Two of a kind.
#1
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Leland, after weeks of living in his fully shifter form, was back on four legs. It made traveling go quicker, and he was much more comfortable as a wolf rather than as a were. However, the past few weeks, Leland felt, had been quite productive, meeting many new people, most of whom all preferred to use two legs instead of four. It seemed that other relaxed and opened up easier when approached by a canine that looked similar to one’s self. Perhaps it was only because of the size difference, or perhaps it was because those who always walked on four legs leg a very different life style than those who walked on two. Either way, Leland was growing quite comfortable using both, and so he would change himself to suit the needs of others.




Leland knew who he was set off to see, and he did not want to appear any differently than they had during their last meeting. So far, Leland had yet to meet a soul in these lands that he had seen more than once, which was beginning to both the poor chap. Friendships and family were so important to one’s happiness, Leland had always believed that, and he did not think he could really be happy here unless he made at least some friends. More and more he was thinking of settling here, perhaps in the tribe DaWali had spoken of. More and more Leland thought that the tribe was a good idea, especially after meeting DaWali’s daughter, Asha. Either way, be it the tribe or another place to call home, Leland needed others to keep him grounded.



Arriving at the borders of Dahlia de Mai, leaves crunching underfoot, he wasn’t quite sure why he sought out Slay. The fellow had been pleasant enough, more like himself than anyone else he had met so far, both physically and otherwise. Perhaps he just wanted to be around another that looked as different as Leland himself, though it was clear Slay had wolf in him, while Leland was through and through a dog. At any rate, Leland had arrived and he slid back on his haunches at the edge of the borders, a low, wailful husky hollow ringing out in the mid afternoon air. No one in these lands, as far as he knew, had a call quite like his, so he was sure Slay could guess who was waiting for him.


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#2
[html]Slay yawned as he awoke, slowly and deeply. The air was a comfortable cool temperature, perfect for his thick fluffy coat. The arctic wolf lay on the crunchy bed of leaves, glaring in a disoriented stupor at the swirl of bright colours. Then realization dawned; he was buried under leaves that had fallen atop him during his slumber. Shaking vigorously and rising to his paws, the rather lazy canine began to stretch his forelegs, letting his eyes stay comfortably shut. It was during this relaxed ritual that he heard the howl. Immediately Slay felt his tail give a wag, and a smile eased its way onto his muzzle - that was no wolf at the borders. Before anyone else in the pack came to greet him, Slay called out a response, deep tones soaring above the fall winds.


It wasn't a long walk before he spotted the dog, obediently waiting at the edge of the pack's land. What was his name again? The friendly husky that he had chatted with some time ago, before he himself had gone into hiding. It started with an "L", Slay thought, looking over the friend he had made. There were no visible scars or wounds since they'd last met - a good sign, that he hadn't been persecuted at all for his fur or markings. Wolves in these parts were funny - they could hate coyotes and welcome dogs in the same wag of their tail, regardless of the similarity in their appearances. It was funnier still, though, that they could walk upright in the two-legger form. Well, Slay reasoned, it must not be a dog thing, because Leland here isn't doing it yet, and neither am - Leland! That's right!


"Leland, mate, how've you been? How's life treating you? Still single and packless, eh, you're not trying hard enough - do I have to set you up with my packmates, now? Heheh, good to see you in one piece," Slay chucked with a grin, padding the final distance between them and nudging him playfully.


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#3
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Only moments after Leland had sounded his call he received an answer. Although Slay’s howl was not as telling to his ancestry as his pelt was, Leland recognized the voice well enough and smiled, glad that the male was in. The wait was not long, not that Leland ever minded waiting (patience was a virtue after all) and soon the black and white creature appeared before him, kind words falling from his lips. The bushy tail of the husky beat on the ground behind him, unsettling dust and fallen leaves behind him. "Hey thar Slay. Glad to see I knew exactly where to find ya!" Leland let out a deep chuckle, Slay’s greeting a nice reminder of what they had spoken about during their last meeting. "Nah, no packmates for me, sir. ‘Though I have been thinkin’ ‘bout it. I have a few ideas yet, we jus’ have to wait to see how they pan out is all." The tribe was seeming more and more appealing, though Leland hadn’t seen DaWali in some time and they weren’t quite settled in. If they did settle in and claim some land for themselves, Leland wouldn’t mind paying them a visit.




Rising to his feet, Leland took a second look around the lands, the buildings from Berwick and Wolfville looming in sight. Aside from Halifax Leland hadn’t seen so many buildings in one place, it was strange to think a pack had settled themselves here. Yet they also had lots of fields, vineyards, even some forest, from what Leland could tell. The best of both worlds for Dahlia de Mai it seemed. "So thus is yar home, huh?" Leland let his odd eyes sweep the land once more, and then grinned at the male. "You’re gonna show me around here, right? Make sure I see all the good sights?" There was probably a lot to see, Leland was always interested in new places, in how others made their homes and lived their lives. It was always nice to have friends from different areas, so that one could visit and adopt their ways for a little while, but always return to their own lives afterwards.







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#4
[html]Slay chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "Well, our pack is recruiting, so if you like what you see, you're welcome to stay. We do have our share of pretty lasses, but sorry to say, I haven't spotted any huskies around, if you're looking for a nice tail-wagger." The big wolf padded forward a few steps, glancing fondly over his shoulder at Leland. Were all dogs this nice? As a whole, they probably were. The stories he'd been told about how humans had taken in weak-minded wolves and made them even gentler somewhat made sense now. Maybe that's why the other luperci were welcoming of dogs, but hostile towards coyotes - their personalities, their very genetics, defined who they were. There was always so much to learn about this strange place...


Slay stifled a yawn, crunching through the leaves and trying to think of places to show Leland. The graveyard, definitely; the vineyard seemed like a fair bet, and the dock might be interesting. He himself hadn't explored most of the buildings, since he had never experimented with the two-legger form and still found human dwellings a bit claustrophobic. Not that he could blame it all on the roof; he couldn't even sleep in a den without waking up with night terrors. If he couldn't see the sky, even in the forest, it was far too easy to panic. "Pack life here is awfully laid-back," he drawled, thinking aloud. "It depends on the leader, sure, but you can still wander all over, meet new faces... To be honest, I haven't even met all my packmates. I just kinda hang out here. It's not like you're tied down at all." He gave a whiskery smile, picturing Cercelee's face had she overheard that comment. Certainly most pack members were expected to take at least a little more interest in the comings and goings of their family, or even to simply fulfill the duty they were assigned. He was lucky to drift in for pack meetings...


"Mm, you've got prospects though, mate? Good for you! It's nice to have somewhere to call 'home', especially when you've been without one for so long. Hm... Do you like fish?"


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#5
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Leland nodded at the male, his tail waving mindlessly behind him. "Well, ya better make this a good tour then, else I grow bored and run off before I can even think of joining!" Of course, Leland knew he was holding out for something else, though he wasn’t sure if it would ever come to fruition. Yet he knew too, Slay was the type of wolf he could joke around with, relax and understand one another. Although they knew each other very little, Leland knew enough that with the male with the husky coat before him there would be no judging. Smiling jovially he padded along side Slay, not really caring where they ended up because no matter what Slay decided to show him, Leland was sure it would be interesting. Of course, most everything was of interest to Leland.





Listening to Slay speak of pack life here, Leland’s mind wandered back to his home. The leaders of the dog pack had always been laid back, at least more so than that of the wolf leader, but that did not seem to be the case in these lands. He had met Iskata and Naniko and both had seemed fairly relaxed and forgiving females. Of course, Iskata had not been in her pack at the time and it had been only him and Naniko, surely they could act different under different circumstances. Still, they were not at all like the leaders he had known before, and Slay’s description of the life in Dahlia de Mai did not match the mental image in Leland’s mind either. His mind continued to wander, comparing then to now and there to here until Slay’s voice broke into his consciousness. "Aye? Fish? Oh yes, fish! I love fish. Actually, sometimes I don’t have the best o’ luck with mah huntin’, but I never mind falling back on fish." A sheepish smile completed his explanation.








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#6
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Slaying the Dreamer

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Slay snorted in amusement at Leland's fishing comment, unable to keep the sloppy grin from his whiskery face.


"Well, don't tell my alphess, but I do the same thing. How do you think I got so good at fishing? And yet, I'm the head hunter around here!" He chuckled at the irony, although it had been he himself that volunteered for the position. It sounded masculine and exciting, but really, it was the laziest job he could have taken since he was only required to help during full-pack hunts. Cercelee was the only one who occasionally demanded that he fell her some prey, and even then, there were ways of evading the exercise it required...


The big arctic wolf yawned deeply, pink tongue curling in the autumn sunlight. Just thinking about work was making him sleepy all over again. His wide paws crunched through the thickening layer of dead leaves, adding colour and texture to the fading fields. "Here we go, the Dahlia graveyard! These are all old human tombstones, decorated with their writing and their religious stuff. In the summer, lots of flowers grew here - so this is where I sleep! Most folks don't poke around here, so it's nice an' quiet, mate." He gave a wave of his ebony tail, appearing pleased with himself for finding the perfect aboveground 'den'. He had no idea if there were any wolves buried here, and if there were, it would probably frighten the superstitious wolf into finding somewhere else to nap.


"If we head thataways," he gestured with a nod of his muzzle, "we'll hit the coastline, that section of the beach we own. There's a dock there - it's great for catching seafish, because you can trot out to the edge of it without getting wet!" It seemed as though this tour was focused less on things that would interest Leland, and more about food and sleep, but the enthusiasm was to be appreciated.





I've got soul but I'm not a soldier



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#7
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"Aha? Head hunter, eh? What a responsibility!" Of course Leland had no idea if the position held any real responsibility or not, but he assumed there had to be some or there would be no need for such a rank. The head hunter had indeed had a lot of work cut out for him in Leland’s old clan, but the clan had been large with nearly fifty some wolves and dogs all sorted together, the head hunter had a lot of organizing to do to feed them all and make sure all the hunts went smoothly. Yet Dahlia de Mai was just a fraction of that size, and Leland supposed that all jobs in the pack, while certainly could have their stressful moment, were far more laid back than what he was use to.




Turning his attention to the sights indicated by Slay, Leland poked his wet nose into the stony surface of one of the graves. Picking up dust and moss, Leland left out a sneeze and turned a sheepish smile to Slay. “I’ve seen these human places before, where they bury their dead. There’s one not too far fra here… Halifax is that big city? Well there’s one ‘round there.” Again Leland thought of the time, as a child, he had accidently dug up human remains and the tongue lashing his mother gave to him. “Why do ya think us canines don’t construct such massive monuments to death?” Even with such a heavy weighted question, Leland couldn’t keep the joviality out of his voice, he ended his question with a deep chuckle.




Looking towards the direction Slay indicated, Leland turned back to him. Of course, the dock was far from seeing distance from here, but Leland loved a good walk. His body was made to plow tirelessly through snow, a leisurely trot would do him good. “I’d love to see the docks, only if ya promise not to throw me in!”


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