One step forwards, two steps back
#1
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28th July.

Word Count → 320


Amber eyes peered suspiciously out into the growing shadows, only briefly glancing upwards at the orange glow filling the sky as the sun set above the trees. The rapidly shrinking light still had enough force to it to break through the light canopy of leaves above Neela, casting a blanket of dappled shadows over the collie as she stalked along the border, sniffing at even the slightest hint of any scent.


Ever since the initial excitement at finding out she was pregnant had faded Neela’s mood had deteriorated sharply, excitement and her usual happy mentality overtaken by paranoia and an ill temperament that often verged on the edge of violent if Neela was caught at the wrong time. Sufficient to say Neela had been spending a lot of time alone recently; even Tony seemed distant, like he was avoiding her, and that hurt more than an entire pack worth of nervous glances. Her mood souring more and more every day Neela found herself ranging farther and farther out during the days, and sometimes nights as she shunned the company of those she had convinced herself didn’t want her company.


With a sigh Neela’s eyes flickered upwards, gauging the time from how much of the sun was still visible through a break in the trees. Tony was probably home by now; while he seemed to be avoiding Neela during the day he could at least be relied upon to return at nights. Part of Neela wanted to head back home, try and catch him while he was still awake but a more vindictive part of her took hold. If her mate wanted to avoid her during the day then she would avoid him during the night, let him worry when she didn’t come home for a night or two!


Snarling quietly Neela turned on her heel from where she had paused in her movements to watch the sun and stormed back along her path along the borders.


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#2
((248))

Wandering around aimlessly seemed a new past time for the red merle Australian shepherd, as he did it so often, his legs hardly grew sore after traveling and his information of locations was slowly becoming more engraved into his mind.

His demeanor was one of content, the luperci happy to have met new possibly allies, along with finding a comfortable place to roam that he felt he knew well enough to behave correctly.

Though he was growing more in tune with his surroundings, he still kept clear of packs.

A new friends warning about the possible consequences of trespassing concerned him enough to steer clear, paying attention to boundaries and keeping alert, if any conflicts should arise from his ignorance.

The sun was setting, leaving the sky a beautiful array of tropical colours that Harvey was astonished to see. His homeland was always so grey and rainy, fog covering most of the cobblestone streets, and obstructive buildings filled the urban lands he most often was located. The sunset was a stranger to the Brit, so tonight, he felt it was appropriate to enjoy the chance to experience this daily event that most seemed to take for granted.

He breathed in heavily, calmed by the sight, but by doing so, had picked up a scent relatively nearby.

Harvey looked about, hoping he hadn't inattentively made his way across the border and into a packs' territory. He felt he could handle himself if encountered with another bloke or two, but without assistance, an entire community against him wasn't a very pleasing thought.

The aussie dog kept aware of his environment, just in case his fear was reasonable, but he could at least continue watching the sunset if he was safe.
#3
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Really sorry for the wait.

Neela was continuing along on her grumpy way when a scent drifted into her nose, the regular scent of the border tinted with an unfamiliar scent. Curious Neela sped up, making her way towards the scent to see what was going on.


When she caught sight of the brown furred man through a bush Neela’s lips peeled back for a second, revealing thin, sharp teeth gleaming in the weak light. Neela managed to hold herself back from growling and covered her teeth before the light glinting off them gave her position away. The stranger wasn’t technically inside the territory but he was damned close, currently standing in a section of ground where deviating patrols routes had left the final border spotty and several metres wide; it wouldn’t be unthinkable to accidentally wander as close as he was on this particular section she supposed, but Neela was still suspicious.


She held herself firm and dominant as she stepped out of the bushes, holding back both the nervousness and aggressiveness that stemmed from her newfound knowledge of being pregnant. It was early enough that her belly didn’t really show – especially with Neela in Optime form – so the male had no reason to see her as an easy target, or anything other than an armed warrior patrolling her pack’s borders.


”You’re mighty close to Casa borders there, you looking for somebody?” she called down, keeping her tone neutral. It wasn’t impossible that he was actually doing just that and with how distracted Neela was at the moment, she wouldn’t be surprised if she had somehow missed a call.

Word Count :: +265

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#4
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((290)) Quite alright m'dear~


Harvey


When he was finally aware of the other's presence, it had startled him some.

She had gotten to close without making a sound, and without his brown and blue eyes even catching glimpse of her. Agility and stealth were definitely on her side, where as Harvey lacked skill in either department. He excelled more in brute force and cunning, but he made it clear to himself he wasn't a man of violence anymore, and he wasn't going to purposely go out looking for fights.

The female had stepped from the foliage, making her presence obvious, and after he'd been so easily deceived by not knowing he was being watched, Harv was honestly grateful to be able to watch her movements now. He wasn't looking for a fight, but when meeting a stranger in a new land, one could never be sure of their intentions.

Me? Oh, no... The cockney canine smiled, No miss, I was jus' 'avin' me a walk. Like t' get out an' stretch me legs once an' again, get t' know the land... The like.. He shrugged. He felt he really didn't have to explain himself, but seeing as he was apparently near the borders of a pack, he felt obligated to clarify his intended purpose for being there, and therefor showing his innocence.

That is, if the other believed him.

Terribly sorry for comin' close t' the borders, I really wouldn't cause ya any 'arm. I was aware tha' I was close, and I kept meself from wanderin' where I shouldn't be. Harvey further explained. A soft sigh escaped from his broad, scared chest as he took his eyes off the stranger, and had them glued back to his surroundings. Real lovely out tonight, it is.

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Coding by Sie
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#5
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OOC.

Word Count → 447


Neela watched the stranger with narrowed eyes, that hormonal, aggressive part of her mind still urging her to snap outwards, urging her hand to move from its neutral position towards her dagger. But Neela was tired of it if she was honest. She had been pregnant less than a month and she was already fed up of how aggressive it had made her, fed up of seeing every stranger as a threat. In her usual state Neela wouldn’t have given the stranger more than a quick look and sniff over, making sure that he wasn’t allied to some group that meant them harm and then let him be; loners weren’t any threat to Casa and did no harm as long as they stayed on the right side of the border.


Neela was tired of being suspicious over everybody so she decided that she wouldn’t be. For now she still had enough control over her mood to do so, so she relaxed and let the aggressive tenseness bleed out of her face, though her hands still remained in what she liked to call her stranger position – resting on her hips in a manner that was friendly and unaggressive, but which let her access her unusually mounted knives at an instant – there was a difference between being calm and being stupid after all, this male was still a stranger.


”Fair enough ah suppose” she replied, ”Can’t really blame ya fer getting this close here anyway, some’ people don’t seem ta understand the concept of walking in a straight line, or following a path,” Neela snorted, annoyed, ”The border starts there if ya were being strict about it” she jerked her nose to a point about a metre to the strangers left, ”But the actual inner section is off over there,” Neela jerked her nose in the other direction, off towards some trees. ”No harm done anyway, not like you’re stealin prey or anything. Would recommend you be careful though; some’a the packs around here are pretty aggressive about their borders. I’ve heard tales of non-coyote being attacked just fer passin by Inferni up north.” Neela had never actually met a member of Inferni other than Vesper, nor seen the famous skull lined border for herself but she had heard enough rumours and tales from the transient loner population in her time here that she had no desire to do so.


Neela’s eyes flicked upwards at the stranger’s prompting and she let out a hum of agreement. ”It is. Prefer the stars an moon ta sunsets mahself but it’s pretty.” she let her eyes drift downwards to the stranger again, ”I’m Neela by the way, might I ask yer name?”

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#6
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((316)) --


Harvey


Had Harvey been aware of the woman's initial feelings on his presence, he probably would have been grateful for the mood change, or at least the face she was showing him at the moment. He was admittedly a bit assumptive in the way that he automatically thought a woman was nothing to really worry about, safety wise. The Brit figured they were all harmless, loving creatures who were made to mother and be protected by men. He knew that some where capable of caring for themselves, but he often was wrong in believing they were always naive when it came to meeting new people.

So, he worried very little, despite her visible weapons catching the glance of his bi-coloured blue and brown eyes. A small smirk danced across his lips, but he would dwell no longer on the topic, even in his own thoughts.

He was honest when he spoke. I was only gettin' close out of curiousity, t' tell ya the truth, dove. The cockney canine smiled, noting the other's accent. Like t' get 'round, 'haps meet new people, the like... I'm not daft enough t' go wanderin' past borders tha' I belong past, I'm not.

He had been warned before of what could happen if he didmanage to make it past, and he had been told of Inferni's strictness, especially.

So i've 'eard...Well, no worries, miss! I tend t' keep me nose out of places I don't belong, I do. An' I'll be sure t' keep well away from the like of Inferni... Sounds like a bloody brutish crew... Harvey Butler mumbled.

His smile returned, and his tail wagged contently as the stranger commented on the scenery. Yeh, stars are lovely, aren't they? Nevah got t' see much of a sunset back 'ome, though, so i'm still quite captivated by tha'.... The aussie dog shrugged. Pleasure t' meetcha, Miss Neela. I'm Harvey Butler.


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Coding by Sie
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#7
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OOC Laughs

”They decorate their borders with skulls, I’ve seen that much myself. Wolf mostly but I’m fairly sure there were some dog an mixes among em. Not had much interaction with tha members but when tha first thing ya see of em is a borders worth of bones, it ain’ exactly easy ta think of em as bein’ nice an friendly.” Neela spoke of Inferni when the stranger confirmed he had heard tales of them as well. She listened politely as he introduced himself as Harvey, trying to puzzle out his own accent in her mind. ”Lovely an useful. Ah’m a sailor and back before I moved ‘ere used ta have ta go out into open waters sometimes, been able ta tell the direction from the stars is a damn useful thing ta do.” She said absently, shifting forwards slightly towards a tree that she promptly leant against.


”Ya far from home?” She asked curiously, ”Ah’v heard an accent like yours before back in Merrick, but we got all sorts of traders through there so coulda been from anywhere.” The dog’s origin was something to wonder about, but ultimately unimportant. She didn’t think him to originate on this continent at a guess which meant that wherever his home was, it was practically a world away. ”What brings ya up ta this cold little corner of the world then?” she asked, the cold comment a little gripe from her at the fading summer. Winter was coming by the looks of things, she hadn’t picked the best time to get herself pregnant, though as long as the sea didn’t freeze she wouldn’t have any trouble feeding her pups.



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#8
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((321)) --


Harvey


Dog skulls? Admittedly, that tidbit of information was a little frightening, especially with Harvey's habit of wandering, but he wasn't going to let that completely terrify or intimidate him. He smiled, instead. I met some one outta Inferni before, I did. The Brit nodded, remembered the event, as it happened reality soon after his arrival. She was a real lovely dove, she was... Soft voice, shy... Pre'y as can be, she was. He nodded, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

But... Of course tha' doesn't mean they're all nice. The cockney canine understood. He himself was part of a rough and ruthless gang back in London, and he'd learned quickly that you couldn't judge a whole group by one member. Just because you were allowed to be seen the presence of one didn't mean you could go wagging your chin at every member you saw, or you may end up with it dislocated.

The red blotched luperci listened, interested. Guidin' your way wif' the stars, hm? Sounds pre'y difficult, though... So many stars, an' they all kinda look the same, they do... He shrugged, looking to the sky.

A gentle laugh escaped him when his accent was addressed, and he placed his bi-coloured eyes back onto the female near him. Quite. Come from 'cross the sea. London, England... Real lovely lil' place. Harvey smiled, Eh, jus' gettin' 'round, lookin' for a new life for meself, y'know? Old like gets tirin', jus' go out an' try again.

Of course he didn't have that mentality at all, but his lack of expression explaining his reason could easily give that impression. The aussie dog would just much rather keep to himself about his past, and that included his coming to Nova Scotia.

An' I can get use t' tha cold... Wasn't exactly constant sunshine and rainbows back in me homeland, eithah. I like it 'ere... Harvey Butler smiled. An' you? What's your story...?


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Coding by Sie
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