ooc: i do love 30 seconds to mars c:
oops, wrong account will fix that in my next post

The winter was very, very cold.


Caillen didn't like it much. It stung his eyes, froze in his lungs till every inhale felt like breathing through water. But his last name was Winters - Mama said that was because winter, though often a difficult path for many to tread, was beautiful and precious like any other season. And strong, too - strong enough to make the whole wide world sleep for many moons. He considered that now, watching as lazy bits of snow fluttered to the ground to join the masses in a great blanket of white. It had been snowing for almost a week, and every day since the first snowfall, he had come out to this very tree to wait.


And wait. And wait.


Mama had left early today. She said that there were people who needed her help, better things she could be doing than waiting for a ray of sunlight that might never arrive. But he had seen the dismay, the worry, that had stained her glorious emerald eyes as she kissed him on the head and disappeared back into the hollow white. Caillen was more stubborn than that - Mr Dai would come, he knew it. And if he waited, just as patiently as he was, then Mr Dai would come soon. He couldn't be weak and wander back to the hotel, just 'cause he was cold; Mama had fretted over his sniffles when he'd arrived home late yesterday eve, muttering about the 'vagrant health issues' that came with his waiting. But it didn't matter, because she didn't understand as the pup did that sometimes people got held up, and sometimes promises just took a little while to fulfill.


He'd made a promise to protect his Mama, but she still hurt. He could hear her crying sometimes, late at night when she thought he was asleep, and knew that his promise was going to be one of those ones that stretched too.


Eyes the color of frosted water, glacial blue but round and merry as an owlet's, watched the falling crystalline shapes. One of them landed on his nose - The little wolf-dog scrunched up his face and sneezed softly, batting one paw at his cold maw. The next snowflake became an enemy - The boy crouched low, his butt and fluffy tail high in the air, and pounced on it. A drift of snow kicked up about his little frame and Caillen emerged spluttering crossly, shooting a dirty look at the sky before he settled back down. Too-large paws (Mama said he would grow into them, but sometimes Caillen doubted it) tugged at the large, thick scarf about his neck, and the little canine snuggled into it. It was old, but smelt like home, and was very warm. The gray checkered patterns amused him.


His eyes were just closing, mind just drifting off to doze, when a sound made his one erect ear flip forward. The other, permanently floppy, tried to do likewise; It merely achieved in giving him a charmingly lopsided look. The sound grew louder, and the puppy roused, his clear watery eyes lifting slightly as the boy lifted himself to a sit. Head tilted to the side, his little brow creased, as the sound became music and the music became words.


For a moment, he was nervous. Mama said not to talk to strangers, even ones that sang. She said that strangers stole away little boys from their mama's, and made them do all sorts of chores - Caillen didn't want that! But the singer was almost upon him now, so the little boy bounded abo0ut and hid behind the trunk of the tree. His body shivered anxiously, those round eyes widening even more as they darted too and fro, seeking the approach of the voice.


A figure appeared. It held something large in it's hands, wore something thick on it's shoulders. But it's pelt was the color of sunlight on a fine day, and it's voice as familiar and welcome as those of the birds that sang for summer. The little Winters pup, his slate-blue pelt and shock of red/gold hair a blur, launched from behind the tree and bounded straight towards the figure.


" MR DAI!"



Speak think walk
Table © James, courtesy of Hannah

ooc talk; James made this sexy table <3
Me too. 30stm makes my world spin. <3 SSWM: 571

CRASH,CRASH, BURN!
Let it ALL BURN!

Daisuke knew that this was the right tree. He also could smell the presence of another male. He was confused as to where he was though, simply because the male was present, but his body seriously was not there. The male stopped strumming his guitar for a moment, and he ran his hand through his spikey hair. He cocked his head as he peeked around the tree, and then unexpectedly, a body flew out at him! Daisuke automatically jumped back a few paces, out of instinct before he realized that he was looking at the grayish-blue and tan and white pelt of his little friend, Caillen Winters. The boy too called out to him, and Daisuke let a wide smile be portrayed on his lips. It would seem that all the worries of Snake being the the war had melted away, simply because he was now in the company of someone whom was carefree of such things. He knew that Caillen was only concerned about his mother, and not much more. There was nothing else for the little male to be worried about though. Daisuke planned on keeping it this way. Caillen didn't need to worry about Daisuke, and so Daisuke put on a mask, of excitement and happiness. His song probably would not be repeated to the male either. Simply because the song was for Snake, and the song reminded him of his friend.

"Well if it isn't my little friend, Caillen Winters!" the male replied to the little one, bending down to where he was eye level with the other male. A smile still adorned his lips, and his audits were pricked towards his friend. "Let me start by saying that I am extremely sorry that I am so late. I found myself very very far away on an epic adventure, and I have been trying to get here as fast as I could!" the male bullshitted out a lie so the male didn't think that he forgot, or really just didn't bring himself to be there when he was supposed to. Being on the beach was hard for him and the beach was just one of those places that he couldn't be in winter because of the urge to swim. He was already fighting the urge to just leave his guitar against the tree and jump into a icy ocean depths. He didn't though, instead, he just sat there, knelt in the snow, infront of his friend. The male took his guitar and laid it in the snow beside him and then held his arms out to hug the boy.

"Oh, and I have a gift for you as well! You and your mother. Though...I don't see her here.." the male spoke, looking around for the woman for a second before he reached into the pocket of his plaid jeans and took out two necklaces. Both woven from twine, though both of them were knotted differently, and one had a blue shell on it, and the other having the green circle coin that his mother had found and given to him to put on a necklace. He showed the boy both of them, though he made an emphasis on the one with the blue shell. "This one is yours. It's a necklace. Do you like it? I made it for you." he spoke to the male, his head cocking lightly to the boy, hoping he would like the necklace.

"speech"

ooc: sorry for the wait, love :c

When his own eyes finally met those of the young man, just a few shades deeper and more mellow than that of Caillen's hue, the little pup's excited bark stilled in his throat. For a moment, just a split moment, Daisuke had seemed... Old. Old like his mama was old, not in body but in mind. He could recognize those shadows that were the predecessor of deep worry, saw them permanently in the beautiful emerald of his mother's hue often enough. But it took only a moment, a second, for those shadows to be drawn away and masked from the light of Caillen's stilled smile. And in the instant gratitude of the moment, the youth quickly forgot what he had seen and noted, and was overcome once more with childish joy.


The older male's voice spurned a vigorous tail-wag from the slate, ivory and tan whelp, who's whole body seemed to vibrate with the excess energy of mirth and youth. His bonds to the golden-pelted idol were quickly renewed as Cai breathed deep of his scent, the smell of salt air and freedom. When Dai spoke again he had crouched to near eye-level with the boy, making them co-conspirators as his voice deepened with the easy lie.


" An e-e-epic adventure? Woooaah... Mama NEVER lets me have those."


His voice, though not quite as accented as Alaine's, still held note of that strange band of heritage hidden fast within the collie-woman's past. Her ice-blue eyes were brimming with awe and a tinge of jealous, wondering with avid imagination of all the sorts of journeys Daisuke would have been up to to keep him away from this very important meeting. He wriggled impatiently as the golden male fondly set aside a rather large and oddly-shaped wooden crate, with horse-hairs all strung every which way. Caillen peered at it curiously a moment, but his attention span was still fixated on the arrival of his friend. The wooden thing would have to come later.


At the next string of speech, Caillen grinned ecstatically, his too-large paws flopping up little sprays of snow as they danced, unable to remain still. As Daisuke rummaged through his belongings, the boy let loose a stifled whine of excitement, his owlish gaze peering over the golden hands to try and see what they were retrieving. AT the note on his mother, the whelp stilled for a moment, that strangely mature look of concern crossing his 4-month-old features before being brushed away with an absent shrug.


" Mama said she was too busy to wait for 'a ray of sunshine that might not come'. I think she was worried about you, Mr Dai, but she wouldn't say so. She's strange like that." Not infront of me, he thought with a small pout. Mama never speaks her heart infront of me.


The trinket was displayed to him with a flourish, and for once the young boy seemed truly speechless, his dreamer's eyes focused intently on the blue shell that twirled slowly between Dai's fingers. It was really, really beautiful, and not even silly or girly like most necklaces were. 'Cause it wasn't just a necklace, he realized with a surge of pride, it was a sign. It meant that he was special. Nodding wordlessly, the slate wolf-dog pup wriggled forward to slip the twine over his head, felt the shell nestle cool and pure against his heart. Like a young man at his initiation, Caillen stayed solemnly quiet for a moment, before breaking into a broad grin.


" This is the b-b-best present EVER."


The ground announcement was only slightly diminished by his permanent stutter. Mama hoped that he would grow out of it, and she always worried that other pups picked on him for his speech disability, but Caillen told her that they didn't. They did, of course, but he would keep it a secret if it was one less shadow in Alaine's eyes. Puffing his chest out like a proud pigeon, Caillen strutted forwards, before bursting into laughter at himself. He flopped down on his belly in the snow, and peered up at the golden male from beneath unruly red-gold locks.


" I'm sorry I d-d-don't have a gift for you, Mr Dai," For a moment, his voice sounded small and sad. Mama said that he was a gift in itself, but he didn't believe it much, " Do you think that you c-c-could take me on an ep... An ep... An ep-pic adventure someday?"



Speak think walk
Table © James, courtesy of Hannah

ooc talk; James made this sexy table <3
It's cool. SSWM: 708

I've been thinking of everything
I used to want to be
I've been thinking of everything
Of me, of you and me

Daisuke had noticed something as soon as the male spoke. A studder. The boy had studdered the same when he a first met him, but he figured it was just a puppy thing, and that the boy was just nervous because of the circumstances. It seemed like the frog stayed in the boy's voice. Daisuke ignored it the best he could. He boy probably got rap for it all the time. Daisuke knew how being picked on was, and it was one of the more...annoying things in life that had happened to him. Was this maybe why Alaine wanted Daisuke to teach her son? Not that it really mattered, Caillen was a cool little kid, and Daisuke would be glad to hang out with the little boy, and have epic adventures with him. "Yeah! It was an awesome epic adventure might I add." the male spoke, smiling widely, as if he wanted the boy to persist so he would be able to make up a story about how he had to get here from his epic adventure that in all reality, didn't really happen. Daisuke loved to tell stories. "It was probably the most epic!" the male spoke, his voice vibrating with excitement. "Momma probably doesn't let you go because---" the male started, but his head turned the side, audits flicking towards something unknown, and then he turned his head back. It was a leaf falling to the ground. One of the random moments of him being ADD. " You're young. And innocent.. " the male continued to speak as he looked at his friend.

Caillen was quick to talk about his mother, and how she might have worried about him. " Awh, she don't need to worries about little ol' Daisuke! You see, I only got a few scars on me." the male spoke to the younger boy, his hand flapping lightly before he chuckled lightly to the boy. The boy had also responded favorably to the gift that Daisuke bore. Daisuke smiled genuinely to the boy, very very glad that the boy had approved. Daisuke's tail wagged lightly to the male as he made a big deal over it. It was definitely different seeing the excitement that the boy had, simply because he had been so used to the lack of a reaction of his best friend, his Slithering Little Snake. The male smiled lightly to the other, though the boy started to apologizing about not having a gift for him. Daisuke let out a 'pfft' noise before he chuckled. "What the hell do you think this is? You waited for me here, and that would have been your gift to me. Plus, I like to be lightweight, so gifts aren't necessary." the male insisted, telling the boy that he was more than enough of a gift than anything else the boy could have thought of to give to him.

Caillen then asked if Daisuke could take him on an epic adventure. Daisuke bit his lip ring before he let out a small hum pass his lips. "How about we go on an epic adventure now? I mean, mom will never know that we went on an epic adventure, so she can't say nothing about itttt..." the male spoke, his maw curving in a devious grin. How ever said that Daisuke would not take the boy an an adventure? Daisuke could never even think of not going on an adventure anyways. The boy rubbed his hands together before he looked to the south. It caused him to turn around. " You been to Halifax at all? There's a whole bunch of treasures there..." the male spoke before he looked at his little feline friend whom had finally showed himself to the boy. Schwarz had approached, and went between Daisuke's legs, unsure of the puppy for a minute. He mewed at the pup and then his watermelon orbs went up to Daisuke, his voice letting out another mew to the golden male. "Oh, Caillen. This is Schwarz, and Schwarz, this is Caillen. I found Schwarz in Halifax on one of my many adventures." the male introduced the two to each other and held his smile on his face as he also explained where he had found the feline.

"speech"

ooc: thanks for being patient <3

At his prompt, Caillen managed a gasp of awe, his owlish eyes widening e'er more to stare up with pure admiration at the golden face that hovered a few inches above his own. And awesome epic adventure sounded like pure bliss to a youth, ESPECIALLY to one with an incredibly over-bearing mother, and Caillen was absolutely no exception. With a delighted bark the boy allowed all thoughts of inventive images to rush through his head - Daisuke braving the elements, Daisuke fighting off really scary monsters, Daisuke meeting other weird wolves... Question bubbled in his throat like steam from a pot, and the slate boy grinned broadly, trying desperately not to explode with the wanting of such freedom.


Such freedom! Daisuke had it all, Caillen thought briefly. He wanted to be just like Daisuke when he grew up; No silly pack, no silly girls, no silly belonging or chores or 'don't do that's...


Sucked up with the golden male's voice, the boy nodded grimly to his words about why Alaine probably would let him go a'sploring. Mama was always saying stuff like that - he was too little, it was too dangerous, she just didn't want him getting hurt. Well, someday he wouldn't be little no more, he'd be big and strong like Mr Dai. And then he'd show Mama, alright!


Ice-blue eyes widened at the male pointed to his scars, deemed 'only a few' though they were mighty impressive to Cai. Wanting to seem mature, the pup nodded again, and even managed a grimace (though his imagination was running riot on the inside). His chest swelled back up as Daisuke repeated what his mother had said about him being a present, because of Daisuke said it, then it MUST be true! Mama on the other hand was always coddling him like a little baby, which he totally wasn't, because he was very nearly a man. Just because he hadn't shifted forms yet didn't make him a baby! A few of the other pups had already gained that skill, but Cai struggled behind in that aspect. He didn't have the concentration or the motivation to put enough effort into the change, and as such, it simply never happened. Though having hands would be cool, especially when you could use them to carry stuff like the weird wooden box and it's funny horse-hair strings.


To the golden man's next words, though, all this thought simply fell away.


" You mean it? You r-r-really mean it?!" Leaping up in the air, the boy paused to quickly look over his shoulder back towards the hotel (as if Alaine would magically appear at the suggestion), before continuing, " I mean, that w-w-would be really cool, if you mean it. I've never EVER been to Halli-facks, though sometimes some of the wolves that stay with me 'n Mama in the Hotel mention it a bit. But they don't s-s-say much around me, either..."


Silly adults in their adult worlds, to busy to pay any attention to a stifled and adventure-starved boy.


Distracted again by the golden male's quick input, Caillen peered suspiciously at the creature that had come to weave around the older male's ankles, though his erect ear flitted up in surprise when the feline's strange eyes lifted to his own. Assured that the thing was dangerous, the puppy leaned forward to sniff at it, before shooting another apprehensive glance back up at Daisuke.


" Does it t-t-talk?" He asked bluntly, before realizing that if it did, he was being aweful rude, " Hello, Schwarz. My name is Caillen Winters!"



Speak think walk
Table © James, courtesy of Hannah