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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2023 21:54:37 GMT
Dark clouds settled overhead as the shepherd approached the familiar streets. He carried his body low and moved in slinking movements, his muscles tight with stress. He couldn't recall being outright told not to enter another clan's territory, but something in the recesses of his mind nipped at him with the impression of this being a bad idea. Some sort of primal knowledge that the land littered with the scents left by other canna would not be welcome to him. It was an odd sensation, as his prior excursion to this area he had felt no such feelings. But, then again, he had been a lone dog, nearly a lost puppy. Now he was part of a clan. He was an ele'canna of the Ah'mir. His tail wagged slightly in an unrealized pride. But still, even with the clan he felt something was missing. Something was still wrong. What about her? What if she had come back for him and he had not been there? What if he was too late? What if because of him she was lost forever? His form slunk down, his ears and tail drooped and his shoulders slumped in discouragement. What if he had been a "bad dog" by running away from home? The memory of his reasons for venturing out due to dejection and the threat of starvation was lost on him. As he approached the familiar entryway his ears lifted. Slowly and carefully he nudged the door ajar with the tip of his muzzle. His tail began a slow arch of movement in his anticipation. Pushing his way inside he felt the familiar pang of realization. There was no one here. He was still alone. His tail dropped, sagging behind him as he sulked through the small house. With only the slightest twinge of hope he checked every room. Every corner, nook, and cranny was investigated on the off chance that she would materialize and be there to hold and pet him. Some semblance of hope that this was all just an extended nightmare that he would awaken from and find a bowl of kibble awaiting him in the kitchen and a woman to cuddle him on the couch. Alas, emptiness is all that remained. With a whine, the shepherd sauntered into the familiar bedroom. The sleeping structure was still covered in a series of blankets. Though it was now also covered in dust, it held the slightest memory of her familiar scent. A soft whine escaped his lips and, with a soft wag of his tail in his regular routine, he leaped on top of the dusty mattress. His ears folded back as he crawled to the head of the bed. This was a place he had always been told to stay away from. His place during the night was at her feet. However, secretly when she would be sleeping he would make his way up to her head and snuggle in with her as she slept. The positive memory sent a spark of dopamine to his brain. She was never the wiser when he'd pull his little trick. It had never occurred to him that the fact she was always up before the large canine would imply differently. Curling up by the pillow, Thomas breathed in the remaining scents from a life long passed. In his comfort he managed to drift off into a light sleep.
The mutt awoke in a dreamy haze. He was here! He was home! Upon opening his orange eyes he was brought back into the bleak reality of his current world. He had re-awoken into his current nightmare. With a sigh and a whine he rose to his feet and padded over to the door. Pushing his way back outside he leaned forward and back in a stretching motion, loosening his muscles. Looking at the sky he noted a light snow had begun to fall. His tail wagged slightly at the weather. He had always enjoyed playing in the snow, except when the cold would bite the pads of his toes. Stepping forward towards the street he came to an immediate halt. His nostrils flared as he lifted his head upwards to better pick up the scent. He was not alone. There was another dog here. The smell was similar to that which lingered about the territory as a whole. But there was something else. Something slightly more familiar. The answer teased at the back of Thomas's mind, grating him with the annoyance of a word that is on the tip of one's tongue but they are unable to speak it. Glancing about his surroundings he tilted his head in a curious fashion. Thinking he had seen the figure of another canna he proceeded with caution. "Hello?" he inquired, taking a tentative step forward before cringing back, the primal urge to run once again screaming at his muscles.
Nahara Nook'Zelfa |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2023 22:54:12 GMT
 ❀⸻𝓷𝓪𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪⸻❀
To say she was bored was an understatement. She was tired of attending territory agreements, she was sick of listening to strategies. If she were to take a good look at herself she would probably realize that was why her younger sister was the leader and not herself. Alas, Nahara refused to see her own faults.
She stood on the sidewalk, head tilted upwards to trace the cursive writing etched out on the wall of a building. It must have been one of those places the humans went to eat together. Strange traditions they had... That she would likely never see again.
She almost turned around and returned to camp, beginning to feel far too visible where she currently settled.
Then she heard a voice, and her head snapped in the direction. Her body fell immediately into a crouch as she scooted towards a nearby vehicle to hide. A strange male was making his way down the road and clearly he had caught her scent. That was what she got for being careless. She could practically hear Navira chastising her.
Her hackles raised as she breathed in the air; he was alone. Taking this as her time to shine, she stalked out to meet the black shepherd. Her ears were drawn back and her lips pulled up to reveal her fangs. Everything about her screamed aggression, her tail stiff in the air as she inhaled the aroma of Ah'mir.
"Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?" She barked.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2023 23:52:22 GMT
Stumbling back a few paces at the gruff, inquiring retort, Thomas struggled for a moment to regain his balance. The aggressive posturing would be enough to send any canna running for the hills, or, in Thomas's case, for the tree lines. Though an internalized sense of "home" drove him to want to return to the house. He did not, however, run in fear, though his own posture gave away his cowardice in the face of an aggressor.
Once as he got past the fierce, front facing appearance, there was something vaguely familiar about the female. His tail wagged slightly and his ears perked as the realization struck him.
"Navira?" he asked, plainly, unintentionally ignoring her question. His orange eyes contrasted brightly on his black face. It all made sense now. The familiar clan scents, the similar outlined figure, this was that canna he had been looking for! Sure, some of the things were off like her colors and maybe even her voice but time had passed since their last meeting and his memory was anything but infallible. Plus her scent was very much that of the dog he had met what felt to be almost a lifetime ago. He took a few friendly steps closer as he spoke, his mouth open in a wide grin and his tail swaying in a wide arch.
"It's me! I was there the day of the-" his voice cut off sharply. He had made a mistake. The scent was correct but not exact. And he had been right to assume his memory had not failed him so blatantly with this canna's appearance. What was more, something was just outright off. The hair along his spine stood on end as adrenaline coursed through his body, his muscles pleading him to run for safety. Instead, he found himself frozen in place.
Immediately the shepherd averted his eyes, lowering his tail and his head, his ears lying flat. "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered. His front paws edged backwards in a retreating fashion as he remained as if he was welded to the concrete street. "I thought you were... someone else..."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2023 19:27:22 GMT
❀⸻𝓷𝓪𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓪⸻❀
Nahara didn't know if she should be curious or concerned that this dog began to wag his tail towards her aggression. It made her tail lower a tad and her lips lower over her teeth. Her eyebrows furrowed as she finally settled on feeling confused about the entire interaction.
Then he said her sibling's name and her ears raised and she looked momentarily shell-shocked. He seemed a bit meek, but she had seen some momentary confidence in him when his hackles had begun to raise. She huffed, eyes moving away from him as her body slowly eased into something less aggressive. It was a bit hard to want to bite someone who didn't want to fight her back.
"Navira... Is my younger sister." While she didn't look friendly, she also was no longer on the edge of leaping at him. "You met her on the day of the earthquake?" While he hadn't completed his sentence, she put the pieces together that made the most sense to her.
Suddenly her golden eyes were meeting his as she made a threatening step towards him. "You smell of another pack, so why are you looking for her?" She didn't realize this dog may be here for other reasons.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2023 19:25:21 GMT
Earthquake. Thomas had tried his best to block out the trauma associated with the direct memory of when the earth shook. The event had had quite an impact on him - as it had all of the living beings in Kah'ren. Though, for him, the event itself was mostly erased. It was what had occurred after and since then that still troubled him.
His half-erect ears perked slightly as he noticed the slightest change in her demeanor in his quick glances. He felt the smallest boost to his own confidence at her altered body language. The feeling was quickly quelled as she stepped nearer to him. His ears immediately folded back upon his head as he arched his neck, his lips pulled at the corners of his mouth in clear show of anxiety.
"Well I-I'm not looking for her... I just... I don't... Y'know...?" he stumbled over his own words. As he spoke and stuttered he took a few steps backwards to match her steps forwards, briefly stumbling over his own back paws though managing to keep his balance enough to only land in a sitting position. He glanced back at his own problematic feet, silently cursing them in his mind while continuing to fumble with his words. "I-I'm just from... around here? I mean, I kind of missed it from... before..." He was finding it more and more difficult to form his thoughts into words, or even create a coherent thought.
Lifting one of his front legs in a defensive position, he turned his dark head to the side in an attempt towards appeasement. He kept his gaze lowered while only briefly meeting that of her golden eyes at any given time.
While momentarily at a loss for words, he found himself now issuing an uncontrollable amount of word vomit. "I lost my person when the world was shaking and then Navira helped me out - she helped out a lot of dogs - and then I went back home but my person wasn't there so I waited and waited and waited and waited and waited but she didn't come back so I ran away from home and then I met the Ah'mir dogs and they took me in but I had to cross a river and then I met their boss and was living in their territory but then I was feeling homesick so I came back but my person still wasn't here so then I was just going but you're here and..." he paused to take a deep breath and consider, "I probably shouldn't be here."
With his ears still folded he gave her a meek smile. His tail wagged ever so slightly on the concrete ground he sat upon. "I'm Thomas, by the way..."
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