Cold and Sand

[Gomez]

<sub>The sun was merely peeking over the distant mountains, burning away the shadows of the night, slowly but surely. Even though the rays from the sun only lit up select few land spots, it was much better than wandering blindly through the darkness. Tin, the ragged and worn, dark colored great dane peered his eyes around his surroundings, his eyes quickly getting fixed to the new light. In this desert, looking for anything edible was a challenge. Dense shrubbery hid insects and lizards, but nothing that would please his hunger.

For nearly a year, the large hound had been traveling with a naive Pitbull puppy. After saving his life, the young one wouldn't leave his side, and so they became traveling companions. They left their lives that centered around the humans behind, knowing from their history, the humans might've tried to kill them. They passed through several mountain ranges, taking their time, and eventually, it lead them to this desert. Bax, the puppy that Tin ended up naming, was able to find a burrow that didn't belong to any certain creature. They would be living there temporarily, their next destination would be the the Southern Alps, the only mountains they could see. The mountains were even hard to see in the desert, which meant that traveling there would be rash. Even worse, if they couldn't find any food.

Tin's nose lowered to the ground, his body shivering. Through winter, deserts were deadly in ways that they weren't when there's extreme heat. No shelter against the cold was something that could kill shorthaired breeds like Tin and Bax. He sniffed at the dirt, the grains scattering when air would rush out of his nostrils. He caught the trail of a rabbit. Normally, these creatures would be living underground. Maybe this one needed food and was out searching. His stomach twinged and he bounded in the direction of the scent, growling lightly, his stomach speaking for him. He leapt through shrubs and over small sand dunes.

Rushing quickly, and leaping over another dune, his paws landed and his body froze. The decaying carcass of another dog stopped him in his tracks. It was a medium sized breed from what he could make out, maybe one of Bax's kind. If there was no light, he would've almost landed on the body. Since the body was eaten away over time, it didn't leave much of an odor, though it would still interfere with his rabbit hunting. He grunted, raising his head up high, sniffing the air, wondering if there were other stricken dogs like them around. He strongly doubted it, considering the cold. Just to make sure, his muzzle opened and lifted to the sky, letting out a low, long howl to get someone's attention, and to partly let Bax know where he was.</sub>

[Sawyer]

((ooc- K you did say Zorro was a ghost, but if you don't want him to be technically 'dead' just say so :] I just wasn't sure how else to explain the sudden change in management xD))

Two shadows streaked across the shifting sands of the Sanzocu Areno, from a distance one might consider they wer suffering from double vision. The pair of dogs were a mirror image of each other, same face, same color, even the shimmering treasures that dangled from their ears matched. However, once you dared to get a bit closer, you could see the obvious differences in the twins. The male was a large brute that stood a few inches taller then his lithe sister. Though their eyes were the same shade of green, hers had a cat-like gleam, while his were dark, cold, the look of one with an unstable temper. Finally, the scars decorateing their forms, the symbols of their very chromosomes seemed to be carved into their sides, among others showing a difficult past.
---
The desert winter, though having no effect on the pair of well-coated wolf dogs, had proved to be difficult for the rest of the pack. Between the drop in food supplies that had kept them all alive through the previous months, and the unexpected cold winds sweeping over the dunes, it had proven to be too much for the former leader of the pack that ruled these harsh lands. Doberman pinschers, despite being a born of tenascious spirits, do not belong where the cold can take advantage of their short coats.

With no mate nor heirs to pass the torch to, and no other pack member stepping forward to claim the territory that lay silently beneath their paws without a master, the twins took their opportunity to take over Sanzocu Areno. More specifically Castalia exerted her control over the band, her loyal brother willingly following as her right hand to aid in maintaining their status.

Presently, the two continued on performing border patrol themselves, the pack was not one of vast numbers so each and every dog was expected to pull their weight. This meant what remained of the pack was off elsewhere either making their own rounds of patrol or scavanging for food.

Elkader glanced over at his sister, something he tended to do regularly, and noticed the hitch in her gate and shortness in her breath and instinctively slowed down to a easy trot. Cas noticed his overprotective change of pace and narrowed her eyes bitterly, she hated when he did things like that. "I'm fine, Kad, you're slowing us down. The sooner we get back from patrol.."

"You should rest, Cas," he cut her of quietly. "Or at least go easy for a little while." When he proceeded to slow down even further she gave a low growl through her teeth and made a scoffing sound.

"Going easy is for pups and old timers," she snapped before beginning her sprint once again. However, she stopped short when the silence that once held the early morning air was startled by a long, low howl. Neither of the twins recgonized it as belonging to one of their own and locked their gaze on the direction of the sound echoed from.

Castalia assumed an authorative posture as she slinked towards the source of the call, while Elkader, fur bristled, followed closely. Coming over the rise, they took in an interesting sight. First, they spotted a large Dane, the grizzly scar on his face appeared to have its own story to tell. In contrast to this stranger, the contrast being lack of breath and heartbeat, a dog lay among the dry shrubs sticking up from the ground.

Kad's lips curved back into a silent snarl, eyeing both dogs, living and dead, while his sister observed the scene in a with more careful once over. Given the age of the carcass and the lack of blood on both parties, the female deduced neither were related to the other. Her emerald gaze, resting on the unfortunate soul, held neither pity nor scorn. She had not known him. "Yet another squatter succumbs to the elements of fate..." she states in a neutral tone.

Giving her brother a nudge with her shoulder to cease his macbre grin, she turned her attention on the what seemed to be the dog with better luck between the two. Taking two confident steps forward she spoke, "Greetings, I am Castalia, alpha of Ebisu pack. What brings you to the unforgiving terra and torror that is Sanzocu Areno?"

((ooc- holy spinx i think this is the if not one of the longest posts i have ever done ;D))

[Gomez]

((ooc: That is long. XD By the way, you're an excellent writer.)

<sub>After his howl, he waited patiently among the carcass. He would take a mere look at it every few seconds, his stomach growling, telling him that he should go and devour the dead flesh from it. Not only was it not nutritional for the body any more, it was the flesh of what once was a dog. By no means would this hound resort to cannibalism. Then his thoughts turned back to that rabbit he had caught scent of. Should he even try to find it? He would have to leave soon, incase his random paranoia decided that any time soon it would plague him.

One more look at the body, one more urge to eat. He stood, his stomach sinking in and out from his breathing. Not detecting the two others who had spotted him was something odd from Tin. Normally, his one ear would've quirked, and his whole body would turn to see what was there. The starvation had been really getting to him to dull his senses. Maybe the body was really too much of a distraction.

In reaction to the sudden voice, he nearly jumped up, his short hair rising lightly. He stood on all fours, firmly, keeping a strong gaze on the two. He couldn't tell exactly what breed they were. Either he had never seen anything like them before, or they were mixed. Either way, they were large enough to hurt him if he had tried anything. The scars tattered on their bodies could be another sign to not mess with them. He licked his maw quickly, and his ear laid back lightly, not trying to show any sign of agression or bad temperment.

There was a pack living in this land? Could've fooled Tin. Maybe it was a small band. If it was a large pack, no doubt they would be struggling with food. Finding a large river earlier when he had first arrived in the land, there wouldn't be much trouble with water. He looked over the two, the female being content and, what he guessed, welcoming towards him. The male looked stern, though his image made it hard to tell what he was feeling.

"Trying to survive." He told her simply, since when he did think about it, he and Bax just stumbled upon the desert almost accidently. "Am I intruding?" He asked in a mannerly fashion, pointing out that if he was, he would leave and not disturb them.</sub>

[Sawyer]

((Thnx ^^ I had a brain bust, I'm usually not that wordy))

Castalia's critical gaze seemed to overlook just how fixated the Dane before them had been overseeing the carcass. The moment words left her throat and hung in the air, the dog nearly jumped out of his skin. If his senses were that nulled from hunger and exhaustion, which undoubtedly claimed him, his outcome wouldn't fair much better then that of the one who now lay dead at their feet. It was a grim thought, but this wasn't exactly a land of flowers and fairytales filled with happy-endings. If you can't find a way to work with what little the desert hands to you, then it will eventually cradle your bones in an eternal embrace.

Elkader stiffened and swallowed a growl when the Dane jumped and turned towards them, staring at them intently, but stood his ground as he noticed him lay his ears back, non-threateningly. If the dog didn't want to fight, and Castalia took over in her alpha role, having things under control, then there was little interest to him. The only thing that troubled Kad was the way he had been eyeing the body of the dog before them. In spite of not wanting to take his eyes from the Dane as he backed away, Elkader reluctantly, and silently turned from the conversation and stalked out over the sand, disappearing behind a nearby dune.

Cas flicked an ear back towards the sound of her retreating brother, finding it odd that he would leave her side for even a moment, but not giving the action much attention. A small smirk played its way onto her narrow muzzle in reaction to his statement about trying to survive and replied placidly, "Aren't we all?"

The Dane went on to inquire whether his passing through was percieved as an intrusion. To this the fae merely shook her head, her earring swinging jerkily at the motion, "I have yet to see you as a threat to me or my band." Casting a brief glance at the weathered carcass she added, "Though if you have been driven mad enough to consider eating that, I may have to rethink my evaluation."

A small shriek broke the silence yet again, but the alphess simply flicked her ear once more towards the sounds of approaching paw-steps. Kad swiftly returned to his sisters side, sitting obediently as if beckoned by whistle. Dangling from his now red-rimmed jaws stained with blood was the limp form of a dead rabbit, flesh still warm from a fresh kill.

Though inside his stomach rumbled, awakened by the teasing iron-tang taste and aroma of the prey's blood, he quickly tossed it to land at the feet of the starving Dane. "If I were you I'd eat that before that happens," he spoke gruffly from bitterness, quietly adding, "before there's more than one body taking its final rest on this sand that is."

[Gomez]

<sub>Tin smirked at the wolfdog's comment. He gave out a small chuckle, showing more of a friendly side to him than his body's imagine did. "Not at the least." He replied, turning his head over to the carcass again, catching a lowly bug crawling in through it's barely existent eye socket. "It wouldn't taste that great." He commented about it, turning his head back to the fae, noticing that the sun had rose more, giving the sky a strong orange tone.

His body had been calm to the silent air and the sand flowing through his paw's toes. The chill in the air was still making the environment very uncomfortable for him. The shrill, near silent scream made his head rise once more. Though the male's shadow and figure reappeared, having a fresh rabbit kill imbedded in his jaws. Seeing the blood stained fur made his stomach growl aggressively. Could that have been the rabbit he was trying to find all along?

Tin rested his body, sitting down on his haunches. He had been out for a few hours in the night, and being weary of snakes or any other creature could've worn his senses out as well. The male had thrown the rabbit to Tin's paws, and at that instant, Tin's stomach could've driven him to maul the body to bits, making the fur sly everywhere, though he forced himself to remain calm. He nodded to the male, and lowered his maw to the rabbit's stomach, ripping the skin open with his teeth, and tearing out a small strip of the skin that held it's stomach intact and swallowed it, not thinking once to chew. He licked his maw again, making sure there wasn't any blood stained on his lips, and he rose his head back to the two. He gave another nod. "Thanks."</sub>

[Sawyer]

Shoulders quivering in an inaudible chuckle at the Dane's remark, Castalia simply replied, "Undoubtedly," and mirrored his passing glance of the corpse. Catching her first sight of one of the insects that had already made their home in the body, her lip twitched, as she withheld a grimaced of disgust. Such an infestation should be expected. It was even less surprising that in the time that the small group gathered around the corpse, the smell hadn't improved at all. With the desert sun rising to offer some relief from the cold night, it could only get worse.

When Kad spoke after offering his catch to the newcomer, she flashed him a furtive glance, knowing well that his statement held two meanings. One more sinister then the other, but he wouldn't act on it unless she allowed him, which she had no plans to, at least not at the moment. Making sure to go around the body, Cas approached the stranger further, allowing her rear legs to stretch out in the first few steps. "My brother makes a point, how long do you intend to remain in the desert?"

Kad returned the nod of thanks with one of his own before turning his head to watch the rise above the dunes. He needed to squint at the intensity of the light, but it was worth it to be able to witness daybreak in the desert. The suns rays glowed orange and stretched across the horizon as far as the eye could see. However, not yet high enough to light the land, it caused black shadows on the west sides of the dunes. In the distance the equally black silhouettes of column-like rock formations loomed like desert totems.

At the sound of Castalia's question, his ears perked and he pulled his attention away from the surreal sight. Letting his scrutinizing, emerald gaze narrow as he eyed the stranger again with yet another apprehensive look. He could feel grains of sand burrowing under his pelt from the short chase the rabbit had given him. So, lowering his head briefly, he gave his body a thorough shake from muzzle to tail before divulging his own queries for the Dane, “I’d be satisfied to know his name for starters.”

Hearing the asperity in her Kad’s tone coming from behind her, she turned and shot him an indignant look. Though she loved her brother dearly and would easily trade her own life for his, his often distrusting nature was easily tiresome to her. They have never been apart for their entire lives, however, it became more and more evident with each passing day how much more affected he had been than her from the treachery of their former comrades when they were young. No scar that lay scattered over his body went as deep as the emotional and mental scars etched into his heart.

[Gomez]

<sub>Watching the sunrise in the desert seemed like a breath of fresh air. It satisfied him almost as much as taking that first bite out of the rabbit's body did. This desert wasn't really anything to look foreward to, but the sunrise was something that made it a little bit better. From his past, and throughout most of his life, he never concentrated on smaller things like a sunrise, or what miracles snow could do to a wasteland. Maybe in his masters intentions never wanted him to stop and think of such topics. Whatever, he wasn't in Tokyo anymore. He had more freedom here than the sum of his life being in the pit. Then her question diverted his attention. "Living for as long as we can. Soon we'll be heading to the Alps." Maybe it wasn't wise to tell them where he and the pup with him were going. Hopefully nothing will come of it.

Hearing the male's statement seemed a little threatening, but it made sense. The fae had introduced herself and her brother, yet Tin was still anonymous at this point. If he still remained a stranger, he might never get any help from them, and in a place like this, you needed as much of that as you can get. Taking a moment to get his mind away from the meat, he moved back lightly, sitting back down on his haunches securely. "Sorry for the lack of manners." He stated. He considered himself to be a gruff dog. Normally he didn't like being around dogs that he didn't know. Somehow, today his attitude was different. "My name is Tin." He said to them, bowing his head poliely.

After giving out his name, he went towards the body again and lowering his nose into the stomach, sorting out flesh from organ and bone. He yanked some flesh from the bone of the ribs, the meat being tender, and he swallowed it quickly, forgetting to chew it again.</sub>

[Sawyer]

Giving the dane another once over, Kad finally gave him a curt nod, and seemed to be satisfied with the introduction. From birth he had taken it upon himself to be his sister's protector, given no one else had been there when they were young. The burly wolf-dog had always been cautious and a bit overprotective, ready to intercept any dangers fate aimed at his sister. However, these feelings had intensified greatly when the group of thieves they used to run with turned against them and attacked them both. To this day, he could still recall Cas' screams as the larger dogs did their best to tear them apart. Kad doesn't even recall the pain in recieving his own injuries, his dark eyes were locked on his sister's beating across the alley, and how helpless he was in not being able to save her from it.

As Elkader took a moment to recall the ghosts of his past, Castalia's eyes narrowed subtley. Her ears, which had been perked forward the entire meeting, managed to catch something the traveler said. Though she chose not to draw attention to it right away, instead choosing to remark jokingly, "The Alps, you say? I must warn you, don't expect the nights there to be any warmer than those on the sands." Dropping her voice to a more serious tone, she added, "I should hope you find better means of survival there, or else your fate won't fair much better."

Kad seemed to snap out of his unpleasant stroll down memory lane quickly when Castalia began speaking. Though unsure, it seemed as though there was something about her tone of voice that made him feel like she knew something he didn't. This happened alot, she was very resourceful and a careful observer, but not often was this kept hidden from him. Silently, he waited for her to reveal it, feeling his muscles contracting from suspense.

Thankfully for him, he didn't have to wait long. Quick enough to not be noticed by her male company, she slid her gaze along the horizon before shifting them forward again. Taking a slow step, she shifted one of her front legs until it almost crossed in front of the other, creating a relaxed posed. Then, in a neutral voice she said, "So... Tin," she spoke his name slowly as if guessing how it was pronouced, "Before you said, we." The alphess met his eyes with a questioning stare, "Who is it that you are traveling with?"

The second she revealed her hidden information that he neglected to notice when the Dane had spoke it, it immediately set Kad off. "I knew it! He's travelling with others, and he tried to hide it, Cas. Who knows what threat they could pose to the lands?" Every accusation fell from his jaws paired with a growl, eyes darting around the dunes that surrounded them, his lips curled back in a silent snarl. Shooting the stranger a sharp glare, he said, "I'm going to find them." It wasn't a hopeful wish, it was a statement of fact, if anyone could find lost or hidden it was Kad, he was an excellent tracker. Without awaiting orders or clearance from Cas, he took off, his mind under the solid influence of an intense prey drive.

Castalia didn't have the time to utter any sort of objection to her brothers rash actions before he darted out onto the sands. All she could do was shout, "Kad! Get back here!" in a mildly angry tone, and race after his quickly disappearing form through the desert. As the sand shifted beneath her paws as they pounded against the dunes, the only thoughts crossing her mind that didn't involve curse words were, 'Well, this may not end well.'

[Gomez]

<sub>Tin had begun to relax more, which could have been a bad move for him, though he needed to eat. Taking more small bites out of the rabbit, having some decency while his stomach was calmed for the moment. Hearing the fae catch on to him mentioning about the Southern Alps. He chuckled lightly, not really thinking much of it. Though he licked some remaining blood from his muzzle, his tongue wiping over his lips and wetting his nose, relaxing the nose from being chapped from the fierce cold wind.

"Yes, I don't expect it to be that much of a difference, especially since there's much snow covering the mountains." He stated, possibly letting Cas know that he wasn't dumb or foolish in any sense of those meanings. One of the reasons was he hadn't heard of any other dogs living there, so it would be somewhat of a peaceful life for him and Bax. Also, with the lack of normal predators, there would be large amounts of prey. "I know there are caves in mountains. I'm sure if we find one it'll be deep. Caves that isolated from it's entrance should have it's regular air, which is much warmer that usually what's outside. During the hot summers, it's cold. Something like that could help us for the while, until we find a better place to spend our lives." He stated, explaining how they would be living in the cold months on the Alps.

This seemed strange to Tin, it was almost like he was confessing his life story two the two canines. He didn't find these two any harm to himself, so far. Looking down to the half eaten meal that lay before him, he lowered his head and licked some bones in the rib cage, tasting the fresh warm blood. His ear perked when she asked who he was traveling with. He smirked. "Well, he-" He was cut short, standing up quickly, hearing the male "freaking out" about him traveling with other dogs. 'Others' was a strong exaggeration, but sensing this male's attitude towards the statement, if he tried explaining it to him, it would seem as a lie. He was only traveling with one dog, an inexperienced pup who had only been living slightly over a year.

As soon as Kad stated he would find 'them', Tin felt a low, threatened growl bellowing from his throat. Ever since he had saved him from that damned pit, he accepted that pup as almost his own son. Being the godfather that he was, he quickly rose to the role as his protecter. He watched the male dart off, and the female following him. What if they were both in on finding Bax, but they were hiding it? He grunted, darting quickly after them, feeling it was the only thing to do. He wasn't focused on the female, only the male, who showed his rather hostile personality.

Padding quickly to the small den that he and Tin had been living in, Bax seemed happy, even though he hadn't caught anything for them to eat. While wandering around, trying to find any edible food source that could feed the both of them, he accidently stumbled on the base of the Alps, and even though it took a long time for him to return, he had much to tell Tin. Upon stepping on the Alps, he came across another dog, and she told him much about the Alps. This could help Tin and him find a safe place to live there. He sniffed around the den, his tail wagging, and his ears perked. Tin hadn't been back yet.

He quickly looked around, seeing the sunset, and digging at the sand softly. This was just normal puppy behavior. Though he stopped and quickly looked around again, this time scanning the area. His ears perked around again, this time he was hearing quick running pawsteps. His tail wagged quickly, and he jumped lightly. Tin came back! Though he felt more than just one set of steps, and then he whimpered, his legs shaking vunerably, his head lowering to the ground, tail tucking in between his legs.</sub>

[Sawyer]

Each step of his heavy paws as they thudded against the desert caused the sands to kick up in a spray behind him. Kad's dark eyes swept over the dunes in effortless search for any shadows or movement. Anything to give him clues to the location of Tin's "group" that he was traveling with. There was nothing to distract him from his self-appointed mission, his mind was focused, not even Cas' angry shouts from behind him broke through the barrier that entrapped his mind.

From several yards behind her brother, Castalia trailed after him, quickly gaining ground yet seemed to making no progress in catching up to Kad. Who knew who Tin was traveling with, or how many? Not only was Elkader's reaction irrational, but it was also stupid in her mind. He could get hurt, or worse, but maybe if she could just catch up with him she could stop him before bloodshed happened, or better yet before he even found them. The longer she sprinted out, she found the more difficult her breaths were coming, but she couldn't allow herself to stop.

The more minutes that ticked by the more aggitated he was becoming, it shouldn't be this hard for him to find strangers in the desert. His desert. How could Castalia notice such obvious things as a word in a sentance and he couldn't find strange dogs on the sands? Was he that incompatent? A low growl vibrated in his chest, born from his frustration, and directied at himself. Finally, just as he was about to lose it, he caught a scent.

It was faint, having been stirred up in the sands by the wind, but it was fairly fresh. What elated him, though, was that it was unfamiliar, and it was canine. A surge of adrenaline coursed through his body, fueling his muscles as he quickly shifted from ground scent to air scenting. A victorious grin plastered on the wolf-dog's maw as he raised it to the air, his quarry so close he could sense its presence. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement behind one of the dunes. It looked like a figure crouching either to attack or hide, but Kad knew it was too late, he had them now.

Castalia was picking up speed and now followed behind Kad by mere feet. Shouting to him no longer served any use to her, it seemed like her brother was lost to her, caught up in the excitement of the hunt. Without warning, she noticed him gain speed, as if a rush of new-found energy had been released within him. Straining her sight to attempt to see where his head was turned to observe, she noticed a dark shape against the sand, now well-lighted from the morning rays that shone down. At careful annalysis, she saw the small, cowering shape for what it was. It was nothing more threatening than a whimpering pup, and Kad was barreling straight for it. Feeling her own spirit awaken, she surged forward and leapt at him, face determined.

Elkader was so close to the hiding form he began opening his jaws to prepare to strike. What he didn't expect though, was something hitting him full force from above, tackleing him and sending them rolling into the sand. In his mind he figured in was Tin, catching up to him and attacking from behind to defend his friend. At such close range, all he could see was a dark shape, which unfortunately for them landed beneath him in the take down. Before his attacker could gain their footing, he grabbed them by the neck while they struggled to get their own hold on him.

It was her worst nightmare. Her own brother didn't recognize her in his frenzy and now had his powerful jaws pinching into the flesh of her neck. The long sprint to catch up to him had made her winded, the jump seemed to have zapped her strength, and the force of the landing and knocked the air out of her lungs. With Kad's fangs crowding her throat, his hefty weight pinning her down, she couldn't find oxygen again. Now, she was experiencing something similar to an asthma attack, and without any way to alert Elkader to her identity until he realized it on his own, her outcome was looking grave.

[Gomez]

<sub>Before the young pup could even compose in his mind in what had just happened, there were two stranger dogs, unknown to him. As he thought about it, the male was going to stike at him, maybe even kill him, and then the female stepped in, and maybe even saved his life. Through this action, he cowered more, hiding into the den that temporarily belonged to him and Tin. He whimpered, hearing the dogs growl, moving a paw over his ear to try and block the sound out. One of his fears was going to have to fight again. He had experienced enough of it before he even knew how to communicate properly with other dogs. He growled to himself. He was over a year old, he should be acting more bravely than this, cowering in the shadows. Then, seeing the familiar body shape before him. Bax began to feel emotions of hope, knowing that his friend might've had the power to stop this madness.

While Tin had been running, even though the rush on his bones was wearing him out, he was angered to a point where he hadn't expreienced in long, many chapters of his life. No way was he going to let this brute take the life of his only friend. He watched carefully, seeing as his speed matched the same with the other two, and trying to maintain the same speed so that he wouldn't become exausted and not be able to stop the male.

His eyes grew wide, seeing the male dart suddenly and unexpectedly at a small shadow. By the scent, he knew, and his heart stopped, expecting the absolute worst to happen. Then the female leapt at her brother, knocking him out of his attack. Tin felt a small ounce of victory strike him, though he stopped at the den, checking inside, seeing Bax cowering and hiding inside. He sighed in relief, though hearing strange sounds, he turned and saw the siblings fighting at each other. The male seemed to be in a rage that consumed him. At this rate, the female was exausted, and loosing her life. Normally, he wouldn't give a single thought about helping them, though saving Bax had changed him long ago. He wasn't living in the dog-eat-dog city of Tokyo anymore.

Not only did this anger Tin from the male attacking his own sibling, but he was practicly killing a female. He growled again, turning towards the two, glaring at the male. His shoulder's shifted and his body lowered lightly, beginning to use a move he used in the fighting ring. This would usually knock his opponent off of their feet, and leave them off of their guard for a quick moment so he could strike and injure them. Of course, it varied on many kinds of dogs, and he wasn't sure if it would work on him, though he needed to try. Tin took a step foreward, eyeing the male carefully in his position, and then he charged at him, much like a bull panicking in a fight. He lowered his head, planning to use that and his shoulders as a strong battering ram, and hopefully snap the male out of his madness.</sub>

[Sawyer]

Though his jaws held tightly to Tin's neck, or so he thought thats who he had pinned beneath him, he was not ripping him to pieces as he would normally. Something was stopping him, an unknown voice telling him to go no further, and not only that, also to release his grip. It didn't make sense to him, he should be teaching this dog to never try and mess with him nor his pack, but he didn't move a muscle. However, as he stood there for many minutes, pressing his opponent into the sand, he could feel the adrenaline flowing out of his system, his muscles slackening as it receeded.

Slowly, very slowly, Kad's brain began registering details that had been over-looked in his wrath. The length of the hairs in his mouth, the sounds of struggled breathing next to his ear, the light colored pelt, and so very familiar yet he could not give it a label. Something needed to aid him in his recovering sanity, and as if a prayer answered from above, a larger, harder force slammed against him. At the power of the blow, the wind was knocked out of him, his jaws released their vice, and his legs collapsed as he went tumbling across the sand.

The battle between the pressure on her body and the air that refused to enter it was not working in Cas' favor at the moment. Darkness creeping in on the edges of her vision, she did her best to fight it back, to remain conscious. However, it wasn't looking hopeful, her breaths were coming in gasps and if Kad was showing any signs of recognition, it was an agonizinly slow process that could lead to the death of her. Silently, from the deepest portions of her subconscious, she was sending up pleads to an unknown entity, asking in desperation to help her.

Suddenly, the pressure was gone, she felt the jolt from the impact of Tin's body against Kad's and then only the soft granules of warm sand resting beneath her cheeks. A wheezing sound was emitted by her tortured lungs as they struggled to recall the rythmn of inhale, exhale, repeat. After bicycling her legs out in front of her, as she got her bearings again, she brought them up beneath her before taking an unsteady attempt at getting to her feet.

Meanwhile, after taking a heavy hit from Tin, Elkader managed to find his feet first, standing and shaking his head clear, his cross shaped earring making a slight jingling sound when he did so. Quickly, he looked back up the hill to see what hit him and what he saw made his stomach drop. Castalia was half laying on the ground, the other half making obviously difficult tries at supporting her. Her breath was rattling, even from down in the ditch that he had landed in, and the faint stains of red at the side of her neck made him reach a disturbing realization.

"Cas....," he uttered in a voice that was barely above a whisper. Stumbling his way up the dune in an uncharacteristicly uncoordinated matter, he approached his sister slowly, head low in shame. "Cas.. no.. I.. I didn't mean....," he was finding it difficult to form sentances, he wasn't even sure what to say. Kad was positively disgusted with himself. However, he managed to choke out, "Cas... I'm sorry..."

Castalia, after several attempts, finally got up on four feet, though more closely resembled a new fawn than her usual proud stance. As time passed, it was becoming more and more easier for her to breath. Though, she was most grateful when she found she could talk, somewhat at least. "K.. Kad," she croaked out, "you are the biggest dolt I have ever almost lost my life to."

The words weren't exactly witty, but they stung all the same, and did a fair job of increasing his guilt. Then, all of a sudden, the large, brutish Elkader transformed before her eyes and was a pup again. Whimpering softly, Kad crouched down low, laying his ears back and tucked his tail up beneath his torso, rubbing against her neck gently and standing only to lick her muzzle and cheeks lightly. Once he finished his submissive display towards Cas, he slunk away, tail still tucked, to the edge of the dune. There, he sat down, face morbid, ears flat, and stared at the ground, not even twitching, waiting patiently to either assist his sister home or be desmissed by her.

Looking after him, despite her intense anger at Kad's inexcuseable behavior, when she saw the pain in his eyes and he stared at her apologetically, all she could think about well the act reminded her that he was still her baby brother. Turning back to face her now savior and his young charge, she cleared her throat quietly and told him, "Thank you, and I apologize for Elkader's actions, his mind isn't always stable..."

[Gomez]

<sub>As he watched the scene unfold before him, Tin sighed to himself. Maybe he finally did something right in his curse-ridden life. During his time in the world, all he had done was lying and taking others' lives with no remorse. He watched as the rather hostile male changed from being enraged, to sorrowful and apologetic. Maybe he wasn't as bad as Tin usually thought he was. Then again, he really was only doing his job, being in a pack. The male went over and sat by himself, as though waiting for something to happen to him.

Then he thought about his attack. It sent the male nearly flying out from over his sister, and it broke his strong bite that he had on her throat. Tin hadn't lost his strength yet, it seemed. Or maybe the male was just naturally weak after being struck after those kind of attacks. Who knew? The important, and best thing was the female was still alive. Even if it took her a while to regain her breathing and let it get back to normal, she might have some trouble walking. All of that would go away in maybe an hour. There might be some problems doing other things, but again it would all wear off and get back to normal soon.

As the female went over to him and apologized to him, he seemed to only chuckle. Nothing bad had happened to Bax, except a little scare. "If he's a big fighter like I am, I can understand that. I'm not that straight in the head, either." He said, mentioning about his scar in a little bit of a joke. "...but your safe now, and so is my friend." He said to her, and he turned his head to take a look back at Bax, who was now crawling out of the den, probably not feeling as frightened as he was earlier.

The younger pup whimpered, seeing Tin attack the male. Before his eyes, the chaos ended, and it all seemed like a misunderstanding. Did Tin really stop a fight before it got much worse. The female didn't look so good, like she had trouble walking and breathing. As Tin began speaking to her, he crawled out from the den, sniffing the air. Indeed, his mood had gotten more optimistic, and the fighting was over, which meant there was nothing else to fear from these two. Taking a look over to them, he padded quickly behind Tin like a large sheild. He was naturally a shy pup, and he did this quite often.

Tin smiled and chuckled again. "This is the one I'm traveling with. His name is Bax." He said to Cas, introducing him, since he looked like he didn't want to introduce himself. He was vunerable in every sense of the word.</sub>