Piddles pads in from the sewer entrance and sits down not far from Jose, lolling his tongue and dog-grinning.
Lightseeker is asleep on top of the stage.
Piddles is sitting a bit away from Jose, watching him sleep.
Jose Figueroa shifts around to an even more uncomfortable position, opening one eye and looking toward the pup.
Jose Figueroa
A late 20's, short (5'5") dark Mexican male with short black hair has his hands stuffed into a dark blue jacket, worn with travel. His jeans are frayed around the cuffs and faded on the thighs to a greyish white. His work boots have got to be from the 80's, with the sole of the right boot partially flopping at the toe. He wears a red plaid flannel shirt, with a once-white t-shirt underneath.
His features are reminiscent of an Aztec statue, with flat nose, puffy eyes and round face.
Piddles makes little air-grabby motions with his mouth, as if he's trying to talk, or not quite snapping, or half-barking. Playful things.
Jose Figueroa groans lightly and stretches, waking up slowly and with much difficulty. He sticks his hand out, palm up, for Piddles to shake with.
Piddles extends his paw and places it in Jose's hand, lolling his tongue jovially. This one is pleased to see you. It was a whim to come by. Is it okay?
Jose Figueroa nods, rubbing his face. "Sure, hermano. You're always welcome. Wanna biscuit or somethin'?"
Piddles rarffs softly, an eager affirmative.
Jose Figueroa nods, shambling over toward the door. "Hang on. I'll get somethin'." He makes his way down the stairs.
After a minute or three, he comes back up. "Sorry dude. Jus' some ol' baloney." He offers it to Piddles warily, apparently familiar with a hungry lupus Bone Gnawer's propensity to take fingers too.
Piddles takes the baloney from Jose's hands with refined delicacy, then abandons those manners and gulps it down. His stub of a tail thuds rapidly against the floor in thanks.
Jose Figueroa snorts at the manners Piddles shows, rubbing him behind one ear. "So what's up in the bad part of town, dude?"
Lightseeker opens an eye, blearily.
Piddles groans and leans into the rubbing. Not nearly enough. 'Fire in the nuts' as you put it last month. Wanna wear myself out. I haven't slept in three days.
Pack> Piddles is hangin' wit Edge. Gonna see if Jose cool wit knockin' aroun' a little.
Pack> Bailey chuckles. "I think it'll be pretty even, Pid. I'm surprised you two haven't sparred yet."
Jose Figueroa slams himself down in a chair. "Yeah, well, I've been knockin' myself out." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bottle of tequila.
Piddles raairrs. That stuff'll eat through your liver, hombre.
Jose Figueroa shrugs. "It grows back." He looks thoughtfully at Piddles. "You wanna wrestle a little in dog? I ain't done that in a long fuckin' while."
Piddles bounds to his feet, tail vibrating like a crazed metronome. He kowtows and raARFs and bounds around in a circle. Yes! Yes!
Jose Figueroa concedes at the four-leg's obvious enthusiasm and shifts down.
Piddles bounds away a bit into more open floor space and turns back, tail still wagging.
Jabs streeeetches his front paws out, lowering his front half, rear stuck up into the air, pulling himself along forward to vertical. Not for blood. Moon has us both.
Piddles sets his front paws wide. Nope, no blood, just wrasslin'.
Jabs shakes himself out and proceeds to lumber at Piddles at a good speed, wolf lips peeled back a bit in a doggie-grin.
Piddles bounds forward lightly, trying to hook a paw over Jabs' shoulders and grip at his neck.
Jabs
A lanky wolf sulks about, his head level. Predominantly colored reddish-brown, light grey and dark grey in a calico-type pattern, his fur is matted and flat.
The eyes are yellow and bright. A largish scar runs up the wolf's left forepaw and around, snake-like.
Jabs goes up on Piddles, dragging him up onto his hind legs as he opens his maw, fighting with his paws so Piddles doesn't get wrapped around.
Piddles rises with the press and his jaws gape, seeking purchase on Jose's throat. Or face. Or leg. Whatever's handiest.
Jabs doesn't give Piddles a chance, backing off about three feet and circling around to the left, charging in and snapping at the back of Piddles' neck.
Piddles dodges admirably by flopping over on his side and snapping up at Jabs' throat again. He rolls on his back, ready to reach out with all four paws.
The plan mostly succeeds, as the flailing paws keep Jabs at some length, but he nudges in anyway, woofing in staccato and snapping at Pids' chest.
Piddles hooks his rear paws under Jose and kicks at his midsection.
Jabs flails as he's kicked off and to the side. He flips over quickly and moves back in before Piddles can scramble to standing, snapping at his front paws.
Piddles launches himself over Jabs' back awkwardly, landing with his front paws on one side and back paws on the other, looking embarrassed.
Jabs scuttles out from underneath, laying down and panting. Where you learn that one?
Piddles grins, sitting down. The fighting pit.
Jabs woofs. This one did that in ape. Hard to not hurt mundanes. Never when moon is big.
*Scratch* comes the faint sound of blunt claws against the door, then the noise stops after that one single pass. All is quiet from the basement...
Piddles pants, his pink tongue showing a small black spot, off-center in the far back of his mouth. This one did it before the Change, from puppy on. Made my 'master' a lot of money, I understand.
After a moment the doorknob turns slowly, at the speed in wich it often does in a horror movie when the killer's entering the house left under the teenage girl's care. It is pushed open just a crack, squeeking slightly, then again everything goes quiet from that end of the room.
Piddles looks over his shoulder at the door, ceasing to pant, his ears perking forward.
Jabs cocks his head to the side, looking over at the door.
A black and twitching nose appears first, followed by an off-white furred muzzle. Clever's head is too wide for the little crack and the door pushes open further as she forces it through. Bright eyed, she glances around, her muzzle dropping open into a wide doggie smile.
Piddles lolls his tongue and wuffs a greeting. Clever!
Unfamiliar with the dog, Jabs WHOOFS. Cocking an ear at Piddles, Jabs sniffs for a scent wafting in from the open door.
Clever-for-Food bounds into the room, shouldering the door the rest of the way open. Am! She agrees brightly, either to that being her name, or that she thinks she is. Piddles is her first stop and the young dog bounces her way around him, sniffing and wagging.
Piddles waaaRRrrr at Jose cheerfully. She is a new cub. Chugs wanted to keep her here.
Piddles sniffs and wags eagerly with his fellow lupe.
Clever-for-Food's head darts up, trying to see over Piddles back towards the other canine. That failing, she ducks her head low and peeks at him from under the other Gnawer's belly. Hi!
Piddles gives a rocking hop over Clever's head, taking himself from between Jabs and Clever.
Jabs pads over to the pair, sniffing around the pup and placing a paw around her neck. Greetings, pup. Jabs-with-the-left. Also Cracks-Skulls. Big moon.
Piddles nuzzles Clever. Has Shadow-Eyes told you about the moons? he asks with a little concern.
Clever-for-Food starts to spin to follow Piddles' leap, but she's stopped by the paw. Well, most of her is stopped, anyway; her tail wags away, a mile a minute. I'm me! Then she starts squirming under his hold.
Piddles looks at Jabs over her back. She is very new, he tells the other ahroun.
Clever
All it would take would be an old bandana tied around this dog's neck to complete the image of scruffy cuteness. Just entering that long-legged stage of dogpyhood, she hasn't quite grown into her overly large paws yet, giving her a look of clumsiness which is belied when she moves -- unless a stumble might aide in the quest for handouts. Her not-quite long, not-quite short fur is off-white in color over most of her body, darkening to grey on her lower legs and muzzle. A patch of brown covers most of her head and ears, and a splash of matching fur spreads across her part of her back. Her ears are pricked up at half-attention, the tip of the right one flopping forward as if yet undecided about remaining upright.
Despite the rather unkempt state of her coat, her wagging tail and warm brown eyes convey a sense that this dog is enjoying life to the fullest.
Jabs removes the paw, nudging the pup to go on. Does your pack watch over that one, Piddles?
Piddles cocks his head, regarding the both of them. This one is not sure, he replies with an uncertain flick of his lop ear. Shadow Eyes was teaching her, but Uncle Chugs wanted her to stay here. I think, he finishes laboriously, that she is being watched over by all Gnawers here.
Once released, then new Gnawer lolls her tongue in answer to Piddles. Know about moon! LivesInTheSky! She leaps into action once more, closing the distance between herself and him, his ear the intended target of her playful jaws.
Piddles tolerantly lets her catch his ear, then slips it away, teasing with it. LivesInTheSky, yes, but it is part of our lives even more than others. Makes us snarly sometimes. Makes us different from each other.
Clever-for-Food bounds after the ear, more concerned with recapturing it than the potential lesson. Snarly, snarly, she repeats, then gives a play growl as she lunges again.
Piddles spins around, hooking his paw over Clever's shoulders and trying to wrestle her to the ground.
Lightseeker flicks an ear, and then finally raises her head at the noise. Whuffling tolerantly, she watches in amusement.
Clever-for-Food resists the pressure for as long as she keeps her four legs locked against it, but of course she cannot seem to hold any one position for too long. She goes down, rolling over onto her back under him, raising her head to mouth at his jaw. Hungry!
Piddles snaps his jaws so that his teeth clack repeatedly on air, fending off her grab for his throat.
Jabs gets up slowly, streeetching again, and pads downstairs.
Her play-growl not quieting, Clever's teeth snap up at him in return a few times, then she settles her head back down, submissive.
Jabs pads back up the stairs with a slice of oldish-smelling bologna in his mouth. He drops it in front of Clever's head.
Piddles slurps Clever's nose and backs off.
Clever-for-Food's wiggling restarts at the lick, or is it at the old meat? She's trying to lick it up off the floor even before she rights herself, and the food is gone once she reaches her paws. She looks between the two hopefully, More?
Piddles looking at Jabs, amused. A Gnawer through and through.
Jabs snorts. Girl after my own heart. One more for you. He turns and pads back downstairs.
Clever-for-Food trots to the head of the stairs and stands there, tail wagging as she waits.
Eventually, making Clever wait more than she wants, Jabs pads back up with another piece of baloney, holding it in his teeth.
Clever-for-Food does not wait patiently. She wiggles and bounces, then once he's coming back, she stars down a few steps to meet him. She extends her neck, trying to get it before they reach the top of the stairs again.
Jabs pulls back slightly from the anxious pup. Wait for it.
Clever-for-Food licks her muzzle, eyes fixed on the meat. Hungry, reallyreallyreally hungry, she lets him know.
Before placing the baloney slice down on the step, Jabs nudges with the top of his head. First share of the food to those above you. He then places it down on the step.
His words pass into one lupe ear and out the other as Clever makes short work of the meat. More? Lotsandlots more? she asks, one ear pricked forward and the other flopped, and her tail only speeded up by the food thus far.
Piddles sighs explosively and lays back his ears. I wonder, he says to Jabs, if I was like this at first.
Jabs whuffs uncertainly at Piddles as he nudges the cub out of his way, climbing the stairs.
Clever-for-Food follows after her new bestest friend, playfully nipping at Jabs' tail as he passes.
Piddles perks his ears forward, then back, then forward halfway. No, I was not a pup then, like this one. He appears relieved.
Jabs turns around and plops onto the floor. This one was a human cub, so I was never like that one. He allows Clever to tangle with his tail for the nonce, wagging it slowly up and down.
The tail amuses Clever for only a short time, and when she moves on to find something more interesting, she leaves it wet with her drool.
Back to home.