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Post by Tiggs on Sept 4, 2009 9:58:30 GMT
She couldn’t wait any longer. He was there. The hut was bright with light. Lucas said that men made fire in their homes which sounded entirely stupid to Ammi but nobody had ever accused humans of being clever. She knew Lucas would be lounging in front of that fire, all nice and warm while she shivered out here in the cold. She’d lost a lot of weight over winter, more than she had last year, so her shivering body was practically skin and bone.
It was only the good seasons where Lucas fed her that had given her enough fat to survive. She hadn’t realised, but she couldn’t look after herself any longer. Winter had been so difficult. She wasn’t fast enough, strong enough, good enough to hunt her own food. She couldn’t scavenge because she was too old to win any fights against her own kind. She had a limp. A few weeks ago she’d been so desperate for food she’d tried stealing from another dingo and had been bitten. The wound was slow to close due to her lack of food.
She sat now in the scrub outside of the hut, so eager for Lucas to come that her front half was sticking out from under the foliage. She whined to herself, desperate for the men to retire to bed so Lucas would come outside. Now he was back for wherever he wintered, she couldn’t wait to get some food. She fairly salivated, licking her chops and staring intently at the door. As soon as Lucas was alone on the porch, she’d be over there in a shot.
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Post by tingara on Sept 4, 2009 16:31:15 GMT
Dazed and sleepy from the warmth of the fire, Lucas sat happily resting his head on Sam’s knee as he chattered away to the other humans in the place. The man had the familiar smell of something bitter about him whenever he got into the mood Lucas could tell he was in now. The wolf-like dog watched and listened to his owner laugh while sipping from a bottle in his hand. It wasn’t too long before his thoughts drifted to Ammi outside in the cold. He wished she could share this with him, it was nice in here and the humans were nice too but it was an idea that wouldn’t be met with very much enthusiasm. The she-dingo was a proud one.
As soon as Sam and the others moved to bed Lucas was out the door. He padded silently out onto the small wooden porch and gave a low whine. He knew Ammi was about and that she was hungry so before she arrived he tore open of the bags of dog food and let it spill out onto the ground. The tamasken dog couldn’t help but wag his tail in excitement and anticipation. He loved seeing his dingo friend, believe it or not she was much nicer to him than the other cattle dogs he’d met. They picked on him because he was taller and lacked the want to bite at the cows or horses.
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Post by Tiggs on Sept 5, 2009 8:55:36 GMT
As soon as that door opened, she was racing across the clear ground between the trees and the hut. The food was just spilling onto the wooden porch as she made it, and scrambling up the steps, she spared no greeting for Lucas while she wolfed down what was readily available. When she’d finished what was on the floor, she looked hopefully at the bag. Her amber eyes turned to the dog and she slunk forward, licking his chin in hopes of more food.
As much as she refused to admit it, she was dependant on this dog for her survival. She would have starved a year ago if it weren’t for his help, but Ammi would never say that out loud. When food wasn’t in the equation, she acted as if she were the dominant of the two but they both knew if he wanted to, he could easily beat her. But he never showed any inclination. Even when she was having a grumpy day, he was still kind and calm as ever. It was sort of sickening sometimes.
Her stomach, far from full, gave a rumble and she whined imploringly. Who cared how nice he was. He was gullible, and he had more food. Food that she wanted. She snuggled her head under his jaw, reaching up to lick at the corners of his mouth like a begging puppy. If this didn’t work, nothing would.
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Post by tingara on Sept 7, 2009 11:33:33 GMT
Panting happily, Lucas watched Ammi clean up her food with gusto. It was a nice feeling to know that without him she would have starved, even if she was proud and didn’t admit it. His soft brown eyes took in the skinny dingo, she had looked better but that would soon change. Lucas would make her healthy again in no time. As soon as Ammi licked him and started snuggling under his chin the wolf-like dog tilted the bag up so more food fell onto the ground.
Above the scent of the food, horse stuff and dingo there was another, unfamiliar scent. Quizzically Lucas lifted his nose to take it in better and the more he smelt it the more he liked it. It didn’t take long for him to figure out it was from Ammi it was coming from. He’d never encountered a dingo or dog in heat before so he was unsure as to what the smell meant. All he did know was that it made him want to be closer to the she-dingo instead of sitting away from her.
With a low whine Lucas padded over and began to fuss over the dingo. He rubbed his head gently on her back kind of like what Sam did with his hands. ”There’s more food if you want it, I caught a rabbit this morning,” he said proudly, puffing out his chest. He hadn’t intended to share it but something was making him want to provide all he could for the female dingo.
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Post by Tiggs on Sept 7, 2009 12:18:51 GMT
Ammi was picking up the spilled food before he last of it had stopped rolling across the wooden porch. While she ate, most of her attention was on picking up every last bit but she did not fail to notice that Lucas had smelt something interesting. Three guesses as to what. Her ears flickered and her tail lowered but that was all the sign she gave that she noticed he had noticed.
When his head came to rest on her back, she stiffened and her hackled began to rise. She turned her head, lip starting to curl. And then he said the magic word. “Rabbit?” Her ire dissipated and the cold feeling of anger that was rising about his proximity faded into grateful warmth. Forgetting the biscuits still scattered over the porch, she turned and licked his nose. “I haven’t had rabbit in months.” She said, pupils dilated in desire for the fresh meat.
Her tail began to wag, and unable to help herself, she nuzzled under his chin. As before, she whined and begged for the food but without so much urgency. The dog food had curbed her hunger, but the promise of rabbit made her salivate. She licked at his jaw, almost tripping him with her closeness as he took her to the stash. Lucas was in almost every way a parent doting on a pup, but Ammi was many years his senior and the way he repeatedly tested the air for her scent made this much more complicated.
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Post by tingara on Sept 13, 2009 3:37:12 GMT
Lucas was very glad of Ammi’s closeness. He felt important to the dingo, he was helping her to survive, and she needed him. The feeling of her nuzzling under his chin and the mysterious scent were intoxicating. The wolf-like dog sat for a moment in a daze, overwhelmed by a new and strange desire. It took him a moment to snap back into action and trot off to find the rabbit he’d caught, Ammi not far behind him.
It didn’t take long for him to pull out the fresh carcass and toss it to the she-dingo. Although his mouth watered at that sight of it, he resisted and let the dingo eat her fill. Still the mysterious scent held his attention. ”Ammi, what’s that scent? Can you smell it?” Lucas asked curiously, head tilted to one side. Whatever it was it smelt better and much more mouth watering than the fresh rabbit. It was a scent that was telling a part of his brain to stand behind Ammi, so the Tamskan obliged it. From there he wasn’t all that sure whether he should continue with what instinct was telling him to do. He tested what the dingo’s reaction would be by experimentally placing one great paw on her back and giving a low, guttural whine.
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Post by Tiggs on Sept 13, 2009 11:26:29 GMT
The rabbit distracted her from everything. A man could have come out of the hut right at that moment and she wouldn’t notice. She ripped through the carcass, wolfing down every little bit until she was left with bones. Licking her chops, she came back to reality. It seemed Lucas had been crowding in close, and she cast suspicious amber eyes up to him.
She scoffed at his question, feeling particularly indulgent now with a full stomach. “You really are young and naïve, aren’t you?” Her tail wagged as he made his way hesitantly around her, but she promptly sat as his paw draped over her back. She lifted her gums in a silent warning, but she made no move to escape. “The scent is from me: you might not know what it is but your instincts do.”
Looking at him, she noticed again just how tall he was. She was rarely intimidated by him now, but if dogs responded to a she-dingo in season like a male dingo, she might just have to worry. It was curious that he responded in the first place. He was no dingo, but even more curious was the fact that she seemed to react to his presence favourably.
Perhaps it wasn’t all that strange. Aside from colour and size, they were physically similar. If he were a dingo, he would be impressive with such size and strength, a perfect choice for a mate. She found herself standing and in a gesture that she would later blame on temporary insanity, or perhaps pity toward the dumb dog, she shuffled closer in a clear invitation for him to indulge those instincts.
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