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Post by Becca on Jul 12, 2014 4:54:23 GMT
One would think that being tiny and infantile would have its advantages when you lived on the street. Tikka supposed it did, sort of. The humans were more kindly disposed to her than they seemed to be to the other dogs, more willing to share food and water. This sharing was often followed by attempts to pet her or pick her up, which was something that the four pound female was unwilling to tolerate. Such actions lead to attachment, which lead to a desire to care for, which lead to them trying to take her home. Tikka didn't want to go home with some random human that she'd found roaming Westover. She wanted to go home with her humans. What she wanted didn't matter much, she guessed, or else they wouldn't have left her here.
The Chihuahua let out a long sigh through her nose, eyes just barely cracking open. The sun was in her eyes and, even though it was still in its early stages of rising, its light was a bit much for her right now. She was curled up near the large fountain in the center of the town square, safely concealed under one of the many benches. The city was already waking up around her. Vendors were setting up their food stalls, cars were rolling past on their way to work, and the early morning joggers were making their way down the sidewalk. Tikka didn't want to get up, but if she wanted to try and get a morning meal, she needed to now. Opening her pointed little muzzle in a yawn, she stood and stretched. A few licks to smooth out her long, buff coat and she was ready to go. She began her quest for a meal by trotting up to the nearby popcorn vendor, making sure to wag her tail and let out a high-pitched yip of greeting.
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Post by Fall on Jul 12, 2014 6:08:42 GMT
Sadie trotted through the town square. She was hungry, yet stayed away from humans. She heard a yip, and smelled another dog. She looked over and saw a Chihuahua. Sadie knew she wasn't near brave enough to beg to humans. Ever since the day her humans gave her to the cage-place... Oh well. She lightly trotted over to the Chihuahua. She knew she needed friends and support, no matter how small. She reached the Chihuahua and tried to be as friendly and nice as possible. She couldn't imagine being so small! "Hello," Sadie said, just loud enough to get the Chihuahua's attention, but not too loud. "My name is Sadie. I was wondering who you might be." She wasn't good with social skills. She usually doesn't know what to say.
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Post by Becca on Jul 12, 2014 18:25:02 GMT
The man working at the cart didn't seem to hear her. Tikka ignored the possibility that he might just be ignoring her. No one had ever done that before, not even the meaner looking humans. Even if they didn't find her toy-like bark cute, it was so loud that most couldn't resist turning to look just as a knee-jerk reaction. She parted her jaws and took in another breath, ready to yip again. The vocalization froze in her throat when she heard the clicking of another dog's nails on the pavement. Surprise and curiosity compelled the tiny dog to turn her head to look. The sight of the other animal made her marble-like eyes grow wide, a thin sliver of white appearing around the edge of her dark chocolate colored irises. By others' standards, the stranger wasn't that large a dog, but to Tikka, she seemed a veritable giant. Her pointy little ears flattened and her curled tail tucked itself between her legs, the tip touching her chest. The other dog spoke softly and gently, likely in an attempt to soothe her, but she was too scared to listen. She flinched away, crouching to make herself look even smaller.
"T... Tikka," she whimpered, not making eye contact in an attempt to avoid provoking conflict. "My name is Tikka. Please... Please don't eat me..."
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Post by Fall on Jul 12, 2014 20:52:30 GMT
Sadie was surprised at the Chihuahua's fear. She wasn't that big... But the poor Chihuahua was so small!. "I didn't mean to startle you," She said as she pulled her head back. Was she really that scary? She didn't want to be intimidating or scary. "But don't worry, I wont eat you." She said it with a small smile. She would never eat any dog. She was small for her Labrador breed. Most dogs didn't fear her. Most taunted her because of her small Lab size. To make herself less scary she lied down and scooted up to the Chihuahua. She lightly nudged the dog she now knew as Tikka, to show friendliness. A thought went through her mind. Does this dog trust me?
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Post by Becca on Jul 14, 2014 3:50:51 GMT
She said she wouldn't eat her, and Tikka believed her, simple as that. Humans were the only animals that had ever given her a reason to mistrust them; the tiny dog had never had any reason to not believe what other dogs said to her. If they said they would do something for her or wouldn't do something to her, then they were telling the truth. She never asked any questions. This unquestioning trust was probably something that would come back to bite her in the butt one day, but she didn't know of the issue and probably wouldn't have thought a big enough problem to deal with if she had. The tenseness in her frail frame dissolved, her tail and ears returning to their normal positions.
Tikka accepted the nudge as a good sign that the other canine would maintain their friendly demeanor, though it did (accidentally, she hoped) force her to take a step to the side. Weighing roughly as much as a small bag of sugar made it much easier to move her around, something that other animals didn't seem to catch on to until after they did it. Smiling nervously, she laid down beside the larger dog. She glanced from Sadie to the vendor, who still didn't hadn't spared so much as a glance toward the pair. "Bet you're still hungry," she said, waggling her whiskered 'eyebrows.' Maybe the little Labrador would be willing to help her beg or steal breakfast. Tikka didn't take kindly to being ignored; it made her feel rather... mischievous.
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Post by Quirky Tea on Jul 14, 2014 20:05:50 GMT
The morning sun was one of Elliot’s favorite things. He could feel it warm his back, as if it were warming it into existence. He lost his intangibility and could, again, pretend that he was alive. That his nightly haunts were simply his life on pause. The sun brought relief.
The ghost sighed as he stretched in the new sunlight. The problems in the night were over. And, in the same way he dealt with all his problems, he pretended it was nothing more than the part of the story one skims to get to the good part.
He looked at all his experiences with through the lens of a storyteller. He knew how to tell a good tale. He knew the pieces that would fit and wandered the town looking for new chapters to add to the story of his life after death.
What caught his eye was the interaction between a Chihuahua and a Labrador. Neither dog was large. Both seemed to be sweet, tender creatures. Immediately, it evoked, in his mind, the image of a girl reaching forward towards a fawn in the woods. The same vulnerability was being exuded from the two creatures.
The ghost, now completely solid in the golden light of the sun, found a rather inconspicuous place to be a spectator. Soon, the tableau shifted from the connection of two innocents into the mischievous scheming of two orphans—hoping for a next meal.
Elliot, through observation, realized that he was probably much more street-savvy and socially apt than either of the females. And, seeing that, if the girls reached out towards each other, decided to team up, and then failed at getting their food… it would make a poor story, he chose to intervene.
Easily, he strode over to them. His paws were almost silent. His long legs graceful more in death than they ever were in life. He had perfected his character, so to speak. “Excuse me,” he said politely from a distance.
“I’m sorry about eavesdropping on the two of you, but…” he took a pause to sigh, trying to figure out how best to connect with the two of them, earn their trust. “I heard you were looking for food.” Elliot said. He was about 30 inches to his wither, and was a mix of collie and sighthound. He had feathers on his tulip ears and the sides of his face, his tail, and his legs. “And I’d be happy to help you, if you let me.”
He was polite. He hoped that that was enough.
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Post by Fall on Jul 16, 2014 1:26:10 GMT
Sadie nodded. She was hungry. She was about to speak when she heard a polite "Excuse me". She looked behind her and at a distance she saw a mixed breed dog. Not that she cared, her great, great, great, great, great grandmother was a mix breed, Pointer mix. She stretched and listened to what this dog, which she couldn't see very well at the distance, had to say. She thought he was very polite and nodded at his words. "He seems like a nice dog Tikka," She said to the Chihuahua beside her, "Maybe we should accept his help...?" She wanted to get Tikka's opinion before doing anything else. I wonder what this polite dog's intention is?
(Sorry i'm sort of just playing around with different colors)
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Post by Becca on Jul 26, 2014 3:44:45 GMT
“Excuse me,”
Tikka was momentarily confused. Sadie hadn't said that just now; she hadn't seen her lips move, and even if they had, the voice was too masculine to ever come from her new friend's mouth. If Sadie hadn't said it though, then who had? Certainly not the human. The street was still fairly empty and the vendor was still too busy with his prep work to even notice the pair of canines curled up on the sidewalk just a few feet away. Her feathery ears twitched as she turned her head every which way, wet black nose sniffing in an attempt to pick up on any fresh scents. Not that she had a terribly good nose, the ability to smell especially well having been somewhat neglected as far as her breeding was concerned, but it was good enough to pick up on fairly fresh scents. The tiny dog didn't smell anything, which was rather confusing, but she did spot another dog standing a respectful distance off from Sadie and herself. She stiffened a little at the sight of him. He (or was it she?; his face was almost too pretty for a male) was big, bigger than Sadie, but with a lighter, leaner build, a dog made to run quickly and gracefully. That just meant he could chase her down faster.
As he spoke, her large, dark eyes drifted toward Sadie, trying to gauge how she felt about what he was saying. An offer of aid sounded appealing, especially where food was concerned, but she wasn't sure if she could trust him. For once, it wasn't just his size that Tikka found off-putting. That he had no discernible smell - from a distance at least - threw up an instinctual red flag. What kind of dog couldn't be smelled from just a few feet away? And he'd walked up on them without a whisper of sound. She supposed that it somehow could've been covered up or she could've just ignored it, but Tikka strongly doubted both of those possibilities. The Labrador mix seemed to trust what he said, however, so the Chihuahua decided to accept it. She nodded her little apple-shaped head, hoping that this would turn out better than she thought.
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Post by Quirky Tea on Jul 26, 2014 19:28:53 GMT
“Good, good,” Elliot said as he nodded. He smiled, pleased with himself for earning the trust of two living canines. Sometimes, they’d piece the clues together, no matter how solid and alive he appeared in the daylight. He was a good liar and was lying for a good reason, he believed, so no harm should come from helping them.
The popcorn vender was the nearest source of food and the scent of butter was definitely appealing. Only a few people came and bought his food. His lack of business might have been because he had gotten the sniffles and was wiping his snot on the wrist of his sleeves. His voice was slightly hoarse when he advertised his popcorn. And his eyes were watering from his allergies acting up. The way he looked at the nearby aggregate of dogs confirmed to Elliot what the man must be thinking: Get those dirty mutts out of here.
“Popcorn is the closest, but puppy-dog eyes aren’t going to work on the vendor. Either he hates dogs and simultaneously has some really bad hayfever or... he’s allergic to dogs.” Elliot grinned. “So, if easy-peasy isn’t going to cut it, then we’ll have to do something fun, don’t you think?”
Elliot looked to the females. “Here’s my plan: I’ll go and provide a distraction while you girls eat up. Then we’ll run as soon as he gets violent.”
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