stuck with your -thoughts- is not such a bad thing

[SethClearwater]

Paw pads bounded against the earth repetitively with each long stride the young canine took, bits of dust and dirt flying up onto his sleek black coat, and then...

'Woof! Ouch! Bark, bark, yip!'

Harry danced around on three legs, holding up his stubbed paw. He had tripped on a tree root, and his yelp would have been enough to scare half the wildlife away. So much for running the borders 'stealthily'.

This sucks... No rat is gonna be stupid enough to be out of their burrows now they know I'm here. Actually, most of the rats here -would- be dumb enough to do that.. But who wants rats anyway? They're disgusting. Isn't there anything else on this island?

The Kelpie Cross took a sniff of the ground and reeled back, a silent wince rippling across his mature features.

Eugh. Pee. I wonder if dogs who intrude unintentionally actually smell the pee... Hey, that would be a pretty cool job! Well, better than the one I have now, anyway. Pee-er. All you have to do is walk around the border of the place every so often and pee. But then I guess you would get pretty bored... and imagine how much water you would have to drink to do the job!

Harry was now walking slowly, his stubbed paw throbbing. The place looked pretty silent... He had been supposed to run the borders to check for stranger dogs, but after a few minutes he felt hungry and decided to hunt.

I wonder where Pogo is... Heh. Pogo. Harry shook his head. Or Targ... Man, that guy is creepy. Well, not creepy, but scary... and creepy. Creepy is a strange word. So is word... When you think about it, all words are weird, but they just seem normal 'cuz we use them so much... Hey, that's actually a pretty damn cool topic. I bet I could become famous if I lectured about that. Hmm, maybe when I'm older...

Harry stopped walking and sat down, lifting up his hind leg to scratch behind his ears. With one last, bored look around him, he lifted his head up and howled.

[Silent]

Pogo's slick pelt glinted in the sunlight. His agile paws ached as he raced through the snow, though the large male ignored it. Loping boldly over a fallen tree, he stopped to let the scents overcome him. His eyes a slit, a long piercing howl echoed through the moors. Stopping, ears perked. Pogo let a soft rumbling noise escape his closed jaw. Wisps of strong winds swayed him, and his throat rumbled again. Racing toward Harry, he let himself soar across the moors elegantly and sure.

--Watching Harry from a distance, the white male observed his absentminded attitude. Leaping out of the bush, attempting to land squarely on the apprentice, he would then watch him struggle beneath him. "Never be off guard, Harry." He barked, eyes stern, but voice soft. He side stepped off of him and sat down, watching him.

[SethClearwater]

Y'know, patrols aren't actually that bad when you think about it. I suppose they get boring after awhile, when the scenery becomes old news, but for now I'm juuuussttt fi-

"Aroooo!" The yelp bounded throughout the light forest, the Kelpie's thoughts cut off as a large weight landed painfully on his back. His knee's buckled beneath him before his body came crashing down upon the ground.

Harry wriggled around underneath the figure, turning his head in an awkward position to catch sight of his attacker.

"Pogo! Man! Couldn't you have thought of a better way to tell me that?!"

As the beast rolled off him and sat down nearby, Harry got to his paws and shook his black pelt - of which an astonishingly large amount of snow flew out of - and glared at the Alpha reproachfully.

"Ugh, snow..." Harry muttered, curling up his tail tip so it wouldn't touch the cold forest floor. "Y'know, I think I've ruptured a few ribs..." Harry told Pogo, but he was grinning.

There was a brief pause while Harry jumped from paw to paw like he had ants in his pants, before he spoke again.

"So how come you're out here?" The Kelpie Cross enquired, finally sitting down grudgingly and watching his mentor, then suddenly remembered his howl.

"Oh, about the howl... Sorry. I mean, I didn't see anything or whatever... I was just gettin' a little bored." The male's furry shoulders rose and fell in a shrug, a sheepish look on his features.

[Silent]

--Pogo grinned as Harry tripped over his words in a rush to get them out. "Its fine, I was just out for a hunt when I heard a howl, I thought maybe a stray puppy had washed up onto the island" He grinned, his words heavy with sarcasm.

"Everyone gets bored on patrols, trust me, you just need to lock it up. You always need to be alert Harry." He warned as he got up. "How about joining me for a hunt??" he suggested casually.

[SethClearwater]

Harry chuckled at Pogo's comment and rose to his paws at the sound of his enquirery to hunt.

"Sure!" Harry said with enthusiasm.

The black-as-night coated Kelpie loped towards the thicker entrance of the forest where there was likely to be more prey and wagged his tail eagerly, waiting for Pogo to follow him.

"So, what shall it be?" Harry wondered out loud as he walked into the thick forest, light shining down from cracks in the leafy branches overhead. It was an eerie look, but Harry was too intent on his rumbling stomach to notice it. "I really don't want rats again.. Urgh. Or this-" At this, the canine pawed a large, edible berry bush. "-That doesn't look appetising at all.. actually, I think its poisonous.." Harry trailed off thoughtfully before he stepped on the plant with his large paws and continued walking.

The energetic dog bounded further into the bush, every so often dropping his nose to the ground abruptly and sniffing feverishly. The second time he did this he breathed in some snow through his nose - after that he was not so keen on smelling the ground.