afternoon adventures [p-Mudbug]

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[atrb=background,http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww202/xamayaxkismetx/samsonmiddle.png] "Turk talks." "Samson talks." "What a morbid little castle." Turk chuckled, nodding at Samson's words. While his lively friend scouted the ruins, he remained sitting by a crumbling hole in the wall watching the lake nearby. He spotted the tree they had sat by not an hour earlier, where they had gotten a drink before traveling over to the dilapidated structure to explore. The promising buds sprouted out on each fork of the branch, daintily recovering what the tree had lost last autumn. He smiled at the thought of life returning to Hexasol. He missed the birds and the colors, and the warmth- as long as it didn't suffocate him. "Look at what I found!" He turned his head back towards Samson, widening his eyes as only the tail of his friend stuck out from a small hole. Turk's massive size was the main reason he wasn't assisting Samson in his exploration. Turk was nearly ten inches taller than his buddy, so he couldn't fit into most of the cavities Samson squeezed into. "I'm not helping you if you get stuck in there," Turk teased, sticking his head in to see what Sam was looking at. It was a hole leading to another part of the castle, but that wasn't the interesting part. The interesting part was the chains hanging from the walls, marred and dirty from time and use. Some even had bones below them, and Turk thought he could see a human skull. Samson glanced back at Turk, grinning mischievously. "Can you fit? It looks really cool down here." Without waiting for a reply from his friend, he squirmed into the next room and jumped from the ledge, grunting as he hit the floor five feet from the opening. "Watch out, it's a big jump," he warned Turk before scouting the small chamber. Rusted chains dangled everywhere. Samson cringed at some of the contraptions of torture. He stumbled over a pile of bones that were so old that some of them crumbled into dust at the touch. Very little light made it into the prison; in fact, the only reason there was light was because a part of the ceiling had caved in, allowing sunlight to pour into the room. "Yuck, I can't imagine how long everything has just been sitting and rotting in here," Turk's low, booming voice echoed in the room. Somehow he had managed to squeeze in the hole and join Samson, although he was wondering how they would get out of this place now. He sniffed along the floor. The deathly scents weren't appealing to the Anatolian Shepherd in any way. Although it was always fun to roll around in something smelly, this area had long since passed that. To roll in this would be utterly foolish. Turk was too inquisitive, however, to resist placing his jaws around a bone. It had a distinct mustiness to it which made Turk gag and the bone dropped from his mouth and splintered into pieces upon hitting the ground. Turk frowned, bored and disgusted with the chamber. "I'm getting out of here." Sam sighed, observing as Turk clambered back into the hole. He wanted to explore a little more, but he could understand why his friend felt uncomfortable. It was groggy and crowded in the room. He lingered a little longer in the cavern before following Turk. He found his buddy outside, sitting in the grass. "Too creepy for ya?" Samson jested, giving Turk's shoulder a friendly shove. Turk rolled his eyes and smiled. "All I can say is that it's good to be back out on green grass." --------------------------------------------------------------------- OOC; sorry for rambling :x

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[MudBug]

anastasia

Watch my moves!
Read my mind!
"Hear my voice!"

"Boobop dewop doop bop!" Ana sang a chipper tune as she skipped along the grass near the creepy old structure. It wasn't much to look at, and hardly the scariest palce in Hexasol, she imagined. There weren't even any of those smelly cats around. Ana didn't actually give much of a care to cats, negative or otherwise, but she wondered how the war had carried on even as long as it had. Even the biggest house cat was no comparison to a medium sized dog. They must be some particularly savage fighters. She shrugged to herself and came to a stop, to really studdy the ginormous building before her. Funny to think of all the problems caused over this land. She couldn't imagine what everyone really wanted it for. What was the plan, she wondered? Rule Hexasol and then... what? Animals weren't like humans. They didn't care for money, and Hexasol was plenty big enough to fit everyone. Ah well, best just let'em fight, she thought. Natural selection and that sort of thing. So long as they didn't want the unwilling to spill their blood, made no difference to her.

A soft breeze rustled the long hair on her ears, but that was hardly the interesting part. She whipped her gaze to the distance to her right, peering at the small shapes moving about in the grass. Dogs, two of them. What could they be doing here? No matter, three was a crowd, and Anastasia simply loved crowds!

She trotted her way to the small group, introducing herself as soon as she could be heard. "Hey guys, I'm Anastasia. But, that's a mouthful, so Ana will do. Who might y'all be?" She looked around as she spoke, wondering if there were any others creeping about the castle that she simply hadn't noticed. These two were big guys, she noted to herself. One of them was that certain breed.. what was it.. some kind of badass looking shepherd. He was rather handsome though, she thought. The other, a rather plain lookin guy, just lay in the grass lazily, much like a cow. She ragrded him blankly, before looking to the shepherd with a sheepish grin and twinkling eyes.

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[atrb=background,http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn179/hamjam647/5146203567_5f6cb79cf6-1.jpg] "Turk talks." "Samson talks." Turk's massive head was stretched out on the grass when he heard a female voice chirp in. He lifted his head up, but Samson had already gone to take control of the situation. Turk thought she was a pretty one, but he could tell her type already. When it came to females, Samson was always the winning prince...and she already had eyes for him. Turk silently sighed and looked back over the river, waiting for Samson to make some sort of charming remark. "Why hello, m'lady. This is Turk, my good friend, and I'm Samson, but I think that's a bit of a mouthful as well, so you can just call me Sam." With that said and done, the Malinois winked at her. Turk chuckled to himself, shaking his head. You big flirt, Turk thought. As for the big guy, he had learned early on not to take relationships and females too lightly. It was painful to think about. He looked away again, feeling an awkward sensation of not having anything to say to the pretty canine, a herding dog of sorts he was sure. "What's a pretty lady like yourself doing out here, miss Ana?" Samson asked, tilting his big ears to the side as he waited for a response. The malinois peeped an eye at Turk, who had his head turned away from the conversation. He gave his friend a meaningful kick of his hind leg, trying to get Turk to engage for once in his life. Samson knew about his friend's past...they had discussed that a long time ago. If Turk wanted to ever find love again, he had to try. "Wha- Oh, hi there." Turk stuttered, whipping his head around at once and raising himself on his forelegs into a sitting position. Even sitting, he rose higher than both of the dogs surrounding him. It was another awkward feeling, and the shepherd bit his lip.

[MudBug]

anastasia

Watch my moves!
Read my mind!
"Hear my voice!"

"Why hello, m'lady. This is Turk, my good friend, and I'm Samson, but I think that's a bit of a mouthful as well, so you can just call me Sam," he said with a wink. Of course a wink like that just sent giggles falling from Ana's lips, but more from amusement than flattery. "Well aren't you just Mr. Popular? You sure act like it, Sam. All the girls must go nuts for that wink and grin routine, like flies to honey." She returned his wink, but far more exaggerated. She hadn't even noticed Turk turn away from their conversation. Likely if she had, she would have thought him smarter for it. At least he could tell he was smart enough to keep out of conversations where he wasn't missed.

Her smile was permanently fastened to her face now, as she answered Sam's question. "Oh, I'm just admiring the scenery. Not much to look at, if you ask me. Nobody does ask me, but that's their loss. Too busy fighting over it, I 'spose," she said with a light chuckle. She glanced at Turk as Sam gave him a swift kick and he rose to mumble something that was supposed to be a greeting. He sat up to be quite a bit taller than Samson or herself, which annoyed Ana far more than it should have. She silently wished Sammy hadn't bothered his friend. Truth be told, Turk could have blown away with the wind and Ana would have thought the atmosphere all the better for it.

But, being a "pretty lady like herself" she just smiled and returned his greeting. "Hi, Turk. Sorry to keep you from your nap." The little quip came out a bit more biting than was completely harmless. She quickly laughed to cover up her misplaced malice.

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[atrb=background,http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww202/xamayaxkismetx/samsonmiddle.png] "Turk talks." "Samson talks." When the giggles streamed from Ana's maw, Turk bit his lip and prayed his eyes wouldn't roll. Samson, of course, soaked it all up like a sponge. He lifted his chin with a cheeky grin and replied, "Oh, you have no idea." Girls usually loved it when he did that. He chuckled as she winked back in an pointed manner. Samson thought she was pretty cool, but he knew for a fact Turk wanted to go hide somewhere and avoid how obnoxious Ana and Sam were being. Sam nodded and smiled, raising his eyebrows in fake surprise. "Oh really now? I'd say you're right, miss Ana. Silly boys...but hopefully I'm making everything look a little brighter, no?" the malinois replied. As for Turk, he now refused to look at Ana because he knew he would start glaring. What was there not to look at? The scenery was gorgeous to him, especially compared to the scenery in his past. This lady really was a bimbo. And Sam was no better. He acted pretty oblivious to the silent insults Ana was communicating to Turk, and Turk didn't know if he really was that dull or he just cared too much about flirting to even consider his friend's feelings. "You should go inside that castle over there. Compare that for scenery," Turk muttered, eyes falling on the crumbled ruins with a high distaste. When she apologized, Turk's lips tightened and he tried not to squint at her. If he wasn't being overly-dramatic, he was sure she had not said that nicely. Funny how her tone had changed. "Yeah. That's alright." Samson didn't even look at Turk; his eyes were still trained on the pretty girl. She was pretty, but her tone wasn't in Turk's mind. "Wake me up when you're done flirting with your new girlfriend, kay Sam?" Turk grunted, sharply catching Samson's attention finally. Samson gave him a lighthearted glare before returning his attention to Ana. It was hopeless. Turk wanted to hold his head in his paws and shake it slowly back and forth. As for Sam, he watched Ana for a reaction. Did she want to go in the castle? He wasn't sure if Turk was being serious or not, but it would be something to do. At the moment he had no topic to talk about.

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[MudBug]

anastasia

Watch my moves!
Read my mind!
"Hear my voice!"

Anastasia was happy to hear Sammy agree with her on the boring scene outside. She expected him - like she assumed most would - to go on about the glorious greens and historical pride of the castle, or some other pointless things that were equally uninteresting to a canine like herself. A canine like herself being: one that wanted to see something happen, not just see something... be.
Turk, on the other hand, was the kind of dog that knew how to speak volumes with his eyes alone. His unamused stare appeared the moment she mentioned the scenery. She could only guess what he must have been thinking. Likely his inner monologue was reproaching her for a number of things. Vanity, disrespect, stupidity, immaturity, the whole nine yards. She felt a twinge of pity for him. Perhaps she had underestimated just how much older folks suffer for their inability to just roll with life. It couldn't be pleasurable to have to feel constantly sour toward the young for their carefree attitudes.

Ana turned her focus back to the amusing Samson to answer his baited question. "Why, yes, you lighten it up a bit, I'd say. Too bad your shadow is so heavy, though," and she nodded in Turk's direction without breaking Sam's eye contact. As much as she wanted to keep a straight face to go along with the jab, she couldn't stop herself from sneering just a touch.

Her pity for Turk tapered, however, when his look of annoyed indifference turned to a malignant scowl, just shy of a piercing glare. Her grin faded when he suggested - or perhaps dared - herself and Samson to go to the ominous stone structure for a change of setting. She almost shuddered at the thought, and a million and one sharp quips about having had her fill of dingy old things for the day flitted through her mind. But, with her better judgement - or perhaps against it - she bit her tongue and only laughed off the idea.

Turk was finished with the little meeting, and snapped something at Samson referring to Ana as his "new girlfriend". Well, it was personal now. Clearly Turk's pride was easily pushed past the point of civility, and suddenly Anastasia felt the need to teach him to be far more polite to a young lady. As his back turned away from her in his exit, she gave him a burning glare that could have singed the hairs on his nape had she let it burn longer. She quickly wiped it away, however, replacing the penetrating gaze with an apologetic look of plea. She raised her tone to sound just slightly desperate as she called for his aid.

"Turk, wait! You know, the castle does sound like a fun idea. Why don't we all go sniff around it a bit? I bet there are some wonderful tunnels to crawl through underground, huh? Turk, God only knows what could be in there waiting to jump some unsuspecting dogs. Being the biggest out here, would you care to come along for security's sake? It would make me feel so much better, really. I hate to ask a favor from someone I just met, but I wouldn't want to waste your suggestion either."

Her smile said "you want to tell me yes", her eyes said "please", but her mind was working something far more devious. Ana was convinced Turk had no way to get out of the sticky web he himself had weaved. She had done a beautiful job of spinning it back around to snatch him, if she said so herself.

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[atrb=background,http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn179/hamjam647/5146203567_5f6cb79cf6-1.jpg] "Turk talks." "Samson talks." The stupid grin remained plastered on Samson's face even as Ana insulted his friend. He did, however, manage to slip in a pathetic defense when he commented, "Ah, nahh...he's pretty cool really. Most of the time at least." Sam gave the hulk they spoke of a thoughtful look, one eyebrow raised in a questioning kind of manner. What is wrong with him, anyways? Samson couldn't tell if Turk had caught on to Ana's subtle crack. Turk's eyes were trained on something else and his mind was elsewhere. Sam's radiant smile dimmed for a moment, uneasiness prickling his auburn fur. And then Ana's suggestion reached his ears, lighting up his troubled expression immediately. "Yeah! Come on...we don't know what kind of monsters might be down there..." He added, a coy smirk flashed in Ana's direction. Truthfully, Samson knew this was an unfair play on Turk's morals. If safety was ever a concern, Turk was always there, even if he didn't particularly like the people involved. The shepherd had dedicated the rest of his life to protecting others a while back and it was simply in his nature to want to take care of everyone else but himself. Turk had been resting his head on his paws. He hoisted it up, looking over at the two dogs trying to drag him back into the castle and sighed. Both had the same eager, puppy-ish looks, even though he would never be able to tell if Ana was simply faking her emotions again. She tended to do that around him just to fool his stupid friend. He didn't want to go back into that claustrophobic death hole, but now that the two of them had craftily spun the table around, he was helpless. Turk wasn't sure who he was more mad at- Ana, for turning everything around and making him come with them, or Samson for encouraging her. "Fine. But I'm only coming for Sam. Your safety is none of my concern," Turk lied, his rumbling baritone of a voice warning Ana to shut up. Perhaps a good scare or two in the tunnels was in order. It would sure shut both of them up. Turk smiled crookedly to himself at the thought of both of them tail-tucked running in the opposite direction. He waited for the two of them to lead. His plan would work better from the back, and wanted to avoid the risk of being backed into a small space. Having a nervous breakdown with Sam and some other female wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. Samson took a step toward the castle, giving Ana's shoulder a light, teasing bump, and then took off loping toward the entrance. "Ladies first, m'am," Samson jeered with a mysterious expression. Behind them, Turk was making spooky whistling and howling noises. Samson attempted to kick him with one of his hind legs but he was out of reach; it wasn't like Samson's leg would have made it high enough to smack his chest anyways. Turk chuckled quietly to himself, making an effort to give it a creepy touch by warbling the low notes. If he couldn't annoy Ana enough to make her go away, maybe he could scare her.

[MudBug]

anastasia

Watch my moves!
Read my mind!
"Hear my voice!"

It had worked like a charm. Sammy was a real gentlemen, helping her evil plan come to fruition. He whole-heartedly threw out his own plea to his friend. Finally, the weight of their sincere claims of crippling fear combined was enough to drag Turk the giant to his paws, with a grunt. Anastasia ignored her instincts that told her to be impressed. Either he was a good friend, or a complete sweet heart. She knew more than a few canines who would have brushed off the concern and told herself and Sammy to just fend for themselves.

Of course, leave it to this grouch to burst her burble just as it was born. Her expression became downright hostile, as he overtly stated that her safety was "none of his concern." What a ham! Pride just made people say the dumbest things. "Be that as it may, Turk-" his name spat from her lips like a poisonous insect "-you're still the one following me into a dark castle, despite your distaste. Unless, of course, you feel your friend, Samson here really is in grave danger, I can only take that to mean you do feel an ounce of concern somewhere in that oversized chest of yours."

With that out of the way, she trotted over to Samson. She ducked, without bothering to look, into the darkness before her. Turk made all manner of spooky sound affects, to accent their descension into darkness, but Anastasia was far beyond finding him cute, at this point.