Rainstorm in the Summer

[lilybolt]

Lily stood at the base of a very old and rusted coaster, with many loops, drops, and an old car still resting in the loading station to her left. Lily stared at the old cart. It looked as though many creatures had chewed on the seats. The entire train smelled of many dogs, and lots of scent markings. Lily looked up at the sky, which looked like rain was on its way. Lily reflected on how strange rain was during the summer, but only briefly. Lily saw that the cart was parked under a small wooden shelter. She decided that it would make as good a place as any to wait out the storm. The rain started to fall the moment she entered the shelter. She thought the tracks beneath the cart looked as though they would give way if any wieght was added. The ammount of rust was amazing. To stand on it would be crazy, but then, Lily had been known to do crazy things. She bravely put one paw on the entrance to one of the seats. The cart creaked, but the tracks stayed strong. Lily slowly got all four of her legs into the cart. Nothing collapsed. Feeling like this would serve as a decent sleeping spot, Lily curled herself into a tight ball, and rested her head on her tail. She was about to sleep when she heard noises towards the entrance she had come from. Lily perked her ears, and slowly raised her head. She stayed low, just incase it was a human intruder. Lily didn't much care for the humans. With humans you ran a fine line. They might give you food and kindness, or they might chase you. There were also the tricky humans, who would show you affection, and then try and take you into a car or their house. Lily liked life as a stray, and therefore had never stuck with a human long enough for them to take her anywhere. She raised her head higher, to get a better look at the newcomer...

[`Elёηӑs™]

Gambhit

Swaying torso ran with the even trot, bouncing lightly with each paired step alongside the tapered fence. Within the deep chest, a callous heart pumped in time with the dog's steady movements, and velveteen skin glissaded as bone and sinew moved beneath its sable casing. Decomposing trash littered the immense lot, the several coasters and other rides rusting away. They had seen their last days, a constant reminder of life’s continuous cycle. Shuddering at the thought, the brute followed the edge of the man-made boundary. The light build stepped carefully over a pile of abandoned tools, sienna glare eyeing the overturned toolbox as he carried on; a stranger amongst the park.

Birds chirped and twittered from nearby trees, and occasionally their miniscule bodies would flutter across the cloudy dome of the heavens, lost in their own lives and ignorant of the passerby beneath. In the outskirts of the tireless empire, Gambhit felt that he could breathe. Unimportant thoughts floated about his head, as the rumble of a car drove along a proximate road, trembling as it paused at a stop sign. He dropped his ebonite nostrils to the grime, weighing the possibilities of other creatures investigating the piece of land. Scents were faint, as if it had been some time since the battered rides had had honor of a visitor amongst their defunct home. Mm, good. No one thought to take up residence within Fildrin’s territory; his place of study and thought, freedom from the rush of the human race and the rumors that passed about his very existence.

A disintegrating wood shed wobbled on three rickety posts in a corner of the lot, one wall having collapsed already, leaving nothing but a three-sided, hollow shell; a memory of what it once was, an added design to the already grim and deadened atmosphere. The shepherd paused near a toppled rubbish bin. A glassy gaze ran icily over the metal thing, recalling the days of old when he first became a canine without an owner. He had been weak, scrounging for food in its chamber, rarely ever lucky enough to get something worth eating.
No movement could be seen, with the exception of Gambhit’s extending rib cage and the golden dust dancing and swirling through the warm air, visible as it glistened in the sunlight. A muscle in the rigid shoulder twitched. Nares flickered with an indifferent snort, a long-worn habit picked up from his deceased sire. Rest in bloody peace, his mind cursed the memory. Once again moving, he trotted now in the direction of an enormous roller coaster. A mountain of steel rings, the varying sizes entwined together. Heat could be seen rising from the onyx loops in waves. His orbs moved to the fence, noticing a large hole sliced open for entrance. He lowered himself and slipped through it.

Rugged and torn pads produced small puffs of dust with every step across the earth, dying his black toes a dull color of cocoa, and he casually invited the feel of the lush rug to cool his weary feet. He breathed deeply, and his globes hardened. So there was someone here. Gambhit wandered toward the stray until he saw her, a black beauty curled neatly in a coaster car. Why was she in it? There was no reason..oh. It was raining. How odd that he didn’t notice it before. His lip curled slightly, but he continued to walk until he was directly in front of her. ‘You, female. What are you doing here? Do you not understand boundaries? This is Fildrin’s territory.’ His gaze was stern, but his eyes softened when he realized how surprised she must be. After all, moments before she was alone. His maw opened again, this time a much softer voice withdrawing from its case. ‘I’m called Gambhit. You?’

[lilybolt]

Lily raised her head fully over the side of the old coaster cart. She then stood, not at all timidly. She saw before her another dog, male with sable fur and brown eyes. He wore an old, rather battered collar around his neck, and he had a fluffy, albeit powerful looking tail. He spoke with a commanding, even threatening menace. However, the second time he opened his mouth, it was to greet her with a kinder, almost gentle tone. Lily stepped out of the cart, and stood to face the new dog. "My name is Lily. I am a rouge, come here to find shelter from the rain. Male." she added with humor in her voice. It was not with a mocking tone that she said the last word, merely a friendly joking one. "I do not mean any harm, if you thought I came here to cause trouble. I have no quarrel with you or any member of Fildrin. I travel a lot see. I tend to go from place to place. I don't think I have ever stayed in one spot long enough to develop an issue with any dog or their pack. Unless you count several nasty rouges I might last week." Lily laughed at the memory of their snarling figures chasing her. "They went at me for 'disrupting the peace'. If you ask me they disrupted it far more than I! All I did was walk around the block. They barked, howled, and snapped at me for over a mile!" the female dog smiled. "But I am talking too much. Again. I am always being told I am too friendly too soon. So, tell me. Why are you here? did the rain catch you as well?" She saw that the rain was now pounding the outer side of the wooden station twice as hard as when she had first entered. Lily found herself inwardly grateful that she had gotten in the cart when she did. A moment's hesitation and she might have ended up drenched and dripping. Her pale green eyes sparkled as she looked back to the male dog in front of her. "By the way. Good to meet you Gambhit!" she added, her tail now wagging with the usual happiness she felt at meeting a new dog.

[`Elёηӑs™]

Gambhit;;

Brown, glass marbles, nestled within the dark facial mask, blinked slowly; appearing stern and precautious. The art of conversation had never been blessed upon this particular dog, leaving him to his own devices when it came to any social endeavor. Yes he spoke but he’d much rather charm someone by simply being.. charming. Besides, quiet comforted him. To remain within its peaceful abyss was a pleasure. On the other hand, the chords of the speaking vagabond were not to be hated, for though she was female, she lacked the generally higher pitch and her modulation, therefore, was rather easy on the ears.

Gambhit’s head swooped as he turned to momentarily address his shoulder, a pink tongue caressed his own skin; a subtly awkward move, in the male’s opinion. Gaze traced along the female’s jaw line, drawing an invisible path to her somewhat exposed neck. Though the moment was fleeting, Gambhit’s mind flickered to the days when such a second was taken advantage of; lips back to reveal his ivory daggers, intending to deliver a strike of ominous finality.

Imagination created illusions of blood pumping through her veins, just beneath the surface, and the metallic taste that would spill into his waiting mouth if he were to pounce. But Gambhit wasn’t a killer. Not anymore at least.

Head returned to its prior position, Gambhit casted a crooked grin to the girl, listening to her speak. The brute briefly shook his own, feeling the heavy drapery of skin swinging with the movement as he brought his deadly thoughts to a close and returned himself to the present reality. A peculiar look lit like a flame behind his eyes when the rogue spoke of other beings. Had she led them here? H e hoped not. Blood shouldn’t be spilled regularly. His pointed snout tilted downward in a short nod at the simultaneous moment that the femme’s reply faded and a smile appeared on her face, causing the masculine’s ears to twitch in small surprise. It was naïve to act so friendly to a stranger, but Gambhit wasn’t in the least bothered by her. In fact, he rather liked her company. His own voice escaped in soft tones. ‘Actually, I didn’t notice the rain until now. My mind escapes me often, you see, and I tend to walk blindly. It’s rather stupid of me, I suppose. ‘

Allowing the city’s noise to expand between them, replacing meager conversation, the gent’s broad chest inhaled the taste and smell of the pungent air. Semblance falling back into somewhat relaxation; torso twisted to gain a broader view of his surroundings, tapered ears pivoted imperceptibly back in the direction of the dame. Curious eyes soared gently over the girl, legs stood frozen within the sand, like the narrow branches of a tree.

She told him her name, underlining it with a wag of a bristled tail. He cocked his head and spoke again. ‘It’s nice to meet you too, Lily. But since you’re on Fildrin’s territory I’m afraid I’ll be staying with you for a little while.’ Eyes flashed back, glinting with something more than mere curiosity. His brow raised as his flirtatious words rolled with the depths of the summer wind, ‘After all, it is my duty.’

[lilybolt]

Lily watched as Gambhit examined her, looking her over. Was it her imagination, or had his eyes lingered on her neck for more than just a moment? She decided she must have imagined it. "One is not stupid when their mind escapes them. Only gaining wisdom for the future. For once you have control of your mind once more, you shall have also gained whatever insight your mind sought in its absence." The female dog recited this as though it were a distant memory. Perhaps it was. She could almost smell her brother as her thoughts returned as they did so often to the night he had been attacked, and how she had watched him slowly die, despite her bast efforts to save him. He had always been the wise one. The dog who knew more than his age should have resulted in. He had been her best friend, a perfect match to her overly trusting and friendly demeanor. For a moment, the happy flair vanished from behind Lily's jade colored eyes. Her smile faltered, and her mind was consumed with the dark history she had endured. However, the moment was fleeting, for she soon remembered Gambhit's presence and returned her full attention to him. "Staying with me a while? As a guard only I hope?" Lily spoke, jokingly, but also with an undertone of defense. She would not be taken prisoner, nor would she submit to a strange dog's control. She meant no trouble, but would not allow herself to get roped into staying here for longer than she would like. "Surely you would not be speaking of making me your prisoner?" Lily decided to just point out the elephant in the area. She had found that more often than not, honesty made you look like less of a threat, and earned trust. Of coarse, it was a close call. It was only over half the time that her honesty had not gotten her chased away or attacked...She smiled in the hopes that Gambhit was not thinking of attacking her. Her tail stopped wagging, though she did not draw back or show any sign of nerves. Years of wandering had at least made her brave...