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Jove knew he probably shouldn't be wandering around off-campus in his natural form... He wasn't much more than a slip of a ghostling, all fluff without the benefit of a scary bark or bite, and there were a multitude of things that could happen to a tiny puppy. He was sure his brother would be worried, if the gryphon knew about his forays into the woods. But the pup had an increasingly strong desire to resume his regular walks, which often took him outside the school campus.

He felt better every time he was outside in the forest, where it was heavily shaded and the air was thick with the scent of rotting vegetation. There were mushrooms everywhere, he could smell them, and part of him longed to stay out all afternoon and into the evening when they would glow and the fireflies would be out. But Ren would certainly protest to that. No, he had to come back before it got dark or his brother would have a brain aneurism or something.

It was startling to say the least, when suddenly a huge shadow was cast over the pup. Had he not been paying attention?! Something had snuck up on him already, and he was going to be eaten, fluff and all. And when Ren found his twice-dead body, Jove was certain he would be killed again for going out alone...

He cowered for a second, awed and terrified by the sheer size of the black dog stepping right over him, but then the fear faded as he recognized the scent. It was one he knew from the ghost dorms, and had been able to identify during the mushroom hunting. Jove's little ears perked. Was this giant figure Tybalt's natural form? Without a sound he trotted along next to the other student, looking up with bright, curious eyes.

Jove had to keep up a rather peppy trot to match Tybalt's natural pace, his little paws silently flying over the loam and dead leaves. His fur seemed to bounce as he trotted along. Finally he slowed down and came to a stop as Tybalt did.

He gave the big dog a somewhat disappointed look that read "Come on, please don't say I have to help you out with this too..." At least Tybalt wasn't mistaking him for a pet, or a lost puppy, it sounded like he actually expected Jove to reply. So he did. Not verbally as Tybalt might have preferred, but by puffing out his fluffy chest and giving his tail a couple wags as if to say "it's me, remember?"

Jove's tail gave another pleased wag when he saw the lights go on in the other ghost's eyes. For a moment he was afraid it could have gone either way.

He wasn't sure why it took so long, his human form wasn't all that different in appearance... He had the freckles and fluffy hair, the fluffy ears, and even the shadows cast by his long bangs mimicked the darker parti markings over his eyes. Looking at Tybalt, he realized the black dog also shared enough similarities in this form. If Jove hadn't recognized the scent he might have noticed the similar glowing eyes, pointy teeth, and wispy tail. Although Tybalt was HUGE in this form. If he had been a wild animal, Jove would have been devoured in one good chomp. Good thing they had met before.

The pup shook his head in reply to Tybalt's next question. Although he could speak in his current form, it was about as frequent as in his human form. Which meant Tybalt would be lucky to get so much as a hiccup from him. In fact, his caretaker had gone several days before hearing Jove speak, at which point he had been very flustered indeed.

Jove trotted a couple steps away, leaning into the motion and perking his ears as though asking if Tybalt wanted to walk with him.

Jove glanced up and nodded again. Just a walk today, through the woods.

When he arrived at the academy he had believed all the other students to be overly noisy and chatty. But slowly he came to realize talking was as natural a state for others as silence was for him, and in many cases it helped bridge the communication gap that might have otherwise formed. Not everyone was comfortable reading body language, or perceptive to the finer subtleties, but when they asked questions it could definitely facilitate understanding.

Thankfully Jove remained oblivious to Tybalt's consideration both for his diminutive stature and his often delicate pride. He was quite happy just trotting along, at a pace somewhere between a walk and the quick run necessary to keep up with the black dog's normal stride. It was surprisingly pleasant to walk with a friend!

He didn't smile, but his tail curled up happily over his back, his ears perked, and the tip of his little pink tongue stuck out of his mouth as he trotted along.

Jove glanced up at Tybalt as he trotted along, ears perked, innocent eyes wide, and that little tongue poking out.

Growling and snapping? The pup's tongue disappeared and his ears flattened back as he remembered the last time he had done that... It was when he had gotten lost in the woods in the rain, and Ren had come to get him. But Jove had been half out of his mind with fright and bit his brother with his sharp little teeth. A good pup wasn't supposed to bite his friends.

And chase could be a game? Jove had been chased, and it was never a game. It was terrifying. His expression cowered a little further. Black dogs did that sort of thing for fun? Would Tybalt want to chase him now?

The poor pup hadn't had the opportunity to grow up playing with others his own age, and wrestling and roughhousing like any normal puppy was not something he knew how to do. It might not even have occurred to him that he could play physically like that. His idea of a game involved Ren's TV and a controller.

Tybalt didn't seem too worried about being chased, that much was clear to the little pup. He couldn't understand why others would want to play a game where they had to run away on purpose, the last time he had been chased in a playful manner he had panicked and completely freaked out. He was not going to repeat that if he could help it.

Chasing someone else didn't sound so bad. But then if he ever caught anyone...

Jove gulped, but it wasn't the thought of playing roughly that bothered him. Perhaps it could be fun, maybe if he knew it was just a game he wouldn't get scared when someone chased him. Maybe being 'tagged' wouldn't be so frightening. Because it was a game. Or, at least it should be a game.

Jove cowered as the giant paw hovered over him, his ears flattening down and his head ducking, until it rested on top of his fluff with no ill effects. Then the ears perked back up as high as they could go. No, it didn't hurt. Tybalt could have stomped him flat, but he was being gentle. Was Tag supposed to be a gentle game of chase?

The pup briefly pictured a pack of black dogs frolicking peacefully and pleasantly in a wide green field, but something about the mental image didn't seem right. His ears fell once more. It still came down to him being terrified of being chased. Maybe... Maybe Tybalt could just play Scario Kart with him instead sometime? Being chased in the game wasn't so scary. It was like Ren had explained to him, being chased meant you were winning.