He was a good hunter. He really was. Aandag’s splotchy tail wagged slightly as he padded through the brush, his pale eyes seeking out his quarry. And no, it wasn’t a rabbit. Or a bird. Or a zebra or antelope or whatever else. He’d already brought prey back to the pack today…
Pack. An odd word, one he was still kind of getting used to. Which was silly, considering he’d only been here…how long? The wild dog wasn’t sure anymore. A while. And it was nice, to have other people around. He did like having a decent audience, it made showing off that much more fun after all. What was the point of anything if he were only going to be ignored?
So no, he wasn’t looking for any prey, though if he should stumble over something edible he might just go after it. Couldn’t hurt to have a little more food, he’d eat it if no one else wanted it. Or…maybe…find a pretty to share it with. Now that sounded like a plan!
And, oh look, there was someone over there.
Perfect! Mission accomplished, hunt successful, however it went, his tail was wagging gleefully as he pranced right over to her.
“Hello there,” he greeted brightly, barely resisting adding a ‘sweetheart’ to the end. Last girl he tried that with smacked him on the nose. But he did so love the way the word rolled off his tongue!
She nosed the last roll of leather into her den, glancing back and up at the full moon overhead peeking through the trees before her attention was captured by the approaching male. The greeting was casual and polite enough, since he'd luckily (for him) had the thought to leave off the pet name, so she didn't feel uncomfortable. Her purple eyes glanced him over, curious, and not sure what she'd been expecting, but someone with a natural coloring like hers wasn't it, not in a pack with so many tribal marks and stripes.
"Hello..."
Oh good, she said hello back. Awesome, good start. Aandag all but preened when she looked him over, it was hard not to. He did so love being a center of attention. He knew there weren’t too many in the pack with markings like his, and he loved being different. Loved catching curious looks. Especially from a pretty girl.
“I’m Aandag,” he continued, pressing on from his successful ‘hello’ to more conversation. This was going well, if he did say so himself. “I don’t believe we’ve met?” Another bite of the tongue, pick-up lines didn’t work so well in the beginning of an introduction. But oh, it was tempting.
"I'm Swiftthinker, though my given name is different." She replied to be polite, but more because she was in a good mood, otherwise she wouldn't really volunteer the unnecessary words.
She didn't try to stop herself from looking over his coat again, still marveling. She had been all over the place, but the closest thing to natural markings she'd ever seen had been within her own family, litters included. Hell, her last litter had been largely BLUE.
"You're the new member. Ardentheart, isn't it?"
...oops.
Right. Pack names. Why did he always seem to forget about that? Stupid. Now she was going to think he was some kind of idiot or something...which he wasn't. He could be goofy or silly or playful, but it wasn't like he stored air between his ears or anything. He did use his head. Sometimes.
"Yeah, I am," he replied, sheepish that he'd botched pack tradition so fast. Well, he was new. Maybe everyone who was new forgot their names. "It's nice to meet you," the wild dog added, grinning with a wag of his tail. "I've seen a lot of bright colors around here, but your fur is quite pretty." He couldn't help it, he just couldn't. It was like his mouth had a mind of it's own sometimes...
There was a pause, and then finally she added: "It takes getting used to." She offered by ways of letting him know it was okay not to introduce himself by wolf name right away. It was only because it was true, at that, if it hadn't been, well, she'd have left it alone. "Good to--"
She stopped, blinked, and stared at him, had he just complimented her coat? For a moment she looked about to see if anyone else was nearby to either hear that or that he could have been talking to, however unlikely.
"Ah... then you must be from a traditionally colored pack as well."
She brushed the compliment off as just that, she had her packname for a reason, she was good at thinking on her paws, and never was that more neccessary than when avoiding unwanted advances. She'd been there already, didn't particularly plan to go there again.
Aandag, no, Ardentheart nodded when she said it took some getting used to. It certainly did! At least they started with the same letter, he'd no idea what he'd do if it had been something totally different. Probably seem like he was ignoring lots of people...
...wait a second...
"No, not really," he replied when she commented he must have come from a naturally colored pack. "I'm from the rogue lands, there are a ton of differently colored people out there, not just wild dogs but lions and cheetahs and all. I've seen tons of fur, but I still like yours."
See if she could brush that off so easy!
"Then you'd like my daughter's as well." You say none call it easy, but I calls it easy! She replied casually, moving back to her supplies for a quick once over. She knew what supplies she needed to search for come morning, but for tonight she wanted to see if any of the den coverings or decorations needed freshening or replacement, that meant making rounds. She turned away from her den, looking towards where most of the pack would be emerging from theirs, and headed that way.
Daughters? She had pups? Ardentheart blinked, not quite having expected that. She didn't have a mate, did she? He wasn't out of line, was he? No...no, it was okay. Peke Na rules were different, this was one of those rules he'd found interesting. It was a pack of love...which he interpreted to mean he could flirt with anyone and no one would be too bothered by it.
"I'm sure I would, especially if they take after their mother." See? He could be smooth! His splotchy tail gave a small wag as he moved to follow her, watching what she did with interest. She wasn't hunting, which was what he was good at. No...she was doing stuff with furs... what was that called again...?
"More after her father. Orange and white." She replied casualy, shortly. Hmph. Smooth, and she was stubborn.
"Oh, I see." Aandag continued to trail after this Swiftthinker, slowly growing more and more frustrated with the situation. He was being ignored! This was...so... he had to do something about it! And while a normal person might've taken the hint and gone to find someone else, Ardentheart was sort of stubborn. He was talking to this girl. He did not want to look for someone else.
"Did she get your markings at least? The spattery spots are really quite lovely, I'm sure they'd look almost as nice in orange too."
"Her father had the same markings."
She stopped abruptly, their antics had caught the attention of a couple of others nearby, but she didn't care, turning about to face him, eyes narrowing.
"WHY are you trying so hard to compliment me, pray-tell? I'm not interested in flattery!"
Well, at one point she hadn't minded it, but she wasn't going to think about how everytime she let herself grow comfortable and get used to it the one that did the flattering disappeared, particularly after pups had come along, though in Kengee's defense it wasn't as if he'd only been after one thing, but their parting hurt anyway.
"Ah, I see," Ardentheart nodded. Same markings...different color. Actually...his markings were kind of similar to hers as well. Huh. Well, he still thought they looked good on her. And they were different, his fur was mostly dark while hers was mostly light...
"Uh..." he blinked, nearly walking into her when she stopped and turned on him. "I just thought it was a nice color was all. I don't see why someone like you would keep toning it down like it was nothing. You shouldn't sell yourself short you know," he told her, to all appearances quite seriously. He recovered fairly quickly, and rather than insist he wasn't trying to flatter her he'd decided to switch tactics.
"But since you say you aren't interested in pretty words for a pretty girl, then what are you interested in?" Aandag asked, the epitome of innocence.
She stood her ground even when he didn't seem like he'd stop in time, just pursing the lips of her muzzle together as well, eyes narrowing further as he explained. Ujuzi was having NONE of it.
"Someone like me isn't interested in shallow flirtations coming from a wild dog I've barely just met. I know that this pack practices open mating, and that seems to be a rather popular rule amongst the single males here, but I'm not the one." She growled softly, tucking her ears back a bit grouchily. "I'm interested in being left to my tanning. Now go, run along and find Dapplespot or Dreamberry to flirt with. I'm busy!"
With a soft snort she turned away again to go, before he could see the flicker of guilt in her eyes. Lately it seemed harder and harder to do that, which was strange because she'd never had a problem telling off strangers before, but he had only been trying to pay her a compliment. Surely it wasn't his fault she was so damned awkward with them.
Well, the damage was done now, so she doubted if she'd have to worry about him approaching her again. She'd probably have a good reputation for being a man-eater by the time she had become a seasoned member of the pack.
Now, see. That was probably a hint right there that it was time to leave well enough alone. But Ardentheart wasn't finished yet. He'd only been trying to talk to her, and flirting was fun. He didn't see what her problem was, after all, they couldn't very well have a deep conversation yet. He'd only just met her! But he'd be happy to work on that. Once they'd gotten to know each other better, then he wouldn't have to rely on shallow flirtations anymore.
"Oh, tanning, that's what it's called? Cool, I've never seen it done before. It looks hard...you must be as talented as you are beautiful." Okay, so...maybe he just couldn't resist that there. But it was just...so easy...and the worlds were such fun as they slid off his tongue. Tail wagging happily, he ignored the very obvious 'hint' to leave, and continued to follow after her.
He meant well, but at that point she felt her guilt dissipate. Turning, with a growl, she took a snap at him, harmless and not actually intending to bite, just to scare. "I said I'm too busy for your silly empty compliments!"
"Yipe!" he yelped, caught by surprise when she actually snapped at him. Snapped at him! As if he were some kind of threat or something. "But they're so much fun," Ardentheart protested, tail wagging playfully though his ears had gone down and he took a step back. He didn't want to get in real trouble, and he was new after all. He certainly didn't want to get kicked out for a little fun!
Or mauled. He didn't want to get mauled either. "Can I stay if I'm quiet...er?" As if that would last long...
"I don't care if you think they're fun, let me be so I can work in peace!!" The female snapped again, advancing a step do do so. The two watching them, Whiteroot and Cleareyes, seemed amused if not sympathetic to the other male's attempts.
Aandag slunk another step back, flinching though at least he didn't yelp this time, when she snapped at him. The friendly little wag of his tail slowed, though it didn't stop. He wasn't sure this was such a good idea, but... hmm, maybe...maybe he'd better...er...leave her be. Just for now. He wasn't retreating! It was a tactical withdrawal! Yeah...
"Er...right. Okay, so you're busy tonight. That's cool. Maybe tomorrow then? What're you doing tomorrow?"
"GET!" She buffed, huffing afterwards and turning, getting back to her task, or trying, without answering the question. Once she seemed to be getting safely out of earshot both observing males fell out howling with laughter.
Yipes again, but she was angry! It was cute, with her nose all scrunched up like that...except the snappy teeth weren't nearly so adorable. That certainly seemed like more than a hint to him though, and reluctantly, Aandag took a few more steps back.
"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye!" he called, watching curiously as she moved away. He'd never been quite so blatantly ignored before. He'd have to do something about this... tomorrow.
FIN
