Caviar and Meths

[sorcerer]

He sat around in the middle of the train tracks, getting soaked with rain and hoping it would drown some of the bugs. Cole was getting..old. By his count he must have seen nine summers or so, unless he'd forgotten one, or counted too many. Nine sounded about right, though, and they got longer the more time he spent in this abandoned city. That winter, he'd considered moving on, finding a cooler place to live out his few remaining years. Unfortunately, that was unlikely to happen. Cole had none of his old stamina left. He could still go a few rounds, and run a few miles, but not far enough to reach the distant mountains anymore. Plus it had been years since he got into a fight.
Once were the days when it was him against the entire world, basically, which was the reason he lived in this godforsaken human ruin at all, really. Back when half the wolves in the north wanted him dead. Back then he'd been able to fight, and run, and..everything.
Getting old is a bitch, he told himself, and gave up on getting a bath. The sky was growing darker, but all he was getting was wet.

Wasn't much anywhere to shelter around the area. Cole wandered along, a skinny black shadow in the rain with big yellow eyes. He was going blind, he thought to himself, to add to his list of physical inabilities. Might be about time for someone to kill him. But then it would likely be some cat, or some Tempest dog pissed that he'd abandoned that nest of milk-drinkers all those years ago, and..that was no way to go.
He'd just have to listen all the more carefully. Listen he did, which was how he found out that someone (who, he didn't know for sure) was up ahead, coming his way. Four legs, which ruled out a bird he might be able to eat. Long legs. A large dog or a big cat. Preferably a dog. Then again, maybe not. Maybe he could sneak by. And maybe Braker of Tempest Pack would grow wings and start flying his fat ass around.

Cole planted himself in the middle of the street, ignored the puddle he was now sitting in, and attempted to see who was around. Didn't work any. His ability to see in the dark and rain was even more limited than it once was. Time to see if he could talk his way out. Sometimes he could, sometimes not, and if this was some unaffiliated loner ambling around in the rain maybe he could scrape a meal out of this meeting, too.
He barked once and fastened his gaze in the direction he though the stranger was coming from. Trick he'd picked a living around dogs. Pretend to be something you're not and half of them will believe you.

[shakes]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,background: url(http://i47.tinypic.com/13zbsr6.png);][atrb=width,500,true][atrb=height,400,true] Why did it have to rain? He'd always hated the rain. The large white shepherd's ears were flat against his skull, eyes narrowed and tail pulled a bit between his hind legs. He hated the feeling of water pelting him, he'd never liked water in the first place. Yes, he was thankful for it when it pooled and offered fresh water, but when it would rain he'd always hide in a den or squeeze under his mother like a pup. So why was he down here in the city? On the railroad tracks? To be honest, he didn't want to be. His mother had simply taken something he said wrong, and for that simple misunderstanding he was brutally attacked and kicked out of the small family pack. That explained the cut under his eye that was still fresh and bleeding, as well as the puncture wounds on his left foreleg that left him limping a bit. His mother was vicious, and when she was angered she made rash decisions. Really, though, the six-year-old dog needed to get out on his own. He spared a glance back in the direction of the mountains he had once called home, and a rather pathetic whimper escaped the brute's jaws. He'd miss his sister and his parents, but it wasn't like he couldn't take care of himself, he had once been quite the recluse with his family. It was just a matter of dealing with the sudden loneliness. He hated solitude now. He hated the silence, hated how loud it really was. The small pebbles that moved under his heavy paws offered no conversation, nor did the pouring rain. His ears pulled back even further, and he silently wished he could close his ears, which he realized after a moment wouldn't help the whole 'silence' issue. So what was he to do? Amber eyes glanced up ahead of him, and in doing so they caught sight of a black figure, of stunning yellow eyes. The shepherd stalled, one paw still off the ground as he stared at the dog. No.. It was a wolf. Instantly Joshua's pointed ears perked forward, his eyes growing wider. He hadn't seen a wolf in forever! Not many roamed near his old territory in the mountains, it was a rare sight for him. His mom had liked things secluded, so she hid her family from other's. That was one upside to this situation, he thought. His bushy tailed lifted and slowly swayed from side to side, showing his excitement. Company, he'd finally have company! Well, unless the wolf turned out to be nothing but a bully. The experienced dog took in the canine's appearance, and he soon noticed something was off. Quite literally, really- the wolf wasn't looking directly at him. In his direction, yes, but those eyes weren't focused on him. Going blind, the white dog easily assumed. He didn't mind, though, what was there to mind, really? He was getting old himself, he was already six. He didn't have his life ahead of him anymore, but he was determined to put what he had left to use. With a friendly smile tugging at his lips, the german shepherd took a few steps forward, tail wagging still, head low to show he wasn't a threat to the larger wolf. He realized it was a male, and he wondered if he would be displeased that he was in the presence of another male. Joshua never had been the type to stand-off with other males, though of course he preferred to be around a female. Either way, that didn't matter to him, and he hoped it didn't pose a problem to the wolf either. "Hello, sir," Joshua smiled in a formal greeting. He chose to say 'sir' for two reasons. One, this was a wolf, and he had been taught wolves deserved respect. Two, he was an older male; wiser and stronger than he. Best not to insult him in any way. The rain still fell, the drops racing each other to the ground in a game they wouldn't be playing for too much longer. The rains were coming to a stand-still, this shower was a surprise to most, really. He would be glad when the cold rain stopped falling for a few months, although he was sure when looking for water became a hassle he'd regret wishing it was gone. You couldn't have things both ways, sadly. The wounds on the aging dog were a bit eased by the cool rain, however- the fevered flesh was cooled, and it made them feel better. Oh well, focus on the wolf, he told himself. He didn't know if this would turn into a fight or not, but he would try his best to avoid a spat. _____________________________________________ words! 799. muse! Pretty good. tags! Sorceror with Cole ooc! Sorry this took me a bit, tumblr distracted me. ^ ^; Credit for the table coding to me.

[sorcerer]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true]

[atrb=background,http://i48.tinypic.com/leafk.png] He scowled slightly. A white dog. A vague memory of some other white dog, just like this one, tugged at his thoughts and then drifted away. Someone-or-other, in a castle, some time ago. He wondered where she was. If it was a she. Hmm. This dog was male, though. Cole twitched an ear, noted that the stranger wasn't a whole lot younger than he was - a few years, maybe - and put that though aside for the time being. As it was, the battered-looking white dog didn't stink of Tempest pack, and didn't appear to know who he was, and was quite polite. Perhaps this would be a meeting he wouldn't be too upset about. Everytime Cole seemed to meet someone (with a very few exceptions), they were either too shy and scared to talk or the biggest, most arrogant jackasses he'd ever met in his life. And he'd known a few. He might have been one at some point. A long time ago. Well, didn't hurt to be polite in return. The wolf wasted a second on trying to remember correct manners, shook water out of his ears, and smiled vaguely. To hell with it. This dog wouldn't know whether he gave the correct greeting for a chance-meet or not, and Cole couldn't recall the proper wording. "Good..afternoon." He thought it might be afternoon. Or maybe the clouds were just confusing him and it was morning. Least it was obviously not midnight, although if it was Cole would be able to see a whole lot better. Funny thing, that. In the daytime he was half-blind, even on days when it was dark and rainy. Nighttime, he could see just as well as he always had. Well, perhaps not as well, but Cole couldn't tell the difference. He remembered a bit of one of the old greeting-words. It had been too long since he'd used them, and his memory wasn't what it used to be anyway. The old wolf flicked an ear to remind himself and stood, water dripping in his fur. "Cole Forginsson, at your service," he said politely, keeping a cautious eye on the white dog. He'd learned many things living in this wreck of a city. One of them was not to trust dogs, especially strange males met in an empty street. Old he might be, but Cole was older, and he wouldn't trust himself to be able to fight off the stranger if the dog decided to attack him.

[shakes]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,background: url(http://i47.tinypic.com/13zbsr6.png);][atrb=width,500,true][atrb=height,400,true] Joshua was patient while he waited for the wolf to respond, waited to hear if this was going to go well or not. His wagging tail and low-held head were all signs of submission, but sometimes that simply wasn't enough to avoid a fight. His ears perked forward when the male spoke, hesitating between words for a moment. Lifting his head slightly, the white shepherd wondered if there was a problem. Usually to hesitate like that meant something was wrong- but maybe he was jumping to conclusions, maybe it meant nothing; maybe he was caught up in thought. After all, the shepherd that stood before the wolf was no push-over. Even if he was wounded, the amber-eyed canine could hold his own- they weren't severe, just a bit painful and annoying, irritating since he had a limp now. Either way, though, the shepherd still held a small, innocent smile. After the black wolf introduced himself, Joshua stood up and wagged his tail happily, taking a few excited steps forward. "My name's Joshua. Pleasure!" He said happily, grinning from ear-to-ear. The rain around them began to slow, falling to a drizzle as the droplets became tired from their race, slowing down to their finish. His white, bushy tail wagged more fully as he tilted back his head to see the droplets, to see the dark clouds fading in color to slowly mimic his fur, fluffy and white. After a moment of silence, the german shepherd finally spoke again, more gently. "It's rather cold... Lifting his paw from the ground, he smiled in amusement at the water that dripped from his black claws. "And wet." Returning his gaze to Cole, he asked, "Would you like to find somewhere to get dry before we try to get to know each other?" He requested, placing his paw back down on the gravel below, careful with the wound on his foreleg that still bled quite a bit from his mother's vicious attack. Not that he'd ever admit to this wolf that his own mother had beaten him... but what was he supposed to do, fight her? You simply did not fight family- It was wrong, and only added to the chaos of the world. There was enough of that with the warring packs and clans. He wasn't exactly a pacifist, but he did want all this senseless fighting to end. There was no point! All it was for was power, control. A war out of greed and the desire to be right, just like any other. He wanted no part of it, and he had been happily content up in the mountains away from it all. Too bad, though- now he was walking into the city, into the conflict. And what could he do? If he stayed neutral for too long surely the dogs would hate him for 'abandoning his own kind' or something silly of the like. But if he joined he would only be involved in the deaths of others, and he didn't want that kind of blood on his hands. Either way, for right now he just wanted to peacefully converse with this wolf and relax, get some sleep. _____________________________________________ words! 527. muse! Iffy. tags! Sorceror with Cole ooc! *rolls* Trying my best to rp again; my computer seems to be fine. Credit for the table coding to me.