Dying Inside

[Novacaine]

Silent paws carried the mix breed through the line of trees. The park was huge, there were many paths and trails leading into places that some humans probably didn't know about. He came out of the trees and followed the dirt trail up a small rise. He then came to a sudden stop; the trail had ended. What lay before him was quite amazing. There was a small hill almost like a bluff, looking out over some of the park below him. He could see people running around with their kids. Or lovers walking along holding hands, their eyes full of light and happiness. Dogs ran with their owners as they jogged and some caught Frisbees, spinning in the air and doing amazing tricks. The thing the bothered the mix so bad was that they were all happy. Smiling and running about. And here he was dying it seemed.

His heart was just not into anything anymore. It had been about a week since Riley was taken away. He had gotten over that, somewhat. But to top it all off, the icing on the cake. The one dog he truly loved in all his life. A pretty Labrador named Alyth, had just up and left him for a friend of his. One of the true street dogs he had befriended. Sighing the brute looked down at his massive paws. He had the urge to scream, call out to anyone, anything. He was overcome with the emotion to cry as well. But both those combined into one and his head reared back and he let lose a howl full of sorrow and pain. His eyes were squeezed shut but tears still poured from them. This was the first time he had let his true emotions show. How he was feeling about this whole ordeal, all at once they all spilled out. And they didn't seem to want to stop...

[Disturbed]

With his muzzle to the ground, the chow chow didn't bother to look up when a deep howl filled his harks. He had more important business to attend to. His family needed to be fed, all six members of it, not including himself. All of the rats, cats, birds, lizards and pigeons that made up his diet were off making babies somewhere so prey was at a minimum. But pups needed to be fed regardless and Zeus was not about to let any of them down. With new found determination, the chow picked up speed, racing through the trees and running right past the strange mix. But, re-analyzing the situation, the powerful brute back tracked to the stranger, panting lightly from all the running.

"Hey... You haven't... seen any... prey around here... have you?"

[Novacaine]

The brute heard the sound of anothers voice and he looked over his shoulder. It was a rather large brute, he looked of high authority too. The mix wiped away the tears streaming from his gold eyes with a paw and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, I haven't seen any prey. I just got here and prey is the last thing that's been on my mind..." He stopped there, not wanting to get into any more detail.

He drew in a sharp breath and turned around to face the brute. He seemed to be very busy, and if he was the mix didn't want to waste his time with stories of the past and such...

[Disturbed]

When the mix turned to look at him, the keen eyes of the chow caught sight of the moisture held within the optics of the stranger. Though not one to be out-of-his-way social, he wasn't one to let life get the better of anyone, be it a friend, a stranger or himself. Life was but the time you have to do what you wish, it cannot do anything to you. Letting his panting subside slowly, the chow chose to stay rather than continue his search...

"Not to be nosy, but you seem troubled stranger. Anything I can help with?"

[Novacaine]

He shook his head yet again, "No. No. There's nothing you can help me with." He paused thinking of what to say, "It's just...well it's been a long week. And I was just thinking of what happened. I get pretty emotional sometimes." Pretty emotional? He thought, I get choked up over anything and everything.

He forced himself to give a small, half-hearted smile at the brute. "I'm Novacaine by the way, call me Novak. And may I ask what your name is?"

[Disturbed]

Rather than push the subject farther, the chow just let it fall from thought. Well, from his thought anyway. Everyone had bad days sometimes. This brute was obviously having a few in a row, is all. Shifting uneasily in place for lack of something better to do, the white brute just nodded acceptingly.

"Alright then, Novak. I am Zeus, the alpha male of the Northern most pack."

Waiting to see the mix's reaction, the chow continued to shift in place nervously. He knew he was wasting time but felt like this bru was in need of some company. Besides, since the birth of his pups, he had been in the greatest of moods and felt like telling the world that he was a father finally.

"Care to join me in a hunt? I'm desperately trying to find my family some food... and it might take your mind off of what ails you at the moment."

[Novacaine]

Novak smiled, "Nice to meet you Zeus." I knew it, he was an alpha. He thought. He listened as Zeus asked him to join him for a hunt. He smiled yet again and nodded. "I'd like that. It really would get my mind off all this."

ooc- sorry this is so short, im in a hurry.

[Disturbed]

((It's okay. Understandable...))

The chow nodded to his new friend Novak, turning his attention back to the scent he was following. It wasn't anything promising. A large rodent of some sort, a rat probably. He'd have to find something larger. He had five pups, five mouths that would have to be fed. A rat would feed two... Well, one rat is better than nothing. With such a thought at the front of his mind, the brute began to trott down the trail, pausing a little way away to see if the mix was following him...

[Novacaine]

Novak trotted after the brute, scenting the air for any signs of prey. He couldn't really detect any, but his new friend seemed to have caught the scent of something. "If you'd like Zeus, I can give you want I find. That way you have more food for your family." He said, calling after the white brute as he followed the trail of the food that he needed so much. Novak understood how he felt, food was important when you had a family, how big his was, Novak didn't know. But he needed all he could get, and Novak was willing to help...

[Disturbed]

Still trotting with his head down, the chow looked over his shoulder at the mix behind him, a warm grin on his thick muzzle. That was a thoughtful gesture of Novak's, but being as polite and understanding as he was, Zeus could never accept. Shaking his head from side to side slowly, he gave his friend a shout out.

"That's unnecessary my friend, but thank you for being so thoughtful. But your kill is for you decide what to do with it. I should have no barring on your-"

The large dog was suddenly cut off by a very sturdy tree that had apparently jumped out into his path. Actually, it had been there from the beginning but the very tired father was too far out of it to notice it, plus he was looking behind him. So, he had run right into it, shaking the plant to its roots. Stumbling back a few steps, the brute managed to shake the collision off quickly, glaring at the tree like it owed him money for a few moments before trotting around it with his nose turned up.

"Meant to do that..."

[Novacaine]

Novak cringed as he watched the brute collide with the tree. "You alright?" He called. Figuring that he was, but still it was a nice thing to ask.

He stopped for a moment, a scent had caught his attention. It was that of some kind of rodent. A squirrel perhaps? It was something like that. He smiled and looked around. Maybe I'll get my first decent meal... He looked left and then right but nothing caught his eye, he'd have to follow the trail...

ooc- god i have no muse today...

[Disturbed]

((S'Okay. Happens to the best of us.))

"Yeah, I'm totally fine. So meant to do that..."

Trotting off a few feet, the chow paused, realizing his new friend was not following him. With one eyebrow up, he turned around curiously, braod fluffy dome tilted to one side.

"Something up?"

((Sorry it's so short but time for my din din. ))

[Novacaine]

The mix nodded, "Yeah there's some kind of rodent about..." He lifted his maw up to the sky and sniffed. "Seems like it's getting closer to us." He paused, thinking he'd go and track the animal. But another thought came into his mind. Zeus needed the food more than he did. "Hey, you wanna take 'em?" He asked referring to the animal. "You need it more than I do. I can go at least another day or so without food..."

[Disturbed]

The chow started to sniff about as well, searching for the rodent's trail. He managed to find it, but paused, curious gaze looking up at Novak. The brute couldn't help find it very sweet of the mix to offer to let him to that food but that was not how Zeus hunted. He was far too mighty to stopp down to the levels of taking hand-outs. No, he would catch his own food.

"I would say no, but what you kill is yours to do with...."

The chow had another thing to say after that but keen gaze caught sight of what looked like someone's pet rabbit... who had escaped aparently and was about to meet a very terrible fate. Grinning, Zeus crouched low, sneaking past Novak and aiming for the rabbit. As he passed his new buddy, he smiled.

"And what I kill is mine..."

His sneaking soon increased to a trot as his neared the target, not waiting for a response from his friend. The trot increased to a run and when the rabbit finally bolted off around one side of a bush, the chow zoomed after it in a full out sprint. He was out of sight in seconds, only to return a few moments later, the carcass bouncing in his jaws and a cocky grin on his muzzle.