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Shadow padded through the tall grass, sniffing here and there. Instictively, he glanced behind him, then mentally growled at himself. He should know better. He was the one who left Nani behind. Ever since they had found each other, they never left each other's side. Until now, that is. It was strange, walking around without his little shadow (no pun intended). He had left to go explore again and didn't bother to wake her up today. His parents would probably be mad but that didn't deter him. It wasn't like this was the first time, after all. He paused to sniff a stange flower, sneezing when the pollen got into his nose. Pawing dirt at it angrily, he started on his way again, stopping by a stream to get rid of the rest of pollen.

Chance ran through the grass at full speed, enjoying the feel of wind through his fur. His tounge stuck out and he skidded to a stop purposely near some flowers, sending their petals to the air when he slid past. He sat back up, unharmed, to run around again, sending the petals even farther away. There was no one around that he could see and he was happy because of it. His self-esteem wasn't very high and he got nervous around others easily. He rolled around some before settling down to stare thoughtfully at the passing clouds.

Shadow tilted his head, eyeing the new pup a bit away. He was on a small hill so he had a good view of the stream below, where it was more shallow and leveled out. He sniffed at the air cautiously, figuring the other was a male. His father had recently told him how to tell the difference by scent and Shadow, wanting to appear stronger, raised the fur on his back a bit. After a few seconds of this, he realized the other male had either completely missed him or was ignoring him. He frowned, his brow furrowing slightly. What to do.... He certainly wanted to have some fun but that depended on if the red male wanted to romp around. Ever since his fight with Kane, he tried to think things through before acting. He licked a paw, smoothing out his fur. Best to appear friendly, he thought. He got up, shaking his head to get rid of the water there, and started on his way.

After a few minutes of staring and guessing what shapes the clouds were taking, Chance decided there had to be something better to do. When he was alone, thoughts of being a strong warrior got to him again and he rolled back to his paws, looking for an opponent who could challenege someone such as he. "Wwrraah!" he roared, pouncing on a rock. It skidded a few feet away and he ran after it, whacking the rock with a paw. His pure gold claws tore at the earth, sending a few blades of grass flying and he continued his chase of the rock, stopping when he reached the edge of a shallow stream. The rock skipped a few times before settling on the bottom and Chance watched as the fish scattered. He had gotten good at fishing, especially after his meeting with Makki, and he pounced on one of the slippery forms, catching it in his jaws. He shook his head, hoping to give it a quick death, until he caught sight of two others. A red male was close by, a black one coming closer. Startled, he dropped the fish, his ears flattening. His eyes lowered to the red male's paws and his tail curved slightly between his legs. He lowered his head, too afraid to look up.

Shadow paused mid-stride to watch the scene unfolding before him. If any of them noticed him, they gave no sign. Except maybe the white pup. He cocked his head, watching the way the red male responded. Nice. Maybe he would have some fun today. Ever since his fight with Kane he had tried to get better at fighting. He had yet to meet another pup to romp around with and he sat where he was to see if any of the pups would be worth his time.

Chance flinched when the pup in front of him spoke, the dead fish pressing against his leg as the current pulled at it. He was too scared to reply at first and he shot a glance upward to see the pup in a much more fearful stance. And looking right at him. Quickly, he lowered himself into the water, hoping to get the message clear that he had no wish to fight. "I-I'm sorry." he stuttered. He tried to remember the few questions the red male had asked and tried to answer them all. "I didn't know anyone was nearby. If you want, you can have my fish." He tucked his nose between the dead fish and his leg, shoving it a bit closer to Akai. However, the stream's current pulled it away from his muzzle and he noticed too late. He cried out and tried to catch it but he missed and only caused a large splash. Thoroughly soaked, he could only stare as the fish was pulled farther away from him.

Shadow, deciding he didn't like being ignored, splashed into the water himself, trying to catch a fish he could brag about. Of course, he'd never caught a fish before, let alone taste one, so it was all about making it look real. He sniffed over the water's surface, wondering what fish smelled like.

Chance, fearful of Akai's reaction, cringed. His cheeks flushed and he stared glumly at the water when the pup's words reached him. They might not have meant much to the others but it hurt Chance's esteem. "I c-can catch more if you want." he sniffled, trying to keep his tears at bay. He was always made fun of, especially because he was a male, when he cried. He looked up when he heard a nearby splash and backed away when he saw the black pup padding closer. Then he started sniffing around the water and Chance could tell he'd never fished before. Water wiped out all scent and one couldn't find the prey in the river that way.

Shadow looked up when he heard yelling. Finally, someone noticed him, he thought rolling his eyes. "Me? What about you?" he yelled back, not liking the fact that the male's question sounded like an order. When the red pup spoke again, at first, Shadow thought he was reffering to him and he didn't want to admit the fact that he never fished before. Luckily, he realized it was the white pup he was talking to and he watched the other, curious. Could he really fish? He frowned. Surely not. He himself didn't even know how to.

Chance looked back to the red pup when he called. By his first response to the black pup, he assumed none of them knew each other. Great. He wasn't meeting one stranger today, but two. "I... I can catch some fish for you but there won't be any around here for a while." he yelled back, his voice getting quieter and practically silent by the time he finished. "I scared the rst of the fish away." he whimpered, expecting the others to be mad at him since he lost his first fish and scared the rest away. "My name is Chance." he told him. He was curious about their names, too, but wasn't sure what they would do if he asked for it so he kept his mouth shut, hoping they'd tell each other at least, where he could hear.

Shadow raised his lips in a silent snarl when he saw what the other male was doing. He tried to fluff himself up, as well, although he tried to keep around the same height as the other male he had been told multiple times before that he looked like a cotton ball if he poofed up too much. "Shadow, first-born of Beta Ark and Azula." he said loudly, unashamed that the ranks of his parents were lower in rank than Akai's parents.

Chance perked his ears curiously when the dark pup, Shadow, spoke. Ark? That... that was his father's name. Was it a common name that Shadow's father would have the same name as his father? And the fact that Shadow resembled his father, too.... Could it be tha-- his thoughts were cut off when Akai spoke. He gave a small whimper, looking down at his reflection in the water. He was too ashamed of his name now to look up and try to defend himself and he only muttered a small, "Yes." before wadding through the river. He shook the water from his fur, jumping to the bank and looking for another part of the river where fish might be found. He worked extra hard, trying to drown out the taunts of Akai from his mind.

Shadow watched Chance, wondering why the pup was looking at him like that. Then Chance looked away and he shrugged, assuming the pup was just jealous of him or something. "And what about you?" he snarled to Akai, already disliking the male. "What will you get? Worms?"

Shadow raised his head higher, stiffening his legs. His fur was already flared out and he saw no reason to make himself resemble a tumbleweed so he did nothing about that. "Of course. All high ranking helixes make others do the work for them. Why, it's practically a sin to make them do anything else besides lounging around." he said, his voice practically dripping with sarcasm. "No, no, don't worry about it. I'll get the berries." his voice didn't change one bit as he said this and he jumped out of the river onto the bank, shaking one paw at a time to rid it of the water. The "few" drops that fell on Akai were certainly by accident. He started on his way, deciding he would show off just a bit by bringing back the most food. His mane bristled when he heard Akai's words of hare-catching. His father had yet to teach him how to hunt and what he did know was self-taught. That might have been a good thing in the eyes of others, but to him, it meant he wasn't as strong as he should have been. He stopped when the red pup mentioned learning fishing from the white pup. What was it, Chance? That's right. He turned and raised a brow in Chance's direction, still disbelieving. "Sure, why not." he said. Making fun of the cowardly pup might make him look better, anyways. Stronger at least.

At first, Chance was too busy looking for a new fishing spot to notice that the others were talking about him. His ears twitched and he fianlly decided to peek up and see what the others were doing. He had assumed Shadow had left by then and was surprised to see him still there. They seemed to be talking about... fishing? Then, Shadow turned and looked at him, the disbelief coating his features quite obvious. He felt something different about him. A type of anger. Was he getting competitive? The thought alone was enough to make him timid again but he shook his head. No. He had to be brave. He tried for a glare although to onlookers, it looked as if he had something in both of his eyes. "I don't see you being able to fish." he said in what he hoped to be a loud and taunting voice.

Shadow quirked his ears. "What?" he yelled to the other pup. Was he asking for help? It seemed something got caught on his eyes or something. Chance looked so funny, his lips moving as silent words spilled out and his eyes squinting that Shadow just had to laugh out loud.

Chance's short burst of confidence quickly vaporized when he realized that his best effort so far seemed to have been wasted. The laughing made him crouch lowerer to the floor, too, and he crawled towards them submissivly. He hoped Shadow would stop laughing soon. "I-I can teach y-you how to fish." he whispered, though not intentionally, trying to stop himself from sobbing again.

Chance's tail wagged slightly with Akai's praise. Even though he would have preffered it in situations unlike the one he was in now, good words were always nice. He cralwed farther away from Shadow but closer to Akai, thinking that his small words would offer him protection from the other. "I c-can do that." he said, still refusing to look up at them. Akai's closeness frightened him and his tail instinctivly curled.

Shadow stopped laughing soon after Akai left. It looked as if they were going to gang up on him since they were so close together and he tried to make himself look scary so that they would be less likely to try it. "I'm fine with it." Shadow said, his attempt at trying to impress them lost for the time being as curiosity filled him. If he could learn how to fish before his siblings, then he could make his parents proud and show off at the same time. He went closer to them, looking at Chance expectantly.