we'll only hit the ground running The muscular creature stalked across Ludicael's territory, each step careful as he moved along, making as little noise as possible. The autumn air was cool and crisp, though it lacked the bite of winter, and Angeal basked in the lowered temperatures as he moved swiftly forward. He didn't have a particular destination in mind, but for the moment, just wandering was enough for him. The black male had found himself wandering through the early evening with no companion. He was not particularly bothered by the fact that he was entirely alone in that moment, though Angeal wouldn't have snubbed any company. Especially if that company was Liste. Of course, he figured that she could seek him out, if she wished to enjoy his company right then. But right then, he was mostly focused on enjoying the cooler weather. Sephiroth's return had thrown him for a loop. He wasn't sure how to feel about his past coming back to life. He had left the pack behind for a reason. He had wanted to escape them and their way of life. And Sephiroth had appeared, as if from nowhere. The male seemed different from what Angeal remembered, but that didn't mean that he was sure he was happy about Sephiroth's appearance. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to feel? Angeal was more confused than ever, and that was saying something, considering how conflicted he was about Liste and being in a pack and just about everything else in his life. Jeeze. He needed to figure his life out before anything else happened. Like Zack appearing or something equally crazy. He would have thought that it was crazy to think that Zack would ever return, but Sephiroth had returned, hadn't he? So how crazy was it to believe that another figment of his past could return? Speech,

Mother would be calling her to the den soon, she was sure. With the receding of the sun night would soon be upon them and Song was dissuaded from letting the pups play when it got too late. For that reason Novel was enjoying the last parts of the day as much as she could. No bug was safe from her, and taking a quick lesson from her sister she would learn that chasing them was quite amusing.
Her gaze was faceteted particularly close to a large moth. It's giant green wings would tempt Novel into a chase. It would flutter just out of reach as the small she wolf wandered after, unaware of exactly where she was stepping. Every day her mother would caution her to stay away from the water ways. Today had been no different, except this time her usual caution had worn off. As the moth fluttered tantalizingly away Novel stepped over the bank right into the river.
A squeal of surprise would fall from her lips as she felt the water take her, its coldness seeping into first her fur and then her lungs. She paddled to the surface, sputtering as she broke through. She paddled as hard as she could, but the water was deceivingly strong. "Help!" she would be able to cry as helplessness over took her.


"speech"

i was new in town; the boy with eager eyes The river burbled happily, providing a stark contrast with the solemnity of Angeal's thoughts. The serenity of the evening, however, was shattered by a startled noise. It was too high pitched to be anything but a pup, and Angeal stopped dead, his head tilting and his ear's flicking wildly, trying to figure out where the sound had come from. Had something happened? Well, obviously something had, but the more pressing question was whether or not something bad had happened. A pup's voice sliced through the air with a panicked tone, calling desperately for help, and Angeal reacted instantly, breaking into a lope as he crossed the ground rapidly. He reached the river bank and came to a stop for a moment, his blue eyes seeking out the form of the pup that had called. He found her almost instantly, struggling to stay on the surface of the water, and Angeal felt a flash of panic. To let a pup drown would be something that Angeal could not comprehend. He had always loved pups. Perhaps he would have sought out the help of someone else if it had been an older wolf (Angeal wasn't that selfles, but then again, was anyone?), but as it was a youngster of the kind that tugged on his heartstrings and made him feel fiercely protective, Angeal was flinging himself into the water without second thought. He hit the water with a splash, and surfaced with a panicked gasp, sucking in air as the cold water soaked through his thick fur, and Angeal paddled strongly towards the pup, jaws seeking to grasp the scruff of her neck to pull her towards the surface. He wasn't sure if he had judged the distance between them properly; the water distorted everything that he saw, but still his teeth sought her fur, hoping to tow her towards the surface and make sure she didn't sink beneath it again. Speech,

It only took moments for her cry to be heard, though the small pup could not heard the splash of the savior who would rescue her. She barely took sight of the powerful form as her scruff was taken hold of and her body was taken control of and she was pulled above the surface. He had caught her so she had full range of motion with her head, which she pushed as high into the air as she could get. Her oceanic eyes could not catch who he was, she could only be thankful that someone had been there to rescue her. She could feel his powerful body carry her with ease as she hoped he aimed for the shore. She couldn't believe she needed to be saved, how foolish it had been to not look where she was going.



"speech"

The pup was clutched tight in his jaws, her scruff captured and her head narrowly above the surface. Angeal was glad to see that her head was lifted as far as it could go, so that she was less likely to get a breath full of water that would get into her lungs and far surpass Angeal?s ability to offer any assistance. Between him towing, however, and her generally keeping as still as she was, he was confident that he would be able to get the pup to shore with no harm done other than a good scaring. Of course, this would probably scare the pup quite a bit, but it would also teach her not to go wandering around the water alone for a while yet. That was a lesson that her parents would need to teach her, Angeal thought with a flicker of irritation as he drew closer to the shore. When they finally reached the shore, Angeal was careful to deposit her before scrambling from the water himself, giving himself a vigorous shake that sent water spraying every which way before he turned his attention towards the little white pup. She was largely unfamiliar, and Angeal doubted that he had ever met her before. Perhaps they had seen each other in passing, but the black male was drawing a total blank at the moment. ?My name is Angeal. What?s your name?? The male would inquire gruffly, settling back on his haunches as he examined the little creature before him. He certainly hoped that she wasn?t about to turn around and launch herself back into the water. However, Angeal had to admit that he was grateful for the distraction from his thoughts. He didn?t need to dwell on anything for too long, honestly. He had found perfection in Liste, and it didn?t matter what the world threw at him. Saving this pup only proved that. If it hadn?t been for Liste convincing him to join Ludicael, he never would have been there. Speech,

She would be carried safely to shore, her adoration for her savior apparent in her fearful gaze as he placed her upon the shore. Her fur was soaked and she felt more humiliated than she had ever before, but she was alive. She would gasp for the life giving air for a moment as the male took the time to introduce himself. ?My name is Angeal. What?s your name?? She would take in a deep breath as she began to answer, thankfully having not taken in too much water she was not sputtering. "My name is Novel." She would smile up at him from her seated position, glad to be out of the water. She had no idea what she would have done had the nice stranger not been there. Though as her mother liked to teach her, their pack was a family. Not a blood family like she and her siblings, they were more like adopted family. Even though she had never met Angeal in her life he had easily taken the risk to save her. "Thank you for saving me. I was chasing a moth and didn't look where I was going." She said ashamed.



"speech"