Alone In The Land Of The Kings [all welcome]

[Jacks]

OOC: Sorry it took me forever to respond. I have had barely any time on the computer. I really hate when my life gets busy.

BIC:

"That's fine, just proves you've got a good head on your shoulders. If you've lived out your life without a pack, imagine how strong our group would be with you in it."

Though he usually tries his hardest to withhold his happiness, the kind compliments caused his tail to wag a thousand times per second. Upon realizing the betrayal of emotion his tail had done, he regained composure and stilled his tail. The stilling of the tail was especially easy due to Don't next comment.

Optimism. I haven't had that in years. What it must be like to have the luxury of delusional positivity....... Poor pup. Hopefully his heart will harden in time.....that will save much heartache.

"It is definitely....interesting the way you look at your family's disappearance in such a....hopeful way, but....If I am not being too blunt by saying this, do you not think it a bit foolish to open yourself up to such positive thinking? In my experience, it leads to nothing but great disappointment and sadness. I do not wish to insult you, but you seem too wise to be so optimistic.... Nero added that last part gently. While he was talking, he noticed that a shiver rippled through the younger dog's body. The wind did have a bite, but something told him it wasn't solely the wind that caused the shiver.

Right Hand Man? That was certainly something no one had ever considered Nero to be. It could be interesting. He did certainly feel a certain connection with this dog....which was most definitely a first for him. He had never before felt like a dog could actually be his friend...

"I would be honored, Don." He bowed his head slightly. Before he could say anymore he noticed another dog approach. This one older than Don, but still younger than himself. This dog had a confident gait, but did not appear to be a threat. Nero also noticed that the dog had a vague similarity to Don......

"My name is Nero, sir......" He replied, lowering his head. "And yes I believe we are. Don here is a good dog. I am very pleased to have met him.......and you." He quickly added.

Even with his faded hearing, he was able to hear dogs approaching. Granted, the younger dogs were able to hear them first. As they approached, he smelt that they were two females. Evidently all of the dogs knew each other.

Must be the missing pack Don was talking about. I guess positively can work out.....once in awhile

He only heard tidbits of what they were barking on about. Honestly, after he heard the words 'Mom' from Don and 'Daddy' from the younger female, he began to space off. Joyous Happy! Happy! reunions weren't his thing. Nevertheless, when he heard the words 'people' and 'dog-man' his attention was once again regained. He had never been captured by the Dog-Man, but every self-respecting street dog knows that they are the worst type of people out there. And that is saying a lot, as all people are horrible, vile creatures.

[K R Y P T O N]

_{Look at my body, Look at my hands..}

---

Wiki lowered her haunches to the ground. Her eyes shut as she breathed in the scents of home, the sun berrating onto her back. Oh how she had missed all of this. Never again would she wander too near the border of their lands without Hunter by her side. But she couldn't have stayed, her pups had wandered off and she was panicking. Had she only been a little faster.. perhaps she could have saved them all. But the dog-man had already caged a few of them, and.. It was no use dwelling. She would never have her children back. She only hoped that they could live happily, even in the possession of the humans. Her heart went out to them, no matter where they may reside. They would always be her loving children.

"I didn't think you would, Hunter.. Noel and I.." she looked at her daughter lovingly, thinking how strong and patient she had been, how helpful, how she never deterred from their goal. "We never gave up either. She's got your stubbornness, you know." Wiki smiled, sighing softly "I missed you, darling." She said finally, touching her nose to his.

That was when the stranger caught her eye and she turned her head in his direction, looking around Hunter. "Oh.. H-Hello.. Pardon my.. rudeness." She said nervously, her ears dropping back slightly.

---

_{There's so much here that I dont understand..}

_{Dance like no one can see you.}

---

Noel flopped over on her side, rolling onto her back in the grass, kicking her paws in the air. She let her tongue roll out as she did so, enjoying the luxory of wild grass and not the rubbery, over fertilized grass of the human's back yard. "Well," she began as she rolled back onto her stomache, licking a paw.

"The others were playing hide and go seek. And so was I. But we got a little to close to the edge and this two-leg put us into these things they call cages. They're cold and hard." She lay her head on her paws, a small shiver running through her spine.

"From there they took us to this place where alot of dogs and cats too were in these cages. All crying and barking and screaming. It was loud, and I was scared. Mom and I were in the same cage, thankfully. But our brothers and sisters got taken out by other people." She ran her tongue over her lips, thinking of the events that had happened to her and her mother. She remembered fear, but also curiosity.

"A human came and took me and mom to their home. It smelled wierd, like flowers, but a million times stronger. It was assaulting. They put these bands around our necks, which are so bothersome, but mom and I have tried to get them off. It doesnt work. Two-legs talk funny, too. They thrown things and expect us to go get them. Mom said to not play with them, or react to them. So I didn't, even though the younger ones seemed interesting and fun. The grassy area behind their home had four tall walls of wood around it, and everytime me and mom tried to dig under it, they'd fill it back in. So at night, when they were eating their meals and we were outside. Little by little we dug a whole behind the expanse of trees, and a few weeks ago, we finally were able to fit under it. And we ran."

She stretched, rolling onto her side again. "I'll give the two-legs one thing, they have really comfortable sleeping spots. Even though we got yelled at if we got onto them."

---

_{And if they can see you, dance anyways.}

[CUR]

HUNTER && DON

Hunter was overcome with joy. He had run till his paws were raw, walked until he had collapsed more than once, and called out for his lost family until he lost his voice. All that time, Don had tried to calm him, reassuring him but nevertheless trying to quell the lonely desperation welling up in his father. The brindled dog knew that his son had wanted them back too, had searched under the guise that he was out 'scavenging' and had many a restless night. Still he almost wanted to call out, 'I told you so!' A superstitious part of him almost believed that if he had not tried so hard, had not suffered so long in searching for his mate and daughter, then perhaps they wouldn't have been back at all.

When Wiki pulled back her ears, looking off at something else, Hunter suddenly remembered their guests. How could he have forgotten? Sheepishly, he grinned a little at Nero, whom his son kept calling Duro for some reason. "Say there Nero, it seems we've forgotten about you. Ehh, well this is my mate and pups whom we have been looking for since the big storm."

Don was still absorbed in conversation with Noel. She had really lived with the two legs? And knew about horrible cold places where dogs cried and cried till someone took them away to put bands on their necks and trap them? It sounded terrible.

Twitch.

"So they really had you guys! I couldn't imagine, I am so glad you're back. And what of the two leg's sleeping spots? I saw one once who smelled of flowers, even from upwind, but the only one I ever saw sleeping had a musky smell. He was up in a tree watching the deer and just drifted off, nesting like a bird." Don had no idea he was referring to hunters, while Noel and his Mom had been staying with normal house-people, but he could only imagine being stuck up a tree with a bunch of people, like some strange sort of flock.

[Jacks]

OOC: Ahh crap sorry. His name is Duro not Nero. I used to play a character called Nero. I must not have been paying attention when I was typing that.

BIC:

Duro was very bemused by the look on Hunter's face as he watched his mate. This dog's demeanor seemed to change completely now that she was around. Duro could not help but wonder if he had missed out terribly in that part of life. Sure, there were females in his past....but he never stuck around. Never had the desire to. Yet, as he watched Hunter and his mate, something inside him stirred a bit. Maybe a mate wouldn't have been so bad......

Ah, well its too late now, you old coot.

He was knocked out of his thoughts when Hunter spoke to him.
Yes, hello. My name is Duro, he bowed his head towards the older female. I am so glad you and your daughter have found your way back to your family. And escaped those nasty humans. That last sentence came out in a growl.

Though Duro was trying to keep out of this happy family moment, he could not help but listen in on the younger female's story. Their ordeal sounded truly horrendous. He had heard similar stories on the streets before, but they never ceased to disgust him. Humans were such vile creatures, according to Duro. Living in both the city and country throughout his lifetime, Duro had seen many people of all shapes and sizes. Worse yet, he had seen dogs accompanying people, attached to strange ropes that prevented them from running. Even more strange, many of the dogs did not seem to mind the ropes. They trotted happily beside the humans!

[CUR]

HUNTER && DON

OOC;; it's cool I felt bad, thought I read his name wrong or something in my other posts ^.^ Also, sorry this post sucks.

BIC;;
Hunter was watching Duro, hoping to see a hint of how the other dog felt, being around all of these strangers who knew one another. It must be hard, being all alone in a crowd. All of them were close together and yet they were deeply intrenched in their own stories- trading tales with one another before switching to conversations with the others among them.

Don was also stretching beside his sister, feeling the soft tickle of the grass against his back, the sun warmed earth heating his fur. His excited breath came in ragged pants, tongue hanging out and leaving wet spots against the side of his face. It was moments like this that really stuck in your memory, following you right through your life and into the grave. He had never thought he'd see her again, or his mother for that matter and here they both were within feet of him. It was so perfect, so amazing that he could hardly believe that this was really his life.

He looked over and saw his father more joyous than he'd been in weeks- a genuine smile gracing his face with a kindness that had been all too rare in recent days. His tail wagged in wide, sweeping arcs and the two of them looked at each other, their eyes meeting for just a moment before they broke contact, bringing themselves back into the reunion.

Don jumped up, running to his mother now, ready to find out all about their time apart. "Mom is it true? You guys really got stuck and those things around your necks, do they hurt? I can't believe that stuff, and do people really live with cats instead of chasing them like you're supposed to?" His words came out in a rush, tumbling over one another until they barely made any sense, even to him. He wanted to imagine what their lives were like, to know them not only as they were with him, but as they were on their own as well. He wanted their words to paint a picture of what he had never seen, of something he couldn't even imagine.