Life's Necessities

[RandomWiktor]

The Story So Far:
Django and Rizwan, two members of Gallop Free's rare coyote population, run into one another unexpectedly while hunting the same rabbit. Wary Django is mortified while Rizwan couldn't be more pleased. Unfortunately, the two don't have much time to exchange pleasantries as a rapidly spreading grasslands fire begins to engulf their hunting grounds.
Origional Thread

Last Two Posts:
Django
___Finally, the banks were upon them. The soil was allready eroded by a thousand frantic footfalls as the creatures inhabiting the grasslands made their frantic attempts to escape. Further downstream, the fresh carcass of a badly burned deer bobbed in the shallows, hooked on a branch protruding from the creek's bottom. It must have run to the water hoping to seek a reprieve from the flame, only to die before attaining any relief. The harsh reality of their situation was all too apparent at this point, faced with a torrid waters blackened by ash and the scent of scorched flesh on the breeze. Thus with no hesitation, Django threw herself into the water; conversation could wait.
___It was difficult to see the bottom with the flotsam clogging the river. Ash, burned vegetation, stirred debris from the trampled creek bed, and yes - every now and again, an indistinguishable carcass of some unfortunate field mouse or vole obscured the sand and rock below. It didn't matter much to the coyote, however. Unlike hoofstock, which could not swim very efficiently with their narrow hooves, canines were well equipped for swimming. By paddling frantically, Django was able to weave her way across the river in a fairly timely fashion, drifting somewhat downstream in the process but overall reaching her goal expediently. She rose from the waters painted black, coated in fetid grime and sopping wet.
___Shaking out her pelt and sending flecks of wet ash all around her in doing so, the coyote climbed the steep embankment, feeling the wet soil crumbling and sliding under her weight. When her claws finally met the traction of healthy grass and terra firma, she turned to see if Rizwan had made it across sucessfully as well. So long as they were running together, they might as well look out for each other, right? Besides, the male had his odd, outsider charm, even if she was utterly socially inept.

[RandomWiktor]

~Somehow, Rizwan had not expected the river to look so disgusting. In his mind, the river would be fairly clean, perhaps a bit of ash, but still with the bottom in sight and generally an almost glorifying path to safety. His idealistic image was shattered by reality. The river was disgusting; there appeared to be no bottom, as if the carcasses and soot floated down to eternity, going deep underground. He couldn't help but stop short, ears flicking back, nose wrinkling, tail drooping.

Django helped him recover. He shook slightly when she jumped into the river as if going on a pleasant swim, and before he could think about how much it was the opposite, Rizwan entered the water as well. Paddling frantically so he could get out as soon as possible, he made it out only seconds after Django, also taken a bit downstream. Looking over his own coat and the swim he had just made with distaste, he shook widely, but barely began to clean off the grime. He stared with disgust once more, then decided it could wait until he was actually away from the river; he would just get dirty again otherwise.

The second he arrived upon cool, green grass, he rolled, desperate to get the grime off of his coat. He wasn't particularly vain, in truth; he just couldn't stand the feeling of having the soot and the remains of who-knew-what clinging to his fur and skin. To him, it was like someone draping him in carcasses, and frankly he found it disgusting. Carcasses were for eating, not wearing ((as Rizwan goes PETA on us)).

After a few seconds, however, he realized that it wasn't especially polite of him to roll around and totally ignore his companion. He was sure she hadn't stuck around with him just to have him forget her existence after they survived. Rising to his feet, the male located Django quickly and flashed her a friendly smile, as if, well, as if they had just had a pleasant swim.

"Well, disgusting though that was, at least we're safe now."

It was the honest truth. Filthy though he felt, it was worth knowing he was on relatively safe ground, and much less likely to be injured. He was sure Django felt the same way.~

[RandomWiktor]

OOC:

Carcasses were for eating, not wearing ((as Rizwan goes PETA on us)).

I LOLed.

IC:
___Django watched quizically as Rizwan appeared to be making a firm effort to roll out of his skin once he breached the creek. She supposed she should have been more bothered by the fact that she was covered in clumps of wet soot, black water dripping from her tail and ears and body stinking like a barbecue from hell. But, after the dash for her life, she was still a bit too much in the moment to be concerned with aesthetics. Panting and looking across the creek at the fire, which was already burning itself into oblivion as it greedily consumed the dry tinder of the grasslands, she sneezed once to clear his nostrils then waited patiently for Rizwan to finish.
___The male looked a bit sheepish as he remembered that he'd crossed the river with someone, and Django stifled a smile. Quickly regaining his optimism, Django nodded in affirmation to his comment - when there wasn't horrible burning death nipping at her heels, the female was a bit less high strung. In fact, she was quite the opposite - pretty exhausted from the running - and sat down on the clean grass while trying to remember where they'd left off their chat. Unfortunately, before she could recall anything, there was a loud splash further upstream. Bobbing in blackened waters was another canine, something large eared, russet, and shouting profanities all the way to shore. Django watched as the cursing canine with a frown, glancing back at Rizwan.
___"I guess someone is not nearly so relieved to be safe," she said with a chuckle. As the canine dragged itself to shore, the reason became apparent: her tail was a raw, blackened, blister-pocked ruin. The fae took one look over her shoulder at the scorched appendage and let out a loud wail, dropping to her belly with her paws planted over her face.
___"Oh, for fuck's sake!" yelled Hellsing. This is just brilliant. I leave the mountains to get one pain off my tail, just to have THIS happen?! I'd have been better off with Alucard.
Django watched the hybrid's breakdown with her mouth curved into a frown, but made no move to approach. She had barely wanted to meet Rizwan today; she didn't need another odd canine growing on her.

OOC: I was feeling silly. Also, it would be interesting if this combo of charas was trio'd up for a while. Especially if Rami or Alucard should show up eventually.

[Rizwan]

Rizwan had a funny feeling that Django was amused by his behavior, but he didn't feel like explaining. If she liked the feeling of dead things all over her, that was her choice, but Rizwan preferred that anything dead was either in his stomach or about to be. He then reflected with a quirky smile that that was a rather simplistic approach to life, but then he hadn't claimed to be a philosopher.

Apparently, while he still had enough energy to run away from another ten fires, Django needed a rest. For politeness more than exhaustion, Rizwan sat down, ears perked, eager to resume their pleasantries without a fire at their tails. Before he could even open his mouth, however, a loud splash and impressive string of profanities ruined the moment.

The coyote snapped to attention, body stiff, ears swiveling and eyes wide. He quickly spotted the creature; it looked like a wolf, but the ears were off, and the coat seemed better suited to a fox or even one of his own species. It could be a hybrid, he guessed, but when he sniffed in its direction he discovered that she smelled very much like a wolf... A burning wolf at that.

Rizwan smiled politely at Django's comment, but his attention was all for Hellsing. His eyes widened upon seeing what remained of her tail -- fire at their tails indeed. At least it hadn't eaten theirs. Rizwan was reminded of his luck, then quickly forgot it when the wolf collapsed with a final curse, looking quite miserable.

The male glanced toward Django, but while she looked concerned, she also was making no move to approach. Rizwan, however, bounced to his feet and, posture low, approached the wolf carefully. His instincts knew that the relationship between the species was strained at best, but his altruistic nature could not be stopped.

He stopped a respectful distance away and whined, ears slightly back.

"I know this is a stupid question, but... Are you okay?"

He wasn't sure what he expected, but his muscles were tense just in case she went psycho and tried to maul him for asking the obvious. It wouldn't be the first time.

((Sounds great to me. And I have no idea why I added that last sentence... It just wasn't complete without it...))

[RandomWiktor]

((I'm with Rizwan - what is Hellsing anyways? I feel like I joined her as a red wolf, but now she's listed as a coywolf, which I can only assume is a red wolf x coyote hybrid based on her photo. Fluctuating character identities ftw!))

___Django, watching the female with curiosity but no real interest in interaction, had noted like Rizwan that her species was a bit indeterminate. She smelled of wolf, which was always a concern for coyotes, particularly in winter. But her appearence hinted otherwise. Regardless of what she may be, there were a few things she irrefutably was - an injured, angry, cursing maybe-wolf, and thus something she wanted nothing to do with. The chances of getting snapped at for coming too close to the adrenaline charged animal were high, and with prey scarce from fire and ice, an injury was the last thing she wanted or needed.
___Others, apparently, did not share this sentiment. While Django cautiously hunkered back, catching her breath and just now starting to take some notice of the ash clumping and freezing in her fur, Rizwan headed right for the potentially dangerous canine. Django's eyes widened with surprise, ears snapped forward alertly, and she wondered how the situation would unfold. Though she found Rizwan's behavior thus far perplexing at best and somewhat vexing at worst, she didn't exactly want to see him get injured. She waited with baited breath for Hellsing to lunge for him, though he'd at least had the sense to hang back and keep his posture modest. His words left a bit to be desired, but she hoped that his indication of concern would temper the female's potential reaction.
___Hellsing, meanwhile, was so preoccupied with pain and irritation that she'd more or less failed to notice the two coyotes not far downstream. Even if she had, they probably would not have interested her; she did not hold territory here and did not find them physically intimidating -part logical, part her own foolhearted sense of invincibility which was presently being challenged by the blistering remains of her tail. Still, she was caught off guard when she heard Rizwan's voice and bristled, teeth flashing as she sprung to her feet. She glared at the male, resentful of being made to look unobservant and stupid when she startled at his presence. As a result, it took a few moments before his words sunk in. When they did, she scowled.
___"You're right, that is a stupid question." Her words sounded curt even by her own standards. Grumbling a bit, she forced a grin that didn't look anything but contrived and ugly. "I'll be fine, thank you."

((Mehhh... crappy post.))

((ETA: Logged in crappy post. Double the fail!))

[Rizwan]

Rizwan was not ignorant to his own silly actions; he was often perfectly aware of how stupid he may be acting. It just didn't bother him; one didn't learn without being an idiot once in a while, and besides, it wasn't like he did things guaranteed to result in injury, like jump out of trees or into dry river banks.

However, he suspected that this innocent concern may go awry when the canine sprung to her feet and flashed her teeth at him. The male's ears went back and he stepped a few feet back, posture low. At her glare his tail drooped and he turned his gaze away. He considered apologizing, then chose not to; apologizing for being concerned was a silly thing to do anyway.

At her admonishing comment he winced, then grinned weakly in her direction. The grin he got in return made his look beautiful by comparison, and the male backed up further, unable to tell if the smile was friendly or threatening. Her response didn't clarify matters any further.

However, she hadn't attacked him, and for the male it meant that he could probably stick around a bit longer without losing his head. His tail gave a half-hearted wag and he lowered his head.

"Ah, good to hear. As for the question, well, I have a tendency to do that."

He grinned weakly at himself, then lightened up, ears coming back to normal and rising slightly. Hopefully it wasn't too early to act cheerful, but he figured he could run faster than a canine in clear pain.

"I'm Rizwan, and this is my friend Django. You...?"

He hoped Django wouldn't get annoyed at his labeling her a friend. Some canines, it seemed, took unkindly to being thought closer to individuals than they actually were. He imagined she would be slightly flustered, but hopefully not offended. If he was lucky, which he may not be; he suspected he had used up his luck for the day.