11-06-2009, 10:14 PM
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 Jantus had been scrounging through the city of Halifax yet again as his company took its time enjoying the sights and sounds of this new place. The truth of it was that they were lingering out of more than just idle curiosity. He had spoken with Vera about the situation, and Aivyr and the coyote couple, as well. It had been agreed that they would linger long enough to give Skoll's children time to view the place and consider a possible stay here. They wanted the Souls territory to be more than just a curiosity to them: a place where their father had died. It had been where their father (and mother, perhaps more importantly their mother) had lived, also, and had been judged as a good enough place for both of those canines to settle down. Skoll had voiced his hope that his children would not live the life he had led...fighting for what they believed in was noble, but it should not be everything; it did not make for a full life, fighting always, rarely loving, rarely tying ones' self down. Skoll hadn't settled anywhere permanently until he was nearly four. Even after that, the place he had tied himself to had turned against him out of fear of the very people he was defending them against. Nonetheless, the community of Souls had not wholly deserted him; he had found another home. Not everyone here was bad, not everyone was a coward or a rapist or a murderer. Skoll had a history here which they would need to live with, it was true, but he had as many friends as he had enemies. It was a shame Jantus had no way of knowing how many of those friends and enemies were still around. The yellow-furred warrior had mentioned a few names: Inferni, Gabriel, Kaena, Gibraltar, but Jantus hadn't heard anything about any of them, much less seen any of them while around here. He supposed he should get to that soon. It was entirely possible that the kids would decide they wanted to live here, and if so, sad as he'd be to see them go, that would be their path. Truth be told, though, he doubted they'd travel as a unit. Ambien was attached at the hip to his mother, and Trigger...well, he was going to run into trouble wherever he went, so it might not matter. Culexa was most likely, he thought. The girl got along well with his own daughters...he wanted to see her go perhaps least of all, but she was like her father, and the more people told her that, the more he figured she'd feel she belonged in this place. For a time, anyway. Still, it wasn't reconnaissance driving him to explore this city, it was the treasures that every human city was rumored to hold. Machines and alcohol were the easiest to find when he could sniff out the good ones. Occasionally, though, he'd find alcohol. When he did, he had to be alone, as sharing meant that its effects would be dampened for him. He didn't know exactly how it worked, but someone his size needed much more than was typical. Mala had tried some alongside him once, and stuck to it long enough to feel the buzz. It had come much faster to her than to him. He'd been jealous. It seemed, though, that he was in luck! He smelled cannabis. His war-time ally, Apache, had introduced him to the stuff. Not as much fun as alcohol, maybe, but it took a lot less to turn his brain, and it was too rare a commodity to pass up on the rare occasion it graced his nose. No one farmed in the Pine, so if he ever got any, it was imported by drifters. That, or Apache brought it to him. Following his nose, Jantus quickly came upon an old human structure, a garage. The smell was coming from inside, and he quickly approached the door in hopes of finding whoever possessed the herb. It was with some chagrin that he found the door locked. He was unaccustomed to human structures, though he knew that he'd have to break the door--a solid looking door at that--to get inside, and if he did so, he probably wouldn't be making friends of whomsoever was inside. At first he called out to get their attention, but after a few moments, he knelt down and found two trails leading away...one was new, the other apparently left by the person who had marked the garage. Jantus stood back up and took his chin in his hand, running the situation through his mind forward and backward. If he followed the trail, he would certainly find the person who owned the cannabis; the canine's scent was fresh enough that he couldn't be far off. Nonetheless, he didn't want to interrupt any business said hybrid might have with the second one; some people grew the herb for dealing purposes: you could trade it for meat, sometimes a yearly 'ration' for additional territory, you could buy peace and other useful things with the recreational drug. He didn't have anything to trade, and the idea of the owner being this kind of person didn't please him. Still, he wouldn't know until he tracked him down. Having reached a decision, he set off after the grower, hoping he wouldn't demand too much in return. ***** Jantus wasn't the best tracker in the world. The path had not been a straight one, and he was beginning to think this had been more a chase than a casual strolling off to discuss terms. He lost the trail several times, though he stumbled across it again periodically...sometimes it was a curse having your nose so far from the ground, but he dare not travel in alien territory out of shift. Ultimately, this poor tracking ability led him to enter the dark alleyway where the canines were amassing from the opposite side, picking up on the scent of a whole new group of wolves. Three wolves were so near to the mouth of the alley that he nearly ran into them as he entered. His had to slam his front foot down to stop himself from blundering into them. It was this sound which prompted the rearmost wolf to react. A thin metal object was held in both hands, and swung full-power into Jantus's bicep. Startled by the sudden pain, the giant snarled loudly. The wolf holding the lead pipe paused for a moment, perplexed about what he was seeing. His ears feel back and he swallowed as he realized he was looking at the chest of the wolf he'd just struck...and that it was attached to someone who was twelve inches taller, and much more importantly, twelve inches wider than he was. He offered a weak, nervous smile, and would have put the pipe down if the giant's fist hadn't at that moment caught him in the chin. The blow sent him sprawling over the pavement. At that point, things proceeded to get a little out of control. |