Land of the Domesticated - Role-Play

Achilles - NB Male (he/they) - Wolf/Shepherd - Scout - Location: Camp - Mentions: Fauna

Achilles watched as Binx assigned roles for the day, eyes flicking back and forth between the alpha and the canines heading out with him. As much as he wanted to prove his place in the pack, the town still made him uncomfortable, so he chose not to volunteer for the role. While he preferred to scout alone, he knew that with winter coming the pack needed to work together to prepare.

With that in mind, he walked over to Fauna, keeping his body language relaxed as to not frighten the skittish greyhound. "Fauna, I can accompany you while you gather herbs." He offered, his voice quiet and gravelly, as he spoke less and with more hesitation since losing most of his hearing. As he waited for her answer, his eyes flicked over her form, taking note of how her coat was not built for the winter, and how some of the other canines has short fur like her. The pack would need to find something to keep warm, he thought, and maybe he could find something to line the dens with while out with Fauna. 

Fauna | Female (she/her) | Greyhound | Herbalist | Location: Camp | Mentions: Binx, Achilles

She listened to her Alpha attentively, swallowing to herself when he mentioned having to speak about some important matters. Was he aware of her stealing away in the night to aid stragglers and loners? Was he not ok with it? The fact that he wanted her to be escorted by a scout heightened her level of fear, but she did her best to hide this sudden sense of anxiety. Nonetheless, she shuffled her light-weight to and fro on each front leg as she sat. "O-oh. Yes, sir, I'll do that." Fauna replied hastily with a sweet smile, floppy ears flickering back nervously in the process. Nobody felt comfortable when their boss asked to speak with them in private. The intimidation factor? It was awfully real, even if Binx didn't mean exude such a presence. It was just part of the skittishness that embodied the young greyhound. 

Fauna rose to her paws, needle-thin tail tucked between her slender limbs. Her amber optics searched back and forth to find a suitable scout, preferably one who was kind and patient. She found that her love for boring plants could be overbearing, especially when it came to her selection process. She was very particular about ensuring that she found the most perfect specimens. 

The narrow canine's gaze flickered over to an approaching male- Achilles was his name. She offered him one of her signature gentle smiles. "Thank you. Let's head out immediately." She frequently had to remind herself to mind her pace with most of her packmates, as she had done with the old vixen. As a sighthound with lengthy limbs, sprinting long distances was no big deal for her. That being said...she wouldn't mind a nicely paced walk. She did love mornings.

Trooper | Male (he/him) | Belgian Malinois | Loner | Location: Town Outskirts

The malinois briefly stretched out his legs, to ensure he didn't cramp up on the long journey (but also because it felt good. Mostly because it felt good). There was the slightest buzz of excitement in his belly, mostly because he was hopeful about a successful search. Two months had passed with no success, but he believed that it was important to remain dedicated. After all, he knew that his human team would search endlessly for him as well. They had to have left the city. Trooper told himself as he carried on through the woodland, following his nose to the town. 

He was still working on searching it thoroughly. Today would have been one of his last runs, and he still needed his next plan of action. He wasn't too familiar with any other neighboring compounds- in fact, there might not have been another city for several miles for all he knew. But humans were fortunate enough to have vehicles to allow themselves to be transported quickly over long distances. Spoiled creatures.

The canine moved with fluidity and confidence in each stride, head lowered as he snaked through the thick undergrowth of the woodland. 

Lexxi||Female(She/Her)||Pitbull Prague||Scout||Location:Camp||Mentions:Oliver(directly), Binx and Kimikari (Indirectly)

Lexxi heard all the discussions camp and decided it was finally time for her to wake up. Yawning, she crawls out of her head and heads towards the most of them hung out. She took one big stretch, adjusting and waking herself up ready for the day. It seemed like Kimikari already volunteered herself as the scout that would follow Binx and the group to the city.

She sat down, listening to the conversations and waited until the alpha asked Oliver to make a hunting patrol. Excited she happily bounds towards Oliver and asks, "Can I join the hunting trip?" Her tail wags, she wanted to stretch her legs for a while and theres no better way to do it in a hunting trip or a patrol.

Ailera ~ Female (she\her) ~ Fox ~ Loner ~ Location: Town Outskirts, Den

Ailera sniffs at the egg, ignoring the bird chirping frantically. With a smug grin, she breaks it open and inspects the insides. After a few licks of the yolk, she leaves it. Bottle-brush tail waving, the vixen bounds along the undergrowth, looking for more food. She dipped her head to smell the rats running along and slowed, taking her time and slinking along the undergrowth. There was a rabbit and she left the rat trail, taking a few bounds and jumping on the prey. It was over quickly, and Ailera picked the carcass up to take it somewhere to eat. 

She took the larger bones and carried them back towards her den. It was under a building on the outskirts of town, a small tunnel leading down to it. The vixen dropped the bones in her collection, rearranging it slightly. She quickly finished and went back out to find something to do.



Achilles - NB Male (he/they) - Wolf/Shepherd - Scout - Location: Camp - Mentions: Fauna

Achilles silently watches Fauna's movements, noticing the uptick in her anxiousness. He chooses not to comment on it, pushing it to the back of his mind, but wonders if her anxiety is due to Binx' authority or something else. He wants to think he is being overly cautious, but he doesn't let it slip his notice completely. He waits for the greyhound to leave, quietly trailing after her as he lets her take the lead. Due to his possibly intimidating size- at least compared to her- and her herbalist knowledge, he lets her take control of the scouting mission. He's simply here to watch- and likely carry herbs on the way home. 

As they walk, he attempts to scan the wooded underbrush for something to warm the dens with, but everything is covered in a light morning dew. That dew will soon turn to frost, Achilles thinks to himself, and decides anything that wets would be unsuitable for nesting material. 

Fauna | Female (she/her) | Greyhound | Herbalist | Location: Forest | Mentions: Achilles

The farther she got away from camp, the more relaxed she felt her muscles grow. The long-legged greyhound slipped by the wolfdog so that she could lead the way, considering that she did know what she was searching for. She could certainly use some chamomile for herself, just to help take the edge off of her ever-persistent anxiety. Could definitely use some goldenseal. Not all bellies back at camp handle the raw diet well. Of course, she also wanted to gather more tobacco for the scouts. Perhaps it didn't smell the greatest to Fauna, but that was the point- it'd help keep the pesky fleas and ticks away. Nobody wanted to spend the entire season itching and scratching. Although some seemed to think otherwise, ticks did exist even in the snowiest of months. Problem was- tobacco didn't. She needed to stock up before the snow hit. 

But above all things else, Fauna wanted to gather as much Echinacea, or coneflower roots, as possible. With the cold season coming, colds and other contagious illnesses were bound to spring up everywhere. Fortunately, it was a popular garden plant for humans, meaning that it seemed to flourish in most places in the forest, especially after the nice dose of radiation. September was also a popular season for elderberries, which were a little more difficult to come by. Nonetheless, it was like a cure-all, highly valuable to Fauna. It could help keep canines strong for the coming seasons. 

"We need to look for a spiky flower- it's called 'coneflower'. They're very colorful, and quite pretty. But it's the roots we need." Achilles seemed like a dog of few words, and she was ok with that. Fauna didn't want to press him. She did her best to describe the flower, certain that he'd be able to recognize it when they came across the plant. It was quite unique, after all.

Akira | Female(she/her) - Maned Wolf - Scout | Location: Meadow/Camp - Mentions: Open

Large ears poke up from the tall grass and wildflowers in a nearby meadow, scanning back and forth, listening to the sounds of waking life. Akira lifts her head and gently sniffs the air, softly gazing towards the woods. She takes a moment to stretch her long legs and shake off some of the morning dew that's collected on her thick fur. She can hear the pack begin to rouse from their sleep and exit their dens in the nearby camp. Guess I should start heading back, she thinks to herself. Looking down she catalogs the berries and veggies she's collected while foraging and places them in an old bag she found earlier. About a handful of berries and some root vegetables. Though she enjoys a nice fresh catch every now and then her primary diet is of fruits and vegetables so she enjoys foraging in the early morning when the world is still quiet and resting.

Picking up her bag full of fresh goods she starts to head back to camp. Sounds of more pack members begin to reach her ears as life begins to resume again. She makes a quick stop by her den to put away her findings before heading back out to see if she can be of any help to the other members. She can hear the makings of a few hunting and supply run trips being made but is unsure if she should just stay back or go along. Being in a pack is still new and a bit intimidating to a primarily loner species but she hopes to make it work no matter how difficult socializing can be. 

Shiroi | Female (she/her) | Border Collie | Hunter | Location: Camp | Mentions: Kira(/), Sigma, Binx

Shiroi had been about to fill in for Sigma, but her alpha spoke, stating he understood what he meant. She could see the large, wavy-furred Golden Retriever, Kirameki, wagging her tail, ready to go.

She looked over at the pitbull and pawed at him lightly. "It's alright. You'll get used to pack-living. You could consider me a loner most of my life because my humans barely interacted with me. They really just let me do my job, herding up cattle and such because they knew I could handle it by myself, so when I first joined, it was a bit... scary, I'll admit." Shiroi added in a quiet whisper, for his ears only.

"But as I got to know everyone a bit better and when I started to learn the layout of our main territory, I began to feel more confident in my role as a pack member. I'll help you along that same path, too, if you'd like." She smiled up at the pitbull before facing her alpha.

"Well, we're all ready when you are, Alpha." She addressed him with a strong voice, her head held high.

(lmao Grammarly picked up the tone of my text to be "admiring". Thanks xD)

Achilles - NB Male (he/they) - Wolf/Shepherd - Scout - Location: Camp - Mentions: Fauna

As they walked further from camp Achilles let his senses wander, his head sweeping back and forth to watch the forest, and his nostrils flaring as he took in the scents of the woods. After losing his hearing, his other senses heightened, and he was able to survey his surroundings even more than before. They didn't help, however, with his social skills, made obvious by the fact he almost missed Fauna talking as he was too caught up with his study of the land. He listened to her describe the plant, nodding and letting out a soft huff to let her know he understood. After she finished explaining, he let her go ahead a bit, beginning to search the area for the plant she described.

From a few meters away, he kept an eye on her, making sure he wasn't missing anything that could be dangerous to her. Even after a few months into the apocalypse, stray animals- especially intelligent canines like the rest of the pack- still made their way into the woods. He kept his attention split, searching for plants, and then pausing to look up and check on Fauna and their vicinity. When he found a flower he assumed looked like the ones Fauna described he nipped them up, setting them down at his side to show her for confirmation when he was done looking. 

I left this roleplay