Ah'mir
Ele'cannara
Played by Collie
7 MOS
26"70LBS
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
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Post by Kahru'hu on May 13, 2023 4:04:12 GMT
Ah'mir territory was a wild place far away from the human ruins on the other side of the river. There were mountains and streams, enormous trees, fish, birds, deer and antelope. If there was any place in Kah'ren that had seemingly wiped away almost any trace of humanity, it was River Forest. Even still, there were tiny slivers here and there, slices of fences or small human trinkets glittering beneath the pine needles on the forest floor. Just little things, remnants of one world swallowed by another.
Kahru had been too young to remember any of the human stuff himself. He had been old enough to remember the building that had nearly buried him, but Castor had pulled him out of the rubble and swept him away to the forest at such a young age...River Forest was all he really knew. In this way he'd grown up wild, untouched almost entirely by the influences of Man. He had grown up racing through the forest with his friends, learning to hunt and track and duck between thick trees - The stories of strays scavenging off of human homes were just that - Stories.
This is exactly where he was today...racing happily through the undergrowth, ducking around trees, and having a grand time chasing small animals into their holes without a care in the world. He wasn't exactly hungry. He just wanted to explore.
"Hurry up, u'maru!" He called teasingly to the canna behind him. He didn't stop for them though. He kept his nose to the ground, turning over leaves and rocks until a strange something made him slow down. It was a tall slab of flat, wooden boards, spikes that stuck straight up and blocked the path that the big puppy had been snuffling along. It ran in either direction for quite a while before stopping abruptly like most human things did these days. A finks, he thought he remembered Castor calling it. A wooden barrier that would trap pets in so that they couldn't explore freely.
"Whoa, come look at this thing." He barked back to his companion. If they'd caught up to hear him, he didn't know. He was already bopping along like the gigantic, curious puppy he was, following the finks to see where it led.
Suddenly, up ahead, he spotted something up ahead - A bright red something sitting propped up against the wooden slabs. With no regard for his own safety, Kahru bounded over to give the thing a good sniff - He could see now that it had a kind of face. White eyes, a big open mouth, and red fur. A corpse of some kind? He'd never been on a hunt for an animal like this before.
As he thrust his nose into the red corpse to smell it, the thing suddenly lurched and began to gurgle out a dying, guttural groan that made poor Kahru stumble backwards with a startled cry of his own. The creature fell over onto its face and thrashed on the ground, still groaning in a terribly unnatural way.
"H-help!" Kahru yiped like a tiny puppy, scampering for the safety of the undergrowth. He dove to safety, only thinking at the last minute that he should warn his clanmate about this horrible red demon. "Look out!" He shouted. "There's a monster!"
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2023 5:06:11 GMT
Why had he thought this would be a good idea? Thomas had had no clue just how fast the puppy could move. But it was good for him to get out and stretch his legs a bit.
The dark shepherd had not been the most sociable canine amongst the Ah'mir clan. If he were being honest with himself he would note that most of the member intimidated him. Hassi had been less than personable, Damien and Akoda both towered over him with the latter being quite territorial. To be fair, he had ventured too close to the newborn pups uninvited. As far as some of these clan dogs were concerned he was still practically a stranger. But the pup, Kahru, had been friendly enough. Pups usually were.
It was strange to see remnants of human objects littering the forest floor. Almost like the inklings of memories poking at the edge of one's mind but leaving them unable to fully grasp the thought.
Just when the mutt had figured his companion was lost he heard the pup's voice call out from a short distance away. Racing towards the sound, he slowed to a trot as the agouti figure came into view. The pup seemed fully unable to keep still for even a moment as the burned orange eyes of the shepherd followed his path. The sights of the human objects sent a chill up Thomas's spine as a sense of uncanniness washed over him. Folding his ears flat upon his head he let out a soft whine. He did not like this.
Entranced by the bits and bobbles of human artifacts, the canine would have remained frozen in his tracks if not for the cry of Kahru.
Ears erect and chest puffed, Thomas bounded a few leaps forward to find the offender. He wasn't much of a fighter but he wasn't about to let something pick on the pup. There was no sign of a threat worn upon the mutt's face, only feigned confidence. His black tail stood straight up, waving behind him like a flag as he approached.
"Wh-what monster? Where is it?" he asked, glancing around before noting the stuffed creature upon the ground. His head tilted in curiosity. There was a familiarity to this object. Slowly the realization and recognition set in. His tail began wagging in slow, wide archs and his muzzle was spread in a grin. "Hey! I know this guy!" he exclaimed as he trotted over to the toy in an almost carefree fashion.
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Ah'mir
Ele'cannara
Played by Collie
7 MOS
26"70LBS
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
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Post by Kahru'hu on May 25, 2023 22:08:06 GMT
Kahru's new friend Thomas was about to be eaten, he just knew it. Or at least bitten really really hard. That animal had a HUGE mouth on it. He watched through the bushes in dismay as the older canna approached that thing. Thomas was a lot braver than he would have ever imagined. Except...he wasn't trying to fight it at all. The monster stayed right there groaning and wiggling in the leaves while Thomas stood over it well within reach of having one of his legs chomped. But it never once tried to lunge.
"Hey! I know this guy!" Thomas called out, making Kahru poke his head out of his hiding spot with eyes as wide as a thudu's.
"You do?" He said, staring down at the matted red animal suspiciously. "Well, what is it? Does it bite? It sounds really sick or something." The big pup exclaimed, creeping cautiously from the bushes to stand a short distance behind his friend. He still didn't feel very comfortable getting a closer look at the thing quite yet.
Being young, his life experiences were still pretty limited, but he could clearly remember that time he'd found a thudu thrashing around near the river like that one time. Castor had instructed him not to touch it, and certainly not to try to eat it because it would make him very sick. Thomas didn't seem terribly concerned since he knew the animal, but Castor's lecture hung between Kahru's ears with a warning as clear as any bared fangs. Stay back.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2023 7:11:14 GMT
Thomas cocked his head as he stared at the red creature that wiggled sadly upon the ground, groans and gurgles escaping its throat as if it were dying a slow and painful death. His ears turned towards the voice of the pup, but his face did not follow. No, his eyes were locked on this "monster." "Yeah..." he said, his voice trailing as he reconsidered. "I mean, I don't think it bites... it shouldn't!"
It sure was acting strange, though. Thomas had to admit - silently, to himself - that this thing was not alright. Taking a tentative step towards it he immediately doubled back, leaping out of its way as it seemed to lunge at him. His head was held high, his face turned to the side in an appeasing stance. He held his front, right paw up as if unsure if he should place it down and risk the creature's wrath again. His tail had drooped but refused to curl up underneath his body as a sign of fear, instead hanging limply behind him. His nose twitched as he leaned forward a bit closer yet refused to move his paws.
An idea tickled at his mind. A memory repressed from what felt like a lifetime ago. There were small humans and there was the red thing. It made high pitched noises and danced, enticing the shepherd to play with it. But when he had played he had been struck by sharp words. He had never been physically assaulted, but the verbal disapproval had always served as enough of a punishment. With a whine he glanced back at Kahru before focusing solely on the abomination that lay before him. "I... I'm not supposed to touch that."
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Ah'mir
Ele'cannara
Played by Collie
7 MOS
26"70LBS
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
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Post by Kahru'hu on Jun 4, 2023 16:57:31 GMT
Thomas wasn't helping quell Kahru's fears of the little monster. His various commentary about it was contradictory and confusing and only served to make the big pup plant his feet even harder into the forest floor. He wasn't a skittish pup by an means, but he still had a strong preservation instinct repelling him from the creature. It just wasn't natural. And even if it was...well. It wasn't very healthy.
Suddenly Thomas leaped back, causing Kahru to throw himself backwards into the bushes once more. This time he stayed there, just out of view of both his clanmate and the little red devil. For a while there was only silence and the occasional gurgle of the beast. And then, much to Kahru's relief, he heard Thomas speak again on the other side of the bushes. He wouldn't have to go rescue Thomas after all. Because...he totally would have if it had come to that.
The pup poked his nose out of his hiding place and peeked through dense leaf cover at Thomas as he spoke.
"Yeah, me neither." He declared, misunderstanding Thomas's nervousness. "Castor says that we shouldn't touch sick lout because it could make everybody in the clan sick if we brought it home. Only...I don't think I'd want to eat one of those anyway. Ever. What's it called, Thomas? Are there more of 'em out here? I never seen any animal like that before in my whole life and I kind of really don't like it."
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2023 18:14:14 GMT
Nodding his head in agreement to Kahru's words, he turned his head and body to face his companion as he responded. "Yeah, I mean, they're not too good to eat," he stated, misunderstanding what the agouti pup was telling him and instead referring to how toys were filled with stuffing. They were very fun to rip and tear apart, but the insides didn't taste too great. They weren't at all like what was provided in the lout pile within the greenhouse. That stuff was tasty! Thomas had never known that squirrels or rabbits were filled with anything but the soft, foamy stuffing of his toys he had demolished in his old home. Fun to chase and probably just as fun to rip apart, sure. But who could have expected them to taste so good, too?!
He tilted his head at the follow-up question regarding the name and number of these toys out and about. Thinking on it, he had heard this creature speak before with the small humans from the light box. It had a shrill voice similar to some of the bits coming out of this monstrosity before them's mouth. "Uhm... hm..." he vocalized as the thoughts fluttered through him. "I think.... I think 'Umu'? 'Emu,' maybe?" His head tilted to the other side as he considered, sending his ears flopping with the force of his movement. "And, yeah, I think so," He paused briefly to look at the pup, taking in his expression. He quickly added, "But... but only in the pell'galu!"
He had not considered the way his words may come across. Honestly, he was just proud of himself for using a canna word as he was struggling to learn some of the language that had never applied to him before. It did not occur to him that he had just told his small friend that these abominations lived in clan bases.
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