(( WHAT )) is going on? {Anastasia/Open}

[• KYLEtheFRENZIED !]

the name is

Kyella --
but you can call me kyle[/center][/size]

Kyle stumbled around the junkyard, her overly large paws leaving prints in the dusty shade she'd just emerged from. The young dog was so small she could easily fit under some of the old junkers the humans had carelessly scattered around here, and that is where she decided to make her bed for the heat of the day. It was a moist heat today, the kind that made her already tatty pelt feel like it was smothered in mud and clumping up like no other. It was so uncomfortable; days like these made Kyle envy her eldest brother for his shorter fur. She shook herself, trying to dust the cob webs from her brain.

Her sleek coat was dusty and had lost it's sheen in most areas. Her matted fur seemed more maroon than red-orange right now, not that she noticed much less cared. She took a look around her, caramel orbs searching for a bite to eat. She would still be sleeping, had her rumbling belly not woken her up. She'd barely had a bite to eat since leaving her mother, and that was almost a month ago. The runt was steadily losing the size she had.

Her dry black nose fell to the ground and Kyle inhaled deeply. The smell of other dogs was still there, much stronger this time. Her mother had told her to find a group of fellow dogs to protect her; and Kyle was determined to do what she'd been told. The faint scent of one dog turned into the scent of two, then four, and soon Kyle's sensitive snout was going haywire with the smell of so many dogs she couldn't count them all. The smells had lead her all over the place, changing every day. Finally she came to this junkyard where the smells were so powerful she knew she was close. the problem was, she knew nothing about packs or boundaries. Kyle had stepped right over into the Morg pack's territory without even realizing it, and made her bed right on the outskirts of their hangout.

She began to move forward, pushing herself with her bony back stalks. The aroma of a opossum caught her attention and Kyle quickly veered off of her trail to pounce upon her pray. After sticking her maw under countless junk piles and old blown-out tires, Kyle uncovered a nest of opossums and dove right in. Her weirdly proportioned paws dug quickly, her teeth biting into the neck of a large, fat critter. She took her kill and silently sat in the shade of a tiny tree to eat it. Between bites, she congratulated herself. "That was, so, cool!" She gulped down a few more mouthfuls, not taking the time to chew. "That kill was so, nom nom, perfect! Man I'm good. Poor babies." She spat out a patch of fur and tore back into the poor mammal. "Ah well. You, nom nomm! win some you lose some."

[::Fox::]

Being pregnant had to be the weirdest thing Anastasia had ever had to deal with. This was a fae that had been abandoned, turned away by her own mother and forced to live on the streets with no help whatsoever. Needless to say, weird things should be normal for the husky/Aussie mix. Pregnancy though, nah, it took the cake. It took the cake and the five course meal before it. Dusk, all things considered, was handling it pretty well considering her mood-swings were something to behold. He was always watching her, even when she was sleeping. How did Ana know? Didn't take a genius to spot an over-protective mate. Normally, the tri-colored crossbreed would be annoyed by it. This time though, she found it endearing which was quite odd. Usually Ana would snap at Dusk about crowding her or trying to boss her around. Now she was too...wired to really care. If she wasn't sleeping, she was walking around in circles because she was bored and everyone else was busy. That was what she was doing now, pacing in a clearing between two piles of old rusting cars. The autumn air caressed her steadily thickening fur, baby blue eyes watching the dusty ground as she circled like a hunting vulture.

Zytka was off doing whatever it was the dark husky did and Dusk was off looking for Axel because the spot-brained idiot was too lazy to take care of his own pack. It really ticked Ana off that Axel was so damn lazy. Now that she was pregnant, her little outbursts at Axel's inability to lead had only gotten more and more potent. Zytka was one of the few that would sit and listen, laughing all the while because Ana knew the dark husky agreed wholeheartedly at Axel was a loser. Why Dusk wasted his time and talent working under such a pathetic excuse for an alpha was way beyond Ana's understanding. Thanks to Axel, she was alone right now and that didn't help Ana's mood at all. She was lonely and bored, never a good combination for her.

Stopping her pacing, the blue-eyed fae looked into a hubcap that had maintained a mild shine, enough to show a reflection. Her blue eyes stood out on a pretty face, fur slightly longer than a normal Aussie's coated her, a husky's athletic build looking back at her. What Ana really noticed was her belly. In all reality, she looked farther along than she really was. According to Jewel, that meant she was probably going to have a big litter. Peering over her shoulder at the bump on one of her sides, Ana snuffled softly. Jeez, if this was how she looked now, she'd be ready to pop when the pups actually were due. Dusk assured her she was still pretty but it was hard to believe when she felt so bloated and heavy, just like it was hard to sleep with little feet kicking at her insides. Still, Ana was resolute to see this through and love her babies, even if they were a major pain to bring into the world. Dusk would love them and that would be enough. It would be fun trying to get Zytka to babysit and Ana had no doubt her pups would drive Axel insane. Yes, this would all be worth it.

Sighing, still bored and lonely, the femme took off at a trot toward the outskirts of the junkyard. Dusk would know where to find her when he gave up on finding lazy-fur, their supposed alpha.

Just as she came around the front end of a car that was missing its roof, Ana froze. After a moment, she ducked back behind the car, ears up and nose twitching. There was someone in the junkyard that didn't smell like a Morg. There was no whiff of Dusk or Axel on the new dog meaning the dog hadn't come in contact with either beta or alpha. Big problem. Weren't there supposed to be guards that patrolled the junkyard? What the hell was this pack coming to?! Clenching her jaw, Ana made a mental note to rip Axel a new one about this little security breach. She was pregnant damnit, she didn't have time to go running around cleaning up the mess his lazy guards left! She wanted a safe home for her babies, not a lax insecure place!

Sighing quietly, the husky mix stiffened up and strode into view with purpose in her stride. Sure enough her baby blues fell on a ratty-furred pup tearing at a rodent. It's fur was clumped with dried mud, dull and uncared for. It was obviously a youth, still growing into its paws and it smelled oh so faintly of pup smell. Pup scent usually faded after about a year or several months from home so, this pup was probably a newbie to being on the streets.

"And here I thought it'd be something dangerous," Ana said idly to herself, sitting back on her haunches. "It's just a pup! Jeez, can't those guards do anything right? If a pup can get past them I don't want think what could be next."

Yep. Ana's mouth had no filter. Her thoughts were her words.

[• KYLEtheFRENZIED !]

the name is

Kyella --
but you can call me kyle[/center][/size]

Completely devoted to her kill, Kyle failed to notice the older fae standing a few yards away, looking at her. Her maw was filled to the brim with the scent of her kill and failed to pick up the scent of the female. Something that normally wouldn't have happened, since Kyle was quite proud of her sense of smell. It was powerful for a pup, and had always happened to be the thing that got her in the most trouble as a young pooch. If she smelled something, anything, she and her brothers were right there on it without hesitation. Little Kyle, always the leader.

"Nom... nom omm... Man these things get fat here!" Kyle marveled at the round thickness of the opossum's belly. Never had she caught anything that was so fat as this one was! Which wasn't all that many, of course, seeing as she wasn't even one full year old yet, but that was beside the point.

Her auds flicked a little, catching the sound waves of something in the distance a bit in front of her. The pup ignored it; whatever it was, it could wait until she was fed. Once her belly was full, she could take another nap and sleep for a while, then rise once more and begin looking for the dogs who's scent permeated the air around these old junk cars and broken down kitchen appliances. Yes, they could wait. Who would hurt a runt, anyway? Not like she was trespassing on purpose!

"I bet I know why you're... nom nom.. so fat!" she said to the corpse between bites. "There's so many places for you things to hide here! G'om nom... I bet 'chu foind all the old rotty foods around here and just fill up!"

She licked her face, her huge pink tongue combing over the fur and whiskers on her maw. It glided over her teeth and their glimmer was restored through the thick red residue left from the blood. Her auds flicked a bit more, trying to determine where the quietest place was for her to bed down. She need only find a small gap somewhere and hunker down. Perhaps there was a burnt-out refrigerator around here that she could bust into. It would provide shade from the sticky head of the day, right?

Kyle bit into the back of the neck of the remains of her kill and began dragging it. She looked up and glanced around her, trying to locate the best place to smuggle herself and her kill when her caramel eyes spotted exactly what her auds had been telling her was there. There right in front of her, plain as day, was a large dog; a female, according to the looks of her. She was just sitting there, watching Kyle eat. Immediately, the pup went into her defensive un-trusting mode and dropped the kill to bare her teeth at the intruder, her ears pinned back.

"Hey! What are you doing there?" she barked as viciously as she could. "This is my kill, you hear? Mine! You just trot on away, because I won't share it with you! Why are you watching me? You can't just...." Her voice stopped mid-sentence as her orbs fell upon the midsection of the femme. She's so... fat. It's so weird looking! No wonder she was watching me, the fatty wants my food! That mean fatty! And she smells funny, too... Kyle tilted her head a bit, unable to stop her curiosity at the interesting aroma of the female. It was hard to hold a façade of threatening pup when you were curious.

[::Fox::]

For a moment, Anastasia had to wonder if the whelp was deaf or something. It didn't even seem to notice her, even after she'd spoken plain as day to the silly thing. Okay so maybe she hadn't been talking directly to the pup but she'd still been talking and Ana wasn't exactly a soft-spoken person. When the pup started talking to its food, Ana's thought switched from the pup being deaf to the pup being stupid. First of all, it was in pack territory. Second, the pup had just technically stolen prey from said pack territory. No matter where you were in Harthorn, that was not a good idea. If Ana was a Demeron or even a Celes maybe, she would have just attacked the pup off the bat instead of sat there and watched. The pup was either insanely lucky or just plain stupid because honestly, stupid people sometimes had the best of luck which was really freaking annoying. Maybe it was just youth that made the pup stupid? Ana wouldn't doubt it but, as she thought back to her own puphood, she couldn't remember being so dumb. Yes, she might had been a bit immature and still was but, she'd never ignored a fully grown dog or gotten so absorbed into her meal that she didn't notice anything else. Not to mention she'd never let herself get so dirty. If Ana had her way, she'd fling the pup into the lake outside of town and scrub her with sandpaper until she was clean.

So, when the pup finished its rant about fat possums, Ana watched the little thing got up and grabbed the remains of its kill. The pup was female and looked to be just under a year. She wasn't the biggest thing Ana had ever seen but, with a more filled out frame and a good washing, Ana was pretty sure the little lady would be pretty. She'd probably be pretty tall when she got older too. Too bad right now the whelp was grimy, muddy, smelled horrible and looked scrawnier than a fox in the middle of the arctic circle during December.

Ana's triangular auds twitched when the pup finally spotted her, amber eyes widening. The husky/Aussie mix made no move when the pup dropped into a clumsy-looking defensive stance and started growling. Instantly she knew that if any of her pups growled at her in anything but play, she'd give them a good whack. She'd never understood why her mom did that when she was little, now she knew. It was annoying but, at the same time it was kinda cute. Plus when the pup started threatening her, Ana didn't bother holding back a snort of laughter. The little girl was adorable! Okay maybe not adorable now but she had spunk and Ana found it hilarious. Rolling her eyes, she tried to ignore the pup's eyes on her bloated belly.

"First of all little Redheaded Wonder, I am allowed to be here. Wanna know why? I live here. Technically, pack rules say I should be wringing your scrawny neck but, that's not much fun." Ana giggled and smirked at the once-red furball. "I can sit and stare all I want plus, unlike you, I don't need to steal food like you just did. So what's up kid? Couldn't just wait for Axel or Dusk to come find you? Had to trespass and steal?"

Sliding her front legs forward, the tri-colored fae laid in a sphinx-like pose on the dusty ground. It partially hid her swollen belly so maybe the whelp would stop staring. Ana tried to remind herself the little thing was young. She'd been...given the talk, before she'd been given away back when she thought her momma loved her. Anastasia had thought little of it until she'd hit one year and young males had started to flirt until they got sick of her unfiltered chatter and sarcastic manner. Dusk had been the only dog that had shown any interest in her which had floored Ana when she first met him. Hard to listen to a guy tell you you're pretty when most guys say you're annoying and run you off. Even though the thought put her in a pretty decent mood, Ana still wasn't all too happy with everybody staring at her belly. Never seeing a pregnant fae before was not an excuse Ana accepted. There was no way this pup could go months on the street without ever seeing a pregnant fae. But hey, Ana would give her a shot to stop staring before she got really mad.

[• KYLEtheFRENZIED !]

the name is

Kyella --
but you can call me kyle[/center][/size]

Kyle stared at the large dog, mesmerized by her. Once the femmora stretched herself out and lay down, Kyle was able to take in the rest of her, not just her insanely swollen belly. Her coat was beautiful and looked fluffy and soft, like her mom's did. For a moment she had the urge to curl up in it and sleep before she remembered her kill and the threat of it being taken from her. Kyle was entranced by the female's eyes. She had seen blue eyes before, of course; but never eyes like those! They were so... clear, and deep. Like a pool of water, half iced over. It was incredible.

Remembering her mission to protect the dead rodent under her body, Kyle bared her teeth again, though this time skipped the growling. She wasn't stupid; she knew if it came down to it, this dog would get the kill, and probably a nice chunk of Kyle too, if not all of her. She wasn't a ginormous dog really, but compared to the small runt pup she towered.

She had no idea what the femmora was talking about, though, and it threw her for a loop to try to keep up. Pack rules? Stealing food? Axel, Dusk, finding her, what? Her head was spinning with the effort of trying to understand what was going on, she was sure her eyeballs were probably spinning in their sockets. Her ears bent down a bit, angry at herself for not being able to understand any of this. She'd heard that a pack was something like a big family, so she'd worked out that much. But as for the rules were, how hunting could be considered stealing, and who Axel and Dusk were, Kyle was about to drown in a sea of question marks.

"Look here, you," she grumbled, knowing she looked like a fool, "I caught this fair and square. If you were hunting it too you should have been a little faster, although that may be a bit hard for you." She was referring to the large belly on the fae, although after seeing the look in her eyes when she noticed she was being ogled at, Kyle didn't dare specify.

"There was no stealing to it. Besides, I'm not lost so I see no reason for anyone to come and find me. And I don't know who those dogs are anyway, so I wouldn't go with them." She huffed a bit, feeling triumphant for having formulated a response more elegant that 'huh?' It was a close one, though.

Sure the dog was trying to distract her out of her kill, Kyle bent lower over the bloody carcass and sniffed, inhaling a bit too much dirt and sneezing. She shook her head once more, her ears smacking her in the face. But she refused to get sidetracked again. One more clever move like that and the femme would have her food! She needed to hide it, and hide it quick. But with her looking and watching Kyle's every move, that would probably be a bit hard.

She picked it up and backed away, keeping her face turned to the fae she was sure was trying to swindle her out of her meal. She backed into the trunk of the small tree and narrowed her eyes, trying to remember what the area behind her looked like. She maneuvered around the tree trunk but dropped the kill. It was too heavy for her to just hold for too long. She went back to standing above it, trying to kick it away with her paws. "And this is still mine," she muttered, not sure if it was audible enough to be heard.

[::Fox::]

Anastasia rolled her eyes. The pup was so clueless it was almost painful. Even when she'd been young she'd had some idea of how dangerous the city was. She'd heard the whispered rumors of savage packs and dangerous gangs. She had known how dangerous it was to be out on your own. Sure, it hadn't stopped her when her humans had abandoned her and her mom turned her away point blank. She'd been older then, a year in a half or something like that. Her humans had been fed up with her lack of maturity, her constant pup-like energy that never faded like they'd expected. Ana knew she was partially grateful for them letting her go. If they hadn't, she wouldn't have found Dusk and been as happy as she was now. Axel may be an idiot and the Morgs might be a bunch of hypocrites but it wasn't intolerable, not as much as it had been when she'd first come to live with the pack. If she had the chance, Anastasia would probably gut Nadia but Dusk, Jewel and Zytka weren't bad. They all had their quirks but, they were at least honest. They weren't lazy and idiotic like some of the other Morgs. Thinking about them made Ana miss Red, the aged bloodhound who'd been her friend/grumpy grandfather figure. He'd been a nice guy, recently dead from sickness. Shaking her head, Ana pushed away the sad thoughts. No use dwelling on the dead.

Peering at the red whelp, Ana wondered exactly how stupid the little one could possibly be and still be alive. Seriously! Ana had more or less, plain as day said the pup was trespassing on pack territory! Wasn't that when most got fidgety and worried? Sane dogs maybe but this one was obviously dumb beyond belief. No pup could be gutsy enough to claim food on pack territory was their own. That wasn't how it worked. The whelp was lucky Ana was the one that found her. Dusk would have been snarling by now and Axel probably would had been too but being much less sensible than Dusk. Nadia probably would have thrown a hissy fit that the whole pack had to listen to because god forbid a starving pup have a bite to eat. Still, the pup needed an education.

"Listen here short stuff, you're trespassing. This land is not open to strangers, get it?" Ana snapped, narrowing her icy eyes at the crack about her being slow because she was fat. Her hackles rose but the fae forced herself to stay laying down. "You stole food from the Morg Pack, that's a bad thing. For your information, I don't need to hunt. We have special dogs that do that. Don't you know anything? Jeez, they say kids these days are getting dumber with each generation, boy oh boy do I believe it." Yep, that no mouth filter thing again. Looking over the whelp again, Ana sat up and stood up. "Get out of here pup before somebody more likely to eat you finds you. I catch your smell around here again and you'll have a whole pack of dogs way meaner than me chasing you down. Go on shoo, don't let a car hit you on the way out."

Yeah, the fat crack didn't endear the pup to Ana anymore. She might not be leaping at the pup with fangs bared and ears back but, she was pretty close. Good thing Ana didn't want to hurt her pups or she'd be all over the sorry excuse of a pup and not in a good way. But, being semi-responsible at least with her own children, Ana wasn't going to endanger them by getting in a fight. She was still able to call for help if the pup refused to leave, maybe get Dusk to do something about the little delinquent.

Some portion of Ana still sympathized with the little thing though. It was a pup, it wasn't supposed to know about pack politics. That was probably the only reason Anastasia was giving the dog a chance to leave. She knew what it was like to be stuck on the streets and stupid with youth. The thing was, Ana had picked up on the do's and don't's pretty quickly. If this pup didn't shape up and get her head screwed on straight, Ana wouldn't be surprised to find her corpse in some back alley or in a ditch. Heck, the Demeron would probably eat her up, crunch on her for a snack or something. Maybe if the pup didn't leave she'd call Jewel. Jewel was a mother so maybe she understood stupid pups better than Ana the mother-to-be did. Then again, where Jewel went, Axel was quick to follow. Axel would just have a cow and a half over something like a stolen possum, Ana was certain of that.

[• KYLEtheFRENZIED !]

the name is

Kyella --
but you can call me kyle[/center][/size]

Morg pack? So, there was a family called the Morgs... and they didn't like dogs they didn't know taking food here. Because they thought it was theirs. But it wasn't, but they didn't know that. they assumed it was. Kind of like when Max would throw a fit because Kyle had taken his chew toy, even though it was on her side of the rug. Just because it had once been on his side, he laid claim to it. These Morgs or whatever were the same way! Now it made a little more sense.

"Oh," she said slowly. "I think I get it." She cocked her head to the other side, watching as the femme watched her, not her food. So she wasn't trying to steal the prey after all. That made Kyle feel much better, knowing the only food she'd had in days wasn't about to be taken. She took a tender step forward, then another and dipped her head a little like her momma did when she was trying to appeal to their humans. She normally only did it when one of the pups did something bad and she didn't want them punished harshly, and Kyle figured that it would probably work here as well. After all, she was a pup in danger of being punished, right?

"Well, my name is Kyle," she said in a bright voice, trying to keep her head down. The pup was trying to look as respectful as she could, but really only wound up looking like a dork. She'd never appealed to anyone's better nature in her entire life. It wasn't her style; but even though this dog seemed inclined to let her free even though she 'stole' from her, Kyle needed somewhere to stay. And staying here without permission seemed really stupid.

She stumbled over one of her paws and took it as a sign to stop moving and just stand there. "Now I'm not a stranger to you, right? I can eat my food. Thanks!" She ventured a look up at the dog, laughing on the inside at how serious this seemed. As soon as this was over she would take her food and scat; there was still the task of hiding her pray and finding out if there were any places to safely sleep here.

She gave her a smile and didn't wait for a reply. She jerked herself upright and sprinted back to the kill and took it in her mouth. "Fanks ag'in," she barked through the dead weight. "Naw we ain't stran'ers, an' I c'n eat. E'erydody's happy!" She took a step toward the fae and shook the opossum, planning on giving her a bite or two. Sure, it was Kyle's kill, but if this fae thought she'd been skeeted out of a meal and still let her stay here, it would be only right she get some of what she thought was hers.

Kyle used her nose and nudged a sizable bite toward the femme. Not like she needs a whole lot with that huge belly, after all. She probably has enough food in there for all winter! She's like a chipmunk. The image of a chipmunk colored like this dog made Kyle want to laugh, but she decided not to. The sooner she gave this bite to the female, the sooner she could skitter off and find somewhere to nap. And after that, she could explore a bit. Once she introduced herself, she wasn't a stranger anymore, so she was aloud here!

If only it were really that way. It would make things so much easier.

[::Fox::]

If Ana had been a human, she would have had both eyebrows raised. It was amazing how simply pups thought of things like territory, prey theft and what it meant to really be a stranger. Had Ana not been pumped full of too many hormones, she probably would have thought it was cute or refreshing from the double-thinking dogs she lived with. The least she could do though, was relax a little. The pup was a pup, an older pup but still a pup. So, Ana settled for rolling her eyes. Sitting back down, the black, tan and white femme tried to ignore how the pup's eyes kept wondering to her full belly. It was really hard though, considering pups were just like her. They blurted things without really thinking about them which usually wouldn't bother her. The thing was, Ana had always known she was at least relatively pretty, that at the very least her eyes made her pretty. Lugging around a swelled up belly was not all that great for her self-confidence. Oh well. The pup hadn't made any too unforgivable comments yet so maybe there were some brain cells in the pups head somewhere. Sliding her front legs forward, Ana settled back in a sphinx pose with a soft huff.

"Not everybody's happy Kyle," Ana barked softly, sounding a bit more tired and less like a snippy bitchy fae. "You get caught here by somebody else and it could be bad. We're gonna need to find your momma when you're done eating. A pup like you running around on your own isn't very safe or fun, I used to do the same thing."

Anastasia wasn't going to suggest finding her humans to take her home. Ana would never trust a human, ever. She'd been the best friend to her humans, did tricks and fetched the silly ball. She'd come meet them when they got home with her tail wagging, she'd romp with the little ones. What did she get for all that loyalty and love? She got thrown out. Okay, well maybe not thrown out but she was abandoned. A hot summer day, a leash and an empty park tied to a bench. Yeah, most of Ana's fur was black. Hot summer sun and black husky fur was not a good combination. Ana could still remember her struggle for freedom, nearly strangling herself before her nylon collar snapped. That night her mom had turned her away, already pregnant with another litter and plainly saying she wasn't interested in Ana's troubles. Her mom had said abandonment was part of life and if Ana wasn't good enough for the humans then that wasn't her problem. Ana had been furious.

If all worked out well though, Ana planned on proving her horrible mother wrong. She'd be the best mother imaginable to her pups. If she had multiple litters, she'd show them all equal love, make sure they always knew they could run to her or Dusk if they got into trouble. She would give them the security her own mother had denied her, the lifelong home her humans had turned her away from.

For Kyle though, Ana was hesitant to offer real help. She had no idea how to find a missing mother, if Kyle's mother was indeed missing. She was already pregnant with her own pups, not that she was opposed to adopting. Maybe Jewel could help? But then again, Jewel might also be getting ready to have another family, the right way this time. Jewel might not be any help. Who else in the Morg Pack woudl offer to help and protect a pup? Sure, Kyle looked almost a year old but she was obviously inexperienced.

At a loss, Ana could only hope Kyle agreed to find her mother. Then life could go on as normal, no need to involve the weirdo leaders of this pack.

[• KYLEtheFRENZIED !]

the name is

Kyella --
but you can call me kyle[/center][/size]

Kyle stopped pushing the meat toward the older dog and sat looking at her, obviously hurt and confused. Even now that they weren't strangers she wouldn't let her stay here? Maybe it was because she didn't tell Kyle her name yet. That had to be it! Before she could ask the femme her name, though, she continued talked and said they needed to find Kyle's mom. Kyle shrugged and kicked the meat a little closer to her.

"We can't go find her," she said simply. "My momma is gone, just like my brothers. Our humans didn't like us and got rid of us, and sent her far away. I was just left in the house." It still sort of hurt, not having her mom or her brothers, or even her humans anymore. But Kyle was tough, and never before had there been a more determined pup to be where she wanted to be and make something of herself. Her momma had always told her that she'd make someone a great pet someday, but she didn't want to. She wanted to be free, not slave to a human anymore. They were nice and all, but once they were tired of you that was all there was to it. She didn't want to deal with that again.

"My mom told me, before she left, that I needed to find dogs to protect me and keep me safe from the bads," she continued. She didn't really notice that the fae's mind was elsewhere for a moment, nor would she have cared if she did notice. She'd been by herself for around a month now, and even though she was the one talking, it was nice to have company. Even if they were grouching at her for being on their land when the land was free. Silly fatty.

"So, that's what I'm going to do. I'll stay here, because I'm not a stranger to you anymore. I don't know your name, but you know mine and that means I can stay because I have nowhere else to go. Doesn't it?" It didn't really matter all that much, to be honest. Kyle intended to stay here and make herself accepted by these dogs anyway. If they thought they could run her out, they had another thought coming! It would be harder than that to chase her out of here. She would do whatever it took, even if it meant staying as undetected as possible.

Deciding she was close enough to the adult, Kyle left the chunk of opossum there and backtracked to the rest of the carcass and picked it up once more, heading over to her left and digging a hole she could stuff it in. She didn't mind turning her back on the dog so much anymore. She still kept a wary eye on her, just in case, but for the most part she was ok with it. Fatty's busy trying to think up ways to find momma, she'll forget where this is soon.

She threw a cautious look over her shoulder anyway, just to be safe. The fluffy femme was still laying there, but Kyle still wanted to make sure. She turned her back as much as she could to the female, trying to cover the exact location of the whole with her body, which wasn't very successful. Anyway, the dogs could just sniff it out on their own if they knew the general location. The ridiculous act still made Kyle feel like her kill was a little safer.

[Cursed Heavens {Uzuri Grace}]

All morning Dusk had been on the move. He had left Anastasia to be alone since he figured he had been around her too often. Not like he minds not being around her often its just he doesn't want to annoy her. Instead he had been doing orders around the pack as usual and going on hunts with a dog that doesn't have a partner yet. He came back with a rabbit he caught by the park, it was by noon, when the sun was at its highest that he came back with the dog. Dusk dropped it in the pile and wondered if Anastasia had eaten yet. He thought about trying to find Axel again and try to talk reason with him, be a good captain like Zytka told him to be. That doesn't help since Axel is mostly off doing who knows what and leaving Dusk to do most of the work. The chief had been slacking off even more ever since he volunteered to do joinings. It's annoying since its becoming more and more like he is the chief of this pack instead of captain like he is. Axel should be grateful that so many dogs are loyal to him because if they weren't this pack would be broken apart. Or worse, they could gain up on Axel and throw him off his rank... that doesn't sound as bad as the pack breaking apart, so switch that.

Dusk found a white pigeon in the pile and took it up. It's no use trying to find Axel, its just a waste of his time. He doesn't care if Zytka pesters him the rest of his life, he isn't going to go on a goose chase like Nadia. Dusk spotted Zytka messing around as usual. She was near some dogs, dancing around, making those insane movements. Looks like she's playing her favorite game on another batch of dogs. How many dogs did she play with now, probably the whole pack now, if not then she would be playing on the new members. He thought about Zytka helping Anastasia. Zytka even told him she can help with the little ones, he didn't tell Ana yet, though he wondered if she would want Zytka around with the little ones. Zytka isn't all that bad, sure she can be a real bitch sometimes, but she is good with the children. Some nights he even found Zytka near Julian. He knows that she thought about her own family.

He turned and padded off to find Anastasia. He paused at the entrance and looked at the guards guarding it. Dusk wondered for a moment that maybe they should have more Station Officer Fighters. Only three guarding the whole territory isn't all that good, there would be major gaps. Dusk thought about eight of them, four guarding in the day and four guarding at night, that way the dogs would get more rest and be able to be more alert. The upcoming battles are going to be dangerous and he doesn't want what happened in the raid that one time happen again. Not now that they have young ones in the pack. Before they didn't, only Hollywood. Now though, there is Julian and not just that there are pups on the way, not just any pups either, his pups and he wants them to be safe. This was why he figured on having another rank open, a doctor rank. He thought about this and wanted to discuss this with Axel but the dalmatian isn't giving him a chance to do so.

Dusk took up his mate's scent and padded on. He picked up another scent, an unfamiliar dog scent that made his fur rise in alarm. An invader, this deep into the junkyard. He hadn't picked up any call from the Station Officer Fighters. See this was exactly why they need more guards. The Fighters must be getting tired from guarding all the time. He quickened his pace since Ana's scent was mingled in with the intruder's. Dusk found his mate lying down, with a small dog digging in the earth. He calmed down when he found it was only a pup. Jeez, he really needs to start taking control of this whole situation. If a pup can get in this easily without being spotted till now, so can the other packs. This would give him another reason to get more guards and get Axel to listen to him. He dropped his dove beside the tree and padded beside Ana. Dusk had managed to hear the small female pup, talk about not having a family, about her humans taking her mother away and everything. He just managed to hear the small dog say her name was Kyle. "I see there is a problem here" he growled softly, he never barks and almost always growls, its just the tone that judges what he means on saying. The soft growl and the soft look was the face of a dog being on his soft side. Dusk advanced to the pup slowly. "Well if you want to join Morg Pack all you have to do is ask." He sat down and looked at the pup.

[::Fox::]

Sometimes Ana wondered if Dusk had a tracking device on her like what humans used. Other times she wondered if he was just too damned quiet for his own good. Either way, the musky male scent made Ana look around, ears perking. Baby blues found Dusk's large gold-red form trotting toward them, blue eyes already appraising the young pup. Amusement flickered through Ana at the look he was giving the pup. Evidently he was having similar thoughts to her own upon first discovering how lax security was around the junkyard's borders. A mere pup being able to evade patrols was just pathetic. Plus, there was no way of knowing exactly how long Kyle had been hiding out in the junkyard's outskirts. Maybe if Dusk lectured Axel about it, the stupid dalmatian would actually get off his lazy tail and do something about it. Maybe he'd start acting like an alpha again instead of some two-bit beta. Personally Ana believed he was acting more like an omega, hardly ever socializing with his pack, not accepting the new members or doing anything of the sort. She doubted he was even aware of her pregnancy, of the fact she was going to give the Morgs who knew how many new fighters. Stupid ingrate.

When Dusk stood next to her, Ana wagged her semi-curled tail. Reaching up and licked his shoulder, brushing her muzzle against his red-gold fur in a quite mate-to-mate greeting. No need to get too mushy in front of a young one after all. When he spoke though, the way he offered Kyle invitation into the pack took her by surprise. What ever happened to subtly? If you asked Anastasia, Dusk had been doing too many requests to join. Why Dusk didn't just rally the pack against Axel was beyond her. It would be so easy! Most of the newer Morgs didn't even know Axel and if they did it was only from sight! What kind of alpha ran a pack like that? Sure, for Dusk to do a few joinings was reasonable but, his tone told Ana this was one or six too many.

"There's no problem Dusk," Ana assured him easily, angling her head to one side, regarding her mate from her laying position. He looked tense and cranky. She'd have to get him to relax somehow, maybe a little stroll out to the lake or somewhere quieter away from the pushy, insistent pack. "I might have to give Axel a piece of my mind about his border control but this one's not so bad." Looking at the pup, Ana smiled. "Kyle, this is my mate, Dusk. He's the pack beta. He's one of the people that can decide if you can stay here."

Ana had finally learned that she had to talk on pup terms. Sure, Kyle was nearly a yearling but she apparently hadn't been taught much about pack structure. Even for pack structure it was unusual for a beta to be allowed to accept new dogs into the pack. Dusk was one of the Morg originals so maybe it shouldn't be so odd but, it was. Ask any random street gang or other major Harthorn pack, they'll tell you the same thing time and time again. It just wasn't normal for a beta to do an alpha's work. Orient the new dogs, teach them the ropes, sure. Enforce the alpha's rule, perfectly reasonable. This though, this thing the Morgs had going on, it just wasn't right. Not in Ana's mind. Probably not for Zytka either. She also didn't doubt Red wouldn't have approved either, had he lived. Ana could only wonder how far things would go until rebellion broke out and the Morgs decided they'd had enough of Axel's laziness and lax leadership.

The husky/Aussie mix had no doubt that when it came down to it, Dusk would come out on top. Axel was losing things faster than he thought. Everyone except the dumb dalmatian could see it. Maybe a few of his followers were blind as well but, since getting close to Dusk, Ana had learned not to turn a blind eye to politics. As a stray, she might not have known much about such things. Now though, she knew all she needed to. Her gut alone told her Axel was on his way out if he didn't watch what he was doing.

[• KYLEtheFRENZIED !]

the name is

Kyella --
but you can call me kyle[/center][/size]

Once the hole was deep enough, Kyle tossed in the dead opossum and started to shovel more dirt over it. After only a few seconds' worth of scoops, however, something new caught Kyle's attention. Her nose twitched and inhaled a scent that was added to the female's behind her. This smell was a male, and he didn't smell funny, like the female did. Kyle whirred around, a new found territorial urge over her kill.

Standing next to the fae was a larger dog, a brute, and compared to Kyle he was close to enormous. He was red and gold, and looked really irritable. Kyle was torn between the urge to skitter away and get on his nerves, but she stood her ground and gave him the same greeting she'd given his mate- she used her body to protect her kill and raised her lips, showing her teeth just a bit.

"And who are you?" she asked, a little more kindly than she meant to. "I don't know you, so we're strangers, and that means you can't just let me ask for acceptance. At least," she added slowly, "I think that's how it goes..." The tiny femme relaxed a little, still not taking her caramel orbs off the brujo in case he tried anything funny. He said all I have to do to live here is ask. And she said that he can let me stay here. So maybe I should offer him the food, and not her? Oh this is all so confusing, why does it even matter?! How stupid. As soon as this place is my home the first thing I'm going to do is make sure I know what the heck is going on with everyone.

Deciding it was worth a try, Kyle huffed off the thin layer of dust and dirt over her kill and picked it up again, deciding she'd give him the whole thing. He was skinnier than Fatty, but he was a lot bigger and if he'd accept her here into this.... pack, then she could get more when she needed it. That's what the fae said, isn't it?

She trotted over to him and put it down, once again using her nose to nudge it forward. "So, erm... Dust? I want to live here. And I think I stole this or something. My name is Kyle, and that means we're not strangers right, so now I can live here?"

[Cursed Heavens {Uzuri Grace}]

Dusk glanced at Ana and knew what she was thinking. All these problems, about Axel, the pack's system, joinings and even his own family. He knew he looks grumpier than usual and he tried to soften it a bit more. All these problems are making a big influence on him. He knew the center of all the problems as well. Just like a hurricane there is its eye that is the center and most powerful part. That powerful problem that created the other problems except the new family part, it was Axel. Everything would be so easy if he just challenged him and defeated him. Dusk doesn't want to become chief though but it seems he's the only one that the pack would trust him enough to do. The reason why he hadn't and wouldn't challenge his chief was because he hoped that Axel would snap out of it and be the leader like he said he was long ago. Yet it doesn't seem to happen, if something isn't done his pups are going to be born in chaos.

He knew there was more, right when he invited Kyle to join. Dusk knew he was taking too much responsibility in the pack. Take duties on that a beta like him shouldn't have to do, duties that alphas do. Well you can just think him as chief then instead of captain. If it hadn't been for Dusk taking control this pack would of broken apart long ago. Dusk would do everything he can to make sure Morg Pack survives, chief, captain it doesn't matter. He listened as Kyle spoke, asking who he was and everything in a slow matter. Dusk could see she was a bit wary of him and he smiled softly at her to comfort her that it was alright and he wasn't going to hurt her. He doesn't keep his hard side on little ones like Kyle, not just because they remind him of his dark past as a pup but because he doesn't want to frighten them. Pups aren't that big minded, their minds are young and that's why they explore, play, ask lots of questions. This pup is no different and the fact she doesn't know anything about street life means she used to be a house dog. Though the parents must of told their young about packs and stuff and about territory so they don't get into trouble. Maybe her mother told her a bit but as it seems it wasn't enough.

The pup picked up her catch and dropped it near him. She spoke in a quiet manner, calling him Dust... well that is wrong, his name is not Dust by dirt, its Dusk by another word of sunset. He didn't correct the little one though, she would learn to call him by his correct name. She told him now that he knows her name and she knows his that they aren't strangers anymore and if she can be aloud to live here. Dusk made a soft smile, blue eyes soft on her. "Of course you can live here, you can even play with the other pups if you want." Dusk sat down, made the mate greeting back to Ana, making sure not to take it too far to make the pup sick. Which he finds it funny since when pups reach near to adult hood they start to like other genders than hate them. Yet those times that's with the dogs that live in the easy life, in the hard life most street pups don't care about that. He shoved the prey the pup gave him closer to the little one. "You might as well have it, we have lots of food today." So much food that stealing one piece of prey wouldn't of mattered. He turned to Ana, "are you hungry, I brought a pigeon you can have if you are." He tried to sound casual and content though his eyes held some concern. Just as always, he can't keep things from Ana, if it isn't his voice its his eyes that betray him.

[::Fox::]

One look from Dusk and Anastasia knew he got the gist of her earlier thoughts. He looked one part annoyed, two parts exhausted but, she made no comment. They'd have to do something about that later when Kyle was settled in. Maybe Ana would go find Axel. He'd never been faced with a crazy pregnant lady, it'd be fun to terrorize him into either high tailing it out or getting his butt in gear and being an alpha. She wanted Dusk to be happy when their pups were born, not angry and stormy because he was doing the job of two dogs. Still, he was obviously making an effort for Kyle and her to not look so grumpy which Ana did appreciate. In her belly, one of the little ones kicked. Whether that meant they appreciated Dusk's efforts or they were just restless was totally lost on Anastasia. She didn't have that kind of mothering intuition yet which bugged her to no end. For now though, she simply ignored it, watching Dusk approach Kyle and talked to her. From someone else's point of view, it would have looked odd to see big bad Dusk talking gently and sensibly to a young pup. To Ana it was adorable and seemed quite natural. Zytka had told her Dusk had a natural affinity for pups so, it made sense.

Feeling very much like the third wheel on a bicycle, Ana figured it was time she stepped out. She felt tired and odd but the pigeon Dusk had brought her held no appeal. It was that pregnant lady restlessness again, nipping at her heels and tugging on her insides. So, Ana heaved herself up to stand, touching her muzzle to Dusk's fur lightly to get his attention for a second.

"I'm going to find a place to hole up for a little while. I'll be near that old car Red used to sleep in."

He would probably be worried since she'd maintained outstanding energy throughout most of her pregnancy. Today though, Ana had had a pretty involved day. Okay, maybe not compared to her old escape attempts but still, finding a pup that patrols had missed had to count for something. Not to mention, the pup's staring kept reminding her, she was fat as a watermelon and ready to pop. It was probably normal for pregnant mothers to get tired so, Ana would just use that as an excuse. What when up had to come down and all that jazz. Another kick from one of her babies reminded Ana she wasn't just a fae that showed her pregnancy. Nope, she didn't doubt Jewel's prediction that she was carrying a sizable litter.

Looking at Kyle, Ana smiled. "See ya later Kyle, don't let this big guy push you around too much okay? He's all fluff, I promise."

Giving Dusk's ear an affectionate lick, Ana turned and headed off the way she'd come when she'd caught Kyle's scent. She felt like she had a boulder in her belly and it was really annoying but, for all the world she refused to waddle or any other such nonsense. She walked with just as much dignity as she had before her belly had started to swell. Nobody would tell her otherwise without getting their muzzle's bitten off. Especially if it was a Morg. Loners might make it away with their nose but Morgs would lose it. Anastasia would make sure of it, if only for the reason most of them annoyed the hell out of her.

Out of sight of Dusk and Kyle, Ana stopped walking. She felt...uncomfortable, like something wasn't right. Whisking her tail once, twice, Ana glanced at her pup-filled belly. She felt restless and tired and maybe a touch hazy now that she didn't have anything to pay attention to. Was that normal? She'd need to find Jewel or maybe Zytka...Or she'd skip the worrisome friends and just find a place to lay down...Yeah, that sounded better, less troublesome and time consuming.

Shaking her head, the tri-colored mother-to-be padded toward one of Red's favorite old sleeping spots. It was a red Chevy that had no doors, no hood and rust spots the size of Ana's head. Considering the color, Ana shouldn't have been surprised the bloodhound had liked it. Either way it had a large backseat, big enough for even the most pregnant of faes to sprawl out in in decent comfort if she didn't mind rooting out a few mice nests.

[• KYLEtheFRENZIED !]

the name is

Kyella --
but you can call me kyle[/center][/size]

No way; there were more pups here?! Kyle's ears perked and her tail wagged so fast it rocked her entire little body. Her deep brown eyes glistened and latched onto the larger brujo's, doing more to convey her excitement. The auburn pelt that solidly covered her body rippled like a dying fire, the matted areas sticking out like a sore paw.

"I can, really?" she yipped happily. "How many others are there? Are there any boy pups? How many girls, where do I find them?" The questions came tumbling out of her maw before she could do a thing to stop any of them. But that was ok; she would have asked them eventually, and no time like the present especially when you're an excited puppy.

As the older female walked away, Kyle couldn't help but watch her and stare once more at her big belly. She really was pretty, except for that weird smell and the big tummy. Something about the tummy seemed a little odd though, as the femme walked away. It didn't take a genius to know she and Dusk were a couple, surely he would know.

Her attention turned back to the large brute when his mate was safely out of her prying eyes. "That's really cool, thanks Dusty!" She lurched to pick up the kill he'd turned down when she changed her mind and sat, looking up at him. "But, what's wrong wit Fatty? She smells kinda funny, and her belly is really odd-looking. At first I thought she was just a fatty, but something is weird about it, isn't it?"

It was sad that Kyle's mother had never given her pups 'the talk' before. Truth was, she knew the humans planned on getting rid of them and that if they didn't get fixed by their new owners, they'd be told by dogs around their new families. Kyle, while almost a year old, was about as ignorant to pregnancies and how puppies got here as a three-month-old whelp would be. And now, poor Dusk was stuck telling her about the birds and the bees, or finding a way out of it.

Her mother had avoided 'the talk' once when Max asked her where puppies come from. Of course, at the time they were only four months or so, which made it no mystery why the femme had wanted to put off teaching her babies. She'd simply said it was a matter she would take up with them a little later, once they were big puppies. That was always the excuse she used to get them to eat that yucky solid food the humans gave them. 'If you want to know what those white things are up there, you have to eat your food so your brain is big enough to understand,' or 'There's something out there, of course. But you can't see it because your puppy eyes aren't developed yet! Eat your food if you want to see it clearly.' Yes, their mother was always one for kind-hearted trickery. That could easily be where Kyle had gotten it from, except her pranks were usually for laughs and giggles at someone's expense, not really ways to chuckle and help at the same time.

Kyle hoped that the pups here in the Morg pack would be fun, like her big brothers were. She still needed to explore around here, and the best way would be with some other youngsters who knew the way around here and would aid her in finding all sorts of things to get into! That thought sounded so fun she could barely hold in the urge to run off and sniff them out of their hiding places around here.