Patch

Black paws scrambled across the treacherous, uneven piles of trash. He wasn't an expert at this terrain, by now. He was reaching six years of age, six years of living in the city. The dump was a common playplace, especially as a pup. Despite the adult Lurkers forbidding them to travel to the dump unattended, Patch and his friends never followed. And now, six years later, Patch was back to his childish antics.

Perhaps it was to relieve the fatherly, adult duties that had come unto the mutt in the recent years. Playing and fooling around was far from his duty as a Lurker, and being a father meant responsibility. But, now, Patch was here, images of times lost long ago flashing through his head. He recalled his mother, Fanta, scoffing him for his frequent trips out here. He remembered playing with Equiss out here, remembered their sweet innocence. Those things were so far away, lost in the turmoil the Valley had been washed over with. Patch shivered, trying to force these depressing thoughts from his mind.

There was no turmoil here. Although the winds sang of it, Patch could not feel the chaos here. And, so, for a moment, Patch was at peace.

Equiss

From a distance, and perhaps with a squinting of the eyes, Equiss could almost pass for her Aunt Hydras, so similar were their coats. With winter clutching the Valley and snow abound, the hybrid's fur was especially thick and full now, adding to her size and wolfish form. That thick fur helped to insulate her from the biting wind that blew down across the snow draped rubbish heaps she was walking through, allowing the female to focus on things other than staying warm.

One of those things was Patch. A casual search for food had brought her to the Dump, but as soon as she picked up the other's scent, Equiss' mind went off of finding a meal, and a delicate grin spread across her white, black, and brown muzzle. Her large paws moved deftly across the littered landscape to carry her as silently as possible. Thick fur and fresh snow further helped to muffle her movements, until the 95-pound wolfdog had crept into view of her life-long companion. Equiss paused a few yards behind him, tail swaying slowly and butter-yellow eyes gleaming playfully.

Equiss poised herself before bounding forward the last few feet, dashing towards the male to give him a shoulder bump and a playful nip to one of his ears. At six years of age herself, Equiss still delighted in the same lighthearted antics as Patch did.

Patch

He wasn't expecting company, nor for it to be Equiss. Too absorbed in clamoring around a large heap of garbage, Patch was completely thrown off by Equiss's assault. His ears flattened, and he leaped backwards with a yip. His paws slipped on the plastic bag of garbage he was perched upon and thumped to the ground.

Patch did a somersault before halting in the snow. Snapping his head up, Patch growled despite himself. But this was quickly interrupted by a laugh when he saw Equiss above him now. "That wasn't fair," Patch complained with a shake of his black-and-white head. He rose to his paws with another shake to his snow-covered body, glaring at Equiss with laughing eyes. Of course, Patch wasn't going to admit that his fall was actually caused by his surprise. He was a bit too proud for that.

Leaping back up onto the heap of trash, Patch gazed at Equiss with exquisite brown eyes that sparked with playfulness. He bounced at the heap of trash, hoping to upset Equiss's footing. He wasn't going to let her be the victor just yet.

Equiss

Equiss was well prepared for the growl she startled out of her companion, because she had done the exact same thing to Black Arrow when the female pounced on her unexpectedly a few days ago. What she didn't quite expect, but found great amusement in, was how Patch so ungracefully sprung up, lost his footing, and tumbled backwards off of the trash bag. Equiss held a quiet, devious grin on her bold muzzle, only letting loose a laugh when Patch did.

"Just testing your reflexes." She teased back with a gently swooshing tail. Seeing the light of playfulness in his darker eyes, Equiss tilted her head coyly to the side, and lowered her front end to the ground in a playbow, preparing to counter the pounce he appeared to be readying for. When Patch jumped back up onto the heap, Equiss reared up on her hindpaws to bat at him... and in doing so, found the trashbag under her paws suddenly shifting with the male's added weight. She slipped sideways, twisted her body in a desperate attempt to regain balance, and ended up flailing her legs hilariously and falling anyway. The wolfdog rolled twice down the incline before finding her footing and righting herself, at which point she gave herself a good shake and grinned sheepishly up at the triumphant Patch, "..I guess that means I need to work on my reflexes too, huh?"

Patch

Wagging his tail, Patch was quite proud at his work at seeing Equiss rolling on the ground. He hopped down and tossed a pawful of snowflakes at her face, chuckling softly.

"You're just getting old, m'dear," He commented lightheartedly, reaching over to lick her cheek affectionately. The wolfdog danced around Equiss, bumping her hip. The spotted canine gazed at his mate with an loving look, taking in the presence of the dog he had fallen madly in love with as a pup. She was beautiful, a quality rivaled by her shining personality. Patch wagged his tail again, remembering that it was he who got the prize. Equiss was everything and anything Patch could ever want. Butting his head into Equiss's shoulder, he smiled. "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone your age."

Equiss

The fae snorted and pawed at her face to dislodge the fluffy white crystals that had landed there, all the while laughing in pure amusement and joy. Other than the good natured bout of wrestling with Black Arrow the other day, it had been a long time since the wolfdog had had a good romp.

After she'd gotten up and given her pelt one more shake for good measure, Equiss returned Patch's lick with a loving nuzzle under his chin. Her eyes closed for a brief moment as she took in and enjoyed the familiar, comforting scent of his, then they snapped back open and she was bouncing nimbly aside after getting bumped into. Another playful nip was directed at her mate, this time towards his side, where he might be ticklish. "If you wont tell..." Equiss started with a mischievous grin, "..then I won't tell anyone how old you are."

Patch

Equiss always tried to get the lost shot in every game. And she did when she poked him in his side, causing the brute to reel sideways with a soft yip. Her gesture was unexpected and got him right where his side was most sensitive, and indeed most ticklish. Patch gave a good-natured growl, chuckling.

"Always the last shot, huh Equiss?" Patch laughed, reaching up with a paw and poking her in the side. "Please, I'm still feeling a day past two. Look at me, not a grey hair in sight." Patch gave his pelt a good shake, grinning back up at his mate. His convincing didn't go far, with the phantoms of grey hairs right at the base of his chin, but the wolfdog still had many years of energy left in him. In his mind, he was immortal.

Equiss

She knew her mate well, knew right where all his most ticklish spots were. One side of her muzzle lifted in a grin, showing off her keen fang and a few of the teeth around it as she joked back at him, "Of course I do." Between all the hunting, scouting, and guarding, the wolfdog cherished these lighter moments with her mate, where they could both drop their serious facade and indulge in some play and silly antics.

It was Equiss' turn to wiggle aside when a paw reached her side. A look of pretend dismay crossed her features, "Hey, who's taken the last shots here?" Instead of coming back at him with a nip or another bump, Equiss' expression softened and her ears flicked back for a minute. She leaned her tri-toned head towards his and nudged under his chin, whose few grey hairs had not missed her attention, "If you say so, I'll go along with it." Her eyes roved back up towards his, "So, what brought you out here?"

Patch

Light on his paws, Patch pranced slightly beside Equiss in the snow. Finally, he was stock-still and smiling back at Equiss with a look of innocence crossing his face. "Only playing fair, my dear," He chuckled.

Wagging his tail, Patch cocked his head at Equiss. Her last question caused him to hesitate for a moment, to consider his response. With a roll of his shoulders, Patch responded, "Oh, nothing in particular. Trying to find some peace and stretch my muscles. I'm exhausted with being holed up in the Den. And I'm exhausted with all tension, with all the gossip about the chaos to come." The spotted wolfdog paused, sighing. "I deserve a bit of a break, as do you."

Equiss

Now with their playful greeting over, Equiss adopted a more thoughtful expression, without letting it become too serious, and without letting her brushy tail waving. "It is quieter out here, that I have to admit." Equiss conceded with a knowing look to her mate, before turning her eyes briefly over the snow-carpeted landscape. To the humans, it was little more than an eyesore, but to Equiss it represented much more; food, home, and as Patch had sought out, a quieter place to gather one's thoughts. "Argolis has been a little tense with that first litter of theirs." She didn't bothered to mention Shetani and the heap of disorder and tension that had brought to the pack, and repressed a shiver to even think about the distant rumors she'd heard of the Haunters. Equiss tried to put those things out of her mind as she turned a softer look to Patch, "I think we all do. Spring will be on its way before we know it, and that alone is usually enough to cheer everyone up."

Patch

Patch cocked his head with a thought, processing Equiss's reasonings for the Lurker tension. It was no doubt that Argolis was plagued by anxiety over his first litter. Had Patch not paced and fretted over his very first children? Four little daughters bound for trouble, how could a father not be worried out of his mind every minute? Patch smirked at the thought of his children, suppressing a soft sigh at the reverie. But Argolis's tension was not the only thing that forced Patch out of the Den today. Most of the fears were roused by the whispers of war, and Patch aptly abandoned his home to procure a peace of mind. "It's certainly better out here," Patch agreed warmly, wagging his tail softly. He tried to avoid the negative, skittering away from breathing mentions of the conundrums for the Shadow Lurkers. "We need spring...It always sets everyone in a good mood. There's hardly issues when spring is in full swing." Patch couldn't avoid mentioning the peace that spring brought. Wars were hardly fought during the spring. When summer took a swing, or winter came around, that was when packs were most on edge. Hopefully, the Shadow Haunters would also maintain the unspoken spring truce, for the sake of life and serenity.

Equiss

Equiss could fondly recall the early weeks and months of motherhood, and how it was mixed just as much with joy as it was with apprehension. She could appreciate how stressed her alpha cousin was, but wouldn't admit how she saw the whole ordeal as kind of cute, from the perspective of one who'd watched him progress from a bullheaded, hot-tempered new leader to an overly-concerned, doting father. She almost felt bad for Dixie at times even, considering how Argolis had insisted she and the pups be guarded a tall times in the beginning. She put those thoughts aside though, and with her mate's inclination to keep things positive, she also turned aside her own worries about what potential trouble may be brewing with their pack. "Spring is also time of lambing season." The wolfdog pointed this out with an animated swish of her tail, making reference to the farm where Aidan resided. Besides good weather and the hope for peace, there would also be good food to nourish the pack, if they were lucky, "It's been a few weeks since anyone last spoke with them at the farm, but I for one can't wait for an easy hunting trip in the pasture."

Patch

Patch could relate to Argolis, although he had not feared in such amounts for his daughters. Of course, they had been born during a lull in the war; it was technically a time of peace, if that term was to be used (Patch hardly believed peace actually existed in this valley). At the mention, Patch's body tensed with apprehension of lambing season. It had completely slipped his mind, the joys of spring. The rewarding hunts that came with prowling around the human dwelling places were always something to anticipate. Although they weren't challenging, it was always joyful to down a few lambs for an easy meal. It was swift satisfaction. Patch wagged his tail, smiling softly. "I'm surprised we haven't gone out there as of recent. Although adult sheep aren't easy picks, it's still easier chasing them in their enclosure than the deer in the wide-open forest," Patch mused, cocking his head slightly. "But, I guess we can't afford to get caught in the snow with an angry human after us...."

Equiss

After spending so much of her time in the constricted valleys of brick and concrete, Equiss longed for some time in the wilderness, and the thrill of chasing down prey rather than scrounging through dumpsters and dining on roadkill. Oh, she loved life in the human city, and would never give that or her family up for anything else, but the wolf in her yearned for fresh air now and then. Lambs didn't exactly provide much of a thrill to hunt, as Patch knew, but the open fields and soft grass beneath the paws was tempting enough for the hybrid. "I'm not sure why we haven't recently either." Coming back to his comment, Equiss mused over that and nodded at the possible explanation, "Could be that; and we're easier for them to track with snow on the ground." The fae's nose twitched subtly, detecting a faint whiff of stale bread somewhere; a touch of sweetness suggested it might be a glazed doughnut, or perhaps a sweetroll. "I guess we haven't spoken with Aidan recently either... or Ankh, for that matter. I'm half tempted to just go out and visit them myself."

Patch

The wolf-dog sighed softly, gazing up at the ashen sky for a moment. A trek out to see Aidan or Ankh seemed tempting, and there was no harm in the sojourn. The idea stirred in Patch's mind, contemplating whether or not he should propose it to Equiss. The pack was not under immediate threat, and what was a few hours out in the country? If they brought back a rabbit or something along the way home, the pack would be thankful. Either way, their absence would not be harshly accounted for. Returning his gaze to Equiss, he wagged his tail. "Why don't we go for a trek, Equiss?" Patch proposed, cocking his head and smiling softly. "What's a few hours, getting out and stretching our legs? We don't even have to hunt...let's just get out of this desolate city and enjoy ourselves! And, like you said, we can go see how Aidan is." His voice was met with a wave of young enthusiasm. Patch pranced slightly with his paws, skittering across the dirty snow of the dump. How exciting a bit of freedom was!

Equiss

The wag of Patch's tail spoke of his agreement before he'd even spoken. A delighted smile stretched across tri-toned muzzle and her fluffy tail mirrored his own with its animated swishing, "My thoughts exactly. There are enough able-bodied defenders at the Den to keep things secure anyway." She gave that excuse for their absence, following Patch's thoughts about how a short trip wouldn't be missed on the rest of the Lurkers, especially during the day when the falcons could further help keep an eye on things. Equiss brushed passed her companion with a friendly bump to his shoulder and a flick of her tail against his side, a playful invitation for him to follow as she set off in a sprint to leave the cluttered confines of the dump behind. There was nothing quite like a brisk winter day and a impromptu adventure with one's mate to bring out one's inner pup!

Patch

Patch grinned, agreeing with his mate with nuzzle. She started off at a fast pace, that surprised Patch for a moment, before he too erupted into an excited sprint after her.