- you're still in all of my dreams [open]

[Taxi]

Taxi was out and about, currently making her way to Villa Borghese for a nighttime stroll. It was a cool, calm night, and the moon was noticeably full, casting an eerie light over the Museum Park. There weren't many humans still out, but the young female had come across a young couple, although she'd kept her distance. Other than them and an elderly woman across the park, no one else was here. Taxi had thought this would be a good chance to gather her thoughts, since she hadn't stopped to do so in quite a while. She sauntered up to the lake, lowering her head to lap up its still waters. The moon cast a shimmering reflection on its surface, disturbed only by the steady ripples of the water.

Raising her head, the female absently swept her tongue along her lower jaw where a few drops of moisture still clung, her floppy ears flickering as she sank gracefully back onto her haunches. It had been a while since she'd really been in the company of a fellow canine, and since all that had happened to her, she was a bit anxious about the experience. What would happen if she got close to another dog? Her loyalty was so strong, stronger than most, and not once had it been rewarded. Most of her life she'd spent waiting for her mother, waiting for her owner, waiting for her friend, and she was tired of it. Of course, what'd happened hadn't ever been their faults, or at least she assumed so, but she'd still had enough of it. She wanted someone she could trust who trust her back, and would never do anything to break that bond.

Taxi's chest swelled with a sigh which she then released; a quiet, wistful sound. Slowly, she rose and turned away from the lake, beginning to walk around it. This was her new start, wasn't it? Her second chance. And she was going to take advantage of it, that was for sure. She wouldn't let it slip away, and she certainly wasn't going to waste any more of her life waiting around for someone. From now on, Taxi was going to make things happen for herself, not sit around and hope for them to.

[/blockquote]

[Ellis!]

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He did not believe in second chances, redemption, forgiveness—it was all poppycock, lies forged by humans in order to cover up their own sins. Keahi was not a stupid animal; he had learnt about the things they believed in and their so-called God and he did not believe in any of it. Although, it had to be said, why should he believe in it when he wasn’t even one of them? The questioned seemed easy enough to answer, but then again, he’d heard rumours of dogs in the city that believed in the things that Man did.

The mongrel’s detour of the city streets had led him to the park that he so favoured (more than other places that he was able to visit, at least), and as he slunk through the gates with a thieving air about him, there was an inward feeling of cool joy as he felt the grass beneath his paws. It was a definite change from the hard, unforgiving concrete and the smooth, undefined tar that he was forced to roam about on all day, and he welcomed it with relish.

A slow, deliberate sigh escaped his nostrils and he inhaled deeply, savouring the air. A quick glance up to the sky established that most of the humans would be in bed and that Keahi would be free to roam Villa Borghese as he pleased, much to his silent pleasure. There was a spring in his step as he moved away from the path that led to the more enjoyable areas—for people, at least—such as the various museums and the splendid scenery. He, as a dog, had only one thing in mind: water.

Even as he had started his crusade towards the lake, he had smelt the aroma of other dogs. Curiously enough, it had not plagued the male as he made a beeline for the lake, eyes focused on the recently disturbed surface of the water. It was rippling, or so he observed as he neared the location, watching the ripples die down and the lake return to its former glory—still and untouched. A smug look appeared on Keahi’s muzzle for a moment, and he bent down to drink from the source.

The liquid flowed down his throat at a soothing rate and cooled the burning thirst that had ailed him since sundown. Another satisfied sigh escaped him, and then a movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Lip curling in annoyance, anger flared inside of him and he jerked his head up suddenly, water dripping from his muzzle. After a moment or two, he saw the creature that had distracted him: another dog.

Irritated at his own slacking, Keahi concluded that he hadn’t paid enough attention to the differing scents around the area. He allowed himself the liberty to slack off once in a while; of course, this was neutral territory for all dogs, as well, so what was the harm in it? Furious at his own questioning, he let a low growl rumble in his throat—there was harm in it, the dog could’ve jumped him!—but as he inspected the stranger, he wondered whether or not they’d seen him.

Abandoning his first mission and ambling over to the animal, the Alpha inwardly grinned as he noticed she was a female. It was known that his pack had an attraction to them—and that the dogs saw bitches as nothing but slaves and things used for amusement. Moving forward so that he blocked her path, the mongrel leered at her in a way that was neither unpleasant nor threatening, but was, in fact, somewhere in-between the two. “You’re out late,” he observed with smooth tones, “A bit too late for a bitch to be on her own, hm?”

[Taxi]

Taxi moved on auto-pilot around the lake, her thoughts continuing to drift. Although she was moving on, a part of the past would always remain with her, and that was the scar on her neck. It was small, hardly noticeable, depending on where you were standing, but it was there, and the female was aware of it. How it'd gotten there was almost obvious - it had been the result of a collar that was too tight, so tight that in one place, it had cut into her flesh, and that was where her scar was. Almost fully healed now, though, but it would forever be there, a reminder of times she wished not to revisit. Ah, well, what could you do but move on? And that was what the mutt was doing.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low growl, and her pace faltered, her ears straining to pinpoint the location of the one to have growled. Funny, she had been sure she was the only dog around. Turning her head, Taxi was soon greeted by the sight and smell of a dog ambling around to leer at her, her eyes narrowed in mistrust as she followed his movements. She looked him over quickly, making a bold and rather noticeable assessment. He was certainly scrawny, but she didn't doubt his strength. He stood a bit taller than she, and... he wasn't too bad looking. Maybe scruffily handsome was the correct term, but she tried not to let her slight attraction show through.

Oh, and listen to him. How cliche was it that he said that? Taxi could think of numerous times when she'd heard this said to a bitch, herself included. Those deep chocolate eyes of hers focused on this stranger in a glare, her eye contact unwavering as her cool, clear voice slipped from her parted lips. "I am perfectly capable of defending myself, thank you," she said curtly, eyeing him in silence for a moment before taking a single stride forward, attempting to push past him by bumping his shoulder with her own.

[/blockquote]

[Ellis!]

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‘I am perfectly capable of defending myself, thank you.’

Oh, really? From the sight of her, he found it difficult to believe, and he almost laughed aloud at the thought. Females, they couldn’t defend themselves—what was she on about? They were good for two things only: reproduction and entertainment. In all honesty, the only thing that they’d been put on the planet to do was to provide offspring and amusement—or at least that’s how he and the other males of the Coliseum saw it.

Shaking his head and dismissing her statement, the mongrel smirked at her instead. If she had one minute with the Coliseum lot, she’d be gone, that was for sure. They would have taken her to goodness-knows-where to do who-knows-what with her, and that was the truth—although they probably would have given him a chance to get in there first. Respect wasn’t something that was given freely, but then again, Keahi was their Alpha, so he was given it anyway, because that was how it worked.

“That might be the case,” the dog responded mildly, snorting as she attempted to brush past him. He let her go, stepping away and allowing her to get a few paces of distance between them before he moved up to her again, now shoulder-to-shoulder with her, “But I doubt you could defend yourself against me.” Her attitude amused him; she had spunk, something that most bitches within his pack—after a certain amount of time within their boundaries, it could be said—lacked, and a dog with fire was always more interesting than one without it.

Ambling away from the female, Keahi observed her for a moment. She wasn’t different; he’d seen plenty like her come and go in his time, nor would she particularly stand out in his memory, but there was one thing that made him curious. She didn’t have the scent of a certain pack, so he assumed that she was a loner, and he couldn’t help but think of the opportunities that surrounded that—one of them being that the lads back at the territory did need a new source of fun.

Dismissing the thought and striding up to her again, he pushed past her, just like she had done to him. Turning his gaze back to the bitch, the dog fixed her with a blank look for a moment before he looked ahead and began to wander forwards. “So, tell me, love, what are you doing out so late?” Spinning around from where he stood, Keahi watched her carefully, eager to find out why she was out at a time like this.

[Taxi]

Being allowed the chance, Taxi moved past his with her head held high and her stride confident, although her ears were turned as far as they could go toward him, listening to see if he would follow her. For a moment, it didn't seem like he would, but then there he was again, right at her shoulder. The lone female shot him a slightly irritated glance, her ears twitching as he spoke. "Oh?",

[/i][/color] she said without looking at him, her gaze focused ahead. I would ask you to prove it, but I honestly would rather not waste my time." With that, she quickened her pace, another attempt to escape this male.

Her narrowed eyes shifted to him as he began to move away a bit, which encouraged her, so she sped up more. Ah, but then he was back, pushing into her just as she had done. Taxi's spirits fell slightly. And there was that question again. Maybe this time she wouldn't avoid it. Maybe when she told him he'd leave her alone. She paused as he spun around in front of her, taking one step back. "I was trying to get some peace and quiet, not that it concerns you,"[/i][/color] she responded before stepping forward again and moving around him to continue walking forward. Persistent, wasn't he? In most cases, Taxi thought this was a good thing, but right now, she wasn't so sure.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Ellis!]

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‘Oh? I would ask you to prove it, but I honestly would rather not waste my time.’

Harsh, the mongrel mused, feigning a look of hurt. She certainly did have fire, that could be said, and he found it amusing that she seemed to think her words would upset him. He was past that point now; it was already fixed in his mind that females were generally useless, and so his response to her statement was done in a mocking manner. As easily as the look had appeared on his face, it was gone and he was following her again.

‘I was trying to get some peace and quiet, not that it concerns you.’

But it did! She probably didn’t realize it, but everything concerned him; from the way the other packs were run to the way innocent females wandered into the Coliseum, yet untouched by any male. He watched her breeze past him and in one bound, he was in front of her again, observing her with unreadable dark eyes. “Everything concerns me, pet,” was his simple reply as he grinned at her, “Absolutely everything: even you.”

And Keahi had one goal in mind that he was determined to accomplish by dawn. He’d take her back to the Coliseum, hopefully through free will, and then do what he pleased with her; she’d be in his territory and it would only be within his law to do so. Blocking her path once again, the male sniffed and inhaled slightly, shrugging. “I’ll prove it, alright,” he drawled gently, “Just pop back with me to my pack and I’ll show you.”

There was a slight pause. “Besides, it would be the least I could do for you.” Oh, the lies—“It wouldn’t be good of me to leave a pretty dame like yourself wandering around at night, all alone. Anything could happen to you; I’d hate to have that on my conscience.” The earnest look on his face was enough to fool anyone, but she was clever and he had his doubts about fooling her.

[Taxi]

Truthfully, Taxi didn't care if what she said hurt him or not. What she said was honest, and that was enough for her. The bitch kept going, not glancing back to see the feigned look on the stranger's face. Her ears flickered in annoyance as he appeared in front of her again, and she abruptly stopped. What did he want? She reclined gracefully to her haunches, matching his blank stare with her own, as if it was something of a challenge. She broke their eye contact as he spoke and she rose again, muttering: "Doubt it," as she maneuvered around him, sticking to her path.

But before she got far, there he was again. What was it this time? Taxi eyed him, unable to contain as laugh after he spoke. He honestly thought she'd agree to join his pack? "Sorry, sugar, I don't think so," she replied when he took a pause, her ears pricking as he continued, a single eyebrow raised. When he was done, she continued. "Don't worry about it."

[/b][/i] As if he would! "I already told you, I can take care of myself." She stared at him, her dark brown eyes searching his expression. He seemed sincere, but she doubted he was. After all, how could she trust someone who hadn't even told her their name?[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size]