Argolis & Others

It was a brisk, overcast day, with a slight drizzle that made the air feel even colder than it was. But the wind was low, and Argolis had decided it was a good a time as any to take his children out to learn about scavenging the city's resources. Behind the brindle alpha traveled Gwen and Scape, and behind them was Bullet and Pistol - extra security for the alphas' offspring. As to be expected, a falcon was also soaring high above the group to keep a lookout for danger. Moonshadow's presence was hardly noticed though, between the lack of shadow and the way her bullet-shaped body and pale underbelly were nearly obscured in the thick, low hanging clouds she wheeled through. All in all, their arrival was a quiet one, minus the curious voices of the pups, and the idle chatter between Bullet and his son.

Argolis skirted around a poorly maintained, chain-like fence to enter the dump, and Gwen followed her father's footsteps to duck easily around the broken barrier. With no warning of this simple obstacle however, Scape ran smack dab into the fence with a startled yelp when his sensitive nose smashed against the cold metal. Argolis whipped his head around in a hurry as Gwen snicked under her breath, "Scape..?" Once the father realized what had happened he doubled back and gave his blind son a reassuring nudge, "I'm sorry, I forgot to warn you. You'll have to remember the lay of the land, Scape. Here, there's a break in the fence.." Using his muzzle to guide the youngster, Argolis helped him around the fence and then carried on towards the towering piles of trash that awaited them.

The handicapped pup traveled more cautiously now, with his head towards the ground and his whiskers scrunched forward to 'feel' over the objects he was walking past. It wasn't much, but it helped him to avoid stumbling quite so much. Being blind meant that his hearing was quiet adept, and he hadn't missed his sister's giggling, "Shut up, Gwen, it's not funny!"

Dixie

Today would be the day that she and Argolis’ pups would get their first lesson in survival in the world that they called home. They would have to learn how to scavenge for food from the big metal things that the humans used to store all of their old food. This was due to the fact that prey could sometimes be scarce in a densely human populated place like this.

The three young pups bounced around they were definitely glad to be getting out of the den for a bit to explore more of the world. Being the alphas’ pups they were always heavily guarded and didn’t get as many chances to explore as they would like. So it was an exciting day when they got to go out. Holly had followed along, the Rottweiler female that they knew as their aunt serving as another guard in case any attack came.

Soon, the pups all giggled as their brother Scape ran into the fence, being too young to really realize that their laughter might hurt their brother’s feelings and not really realizing why he was always running into everything. Dixie gave the pups a warning glare then nudged her blind son reassuringly before continuing on with her mate. Cameo, Nico, and Desiree followed their mother and father silently now, not wanting to get into trouble so that they had to go back home.

Argolis & Others

Bullet and Pistol hung back with Holly during the trek towards the dump. It was Pistol that spoke to her now, whilst keeping his eyes on the surroundings, "They've been growing well." The comment was aimed at the five pups scattered ahead of them. And it was true; Argolis made sure that he and Dixie's pups always got their fill whenever food was brought in, whether it was prey killed in the wild lands, or leftovers scavenged from the humans. "I only hope this winter isn't too harsh. It's not the best season for young ones like them to grow up in."

"They'll be fine." Bullet assured. They'd reached the fence now that Dixie and Argolis had already passed by, and the big wolfdog slipped through the hole with practiced ease. "If all else fails, Aidan can secure us food."

Up ahead of them, Scape had his ears planed to the side and a fierce scowl wrinkling up his brindle-brown face. He might have snapped a remark at his other siblings, but Dixie silenced them all with a look that none of the children could ignore, not even the wily Gwen. The blind youngster felt a little better when he felt his mother's familiar snout press against him, and he made an effort to travel close to her now.

Argolis slowed to a stop a foot from the edge of a massive trash pile, "Listen up, kids." Gwen and Scape both turned their heads to the sound of their sire's deep voice, "This is the safest place you can hunt for human food. For now, I don't want any of you coming here by yourself. You must ask me or your mother, and you must have an adult with you at all times when coming here." That shouldn't be a surprise to any of them, since it was pretty much the status quo for the alphas' pups going anywhere outside the Den. It was also a keen source of annoyance for Gwen, who hated always having a chaperone, when all she wanted to do was get away from the adults and do a little exploring on her own. "For today, I want you all to get use to the land here, and have a go at searching for human food." Argolis glanced at Dixie then, signaling her to speak if she had anything else to add to the list of do's and dont's today.

Dixie

Holly listened to the words spoken by the male, about how well the pups were growing and she nodded her dual colored head in agreement with the statement. Yes, they are getting big very quickly. There was a warmth in her eyes as she spoke of the pups that she thought of as her nieces and nephews. It was good having them around since her own pup, Guess, had grown up and was now an adult. He no longer needed her guidance or protection. So, having Dixie’s pups around somewhat filled that void. Then the other went on to speak of the winter and was quickly told by the older male that they would be fine. Holly once again nodded. They are strong pups. And the pack will all pitch in to make sure that they survive I am sure.

Of course, this was the first pack Holly had ever been in but since coming here she had put her trust in them all and trusted they would help to make sure the young ones stayed safe. The pack was a strong one; this was something that even she knew. As they moved and chatted, she kept a close eye on the pups.

Dixie kept her pace slow so that Scape could keep up with her and so that he remained close. This was because he seemed to want to be near her and also because she wanted to help him to avoid any obstacles that might be dangerous to him that the others could more easily avoid. They made it to their destination now without any more mishaps. Then soon she heard her mate speak. He explained why they were here and that the pups were not to come here alone which warranted a whine of protest from Desiree, the smallest of the pups whose curiosity and sense of adventure rivaled any of the other pups.

The Boxer female ignored the whine from her smallest daughter and spoke when her mate looked to her to say anything else that might need to be said. Anything you find that you think might be good to eat, bring to one of us adults first. There are dangerous things here too that the humans have thrown out. And with that she gave the young ones the ok to go start their hunt.

Argolis & Others

Seeing how well the pups were doing, Pistol couldn't help but think back to when Holly and the others had first come to the Shadow Haunters. She had been pitifully thin, with a lackluster coat that Dixie had shared as well, all because the two females had given most of what spare food they could find to the three pups that were under their care. That had been almost two years ago. Now, the pair were healthy and strong once more, and Dixie had risen to the rank of leader, who stood by her mate as a calmer but still very passionate voice of reason and temperance for his more hardlined, aggressive approach to things. The doberman-mix turned a look from Holly to the pups, and spoke with more optimism, "We got lucky last winter, it was pretty mild. With any luck, we'll get another easy winter this season too."

The whine from Desiree eared her a quick look from Argolis. Oh, he remembered being a youngster and absolutely dying to get out and explore the world, and for that he almost wanted to smile at his daughter's exasperation at the rules. But on the other hand, he was fiercely protective of her and the others, and Argolis didn't want to take any chances with them getting hurt.

Gwen suppressed a whine herself, even if she wasn't as adventurous as her smaller sister. She didn't stay upset for long though, because their parents had just given them the go-ahead to explore the dump! Gwen's tail was soon wagging as she scrambled past Desiree, yapping a challenge to her and the rest of her siblings, "I'm gonna find the biggest piece of meat!"

Scape's ears were up and excitement was filtering through him too. He cautiously stepped away from Dixie and began to sniff about at the wealth of garbage at his feet, trying to find something edible. One ear continuously flicked back towards his parents, while the other swiveled to account for the voices of his parents and packmates, which helped him figure out who was where, so that he didn't get lost from the group. Not that the five adults present, or the falcon circling above would let that happen.

Kasna

Kasna was wakened by the voices of strangers. He'd been asleep inside his cardboard box for most of the day to escape the cold wind and conserve his energy, and that's probably why the birds overhead had not seen him. The stink of the garbage, and in particular the overwhelming, eye-watering stench of chemicals from a nearby broken container of insecticidal soap, almost completely masked his scent. Or at the least, burned the nose and stung the lungs of anyone who came close enough to get a good whiff of it.

The voices of the pups is mainly what bothered the husky. He lifted his head and blinked his cloudy eyes open, to peer outside of his makeshift 'den'. Around the side of a large pile of garbage, he could see the fuzzy images of one of the pups; his sight wasn't good enough to determine how old the pup was, or even what kind of expression they had. All he could see was a blurry figure rumaging around, and potentially heading towards his den. Kasna stood up after crawling out of the box, and growled loudly to warn the young thing away...

Argolis & Others

The stranger was noted a mere five seconds after peeking his head out from the cardboard box. "Stranger!" Moonshadow's piercing call could be heard by all the Lurkers as she dove sharply in the sky, several dozen yards above Kasna's location. Argolis jerked his head in the falcon's direction, then immediately darted his eyes towards the old dog that stood growling at his pups. The dark brindle fur along his back rose like a mohawk, and in a flash, the hybrid was lunging across the piles of debris and human trash to reach the offender.

Pistol and Bullet reacted just as swiftly. One moment they were talking to their packmate, and the next father and son were bolting towards the conflict. Pistol was quicker than his aging father, and drove himself onward to put himself between Kasana and the pups, and potentially attack the husky if it came to it. Bullet, meanwhile, went straight for the youngsters with an urgent bark to them, "To me, children!"

Scape froze in a heartbeat. His ears were perked and his eyes wide, albeit unseeing. He heard the snarl of the stranger easily enough, and shortly after that, the thump of many feet moving around him. When Bullet called out to he and his sibligns, Scape began to stumble his way, tripping and falling over obstacles as he went. Gwen, meanwhile, tucked her tail and remained standing where she was.

Kasan

Kasna didn't know there were more than just a few pups here. In hindsight, he realized he should have been more cautious and contained his growls, but it was too late to take them back now. A screech somewhere above him was the first sign of trouble, and second was the sound of paws striking the ground, and the bark of a wolfdog nearby. Kasna blinked his failing, cloudy eyes, but could not see Argolis and Pistol until they were within a few yards of him. At that point, he had no time to turn and run, and doubted he could outpace these two larger canines anyway, so he held his ground and tucked his tail, and hastily offered an explanation, "I didn't mean any harm to them."