietly off.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:58 pm
 Banzi was happy for the morning. She was happy for the nice cold drink. She was happy to be outside. Mostly, she was just happy. Wagging her tail, her young eyes scanning everything around her, she panted excitedly at all the new things. This was one of the first times she had wandered from her mother, and though she was but two feet from the den, she was excited to be in a whole new world.
She heard a sound and turned her head as her ear coiled toward it, not yet able to differentiate the two movements. Excited, unfamiliar with fear at her tender age, she bounded after the sound in hopes that it might be one of her siblings, or someone even more fun. She spotted a green fluffy thing moving slowly away from her.
Unsteady on her wobbly legs, she made to follow it but tripped and plopped harmlessly to the earth. She whimpered, despite having not injured herself, and sat on her haunches. Tears brimmed her blue eyes and she trembled, huffing loudly.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 5:59 pm
Lazarus stopped, hearing the a soft sound behind him. Carefully turning his head, he peered back over his shoulder and spotted the black and green puppy from the water’s edge. It seemed to have followed him, but unsuccessfully. Blinking, he watched as it huffed and choked, its big, familiarly blue eyes fixed on him expectantly.
“Look, kid,” he said warily, glancing around. He didn’t know what to do with a puppy, let alone his own. Plus, this one seemed to be very sensitive, and he was a rather course individual. He could foresee nothing but problems in his near future, “why don’t you go back to your mommy?”
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:00 pm
The puppy looked miserable at the suggestion, as if he had just reminded her of something awful.
“I…” she said, the breath she forced out profoundly devastated, “fell down!”
With that, she let out a long wail, tears flowing as she howled woefully. She was not in any pain, nor did she have a legitimate reason to be so upset about falling. All she wanted was attention, and this green dog was the only one around to supply if for her. She wanted him to comfort her, seeking warmth from strangers and family alike. It would not have mattered to her if she had known he was her father: all she needed was a soft word.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:06 pm
“Hey, whoa!” Lazarus yelled helplessly, turning around to face the cub fully. He noted that the voice, though thick from a constricted throat, was female. A little daughter. He had no time to dwell on the idea, however, as her wails quickly drew his complete attention, “no, no, no, no, no: no crying! Hey, come on! Hey, look. Lookit here, you looking? Hey! Come on, don’t cry! Look what I can do! Look what daddy’s doing! See this? This. This is awesome!”
He was standing on his front two paws, balancing awkwardly with his back feet in the air, his tail out at a ninety degree angle. He walked a bit on his paws, his head craned back to watch her and make goofy faces. She was still crying, but quietly now, watching him with big, watery eyes. It looked precarious, her happiness as poorly balanced as he was on his paws.
Though, at least she had stopped yelling. And her mother hadn’t come out to investigate. He could count that as lucky.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:07 pm
Banzi watched in wonder as the green jackal stood in a way she had never seen before. Usually she could barely keep on her four feet, so she marveled that he was able to stand on just his front ones. She sniffled and watched him, her ears perking forward at his words, but not registering them until she was done marveling over the novelty his act provided.
Blinking away the remaining tears, she looked at the green dog quite keenly.
“You said daddy!” she barked suddenly, hopping to her feet. She wagged her tail so furiously she almost knocked herself off her feet again, “mommy tells us we have a daddy, but he won’t come around! You’re my daddy? I want to tell mommy! Come tell mommy, daddy, and show her your trick!”
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:08 pm
Lazarus was knocked off balance by the impact of her suggestion. He wavered and toppled, quickly righting himself with a flourish to make it seem as if he had meant to do that. The puppy laughed and he was at least let off the hook for that. Coughing, clearing his throat, he shook his head and moved closer to the black and green pup.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, kid,” he said softly, crouching down so that his nose was closer to her small frame. She was very young, and he doubted she would remember this encounter with him. Even so, he wanted to play nice and avoid any sort of traumatic episodes. Smiling gently, he sniffed at her and sighed.
“But you can tell your mom I stopped by, if you want. And let her know that I’ll stop by again, if she wants me to. I don’t know if I can handle three pups and her at one time. But you can be my little reconnaissance helper,” he frowned, the big word obviously confusing her, though she stared with earnest intensity, “you can tell her what I say, and then tell me what she says when I come back. Do you think you can remember and do that?”
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:12 pm
Nodding slowly, Banzi had no idea what she was being asked to do. But if it was what her daddy wanted, she would certainly do her best to make him happy. She loved him, after all, and wanted to make sure he loved her back. It did not occur to her that she had only known him for mere minutes. Her mother had told her that he was important, and she instantly wanted to love him like she did her mommy.
The big word took her out of the conversation, how ever. She had no idea what it meant, the sounds feeling more like a new language than the one she was speaking. Her vocabulary was rather limited, and though sometimes her mom said things she didn't understand, she could usually pretend she knew what the meaning was. This one, however, was way too long. Or maybe it wasn't one word at all, and she had heard it wrong. She blinked and he simplified it, and she only barely understood by the end.
"I'll do it! I'll tell mommy and she'll help me!" She barked eagerly, leaping up and turning to do just that. She didn't see what the problem with that could possibly be, her head telling her that this was what he wanted. Apparently she had completely missed why he had asked her to run reconnaissance in the first place. She licked her dads nose as he leaned in closer to her, smiling into his eyes with the sweetest expression.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:32 pm
Lazarus blinked. That was certainly not what he wanted. He reached out with his muzzle and caught her by the scruff, hoisting her off the floor for just a second before settling her back down and nudging her haunches. She turned, giggling and swatting at his face. Apparently they were playing a game now.
"Listen, sweety, I don't want to talk to mommy, and I don't think you should talk to her about me, you know? So we'll make a deal, okay? If you don't say anything to mommy about daddy, then daddy will keep coming back here to see you. Until he talks to mommy on his own. Does that make sense?"
He frowned. He knew why he was avoiding Miki now, but he didn't like to admit it. He wasn't much for families, and he hadn't realized their actions would have made one. He had no idea how many puppies there were, nor did he know what she felt about the matter. As much as he wanted to find these things out, he couldn't bear the idea of her sitting him down and asking him to stay.
He was not a one woman kind of guy. He was in it for the fun, and for the friends. He loved meeting girls, and he did truly have feelings for them, but he could never see himself settling down.
Even if they did produce adorable balls of fluff like the one staring at him at that moment.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:37 pm
Banzi went completely limp as her father hoisted her off the floor. She loved the way it felt like she was flying, and though she wanted to wiggle she remained motionless until the ground was beneath her again. His nose touched her leg and she whirled around to face him, panting with her little pink tongue. Tilting her head, she listened to her father as attentively as she could.
Don't talk to mom? Don't tell her about him. He would keep coming! She nodded with each small sentence, catching the gist of the rules he was setting down. She couldn't tell her mom he had come because he wouldn't come any more if she did, but he wanted her to tell him if her mom said anything about him. She didn't know why these rules were important, but she'd do as he told her.
"Okay!" she said, bouncing happily, her stubby legs not built for much else, "I won't tell mommy, then. And then you can keep coming and we'll meet here! I'm not allowed to go much further away, though. Will you come every day? I hope you do, daddy!"
She pounced at her father's face, which was still rather close, completely oblivious to the pensive air that was swirling around him. She landed on his nose, her back feet on the floor, her paws around his muzzle. She nuzzled his head, ruffling the yellow tuft of hair above his eyes.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 6:57 pm
For one of the first times in his life, Lazarus did not know what to do. He was usually so calm and collected, able to see through a situation and find a way out of it in a matter of moments. He was good at analyzing people for their motives, and for finding weaknesses to exploit or finding what makes them happy. A puppy, however, was a whole new territory.
She was too young to have motives. While he would have loved to blame her for trying to use her cuteness against him, he knew she was innocent. She simply wanted to know her daddy, and she did not comprehend why things might be difficult for him. And now she was hugging his face, and it was melting his heart.
"Okay, okay, that's cute," he said, clearing his throat, "let go of daddy's nose, please," he paused, realizing that he did not know her name. His chest stung acutely, shame settling over him. He felt guilty, which was an exhausting, terrible thing for the free spirited jackal to have to deal with.
Sighing, he lifted his nose carefully, tipping her up off the ground just enough that she had to stretch her tippy toes just to touch the grass. She giggled wildly, and he couldn't help but laugh.
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Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2008 7:32 pm
The young jackal could not stop giggling as her dad lifted her up, clinging to his face desperately. She could not find a good way to hold on to him, though, her searching paws poking him in the eyes more than once before she gave up and was forced to drop off his muzzle. Landing awkwardly on her shaky paws, still getting the hang of them as far as the more complicated moves went, she grinned up at him.
"I love you daddy!" she said suddenly, moving toward him, "I hope you come back every day."
she had to reconfirm that he would, in fact, show up, because she did not want to come out and be disappointed by his not being there. She wanted him to be there, whenever she wanted to see him or talk to him. Because she was having fun with him, and it only made sense that it would be the same forever, for as long as it took before he spoke to her mother.
She rubbed his leg and then licked it, too small to reach anything else. She wagged her tail, her whole backside moving from lack of practice. It was just another one of those fine motor skills that she hadn't quite mastered, though she was working on it.
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Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:30 pm
Lazarus paused.
"Maybe not every day, kiddo. But how about every four..." he noticed her face fall, "three? Every three days or so should be okay, huh? I do have other... things to do, and take care of, so I can be a happy me. You want me to be happy, right?"
She nodded that she did.
"Good. And I want you to be happy, so I promise I'll come by," he said with a faint smile. He left off the part that he thought she would be happier without him. He was, after all, a bit too loose of morals to be around a young, malleable mind for too long at at time.
Still, he couldn't help but wonder what his other puppies were like.
"Okay, honey, I have to get going before you get me caught, I'll be back in a couple of days, okay?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:40 pm
Banzi nodded. Maybe every day was too much. after all, she didn't know if she could play outside every day. She wanted to make both her parents happy, and there were her siblings to consider. She would have to spend some time playing with them.
"Okay," she said sadly, depressed that he wanted to leave. She rubbed him again, though this time he lowered his face so she could lick his nose. She wagged her tail and nodded at him, padding back toward the den, "I can't wait until you come back!"
She toddled off, running haphazardly back to the den. She couldn't have been happier, just knowing she had a secret with her dad that no one else could know. It didn't register as selfish to her, keeping him for herself. After all, she was just doing as she was asked.
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Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 4:48 pm
Lazarus smiled as she rubbed him again, sighing and bending down to say his goodbye. She licked his nose and he couldn't help but like her back, nuzzling her with careful affection. She giggled before turning and waddling off, saying her goodbye over her shoulder. He was worried that she should be watching where she was going, her tentative grasp on how to walk not really condoning her trying to multi-task.
Sighing, he looked around. He didn't need another puppy popping up in that moment. Conflicted yet content, he turned away from the den and began the trek back to his own home, actually looking forward to the quiet of being alone for once. It would give him time to turn recent events over, and to come to a decision about how he was living his life.
Though, the further he got from the den, the more convinced he was that he was going to remain perfectly the same as always.
END
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