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Post by Violet[♪] on Jul 6, 2008 11:37:31 GMT -5
Cat-like whiskers twitched on a thin muzzle. The air was humid, clinging uncomfortably to Cedar's fur. He let out a displeased sort of whine as he padded quickly down the sidewalk. There was a park nearby, he knew. It had a pond. He could already imagine the liquid sloshing between his toes. Cedar emitted another pathetically devastated sound. His deep brown eyes looked up at the sky, searching for any sort of cloud that might provide him shade. There was none. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in Cedar's jaw as he found himself colliding with a offending tree. Immediately he began attacking his opponent, little black claws scraping uselessly against the bark. It took him a moment to realize what he was doing. "Damn.." he muttered, having recently acquired a nasty bit of vocabulary upon not paying attention to his surroundings.
The trees grew thicker here, it was a sign. They also smelled thickly of scent markers. Vain attempts to claim the park. Cedar shook his head soberly. No one had ever put much effort into claiming this area. All they'd done was make it smell like urine. It wasn't nearly as bad towards the middle of the park, where no one ever bothered. There were less trees there anyways.
But the pond. That was definitely there. The young male's pace quickened, his curled tail bobbing along on his back.
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Post by [.¥.6.3.R on Jul 6, 2008 12:28:22 GMT -5
Slow, heavy pawsteps sounded down the outskirts of the city. They were offset by the occasional tinkle of two pieces of metal clicking against each other. It was summer - meaning warm, humid weather. The perfect weather for a heat stroke if one was endowed with a thick coat of fur. Much like poor Thora, who was slowly making her way to a pond just outside the city. Her thick, warm coat did wonders to make her miserable for a better part of the year. She panted heavily, trying to supply her body with cool air. It wasn't much farther now, the pavement was beginning to stop and give way to a lawn dotted with trees. In the center of the park was a small pond.
She wadded into the shallows until all four of her paws were covered in water. Thora lowered her massive head, lapping at the cool water. This pond had become a key spot for dogs wanting to claim territory - the whole place smelled of scent markers. The elk hound knew she was a little exempt from borders, being a female, but no dog had made a serious attempt to keep this territory as their own. She stood in the cool waters, not really wanting to move in this dreadful heat.
A fit of barking caught her attention. A small dog of some sort jumped at a tree, clawing at its bark and in return barking at it. Thora let out a snort of laughter. After a moment, he realized what he was doing and abandoned his 'opponent.' He trotted toward the pond, probably wishing to escape the heat just as she did. Thora flexed her ears back. She didn't like encounters with other dogs, especially not males. All they seemed to want to do was pick up females for pleasure. But it was the heat of the day and she could not be bothered into abandoning the park just because another dog was there. So Thora watched the little dog as he came closer.
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Post by Violet[♪] on Jul 6, 2008 12:42:51 GMT -5
The pond was in Cedar's view. His thick fur shivered and his dainty paws almost tripped over themselves with excitement. He stopped near the edge, realizing there was company. He hadn't been expecting anyone else to be there. His ears perked up and he hesitated for a moment, "Hey there." he said, trying to keep his voice even. It was simply not possible. His excitement of arriving at the pond mixed with his surprise of Thora being there was just a bit too much. His words shook slightly. He trotted forward, splashing a bit as he entered the pond.
"It's um, hot today." he continued, keeping a fair distance between himself and the irritated looking female. "Humid too..." he trailed off, not seeing any point in rambling on about the weather. She didn't seem to be in the mood. Though Cedar was not nervous (Cedar was never nervous, he probably wasn't smart enough), he didn't want this large and unhappy looking femme to get angry.
Cedar lowered himself into the cool water, smiling as it swirled around his body and between his hairs. He swayed slightly for the full effect. Only his nose and eyes where above the water now. He brought himself back up so he could hear in case the other pond-visitor decided to talk to him.
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Post by [.¥.6.3.R on Jul 6, 2008 12:53:06 GMT -5
The shiba inu splashed into the pond, sending small waves lapping against Thora's legs. He seemed to notice her, and said something in greeting, but she didn't catch it. "It's um, hot today." He said, not bothering to come close to her. "Humid too..." He trailed off and lowered himself into the water until only his head and nose lay exposed above the surface. He looked like some sort of canine crocodile.
Thora huffed, not really wanting to talk about how miserable the weather was. Something nipped at her heels, pushing her to attempt to be friendly to this dog. She had been on her own for so long, it really was starting to get kind of lonely. Her social skills had been ruined as a pup, however, so she swallowed and tried to think of something to say that was acceptable.
"The name's Thora. I don't think I've seen you around before; you got a name, short-stuff?"
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Post by Violet[♪] on Jul 6, 2008 13:02:14 GMT -5
Cedar was slightly taken aback by Thora's brashness. "My name is Cedar." he said, ignoring the insult for as long as possible "Big-stuff." he watched her carefully. She seemed conflicted. He shrugged his judgment away and decided that a conversation was more or less a conversation either way. And that wouldn't do him any bad. Rarely did anyone want to talk with the adolescent, and rarely did he find anyone of much interest. But this Thora femme, she captured his interest. He grinned to himself and momentarily went back to 'croco-dog mode'. He was more doing it for fun now than to cool himself down. Cedar was easily amused, but most things in this ruined city were boring.
Though he was mostly submerged Cedar kept his eyes on Thora. He didn't want to miss anything she said, rather desperate for some attention and companionship. Even if she was rather... Gruff, it was better than nothing. Better than a poke in the eye.
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Post by [.¥.6.3.R on Jul 6, 2008 13:18:18 GMT -5
"My name is Cedar...big-stuff."
Big-stuff. She gave an amused snort. Normally that sort of statement would have come across as an insult, but for some reason, Thora could not take this little dog seriously. Perhaps it was because he was scant older than a puppy. He submerged himself under the water until only his dark brown eyes peered out of the water.
"I wouldn't press your luck, short-stuff. You're what - a yearling? A lot of us 'big-stuff' dogs won't take that." She smiled, exposing her teeth. "Do y' have a pack around here or somethin' that you belong to? You're awful young to be out here by yourself."
It was... well, it was odd, actually, to be having a conversation with another dog while not growling and barking at each other. Something Thora had never done. She was quite proud of herself for not scaring the little whelp away. Interesting things puppies were. The elk hound had never spent much time around anyone younger than her.
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Post by Violet[♪] on Jul 6, 2008 13:59:05 GMT -5
Cedar was slightly hurt by her comment. "I wouldn't be alone if... Well you've got to start sometime. Anyway, packs cramp my style. I'm kinda busy." he referred to the endless search for his parents, who had high-tailed it about 3 months earlier. He sniffed, as to prove how unimportant it was. "Besides, luck isn't real. If something's gonna happen it's gonna happen, so I do what I want." Cedar said with a rather wolfish grin.
Cedar didn't notice the amount of restraint Thora was showing. He didn't notice much, nothing disastrous enough had happened to him to make him careful. In a mostly empty city where a young dog kept to himself there wasn't much time to learn street smarts. "Are you in a pack?" he asked, eying her collar suspiciously. He didn't wear one, but he'd seen some older dogs around the city with them. But none quite like hers. Cedar happened to like hers. He smiled to himself wondering if joining a pack was how she got it.
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Post by [.¥.6.3.R on Jul 18, 2008 21:55:29 GMT -5
"Packs cramp my style. I'm kinda busy." He sniffed. "Besides, luck isn't real. If something's gonna happen it's gonna happen, so I do what I want."
"Are you in a pack?" Thora flexed her ears back and broke his gaze at the little dog's question. Would it be right to tell him she was too aggressive and missanthropic to ever join a pack? She huffed, puffing out her chest fur.
"Nah, I have land of my own. I live by myself on it... so I guess you wouldn't call it a pack."
She turned tail and padded out of the water. With a mighty shake, she sent drops of water flying off her thick coat. Her collar tinkled faintly. She trotted up the bank into the shade of a sapling tree, stretching herself out on the grass. The hound yawned and turned her gaze back to Cedar.
"You gonna spend all day in there, short-stuff?"
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Post by Violet[♪] on Jul 18, 2008 22:14:35 GMT -5
He sniffed, trying to sound cool. Thora had a point there, his skin would get itchy if he stayed. Cedar trotted to the bank, several paces from the elkhound. "You mean there's actually part of this place that's empty? The white dots above his eyes raised a hair. As far as the little dog had seen practically all of the city had at least one skinny old dog hanging around. Cedar suddenly realized some of the lowly rats (obviously much beneath him) might see reason to avoid the large creature that was Thora. He folded his small paws and layed a foxish muzzle on them. "Where's your land?" Images of huge dripping caves with fang like stalagmites and glowing bat eyes everywhere popped into his head, along with a few rotting corpses laying about.
Drip, drip Awwooooo Ow ow, awoooo
Cedar's eyes took on a rather glazed look as his childish imagination took over.
Drip drip Flap flap flap (<-- Bats)
He shook himself and looked around, temporarily forgetting his surroundings.
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Post by [.¥.6.3.R on Jul 19, 2008 17:51:10 GMT -5
"You mean, there's actually part of this place that's empty?" The shiba inu sounded surprised. "Where's your land?"
"Well, it's in the heart of the city, most of the older dogs you'll talk to refer to it as 'the Cracked.'" She saw no harm telling him where she made her homestead. A yearling like him was of no threat to her directly. "It's quite a ways from here actually, but this is the closest source... of... water?"
Thora may not have had much practice in communication with other dogs, but she could still tell when one wasn't listening to her. Cedar started at her with glazed eyes, maw hanging open slightly. The elk hound waved her soot-marked paw in front off him. He shook and looked around.
"You'll catch flies that way, short-stuff." Thora chuckled, referencing his glazed-over stupor. "Did you hear anything I said to you?"
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Post by Violet[♪] on Jul 20, 2008 13:16:11 GMT -5
"You.. uh.. live at the Cracked?" he asked uncertainly. He wasn't quite sure, but he thought he knew where that was. He hadn't visited it himself, but it seemed a good place to continue his search. "Do you mind if I go there sometime? Never seen it." He avoided telling her the reason for a visit, not wanting to look any more stupid than he already did. Cedar glanced around "There's no flies here." he observed stubbornly.
Squirrels rustled in a few nearby trees, Cedar's nose twitched, eyes squinted hungrily. Small as he was, Cedar was a hunting dog, and what's more he was hungry. His fur twitched "Are you hungry?" he asked, wanting a good excuse to go kill something without looking rude by suddenly leaving. His ears swiveled around several times, impatiently awaiting an answer.
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Post by [.¥.6.3.R on Jul 20, 2008 13:43:38 GMT -5
"You... uh... live at the Cracked?" It was more of a question than an answer. Thora snorted and nodded. "Do you mind if I go there sometime? Never seen it."
"My doors are open." She rolled onto her side. "As long as you keep your paws in line."
She heard rustling in a nearby tree. Squirrels. She didn't like them and they made hard prey to catch. but the little shiba inu seemed interested. He started up at the branches hungrily. "Are you hunrgy?" He shifted about anxiously, trying not to be rude by just taking off.
Are you kidding, short-stuff? The heat of the day in this fur coat, like hell I feel like eating. "Sure, I don't say no when someone offers to hunt for me."
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Post by Violet[♪] on Jul 20, 2008 14:07:10 GMT -5
"Sure," That single word hung in the air. His paws pulled him away, body swinging around at the last second to meet their quick pace. His damp fur cooled him as he became a thundering little blur.
Squirrels were hard to catch, but he had a reckless and usually painful that occasionally caught him a fluffy-tailed rat. The shiba who was pretty much at terminal velocity at that point flew his way up to a low hanging branch with a bound and several frantic scratches. Without pausing he buzzed to onto the branch and pounced, all too cat-like, onto a shocked squirrel. It squeaked and rolled around in his paws, but was not able to escape before tumbling to the ground, pulled close to Cedar's chest as he fell to the earth.
Cedar landed on his back, the squirrel was attached by the face to the little dog's skin. The breath was just returning to Cedar's lungs as he thrust his neck forward and snapped ferociously at the little rodent's throat. It let out a gurgled cry as he was finally able to kill it. It rolled limply off of Cedar, who was getting to his feet.
Nose pointed upward and tail waving with pride he trotted back to Thora with the squirrel clenched in his maw. It was fat for a city squirrel, but still probably not worth the effort. However, if there was one thing Cedar was good at it was catching it's kind.
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Post by [.¥.6.3.R on Jul 20, 2008 14:21:56 GMT -5
Thora watched Cedar bolt off down the green stretch, craning her neck at an awkward angle. He bounded up the tree with a cat-like elegance... minus the scrabbling he had to do to draw himself up. He pounced again on the squirrel. It squeaked and thrashed about under his paws. The pair tumbled to the ground, the shiba inu landing on his back and the little rodent pressed to his chest.
Thora watched, unphased. She felt no motherly instinct to make sure he was okay. Plus, he did that anyway, snapping forward and closing his jaw the squirrel. It rolled limply off his chest as he stood up. The little dog picked up his catch happily and trotted back to the elk hound, rail waving proudly behind him.
She rolled back onto her stomach. "Some catch, short-stuff. You part cat?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
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Post by Violet[♪] on Jul 20, 2008 14:35:20 GMT -5
[Pg13]
"It's a breed trait." he said in a completely modest way, dropping the squirrel near Thora's feet. "Plus," he added after a moment "It's a good skill to know if you want to surprise the enemy," he felt himself about to launch into a strategical lecture, but realized the big elkhound probably wasn't too worried about losing any fights. "The element of surprise is helpful when you aren't that much bigger than a fat-ass ass cat." he grinned wolfishly, deciding to wrap up his fighting secrets and skills with that. He batted mindlessly at the squirrel's tail, imagining he were a fallen enemy.
"I guess you probably just knock 'em over the head a few times." he said, jealous of Thora's power. He studied her carefully, wondering if the chance provided itself what he would do in a fight. That collar would be a problem. Cedar thought logically The throat wouldn't be a good place to start... he began to systematically analyze her weak-points, being alone as much as Cedar was gave him a lot of time to think, and decide, and learn. He would often watch other wandering dogs and think of the best way to take 'em down. Not that he had actually battled with anything bigger or more dangerous than a protective mother squirrel.
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