(OPEN TO DOGS ONLY) Making it "Home"...

[mintchan]

Aisa's tiny head peeped out from under the grasses, scanning the large, rolling hills that surrounded her. It had been a long journey, but her Mother had finally taken her back to the place that she had told her all sorts of stories about before bedtime, a place called "Home"...and with Artemis and her Father away hunting, or training, or doing...something, it had ended up being only the two of them making it back. She had said something about finding new family at "Home" though...maybe that would be true?

"...Momma?" she called out tentatively, peeking around the grass in search of the Flareon. "Momma, where did you go...?"

[Ren]

Eriko's ears twitched once she heard the voice of the little eevee. She looked around, trying to find the baby. "Aisa?" she called, running towards where she heard the voice.

The flareon stopped once she saw her. "Aisa!" she exclaimed, walking now. "How do you manage to keep getting lost, baby?" she asked, getting down on her belly to be eye-to-eye with Aisa.

[mintchan]

"Thought I saw a pretty espii...epsii..." she tried, but end the end just gave up and shrugged a bit, with a sheepish smile. "That pretty one walkin' around...but I was wrong." She took a moment to glance around the field. "Do you think that we're going to find the rest of the family Mama?" she asked quietly, sniffing the air for signs of another pokemon's scent. "Everyone's hidden away...it's really big here!"

[Ren]

Eriko smiled, knowing that the little one meant she thought she saw an Espeon. Though, Eriko herself had never seen one here.

She sighed, looking around the Savanna. This was home once. But now it looked emtpy. She was almost ashamed; a great pack leader reduced to this-returning home empty handed.
Well, not completely, she thought as she smiled down at Aisa.

Oh, she had asked a question. Would they find the "family" here?

"Maybe, sweetie. Maybe..." she faded off, deep in thought.

[silvergreenfurret]

Nero pressed through the tall grasses and sniffed the wind for a hint of where to go next. The night before, he had filled his hunger with an old rattata he managed to catch, but that feeling of being full was already fading fast. He could feel the fingers of the endless void of his belly prodding at him, threatening to reveal claws of discomfort.

A vulpine scent wafted and danced at his nostrils. Nero narrowed his eyes and licked his lips. They might have food, or they might -be- food.

The poochyena moved cautiously to investigate what fortune he might find.

[Ren]

Eriko jumped up to her feet, hearing something a distance off. She looked around, searching for the source.

"Stand behind me, Aisa," she said, once she found a general direction to face.

((Sorry it's short! Muse-chan ran away...)

[mintchan]

Aisa nodded, quickly scuttling under her mother and slipping to the back, poking her head around her legs curiously. At her age, she was still very naive, and the promise of a mother had made her forget those horrible first days that she had considered her life, and her torture...so she was more wondering than frightened at Eriko's command. Still though, she could tell in her tone of voice that it wasn't playtime. If she had to, she would probably need to run and hide...much as she disliked thinking about it.

[silvergreenfurret]

Nero licked back the drool starting to form in his mouth. He bit out at the tuft of grass that stood between himself and the smell he was following. He looked at the pair and chewed the clump of grass in his mouth slowly. The little one could be an easy enough meal. The larger one, he wasn't sure about. He'd never tried to hunt anything that was big and healthy.

The grass was slowly becoming an uncomfortable, pokey wad. He could feel the drool slipping out from between his teeth. The angry pit of his stomach made a loud protest to becoming emptier. Nero gave a gritted swallow and felt the slow, uncomfortable scratching of fibers down his throat. How was he going to turn this situation to his advantage?

[Ren]

Eriko watched the poochyena closely. It was eating grass...how odd, but so far not threatening. But if it was willing to eat grass, then it would have no second-thoughts about attacking her and the youngling behind her.

There had to be a way to keep Aisa safe; the small dog seemed young, and probably weak from hunger. Surely the flareon would have no problems fighting it, should it come to that. She was a leader, darn it! It was her job to protect her pack-though it has yet to be what it once was-and she knew full well how to do that.

She gave a warning growl to Nero. Hopefully he was smart enough not to mess with things that were bigger-and probably stronger-than him.

[silvergreenfurret]

Nero stared at the flareon's chest, then strayed his vison over to the eevee. His stomach growled back for him, egging him to take what was needed and run.

The poochyena continued to salivate, but he knew he was not going to get what he wanted just now. He felt his stomach knot up and grab at his deepest organs. Nero whimpered. "I have to eat. I'm sorry."

His paws and limbs quivered and he bowed his head. She would best him if he struck right now. Mothers did that for their cubs. He had to wait. He had to hold back against the demands of the demon of hunger in his belly. Silver threads of drool dangled from between his teeth.

[Umby]

(OOC: Woot, active thread close to her last location =D! *hops in*)

She had lost track of time. She was becoming exhausted. The only thing keeping her going right now was pure fear. Fear of what the pokemon would do to her if it caught up with her. I have to keep going! was her only coherent thought, but her will was wavering. Despite her determination, she was beginning to slow, and her entire body was beginning to ache.

Soon, it was all she could do to just walk.

She was so disoriented, that it took her far too long to realize she could hear voices. She strained to understand what they were saying, but before she could discern it, the voices fell silent.

"H... Hey!" she tried to shout, the voice barely strong enough to hear. "Is... is anyone there? H... Help!"

It was only instinct at first that caused her outburst, but she soon realized that any help was better than facing that pokemon alone, and without any help, she knew she wouldn't ever be able to find her mother.

[mintchan]

Aisa whimpered, burrowing further into the depths of her mother's fur. The strange new pokemon was scaring her with his dripping and how many times his eyes were resting on her...and there was another one coming towards them; Aisa had spotted her out of the corner of her eye. It didn't look as dangerous as the one in front of them, but it was shouting something.

"Mama..." she whispered worriedly, closing her eyes tightly in fear. She was scared...she thought this new pokemon was going to hurt them both, he was so scary!

[Ren]

“It is unwise to let hunger lead you,” Eriko scolded the younger dog. She rolled her eyes. “But, I will find you some food, if it means you’ll leave Aisa alone,” she told him.

Shortly after those words left her mouth, she heard someone cry for help. Her head snapped in that direction as a new pokemon ran towards them, merely watching. She dare not leave Aisa alone.

[silvergreenfurret]

Nero's tongue flicked a small rain of drool. A promise of a meal was good enough for now. He'd hold back his inner weakness a little longer. If a meal was not delivered, he could try to get his way again.

"Kept me alive." he grunted in reply to the flareon, his eyes removed from the eevee and refocused between his feet again. "Won't eat 'er." -not yet- he added in his mind.

The sound of the approaching pokemon grabbed his attention. Oh... this could be food. He licked his lips, a wide grin parted his jaws. His demonly belly gurgled. -Come to me, food!-he thought to himself.

[Umby]

She was out of breath. It was all she could do to keep herself standing upright.

Just then, she thought she heard the voices again! "Any... anyone there? Please... someone!"

She began to worry. What if I'm only imagining things? What if there's nobody there at all?

She caught a quick glimpse of what looked like figures ahead of her, before her strength finally gave out. Her legs buckled beneath her, and she fell to the ground, utterly exhausted.

As much as she tried to keep them at bay, the paranoid thoughts returned. What if that pokemon is nearby? What if he heard me yell? What if these other pokemon were his friends? What if they wanted to hurt her for running away?

She did the only thing she was even capable of doing in her current state. Out of the intense fear, she couldn't help but begin to cry.

[Ren]

"You're meal will have to wait a while longer," Eriko told Nero with a soft smile. Poor thing was just hungry. She'd fix that.

Then, making sure Aisa stayed close to her, she made her way towards the fallen pokemon.

"My..." she faded off, finding the newcommer crying. "What's wrong?" she asked, frowning.

((Umby-chan, what pokemon is your character? Obviously a dog, but which one? Just so I can start using "umbreon" or "flareon" instead of "pokemon".))

[silvergreenfurret]

Nero snuffed the air and felt a thick bristle of hatred rise up on his back. He wanted nothing to do with his own kind, unless it was to take a meal from them. What if this one was kin to those who had slain his father, or kidnapped his mother and killed his sibblings? What if they found out he existed and were looking for him to finish the job they'd set out to do?

"She's alive... that's what's wrong." Nero sneared and circled closer to the place where the flareon and eevee had met up with the stray poochyena. If he couldn't eat the fire pokemon's young, perhaps he would dine upon his own kind's flesh. He'd done it before and had no issue with doing it again. Surely this flareon had no attachements to protect here.

((Ren, I could be wrong, but I believe Umby's using Kiera. I'm just going by the orange text in Umby's tagline. Kiera's a poochyena.))

[Umby]

(OOC: Haha, yeah, I've color-coded my characters =P So this is the Poochyena. Also, sorry if the post seems kinda intruding, I don't plan on trying to give Kiera an adopted mother, lol. It's just a little more emphasis on her character. Plus, she's still only a pup, after all. EDIT: And haha, I just realized her predicament PRECISELY fits the thread title <.<)

The voice... it was a lot different than Kiera had next expected to hear. This voice was sweet, caring. She began to calm down. Safe now... she thought, as relief flooded through her. She was overcome by a feeling of love, of home...

A feeling of family.

"M... Mother?" she couldn't help but mutter, as she sat up to look at the origin of the voice. When she was able to discern the pokemon's identity, her heart sank. "Oh... you're not... I'm sorry..." she said, her voice soft and barely audible.

It took only moments, but that was all it needed to take. Filled with feelings of lonliness, she couldn't help but begin to cry her heart out once again.

[Ren]

(( *slaps forehead* Oh. My. God. I am so stupid! Of course it was RIGHT THERE in front of my face...dude I suck... I swear exams make you dumb-er. But I'll be done with them next week! Yay! Just ignore the stupid person until then...))

Eriko titled her head to the side and watched the little female poochyena. "You're fine..." she replied to the quiet apology. She looked around. The little thing was just a pup...she should've been with her mother. Apparently, they got sepparated.

Looks like not only did she have to feed one, but she had to find another mother. How did children keep getting away from their parents? She would have watched hers like a hawk.

But that didn't change the fact that she had to help them.

"Are you hungry?" Eriko asked softly to the female poochyena. Heck, might as well feed them all.

[mintchan]

Aisa carefully snuck around behind her mother's back, peering curiously at the new young pokemon. It looked a lot like the scary one had, who had followed them, except a lot nicer...and smaller. She must have been Aisa's age, if not a little older. Thinking about it for a moment got the little eevee wriggling with excitement. "A sister!" she squealed, bounding out from behind her mother and rolling onto the ground, landing so that she would make eye contact with the new member of the family. "We did find more, right Mama? That's why you're feeding her too?" she asked happily, her tail a rush of blurry energy.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something to make her heart freeze...her tail drooped low and she whimpered as she saw the other new pokemon advancing, once again looking like he had gone mad with power...and was enraged, for some odd reason. Aisa shot a worried look to Eriko, whimpering. When he looked like that, being close to him was scary...she could feel her muscles tensing from underneath.

(And I must agree with the exams thing...I feel like my brain is slowly dying or something and I'm not even halfway done >.<)

[silvergreenfurret]

Nero's jaw turned slack. A large splash of saliva wet the earth beneath him. He licked his lips. So, she was going to take in this little one too? Well, she couldn't watch both of them all the time. If she was going to hunt, he was going to hunt too. His prey might not be the same target as the one she'll be looking for. "Said I wasn't gon'eat ya, didn't I?" He stared at Aisa. There was a wry, hungry glint to his eyes.

[Umby]

(OOC: Ignore her stuttering, she's quite shy/nervous ^_~ Oh, and Kiera's actually about a half year to a year older than Aisa <.< In actual canine years. Kiera would probably be about... 8 years old if she was human =P)

The caring voice was such a comfort. "You're fine..." she had been told, but the words meant so much more to her. To Kiera, the words were an incredible comfort. She breathed deeply as the tears stopped.

"Are you hungry?" the pokemon then asked her. She hadn't thought much about food for a while, but the question suddenly sent her stomach into overdrive, and it began to growl at her quite menacingly.

"A little..." she replied quietly, embarrassed that her stomach had betrayed her.

All of a sudden, a little voice startled her. "A sister!" it had said, and though Kiera was confused at what she meant, the pokemon to whom the voice belonged seemed to be looking right at her!

"S... sister?" was all she could manage to say to that. The other pokemon seemed so happy when she declared it, and she couldn't reeally think of anything to say to her.

She didn't have long to think however, as the eevee suddenly changed her demeanor to one of fear. Looking to see what was wrong, she noticed the other poochyena for the first time. Looking at him, she understood how the eevee felt. He looked positively gaunt, and he seemed very threatening. "Said I wasn't gon'eat ya, didn't I?" was all he said, though it irked Kiera to hear it. She didn't know what to say though, so she remained quiet, though she couldn't help but glare in his general direction from time to time.

[Ren]

Eriko frowned, but she didn't have the heart to tell Aisa that her "sister" probably had a family of her own; not when they had just lost Artemis and Ven.

Of course, she wasn't feeding them just to gain pack members; they were both just kids themselves (not that she was too much older) and needed food. And taking care of Aisa had brought forth a sort of maternal instinct.

Her eyes cut to Nero. She would have to feed him soon before he attacked the other two. "I'll find you food now. I trust that you won't eat them," she half-joked, nodding towards Aisa and the female dog.

"What's your name, anyway?" she asked him.

[silvergreenfurret]

~I won't when you're looking.~ Nero's mind laughed to itself. It would be a test of will power to leave them alone. His stomach was calling for flesh, and his brain had no reservations about where it came from.

"Me? Gots a lot of names." Nero brushed a few of them out with a sigh, " Runt... you there... go away,... hey, I said get lost.... " he looked away from the group and chuckled darkly, " Don't eat me!" he added with a twisted grim enjoyment. The poochyena licked his lips once again, imagining using his teeth on flesh. "Real name's Nero. But I ain't nobody anyways."

He sat down, and for the moment, looked relaxed. How strange it was to speak his own name for once. He'd only ever heard it from his parents, and it was always accompanied with a command to hush and be still. Now that these pokemon knew it, he felt as if he had accidently given them some kind of power over him. He had to even the odds! "Yous gots names?"

[mintchan]

Aisa peeked out from behind her paws. Her mother seemed to trust the scary-looking dog, but she certainly wasn't sure. There was a bad feeling settling into the pit of her stomach, and the feeling spiked whenever Nero spoke. He was shooting glances at her too, familiar ones that larger pokemon had sent towards her before she had found Eriko. It only made her feel worse, and she squirmed under his gaze, rushing back behind her mother's fur.

Still...she also felt bad for the pokemon. It didn't seem like he had a place to belong. Her head poked out from behind Eriko and she studied him again as he spoke. There was a visible amount of pain that shifted through his eyes whenever he let out a name. Hesitantly she crawled around, back to the front, and pointed at him curiously.

"...Which one's he?" she asked. "Brother? Uncle?"

[Ren]

The flareon laughed gently at Aisa's remark. She wanted a family, just as much as Eriko did.

"Well, honey, that's up to him entirely," she told her daughter. Once fed, dear Nero might leave. And Eriko wouldn't stop him, if that's what he wanted to do. But she did admit that she had become curious; he was certainly an interesting character.

"My name is Eriko, and this is Aisa. Nice to meet you, Nero," she said to Nero now. Her eyes fell on the other poochyena. "I'm afraid I don't know your name."

[Umby]

"I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"Oh!" she said suddenly, obviously embarrassed that she had forgotten to introduce herself. "My name is Kiera!" she concluded cheerfully.

(OOC: whee, can't think of anything else to add to this =[ )

[Ren]

A smile came to her face. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well," she said to Kiera. She stood from her sitting position. "It's getting late, so I'll go find some food. It won't be much because of the time, but it'll feed you guys," she stated.

She smiled at Aisa. "Okay, sweetie. You're in charge. Keep 'em in line," she told her. She glanced at Kiera, silently asking her to stay close to the eevee, just in case.

Finally, she turned to Nero. "Be good," she commanded simply. She was the one being kind enough to feed him; the least he could do was leave the others alone.

And with that, she turned and left to go find anything that was stupid enough to be wandering around at this time.

((I'll enter again when I see fit. ^__^ ))

[silvergreenfurret]

Nero nodded and scooted backwards. "Swift hunting."

~Is she LEAVING?? and leaving ME ALONE with the CUBS??~ Nero's mind seemed to dance with glee. Trusting fool. Nero smiled an innocent smile at the cubs. His stomach gurgled. ~Quiet little demon gut. This will work out well. ~

Nero pulled another clump of grass into his mouth and chewed it slowly. His mind was thinking about the pros and cons of waiting for this next meal. He just had to bide his time.

[Umby]

"It's getting late, so I'll go find some food. It won't be much because of the time, but it'll feed you guys,"

Kiera would have been excited, but that glance Eriko had given her could only mean one thing. I have to keep an eye out.

She glanced quickly at Aisa, then at Nero. Is he... smiling at us? She began to feel very nervous. What if he decides to attack us? she thought. I don't think I can hold him off...

Her thoughts came to a halt when Nero began to eat the grass. It just seemed very odd. Maybe he's trying to hold off until Eriko gets back? She then glanced back at Aisa before thinking, I really hope for her sake that he decides snacktime can wait until later.