A New Face [ 'Alazzi & Nguva ]

[Depawsit]

Alazzi bounced around with a bit of a skip in his step, he was in a relieved sort of mood. Having slowly begun the process of making himself more open to those around him. It had given him a new lease on life, that he hadn't expected to find. It was as though a weight had lifted off of his shoulders. He no longer felt the need to watch his back constantly, though he did do it on occasion. Old habits do die hard ...

But as energetic as he found himself, something still troubled him. He had yet to find someone to test his new found goal on. Though he'd traveled quite a bit since his revelation, the rogue lands seemed a ghost town. Not a soul anywhere, almost as though everyone were in on some joke that he wasn't. It bothered him, but he also knew that at some point, he was bound to run into someone. He just had to leave it to the gods that it wasn't someone dangerous.

Noticing a small spring just ahead of his path, the male's tail began to wag in excitement at the prospect of finding someone else there. Eagerly, he picked up his pace to reach it as quickly as possible.

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Springs weren't nearly as nice as the ocean. She much preferred looking out at the vast waters, spending her days wondering what lands might extend far beyond her line of sight. There had to be more out there than just one place, right? More than just the world she lived in. Too bad she did not have the capacity to head out and find out about the rest of the world on her own. All she could do was look and wonder.

Mostly look, as she usually ended up getting distracted by other thoughts like what was under the water and if sea fish were delicious.

Sighing softly, her ears perked when she heard someone moving towards the spring, and she looked over her shoulder to see a young male rushing for the water. It seemed like he was in need of a drink. Quickly, she shifted out of the way, just in case her blue blended with the water and he failed to see her in time.  

[Depawsit]

It would seem as if the female had moved out of the way just in time, because sure enough 'Alazzi hadn't noticed her. Once she had moved, it took but a moment for him to realize that she wasn't a large wave and that she was actually a wild dog.

'Alazzi put on the breaks rather quickly, coming to a near complete halt before he accidentally knocked her over. That would have been a disaster. Finally finding someone to test his new courage on, and then knocking them over like a bumbling baffoon! He let out a sigh of relief as his paws came to a halt a mere two feet in front of her. Staring at her, he become immediately entranced in her fur. She was quite lovely, with all the sparkling colors of a clean spring.

"H-Hello. Sorry for almost bumping into you, I w-was struck silly by your pelt. You nearly match the spring before us in both color and grace." He offered her a friendly smile, cursing himself for stuttering even in the slightest. He thought he was over all of this ... but if he was .. why was he still doing it?

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Depawsit

Nguva smiled faintly at his comments- she hadn't spoken to a lot of other wild dogs, and it was the first time a male had commented on her fur. Though she had received a lot of compliments about her coat from all kinds of animals in the past, something about hearing it from another wild dog made her blush a little bit. Good thing all the blue fur helped cover that up.

"You don't have to apologize," She told him lightly, "you didn't actually hit me, so there's no problem, right? And thank you... I do love that my fur matches the water." Mostly because she loved the ocean. Was it because she had grown up with her pelt? Or was it just a coincidence? In any case, she was happy whenever she was around water.

"My name is Nguva," she informed him lightly, "What's your name?"  

[Depawsit]

Relief might have been a bit of an understatement, for how Alazzi' felt in that moment. Typically he would have cowered into his shell and prepared for whatever foul assault might come his way. But instead, she had been kind .. gentle. It was a lovely feeling to have wash over him.

"R-Right. I guess you could call it force of habit. I always apologize unnecessarily ... sor -" The male paused in his words, and a small smile cracked over his lips. "See? There it goes again!" He laughed his raspy laugh, it was probably a bit frightening to the female. But he tended not to notice, his laugh had always been compared to that of a hyena. Though he'd never heard one laugh, so he had nothing to prove nor deny that point.

Nodding his head in agreement, he lowered his laugh to a quiet volume and accepted her introduction. "Nguva? That is quite a name. M-Mine is Timid step - Well it used to b-be. My real name is Alazzi'." Dipping his head in formal greeting he slowly raised it once more. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of our meeting today? T-That is - if you don't mind my intru-usion."

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Depawsit

He seemed a nervous type, but she didn't mind- she would gladly take someone nervous over someone who was mean or cruel. She was happy to think that something good might come from a conversation with him, rather than something that would cause her to run away in terror. She laughed when he apologized for apologizing- he seemed like he didn't know what to do with himself.

That was funny.

She let him introduce himself and smiled. "Oh, well, I was just doing some thinking. I love the water, so I thought sitting here would help me settle my thoughts. And what about you? I mean, what brings you around here so quickly?" She chuckled.

"also, I was wondering about your name? Not that Alazzi isn't a lovely one, mind you, but you said you have two names? Why do you have two?"  

[Depawsit]

Ha! This interaction was going so much smoother than he could have hoped for. He was overjoyed to know that there was still good in the world, that he'd nearly abandoned.

"Hmmm well I could see why you have such a fondness to it. Being so alike, it must make you feel more comfortable to be around it." Nodding his head gently, he listened as she questioned his intentions. Truthfully, he wasn't sure whether he was ready to tel someone about what he was really out here for. But then, if he didn't, was he really trying to achieve his goal?

"Oh well as for my name, I come from a pack where it was a rite of passage to receive a second name. It was a name only used among packmates, and well - I never really grew out of mine when the pack disbanded. I guess i'm a little prideful and don't want to let go of one of the best triumphs of my life." Again he let loose a raspy laugh before heaving a heavy sigh.

"I'm really out here today to start my life anew. I'm actually glad we bumped into one another, its giving me a chance to see the world for what it has to offer."

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Depawsit

Nguva was a little surprised- he had wanted to try and find a new life? That was pretty nice. "Must be hard," she offered softly, "trying to start over. But I think that's remarkable- you must be a very brave guy to want to push forward instead of be held back. I think I probably would be too upset to try and move ahead. Not that I've ever had a pack before, but it sounds like you came from a very nice one."

She wondered what that kind of life would be like. For her, being near the water was the most important thing. She wasn't sure she would be able to live with a pack, especially if they didn't spend a lot of time by the sea.

The female smiled. "I'm happy that we got to meet, too. I don't get to spend time with a lot of other wild dogs. Normally I think I'm too caught up with day dreaming and they just pass me by without a word, you know? So I'm happy we ran into each other! Or almost did, anyway. If there's anything I can do to help you with your quest, I'd be more than happy to lend a paw. I have a den not too far from here if you need a place to stay."  

[Depawsit]

Alazzi' did his best not to scoff at her initial statement. She truly had no idea just how hard this was! But then, he couldn't expect her to, he was just grateful she was making it as easy as she could. "I don't think i'm all that b-brave. But I do try to be strong, it does get difficult sometimes, but my hope is that in the end, it will all be worth it." He offered her an offhand smile, trying to lighten the mood, all of the sudden everything was starting to feel very serious. "I did come from a nice pack - I just wish I would have been able to spend more time with them." He added quickly, with a small smile on his lips.

His tail began to wag happily as Nguva expressed her happiness at meeting him. He didn't know what else to do, words were literally escaping him.

I know e-exactly what you mean. I used to get ign-nored a lot. Well I guess still kind of do, but that's not the point." Another nervous laugh trickled out of his throat and he tried to hold onto his adorably awkward smile.

"A-A place to stay? Oh, I don't know if I c-could impose on you so much. But I do greatly appreciate the offer." Nodding his head Alazzi took a step closer to Nguva and plopped down on his hind quarters. "But i'd love to see it if you'd like to s-s-show me."

Cajanic

 

[Cajanic]

Nguva was happy he decided to at least see the place- she knew she would be able to make him stay once they arrived. There was food and shelter and plenty of room, so why wouldn't he want to hang out? It was also right next to a small waterfall, and the cascading water made a lovely sound that filtered around the cave. Deeper inside, it couldn't be heard, but she supposed some would prefer that. She, however, loved the sound, and tended to sleep near the entrance of her den.

She didn't want him being on his own with no place to stay, so she was set on trying to convince him, no matter what. It seemed much too lonely to not have his pack around and have no where to sleep!

"Follow me!" she hummed lightly, pushing him lightly towards the direction of her den. 'It's just this way, near that cliff side." She walked a little ahead, looking over her shoulder. "I hope you'll tell me more about your pack, if you feel like it." She was very content.

She didn't have to just day dream about being somewhere else. She was actually happy being where she was for a change.

Depawsit

Fin!