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Private.
There was nowhere he could go. His father lived in his home, and his home was at his father’s, so he was stuck here. The cabin where he lived was the safest and best place he knew of (Though the nice black and white man had been nice too) but it was a bit scary too, because his angry father lived upstairs, and he was really, really, really angry all the time. The tough skin beneath the fur on his neck was still sore after the punishment for bringing a stranger into daddy’s house. Truth be told, the child was terrified of the chocolate furred parent. Why was not mommy here? Well, his mother had made him hurt and made him bleed when she gave him and Emwe away, so Conor was scared of her too. At least daddy wanted to live together with him, unlike mommy that did not want him anymore. The little puppy felt sad, and every moment without Alexey was horrible. The time went so slowly, and Emwe was off again without him. Sad and boring day.
The little boy was sitting on the steps outside the cabin that the broken family shared. Daddy had come home with a rabbit earlier and put it into the fridge. Conor was hungry, but he was too small to get up to the handle, so his stomach remained empty. If only he had told Alexey before she had left for the day. There was nothing to be done, and he could only wait. The sense of time was undeveloped though, so he was certain he would die here on these steps, either from starvation or boredom. Both were horrible. This was the life of Conor Soul, son of the second highest ranked wolf and the lowest ranked wolf in Dahlia de Mai.
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schwarzAs each day went by he found himself wandering further and further from the church he and his siblings now called home. It wasn’t really so much about exploring as it was just… traveling. He knew where he was allowed to be and where he should stop. The borders of the pack land were marked well. But to such a small pup the area he was allowed to travel seemed like it’s own little world. He’d been here for almost a month now and he still hadn’t covered all the ground!
schwarzThe cabin caught his attention unlike a lot of other buildings he passed. He usually saved his building exploring for his mischievous amblings with his sister… but this one was lived in. Perhaps it was the boy sitting on the stairs that made him pause. His guardians had talked about others before but he never really understood that meant other boys. He assumed that meant other adults like themselves.
schwarzHis little nostrils flared at the new scents. It wasn’t just the boy he saw here but maybe two or three others that lived in this place.
schwarzRoulette crouched in his spot several yards away and stared.
schwarzWas this other boy like Palindrome? Roulette and his brother did not get along. He didn’t really get along with any of his siblings other than Avarice. They had a tendency to pick on him. He had mostly learned to ignore them since Avarice stood up for him, but she wasn’t here with him right now if this boy was going to pick on him too. Thus, he stood his distance and watched, oblivious to the fact that he was probably close enough to the other pup for him to smell him, if not see him.
schwarzHe seemed sad. Did his mama leave him too?
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The wind was nice in his face, but it was not entertaining enough to make the little boy content. He did not understand. Life had started as something wonderful, but his little heart felt sad all the time. It was horrible. Was it because mommy was gone and daddy was angry? This family had never been truly happy and harmonic, but he remembered vague feelings of being happy, feeling warmth and love everywhere around him. Why did he not feel anything now? The feelings he experienced daily were not happy ones, and he ached to feel it again. Being with Emwe did not feel quite the same either, although the two brothers still had a lot of fun when they were together. It was just, things had changed, and he did not know if it was his own imagination. Was it he that had changed to be a bad boy? He tried to be good, but everything felt wrong and sad and scary.
Something moved in the distance, and the boy’s greying eyes looked up to see the possible figure of another wolf. First it looked like a wolf extremely far away, but then it occurred to him that it was possible that it was another boy. He sniffed loudly and found this to be true, because there was the scent of a stranger in the air. He hesitated slightly, because he was a shy being, afraid daddy would get angry if he talked with other puppies. Well, daddy had said he had been angry because Vuk had not belonged there and that he was bad. It could be true, because the black man had not smelled like home. This other boy’s scent was new too, but he could smell the home smell on him, which was the scent of Dahlia de Mai. Children were not dangerous, were they?
Conor got up on his feet and stretched his neck slowly out towards the other. ”Hailo, who is you?! The boy called out, slightly shyly. He wanted to see who this guy was.
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schwarzThe other boy noticed him instantly; he was almost surprised. Of course whatever he was doing it didn’t seem as though he was too enthused about it. What was he doing anyway? Even Roulette didn’t sit around all day. If he didn’t have his sister to play with he went off exploring. He liked to walk. He liked to travel, explore, see new things. He even liked to go places he had already been and see the subtle changes made over a day, week, month even. Obviously the orphaned pup enjoyed his alone time. Maybe he’d make a good scout for the pack when he grew up. Of course, this thought didn’t even cross his mind because he was sure that his mother would come back for him soon… and they would leave together with his brothers and sisters and go home.
schwarzThe russet pup frowned when the other boy spoke to him. Somehow he had assumed that if there were other pups here they would also speak German. This boy spoke a broken version of the language that his guardians spoke. He considered turning and leaving just like that. He refused to speak English on the grounds that his mama hadn’t taught it to him. But still, he was curious. The silver eyed boy seemed shy and just as curious as he was. But how would they play if they couldn’t talk to each other?
schwarz “Roulette.” He responded, sure that saying his name wouldn’t break his self vow to not talk in the strange language of the area. It was his name after all and that made it German, he reasoned. But even just saying his name told the other pup that he was able to talk and that he understood what he had asked. Now it would just be all the more confusing for him when he refused to say anything more.
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Conor found it strange that they both stayed at their spots, seemingly refusing to come closer. Truth be told, Conor was not the most social puppy around. Emwe was the social one, while Conor had realized that he preferred solitude. He had known for a while now that there were other puppies that neither he nor Emwe had met yet, but he had felt no need at all to go out and search for them. He did not like new faces, and always felt so painfully shy when he was surrounded by too many wolves at once. He could barely make out the grimace that appeared in the other boy’s face, but he was certain there was one. The Soul boy felt his tail tug towards his bum, on its way to cling to his belly. He had only asked one question and the other already seemed to hate him.
Silvery blue mixed with violet started to wander away from the other boy when the stranger finally replied. Roulette. It sounded odd, but there were a lot of odd things in Conor’s life. He got up on his feet and gave a little huff, staring neutrally on the other boy. He hesitated for a moment before he turned around and ran through the open door of the cabin. A little dash of adrenaline because of the brief meeting made him feel a bit weird, but he was content with himself. He had talked to another puppy that was not his brother. He had never done that before, and so he meant he had every reason to be very proud of himself. Conor turned around and padded back towards the open door again, curiously stretching his neck to peek out too see if the other child was still there.
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schwarzThis other pup’s behavior was strange. Roulette had a brother and three sisters and none of them acted quite like this. He seemed maybe shy like Palindrome… but the other boy had spoken to him and then run off into the building. Maybe Roulette wasn’t a good name. No, that couldn’t be it, his mother had given him this name and that mean it had to be good! Then what did he do to make the other flee? He certainly wasn’t scary.
schwarzBlinking aquamarine eyes, Roulette was surprised to see the other poke his head out from the doorway. Was he playing a game, maybe? His little russet tail wagged tentatively, trying to interpret the signs. He surely didn’t want to go prancing up to the house if he wasn’t invited, but his new companion of the moment seemed at the very least curious of him. Maybe he could take that as a good sign.
schwarzRoulette cautiously moved closer, sitting at the foot of the stairs looking up at the boy in the cabin doorway. He realized that he had offered the other his name but hadn’t gotten his in return. He wasn’t sure what he would even do with the information, but still he was curious… maybe since the other boy’s English wasn’t as good as Cercelee or Slay’s he was just testing out English like some of Roulette’s siblings were!
schwarz“What is your name?” Roulette asked in German. Surely his guess was right. That would explain why he had run away when Roulette had answered him! He didn’t want to talk to people who spoke in English either and since Roulette had understood enough to answer, he probably thought that Roulette’s native language was English. The boy was proud of his ability to work this all out. It all made sense now!
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Conor was not the child he should have been if his life had been uncomplicated. Already he had tasted the bitterness of it, and it had left him hollow full of dread and fear. His natural curiosity had been damaged by the time he had spent in Halifax, and it kept him close to the cabin and to his father, the father he so feared. The Roulette puppy was still there, and the child could not make up his mind if that was a good or bad thing. He did not like new people, though at the same time he wanted more individuals around him. It was a complex cluster of emotion that he did not know how to analyse. The other boy seemed to make up his mind about something, and to Conor’s disappointment and pleasure, he came closer, all the way to the steps.
Conor took a cautious step backwards, sceptical to this whole scene. Dad was inside sleeping, and he was afraid that the other puppy would make him go crazy again just like with Vuk. His silvery violet eyes stared at the Roulette puppy, refusing to let him out of sight now when the other was so close. The Soul child’s tail crept towards his belly, acting out the uncertainty. The brown boy’s ears folded violently backwards when a series of strange words came from the other. Another step brought him slightly back, and his stare was almost accusing because he did not understand. It sounded like the other child was asking him something, what was, and then something more. He was not even certain if he understood that much either, because it had not sounded right, and the way the other boy spoke sounded ugly and harsh in his sensitive ears.
”No!”, the child stated firmly. It had been a question, and whatever it was, Conor was sure the answer was no. Maybe then the other child would leave and not make him feel confused anymore. He tried to look a bit aggressive, but somewhat failed at that.
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