To Trust A [[Friend]]--[for Winter]

[.Shadow.]

.Cayote.
Swear to shake it up,
If you swear to listen.
Oh, we're still so young,
Desperate for attention.

Cayote trotted at a steady, quick pace through the thick forestry, his gold eyes seeing perfectly through the night; something he'd aquired from the Gray Wolf blood coursing through his veins. His size - at a height a few inches taler than a Saarloos Wolfdog - also showed that he was a mixture of both the breeds mentioned above, even though his dominantly gray pelt was from both. Amber optics danced about the place as he slowed his pace, glancing back to search for the white shape of Winter; hopefully she was either at his shoulder or his flank. With a flick of his tail he directed her to take the lead, for even though he knew these streets like the back of his paw, he hadn't the slightest idea where the German Shepherd may live. He waited for her to take the lead, then continued on, following at her flank now.

The masive mongrel's large paws fell rhythimaticly as he trotted, his head up and ears pricked, harks swivelling about toward the slightest hint of sound. Hopefully the pair wouldn't encounter any trouble on their way to Winter's house, but Cayote was much to cautious for that. He knew all to well that, in the cover of darkness, these streets swarmed with murderous, mangy strays. Lifting his tail apprehensively, his eyes flicekred to Winter, and he waited to see where she would lead him.

[Maybe ♫]

The delicate white shepherd trotted swiftly behind her new friend, golden eyes darting from side the side and ears pricked for danger. She was acutely aware of everythng around her, and although there was no threat about, something wasn't right. The only sounds that met her ears were the rhythmic footfalls of her companion and herself, when usually the sounds of humans permeated the night air. Though it was dark, most Twolegs stayed up well into the hours of dusk because of those amazing fire-bulbs, the ones that they hang from their ceilings and place on their furniture, that allow them to see at night. But tonight the air was still and not even the trees rustled. All was silent.

Confused, Winter lagged a bit behind Cayote, but when he stepped on a twig and it snapped, she jolted back into reality. How very strange, she thought to herself as she subconsiously knew to pass the wolfdog and take the lead. She slowed her pace to a smooth trot, feeling the comfort of Cayote against her flank as he slowed his pace to match hers. Ears pricked, she turned her head left and right, looking into each window of each house as she passed them. The glowing fire-bulbs were lit in many of the homes, but no sound or movement came from the abandoned rooms.

As the two dogs rounded the corner onto Winter's street, her hopes that the emptiness was exclusive to the first street fell faster than leaves in autumn. Autumn! Winter immediately thought of her sister. Where was she? Was she alright? The two dogs had always shared an unexplainable bond, and something inside of the white shepherd told her that her sister was safe. Satisfied, she continued on warily, only half certain that Cayote was still behind her. Everything seemed so alien. Cars parked in the streets and lights on in the vacant homes. What had happened?

As she made her way to the end of the block, she stopped at the corner lot, a big beautiful one-story mansion painted ivory. Nosing her way through the white picket-fence's gate, as she had leanred to do years before, she padded slowly up to the front door, where her humans had layed out a bowl of food for her. Gulping back tears, she let out a quiet whine, walking up to the large double doors with the French glass windows. She dragged a paw across the wood, her nails making small scratches in the expensive ivory finish. They were gone.

She turned toward where she knew Cayote was sitting, her large golden eyes filling rapidly with a reservoir of tears. "They've abandoned me." She croaked, her voice hoarse with the effort of trying not to cry. Her throat felt sore and hot, and the tears pushed at her eyes to the point where she felt that her eyes would pop out altogether.

[.Shadow.]

Cayote followed the female without question, trusting her with his life now that she had proven herself worthy to him. His gold eyes burned into the back of her head for a few moments when she stopped, then met her own gaze right before she left him to search the house. Lowering his rump to the ground on the front porch of Winter's home, Cayote sat so his back faced the door, ears pricked and eyes searching, still being wary of his surroundings. But something was wrong, he could tell. It was too silent for this time of night, and no bulbs illuminated the house he sat in front of. The stench of humans was there, but it was eerily stale, where as a human nest like this usually wreacked with twolegger scent.

At the sound of nails against wood, Cayote swung his regally-pointed muzzle over his shoulder, his harks falling back slightly and eyes softenning at the sound of Winter's desperate whimpers. Then, the white German Shepherd turned toward him, and the brute's muscles tenced at her words; 'They've abandonned me.' Anger spread through his whole body, a hatred he'd never felt toward humans before beginning to burn inside him as he stood and padded to Winter's side, resting his massive head on her shoulder. "Its going to be alright," he whispered in her ear, hoping to be of some comfort even though he struggled to keep the anger he felt from creeping into his mild voice, "I'm here now. I won't ever leave you alone. I promise." Whining softly to her, head lifted his head and allowed his tongue to rasp against the side of the shepherd's cheak, his bushy gray tail waving slowly back and forth as his muzzle jutted out, nuzzling into Winter's ivory neck fur.

[Maybe ♫]

Winter was hardly listening to her companion, but strangely she knew what he had said. The wolf's pretty amber eyes were clouded with tears, which slowly and steadily began to prickle down her delicate white cheek. She could feel Cayote's fur bristle, his tail raised angrily, probably at the thought of being abandoned by humans. But Winter had really trusted her two-legged family; they had fed her, cared for her, and given her a loving home. Why would they leave her?

Suddenly as if something clicked in her mind, Winter snarled and turned around, almost pushing the male out of the way as she stormed down the steps, off the porch, and out into the garden. She paced from side to side for a moment before nosing open the gate and vanishing from view. Knowing Cayote would follow her, she didn't hesitate to break into a swift trot, then a full-on run.

It wasn't until she had begun to lose her breath when the female stopped, her tongue lolling out of her parted jaws as she struggled to rasp heavy breaths into her lungs. Her run had taken her from her home to the center of town, and she stopped at a street corner to wait for Cayote. Since she had gotten such a large head-start, she lay down on the warm concrete to await the male's arrival. But perhaps he hadn't followed her, perhaps he thought she was angry with him. What then? Where would she go?

[.Shadow.]

Cayote stood back for a moment and lowered his head, tail fur bristling and banner itself crooked at the tip as his anger simmered. He had to calm down; he couldn't let Winter think he was mad at her, especially in the emotional state she must now be in. The brute tried to see it from her point of view; if he'd been actually loved and cared-for by his owner, perhaps he would miss the twolegger if the human dissapeared. A small whine escaped his throat as he caught Winter's distraught gaze.

Suddenly, Cayote jumped at Winter's growl and he stepped to the side, letting her pass as the German Shepherd fem stormed off and began pacing in the garden. Hesitantly Cayote padded down the steps and stood a few feet away from the white female, his ears pricked toward her as if he expected her to speek. Instead, Winter dashed off; Cayote let her go for a few moments, until she was out of sight. Then he, too sprinted away in the direction his comrad had gone, tracking her scent. Eventually he found her laying down; waiting for him, perhaps? A small whine of uncertainty emitted from his maw as the wolf hybrid brute trotted up to the fem and lowere dhis head to her level, muzzle jutting out in a small, concerned nuzzle.

[[ooc: sorry it sucks. not feeling so well.]]

[Maybe ♫]

When Winter saw Cayote's approaching form, her muscles relaxed and she lowered her ears in shame. She knew that her friend would understand her plight, so she didn't bother to say anything; words didn't seem to be the right thing at the time. Taking a deep breath, the pure-bred tried to gather her thoughts and process what had just happened. As the male approached her, he seemed cautious, not wanting to upset her further, most likely. She returned the nuzzle he placed gently on her maw, then got up and strode off down the adjacent street, swishing her tail invitingly, almost as if instructing the male to follow.

ooc // I'm going to ask Brooke to post with Nava here so the two can join his pack. What do you think?

[.Shadow.]

Cayote watched Winter with interest; he was concerned about her, which confused him. He hadn't known the German Shepherd long, yet he couldn't stand the thought of her being hurt, mentally or physicly. It aggravated him a little that this bitch had made her way into his heart so quickly, but he wouldn't take out his frustration on her; not with her in such a fragile state of mind. The Wolf Hybrid had temporarily lowered his rump to the ground as he waited for Winter's reaction, the sun beating down upon his stone-gray fur, when the white female stood and began to walk off. He watched her for a moment, standing and giving his fur a rough shake. Gold eyes caught the swish of her tail, and instincts told him it was an invitation to follow her. Bounding forward he loped to her side, then slowed down to match Winter's stride, eyeing her curiously; did she plan to go somewhere in particular?

//ooc:sounds good to me. :3