Lookin' for Goods (Bandersnatch, Any)

[Shantik]

(Now I'M Sorry! *feels bad* With school and everything, I haven't gotten time to do anything....)

Shantik smiled as Teak agreed to her 'demands'. She sighed, which might look like a deep breath, and began her story right away, keeping her voice slow.

"So, um, when I was young, my mum was killed. I can't really remember how or why, but it made me really sad. I didn't want to stay where I was, then, and decided to go wandering. It was fun at first, but then I realized that no one out it the wild, wonderful world really liked dogs. And I ran into quite a few pure-breds who called me 'mutt'." Here, she pulled a face, wondering what a mutt was. "But when I went through this one snowy place, I found these," She flicked her ears and looked up at her broken goggles. "They were in bad shape, but I really liked them, and they had a funny smell on them, kind of like mine, only completly different. So I kept hold of them, and got out of that place as fast as I could, since the wind carried wolf scent to me, and they didn't smell like nice wolves. Not to mention...well, the packs don't like me either, for some reason.

So I was just about to give up hope, laying down for the night, when a solution stumbled upon me. Literally! This nice she-dog told me that she had a pack...well, sort of, not directly, and said that if I wanted to join, I could go steal from the locals to buy my way in. She seemed so nice, and I just wanted a place to belong, so I wandered here."

She sighed again, closing her eyes a moment. Then she opened them and gazed at Teak with bright green eyes. She grinned and licked his face.

"Tee hee! That's where you came in!"

[Bandersnatch]

[Don’t worry about it – real life should always come first!]

As the larger dog started her story, Teak parked himself down. With a now full belly her strung out stories were much more bearable. She, he tuned in and out every-so-often as it went on, but he had caught the gist of it.
In a way her past was very similar to his. She had lost someone she had dearly loved, and spent the time after feeling lost. His mind wandered. Those feelings of hopelessness, despair, abandon… it was horrible. Had she felt that way too? He didn’t interrupt, just kept his mouth closed, instead listening and contemplating.

“And I ran into quite a few pure-breds who called me 'mutt'.”

The sharp statement laced with distaste bought him back. ‘Purebreds’… ‘mutt’ - the words had no meaning to him. He hadn’t heard them, thus the sway of the words over Shantik held little but confusion to Teak. He’d subconsciously avoided others for the most part – went unnoticed. Sometimes company was fine but, well, he liked being left alone, to be able to keep a clear mind.

"But when I went through this one snowy place, I found these,"

The slate mutt twisted his head about, staring at the weird thing the other had indicated on the top of her head. Glass and leather. They certainly looked like human things. Strange looking.
But, he had to wonder if this had anything to do with the answer to his query. She continued, however, giving no time question it.

“This nice she-dog told me that she had a pack...well, sort of, not directly, and said that if I wanted to join, I could go steal from the locals to buy my way in. She seemed so nice, and I just wanted a place to belong, so I wandered here.”

Teak nodded slowly. He still didn’t quite understand, but wasn’t readily going to admit it.
He moved as though to talk, though he didn’t have anything to say. It was that moment the tongue met his face most unexpectedly.

"Tee hee! That's where you came in!"

The sudden invasion of his personal space had forced him to lift his forelegs in what was perhaps an ill-concieved leap, which ended more in him falling backwards. Quickly he rushed back to his feet, looking rather gobsmacked. Finally he managed to squeak out – “Wha-?!”[/color]
He stared wide-eyed at her, frozen in a state of shock. What was that about? The only other creature who had touched him in years was his master, and that was much different. Sometimes other dogs really confused the heck out of him.

[Shantik]

Shan blinked back at him, smiling. What was the problem? Oh, no...Her face scrunched up, worried.

"You're not one of those dogs that are REALLY touchy about being touched, are you...?"

The question was simple; she'd encountered that kind of character before, and had found it a bit harder to be friends since she was always one to be horsing around and pouncing others; not out of disrespect, but just for play. She drew back her eyes, blinking at Teak with wide green eyes. She hoped she hadn't offended him...

"I'm sorry..."