food of the gods ;;open;;

[Malfunction]

Ava lay under a dumpster, watching as the sun set and the last two-legger finally drove away in the big metal machines that they seemed so fond of. She slid out, her stomach grating on the harsh, chopped up concrete. She winced as it cut a mark on her tender flesh, though she tried her best to keep her features calm, cool, and collected. She hated showing her emotions, which was odd for dogs. Usually they were all friendly, at least that was what the humans saw. In reality, Ava was like some of the other dogs that lived on the street. She was cold, she was stone. She didn't show emotion because she believed that it gave power. It let people know how you thought, how you worked, everything they needed to know to trick you. That was why she didn't like to show emotions, she never wanted to give anyone power over her. Power….Power was a bad thing for some canines. Some of them got drunk on it, completely forgetting their family and friends. Their morals and beliefs. She would never be that, and she wouldn't give another canine the opportunity to be like that to her. She closed her eyes, remembering the other reason she didn't want anyone to see her emotions. No one, no stupid dog, would crush her like her parents had, or like the ruthless humans that had owned her. They'd kicked her to the curb, left her in a box on the highway to die or be picked up by god knows what. She shuddered and climbed out from beneath the dumpster, not wanting to relive the memories. But she had to remind herself why, now that she was mixing with canines again. If she was going to be around them, she needed to remember why she couldn't get close, why she always had to keep her façade up. Because she'd put her little puppy heart on the line and trusted her parents and her owners, she'd been crushed beyond all belief. She'd almost killed herself, and she never wanted to be there again. Ava would die before she let anyone have that kind of power over her again.

She inhaled harshly and shook her head, her long ears moving elegantly. It was almost like she was shaking the memories out of her head. For now, anyways. She turned around and stood up on her hind legs, her forelegs leaning against the dumpster she'd crawled out from under. She stuck her long nose in side and sniffed around till she found something. Someone had been idiotic enough to throw out a box of spaghetti take out. She snorted and dragged the thing out, ignoring the bits of dirt and other unmentionables that clung to the spaghetti. She ate it quickly, not wanting another dog to come down here and take it away from her. She was more than capable of defending herself against anyone, she could win a fair fight. Against a male though…she knew it would be rough and she'd be severely hurt if she went up against a strong, healthy male. She finished the simple fare and licked her lips, closing her eyes as a contented sigh rose up out of her. Ava was glad that some random human had thrown that meal out, she hadn't eaten that good in awhile. She hadn't eaten at all in awhile. Ava could live for a good while without food, she'd gotten used to it. But by god, that spaghetti dinner had tasted so good after two days of nothing in her stomach. She licked the box clean, not looking up to make sure that no one was coming. Her senses were tuned to find out while her eyes were busy. She looked like an ignorant dog that was incapable of knowing if another canine would come. Her nose was busy sniffing and resniffing the air surrounding her, her ears were straining to catch one sound out of place.

[rat]

Seemed to the brute he was not the only dog in the Waste Management Center. He and his human had gone for a walk, his human was inside the building on a job call. Her car was parked down below, so she'd done the usual and let Krakatau out. His stride was confident and brisk, his head and tail lifted up high in triumph. He was the king of this place, the Center, but not drunk on his current power. Because he was one of the few domestics actually allowed in the place, one of the few dogs that could be there. His tail swung slowly side to side as he swung to the side, jogging easily through the doors, the power of the electric doors odd to him.

His tail held higher, he jogged out into the main place, the dumpsters there. It was harder to sniff out unwanted dogs with these scents in the way, and Krakatau had learned that he was supposed to chase out all unwanted strays. His tail flicked nonchalantly as he spotted Ava, but for now h e didn't care. He was typically stuck inside, and he loved being outside. All he needed to do was get his legs back under him.

He shook his head, the chain link collar with the dogtags crinkling against his reddish tinted fur. His jaws open, he padded towards Ava, voice deep and somewhat menacing in the silence. She'd heard him coming no doubt, but she was done with the garbage now so she would have time to listen. "What are you doing? No collar, nothing, you're a stray...I don't care. Just tell me, why are you eating trash?"

He would have normally leapt at it, but he preferred to appear strong. Certainly he did, because he carried a stone-cut military look. Years of training and constant excersize showed in him.

[Malfunction]

She whipped around and snarled, her lips curling back to reveal vicious teeth when her straining sense first came in contact with him. She'd heard him before he'd entered the area she was in, smelt him before he'd gotten close, and was ready for a battle for food. She relaxed as soon as she saw the chain around his neck, moving out of her attack stance. Pet. The thing was inferior, nothing like what the strays that she ran with now. She laughed and shook her head, the sound soft and enchanting. "Poor little pet, lost? Tsk tsk, be a dear and run back to your owner." She sneered, lifting the skin over her eyes in a doggish version of the eyebrow lift. She was good at keeping her true nature masked, and this would be no different. She didn't let dogs close, she didn't let humans close, she didn't let anyone or anything close. Being friendly to anyone out of the pack was out of the question. She had to be friendly to the pack, she was in it. If she wasn't, she wouldn't be friendly to them. She wasn't friendly towards anyone out of the pack, and some of the dogs in the pack that she just disliked, why would she be friendly towards a pampered puppy dog?

She stalked towards the dog, a smirk on her face. Spoiled, she decided, her dislike for it becoming worse. She didn't like dogs that lived her previous life, even though she hadn't led it long. Her parents had died and then she'd been put in a box and left beside the highway. Ava was lucky to be alive today. She didn't like dogs that had her old life, and a better one. They were the ones that survived and didn't turn stray, and she just couldn't get over her almost immediate dislike for them. No, she didn't hate them, nothing quite so big and disastrous. If the dog was just right, she might get over her odd prejudice, but she would never show anything different. That was just the way Ava was.

[rat]

"My owner works here. It's my job to keep the dumpster clear of strays, but there's another place much better for food." He shrugged, then returned her smirk, and spoke again. "I've been shot at, i've been imprisoned behind enemy lines. It's hard to scare me. Or anger me, for that matter." The look in his eyes spoke the rest. I'm NOT leaving.

She could leave, but this was HIS territory, in a rather metaphorical manner. Then he gave a shrug like motion, jaws opening and he yawned. "Besides, it's a good day out." Krakatau gave a snort-sneeze, then licked his lip, eying the dumpster. He was hungry, gotta give the brute that. The meal that loomed large in front of those eyes was something that he wanted, dangit, and nothing would stop him, except mabye the conversation with Ava. He liked being able to bandy insults with another dog, because it was simple enough why...

...he was tired of pampered pooches. He was not pampered, his owner did have a cushion for him, but it felt so odd...he'd slept on dirt and cement and blood for too long. So he turned to Ava, waiting for her move. [/size]

[Malfunction]

"Better, maybe. I'm still not budging till I feel like it." She told him, lying down and yawning. She wouldn't move for this male that thought he would keep her out. If she felt like coming back here to stuff her face while she could, then she would. Ava barely ate, sometimes not being able to, and so when she did she wouldn't let a damnable male stop her. She stretched out, placing her maw on her forepaws, looking at him with the laziest of expressions. "Oooo, big tough boy. I'm so scared. Terrified, really." She told him, her eyes betraying her obvious lie. She wasn't afraid of anyone for the same reason she didn't show much respect to people, she didn't care. Did she ever scare about anything? Sometimes, something's occasionally made her stop and think. And occasionally she actually cared when she stopped and thought about it. Sometimes, even if she did stop and think, she'd toss the idea aside and would cease to care once again.

She lifted the area above her eyes, in an eyebrow lift like motion, when he told her it was a good day out. What did that have to do with anything at all? She shook her head, her eyes showing that she was almost certain that he had jumped off the deep end. Ava watched as he eyed the dumpster behind her, a small grin appearing on her face. He couldn't rightly attempt to toss her out if he himself were about to attempt to eat from where she'd been. She laughed again when he looked back at her, giving him a look that clearly said, You may not move, but neither am I. She gave as much as she was given, and she was sickened with herself is she gave less.