What's Spring Like?

[Doggy]

Shadow hadn't heard of any stories about Louka Lake, although they were supposedly famous. There was a simple yet clearly understandable explanation for this: The handsome husky was not from around here. He originated in the next town over and had managed to come across here. As lonely as it sounded, he wasn't at all alone. In fact, he had his son at his side. He was Shadow's only reminder of his beautiful ex-mate, Lucy, and their daughter, Lee. But that life was over, gone, and now it was only a faded memory that came back to haunt Shadow every now and then.

And, oh! What was that?! By the large red husky's legs, a smaller husky could be seen. A much smaller husky. He, too, was quite 'good-looking' for a pup. An adult may say he was a puppyish cute, but in his perspective, he was cute as in all the girls would think he was good-looking. And his confidence was in this all the way. His walk wasn't like any ordinary 'pup's'. Most would call him that. He was rather close to a teen, only two months off. And his walk was almost a confident strut.

As Shadow neared the lake, Quake veered away. Who was Quake, you ask? Well, quite simple. Quake was Shadow's memory, Shadow's pain, Shadow's loss, and Shadow's gain. Quake was Shadow's beloved 7-month-old son. The red husky, which was Shadow, dipped his maw in the lake, lapping up water slowly, his brown eyes staring at his reflection's. Quake looked at the trees around him, staring in awe at how large they were. Flowers were only just blooming. It was all because of spring. Not that it was a bad thing. Oh, no, not at all! After all, this was only his first spring, and his first summer was just right around the corner.

"Hey, dad," he said, turning his head to look at his handsome father. Shadow, taking his last laps of water, slowly rose his noble head before turning to face his son. He gazed at his son, both of them cloaked in silence. He smiled slightly as he remembered his beautiful ex-mate. How they had loved each other dearly. Well, at least he loved her with all his heart. "Dad? Dad!"

"Oh, yeah?" he said, shaking his head to remove him from his trance. Eyes had closed slightly, trying to push the painful memories away. And, carefully, his eyelids slid apart to reveal his soft brown eyes, which rested upon his 'cute' son.

"What's spring like?" Quake asked, looking around at the trees. Tail curled over his haunches, wagging slightly as he strutted around, looking up at the tal trees. Then his head swivelled around to his father, who's own head was looking up at the sky-scraping vegetation. "Dad!" Quake said again. Shadow shook his head before looking back at his son cluelessly. "What's spring like?" he repeated, sounding a bit agitated.

Shadow took some time in his answer, so his eyes closed to make it easier to think. Also to come up with a better explanation. "Well, spring is the arrival of new life among vegetation and many animals. It's a wonderful season. It's almost like a..." he took a second to think, then his eyes flashed open. "...Almost like a rennassaince(sp?)." He watched Quake carefully.

"A Rennassaince?" the pup asked.

"A Rennassaince is... pretty much like a new beginning." He watched Quake for a response. All he did was make a simple nod of his head before looking around again. With a sigh, Shadow's gaze trickled towards the water, staring out over the horizon.

[Kitty]

<sub>Trees were filling themselves and flowers were blooming, grass was returning to it's green self, rustling slightly in the warm breeze. Boy, wasn't life just a joyride once spring came around? Everything was warm again, the flowers seemed to mock your happy smile, and the dogs were just all around happier. What more could be asked for? Gently voices could be heard ahead. Fluffy white ears perked forward in hopes of it being Jane, her mother asking around for her. But why should Jane go around asking on her behalf after the way she treated her? What was she going to do now? She knew it was nearly impossible to actually go back and find her. After all, there were so many strays on the streets, and she doesn't even know where to go.

Let's just say that Dutchess is totally lost. She's been lost for a good deal of time now, and it was getting old; that's why she decided to claim land and start a pack. She'd figure that while she's here, she could have a pack to herself, right? Her bushy tail coiled in a circle and rested upon her back, not of happiness, but instinct. She did that ever since she was a spoiled little puppy, and by now it was no longer just something to do to express her happiness and superiority, but it became a habit-- an instinct. She let a soft, almost inaudible sigh slip through her black rimmed jaws. She was so lonely right now, and it was really painful to go through with everything. She had to deal with her past, live with the present, and get to tomorrow. All of that was just slightly overwhelming.

But for now, she was fine, she guessed. Nothing was extremely wrong, and she wasn’t thinking of dieing just yet. Right now, Dutchess was in one of her depressed modes. She won’t sulk around all that much today, but she wasn’t going to be all that social as she usually is. She’s sort of in the middle between okay and depressed, which is quite a whole lot better than just being depressed. Her blackish colored claws extracted more out of her paws as she took her gentle steps. Her movements were graceful, yet filled with sadness. She couldn’t help but express her feelings to the world, she was just feeling so miserable. She wanted to go home, wanted to see her mother and apologize. But now, she realized that doing something like that was impossible. She wouldn’t be able to return and she wouldn’t find her mother. She’d just have to be content staying where she is.

Ears perked up as a soft scent flew past her nostrils. Two dogs, one considerably younger than the other. Both were males. Ah, heck with them. She’d rather sit down by the sides anyways. It’s not like she needed someone right now. She was perfectly fine by herself, right? According to her, yes, she was, but in reality, she wasn’t. Licking her lips, she sat down, tail flapping down along side of her, coiling around her hind legs to give her a peaceful look. That’s what Dutchess was when she wasn’t all sulky and depressed; peaceful. She sniffed lightly, looking up to the bluish sky. What was she to do with her life now? A clear tear slowly made it’s way down her white cheek, moistening it slightly, but evaporating before it even got to her muzzle. She sniffed once more, looking in the direction of the two dogs, yet she still couldn’t see them.

Shaking her head, she stood again, walking over. As she drew closer, she realized that these two dogs were huskies. Hmm. Maybe father and son? Maybe not. Tail gave one ounce of a flick as she strolled on, keeping her pace consistent and even. She exhaled loudly before spotting out two vague figures in the distance. Boy oh boy, wasn’t she going to have fun? Another sigh escaped her maw. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. I’m too much of a wreck right now. I’d just end up spilling.” She said to herself, eyes drooping slightly. What was she going to do? Sighing once more and glancing up, she trod closer, ears flattened against her head. She’d have to make some friends, because, after all, her pack needed members and she needed support.</sub>

[Doggy]

As he gazed out at the horizon, seeing the blue-tinted sky made Shadow think of his old mate. How he missed her so. The blue sky reminded him of Lucy's perfect pelt. It was so soft, so silky to the touch. The color was perfect. The nighttime sky desribed her fur color ever-so-perfectly. Her fur was white and blackish-blueish, which was why it reminded him of the sky at night. He sighed carefully, closing his eyes and lowering into a lying position, one paw dangling in the water.

Quake, however, was finding interest in the spring'new life. The little white blooms were just beginning to grow on the trees. They seemed almost invisable, if they weren;t white, making it so easy to identify them in the sea of green leaves. As Quake continued onwards, he realized that the trees were full of leaves, every single one of them. This was odd to him, as he had seen only bare trees. He trotted onwards, the blossoming flowers and the green grass tickling his paws.

Quickly, the scent of a new, unfamiliar dog attracted Quake and Shadow's attention. Bother turned their heads at the same time, looking for another dog. But it seemed to be hidden. Quake and Shadow looked at each other before looking in the dog's direction. Shadow remained in a lying position, but Quake stepped forward. Strutting closer, standing proudly and confidentally, head high and his tail neatly curled over his haunches, he strutted forward. A white figure could be seen in the see of green. It seemed like a large blossom.

"Oh, hey, miss," Quake said, shaking his head as he stepped away from the samoyed, whom he had accidentally bumped into. He blinked several times before looking up at her. "The name's Quake," he said. She was quite fluffy. He looked her up and down. She looks to be about dad's age, he thought before he looked up at her.


ooc- Not very good. Didn't really know what to put. And I got to go, too.

[Jackson]

"And I'm Topaz..." Came the sweet, angelic vocals of the beautiful Australian Shepherd, who stood behind the trio with a sweet smile plastered upon her tri-colored mawl. With a tilt of her fine tiare, the cooling breeze swept her hueless cheek pelt. Her pale eyes shed innosence and a tender kindness before she swiftly, beautifully trotted toward them, and rested her haunches near a younger canine, a ravena dn white Husky, just under her age. She smiled and him, her tail swaying gently as she looked around. "I'm sorry I didn't quite catch your names?"

But from behind, the larger, much more stockier Aussie calmly trotted from out of nowhere, his long, two-tones fluffy tail swaying along with his neat swagger. His was finely muscled, the unusual pelt flowing over the thickness of his hide and shimmering the sun's warming rays. He halted by Topaz, to nuzzle into her cheek affectionately. "Ah thawt ah told'yah nawt teh wander owff." Came his thick accent, as he cocked a brow at his year-old daughter. With a roll of her pale blue orbs, she sighed and smiled, licking her sire's muzzle tenderly before batting her lashes sweetly. "Aww, dad, don't be so protective. I aint a lil' girl anymore."

Jackson nodded kindly to each of the canine, smiling and then turning to Topaz with a grunt of disapproval. "Thayt's silleh, dah'lin'. Yee'll alwayees be mah' lil' gurl." With a slight embaressment, she laughed nervously and shook her head, raising a paw to push her dad's face away. But Jackson only sat by her and wagged his tail in friendly manner. "Ah'm Jackson, bah th' wayee."

[Kitty]

<sub>What was there to do? What to do? She gave the most gentle shake of her head and glanced over the green ground for a very long time, sighing every so often to relieve stress. Lately that seemed to be crushing her: this stress. Eyes drooped slightly, but were opened fully once a small figure bumped into her side. She lifted her gaze to meet his. Head tilted gracefully to the side. Who was he? What was he doing here? Why'd he not see her? She took an even breath in as she glanced him up and down. Hrmph. He seemed to be quite the fellow for such a young age. Perhaps his father was around here? Ears perked up at the thought. She pushed that aside for now, though. "Nice to meet you, Quake." She said, forcing a lopsided smile. Her voice lacked the normal perkyness and enthusiasm it usually held.

"I'm-" She was cut off as Topaz seemed to enter the area. She exhaled a bit, relieved that it wasn't some sort of person that was going to take them all to the pound or something. Tail made an attempt to flicker, but all it did was move slightly to the side. That was a start, right? She smirked slightly. "Nice to meet you, too, Topaz." She said, again lacking that entusiasm. She couldn't be enthusiastic-- she was depressed. "The name's Dutchess." She said nodding and glancing to both of the pups sitting infront of her. Pups sort of cheered her up. Perhaps she wouldn't be all that sad for this long. She lowered her head slightly and away from the pups as she let a sneeze out. All of this changing of weathers was getting to her. Perhaps it would only be for a little while, though.

Ears pricked up slightly as she smelt something, someone, new. Head tilted slightly as a male, just slightly older than her, walked up and nuzzled Topaz before gently scolding her. Perhaps... a father? Ah. Boy, did Dutchess wish she had met her father. Perhaps if her mother didn't get saduced in such a horrible way, she would have been able to... right? She let her lips run across her maw gently as she glanced around, triyng to pick up a conversation or trying to find a way to escape. She was depressed and it made her feel even worse for all of these dogs to see her like this. For now, however, she'd just sit here and let them converse. Maybe she'd join in, too. "'Ello, Jackson, did you say? I'm Dutchess," She said, once again, trying to force a smile, and once again, it failed. "She your's?" She asked, motioning over to Topaz. And that's when a somewhat meaningful smile crossed her maw.

It's when she thought of friends. Perhaps these new dogs would be friends to her. That brightened her day. Tail gave a short, but sweet wag as she looked around, surely scencing that there was another dog in the area. But where? She sighed lightly and looked to the ground once more. Ah... once again, she was depressed.</sub>

[Doggy]

As a new scent struck Quake, he turned his handsome skull, only for his gaze to fall upon a forestry of trees. Head tilted to the side as the scent teased his nostrils, causing him to sniff the sweet scent. It was simple to tell that this was a female. Two-toned eyes danced across the trees, searching for the dog. But a voice was trapped in Quake's head. It was smooth, girlish. Following the sound, he turned his head, and his gaze fell upon a gorgeous young Australian shpherd. It was clear that she was nearly his age.

An invisable droplet of drool could be seen making its way down his maw. The only evidence of the liquid ever passing through was the trail of moisture it left behind, as well as the slightly shifted fur. One would easily mistake this as a tear, if they didn't know any better. Suddenly, noticing that he was staring at the girl, Topaz, as she called herself, his tongue swept over his maw, sweeping the droplet of drool away. Shaking his head, he looked back to the Samoyed, his gaze shifting to Topaz every now and then. But then she realized the question she had asked.

"Hey, Topaz. Call meh Quake," he said with a somewhat flirtacious smile and a flirtacious wiggle of his 'eyebrows'. Suddenly, the Samoyed had introduced herself as Dutchess. Not wanting to be rude, Quake spun his head around to look at her, smiling still, but the flirtacious nature hidden away. It'd be... odd to flirt with someone years older than yourself. "Nice to meetcha, Dutchess," Quake said, offering a quick nod of his head, before turning to gaze at the Australian shepherd known as Topaz.

Soon, another Australian shepherd came into view, but Quake could easily tell he was a male and an adult. But, the first thing that popped into Quake's mind was, Her 'boyfriend?' If so, he'd get into trouble with the flirting and shtuff. But then, he heard Topaz call 'dad.' Oh, wow, that wasn't much relief at all. He'd get into trouble if that was her 'boyfriend,' so just drop the idea about it since it was her father. He'd be dead times a thousand. He kept sure not to look at all flirtacious.

"Jackson, eh?" he said simply, looking to the father Australian shepherd. He tried to keep his gaze away from Topaz, and it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Oh, hell's no. But he managed to do it, with a little force. He smiled lopsidedly, nervously, watching jackson cautiously. He lowered his haunches to the ground, curly tail curled over his haunches.

By the lake, the red husky slowly stood up, stretching out his forelegs. His jaws parted in a gentle yawn, snapping shut. This was followed by the stretch of his hind legs. He looked around, noticing that Quake had gone... somewhere. He groaned his agitation, slowly turning his handsome body towards the trees. He then heard voices. And, no, he wasn't hallucinating. See, he wasn't crazy.

Slowly, he followed the voices, as well as the scents of the other dogs. Their scents were the only things that reminded Shadow he wasn't hearing things or going crazy. If there wasn't proof of the dogs, he'd be certain he was going schitzo. But, hey, he wasn't, now was he? Apparently not.

"Hey," he said awkwardly, standing in the vegetation, watching the large groupd of dogs. He looked to his son, who, surprisingly, met so many other dogs. Head tilted to his son, and getting the hint, looked to the other dogs.

"Guys, that's ma dad, ova there," he said motioning his maw towards Shadow. "Dad, that's Dutchess, Jackson, and..." he pointed a paw at each dog, but as he came to Topaz, he hesitated. He gulped nervously before continuing, "...and that's Topaz." He felt his face become warmer, and quickly, he lowered his paw, looking towards his father.

"I see..." he said, look at each dog. "Hey. I'm Shadow." He stepped towards his son and sat beside him, looking at each dog before at Quake, who smiled nervously as his gaze fell upon Topaz once again.

[Jackson]

Topaz' gaze had immediently caught the two-toned pair of eyes that belonged to a younger canine. The Aussie fatale studied his handsome facade, and she tilted her dial into an adorable position as she glanced at him with a neat smile. Her pale occuli closed over as she gave a contented sigh, and she looked over to the alabaster femme. She nodded to her, with a broad grin before she giggled innocently. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

She looked round to her sire and nudged his crown fondly before he ruffled her head with his gentle muzzle. He then nudged her off, and sat to nod kindly to the Samoyed. "Mah pleh-sure, ma'm. Yee-ah, ah'm Jackson." His southern accent was so strange compared to that of his daughters, and sometimes it confused even himself as to how they were so differant.

But upon hearing Dutchess' next question, he immediently looked round to his red merle daughter and smiled gently, before staring back with darkened eyes to her. "Yee-ahs, ma'm, shey'is mah daugh'er." His eyes shed a fatherly pride, and he looked down at his paws in wonder. It wasn't very often others had relaised Topaz was his daughter, yet, who could avoid notice this time? His lyrics had made it clear, already.

Topaz, when her sire was conversing quietly wioth Dutchess, he shuffled from Jackson to the Husky brute, her lashes batting flirtatiously as she glanced upon his own odd eyes. He seemed a little younger than herself, just from his teenage features, and her tail wagged slightly behind her. "Aw, you're cute." SAhe said with a femine giggle, before she turned away with a sweet blush. Jackson had taken no notice, yet.

[Kitty]

<sub>Tail gave a short sweet flicker as she tilted her head lightly, gazing fondly at the two youngsters. She let a content sigh slid neatly through her partly open jaws. Blinking once or twice, she looked back to Jackson. He seemed kind enough. Yes-- he was kind, she could tell. His love and protection for his dear daughter told her that, it made her realize that he wouldn't be all that bad. A mean dog would have probably abandoned their offspring as soon as they were able to walk on their own, and even so, they wouldn't care whether or not they were run over by a car. Jackson on the other hand, was alert of his daughter, seemed to care. Perhaps he was just putting on a show? Naw, because then Topaz would be a hell of a lot more rebellious and disagreeing.

Her creamy brown eyes shifted to the floor as she groaned inwardly, yet she lifted her gaze once more as she glanced over to Quake. A rather large husky was standing in the near distance, seemingly Quake's father. A small and unaudible sigh slid smoothy through her vocals. She had planned to meet maybe one or two dogs, but four? This was getting to be too much. Obviously the samoyed would have to put on a show. She'd have to cheer up and be happy. She couldn't just sit here infront of all these dogs and sulk around and throw her misery on them, now could she? Nope, she couldn't. That's just plain wrong and messed up.

Tail gave a short flicker as Shadow came to sit by them. "'Ello, I'm Dutchess... as your son already said." She forced yet another smile, this time sliding just a bit further on her maw. Perhaps she'd be better at this than she knew she could be. Ears perked forwards and then slicked back, mixing in with the fluffy white fur that rested neatly untop of her head. She swallowed loudly for no apparent reason. Gaze shifted over to the two youger dogs, seemingly in their teens. One ear flopped forwards while the other stayed perked back. Young love was so... adorable. Yes, young love was adorable. It was always so innocent and kind, always so unpredictable. Dutchess doubted she'd ever fall in love. Then again, her thoughts could be wrong. Perhaps she'd find that one male to help her rule her pack.

Her pack? Oh yeah. She had forgotten she had a pack. My, would all of these dogs make wonderous members-- and she hadn't even mentioned once to them that she was an alphess. Ah well, it'd have to wait. She'd find the right time. Her gaze shifted over to the australian shepherd, head tilting lightly. His accent was just slightly hard to interpret, but it was really cute; in a friendly way. He seemed so kind and gentle, so proper and respectful. That would be greatly appreciated in her pack, oh boy it would. Her tail gave a short and sweet wag as she shifted her paws. Nodding her maw to Jackson, she turned to look around. No one seemed to be conversing except for the two pups that seemed to be crushing, or so she thought.

"So how long have you all been here? I don't think I've seen you 'round." She looked to Shadow and Jackson, not wanting to interrupt the two that seemed to be conversing together. Ears flapped back to their normal position as she eased a bit, just slightly in a happier mood. Head cocked slightly over to the side as she waited for a reply. Hopefully they wouldn't get mad at her for asking. Hopefully both of them liked to converse.</sub>

[Doggy]

It seemed to be a miniswarm of dogs. Like, a small angry mob, even. A really small mob. Only four dogs? Meh. Seemed small to Shadow.
Oops. There he goes; Quake becoming nervous around Topaz. Seemed odd to Shadow. At first sight, first meeting? Oh, well. However, Quake seemed to be enjoying his time along with the beautiful young Australian shepherd.
Being a father, and once having a daughter, he'd be rather protective. Seeing that Quake was drooling(literally) over Jackson's daughter, maybe the father would become rather protective. Now, Shadow wouldn't want his dear son getting hurt, would he? After he, Quake was Shadow's only memory of Lucy and Lee. Well, not his only memory, but the only living thing that would remind him of his ex-mate. His former love.
But soon, there'd be someone new in his life that he could love and cherish, right? Wouldn't there be? Shadow couldn't live alone with only his son forever, could he? With Quake getting older, he'd want to be out with other dogs more, most likely more females. By the looks of it, Topaz. But then what would happen with Shadow? Quake clearly wouldn't forget his father, would he? He couldn't. He shouldn't. He wouldn't.
But Shadow couldn't be too sure of this. Growing up and becoming a teenager was a hard part of life. Shadow would know. He's been through it. All dogs go through that stage. And Shadow heard that they teens became rather rebellious at that stage. Shadow had to admit, he was sort of rebellious.
But Topaz wasn't so rebellious. At least, not that Shadow could clearly see at this time. How would he know? Shadow didn't think that Topaz even really noticed him!
So he made himself comfortable beside his son, his tail uncurling from behind him and laying flat upon the cool, moistened ground. The water from the lake probably evaporates quite often, especially in the hotter weather. That could lead to the fact of why the ground was rather moist. His shocking brown eyes, which had passed down from his ancestors, danced over each dog in turn.
While Quake just gazed at Topaz. He couldn't believe that any dog could be so beautiful. But he was proven wrong at the sight of the Australian shepherd. Now he knew that it was possible. But only Topaz could show such radiance and exquisitiveness with her beauty. Heh. Perhaps Quake didn't know much about beauty and love, but he was sure he was in love now. And he was sure that Topaz would be the most beautiful thing he would ever lay eyes.
In perfect synchronization, Shadow and Quake's gaze averted to Jackson as he spoke. Quake had been looking to Topaz the whole time that he gazed at her right through her little greeting.
"Pleasure, I'm sure," Shadow said politely with a dip of his maw. He sighed as he closed his eyes, remembering Lucy's perfect body, how every single strand of fur was lined perfectly against her body. Not a strand of fur was misplaced. With her, everything was... perfect. She was beautiful, gorgeous. But she left him. Why?
Quake continued to gaze at Topaz. His two-toned eyes bore into her like lovestruck drills.
...
Did that even make any sense?
As Topaz batted her eyelashes, Quake's cheeks became warm. Wonderful. She was flirting with him. He smiled nervously yet flirtatiously, but made sure that Jackson wouldn't see it. He wiggled his brows flirtatiously, but then Topaz looked away. Head tilted cutely to the side.
"Hey, you're the purdiest dog I've eva seen," he said flirtatiously.
But Dutchess seemed to be rather uncomfortable. Shadow noticed this, and tilted his head to the side. Of course, Quake was too busy with Topaz to even notice Dutchess.
And then she seemed to be enjoying what was going on. With a quick blink of his two eyes, head shifted back to its ordinary posture.
"Yes. Dutchess... I like the name," he said, trying his bes not to flirt. But he couldn't helpt that flirtatious smile that dented itself upon his ivory maw.
Great. Quick, swipe it off! a voice told him, and he did just as he was told. His eyes, though warm and welcoming, became indifferent, and his smile, though still plastered upon his maw, lost its flirty touch. Excellent cover, Shadow!
"I've been here not too long, still rather new," he said with a soft sigh. He blinked once, cocking his head to the side.
"What about choo?"