The Son of Rage and Love [Open]

[shadow]

The sun was just peaking over the horizon, sending warm rays just below the canopy of leaves and rousing the animals in the forest. Things seemed to be at relative peace as the night slipped into morning slowly, but surely. Of course though, where there is peace, there is always one that wishes to disrupt that kind of tranquility....

And this someone was none other then White Tiger, who had had a restless night of romping and training. For some reason, the last few days had gone by in a total breeze for him, and his energy seemed endless as he bounded through the mountains, forests, towns, and now more forests. Regardless, being full of energy did not stop his stomach from rumbling every once in awhile.

And now was the perfect opportunity to hunt.

You see, while most canines had more trouble in the winter catching prey, Tiger had a much easier time. One, his fur blended in almost perfectly with the snow, and two, his special ability allowed him to find plump mammals hibernating in dens normally unseen by a dog's eye.

Another rumble from the young dog's stomach, and he knew he could not wait much longer to start hunting. This spot was good enough, he supposed, to catch a nice rabbit or bird. Tiger snorted, bringing his paw up over his head to lower his bandanna. There was no need to distract himself with his real eyesight when he had something much better to use: Bat's Mind Eye.

His focus shifted into his unique ability, all his senses becoming more acute. In his mind, a clear picture of his surroundings was still there, but outlined in blue and silver. And then, in a flash, there was a small dot of blue moving underneath the snow... in a burrow. It was unsuspecting of any predators....

Tiger smirked, and muttered, "Breakfast ahoy."

Quietly, the canine crept along the snow, careful to make his pawprints silent so the vibrations would not alert the mammal of his appearance. Soon enough, he was close enough to even smell the creature underground. It was a rabbit, and a very plump one at that. Tiger's smirk reached up to his ears as he started to dig into the back of the burrow.

Almost immediately, the rabbit shot out of its burrow, terrified. Tiger stopped his treasure hunt and shot after his prey, catching up to it in a few graceful gallops in the snow.

"Three... two... ONE!" Tiger yowled as he came down on the rabbit, tearing into the back of its neck and crunching down on delicate bones. It was over. The prey was his. "AND VICTORY BELONGS TO WHITE TIGER!"

His yowl echoed into the trees, sending birds flying into the overcast sky. Tiger let out a laugh, and then bent down to feast. As soon as his stomach was full, he would continue his adventure through Japan....

[thefruitsong]

Cold, Cold, Cold. That was all the tiny Kookier hound could think when she padded through the snow, feeling it swallow up her paws. She sniffed around, feeling her stomach growl. "Hrn......" She wasn't happy with this. She missed her old home, where there was food waiting for her when she wanted it. Sniffing, she looked around again.

As a rabbit ran through the snow, nearly hidden by the color of its fur, the young hound took off. "MINE! MINE! MINE!" She bounded after it, and it saw her. Taking off, it hopped through the snow with ease.

"I'm gonna get you!" Knot yipped, bounding it after enthusiastically. Her ears flopped up and down as she continued her chase, and she almost got the rabbit. She opened her mouth.

WHAM!

Letting out a yelp, the young hound found herself nose to bark with a tree. Letting out a snort, she shook her head and backed away, tail tucked inbetween her legs. Hopefully, no other creature saw that hopeless attempt.

[★Ryuujin★]

Snow... The thought crossed the hybrids mind rather distastefully as he picked the way through the white fluff. He didn't mind snow, no - in fact, he generally liked it, as he preferred colder weather over the warmth of japans summers. But, this snow... this was deep, and he could barely make his way thought it. Jump, you say? Yes, the thought crossed his mind, but he had too much pride to take up the behavior of a flea, especially when there was the risk of being spotted.

Roxas looked up ahead of him, spotting patches of green ahead at the top of the hill, signaling to him that he would be out of the chest high snow soon. Taking a couple more steps forward, his eyes staying focused on the green ahead, Roxas let a deep growl escape. This was impossible. He was struggling through the snow, it didn't help that it came up to his chest, and he couldn't lift his paws over the top to get leverage.

Huffing - now rather annoyed, Roxas crouched, cringing at the sudden coldness creeping through his fur. Pushing against the ground, he attempted to leap the distance to the top of the small hill. It had to work, right? He wasn't THAT far away. But, once again karma and gravity bit him in the ass, and he fell face first back into the snow.

"Dammit..." He muttered into the snow as he placed a paw on either side of his head, pulling it out with a gasp of fresh air. Sitting down with a self aimed growl, Roxas took a look around, making sure nobody had seen his flop. The world hated him, this he was now thoroughly convinced of. If not the world, than at least mother nature, and he cursed her for denting his pride.

Standing back up, he decided that just trudging up the hill would do, especially since he didn't want to eat snow again. When he finally the top of the hill, he paused suddenly, a delicious scent reaching his nose. Blood. There was a fresh kill around, Roxas was sure of it - the sheer thought of it made his tongue run absentmindedly over his dry muzzle.

About to take a step forward, Roxas paused, looking down at the snow. It came up to his ankles, good. No more flops. He launched from the hill, and darted across the snow. It felt good to run again and not be constricted by snow. He didn't know how long he had been working his way through belly high snow, and at this moment, it no longer mattered. What did matter, was the scent of blood that continually grew stronger in his nostrils.

THERE IT WAS!

Wait, what was that?

BAM!

Roxas slid to a stop in the snow as a young pup slammed into a tree with a rather loud yelp. Normally, he didn't feel much for others, moving along with his own business, but something inside of him pulled with this one. He opened his maw to speak to the youngling when something else in the distance grabbed his attention, a howl. Well... great, seems like I walked right into the dog park.

[shadow]

Tiger whipped around at the sounds of others not too far off. If had been focusing on something other then his stomach, then his Mind's Eye would have caught both Roxas and Knot, but he was too absorbed in the sweet taste of flesh running over his muzzle.

Still, he had heard a yelp.

Yelps meant trouble.

And being the lovely little helper dog he thought he was, Tiger dropped his kill right then and there, and rushed to the source of the cries. As he ran, he flicked up one of his paws to lift his bandanna over his eye, the one that wasn't scarred, so that he could see what he was going up against.

He leapt over the hill with a yowl, ready to tussle with whoever was causing trouble, however, when he landed on his four and got a good grasp of the situation, he sighed.

A puppy was lifting its head up from the snow, seemingly have crashed into a tree. Another dog... no, he looked more wolflike, stood a small bit away, his maw open as if he was about to speak. It quickly shut however, and both canines turned their attention to White Tiger.

"Uh," he said, his tail drooping in disappointment. He was hoping he could play hero today. Still... there was no harm in making sure everything was okay... right? "I heard a yelp... did... something happ--" and just then, Tiger's bandanna fell over his right eye, cutting him off. "OH GOD DAMMIT. YOU INFERNAL CONTRAPTION. STAY UP WHEN I PUT YOU UP!"

Tiger fell to the snow with a huff as he frustratedly tried to put his headband back up above his eye. He supposed he could just use his ability to keep a watch on things, but he preferred actually having eye to eye contact with others. It was a weird peeve of his.

Finally, Tiger secured the bandanna back above his eye, and he stood back up, shaking snow off of his pelt. He didn't even stop to acknowledge that he should probably be embarrassed at his little outburst. White Tiger was honestly, completely oblivious that he had done something so incredibly stupid. Still, with the awkward stares they were giving him, Tiger assumed he'd dome something...

Oh no, did they see my scar? Or maybe they smelled my prey back there. OH CRAP! MY HARD EARNED RABBIT! I-I LEFT IT BEHIND! But I don't want these two to follow me back to it just so they can steal it.... darn, how do I lose them?

White Tiger shook his head when he realized he was just staring at the two dogs blankly. Quickly, an idea formulated in his mind, and he suddenly struck a battle pose, letting out a snarl, though it didn't sound particularly threatening. It was almost like... a playful growl. A challenge more then something aggressive....

[thefruitsong]

Knot's ears perked up when she heard a growl, and she then noticed two much larger dogs. She remembered Train telling her that bigger dogs sometimes ate little dogs that wandered alone in the forest. Growling, she jumped into a defensive stance, feeling cornered already.

"S-Stay back!" SHe snapped, trying to look tougher than she was. "Y-You don't want to mess with me! I'm a big table of fang and claw!" She shivered, hoping they wouldn't call on her bluff, just decide to up and leave. She could feel the rabbits laughing at her. She bore more of her teeth, and arched lower, looking for an open spot to run through.

Why did her brother fill her head with scary stories?

[★Ryuujin★]

For once, Roxas found himself in a tough spot. Should he go help the young dog, or should he stay firmly where he was in case if anything happened? Laying his ears back in thought of this, his blue eyes looked the young female over, as if studying her. She didn't seem to be old, not at all. If anything, she was most likely less than a year old, there was no way she could be a threat.

But common sense told him otherwise.

Anyone could be a threat - no matter how big or small, young or old. With one ear twitching, he shifted his gaze from the pup over to a larger dog - a male - as it approached. what? He raised his head at the sight of the dog. He wasn't particularly Spectacular nor of an unseen breed, but.... why the hell was he wearing a bandanna over his eyes? Roxas narrowed his eyes at this. He hadn't seen anything like this before, but he had heard stories of dogs with extraordinary powers.

What if this dog possessed one of them?

He felt a deep growl starting to form in the base of his chest at this thought and bit it back with snort. This dog also looked younger than himself, although not by much. Running his tongue over his muzzle again, he shifted to face both dogs - snow crunching beneath his paws.

"S-Stay back!"

Roxas turned his attention back to the pup once again as she took a defensive stance. So cautious for someone so young. It made him wonder what she had been through - if anything at all. Perhaps a cautious family he idly thought as he opened his maw to speak, "Relax pup, I'm not going to hurt you."

He glanced at the older male, Can't be so sure about him though... even though he seems to be a bit of a klutz with that bandanna. Roxas smiled at this thought. It was a but humorous to see the male fumbling and grumbling at the piece of cloth, though he would never externally express his enjoyment in a situation like this.

His smile faded as the other also took a battle like stance. Great... I'm really not in the mood to fight today... Feeling his muscles tighten at the sound of his snarl, Roxas laid his ears back and lowered his head. He didn't hear much of a threat in the snarl, but he was always thought to be ready for anything.

"So, what's this going to come down too? A fight between total strangers?" He rolled his shoulders, paws flexing in the snow, "I would rather it didn't..."

[shadow]

"S-Stay back!" the pup snapped, causing Tiger to come out of his battle stance. She seemed scared out of her wits, and really, that wasn't what Tiger was trying to do. Guilt gripped at him as he realized that the small dog before him was probably younger then even he was. "Y-You don't want to mess with me! I'm a big table of fang and claw!"

"Relax pup, I'm not going to hurt you," the other dog responded. So, they weren't traveling together. Odd that all three of them had ended up in one spot, considering how large the forests of Japan were. White Tiger did not stop to muse on this for long though, because let's face it, he could care less about random happenings such as these. All he had wanted was to make sure that his rabbit was not going to be stolen. Perhaps he had judged too quickly, assuming that they wanted to steal. "So, what's this going to come down too? A fight between total strangers?" the other male rolled his shoulders, paws flexing in the snow, "I would rather it didn't..."

Tiger looked down in shame. He was not embarrassed about acting like an idiot when his bandanna fell into his face, but this... this was sad, even for him. His superior, a street dog named Crow, had told him many a time that he needed to watch his tongue and learn to observe more. Now, Tiger was great at observing his surroundings using his ability, but he had yet to master the part where he could read other people's intentions. This would have been an opportune time to practice, but no... he had to have "face to face contact".

"Damn, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so... threatening. I caught a rabbit and I thought you two might want to steal it. Can I make it up to you somehow?" the coydog asked, his voice quiet and nervous. Underneath his exterior, he was still very puplike. His adventure through Japan was the first time he had been separated from his companions... and well....

He was insecure about dealing with others, especially regarding his own screw ups. He didn't know Knot or Roxas, nor did he know if he would ever see them again after today, but even with that thought in mind, he wanted to leave a good impression.

"My name is White Tiger; Tiger for short," he piped up, lifting his head with a bit more confidence. Absentmindedly, Tiger wondered if either of these two dogs knew anything of his odd title, The Son Of Rage and Love. He didn't know why, but he had some sort of ridiculous reputation for being a trouble maker, and those that recognized him referred to him as that weird title....

"Who are you two?" he finally finished.

[thefruitsong]

"K-knot!" The young Kookier Hound managed to say, "And I'm not here to steal nothing!" She growled deep in her throat, leaning a littl more forward. "I get my own food, I'm a duck hunter!" She snapped, making her jaw close harder than she wanted to. "Ow...." Her tail drooped and she shook her head. "That hurt..."

[★Ryuujin★]

The air about the whole situation began to change rather suddenly, and it made Roxas feel rather anxious. Usually, when the aura changed this quickly, it meant danger – at lest, it did to him. Lowering his head again as he felt every fiber of his being tense, Roxas once again looked both of the dogs over, anyone observing from the outside would be sure to think that he was looking for something from the two. But, was he really?

Roxas never expected much from strangers, seeing how most either gave him a slight nod or ignored him completely when passing by. This was much different for him. He had been careful to avoid others on his wandering trek, thus, he hadn’t had interaction with others in at least a month – not that he cared. Company was something that Roxas never did well with, preferring to be on his own. The thought of having to watch out for another bothered him to a certain extent, though; having someone watching your own back now and then could relieve some stress.

Closing his eyes at this thought, Roxas huffed softly. Perhaps having some interaction now and then was necessary – maybe, maybe this was good.

"My name is White Tiger; Tiger for short,"

Opening his eyes to look at the white dog, Roxas lifted his head – deciding that if he were to attempt to make some acquaintances here, he should make his own aura a bit friendlier. Tiger… The name ran through his mind quickly, it fits.

"Who are you two?"

Roxas opened his maw to speak, but the small pup was quicker than he, stating her own name. So, a name to each face. This is a start, yes. He raised his head more, feeling himself start to relax as the young pup snapped her jaw. Chuckling softly, Roxas turned his attention to Tiger. The other two went, he supposed that it was his turn, common courtesy. After all, if he continued to be all sly like and off, not even offering his own name, it could be considered a threat – and he could get himself into trouble.

”Roxas…” He decided to leave his own title out of the picture. Being called “The Nobody” wasn’t always a good thing, no. It had its ups and downs, Roxas had to admit, but… who knows what these two would have thought of him after hearing this.

[thefruitsong]

"Roxas and White Tiger....." Knot muttered to herself. She sniffed and looked around. "Well...." She scuffed the ground with her paw. "I guess since we're not going to rip eachother's throats out...." She was still tense, ready to charge if she needed to, whether it be running away or just hanging onto the other wolves. "I think we've come to a mutual understanding, so we can call a temporary truce...."

She heard the flapping of wings and looked up, seeing a small pigeon. "MINE!" She jumped up, neary jumping twice her height as her small body twisted and her jaws snapped on the birds wing. She felt the brittle bones break in her jaw, and she landed on the ground with the pigeon under her paws, snapping the neck and killing it instantly. "There."

[shadow]

"Nice catch!" Tiger exclaimed as he watched Knot leap into the air and catch a bird. "You certainly weren't lying when you said you were a duck hunter. I'd feel terrified if I was one of them helpless birds. Haha!"

Tiger, feeling absolutely uplifted, let his tail wag softly. Still, the impressive catch that Knot had made had awoken his inner ego. He had to outdue everyone here... and well, he knew he could. All it would take was some very sneaky use of his special ability.

"But... I bet neither of you can catch prey with your eyes closed," he said, the edge in his voice making it clear he was ready for some kind of challenge. He looked at Knot, who still had the bird in her mouth, and then to Roxas, who seemed a lot more reserved.... who knew what his skills were. "Watch the master..." he trailed off. He brought up a paw to lower his bandanna over his other eye, and immediately his senses became more toned. Everything was once again outlined in a silvery-blue light. In every direction, life was just waiting to be picked off as prey.

But he needed something impressive. Not just a dumb 'ol rabbit like before. He needed....

"Aha!" he exclaimed, turning around and dashing into the bushes. Up ahead of him was a doe and her fawn. Easy pickings for a coydog like Tiger. All it would take was some careful strategy....

Carefully, White Tiger crept along the undergrowth, finding the perfect places to blend in with the snow and trees without giving away his location. Neither of the deers looked up from their digging for grass as he came closer... and closer still. It was clear that this was going to be too easy.

But then Tiger felt himself hesitate. The fawn went to its mother, rubbing up against it affectionately. Tiger, being in his Mind's Eye state, felt the emotion at tenfold.

"I can't do it," he muttered to himself.

And of course, the two deer heard that comment, and immediately went bolting into the trees. Tiger let out a yelp of surprise, tempted to give chase, but knowing that it would really do him no good. He'd made a total fool of himself....

"Crap," he sighed. Surely, Knot and Roxas would be laughing at him. Perhaps he should have just gone back to his rabbit and moved along. He was no good at making friends.

[★Ryuujin★]

A truce The thought crossed his mind, closing his eyes as Knot leaped up to catch the bird, Yes... that sounds good. Opening his eyes again, they fell on Tiger as an aura of extreme self-pride seemed to engulf the dog.

"But... I bet neither of you can catch prey with your eyes closed,"

Roxas laid his ears back with a soft huff, unable to resist rolling his eyes. It was more than obvious to him that the young male was still deep in puppy mode. Although he was not much older than Tiger, the differences in their behaviors amazed him to some extent. How could one, so close to him like this, be so... what's the word, immature? Perhaps that was too harsh of a word, as he did seem to have some sense of an adult.

"Watch the master..."

And Learn? Roxas mused as he sat down, watching eagerly, Doubtful. A smirk wound its way onto his maw as Tiger crept through the bushes, though, what he was stalking, Roxas couldn't see. Was it is location that threw this off? No, even if he were somewhere else, he still wouldn't be able to see what Tiger was hunting. He must have one of those powers that I've heard so much about... If I'm right, I wonder what it is.

"I can't do it,"

Golden ears rose as two dear ran from the bushes, frightened by the young male. Blue eyes traveled back to the rather defeated looking dog as he stood up and slowly made his way over to him. "That's damn decent of you." Roxas smirked at the dog as he passed him. Letting the fawn live, when most others wouldn't have let an easy meal get away that easily was pretty generous. And though the dog seemed embarrassed, Roxas couldn't laugh at what he did - and as ashamed as he might have been to admit it, Roxas wouldn't have been so kind.

I suppose its my turn then, though I hate showing off. Taking a look around, he sighed. The commotion that the the dogs had made had scared off most of the animals around. He could see the deer that had scurried further off, rabbits, squirrels - but none of them really filled the need. He could go after the deer, but would it be well to do that after Tiger had let them go?

No.

But something else had caught his eye. There, in the bushes before him, practically teasing him, stood a monkey. A growl escaped Roxas as the monkey stuck its tongue out before turning and running. "Bloody animal..." He grumbled and bolted after the animal. Quickly catching up to it, He snapped at it - Missing as the monkey leaped into the trees above, screeching tauntingly at him. Roxas laid his ears back in annoyance. Monkeys, he had always hated them.

Leaping from tree to tree, the creature started to make its getaway and Roxas raised his ears as an idea came to him. You're mine. He bolted again, lowering his head as he picked up speed and arced around the trees, heading for the monkeys destination. With a huff, Roxas pushed against the ground and landed on the side of a tree, only to push away quickly to touch another tree. Continuing this pattern like a streak of golden light, Roxas flew up above the monkey.

Turning its head to look at Roxas, the monkey hissed as his maw wrapped around the brittle neck, fangs sinking into the flesh underneath. Landing below, Roxas whipped his head, snapping the creatures neck as he turned back toward the others, padding back with his prize held tightly in his jaw