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Post by rita on Jan 31, 2009 22:08:58 GMT -6
Kotori walked unsteadily through the trees, placing weary paw after weary paw on the soft forest floor. He was tired from all his wandering, it took a lot out of him. All his life it seemed he had been moving from one place to the next, and he was sick of it. The dense foliage loomed far over his head, keeping the sun out and the nice, cool air in. He paused momentarily, sniffing the air for any signs of others. Nothing. It seemed as if he hadn't seen another soul since he was chased from his pack, but he didn't keep that thought in his mind for long. No use in kicking himself about the past, he had to focus on the here and now. Picking up his pace again, he went to check a few last spots to make sure there was absolutely no scent marking this territory. Again, nothing.
"So this is it." he said to himself in a sad whisper, "So this is my new home."
For someone who had just happened upon a stretch of unclaimed land, Kotori didn't sound as happy as others might. Sure, he was the leader, but of who? Right now it was just him, alone in this forest. What was there to be proud of? Right now all it provided him with was a lot of work, scent marking the place, exploring it a little, and much more that he couldn't even think of. Maybe this was just one big mistake, did the lone coyote really have what it took to take on such a big role? Could this all just be an attempt to forget the past? Something to occupy his time and keep his mind off it?
Well, he'd have to wait and find out, right now he had some business to take care of. This land wasn't going to mark itself.
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Post by Shadowcat on Feb 7, 2009 16:59:34 GMT -6
Where am I? When are they coming back? What is this place? Jacob's thoughts quavered as if he might cry, and he wasn't entirely sure he wouldn't. His eyes huge, he looked around at the woods surrounding him. He didn't like being in the woods yet again, but he had to look for his owners.
This was like a nightmare. Some dream gone horribly wrong. But it was real. The feel of the moist ground. The strange trees and plants that looked nothing like the ones back home. The smells of other animals. It was all real, and it was all wrong. Why had his family left him here? Sure, they weren't perfect, they didn't pay too much attention to him, but he loved them just the same, and now they were gone. Jacob couldn't for the life of him figure out why they would leave him in a scary place like this.
The little creature turned his dark brown eyes upward slightly, thankful there was at least some sun, though it didn't really change anything. This place was different, this land was different, and the fox couldn't help but see the replays of the previous night in his head.
His family of humans taking him for a car ride, something he loved but rarely got to do. They put him in a box. They closed the box. They set it down somewhere. He heard the monster that they road in drive off. He fought his way out of the box and ran, following the rubber and gas scent of the monster. But he wasn't fast enough, and it wasn't even in sight.
Jacob had given up for the time. It was late and he wanted a warm bed to sleep in. There were no beds here, though. He found a few little caves and other shelters, but every time he approached, some scary animal chased him off. He was terrified. There was no where to go, no one who wanted him. He didn't even know what kind of animals these were. So, he walked, and walked, and walked, and didn't stop.
All through the night he walked, only stopping when he could move no more. His muscles ached. This would be the end. Death would take him now, and he would never see his family again.
Jacob felt the fear now as if the memories had happened at this very moment. He quickly snapped himself out of it, his thoughts then turning to the brighter side of things. He remembered the strange dog that called herself a "wolf." She had been kind. She fed him a strange substance called "deer." She found him a place to stay. But there was one thing she couldn't do. She said she didn't know where his family was. Jacob was alone in the world. The only thing he had to remember his family by now was the red leather collar around his neck.
The canine was shaking slightly, still just as terrified as his first night away from home. But then, he noticed something in the distance. His heart seemed to stop. Was that... another "wolf"? If it was, it was sure to help him. Wolves were nice, after all, right? He took off at a sprint towards it. "Hey!" He called. "Are you a wolf?" He was so thankful! The only creatures he trusted were wolves. Perhaps that was a misplaced trust, for he had only met one, after all.
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Post by rita on Feb 11, 2009 15:50:16 GMT -6
Kotori had finished his first little task as 'leader' of this land. It was strange to think of himself as such, since he had spent so much time being a subordinate. He had learned quite a lot about his land while exploring it. It supported a wide variety of plant life, more that the coyote had ever seen in his life before. He had picked a good home, it would definitely be able to support him and many others.
He was glad to be alone for the time being, he was still upset about all that had happened to him. But at the same time, being alone gave him time to think about it, and he did. That was one of his mental flaws. He would hold onto everything he did wrong, no matter how small, and his mind wouldn't allow him to think of anything but that. He would often stay up late just telling himself how much he had messed up, and how he wished he could go back and change things. But he couldn't, so instead he just ran away from those things.
Kotori had plopped himself down under a nice big tree, shading him from the day's heat, and he was happy to finally have a distraction. Well, first he was surprised, but then he was happy. Hearing the small animal address him, he stood up and got a better look at the thing. It looked a lot like himself, just its colors were brighter and more neatly arranged on its fur. "Um, no actually." he said to the creature, "are you? I'm a coyote." He sounded a bit unsure of himself, a bit insecure, because he was. He wasn't a particularly social animal, and feared that in talking to others they would find out who he really was. A killer.
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Post by Shadowcat on Feb 11, 2009 16:22:23 GMT -6
Jacob stopped in his tracks as the other animal stood up. What was he doing? This thing was much bigger than him, and he didn't even know it! It smelled a little different than the wolf too. Oh no! What if it wasn't a wolf and it was something else? Something else that was friendly. Maybe something that liked to eat other somethings like Jacob. The little red animal pulled his ears flat against his head and crouched slightly, the scent of fear hovering over him.
Before he could stop himself, Jacob felt his legs slowly slinking him backward, even though he had been at a safe enough distance from the animal. He stopped after it spoke. The "coyote" held a note of insecurity in his voice. So he's afraid too? Jacob thought. Why did this creature seem to be so uncomfortable? He was larger and probably knew a lot about living in the wild, unlike little Jacob.
"N-no," he stuttered quietly, wishing to just disappear into the ground. He wasn't even sure he wanted to answer, but he was afraid if he didn't, the coyote might attack him. "I-I'm a fox..." Then, he couldn't help himself. "W-what's a c-coyote?" He stammered, shaking slightly. "I h-hope they don't e-eat f-foxes."
Jacob curled his tail tightly around him and remained low to the ground, ears pinned back, eyes wide.
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Post by rita on Feb 11, 2009 19:43:28 GMT -6
Kotori watched as the young fox seemed to shrink, pulling back his ears and crouching low. The creature shook slightly and backed away. What, had it seen something in the bushes? Kotori gave a backwards glance scanning for danger, but found none. He also couldn't smell anything besides the fox's fear. "Wh-what's the matter?" he asked, unintentionally stuttering in fear himself, "I don't see anything..."
The coyote regained some of his composure when Jacob posed his question. Did coyotes eat foxes? He didn't think so. He felt a bit silly for letting himself get all worked up for nothing, but he was still in a new place, and so there was some justification to his actions. "No, I don't think I eat foxes. Never have before, and don't plan on now." It made Kotori a little sick, thinking about killing anything again. Especially since the creature looked so similar to himself. It was so innocent and scared, faintly reminding him of how his pups had looked.
He shook the thoughts from his head, he had come here to forget the past, not to dwell on it. "Well, coyotes are a lot like you..." he said, beginning to address the fox's other question, "We look a lot alike, except for our color, and I'm a little bigger. If it wasn't for that fur of yours, I might have mistaken you for a young coyote." he said a little more confidently.
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Post by Shadowcat on Feb 11, 2009 19:54:21 GMT -6
This coyote was being nice enough to him. Maybe he wasn't so bad. He looked like a small wolf, so maybe coyotes acted just like wolves and were nice just like wolves. That makes sense, Jacob thought. Slowly, he resumed a normal stance, relaxing his ears and tail and standing up straight. He was still a little nervous, but he was far enough away that he had a good chance of running.
During his venture in the forest near where the humans had left him, Jacob had learned something. Don't go up to strange animals and ask them questions. For example, right now, he wanted to ask if this animal had seen his family, but, that probably wasn't a good idea. The thought of seeing them again changed Jacob's mind, though. Besides, this coyote seemed nicer than the other animals he had met.
"Umm have you seen my family?" He asked, not understanding that not all animals lived in a human family.
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Post by rita on Feb 23, 2009 16:04:29 GMT -6
Kotori was a little puzzled. He had just come here himself, how would he have seen this animal's family? Well, then again how was the fox supposed to know he was new, he was probably as lost as the coyote. He stopped thinking about these pointless things and returned his attention to the question, "Oh, uh, no, I'm afraid not. You're the first fox I've ever seen around here. Did you get separated from them or something?" he said, thinking the fox was talking about his actual relatives.
The possibility of being a pet owned by humans didn't even cross his mind, he had never heard of such a thing. A wild animal owned by people? He had heard of some creatures that were kept in cages and inside the strange wooden structures that humans lived in, animals called cats and dogs. But he didn't know what they looked like or anything, he had just heard a little about them.
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Post by Shadowcat on Feb 23, 2009 16:55:28 GMT -6
As the coyote said he didn't know where Jacob's family was, the little fox's head and ears drooped. His eyes dulled and he looked hopeless and upset, as that was how he felt. He felt doomed to live without them. But how could he go on all alone?
"Sort of," he murmured in response after a pause. "We went for a ride in their noisy monster thing," he said, unsure of what to call it, "then they put me in a box and closed it. I couldn't see anything but I could hear them talking, though I didn't understand what they said. They picked the box up with me still in it, then they sat it down and everything got quiet. I fought my way out but they were gone....." Jacob explained pitifully, not even looking up.
Then, something the stranger had said clicked in his head. The red fox looked up at the coyote, ears still dropped and eyes sad, while confusion added to his problems. "Oh no, they aren't foxes. They're humans." He knew some animals who had been with a family of their kind and a human family at the same time, but didn't all animals live with humans? Well, except maybe all the animals he had seen on his way here. How did they get here, anyway? Were they abandoned too? He frowned and returned his eyes to the ground.
No, they didn't abandoned me. They just left for a little bit, he told himself in his thoughts. Jacob then put his nose to his chest, looking quite odd as he did so, his eyes on the red leather collar around his neck. It was all he had of them until they came back for him. They were coming back, right?
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