A Step Away from Heaven (open)

[::Fox::]

The junkyard was quiet which, in itself was unusual. Even though the pup observing the quiet was still rather young, she was old enough to understand that hustle and bustle was normal, that the absence of it meant something bad might happen or something was making the adults unhappy. Things that made the adults unhappy, of course made little Ursa unhappy. She didn't like seeing frowns and whatnot on the faces of those she considered family. It was hard to put up with her family because most of them frowned a lot. Zytka did sometimes, Mommy did when her brothers got rough and Daddy did anytime somebody walked up to him. Ursa tried to enjoy the quiet though since she'd crept away from her rowdy siblings for a little time to herself anyway. Sin, Apollo, Koda, Jasmine and Daisy were back with Mommy doing something or other. Since Ursa had not particular love of their roughness when they got to playing too hard, she'd decided Mommy couldn't get mad as long as she didn't leave the junkyard. Plus, Ursa figured if her mother made a fuss, she'd be able to hear and go running back to apologize.

Cloaked in autumn sunlight, rose-gold fur buffeted occasionally by a soft wind, Ursa trotted across a clearing in the human garbage. She'd never tell her siblings but, Ursa was practicing. She was practicing her tracking and patrolling, ears up and alert, grey-blue eyes scanning the area around her constantly. It was something Ursa always did and her Mommy sometimes teased her about and her siblings thought was silly. They were safe in the junkyard so why be so alert? Ursa didn't know why. She just always wanted to be aware of anything that could hurt her family. Since she didn't like seeing hurt on the faces of strangers, she'd hate to see it in her family. They could tease her all they wanted but Ursa knew it was a good thing to do because Mommy and Daddy sometimes praised her for it in their own little ways. They praised all of her siblings but Ursa preferred the quiet praise her Daddy often offered. She hated being the center of attention, preferring to pass it off to pretty Jasmine or Sin, Koda or Apollo, even Daisy when she could. Maybe Daddy and Mommy wouldn't praise her for wondering off but, it was no worse than the others did and she was practicing for her future. That couldn't be too bad could it?

Wriggling under a car, Ursa sniffed curiously at the rusting metal undercarriage and sneezed. It smelled horrible and was all dirty but, Ursa didn't mind it too much. The ground here was cooler under her young paws because of the constant shadow which made it chillier than in the sun. Finding it too cold for her comfort, Ursa wriggled back out from under the car, hoping Mommy wouldn't be mad if she got a little dirty. Her rose-gold coat never stayed clean. Jasmine, Sin and Koda had it easy. Their coats were just like Mommy's, all dark and striking, making their eyes stand out and refusing to let dirt show. With Ursa, Apollo and Daisy? Black grime and dark dirt stood out like a sore thumb.

Giving herself a brisk shake, Ursa stood next to the car and looked around. Nobody in sight. Her ears swerved. No sounds except for the breeze. The quiet was eerie but, Ursa refused to let it bother her. Quiet didn't scare anybody right? Daddy would laugh if he knew she was unnerved by a little quiet. They'd all laugh, all of her siblings and Mommy too. Ursa hated being part of their jokes, being teased because she was cautious. Mommy and Daddy didn't tease too badly, just now and then but the others did. Ursa was determined to show them her caution didn't make her a scared cat or that being quiet didn't mean she was as skittish as a mouse. She might not show them today but, Ursa was determined to do it someday. Someday they'd realize she wasn't just a quiet weakling that never romped around and played fighting games.

Padding over to an old tire that was laying a few yards from the car she'd been looking under, Ursa put her little paws on its black surface and stood on her hind legs. Craning her neck to peer into the hollow middle, she saw nothing but a few weak sprouts of grass. Wagging her short semi-curled tail once or twice, Ursa bunched her young muscles and leaped. Half scrambling, half falling, Ursa tumbled into the center of the tire. Landing on her belly, limbs splayed, the pup gave a huff as the breath was pushed out of her. Peeking open one blue-grey eye, Ursa glanced around. Nobody had seen her lack of grace and the walls of the tire more or less hid her from view. Sitting up, the young femme circled once, twice, three times and then laid down in the middle of the tire curled up like one of the cats she'd seen sunning itself on a car hood. This would be a nice quiet place to hide out for a little while until someone made noise again.

Laying her head down, the pup's eyes slid closed, the autumn sun cloaking her in a soft golden light and keeping her warm, lulling her off into a light doze.

[• KYLEtheFRENZIED !]

Don't judge me tomorrow by the way I'm acting today

[ D A I S Y ]
Mix the words up with the actions do it all for your reaction[/center]

The thing about having siblings, is that you play with them all the time. And that wouldn't be so bad, of course, if it didn't get so boring you wanted to chew your own tail off. At this stage, of course, playing with your siblings all the time becomes a bad thing. A very bad, boring thing. Daisy knew this fact pretty well, and out of herself, Sin, Koda and Apollo - who were usually the only three playing - she probably knew it the best. Jazz and Ursa were different than the other four of them. While Daisy and her brothers spent much of their days playing and fighting, Ursa and Jazz... well, they didn't. Poor Jasmine had to be careful, of course; daddy would be so mad at them if they hurt her. Ursa, on the other hand, was just one who liked to watch. At first, that had bothered Daisy a lot. She wanted to play with one of her sisters sometimes, but she'd gotten used to playing with her brothers pretty quickly. As such, even for a young pup she was becoming pretty strong.

But even romping and playing really did get boring, especially when your brothers were bigger than you. For this reason, Daisy decided today she'd spend watching her brothers, or maybe sleeping... she wasn't sure yet. Luckily for her, Daisy's mind was made up for her when she spied a certain light-furred sister of hers tottering off, away from mommy and the rest of the pups. Flicking her auds, light orbs followed her sister as she padded away on her own, seemingly unaware Daisy was watching her. "Ursa, now where in the world are you going?" she wondered aloud.

Turning her head to check she wasn't being watched, Daisy pushed herself up and trotted after Ursa, her strong legs pushing her forward quick enough to close the small gap created by her sister's head start. Daisy pushed her nose around the corner of an old human appliance that was long and gleaming white, quietly watching her sister wander around, smelling things. The pup had to bite her tongue to stop from laughing; her silly sister! She was still being so cautious! What in the world could Ursa be cautious about? They were in the junkyard for Heaven's sake. They were safe here, she didn't need to be on her guard!

Or... maybe she did! A thought struck Daisy like a dirt clod to the face, and she bent down close to the ground, a grin spreading across her tiny maw. "That's right Ursa... just keep walking along. Nobody is -- oop!" It seemed that Ursa was going to look behind her, which would blow Daisy's cover completely. Staying hidden by the large white box, Daisy missed her sister's graceless pounce into the tire, but heard the impact.

Daisy chuckled, failing to stifle it in time. Startled, she looked back around the white box and was relieved to see Ursa had apparently not heard. "Phew. Here we go!" Daisy propelled herself forward on her hind legs, her chest hair brushing the dirt below her and leaving tiny dust clouds in her wake. Her semi-twisty tail was wagging like crazy in her anxiousness to surprise her sister. She arrived at the tire Ursa was in and took a deep breath, hoping to do this in one foul swoop.

Springing up on her hind legs, Daisy's front paws dug into the black rubber as she bark-roared at her sister's sleeping form. She fell on top of her light bodice, fangs bared in a friendly spar invite. "I got you! I got you Ursa, I got you! Haha, you can't sneak away from me!"

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