Where We Wander[Open]

Auru walked with little purpose over the hard cracked concrete, head swiveling as she watched out for signs of other creatures. Occasionally her flopped ears would prick up at the sounds of crunching undergrowth or what sounded like whimpers but only turned out to be the crumbling of the ruined town, the sighs as a building finally gave in and fell in upon itself.

The broken silence was eerie and the dark insides of what used to be houses made the black Australian shepherd dreadfully uncomfortable. Dark brown eyes shifted endlessly to and fro. What was she doing her exactly? Oh yes...she was a scout of the Foundlings. It was her duty to be in the know with the surrounding territories. Plumed tail low, Auru stopped and sniffed the air with careful mediation, putting her ears back when a scent different from the rest touched her nose. Someone else was here...

Buck sniffed the air silently before stepping out from under neath a broken porch. He and he son had been traveling for day looking for somewhere to call home. A storm had kicked in early in the night forcing them to take shelter. The hyper teen protested stopping but lightning filled the sky and Buck knew there was no other choice.

The ruined neighborhood was now damp and smell like a mixture of gas and rain. The gas scent faded now that no cars drove here. He shook the water out of his pelt as Moose crawled out to join him. With tail head high the white teen took in his surroundings excitedly, "Another day of exploring ahead of us, right Buck?" Even though Moose was his son he called Buck by his name since they weren't related by blood.

Buck nodded his head and began to pad forward, cream colored legs carrying him swiftly. Moose bounded past him not paying attention to what he was doing. Buck went to warn the teen but it was too late, he ran into a loose piece of wood that happened to be holding up remains of a house. The structure crumbled, some of the derbies hitting him. Pushed in a small confined space Moose was separated from Buck. He squeezed through some of the loose planks and ended up on the other side of the wreckage. "Are you all right?!" Buck's worried tone called across the rubish head. "I'm fine"

"Stay where you are, I'll try to find a way around to you" the shepherd ordered. Moose agreed but wandered off anyways. He caught scent of some other canine and trotted forwards. Soon the tri-colored australian came into view, "Hey there!" moose barked with a deep but friendly tone.

Auru kept still as she awaited for the owner of the scent to be made know, but alas no one had come forward as of now. With a roll of her shoulders, the shepherd continued onward down the path that ran through the decaying residences. It was only moments later though that the harsh and loud sounds of a house caving in caused the black and white canine to lepa in surprise, brown eyes wide and fur against her back raised in alarm. What was that?

Legs spread apart in a defensive posture, Auru took in the surroundings to find the origin of the noise and saw not two houses down there was a great cloud of dust rising up from the crumbled pile of materials. Faintly she could hear a bark or two but then the voices died away just as the dust settled back in it's place. This time though, she wasn't going to relax. "Who goes there?" She called cautiously in no particualr direction.

She was answered back by the most peculiar looking fellow, a stout white dog with a long face and spot over his eye. A quick sniff told her that he wasn't aggressive or of another pack so she allowed her fur to settle as best it could and stand tall again. "Hello..." She replied in a quiet yet tense voice, eyes still darting around looking for anyother dogs. "Did you do that?" She questioned, motioning with a paw to the recently destroyed home.

Moose wagged his tail and spoke with an almost proud voice, "Yup!" After shaking the dust from his pelt he approached the female and openly sniffed at her face. He could smell scents of other canines on her, excited his tail whipped back and forth behind him. He voice got higher pitched suddenly, "You know more dogs! Any my age?! Where are they, what do they look like?!"

Auru's eyes widened at the little dogs hearty response, ears tipping back in unease. How in the world(and why) would such a small canine create such a great mess? Honestly she wanted to find out but told herself she better not ask just yet...

Then the strange dog waltzed on up to her and sniffed her face. Taken back, the tri-colored shepherd stumbled backwards a few steps, trying not to growl even a morsel at this little tyke. She didn't want to be rude but the canine was being awefully friendly...a bit too friendly for a stray. Looking around once, she tried to find any signs of a companion but did not. Forcing her tail to wag in a slow sweeping motion and lips to upturn in a soft smile, Auru nodded to the pups exclamation.

"I do know more dogs. Cats as well. Though not on a personal basis. I haven't seen any your age, I believe." She allowed herself to lower her head down at his level and look at him with soft eyes. "Do you have anyone else with you? Or are you on your own?"

His tail beat the air frantically behind him when she said she knew other canines, and cats! Moose had never seen a cat up close before. But his excitement died down when she said she knew none his age. He was hoping to find a friend. The australian asked him a question in return and thinking about his adoptive father instantly perked him up, "Oh yes! Me and my dad are trying to find a home. He says that we need to get away from humans because they are nasty creatures. Our old master was a mean one, yes he was." the pup rambled a bit more but of nothing important and his sentences became muddled before he finished with," He should be on his way now. I accidentally got separated from him while I broke that house."

Auru couldn't help but find this pup quite amusing, her own tail waving a little faster as she listened to his rambling, trying to understand it when it became muffled together. She tipped her head in sympathy when he mentioned his previous master and suppressed a growl at the thought of what the human may have done to the two lone dogs, knowing all too well what bad humans could do. "I'm sorry that you and your father were stuck with an unkind human...In the meantime, why don't you just wait here until your father comes along? If he doesn't soon, I'll help you find him, okay?" She offered in a soft voice, trying to be more friendly to this pup who obviously meant no harm to her. "What is your name, pup?"

"My name is Moose. And my dad is named Buck. Our owner was a hunter and all so he named us after big game." He looked around him quickly, "my dad is a black and cream German shepherd dog. That's what he says."

(sorry it's short. low inspiration)

"It's nice to meet you, Moose. My name is Auru." The shepherd replied softly, lifting her head and looking back to the direction the small dog was looking, quite confused actually. How could a German Shepherd be related to anything so small and strange. Rolling her shoulders to release the tension, she left the question unknown until a later time.

"Hello? Buck!" Auru barked loudly, trying to have Moose and his father reunited. Then she could ask Buck an important question, one that could impact their lives.

Moose wagged his tail quickly, joining in with the calling. He bayed a deep howl despite his size yet spoke no words with it. He knew buck would know what it meant.

Buck was heaving himself over some rubble of what used to be a house when he heard the calls. He had found away a crossed but it was quite a climb. He was at the top by now, and a strange voice caught his ears along with the baying of his son. It seemed as if his son met another dog, friendly, least it seemed to be. With haste he climbed down the heap and made he way towards what appeared to be a road. It was as he had expected, looking down the way he could just barely make out the figure of two canines. With a short howl he began making his way towards them.

Moose heard his father's call, ears and head shot up instantly to his direction. With barely a moments haste he began to speed after him. Calling behind to the female to follow, "C'mon then!"

The Australian shepherd looked around intently as Moose bayed for his father, hoping to see signs of him now that the wreckage had cleared. Her ears faced towards the sound of the returned call and she barely suppressed a laugh as the little dog shot after the familiar form of a German Shepherd.

"Alright, I'm coming!" She barked, trotting after Moose. She was wary of what Buck might think of her, a stranger, talking to his son. Some dogs were not kind and Auru was had the scars to prove it. Once she made it a few feet from the 'family', she dipped her head some and wagged her tail low to show a degree of submission, to try and show she meant no harm. "You've got quite a...energetic boy there." She commented with a chuckle, looking down at Moose and then back up to Buck with kind brown eyes. "My name is Auru, I believe your pup told me your called Buck?"

Buck snorted and paid no attention to the submissive nature of the dog. He didn't have much taste for such things, it was a primal action brought all the way from their wild ancestors. He instead answer her question, "Yes I am called Buck. And you are?"

He hadn't tried to be friendly, but he wasn't being mean either. He was stern, and his voice deep and harsh from years of hunting. His bark was used for flushing out game often.

Otter bounced happily next to them, the pup was sniffing his fathers coat with his tail wagging excitedly.