{{an AIM-logged rp by Lilly_Foxx & Novablu}}
The morning seemed crisp, fresh and new. Daisuke had slipped away from his rag-tag pack just as the sun began to rise. He loved living in the rocky crags of the Alps. This was where Kirby and Hani had raised him. The light sound of running water caught the striped Retriever’s ears. He knew the stream was there but hadn’t really paid any attention to where his paws had taken him. But, a drink did sound rather good at the moment. The male yawned loudly and smacked his jaws together a few times to try and rid his tongue of that ‘fuzzy rabbit’ feeling. He continued toward the stream, his movements languid and easy. After all, there were no other dogs for quite a distance, as far as he knew.
---
He lay, unsleeping, in an alley as the sun rose, warming the chilly morning air with a new feeling of radience and beauty. The large shepherd mix daydreamed lazily, thinking of the times when his Woman raced alongside the course, her sneakers slipping in the morning dew, his paws sliding right along with her as he strived to go faster and faster. To please her. He lived to please her.
Now here he was, in the middle of nowhere, looking for her with a bum leg and a heart full of lead. His one ear drooped into sad, blue eyes as he climbed the rocks little by little. The silence hurt his ears, so he began to hum; the song that she had sang to him when he was a colicky pup. Oh, how he missed her voice...
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Daisuke stopped mid-step as he neared the stream. He lifted his nose toward the sky and began to search for any new scents. He was upwind from the young mutt, and he knew that hearing someone and not being able to smell them meant just that. He continued cautiously, his bright blue eyes scanning his surroundings. His head was level with his shoulders, and his steps light. He was in hunting mode now. It was all ways better to see, than be seen.
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Mizuki padded along carelessly, definitely a young dog with a very young mindset. He wasn't used to the rules of the 'stray dog' yet. He still wore his collar and the shiny nametag made clicking noises as it jingled against his rabies' tag. As far as he knew, the tag held little information and was just there for decoration; perhaps if he knew the Woman's address was on it, he'd let someone catch him.
He took a whiff of the air, smelling nothing interesting, and returned to humming. He wasn't aware of the dark-pelted golden making his way closer, stalking closer and closer to the young mutt until something rustled. His head jerked up, eyes flashing uncertainly and he tested out his voice. "H-Hello?"
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The dark coloured ‘golden’ stopped, noticing he had been heard. ‘Damn, damn, damn, damn, *damn*!’ He thought. The voice did seem rather tentative and nervous, however, so that had to be a good sign, right?
Daisuke leapt over the bush he was hiding behind and landed in front of Mizuki, his head held aloft, and his tail flagging dominantly. “Who are you?” He asked, looking the pup over. His eyes were pulled almost instantly to his tags as they caught the sunlight. He smelled the city on the pastel blue male. He bit back a cold chukle.
---
There was a streak of black and a large dog -- well at least he looked large to poor startled Mizu -- appeared in front of him. The shepherd mix, while he looked large and intimidating, was actually a little bit of a coward. He dropped to his belly, stomach scraping the soft stone, paws splayed out and tail tucking. He bit back a whine, refusing to be -that- much of a coward, and he stiffened. "Er... Mizu. Mizuki. Mizu." The words came out in a rush. "What do you want? Where did you come from?"
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Daisuke looked down at the young male. “Well, Mizu-Mizuki-Mizu,” he was messing up his name intentionally, “you must not know how life works outside of your cushy home, *pet*.” He said with a sneer, blue eyes glinting. “You’re in *my* territory, so *I* get to ask the questions, *understand?.” He asked as he began to circle the cowering adolescent. The older male was mostly putting on a show, but he didn’t take keenly to disrespect from dogs who were younger than him…especially pets.
”So, let me reiterate. My home, my rules. What d’you want, and where’d you come from?” He asked stiffly. “You *stink* of the city.”
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Mizu listened intently, watching the older dog with a quirk of his eyebrow, tail wagging but lowly. His ears flicked back as the golden abused his name and he resisted the urge to speak up and tell him it was just 'Mizu' but he kept his mouth shut. "Your home, your rules. Got it..." he muttered, looking away, then plopping his butt to the ground. "Er...the city. Prolly cuz I just came from there." He looked up. "I'm missing my Woman. Have you seen her?"
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Daisuke arched a brow. “Your *what*, now?” He asked. “Kid, I don’t have a *clue* what a ‘woman’ is…if it’s some city thing…you’re barking up the wrong tree.” He said. “Aren’t your *humans* going to be looking for you…or whatever it is they do when they aren’t beating you?” He asked.
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Mizuki hopped to his paws, fear ebbing away to frustration. "My Woman. My human. We used to run agility courses together! My house burned down and I need to find her!" His voice petered into a whine and he took a deep breath. Steel flashed in his pale gaze. "My humans wouldn't beat me. I'm a good dog... A good dog..."
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The male rolled his blue eyes. “Agility *what*?” He scowled. “Look, kid…I haven’t seen any humans. I don’t *want* to see any humans, either.” Daisuke snorted. “Yeah? Since when did being a ‘good dog’ have anything to do with humans beating you or not?” He asked darkly. “I’ve never once met a human that didn’t try to hurt me. Even their *puppies* find that kind of s**t fun.” His nose wrinkled in distaste. “Besides, you’re a long way away from any humans. You’d have better luck in the city.” Satisfied the male wouldn’t try anything he continued toward the stream. He was incredibly thirsty now.
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"Agility course. You know. A big ring of jumps and tunnels and obstacles for pets to run through. We try to get the fastest time out of all the dogs! It's great fun!" He gave a hearty wag of his tail, remembering his best speed. He offered Daisuke a grin. "I am... I was... good at it. Very good. Prolly not anymore...but... I have to find her. Where do you think I should go?" He looked eager, hoping the older dog would think of perhaps somewhere! his Woman could be. Limping, he trailed after him obedientely. Softer, he began, "Why do you hate them so?" Said from the dog who'd never had a fist raised to him his entire life, born of a loving home.
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Daisuke shook his head. “No, I don’t know…” He bent his head, once they reached the stream, and lapped at the cool, fresh water. “I told you…the city.” He said, bringing his head from the water briefly before lowering it to the water again. After a few moments he looked to the pup again. “I hate them because they’d beat me as soon as look at me. They hit me with sticks, throw rocks at me, or shoot at me with their guns. After my parents died an older dog took me in. He was great to me at first…but soon made me steal from humans. If I didn’t get what he wanted by sun-down he’d beat me too. Even when I didn’t try to steal, the humans would beat me. I walked up to a little female pup once and tried to be cute, hoping she’d take me home…away from…him. She kicked me.” He scowled.
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Mizu listened to the older dog go into a tale of surprise and utmost horror -- to at least this dog. He'd heard stories of 'bad' humans, Men who chained dogs to their porch and kicked them when they barked. He'd heard of Women who treated their dogs like dirt. But it was all a fantasy to him, mere fairytales. Sure, the Man was gruff and hot-tempered and yelled alot, but noise was noise. His Woman... She lived and breathed dogs. She showed his German shepherd mother in the rings, let her strut her fancy stuff, and later on ran Mizuki himself in agility trials for fun. She would never kick or hit a dog... Would she? He frowned. "But not all of them are bad!" he whined. "What if you came home with me? My Woman would never treat you bad." Mizu looked him up and down, and smiled. "You could prolly do agility. With my leg, I'll never run that fast again. But you could!"
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He gave a cold, laugh. “No…no human’d want a dirty, smelly dog like me.” He gave a rueful smile. “Can’t say I’d want them either…I’ve got a family of my own here. They need me.” He looked to the pup. “You’ve clearly not learned enough in your life yet. But let me tell you something…some of those humans that tried to kill me had dogs of their own. It’s different if you *belong* to them.” He said seriously. Daisuke completely ignored the part where he’d said he’d be good at the human’s ‘game’.
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Mizu puffed out his chest, looking the stranger in the eye. "I can't imagine life without my Woman," he said, although in reality he was living it and it was Hell. He just wanted to go back home, curl up on his blue velveteen dog bed, and fall asleep beside his mother in front of the fireplace. His heart hurt, his paws hurt. He was tired and alone... "Then...my collar is a good thing?" He looked hopeful. "I've been getting...odd looks from the other dogs I've met. Not good ones... I don't think they like me."
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Daisuke levelled his gaze with Mizu's. "Around here, it can be had, or it can be good. Depends on the dog you run into. I don't know what to tell you about the city. I've been there *once* and I don't *ever* plan on going back." He said seriously, as if to drive the chaperone idea from his head if it was there. "But out here...that collar is a beacon to everyone annoucing that you're out of place and have no idea what you're doing out here."
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He looked crestfallen. "So...it's good because people see it and it's also bad because people see it..." he murmured quietly, to himself, sitting down and looking into the river with a tilt of his head. He was out of place. He just wanted to go home... "Well... I should probably go to the city then... I have to find her. I have to tell her something," he said fiercely, fiercer than he'd expected it to come out. "Thank you...er...I didn't get your name." One ear perked up as he looked into the dark dog's eyes.
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"Daisuke." He said simply as he studied Mizu's expression. "I, too, know the longing of searching for one you care about...so, even if to me it's missguided...good luck, Mizu-kun." His expression seemed more cold and distant than his words.
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Daisuke... "Thank you, Daisuke," he said with the short wag of his long tail. It paused, dropping between his thighs as he turned and looked towards the horizon, to where buildings stood tall and looming. Taking a deep breath, he looked back at the golden once more before setting off, determination rising. He would find her. He would...
{Fin}
