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Slay found himself outside of pack lands again. He just couldn't resist - it was so easy to slip across the border, to places where he would not be recognized. He had such a distinctive coat; it was easy for him to be identified, at least to those few who knew him and knew what responsibilities he was supposed to be fulfilling... Instead, he let himself fall asleep amidst the tall grasses of the neutral hills here, awakening to the sunset. The arctic wolf studied the streaks of colour across the sky, letting his troubled mind wander.
What was it like to have a mate? That was the first thought that surfaced, and he made a face, crinkling up his muzzle in disgust. Was that really the issue here? Well... perhaps it did have something to do with it. Midsummer's eve had passed. His birthday would be in a fortnight, give or take a few days. And then he would be four years old, still a bachelor, with no prospects in sight. It seemed as though all of the Dahlia ladies he knew had at least a sweetheart, if not a mate - Mew had Des, Firefly had Haku, Cer had... well... Cercelee didn't think about stuff like that, he assured himself. They were friends, and anything more than that would ruin their friendship, wouldn't it? And without his loyalty to her, he would not have any attachment to DdM, and would drift away on his own again... "But no, as long as Cer is there, I'll put up with everyone else..." he grumbled under his breath, thinking of Haku as usual. Everyone else wasn't that bad, although there were new members he had not even greeted yet. And here was Slay, off cavorting in the hills.
"I wonder what Iskata's up to?" he asked aloud, changing the subject to draw away from his self-inspection. He had caught word that she was establishing a new pack. He had wanted to invite her to join his, but clearly she had her reasons not to, and he had not mustered the courage or ambition to seek her out and ask. The time they had met, a random encounter in the warehouse, the sharp-tongued lady had really taken his mind off his problems. Then again, so had tumbling on the beach with Cercelee.
D'you think either of them would look at you the way you want them to? You've got nothing to offer. They're both alpha material, pack leaders. And besides, it's not like you could ever settle down with someone. You run away from any sort of conflict. How could you support a mate? There's a reason you're still single, mate, sneered the little voice inside Slay's head, and he curled his lip up in defeated disgust. It was true, of course. But it didn't make him feel any more confident about his future. "Gonna be a dirty old man until I die, huh..."
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Even though you posted this a few days ago and Leland is newer than that. I AM REPLYING ANYWAY.
“Now don’t talk like that, sir. I’m sure you don’t have to be a dirty old man. You could be a clean old man. Or a goofy old man. A cranky old man, possibly. Or whatever type of old man you want to be, really.” Leland hadn’t meant to overhear the wolf speaking to himself, but once he had, he couldn’t help but chime in with what he could only hope was helpful advice. The wolf, after all, had been in his path, Leland was just innocently trying to make his way through. Was he just suppose to ignore the stranger’s conversation with himself? Especially when it sounded so pessimistic. No, definitely not. Leland could be, he hope, an optimistic voice of reason. “What’s forcing you to be a dirty old man, anyhow? Besides the lack of a good bath?” The husky mix grinned at the wolf, hoping his intervening wouldn’t be too rudely received.
Although new in the lands, Leland was already more at ease than he had been days prior. Meeting Iskata had set him a little at ease, she had been accepting enough of his domestic heritage, so perhaps other wolves in the area wouldn’t be too taken back at finding a dog among their ranks. And from what he gathered, at least Iskata’s oggling his strange coat and body, they weren’t too common. Yet, this wolf here, had a strange pelt as well. His body was mostly that of a wolf, but Leland, being the breed he was, could note similarities between the stranger and himself that other wolves lacked, the male’s paws were built similarly like his own. Perhaps where he came from, dogs were allowed to breed with wolves as well? Perhaps their were other clans like his own. Or perhaps the genetics that gave this stranger his patched coat were donated a long time ago, and the only family he did know was wolf. Either way, Leland was pleased to see someone with a coat that reminded him of home. He wondered if the stranger, if he was familiar with how huskies should look, could pinpoint the features that proved Leland carried wolf blood with him, what little there was of it and what little evidence showed.
It didn’t matter. They were both canines. Setting himself down on his haunches, letting his brush-like tail curl about his feet, he waited for the male to say something. And then suddenly, he remembered himself, and his manner. Surely the male would be more receptive of a bit of advice if he at least knew the copper hued husky’s name. “Ah! Sorry sir. Leland, that’s me. And you are?”
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[html] OoC: Ny'awww, he's so cute... *3*
BiC:
Slay blinked in surprise, startled by the unfamiliar voice. A lopsided smile quirked onto his lips as he turned to face the newcomer, who was so teasingly offering advice. The sun's dying rays had washed the hills in a soft red light, but surely that tint of colour alone wasn't enough to make a wolf copper-tone, was it? "You've got husky in you!" Slay blurted, blue eyes bright with the recognition. He'd never before met anyone with markings like his, since he was the black sheep of his clan. And even though this fellow was smaller, his tail was different, his fur was lighter, there was an uncanny resemblance...
"Eh, sorry mate, that was uncalled for. I probably could use a good bath, too, you're not far off the mark! Perhaps I'll aim for cranky old man, that sounds like fun." He raised his eyebrows and grinned playfully, hoping the new wolf - actually, he looked like he had more dog than wolf, so perhaps dog would be a better description - was willing to play along. "Leland, you say? I go by the name of Slay, tis a pleasure to meet you. If you need someone to show you around these parts, I'd be happy to. Fur like ours gets a lot of attention, and it can be dangerous!" His mind flashed back to the last pack meeting. If coyotes hated wolves, would they hate dogs, too? Something told him they wouldn't be too receptive to any canines other than themselves, though he still hadn't met one. Leland didn't have the scent of a pack - should Slay bring him back to DdM...? But... that would put him directly in the line of fire. It would be safer for the husky to join up with one of the neutral packs, farther away from Inferni.
"Heheh, I'm set to be a dirty old man, though, I can't find a nice female to keep me clean and out of trouble." He winked at Leland, rising to his haunches so that the two could speak eye-to-eye.
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You’ve got husky in you! Leland couldn’t help but chuckled at the wolf. This male had been the second wolf to be able to identify him, although until traveling to these lands he had only ran into a few loners and gone past one claimed packland. However, this male, who introduced himself as Slay, seemed cheerful enough, and Leland was put at ease. His tail unfurled itself and began to beat upon the ground and his tongue lolled out of his mouth merrily before he checked himself and curled his tail back around his feet and pulled his tongue in his mouth. Even if Slay was a playful, cheerful chap, there was no reason for Leland to be so blatantly at ease, and express it in such a primal, dog fashion.
”Ah no, not uncalled for at all, Slay. I am a husky... well mostly.” He grinned his lopsided grin again, he knew that all the breeds that were mixed into his blood were northern breeds, and that there was some wolf blood in there too, but husky would be the most accurate term for what he was. ”You though sir, you look to be a wolf, but that is some fine coat you have. Was your great grandmee a husky like meself?” He laughed, hoping that Slay didn’t have any underlaying issues with his great grandmother.
”Females on your mind eh?” Leland would have raised one eye brow, had he any eye brows at all, but as it was the ridge above his eye did raise questioningly. ”I had myself a sweetheart back home... she ran off with my best friend though. Hrrmf.” Leland was over it, for the most part at least. So long as he didn’t have to stay and watch them be happy together, well then, he could be happy for them. Hundreds of miles away. ”You looking for a sweetheart, hmm? I’m not much help in that area, but maybe if I see a pretty lass I could send her along to you.” Leland wasn’t sure that he wanted anymore females, they just broke a guy’s heart in the end.
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[html] Slay chuckled as he watched Leland relax, thumping his tail against the hillside for a while with that devil-may-care grin. He certainly did have a lot of dog blood in him - no wolf would be that friendly, that quickly! Almost everyone in these parts was so suspicious when they first met... It was refreshing to know that some canines were still willing to trust. Of course, Leland checked himself soon after, but there was really no need. The arctic wolf could care less how others carried themselves around him - if there was no threat involved, then they could do whatever the hell they wanted to.
"Oh, my great-grandmee was wolf through-and-through, just like the rest of my boring wolf family. I'm the only one with the panache to wear this tuxedo, although why I ended up with this fur is a mystery to me. It's not like me mum could have slept with a stray dog," he added with a chuckle, smiling lopsidedly. "There haven't been any sled dogs around for generations, where I came from. But supposedly they used to appear whenever our pack was in danger, and they'd lead us to safety. I guess those few were allowed to join the pack and have pups, and I ended up looking like one? My pack thought that meant I was supposed to save them, too, but I just left instead. Too much work." He curled his black-tipped tail around his forepaws, shifting to a more comfortable seating. Of course, his pack had also severely inbred, which was the most likely explanation for such recessive genes to have shown up in his appearance, but...
Slay hissed sympathetically, brows furrowing with concern at Leland's next statement. "Your best friend? Ouch, mate, that's harsh... Well, if you see any pretty lasses, I'm sure they'd be too enamored with your handsome mug to pay any attention to mine." He winked a blue eye, his tail stirring to thump against the ground in the friendly dog gesture. He had always wondered if he wagged too much, if it made him seem overly friendly - compared to Leland, he didn't seem expressive at all!
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Slay words intrigued Leland. From what Iskata had told him, huskies were a rarity in these parts, and it seemed that even from where Slay came from, a wolf that had a dog’s coat, had a shortage of the once domesticated canines. Well then. That makes me part of a dying race. Leland chuckled to himself, knowing that in his home there was no shortage of dogs, but they didn’t seem to be as widespread as wolves were now. He had come across uncountable wolf packs, but had only ever found one other pack of dogs, and that one had been considerably smaller than his own. Perhaps it was that initially dogs found it too difficult to survive without their human counterparts, or that they were inferior hunters to their wild brethren.. Leland didn’t know the answer to the question, and he guessed Slay didn’t either. However, at least Slay’s family knew about huskies, and they seemed to have strange superstitions about them. That particularly tickled Leland’s funny bone.
"Too much work, eh? I suppose that is quite a bit of weight to put on one wolf’s shoulders... but me, now I see my real calling. I need to repopulate these parts with huskies. Don’t know if I am quite up to that challenge." Leland grinned. Of course, as a male, it was an entertaining thought as his biological purpose in life was to spread his seeds as far and wide as possible, but on a higher level he knew that he didn’t want any females except the one he couldn’t have. And he didn’t want any children but hers, which would be spawned by his best friend one day. Shrugging he was ready to change the subjects. Females was a sore one, no matter how much one joked about them. "I doubt that too many females will be taken with me, if they all have the reaction you and that lady who met me did. Too exotic for everyone I suppose. That’s alright. I’m more interested in learning what’s past these lands. ‘Course Iskata, the lady I met earlier, said I’d jus’ hit ocean... so perhaps I’ll just have to turn back and go home. Or settle here."
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