Behind these [ b a r s ] [ Maybe?]

[song]

It was late. Almost too late for a pretty, pedigree-worthy femme to be wandering the streets alone. But hey, did she really have anything better to do? Nope. And she didn't want to waste a single minute of her life. For all she knew, some rabid dog could come out here, bite her, and run away.

At least it would be more interesting than this. Letting out a soft groan of boredom, Savannah padded down an alleyway, wavy-furred ears held at a forward angle to catch any noises. Okay, so she was bored. What to do about that, the spaniel didn't know. Ever since she'd run away from her former twolegs, the femme had avoided most of the posh houses in the hopes that they would never recatch her. But the sparkling and rather annoying jeweled collar clasped around her neck didn't help much. No matter how hard she tried to rip the damned thing off, it wouldn't budge.

Savy seated herself, black fur slightly ruffled from running. Not many purebred dogs would consider running fun, but then again, Savy wasn't exactly your typical purebred. She loved that stuff. Swimming, running, fighting, hunting, you name it, she did it. The dark-furred fae sniffed the air warily, muscles- not soft, despite her former domestic position- tensed under her silky coat. She looked pampered still, all escaping aside.

Sighing under her breath, Savy lifted her soft brown eyes to the darkening sky. Soon it would be pitch black. Just like her fur, excepting the white stripe that circled her muzzle and ran up between two beautiful liquid chocolate eyes and the white, grey-speckled stockings on her legs. In truth, she was probably the prettiest spaniel in town, but naturally she was too modest to admit it. True, she had her vain moments, but thankfully they didn't occur often. Not after she'd left her humans.

Then there was the matter of food. Sure, it'd be a little harder to catch, but since Savy had run away she'd trained herself to catch rats and tasty mice to feast on. Not exactly a delicious, warm, wet meal provided by humans, who were practically slaves to their precious canines, but it always excited her to chase one of the small critters. And the taste? Delicious. Although not quite as nice as...

Shaking the domestic thoughts from her mind, Savy rose to slender paws and gave the area a last glance before moving forward again, suppressing a yawn. She'd been traveling all day- didn't that at least deserve a rest? Finding a nice alley corner to sleep in was easy. It was the sleeping that was the hard part. The femme simply couldn't keep her eyes open, but nor could she keep her mind from wandering and bringing back more thoughts for her to chew on. Shut up. She thought grumpily to herself, curling tighter against the wall.

Eventually, she admitted defeat and reopened her eyes. To her surprise, it was getting lighter already, the golden orb of the sun halfway into the peak of sky. Leaping to sore paws, and ignoring the sparks of pain that accompanied her enthusiasm, Savy raced down the alley and into the main street. It was completely quiet- most sane dogs and owners were asleep at dawn. Grinning mischievously to herself, Savy lifted a petite head and howled as loudly as she could before scampering away. She almost burst out laughing when a shout of anger and the shattering of a heavy object found her lifted ears. Obviously, her howl had proven a bit too much for some temperamental human.

Licking herself clean was an easy task, quickly accomplished. Breakfast was another matter entirely. It didn't take her long to pick up the scent of prey, but following the scent was harder than it seemed. At last, she spotted the small, plump mouse she'd been following. It didn't have a chance against the black spaniel's sharp teeth. Squeaking in distress once, Savy smoothly snapped its spine and dropped it again, stepping back to lick her white muzzle clean of any blood.

Then another scent reached her delicate nose. Another dog? Spinning around cautiously, Savy let out a low growl, something you wouldn't expect from a femme of her looks. Yeah, definitely another dog. Sighing, Savy sat back on her haunches and waited expectantly, chocolate-colored eyes weary. Rolling them exasperatedly, she called aloud, "Okay, who's there? I can smell you, you know." Belatedly, she remembered that she in fact, was the trespasser, but she shrugged it off and kept her eyes focused, waited for some sort of response.

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[Maybe ♫]

Head was hung low as the large mutt strolled slowly through the forest, powerful shoulders rolling beneath his tattered grey fur with each step. His massive paws made small imprints in the sod, a sort of tattoo upon the earth that said Darthyn was here. He was on his way to the creek to have a relaxing soak in the gently flowing water. It had been a long day, and a long night. As the sun peaked over the trees above him and cast its gentle warmth over his back, he sighed deeply, taking in the deliciously fresh air that surrounded his body.

How lucky I am, he thought to himself, but then thought back to the fighting, bickering females he'd have to deal with again. Soon enough. Spring fever had gotten hold of everyone around these parts, but Darthyn, unlike most, had control over his mind and body. As he strolled silently through the woods, he smelled the fresh scent of carrion. It was a small catch, but the smell captivated him nontheless. Darthyn looked up to see a darkly colored Spaniel with a rather plump-looking mouse hanging loosely in her jaws. He had to say, he was impressed. Who knew such a pretty female could be so good at hunting?

He smiled at her, but his grin turned to a look of sheer disgust when he saw the diamond collar that adorned her neck. He snarled softly, and looked at her through narrowed amber eyes.

"What do you want here, housepet?" He growled, unnerved by her choice to show her pretty little face on his turf. The fur on the back of his neck and shoulders stood up, and his ears laced back slowly. No puppy-pet intruded in his land. Ever.

[song]

The pretty spaniel wasn’t surprised in the least when Darthyn himself broke the cover of buildings. At first he seemed friendly. Until his eyes rested on her collar. Savy dug her claws into the ground between two concrete plates, anger boiling up inside her. How dare he say that to her? She’d not traveled here for nothing. The black spaniel rose onto all fours, a deep growl rattling in her throat. Rather unfeminine, but it seemed an appropriate response to the one he gave her.

”I’m no house pet. I left the stupid things. I’ve been on the streets for weeks now, and this is the greeting I get?” Savy paused to let the words sink in, then continued, ”If this damned thing would ever loosen, I’d scrape it off, but since I’m sure they had no intentions of freeing me, it’s here to stay, apparently.” Her dark brown eyes glared daggers at him, narrowed with fury.

The black-furred fae was disappointed. Here she was, hoping for a pleasant greeting, and what did she get? Some alpha who didn’t give a sewer rat’s tail about her, only the stiff, itchy thing locked around her neck. How would he feel if it were stuck on him? She hadn’t wanted to be born into a house, nor could she choose whether or not she was born there. In fact, in many situations, she wished she wasn’t. It brought too much trouble.

”Anyway, the reason I was here in the first place was to talk to another stray about joining the street dogs, but since my intrusion”- she spat the word- ” was so unwelcome, I’ll leave now. Unless you’ve changed your mind.” Hey, it wouldn’t hurt to give him a chance to redeem himself in her views, now, would it?

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[Maybe ♫]

Darthyn snarled in fury and charged at the female, his ears pinned to his head, amber eyes cold and unforgiving. His footfalls were heavy against the damp sod, and as he jumped over a rotting log and landed on the other side with a slosh, the wet mud caked his lower legs with filth. He almost roared with anger.

"Wretched housepet!" He screamed, lunging for her neck, his jowls parted to display two adjacent rows of razor-like teeth. With one snap of his mighty jaws, the shiny, sparkling collar fell to the mud, a light veil of rain beginning to soak through the dogs' fur. The female's neck was left untouched, unscathed. He had not intended to hurt her. He backed up, smiling deviantly.

"You have some courage to talk to a dog like myself in such an agressive manner." His words betrayed the smile that highlighted his rugged, yet handsome features. "I like that." He smirked wryly, sitting back on his bum, long tail wagging ever-so slightly. "I am Darthyn, leader of the strays, and I would be honored to give you a place within my humble pack."

This is the way Darthyn tested nearly all of the dogs who came into the clan. He'd pretend to start a fight, and depending on how they reacted to his agression, he could see how well they would fare on the streets and in his pack. And this female, this little housepet, had done much better than many dogs who had been street rats their entire lives. To say the very least, Darthyn was quite impressed.

[song]

It was true, the former housepet spaniel was shocked when he leaped at her, great fangs bared, but she neither flinched nor did she turn and run away when he snapped. To her concealed relief, she saw the half-shredded collar lying on the ground in front of her and curled her lip in disgust. How had she managed to live inside that stupid thing for so long? Her neck felt lighter now; Savy lifted her inky black head up and nodded gratefully at the alpha. So this was him? Maybe she would have shown him a little more respect. Or not. Anyway, he seemed to be impressed by her fiery temper rather than turned of by it, like most of the other pathetic house pets had. ”Oh, it’s so unladylike to burst out like that, Savannah.” She could still hear the remnants of the other dog’s voices.

Acknowledging his introduction with a bright grin, that also happened to show off a set of perfectly cleaned, yet sharp teeth, Savy stood and padded closer to him, more outgoing now that she knew he wasn’t a threat. But she kept herself ready, just in case. ”I’m Savannah.” She told him, flicking one ear and correcting herself; ”Other street dogs call me Savy, though. Savannah’s too… fancy, I guess you could say.” Furiously resisting the urge to itch a flea behind her ear- one of the worse things that came with freedom- Savy wagged her tail slowly in response, its plumes dragging through the dust. Something the other house pets would have been terribly horrified by, but she was over that now. And she was pretty sure Darthyn could care less if her tail was dusty.

”Aggressive?” The fae asked innocently, brown eyes wide with faux confusion. ”Me? Never.” Giggling softly under her breath, Savy nudged her mouse forward, telling Darthyn, ”Technically, it’s your mouse, so if you want it you’re welcome to have it. I can catch another later.”

Glancing upwards at the grey sky, Savy raised one doggy eyebrow, skeptical chocolate gaze locked on the misty rain. She didn’t mind it, of course. She could swim fine, so flooding wasn’t something that bothered her. Feeling the dampness soak through her fur, Savy closed her eyes blissfully for a moment before reopening them and looking curiously at Darthyn. ”So where does this humble pack of yours reside in the rain?” They’d probably have some shelter somewhere in case it got really bad. Even if they didn’t, Savy couldn’t care less. She loved the wetness of rain, and actually enjoyed being under its gentle caress.

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[Maybe ♫]

Darthyn was forced to squint as the sudden precipitation turned heavy, nearly imparing his vision of the female who was, in reality, only steps away. He looked down as she nudged the mouse forward toward him. Shaking his head, he smiled briefly and nudged it back with his large black nose.

"No, Savy. It is your catch." He smirked at her mock confusion and as he nudged the mouse toward her, he prodded her delicate black foot with his muzzle. When he lifted his regal head, a handsome, playful grin rested upon his facade. "Welcome to the pack." He looked up toward the canopy of trees that seemed to be protecting them from much of the torrential downpour and wondered how wet they would get on their way to the Lodge. He shrugged, realizing that he didn't care and that he needed a bit of a shower anyways.

"Well, Sav," he said, calling her by an even shorter version of her nickname, "if you don't mind getting a bit wet, the Tarnished Lodge is just over that hill."

ooc // Sorry, major block.