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 Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 2:56 pm
 Tumai had wandered into yet another new territory. Though, this time it did not seem like there were too many other creatures living here. The water source was small, though she did manage to find it. Bowing her head, she drank carefully from the water and sniffed at it only afterwards which, in retrospect, was probably not the best way to go about it. Sighing, she glanced around.
She was sitting in a very small, shaded area. There was a rock on one side and tree on the other, with green grass between. It seemed to be growing well enough in the shade, but it was folded and squished. Like someone had made a home of this little spot of peace. Smiling, Tumai was almost jealous. If she could find herself a little home like this, she would be grateful. Even if she never found that family she was searching for.
Tumai sighed and stood, turning back the way she had come only to escape the sheltered area, and found herself staring at a young, pretty pink wild dog. "Hello, there."
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 3:00 pm
 She hadn't been expecting a visitor! And it was new friend, someone she had never seen before. The first thing Laika noticed was the other wild dog's bright pink eyes, instantly feeling kindred despite the fact that there was no pink in her fur. The second thing, and far less important, was that the other was, in fact, a wild dog.
Wagging her tail furiously, Laika looked up at the larger female excitedly, "hello! I'm Laika! You're in my home! but that's okay because I like sharing it! It's not big enough to fit both of us though so if you want to sit there then I'll sit out here! I'm Laika! Did I say that? I did! But I am, still, so it's still okay. Who are you? I like your eyes!"
Laika did not let the fact that they had never met before keep her from assaulting the gray wild dog with more words than were necessary for a good introduction. She barked and leaned back on her paws, just waiting for every thing she had already said to be answered so she could speak again. At least she had learned that much about proper conversation.
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 3:09 pm
Tumai blinked. She was not the worst at being friendly, but this was certainly the most sudden shift from awkward greeting to up front conversation she had ever experienced. She blinked and shook her head, trying to remember the key facts. She had a hard enough time dealing with her poor memory, and grasping at information as it flew bad certainly didn't help.
"Laika? That's a pretty name," she sighed, grateful the strange puppy had repeated herself, "I didn't know this was your home, though I was just noticing that someone lived here. Do you live here on your own? You look so young, but you must be old enough to be alone, I suppose. Your eyes are pretty, too, my little friend."
She smiled, feeling a strange warmth in her chest. She didn't know if she wanted to treat this pup as a child or a friend. There was something motherly in her tone, but it was out of place so early in the meeting.
"Oh, I'm Tumai." She added as an afterthought, feeling a blush under her fur.
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 3:31 pm
Laika continued to wag her tail, smiling up at Tumai.
"I've been alone for a while, but my daddy adopted me and I go and stay with him when I'm lonely. But I like my spot. I can watch the sky. Have you ever chased one of those clouds? I've met a cloud. Mito calls me Flower! But I'm not really a flower. I'm a wild dog, like you!"
She bounced forward, despite previously establishing that she knew the area was too small for the two of them, and sniffed at Tumai closely. She showed no fear or hesitance, getting right up close to the adult female and letting her nose touch the other's fur as she sniffed furiously. She wasn't getting much as far as scent from the effort. She never did. It was just habit.
"Why are you here, anyway? Are you exploring?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 3:42 pm
Tumai shook her head, swallowing the information slowly. She took a moment to reply, as if trying to give Laika a hint to slow herself down.
"Mito? Your... adopted father. Is he not a wild dog like you or me?" She thought it strange that she hadn't pointed out that he was, and found it could only mean that he wasn't. Though, what he could be was lost on her. As were many things, "You're pink, like a flower, I think. And soft. Colors, I mean."
She tensed at the sniffing, lifting a paw on instinct. Frowning, she let Laika do what she wanted, just watching her carefully.
"I was just wandering and, to be honest, I need a drink. This is a nice little spot, and I was a little bit jealous of who ever got to live here. You've got a nice little home. Do you... have a family? Besides this Mito."
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 3:49 pm
Barking excitedly, and rather randomly, Laika bounded away from her spot to allow Tumai to come out and join her. She pounced and prowled playfully, never getting too close before running back away. Tail beating the air, she rattled off in reply to Tumai's words.
"Mito is a lion and he's my daddy! I have a lion brother and leopard sister and a wild dog brother and another wild dog sister and there's this one sister of mine that has lion and leopard in her, and then I have lots of other friends and family too. But none of them look like or me, or knew me before I met them. So I guess I don't have real family..."
She laughed playfully and waited eagerly for Tumai to come and play with her.
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 3:56 pm
Tumai was a bit taken back by the young wild dog's abundant energy, and she came forward from the spot carefully. She kept her tail low, though she couldn't help but feel some strange excitement. there was youth in the air now, and it was catching on. Tail moving listlessly, cautiously, behind her, she smiled warmly.
"That's a big family! And it counts, I'm sure. It beats being alone. And if you love them enough, which I can see you do, they're just as real as blood. So that's cute."
She sat down and sighed, then looked up at the sky. A cloud was sitting in the middle of the spotless blue and, for the first time, she thought it might be moving. Smiling, she looked down at the young pink dog and grinned.
"Do you want to chase that cloud? Show me how it's done?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 4:08 pm
The invitation was more than exciting. Laika exploded into a flurry of barks, charging forward and running around Tumai while yapping the whole way around. She butted her head against Tumai's back, in order to get her moving, and then leaped around her. Looking up she sprang after the cloud, watching it as she moved. It, of course, remained where it was, untroubled as it floated at a much slower and different pace than the two dogs were imagining.
It didn't bother Laika, however. She stopped and looked back, eagerly motioning for Tumai to join in, bouncing and running back to her before charging off again. She had not cap for her energy, never running out no matter how much she expended.
"Do you not have a family, Tumai?" She asked abruptly, though her eyes were still on the sky, "you get a sad face when you say it, and it makes me feel like you don't. But if you wanted one, you can be in mine. I wouldn't mind having you in my family: I have enough love for it to be real."
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 4:16 pm
Though she had mentally prepared herself for some form of crazy reaction, but this much energy suddenly pouring into the air was almost too much. Infectious, though. Tumai laughed and ran after her, bouncing around her whenever Laika turned toward her. She looked up when she saw Laika looking up, just to follow the rules of this thoroughly confusing, but enjoyable, game.
She stopped suddenly when the pup asked her a fairly observant question. Not taking the adolescent for something capable of insight, she was touched by the simple way Laika phrased her thoughts. Smiling, Tumai looked down sadly at the ground.
"No, I don't remember my family. I mean, I might have had one, but I can't seem to remember anything past... well, when I was about your age, I suppose. And if they are out there, they haven't found me yet. But I'm hopeful I'll find a different family, some day. There's a pack I've heard about, that I'd love to find some day..."
She looked at Laika when she offered her family, "part of yours? ... that would ... that would be nice. You can call me Aunt, since you have so many sisters, if you like!"
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 9:14 pm
"I'll help you look for them! I'm really good at looking for things: I don't give up! If you're my Auntie Tum now, and I don't want you to be sad!" She barked at the cloud in the middle of her rousing speech, growling a bit, playfully, before looking down and locking her sea green eyes on her newest family member.
"I'll remember you! And you'll remember me, and we can make new memories for you, because I think you need memories, whether or not they're from when you're young or when you're grown. I mean, you have today and tomorrow, and that's what's fun, right?"
She smiled and charged Tumai, head butting her gently and pressing her head into the other dog's chest. It was almost a rub, except she didn't try to move. She just pushed in one spot, eyes closed, a dopey smile on her face and her tail wagging. Speaking with her head still down, she almost purred, though it was more like a happy growl.
"As long as you're not sad."
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Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2008 10:10 pm
Tumai was dumbfounded. To be so welcomed and apparently sincerely loved in so short a span of time was completely ridiculous. She was struck incredulous, not a single word coming into her head as the younger wild dog told her she would help make new memories with her. It was too sweet, too much. Smiling, her heart racing, the usually timid adult did not recoil as Laika bumped into her.
She was getting used to the strange way the dog acted, already. And she was finding herself increasingly endeared to the pink dog. There was nothing false, nothing that even hinted at deception coming off of her. She was just a ball of pure love and energy, some how contained within soft pink and white fur. Tumai smiled, wondering what kind of a parent Mito was, to have such a singularly peculiar, albeit enjoyable, daughter.
"I'm not sad," she said, believing herself, "I'm sure I'll find everything I want, one day. When I'm meant to. I think I found you for a reason. I can't thank you enough for this little game, and for... for inviting me into your family... I'm happier now, than even just a small time ago. You're very sweet. I'll have to think of you when I get sad. That will chase it away."
She smiled and laughed, nuzzling Laika a moment before pushing her playfully and bounding away, tail high and wagging. She laughed and crouched, waiting for Laika to come after her.
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 1:41 pm
Laika was glad to hear Tumai wasn't sad. If she said it, it had to be true. There were only a very few times in her short history that she had been told something she couldn't believe, and she thought she was very good at recognizing those times. This certainly wasn't one of them. It was too happy, friendly, and fun for that.
"A reason? Okay! Are you going somewhere else? You have that 'I'm leaving' voice, which I hear a lot when people have to go. But you know where I live, so you'll come back, right? Or I can find you. I know what you smell like, and I'm good at finding family."
She was wrong, and quickly found that out. Tumai had only been faking her out, it seemed, and when the game was on Laika let out a flurry of barks. She bounded after Tumai like a rabbit over hot coals, pouncing on top of her with reckless playfulness. They scuffled for a little while before Laika freed herself and, finally beginning to pant, sat down.
"You're fun, Auntie Tum!"
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 5:40 pm
"I'm glad you think so, my little niece!" she laughed. Having no family of her own, or at least none that she remembered or was remembered by, it was a strange thing to call Laika that. Still, she imagined she'd get used to it in time. Somehow, she knew she would meet the wild dog again. They were family, after all.
Sitting up, she watched as the tuckered pink dog panted, her eyes drooping a little as she tried to catch her breath. So she did have her limit. Smiling, Tumai moved to Laika and sat down beside her, letting her new niece lean against her if she wished. Closing her bright pink eyes, Tumai sighed.
"I suppose I should be going soon. You look like you're about to go to sleep, and it is getting late. The skies are darkening. But I'll come back and visit you, some time. I'm sure of it already. I want to meet your Mito, since we might be brother and sister." She laughed and hummed, shaking her head. A wild dog and a lion, brother and sister. How very strange.
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 5:49 pm
The sleepy pink dog hummed and leaned against the older female, drawn by the warmth. She closed her eyes and nodded slowly when Tumai said she had to go. It was okay, since she was sleepy and they couldn't really hang out or play if she went to bed. but she didn't move back to her little home, content to doze against her aunt.
"Mito would like that. He's really nice..." she said dreamily, "he is a big lion, but he's not mean in anyway. He doesn't like running. I love him. He taught me how to fish. You have to be quiet when you're sitting at the water... and if you scare the fish you have to wait for them to come back... I scare them all the time."
She rambled on, not really aware of her words. Moreso than usual, anyway. She wished she knew how to purr like her dad did, the strange growl she emitted often confusing those she was giving it to. Still, she tried her best, and Tumai didn't recoil. They usually didn't, once she told them she was being raised by a lion.
She never figured out why, though.
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Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 5:57 pm
Smiling at the awkward attempt at a purr, Tumai carefully moved from her seated position, keeping her paw to support Laika. The adolescent was large, but Tumai managed to take a firm hold of her scruff and lift her from the floor. Carrying her, very thankful she did not have far to go, she carefully returned Laika to her little green home between the rock and the tree.
Licking Laika's head affectionately and nuzzling her cheek in goodbye, she pulled back and sighed profoundly. It had certainly been an eventful, and unique, afternoon. If she had more like it, however, she imagined she would be a much more happy, confident animal. This encounter left her feeling just that, and though she didn't know how long it would last she was certainly enjoying it for all it was worth.
Reluctantly moving away from the sleeping pink ball of energy and love, Tumai glanced about and picked the direction she would wander in next. She could only hope another adventure, something even more fun and rewarding, was waiting for her.
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