Crabs!

[abhorzion]

The sun peered out from behind a small white wispy cloud and it's warm rays shone down onto Volkers head. It was a lovely day, the clouds were few and far between and the sun was warm and bright. A cool, light sea breeze added a refreshing nip to the air every now and then and the young 'Dobe' felt good.
There didn't seem to be anyone else around, it was a fine, quiet day which suited Volker just fine. He strolled down the beach, his large pads sinking slightly into the soft white sand, kicking the occasional pebble away and with his long, large head held high.

"What a nice day" he thought out loud, looking over the dark sea, sparkling in the sunlight, gentle waves dancing in the breeze. Autumn was Volkers favourite season, cool but not too cold and he loved the leaves falling from the tree's. He was in heaven right now, right up in his own little dream-world, floating along without a care in the world. He was so misty eyed and dreamy in the sunlight that he failed to notice the large black rock just before him that he was about to trip over. Suddenly, his front right paw smacked into the rock and before he knew it, he was tripping over all his other feet and tumbling around in the sand in a flurry of fur, sand and legs.
Embarrassed, he gathered himself back together and sprung awkwardly back to his feet, looking around sheepishly to make sure nobody saw. After deciding the coast was clear, he shook the sand form his fur and with a toss of the head and a "hmph" he was back off down the beach. He wasn't about to let that little folly spoil his day.

Having regained his serene poise, he carried on along the warm sand, admiring the views and enjoying the breeze. Presently, he came across a small rock pool and he felt compelled to investigate. He gazed down into the clear water, looking at the small green plants swaying in the gentle ebb of the ripples which shone pleasantly in the sunlight. It was the very picture of tranquility. Volker dipped his nose into the water and lapped up a big mouthful of it. Realising it's harsh saltiness, he spat it out straight away, shaking every last drop off, he wasn't going to drink that again in a hurry. When he looked back into the water, he spotted something moving, something small and red and once again, he just had to investigate. Once again he plunged his nose into the pool and found something small, smooth and moving, carefully, he scooped it up into his mouth and pulled it out of the water, placing it on the sand between his front paws, crouching down to get a better look at it, he'd never seen anything like it before.
It was a small, smooth, red crab and it was angry!

As Volker sniffed at the creature, it lunched at his nose and clamped it's strong pincers down onto it in a determined pinch and it didn't intend on letting go. Yelping in pain, Volker began to shake frantically in an effort to detach the crab, but it was going nowhere. In his panic, he failed to notice a larger, slightly more orange crab creeping out of the water behind him, also angry at having been disturbed and it was heading straight over to him. As he struggled with the small smooth crab on his nose, the large knobbly crab behind him planted a well aimed pinch on his back left paw but instead of just clamping down, this crab released his foot and struck again, just above his ankle on his back right leg. Poor Volker barked in pain, causing the small smooth red crab to become detached and it sailed through the air, before landing in the soft sand some distance away. One crab down, one more to go. Volker turned towards the large crab, which was still attached to his leg and he snarled.
Undeterred, the crab continued to crush the large dogs leg, always releasing and grabbing again.
"Get off!" Volker barked, but of course the crab didn't understand and so ignored his angry request.

The small, pleasant rock pool and it's air of tranquility had been soiled and had now descended into a flurry of fur, sand, water and various expletives. After about fifteen minutes of wrestling, the crab decided it had more interesting and important matters to tend to and it let go of Volker, scuttling nonchalantly back into it's pool, where it joined the small smooth red crab once again as if nothing had ever happened.
Volker shook himself off and limped away from them, accepting defeat. As he surrendered, the clouds broke once more and the warm sun caressed his long, slender head.
"At least it's a nice day..." he muttered.

[Nachty]

Mitternacht had been enjoying a nice nap on the beach when his dreams were interupted by the barking of another creature. Thoroughly irritated he liftled him self out of the cool sand. He shook himself flinging sand everywhere. He hated to be woken up from one of his naps. Snarling inwardly Nacht followed the sound to its source.

Mitt looked to see what had disturbed him flicking his tail in slight annoyance. It looked like one of the dogs he had seen while he still lived in Germany. The poor creature was trying to get a large crab off of himself, and he was making quite a ruckus. Mitternacht couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as the dog thrashed around in the water for a good while before the crab finally decided to leave him be. Any thoughts of malice that had passed through Nacht's mind had vanished. Poor guy could not have been intentionally bugging him.

The dog said something after that but Mitternacht could not catch it. I might as well make myself known, he thought to himself. Jumping up onto a rock he sat down balanced precariously and he let out a nonthreatening growl.

"Having a little crab trouble?" he smirked; his accented voice dripping with sarcasm. Mitternacht hoped the black and brown dog would not take any offense, but then again one could never tell.

[abhorzion]

"Having a little crab trouble?" came a voice from behind Volker. Oh no! Someone had seen!

Slowly, Volker looked round to see a grey wolf perched on a rock just next to the crabs pool. The wolf, barely balancing on the rock, although larger and more imposing than himself, didn't seem to pose a threat to Volker. He'd obviously seen his struggle ealier though and immediately, embarassment set in.
Volker hung his head slightly, his ears folding themselves back and he adopted a "sad puppy" stance.Looking at the grinning grey wolf, Volker nodded.
"I bet I looked pretty silly back there, didn't I..." he said, his accent similar to that of the wolf, although replacing the sarcasm for sheepishness.

Volker quickly checked around him to make sure there were no more crabs on the way, and seeing the coast was clear, he sighed in relief. He looked back up to the wolf, who appeared to have large scars along his snout and shoulders. Perhaps I should introduce myself He thought, and he stood up straight.
"I'm Volker" he said, proudly. "And I'm not as stupid as I look" he added with a grin.

[Nachty]

"I bet I looked pretty silly back there, didn't I..." The dog replied pathetically. You don't say, Mitternacht added quietly too himself in response to this creatures words. He would not speak it aloud though. Such comments were best left out most of the time. The dogs voice carried the same accent of his own. The familiar sound was welcome to Mitternacht's ears, well at least his good ear.

"I'm Volker. And I'm not as stupid as I look" the dog continued. As long as they were exchanging pleasantries Mitternacht decided he might as well introduce himself as well.

"And I am Mitternacht; Nacht is you prefer. I guess it is quite apparent that neither of us were born here." He decided he might as well get that out of the way. His homeland barely felt like a home to him anyway. Jumping off his perch he walked through the salty pool to get better look at this stranger. "What exactly has brought you so far from home?"

[abhorzion]

As the large grey wolf approached him, Volker sat down on his haunches and began panting in the warmth of the sun, his mouth gaping open and his expression changing from a sheepish smile to a wide mouthed canine grin, his tongue protruding slightly from his bottom jaw.
"Nice to make your aqquaintance, Mitternacht." he replied politely, bowing his head slightly to him. The wolf appeared to be scanning Volker, his eyes darting all over him as if making a risk assesment. Volker didn't mind, he was used to bumping into other canines as he roamed around and was used to being sniffed and eyeballed by strangers.

"I was born in Deutschland, uh, Germany five years ago and I grew up there, I was a police dog." he reminisced, the dreamy look returning to his eyes once more. "Oh yes, I had many exciting times, saw many sights, smelled some wonderful smells and heard the most brilliant sounds." he continued, nostalgia taking hold. "One day, we went to a crime and my master got into trouble and fought with a criminal, I tried to help but was beaten away and my master battled with the man." Volker paused, the memories which had once seemed so distant flocked back vividly. He hung his head, he didn't want to remember any more than that. "After that day, I never saw my master again, I was given to a new master, someone who lived far away. When he took me home, I served to protect his mother, she was a lovely woman..." Volker hung his head low, the pain setting in as he remembered the good old times. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "She died, she was so ill and her son didn't want to know. After that day, I was given away to a home for unwanted dogs where the conditions were dire and the other dogs used to cry out and scream and howl until their throats were raw. We were scarcely fed and some of use were injured and mangy. I was lucky, I managed to escape and since, I've been wandering here, foraging, trying to keep myself alive."

Volker looked up at Mitternacht. "I'm sorry, I do tend to rattle on" he said, snapping out of it and trying to shake the memories off. "I do beleive it's your turn." he offered, nodding politely.

[Nachty]

Nacht listened intently as Volker told him the details of his life. Obviously this dog had quite a lot of experience with people. The thought of people made Mitternacht want to loose his lunch, but that would be rude. If there was one thing he did not want to be it was rude.

"Police dog..." Mitternacht echoed quietly doing his best to sound interested. He sat back on his haunches and gave Volker a quick glance. "Sounds like a pretty interesting job...whatever it is. Me one the other hand I do not believe I have had much of a 'job'." Unless you consider wandering a job, he smirked slightly.

"I too was born into a world of humans, but unlike your story humans were never any good to me." He grimaced each time he uttered the word human. Nacht could care less about their doings. He never wanted to come anywhere near their weird smelling towns.

"I was born in a zoo in Germany; a horrible place... My mother and I would go three days without food and when we did get food it was just barely enough. Everyday I watched the humans and their pups come to gawk as me and my mother. There was nowhere to hide from their prying eyes. THrowing things through the bars...taunting me..." Mitternacht flinched as he remembered those terrible days. How clear they were in his mind no matter how hard he tried to push them away.

"When I was four months old my mother died of an illness. The damned keepers did not even seem to notice." At this point Nacht was practically snarling his words. The fury he felt towards humans was as raw as it had ever been. He swore quietly to himself that if one even thought of touching him he would tear them to shreds.

"I promised my mother I would get away. What could a pup like myself do? It was a runt then if you could believe it. When those humans finally noticed the next day I escaped. Foolish creatures did not even make sure the closed the door. It was all too easy, at least at that point. Since then I have tended for myself. These scars are a testament to my travels. It has not been easy but I suppose it is all for the better." Mitternacht curled his large tail over his paws as he finished his story.

[abhorzion]

As Mitternacht spoke, Volker listened in awe, becoming more and more engrossed in his story. He'd never heard such a tale and the words swam in his mind as he felt every pain-staking emotion they incurred. The wolfs words were indeed only half the story, his facial expression changing with every stinging emotion, almost spitting the word "human". Volker never knew there was such a side to these "humans" to which he'd previously been pretty much indifferent to.
As the sun began to lower in the sky, Volker thought it must have heard Mitternacht's sad story too. He observed the scars that stretched over the wolfs body and winced as he did so, imagining the intense pain of the injury that must have caused such a scar. This incredibly creature had once been small and weak, starved and taunted but had somehow managed to keep himself alive and grow into such a magnificent wolf. Volker was starstruck by the power behind Mitternacht's words and as the large grey wolf curled his tail around himself, Volker couldn't quite find the words to say in reply. Instead, he sat there, before the wolf quietly and repsectfully, his head bowed slightly, his ear still perked up slightly, the emotional words of the sad story still ringing around in them.

After a few minutes quiet reflection, Volker looked back up at Mitternacht, who was still sat quietly, his tail curled around him, his facila expression one of anguish and torment.
"Nacht, that's a terrible tale. You are indeed a brave wolf." commended Volker. "I'm sorry to have mentioned... them, I had no idea... they could be so foul." he added, with a slight frown. Not a frown directed at Mitternacht, but a frown of disgust at those deplorable humans. Humans of course he had not given much thought to before hearing this story.
Suddenly, Volkers stomach rumbled loudly, interrupting the mood and embarassing Volker once more.
"Sorry." he uttered with a smile.

[Nachty]

Mitternacht let out a soft sigh. "There is no need to be sorry. You did not know." He grinned it seemed that everyday he spent here he met someone who was actually friendly. Very much unlike his previous encounters.

"I guess my view is skewed. I have only met a pawful of humans and I believe it is not fair to say they are all so horrible as they seem to pawful cannot represent them all." Nacht pressed his paw down on a passing crab, the small red crab from earlier. If you knew where to hold them the could be quite interesting little nuisances.

"So Volker," he continued. At this point the crab was getting quite agitated, understandably of course, and begun to snap at Nacht's paws. Luckily his thick fur prevented it's pincers from really hurting.

Mitternacht turned back to his beach side companion. "What type of dog are you anyway? I've seen dogs similar in appearance but not quite the same as you." Mitternacht inquired genuinely.

[abhorzion]

Mitternacht was right. Sometimes, humans could truly be abhorrent but it wasn't fair to assume they were all the same. It was much like Volkers experience with other dogs, some were ok, others weren't so good to know. You can't judge a book by it's cover. Perhaps it was the same with crabs, perhaps it was just those two who were nasty, perhaps other crabs were more polite, less violent and had less painful pinches.
Volker eyeballed the crab, screwing up his face at it as it writhed angrilly beneath Mitternachts paw. Vile creature! he thought to himself. He looked away with a snort, casting a breif gaze over the deep blue before them. The wind was starting to get up now and Volker felt a vague chill through his short, smooth hair. It was still a lovely day however, as the sun began to sink slowly into the merging clouds on the horizon, Volker almost forgot how much he despised the small, smooth red crab.

"What type of dog are you anyway?" Mitternachts voice snapped Volker back into reality and he broke his gaze and looked at the large grey wolf with a smile. He'd only come across very few wolves, most had either ignored him or chased him off, snapping angrilly at him for treading into their territory. This one however seemed very polite and genuinely interested in conversing with Volker.

Sitting up straight, looking every bit the bright, attentive dog that he had been in his working days.
"I am a half blood dog." he said, proudly. "My mother was a Dobermann Pinscher, a fine dog she was indeed." Ah yes, Volkers mother, how he missed her so. She hadn't been cruelly snatched away by the unforgiving claws of fate like Mitternachts mother had, but he still missed his old mum. He paused breifly and remembered the days al those years ago when he used to scamble about with his brothers and sisters, always under mothers watchful eye. Those were the days... Realising he was drifting back off into space again, Volker shook himself out of his nostalgic moment.
"My father was a Rottweiler, he stood tall, proud and strong. He too worked alongside man with the police. I used to feel I was filling his footsteps." he added, proudly, with a smile. Feeling a chill, Volker stood up and shook his fur, his ears flapping about his head like a windmill.
"Some have refferred to me as a Rottermann." he grinned, his usual goofball expression returning to his long face.

The "rottermann" looked all around. As the sun sunk behind the clouds, the cool air took hold of the beach and the wind scattered dried, golden leaves over the sand. Volker smiled at Mitternacht.
"I love autumn."

[Nachty]

"I am a half blood dog." Volker replied. His eyes seemed to glow with absolute pride that Mitternacht himself could not help but flash a small grin himself. He listened intently to the dog's history. It was times like this Mitternacht wondered if his family had ever done anything worthwhile. He knew his mother had been taken from the wild and he had never really met his father...well not directly.

"My father was a Rottweiler, he stood tall, proud and strong. He too worked alongside man with the police. I used to feel I was filling his footsteps. Some have referred to me as a Rottermann." Those words pulled up a memory of Mitternacht's. This one he was sure was a happy one.

“A rottweiler." He commented. "I do believe I have met that type of dog once. And a fiery one at that. Karma I believe her name was... She was a good friend of mine for a while, but our paths went separate ways. It is nothing though. Friends will come and go.” Mitternacht laughed as he though of the spunky female he had called friend. “I have known rottweilers to be very friendly." Mitternacht continued. "It shows through in you very much.”

He let out a small sigh as he turned to face the water. It was quite a nice day. Mitternacht was glad he had someone to share it with. He had always loved Autumn. It was cool out but not quite so bitter as winter. It was perfect.

Volker soon voiced his own similars thoughts. "I love autumn." He smiled.

Mitternacht nodded in quiet agreement. "It is probably my favorite of all seasons," he finally said after a brief silence. "Everything seems to take on a whole new light. Colors change, it all seems so calm." Even though his his calm exterior did not seem to show it Mitternacht was just itching for some action. It was true he enjoyed the quiet times he had, but something in him just wanted to bolt and run free. It must be the weather, he thought brushing off the most of the feeling. Still there was an energy just coming from the surroundings that he was finding hard to ignore.

(Sorry for the wait. I finally got around to finishing this.)

[abhorzion]

Volker smiled at Mitternacht, noticing a deep, burning desire in the wolf's eye's as he gazed over the dark, glistening sea. His tale of the fiery rottweiler he had called his friend echoed around in Volker's mind and he wondered how they had met, why they had parted. Mitternacht uttered a soft sigh as he glanced across the water and the Rottermann decided it was not his place to ask.
The two canines sat aside one another for a moment, in silence both admiring the beautiful autumn scenery. He felt an energy coming from the Large Grey Wolf as he looked once again into those smouldering eyes. Excitement? Volker thought Mitternacht presented himself as rather stern and sensible but he knew that somewhere, deep down under all the fur and hardness, there was a puppy who just wanted to play. Jump, run and break free. Mitternacht looked content enough on the outside, but the energy flowing from him suggested otherwise. Volker picked up on that energy.

A quiet rustling sound came from behind them and Volker looked round to see what it was. A huge pile of leaves was just sitting there being gently caressed by the wind. The amazing colours looked irresistable to Volker's sharp eyes, the ruddy shades and the golds, yellows and oranges twinkling away in the dusky sunlight. Volker had an idea.

"Hey, Mitternacht!" he said, bounding to his paws, excitedly, his small stumpy tail wagging a mile a minute. "Look at that!" he barked, nodding towards the pile of leaves. "I have an idea, come on!"

Volker just couldn't resist as he turned and ran into the pile of leaves, sending them flying into the air and whizzing all around in a flurry of deep autumn colours. Volker blew and kicked at the leaves, bouncing around like a puppy.
"Come, on Mitternacht!" he barked, cheerily. "Come, play!"

[Nachty]

The scattered leaves hit him on the maw and Mitternacht cocked his head to the side in confusion. He stared quietly at the autum leaves as they fluttered slowly to the ground. They didn't seem like anything special.

"Play?" he growled. "Well, if you say so." Crouching down Mitternacht stalked carefully towards the pile of fallen leaves. Then he pounced sending a flurry of them into the air. He wagged his tail happily and they floated back down to the ground. Again he charged them and again they flew up. What was this? He was still a young wolf and yet he had never known what it felt like just to play.

Laughing he turned his head to face Volker, "I've never done this before...I guess it is..uhh....fun." He concluded with a grin. With one one paw he formed a small pile of leaves and backed up slightly. With a small leap he landed full force on the leaves just in front of Volker's snout. After the flurry of oranges and red settled Mitternacht looked at Volker a wide grin etched across his scarred face.

[limauniform]

((Haha, this looks like fun. Can I pop in here? ^^ ))

Crap, she was really lost this time and Bayne wasn't around anymore to help her find her way again. The small black wolf glanced around wordily. What if something tried to attack her right now? Something big and scary that wanted to eat her? Delaja cringed at the thought and trotted even quicker across the sand, eager to be away.

"Big brother...." she whined pathetically.

Really she was already 3 years old, she should be able to go around on her own. But Bayne's constant presence had somewhat weakened that part of her instincts and she was almost completely reliant on her brother for protection. She hadn't meant to wander away from where they were supposed to meet up, a bear had found her there and she'd fled in fear that the larger creature might try to attack her. Now, walking along the ocean line, Delaja couldn't help jumping at every little thing, even the crabs that scuttled around her, clicking their large pincers as they gazed curiously at this stranger.

Something rustled from behind and several dry little 'things' hit her on the head gently. Despite the fact that they were just a couple of harmless leaves, Delaja started and with a yelp, backed up only to feel the ground waver beneath her paws. It was only a pile of leaves but to her, it seemed like a huge monster trying to eat her. Crying softly to herself, the femme leaped away, frantically shaking the debris from her coat, and felt herself hit something furry and big. This was no pile of vegetation she knew that much. More scared than ever now, Delaja whirled around only to find herself face to face with the biggest wolf she had ever seen in her short life. His snout was well covered with scars as was the rest of his body, he was pretty big, and overall, he was just plain terrifying to behold in her eyes.

"...I....I...." she stammered. "...Sor...sorry...."

There was another male standing not far away and Delaya's wide blue eyes careened from one to the other, wondering what was going to happen now that she had perhaps disturbed these two.

[Nachty]

(This thread will take a little while to update because abhorizon has taken a little break for the holidays. Hope you don't mind)

Mitternacht stared down at the small female. Here appearance out of the blue had caught him quite off guard. He hadn't heard her approach which surprised him. He had been too distracted to notice. Not at all like himself. This playing seemed to has such a strange effect on him.

"Was die Hölle..."Mitternacht growled quietly to himself in his native language. It seemed like everyone was wandering on the beach today. The poor female was clearly scared which mad mitternacht sigh slightly. Another reminder that he wasn't exactly the most attractive wolf out there. Oh well, those were thoughts for another time. Now was now. Lowering himself so as not to make her anymore fearful Mitternacht crouched down to get a better look at the female. Speaking slowly so his accent was at least slightly understandable he smiled,"It is quite alright. I hope I didn't scare you too badly." He gave her a once over determining that she meant no harm.

Looking into her dark blue eyes, with no threat behind his stare, he continued speaking. "I'm Mitternacht and that's Volker," he gestured with his tail to the doberman mix that stood a little way off. "You seem lost. Is there someone or something you're looking for?" Mitternacht guessed it was in the wolf's best interest to get her back to wherever it was she was looking for because here was certainly not the place.

[abhorzion]

As the leaves that flurried around Volkers head cleared, the Rottermann's deep brown eye's caught sight of something small and black just nearby. The small, elegant stump that was his docked tail ceased it's excitable wagging and instead, it stood still, pointed slightly upwards. Volker could smell another canine but he couldn't quite see where it was or indeed what it was. He pricked his ears and listened intently. He could hear a rustling sound nearby. He looked around, nothing behind him, nothing around him. Then he looked over to Mitternacht, who had he had just been playing with in the pile of fallen leaves.
"Mitternacht..." he said, cautiously in his broad accent. He started to pad over to him slowly. As he approached, he noticed something poke out of the pile of leaves, right under the Large Grey Wolf's nose. It was another wolf, only smaller than Mitternacht and black. That must have been what he spotted before, that was the other canine!

Volker shook his head, and shook the leaves from his broad muscular body. "How foolish I am" he thought to himself "To think that I considered a tiny wolf to be a threat." Mitternacht was talking to the small wolf, who looked absolutely terrified. Volker didn't blame her, Mitternacht must have jumped right on top of her when he bounced onto that pile of red and yellow leaves. Volker stood back and watched as Mitternacht soothed the young female, talking quietly and assuringly to her, even though his accent must have been hard for the scared pup to quite understand since she was so flustered. As he watched, Mitternacht nodded towards Volker.
"That's Volker" he said, slightly louder as if summoning the ex-police dog. Hearing his name, Volker perked his ears up again and his tail began to wag. He wandered over casually, his paws crunching into the scattered leaves. He stopped just before the female and bowed his head to her respectfully and smiled as politely as he could.
"Guten Abend." he said. "Und may I ask your name, fraulein?" Volker's strong accent didn't normally make such an appearance but spending time with another german-descended canis had brought it back up to the surface. He didn't even realise he was doing it.

OoC : I'm Back Mitternacht! And Hi Lu, I look forward to having you take part in our RP =)