Night Light

[Wesley]

What a pleasant evening! thought Wesley as he strolled around the cobblestone streets of Hallow Village. The air was crisp and there was no wind. The night was still and crickets chirped in the grass nearby to were the dog was moving. Wesley lifted his head and sniffed the air gently. Ah, he thought, fresh. His toes rolled along the ground as he felt his way down the main street. To his left was the first built cottage in the village. On his right was a stable and horses were yawning in their slumber.

Lately the village had been rather quiet. No more did dogs freely wander around. Were they scared of wolves? Rumour had it that Sallin was stirring. Then again that may be very old news. Or unreliable. Wesley sighed. He wished that his dogs would come out. Their absence made the village feel quiet and abandoned. Of course there was still the bustle from the humans. But Wesley wished for the company of other dogs. He could not see them but he knew exactly what they looked like. He missed their scent and their personalities.

As he continued down the street light path he continued to reminisce to better days. However he did not worry for the winter was approaching and any strays in the forest would come to seek shelter and a home. Hallow always had its gates open to the dogs. The humans loved to find new companions to assist them pulling carriages. He came to a stop at the corner of the street and perched himself on the grass and watched the main gate. He hoped that someone would come and keep him company. He did this every night these days. The welcome party.

[Shantik]

The shadow that did creep into the village did, indeed, have some trace of dog to him. But it wasn't entirely obvious. He was too lean, ribs starting to stick out despite his still-pup-ish build. Danner was only a year old, but he was starting to look like an adult wolf. His father was part dog, but his mother was all wild, and it was this that passed so strongly onto her son. He was a wolf, in all aspects except his bright blue eyes, which hadn't changed since the day he was born.

Dan spotted Wesley, and stopped where he was. He was keeping silent, downwind, but what if the dog saw him...? But then he got a look at the dog's eyes. He grinned, triumphant. A blind dog! How lucky was he! Dan chuckled lightly and padded past him, creeping into the shadows of an alley. He could smell food everywhere here! All he had to do was wait for his brother and they could steal some, run it back to the pack and be heroes!

[nightblood]

Daire was giddy all of the sudden. Having spent his whole life (a rousing one year) in the confines of Geera, being in a new place excited him. Long gone was the nagging thought that they would never find their way back home. He was having too much fun. Besides, if they were caught by anyone they knew, who could deny him the fact that his father had also been, for lack of a better word, insane for the first years of his life? It was genetic, for crying out loud!

The heir of Geera was a few paces behind his brother, stopping every so often to track down the source of some new smell every five seconds. On one of these side tracks, he had actually forgotten to stop moving and ran himself directly into a trash can, knocking over it and two others right beside it. The crash rang loudly in his ears and he yelped and jumped over the mayhem he had created, snickering at his moronic behavior.

"SHH!! Idiot!" he giggled audibly to himself, attempting to keep his voice low as he caught up with Danner.

[Wesley]

The tan dog picked his head up sharply at the sound of the crashing rubbish cans. Of course, with his advanced hearing, he could detect the clattering of claws on cobblestones in front of him. The loudest before the crash came from the muzzle of a sniffing canine. What else could it be? Cats didn't sniff that loudly.

"SHH!! Idiot!"

That proved it. Canids. Probably larger than he. Wesley could guess two at the least. After all, who talks out loud to themselves these days except for the completely insane? He could tell that whoever it was wasn't from around here. They had no sense of direction and he didn't recognize the voice. What troubled him most was that they were downwind of him and he couldn't tell exactly what they were and how many in total were there.

Undeterred, the alpha trotted forward, keeping his tail high to show his rank and the fact that he wasn't fearful of what lurked in the dark, for he lived his life in it.

"Who are you and what business do you have in Hallow?" he asked plainly, addressing the general area in where he heard the noise the resulting claw scratches.

[Shantik]

"SHH!! Idiot!"

Danner groaned loudly at his brother's clumsiess, rolling his eyes as he trotted over. "Yeah, you are. What the heck? We were clea-!"

"Who are you and what business do you have in Hallow?"

He stopped when the voice came and he glanced back over at the blind dog. Dammit. He cussed under his breath, a trait secretly adapted from his mother, and sighed. "Uh... we're just passing through is all." He lied, taking a few steps back and aiming to nip his brother's heels. And he was the heir? Really, had their father been crazy?

[nightblood]

"Uh... we're just passing through is all."

Oh, you're a terrible liar.

Daire made sure that his thoughts were shown clearly as he aimed a bite for Danner's ear. Just a tug would send the message.

"Let me do the talkin', Danny," he said confidently as he stepped forward.

The darker brother lifted his tail with authority, though there was really no one around to see it. He perked his ears up and lifted his head, now just barely able to look down at the dog he saw before him. He stretched out his claws and dragged them on the ground, an audible claim to authority so the smaller canine to get an idea of his power.

"I am Daire," he said with all the confidence he could muster, "My brother, Danner, and I have traveled from Geera, a territory south of here. We came to this place in search of other packs. We simply wish to know what lies beyond our boarders."

The heir glanced back at his brother, giving him a wink and a mischievous grin. He was to be the leader of Geera soon. Political skills were essential. With a wave of his tail, he tried to hit Danner on the flank, signaling him that it would be a good time to keep this story going. It was a lie, but at least they didn't have to make up too much more of it. The more truth to a lie, the easy it is to tell.

[Wesley]

"My brother, Danner, and I have traveled from Geera, a territory south of here. We came to this place in search of other packs. We simply wish to know what lies beyond our boarders."

Wesley's ears perked with interest. Packs? Territory? At that moment, the wind shifted, blowing the night air toward his face and with it, the boys' scents. The were young, but that was obvious right from the off. What got his attention was the fact that they smelled of wind and open grasslands. The territory they spoke of must have been a field or something of the sort. There was no human scent on them and they smelled partly of wolf. Perhaps their pack accepted that breed.

"You smell wild," the dog said bluntly, "But not completely wolf. Are you strays living in a wolf pack?"

The canine furrowed his brow and sniffed again, but the wind had gone back to its original course. But the guess fit the scent. Perhaps these two came here to live amongst the humans again. In which case, he would gladly give them an invitation into Hallow if they were unhappy in their current home.

[Shantik]

"My brother, Danner, and I have traveled from Geera, a territory south of here. We came to this place in search of other packs. We simply wish to know what lies beyond our borders."

"You smell wild. But not completely wolf. Are you strays living in a wolf pack?"

Danner growled at his brother, moving to butt him to the side, and stepped forward. To be honest, Danner hated the idea of lying. So... "Look, we're the Alpha's pups over there. Our dad's mostly dog. We just came looking for food. We're starving, and so is our pack." He frowned deeply. The truth might help more than a lie. "We're desperate for food. A lot of us have gotten sick. Our dad's gotten it too. We really need whatever we can find."

[nightblood]

Daire growled in surprise as his brother pushed in front of him, then remained in a stunned state for several minutes before growling loudly when Danner finally finished. He shouldered his brother roughly and snapped threateningly at his ear. He would never want to hurt his dear sibling, but he had just spilled important information to a dog! Who knew where the information would get now!

"Way to go, idiot. Bring every flea-bitten sack of fur of Sallin down on Geera. That'll help! News travels Danner!"

The heir then looked to the dog before them, a touch of fear on his face. This canine now knew of a pack in the south that was down on it's luck. In a sense, he held Geera's fate in his paws. He could help, giving them locations of packs that could aid them or perhaps even finding them a scrap of food to take home to their sick father, of he could attack Geera. Be it full on with his own army, or he could give the message to someone else who knew where a certain dog-hating pack lurked in the shadows.

"Please... Keep this to yourself," Daire pleaded.

[Wesley]

"Look, we're the Alpha's pups over there. Our dad's mostly dog. We just came looking for food. We're starving, and so is our pack. We're desperate for food. A lot of us have gotten sick. Our dad's gotten it too. We really need whatever we can find."

Wes listened intently to the young wolfdog's story. This was the first time he'd ever heard of a dog pack other than Synl that lurked outside the village. If the Alpha was part wolf, then there must be full wolves there as well. Strange. He'd 'seen' the affects of wolves living with dogs. Apparently it was actually possible to do so, even with the hardships that this pup spoke of.

"Way to go, idiot. Bring every flea-bitten sack of fur of Sallin down on Geera. That'll help! News travels Danner!"

So they were enemies of Sallin as well. A smile wrapped its way around the dog's muzzle as he listened to the more gruff voice of the two reprimand his brother for 'spilling the beans'. Nah, Wes was a good dog. He wouldn't let that twisted wolf pack hear one word of this.

"Please... Keep this to yourself."

Wesley nodded, but had to tell the truth. Daire knew the value of information, he would give the wolfdog that.

"Your secret will not travel outside of this village, I can assure you. However, as I myself am leader of the dogs of Hallow, the information must be carried on to my mate. Names and locations will not be given to any other member here."

[Shantik]

"Way to go, idiot. Bring every flea-bitten sack of fur of Sallin down on Geera. That'll help! News travels Danner!"

Danner shrank down, ears back as he turned away. Mistake acknowledged. He would keep shut up now. He watched the blind dog as he spoke, and was glad for the response he gave them. But he still didn't speak up. What if he messed up and said something wrong again? Instead, he turned to his brother, wondering what he had to say exactly. Daire was more the Alpha then Danner was.

[nightblood]

"Your secret will not travel outside of this village, I can assure you. However, as I myself am leader of the dogs of Hallow, the information must be carried on to my mate. Names and locations will not be given to any other member here."

"I understand. Thank you, sir."

Daire glared at his brother, but his eyes softened in pity at his stance. He could tell he was sorry for what he had said. His face hardened again, however, and he huffed inwardly in annoyance and turned to face the dog again. He should never have spoken anyway- and to an ALPHA! There was only one heir here. Only one who could deal with this sort of thing.

Daire continued his political mutterings. There were few ways he could get out of this conversation with his tail and his brother in one piece. He would have to talk carefully.

"We have been forced to steal for survival. We stand here as thieves on your land and it seems we are now at your mercy."

The humble, helpless act. Lesson number twelve. Always worked on dogs. Well... maybe 75% of the time...

[Wesley]

"We have been forced to steal for survival. We stand here as thieves on your land and it seems we are now at your mercy."

Wes laughed audibly at this line. He knew it well. Almost too well, actually. The helpless act. Yes, he'd heard it too many times now.

"Get on home, boy. You two outnumber me anyway and I'm blind."

The alpha chuckled and took a sly step forward, raising his tail with authority and giving a playful growl. He'd gotten an idea when the wind changed suddenly, sending a waft of seafood-smell up his muzzle.

"I chased you away after I caught you taking a few fish from that barrel behind you. Maybe we can meet on friendlier, more official terms next time."

[Shantik]

"I chased you away after I caught you taking a few fish from that barrel behind you. Maybe we can meet on friendlier, more official terms next time."

Danner didn't need telling twice. He grinned, tail wagging as he turned right around and propped his forepaws on the edge of the barrel. He'd nver tasted fish before... He sniffed at them curiously, wrinkling his nose at first at the unusual smell. But he was so hungry... he didn't hesitate a moment more, snatching up one of the large fish and dropping back to the ground to eat it. It certainly wasn't deer or rabbit. But he liked it. Maybe on any other day, when he wasn't so hungry, he would've turned his nose up at it. But not now.

[nightblood]

"Get on home, boy. You two outnumber me anyway and I'm blind."

Daire stepped back at the sound of the growl, but let his tail wag when he saw the playfulness in the Alpha's expression. It was true, they could take advantage of the situation, but Geerans were honorable and trustworthy... for the most part. It took real need to get the sons of Deymon to resort to thievery, but here they were. They would not stoop so low as to attack or disobey an alpha- wolf or not.

"I chased you away after I caught you taking a few fish from that barrel behind you. Maybe we can meet on friendlier, more official terms next time."

The hybrid turned and saw the fish barrel the dog was talking about and grinned. So he was creating an alibi. Clever dog.

"We are in your debt," he replied, turning back to the hound, "Thank you, sir."

Daire jumped up and walked over to the barrel, taking up as many fish as he could in his muzzle and dropping them on the ground. He quickly ate his fill and gathered more, as many has he could carry for the journey home.