[DEVIL] Start Tryin' to Catch Up

Two reddish-brown eyes scanned over the horizon, running their gaze over the wasteland that stood before her. Honestly, who the hell had even invented deserts? It was a stupid question to ask, and she didn’t linger on it for long – but it still annoyed her. There was nothing out there other than soaring temperature, burning sand, dried up bushes, and the occasional coyote and jackrabbit. Oh, let’s not forget about the predatory birds soaring overhead, waiting for someone to drop dead from dehydration or malnutrition.
Obviously, it wasn’t the place for a dog – but she didn’t care about that, much less her reason for being there. After roaming the city for quite a while, she noticed she’d never been out into the countryside much. She’d gone into the woods a few times, headed up to the base of the mountains, and even once or twice to the lake – but never had she ventured further, other than when she’d originally arrived at the city gates.
The countryside that surrounded the barren, bloodied alleys of Hexasol were an enigma to her – and every mystery must be solved, at least from her point of view.
There were very few things that the Australian shepherd didn’t try to figure out.

And so, with the sun bearing down on the abandoned plains with the same intensity as Florence over her pride, she set out to explore it. The dead grass and sand gave way under her paws every now and then, casting her paw print on the earth momentarily. Sooner or later, a gust of wind of some sort of animal would come by and swipe it away, erasing the traces that she’d ever ventured out so far.

A bit of movement caught her attention in the distance – a flash of grey, just lurking behind some bushes. Her ears perked up atop her head and she slunk forwards, her shoulders low to the ground as she prowled – but before she could get close enough, the creature was off, and so was she, chasing it like it’d done her some great dishonor. Honestly, she just wanted something to do, and chasing a scraggly old jackrabbit seemed promising.
Sooner than expected though, the rabbit seemed to disappear from her line of vision, leaving her empty-handed and partially lost in the expanse of the countryside.
She gaped at the horizon for a few seconds before something caught her attention again – a flash of grey, just like before, accompanied with a heavy thump. The animal must have clearly gotten caught up in something it couldn’t handle.
Ha! Dumb, ol’ jackrabbit, thinking you could get away from me..
A smirk crossed her lips as she prowled forth again, her ears flattening against her head and her tail held stiff behind her. She flew forth, aiming her jaws at it and leaping like a bat out of hell – but before she could close her jaws on what she’d thought was dinner, she skidded to a stop, dirt and dust sprawling up around her legs as she avoided collision.
Obviously, it wasn’t a rabbit – it was a .. snow leopard?
She stared at the creature for a few seconds, a familiar scent lifting off from its fur and registering somewhere in the depths of her mind. She knew this cat. Rather than snarling like she normally would have with other big cats, she took a step back, tilting her head with a puzzled expression in her eyes.

“..J-Jinxer?” she called, almost cooing out the words. She almost couldn’t believe it – the last time she’d seen the feline, she was sure that he was either going to disappear off the face of the earth or get mauled to death by Florence.

It was odd, really. Months had rolled by no faster than snails since she’d last seen him, so it felt almost like an eternity. Had she had no knowledge of time, she would have wagered it to be a few years – but it was just a bit more than one.
She eyed him, taking in every detail like it was the most important thing in the planet. It as different, that was for sure – the few times she’d seen him, he’d either been covered in ash or limping thanks to Florence and her minions. This time, however, was different – the scars of the past remained, but he looked well. That, in her eyes, was good enough. Nobody came or went from Hexasol without a few battle scars, and she was no different – hers were just hidden under thick layers of blackish-brown fur.

A wolfish smile tugged at the corners of the mixed dog’s lips, parting them so that the canines gleamed out, though not in a menacing way.
“Why thank you,” she quipped, her ears perking up as a look of concern loomed over his face.

What are you doing out here?

Amber eyes drifted past him as soon as he asked that question, setting their gaze somewhere on the horizon – the direction where the damned rabbit had run off to. A look of pure annoyance pooled up in her irises for a few seconds, until she could focus back on the task at hand and explain herself.

“I was hunting and exploring – you know me, I don’t really care where I end up wandering.”
The answer was as simple as that. Honestly, Devil never really thought much when her nose or her heart had her do their bidding. She just followed the orders and tried to have a good time while doing so.

“You look good too, where have you been all this time?” she questioned, her tail curling every now and then into a loose wag as she finally sat down, hoping to rest a bit after the endless chase she’d been on earlier.