Why'o
Li'canna
Played by Collie
3 YO
26"60LBS
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
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Post by Li'Navira'e Hu'grair on Jan 22, 2023 5:40:39 GMT
There was something very wrong. At first, Navira couldn't quite figure out what was making her feel so nervous. She knew that the other dogs clustered behind her were experiencing the same thing. Many of them didn't know one another at all, yet they walked close together without a sound, pausing every great now and again to sniff the air cautiously. It was only when someone tripped on a broken curb and grunted in pain that it finally struck the mottled dog all at once what was making her feel so...wrong. Aside from the clicking of their own toenails against pavement and the occasional sweep of wind between the houses, there wasn't a sound to be heard. No humans. No dogs. No cars. The hum and buzz that usually murmured from within houses was completely absent. Eventually their cautious tread through the shadows and back-alleys evolved into walking blatantly through open streets. Not a single soul called out to stop them. Navira paused and raised her nose to the air. She found that her hackles were rising under the increasing realization that life had seemingly just...stopped. Where was everyone? She could smell life, but it was all an older scent that simply said that human and canna had passed through this area days before, perhaps even earlier today. With a snort, she shook her coat and forced her hackles back down. "Come on, this way." She muttered, leading the clans and stragglers along once more. Why'o base wasn't far. Her hope was that they would dive deeper into a territory where she knew that dogs would certainly emerge to call out intruders, or at the very least start calling out for help. Many clan-mates walked in and out of this land - And she wanted to know that they had survived that Bark. At some point though, Navira realized with bewilderment that her territory was also all wrong. Most buildings and landmarks were in their proper places. Others had seemingly vanished. Patches of thick trees spilled in between houses that once bragged manicured, flat green lawns. One house that Navira remembered visiting and raiding its garbage bins days before was now crumbled and had a large oak growing straight through the broken roof. It was at this point that Navira dug her heels in and took a long pause to calm herself before speaking to her followers. "Something is really wrong." She said. She fumbled for her words for a while longer, trying to find a way to say them without sounding completely insane. "This isn't...there weren't trees here before. Not like this." She turned to find her own clan-mates faces in the crowd, hoping desperately to meet the eyes of another scared Why'o that knew what she was talking about. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2023 19:39:38 GMT
Maverick certainly felt like a stranger here. Probably unlike most of the dogs, he was not from Kah'ren. He was taken to this town against his will and thrown into the shelter. Perhaps it was just nerves from the earthquake, but leading up until now, Maverick felt on edge and kept himself quiet. He'd been following behind this ragtag group of survivors since the shelter fell. There was still dried blood on the side of his face where debris from the disaster had cut him. Aside from that, his body was more or less unscathed. But he wasn't completely sure of what to make of his new company. He went with them because he had no other plan for the moment, but he didn't necessarily know if he should like em or trust them yet.
The territory itself was unfamiliar to him as well, so of course he would not realize that things had indeed changed in this strange little town of Kah'ren. But even he would eventually grow aware of its uncanny silence and lack of townies. In the past, whenever he and his late owner had driven up to neighboring towns before, he remembered there had always been a bustle of activity; humans talking, or the sound of cars roaring on the pavement. Even at the depressing Kah'ren shelter he sometimes got a glimpse of active town life when they let him go outside. But now there was nothing. It must be because of the earthquake, he thought.
After a while, the group's "leader" seemed to stop suddenly, and her voice reached his ears. "Something is really wrong", she said. "This isn't...there weren't trees here before. Not like this." He picked up an impression that the dog in charge seemed less sure of herself now, and Maverick figured she must be confused, or maybe lost. Things just seemed different without humans around, was all. "It's wrong because there ain't nobody here." He said with a gruff bark, padding closer from behind the group. He might as well address the dog-catcher in the room. If there were no cars, no noises, and no scents, it had to only mean one thing. It was obvious. "Looks like all the humans ran away. Must've got scared off by the earthquake."
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Why'o
Li'canna
Played by Collie
3 YO
26"60LBS
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
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Post by Li'Navira'e Hu'grair on Jan 25, 2023 3:27:43 GMT
"No, no it's more than that. I-I mean yes, the humans are all gone and that's really weird, but..." Navira stammered, dropping her head and shaking it hard. A dull ache had begun in her forehead, surely from the stress of what she was experiencing right now. The whole world had turned upside down in a few short hours. It didn't make any sense. "It's more than that. The Why'o repeated firmly, finally finding her words. She whipped around hard and bounded forward a few steps, pointing sharply with her muzzle at the dilapidated house with the tree growing through the roof. "There."
"I was here only days ago. There were humans living inside of that house. I stole from them. I pushed their cans over and -" Her breath caught sharply and she stood up straight, ears perked, eyes scanning the once familiar streets that ran between the houses. "The can!" She exclaimed, and then with a sharp flick of her tail she bounded away, calling out a small, instinctive Why'o trill to get the others to follow her. She bee-lined straight for a big green bin that had fallen onto its side in front of the broken house. When she reached it, she peeked hopefully past the cracked lid and then yelped with excitement. It was full of all manner of white plastic bags, all full of the scents of fresh food and other human discards.
"Here, look!" She called out to her followers. "It's still full. Empty houses never have things inside. The humans bring them from the house. I was here before I got Snagged. The humans that lived here caught me pushing their can over and chased me away." There was a deep, thoughtful pause as the speckled dog tried again to comprehend what was happening. She rolled it over and over again in her mind but couldn't make any sense of it.
"But now...they're gone. They're gone and there's big trees growing up inside of their houses. Even if they ran away from the earthquake, it doesn't make sense." And then her excitement was blown away again and replaced with that cold, foreboding fear that had begun to creep in earlier. Her tail drooped. "I don't get it."
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2023 20:55:17 GMT
Maverick looked at the dog as she insisted that it was more than just the absence of humans. Could he be wrong? But it was absurd to think that this tree nonsense was real. There could still be the possibility that she was mistaken. But, the catahoula stayed quiet. Because in the back of his mind...he knew things were strange, too.
"I suppose..." He muttered and his words trailed off as he saw the dappled she-dog further investigate their surroundings. As he watched her, he was reminded that to this group of dogs, most likely, this town was their home. He wondered what was he even doing here, traveling with them. He didn't have to go along. He could head back to the farm, maybe see if there was anything left for him there. After all, he thought his old life was over from the moment he came to this town. If the shelter hadn't fell...would he ever had gotten the chance to be free like this?
When he saw the leader go over to the garbage bin, he decided now was not the best time to be thinking too hard. He just needed to focus on what was happening and make some decisions later. Pushing his internal thoughts aside, he slowly padded after the dog as she talked. He bent down to sniff an empty wrapper that had fallen from the can, and after a moment, he spoke.
"I think you're right." He reluctantly agreed with her. "I've never seen trees pushin' up out of houses like that. Unless things work differently around here, trees don't just grow overnight..." He had noticed the other dog's tail lower and he added, more lightly, "Well, I suppose thinking about it ain't gonna change nothing. Let's keep searching. Where are we going, anyway? You seem to know this area pretty well." |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2023 22:28:05 GMT
Saru, far too busy sniffing loudly at the earth as he searched for a quick meal, didn't seem the least bit bothered by the strangeness of the situation. He paused, but not to evaluate his clan-mate's worries, but because he heard a sound and watched a squirrel quickly rush away from them. Saru was often labeled "unaccountable". Perhaps this was true.
His large frame gave a shake that shook him so violently he toppled against the side of the homestead. The large slam definitely startled the birds nearby as they flew into the air in a frenzy. His tall ears twitched backwards, but he didn't appear to be terribly embarrassed. "Oops." He popped the word before continuing to sniff the clay.
He perked his ears towards Navira as she mentioned the fact there was still plenty of supplies in the house. He tilted his head at her, "that's good... Right?" He looked between his two clan-mates.
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Why'o
Li'canna
Played by Collie
3 YO
26"60LBS
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
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Post by Li'Navira'e Hu'grair on Feb 20, 2023 5:10:45 GMT
"LEAD ME NOT INTO TEMPTATION...
OH,WHO AM I KIDDING! FOLLOW ME!
I KNOW A SHORTCUT!"
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Navira was suddenly very eager to get back home. She had a bad feeling that just could not be pinned down into simple words. With a great shake from nose to tail she set off, barking for the others once again to follow her. She moved faster now, not stopping fully when something else strange appeared along the way - A series of bushes breaking up through a freshly paved street here or an empty overgrown school lot over there. Instead she pushed onward and answered her companions while she walked.
"No, trees don't do that. I guess it could be good...but it's not supposed to happen. It's impossible." She said in response to Maverick and Saru in the same breath. "And besides, there should be packs of humans staring at it just like we did. I haven't seen a single human. They're usually everywhere. And uh...we're going to go to my clan base and see if anyone there can help us figure out what happened."
She stopped briefly as they neared Why'o base, wavering for a moment on whether this was a terrible idea. The prison could now be seen looming in the distance, standing as strong as ever even after that terrible earthquake. Her chief wasn't going to like this. Her general even less. But something was terribly wrong and she needed to get home now to figure it all out...clan leaders or no clan leaders. In her mind, it was decided then and there. She'd ask forgiveness later. With a great sigh she plowed on, ready to face the metaphorical music when she finally found her clan.
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