Post by Pavane on May 30, 2012 14:47:45 GMT -5
From the chaos of the hilltop battle, many wolves fled. The dogs were left behind as the victors.
Mostly.
One dog fled.
A young dog; one who saw her brother fall, who found herself chased by wolves.
She ran.
Under a hanging willow tree, she met another dog.
Another dog, who slept beneath the shelter of branches recently empty. Now they have begun to bloom with the warmth of spring. A spring the sleeping dog was glad for; her short, multicolored coat gave little protection from the elements, and sometimes her skill wasn't enough and she only survived by luck.
But now, spring is coming, and with it comes a frightened young dog, crashing through the underbrush and the remnants of winter.
The sleeping dog wakes. She lifts her head, seeking for the source of the noise. Instead of a deer or hare, she finds a dog. A dog! Here.
She barks once, sharply, and rises.
The fleeing dog draws up short at the sound of a bark, looking around with wide-eyed worry only moments from panic. What now?
"You got the devil up behind you, girl?" asks Itou as she emerges.
"What? No. There's wolves, terrible wolves... they killed my brother. They're chasing me!" says Sally, staring back behind her and glancing anxiously to the other dog.
"I ain't seein' no wolves," says Itou as she sniffs at the breeze. "Ain't smellin' none, neither. Now, I ain't sayin' as how you're wrong, but how long you been runnin'? I reckon maybe those wolves ain't chasin' you no more."
"They... but..." Sally babbles as her panic slowly fades. She lets out a slow, panting breath, and sits down. "They're... gone."
"Reckon they are. Leastaways, you done got yourself gone from them," says Itou. She smiles to the younger dog, and steps toward her. "Now. How 'bout you tell me what's goin' on. You say them wolves got your brother... you got any other pack, or it just you?"
"I... yes, I have a pack. Jethro... well, it's Bone's pack, really, I just..."
Itou's attention is most assuredly caught. A pack, an entire pack of dogs. She hasn't had something like that in far, far too long. Canine companionship! At least... if those wolves haven't got them. "Well, come on girl! What you waitin' for?"
Sally just stares in confusion.
"We goin' back to find that pack of yours, an' you gonna be tellin' me the rest on the way! Now come on!"
The younger dog falls in beside Itou almost despite herself as the leopard hound traces back along Sally's path. Hell or high water, Itou's gonna have herself a pack again. Ain't that a wonderful thing?
Mostly.
One dog fled.
A young dog; one who saw her brother fall, who found herself chased by wolves.
She ran.
Under a hanging willow tree, she met another dog.
Another dog, who slept beneath the shelter of branches recently empty. Now they have begun to bloom with the warmth of spring. A spring the sleeping dog was glad for; her short, multicolored coat gave little protection from the elements, and sometimes her skill wasn't enough and she only survived by luck.
But now, spring is coming, and with it comes a frightened young dog, crashing through the underbrush and the remnants of winter.
The sleeping dog wakes. She lifts her head, seeking for the source of the noise. Instead of a deer or hare, she finds a dog. A dog! Here.
She barks once, sharply, and rises.
The fleeing dog draws up short at the sound of a bark, looking around with wide-eyed worry only moments from panic. What now?
"You got the devil up behind you, girl?" asks Itou as she emerges.
"What? No. There's wolves, terrible wolves... they killed my brother. They're chasing me!" says Sally, staring back behind her and glancing anxiously to the other dog.
"I ain't seein' no wolves," says Itou as she sniffs at the breeze. "Ain't smellin' none, neither. Now, I ain't sayin' as how you're wrong, but how long you been runnin'? I reckon maybe those wolves ain't chasin' you no more."
"They... but..." Sally babbles as her panic slowly fades. She lets out a slow, panting breath, and sits down. "They're... gone."
"Reckon they are. Leastaways, you done got yourself gone from them," says Itou. She smiles to the younger dog, and steps toward her. "Now. How 'bout you tell me what's goin' on. You say them wolves got your brother... you got any other pack, or it just you?"
"I... yes, I have a pack. Jethro... well, it's Bone's pack, really, I just..."
Itou's attention is most assuredly caught. A pack, an entire pack of dogs. She hasn't had something like that in far, far too long. Canine companionship! At least... if those wolves haven't got them. "Well, come on girl! What you waitin' for?"
Sally just stares in confusion.
"We goin' back to find that pack of yours, an' you gonna be tellin' me the rest on the way! Now come on!"
The younger dog falls in beside Itou almost despite herself as the leopard hound traces back along Sally's path. Hell or high water, Itou's gonna have herself a pack again. Ain't that a wonderful thing?