In Trouble? (NB)

[Shantik]

A young germon sheperd mutt paced the outside border of Arnlan, curious eyes searching the lands beyond. They were suspicious...not a good sight. This little mutt had gotten completly turned around in Hallow and now stood in between Scatterstone and this new...place. She most certainly didn't want to enter...who knew what kind of things were in there? But she stepped forward, sniffing at the border.

There were scent marks...this land was a wolf pack's...She stood and wandered the border, thinking. She wandered if one of them could help her back to Hallow. She shook her head at the thought of being chased away. She wasn't even in their territory! Why on earth would she just be chased out?

She sat and stared into the deep woods in thought, watching the shadows move. Wait a sec...that wasn't a shadow...

[nightblood]

NightBlood snarled at a new scent that rushed passed her as the wind carried it away. Dogs... She hadn't seen one since she'd been on the farm. She lowered her head and looked at what she could see of the scar on the back of her left hind leg. It had been a mutt that sent the mustangs into a panic. It had been a mutt she had killed in revenge for the lameness in her leg.

A growl emited from her throat, but she stopped it short. She couldn't be biased against all dogs. But she couldn't help but be wary around them. She picked her head up and turned toward the direction of the scent. She knew about Hallow. That would be the only reason a dog would ever come this close to a wolf pack border. As far as she knew, Arnlan didn't accept dogs, but didn't have any bad blood between them.

It wasn't long before she caught sight of the mutt. Kinda looked like a wolf... What was this breed called? German Shepherd? Border Collie? A mix of the two? Yeah, that was it. A mutt. With a mocking grin, NightBlood jumped from the shadows and into the dog's plain view in attempt to scare her.

Upon landing, she jumped with a slight yelp. In her joke, she had forgotten the tenderness in her left paw. In an attempt to sound tough, she masked the yelp with a cough and picked her left paw up off the ground to stop the pain.

"W-what business do you have here, dog?" she asked after clearing her throat and lifting her head above the mutt's.

[Shantik]

Ok, so maybe her previous thought were wrong...she might just be chased away. Shantik folded back her ears; Not so much in fear as in wariness. She didn't exactly want to get hurt. She gulped and crouched down, tucking her tail and looking up at the new figure with respect. Such a massive female must even have respect in her own pack.

"Business?" Shan asked, cocking her head. Oh, no...what if the big wolf thought she was a spy! "I don't have an- I was just lost and...and...Hey, wha's your name?"

She couldn't help it. Despite her half-fears, her curiousity was always stronger. Not to mention she might know this wolf...though the thought was far from ocmforting. If she did, it was probably from some nasty encounter. She flicked her ears forward, awaiting an answer as she slowly rose to her paws.

[nightblood]

"Business? I don't have an- I was just lost and...and..."

Blood rolled her eyes. Since rejoining Arnlan, she thought she had left those who feared her behind. It really got annoying after a while.

"Hey, wha's your name?"

The titan blinked and raised her head, giving it a quick shake in disbeliefe. Hadn't this mutt been studdering a second ago? NightBlood sat down and growled a little, overcoming her surprise and replacing it with aggitation.

"It is customary to give one's own name before asking for that of another," she said with a glare. After a moment, her eyes raised to view what was on top of this creatured head. A leather strap with two odd-shaped, clear objects on it. How strange... Not strange that a dog would carry a human object. The object itself was strange.

"I don't give my name to every canine who strolls up to me," she said, turning away from the dog, "Why do you wander so close to this border? You are but inches away from the land of a wolf pack. We do not accept dogs into our midst."

[Shantik]

(Ooooo...You weren't so tough around your cousin. )

Shantik smiled, looking the female over and deciding that, even with her gruff tone, it seemed that this wolf wasn't an all-out jerk like others she'd met. She raised her head proudly, showing up her small stuture; small, at least, compared to this wolf.

"Ok, I'm Shantik! Now who are you?"

It seemed so simple to her, the introduction of one person to another. And how come nearly every dog and canine she came across always raised an eyebrow at her goggles? Were they really that strange?

"I don't give my name to every canine who strolls up to me," The wolf spoke up, turning away, "Why do you wander so close to this border? You are but inches away from the land of a wolf pack. We do not accept dogs into our midst."

While she was turned away, Shan stuck her togue out to the wolf, but very quickly; she didn't want to get it cut off.

"I'm not just any canine! And I'm not wandering! I was lost! Simple as that! Why are you so close to the border of your own pack? Running away or something?"

Completly oblivios to ways of the wild, Shantik didn't understand the meaning of a 'border patrol'.

[nightblood]

NightBlood's eye twitched as she brought her head up at the sound of being accused of running away from Arnlan. She turned to Shantik, an enraged glare in her eye. Had Night not taken control at that moment, Blood would have attacked.

-Kill it! How dare it speak of such mutiny! NightBlood? Abbandon Arnlan?!-
~She is a dog. Such duties of border patrol are unknown to her.~
-...Annoyance...-
~Brute.~

The glare faded as NightBlood sat down upon the border. She yawned, a side effect of her numerous laps around the pack lands, and attempted to prepare herself for a long-winded conversation.

"It is nessesary to protect the pack from intruders, spies, and assassins. I am a Sentry. It is my job to stay on the border and keep out the unwanted."

Blood's attention was then caught on what the dog had said before accusing her of running away. Lost, was she? The Sentry had relative knowledge of the outside world. Perhaps she could direct this female to where she needed to go. Or, at least she could tell her who to seek out. She seemed to recall a wolfdog who travled all over relaying messages and news. What was his name? Troubadour? Yes, that was it.

"You say you are lost. What land are you looking for?"

[Shantik]

Seeing the feirce glare in the she-wolf's eyes, Shantik cowered back, her ears drawing back so much, they touched her neck. This wolf looked like she was about to rip her togue out for even mentioning the thought of running from her pack! She crouched down, looking up fearfully before the wolf yawned, speaking again, more self controlled than Shan had assumed.

"It is nessesary to protect the pack from intruders, spies, and assassins. I am a Sentry. It is my job to stay on the border and keep out the unwanted."

"Oooohhh..."

Shantik nodded in understanding, pouting slightly. Ok, so maybe what she said had not been entirly nessesary, but...

"You say you are lost. What land are you looking for?"

Grinning, Shantik was about to speak when she realized she had no clue what the name of the land she was loking for was. There was Hallow...but, all she'd gotten there was a fright and a half-filled stomach. Maybe this wolf knew where she could find something interesting...

"Well...I was sent to steal something from the local villages, and so I was browsing Hallow, but I don't think I'll find anything interesting there...do you know where I could find something of interest?"

There she went again. Like with her old friend Teak, she had once more gotten into the habit of speaking a little too fast. And with scarcly any breaths for air.

[nightblood]

"Well...I was sent to steal something from the local villages, and so I was browsing Hallow, but I don't think I'll find anything interesting there...do you know where I could find something of interest?"

The dog had spoken so quickly that NightBlood could only make out a few words, or perhaps she was simply hard of hearing. However, she could understand enough to figure out the rest. Shantik had been sent to steal from Hallow, but wanted to know if there was another place around to steal from.

Night had never heard of a domestic dog stealing from humans, but she quickly assumed it wasn't impossible. Steal from humans? She had a grudge against them. Why not help out a little bit?

"There's Rakine Port just passed Semone," Blood said with a mischievious grin, remembering that BladeWind, a new member, had come from there. She pointed her muzzle in the direction of the town. "That way's you're best bet."

[Shantik]

"There's Rakine Port just passed Semone," The wolf suggested, grinning. "That way's you're best bet."

"Ooohhh, how'd I know you were gonna bring that up...?"

Shantik whinned complaint aloud, drawing her ears back more, if that was possible, but standing up, looking back the way to Rakine. The harsh memories of that place still were enough to send shudders down her spine.

"I went there a long time ago, but there was this group of dogs - big dobermans! - that kept trying to chase me out! I'm definetly not going back there again!"

She spoke slower; if she rushed, it wouldn't sem dramatic enough.

(I need to add that to her history...=<)

[nightblood]

"I went there a long time ago, but there was this group of dogs - big dobermans! - that kept trying to chase me out! I'm definetly not going back there again!"

"Well that's the only place I know of," NightBlood growled, "Coward. Try again or turn back to Hallow."

Blood stood up, indicating her intent on ending the conversation. She felt odd urging a stranger to continue on her mission. That was usually meant for packmates, friends, and family. No matter. The canine had to leave, and soon. She didn't know how the Alphas would hold with a dog on the border.

[Shantik]

"You expect me to go up against them? I'll get torn to shreds!"

She sat, pouting, them grinned and crept over the border into the paklands, curious. Maybe they were hiding shiny stuff in here! She pushed through the dense plants, flicking her fluffy tail.

"Hmm...What's in here that you need to protect so much?"

[nightblood]

The giant had started to leave when Shantik sat down. It didn't matter to her if she stayed close to the border, as long as she didn't enter the territory. Blood turned and glared again in reponce to the dog's rejection of her order, but didn't stop. She had to make sure the pack was protected by spies and assassins, not strays.

However, NightBlood DID turn around when she saw that Shantik had stepped across the border. The black and tan wolfess charged, fangs bared. She snarled, but kept herself from attacking. She stopped only inches from the canine, still growling.

"Leave. You're not welcome here," she said with the highest amount of sensarity.

[Shantik]

"Aaaaawwww...but why?" Shantik replied, looking up at her sadly. "I haven't done anything wrong..." She stepped away from the border none-the-less and eyed it suspiciously, like something was going to reach out and bite her nose off if she came to it again.

[nightblood]

NightBlood growled once more. She bared her teeth, signifying her annoyance with the dog.

"I've already told you. We do not accept dogs. We do not allow them upon the land unless they have good reason."

Blood stepped forward and moved to where she blocked Shantik completely from the border. Only if she proved fast enough would she be able to get around her, but Night would deffinatly put up a fight.

"Leave. Before I make you. And yes, that it a threat."

Another growl. This one more powerful than the last. She was growing aggitated. Had Shantik been a wolf, she might have been able to get away with such a thing. MIGHT, because she probably would have had the choice to die or stay on the land and become part of the pack.

[Shantik]

Shan pouted at her, sitting down. "But I'm not on the border anymore! See?" She scuttled back to a few feet away from the scent mark, smiling. She tilted her head, not seeing any problems, exspecially naive to the ways of trust and how hard it may be to give away to a stray, for a wolf, at least.