Blue Eyes and Broken Hearts *OPEN*

[kaia]

I wandered aimlessly on the pier. Everywhere I looked there were seagulls, and people lounging around on the beach. The ocean crashed against the sands and I decided to try to make some friends. It would be the only way I could get out of this personal hell of loneliness. My gorgeous white pelt was a little dirty, but I was hoping for a human to look past that and just take me home.

I noticed an adorable little girl playing in the sand. She looked roughly the age of 5. I slowly walked up to her wagging my tail trying to make a good impression. The girl then noticed me. "Hello puppy!" she smiled and reached her hand out and pet my furry head. I licked her hand adoringly. "You wanna build a sandcastle too?" she asked as if I could even build one. I saw her mother sun-bathing, paying no attention to my existence. I laid down comfortably next to the girl in the warm sand. "Here, have some icecream." she took a partially eaten,melting ice cream cone and held it close to my nose. I wagged my tail in delight and licked a small amount of the white, cold goop. A tiny little streak was left on my dark pink, maroon colored nose. I tried to lick it off the best of my ability. "Where's your mommy and Daddy?" She asked me. I sneezed and panted in response. "Maby you can come live with me and my mommy and daddy then." she said with a smile. I wagged my tail in delight. could I really be getting a new home? I asked myself.

Suddenly the girls father came and grabbed her and lifed her away from me. "Macie! that's a stray dog! Stay away from it!" He yelled as he started kicking sand at me. Alot of it went into my face and my eyes stung. I yelped and quickly got up, the girl was crying. I tried running away, avoiding things with only my vision partially availible. I ran under the pier and ran into the water. Most of the sand washed off my face. I remembered the harsh words of the girl's father. 'it' was the name he gave me. It stung even worse then the sand in my eyes.
" Humans can be such jerks..." I said to myself. I started wandering around the area again, hoping I would get better luck next time.

[MENTAL]

Scooter

Muscled body rippled slightly as the big dog made his way along the boardwalk onto the beach by the pier, moving difficultly over the sand because he only had the use of three of his paws and the sand gave way underneath his excessive weight. He was a big dog, much bigger than any of the breeds that's blood ran through his veins, and he was muscled. His appearance quite intimidating except for his deformed paw that rested close to his body, shriveled and tiny compared to the rest, just bent up against his body uselessly. It was the only flaw in his appearance and body, the only thing that took away the strength and power that he might have otherwise had.

He was colored a golden sandy brown like a golden retriever, getting his coloring from his beautiful mother. His body build more like that of his father, a pitbull crossed with a border collie. He was build for strength and agility but his useless paw didn't allow him to really excel in anything like that. The only interruption to the golden color of his short coat was a patch of near black chocolate brown hair that covered his right eye and right ear.

Scooter sat down in the sand in a shadow under the pier, watching the humans run and play and just have fun. How easy their lives were. He didn't envy them though, he loved the hand that he had been dealt by the heavens and wouldn't exchange it for anything. He saw a white husky attempt to make friends with a girl and could already see the disappointment and the rejection coming. Seeing the man approach them and being tempted to go and intercept the sand that was kicked at her. A growl coming from him though he couldn't really do anything about it. He watched as she ran into the water to wash the sand out of her eyes and heard what she said.

She hadn't noticed him. He watched her still, listening to her speak. A friendly smile came to his face. He wasn't too far away from her. "Yes. They can." He said in a friendly but agreeing tone. He waited to see if she would stay there and talk to him, he wasn't as scary as he sometimes looked. He was more of a cuddly teddy bear than anything. He enjoyed to be in the company of others as well, he loved making new friends. It wasn't always that easy because he was usually always with his sister, Artemis, who wasn't always the most friendly and she generally managed to chase away any potential friends. Scooter was a bit lonely though, wanting the company of a dog that wasn't family. He needed to find someone unrelated to him that he could love and care for.

[kaia]

I jumped when I heard the gruff voice of another dog. I stood in the water, the waves rolled against my legs. I looked at him. "Not all of them though..." I said with a small smile as I trudged out of the water. I shook my pelt of the water, it bristled a little bit. " I panted lightly. "Hello there." I greeted. "My name's Kaia. What's yours?" I wagged my tail.

I noticed the mutt's coloring. He looked like a giant collage of different breeds. "So...how are you? The weather sure is nice for a day at the beach today. The humans must love getting hot. I sure don't" I stated, trying to make a conversation. I looked around at all the people.

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[MENTAL]

He gave her a slightly apologetic look when she got a fright from him speaking, he hadn't meant to give her a fright of anything like that. He listened to what she said, he couldn't really say too much on the subject because he had been born a stray and had never really had much to do with humans. He had just had the sympathetic pats from people when they'd noticed his disability and the occasional disapproving glare from those that didn't like strays walking around. Hearing her say hello to him he kept smiling in a friendly manner. "Hi." He continued to listen to her introduce herself. "My name's Scooter." He told her. When she attempted to start a conversation he moved to let his good front paw slide forward through the sand slowly to lower his big body onto the sand so that he was lying down. He got tired quite easily because it took more effort for him to walk than it did for most other dogs.

He was in the shade so the air was cool on his golden pelt, making him quite comfortable where he was laying on the sand that formed to support his body. "I'm good I guess. Nothing's really out of the ordinary." He commented in a friendly tone. "The heat's not too bad either, as long as there's some shade to stay in." He added as well. Since his coat wasn't too thick he didn't get hot as easily as some dogs did, it was only parts of him that had the longer sort of hair from the golden retriever though most of his coat was short like a pitbull's.

"Do you always try and make friends with the humans?" He asked curiously, just wondering. He was content to live as a stray, he didn't worry himself about trying to find a home with a human when he didn't need it. He was well fed and healthy because his sister was a good hunter and tended to try and take care of him all of the time. Though he was good at finding his own food as well when he needed or wanted to do so. He knew where to find those caring humans that would feed him out of sympathy. He didn't like to play the sympathy card though, it made him feel guilty for emotionally bribing the easily influenced humans. He continued to watch her while he waited for her to answer his curious question.

[kaia]

(awww scooter's pic it soo cuute!! ^3^ lol srry for the late reply)

I smiled as he said his name. "That's a nice name." I replied. I looked at the waves crashing down on the sands, little children were running up to the waves then retreating. They all screamed with laughter as the cold water touched their toes. I heard his statement and looked back at him. "Well that's good." I remarked.


I heard him ask if I always tried befriending humans. "Well...." I responded then paused. "Ever since I've lost my owners I've had no place to go. No humans to love. No humans to cuddle up with, or watch them watch that box thing. I like to howl when something weird comes on. They laughed at me and pat my head..... I loved riding in the car with them." I sighed. I then looked down a little. "They almost put me to sleep though......" I whispered. I whined as I remembered the silhouettes urging forward, needle in hand , filled with the anesthetic. "I remember the adrenaline rushing through me...I swear I was running like the world was collapsing behind me..." I looked at him. "So...that's kinda my reason.... hehe...." I wagged my tail. "So have you always been a stray? Or were you with humans too?" I questioned.

[MENTAL]

He listened calmly to her story, his eyes watching her intently and taking in her emotions that she expressed, tempted to get up and move over to her to try and comfort her but he didn't want to seem invasive of her personal space so he just remained lying where he was, a slight smile resting on his face. When she questioned him about his past he sighed and lowered his eyes for a moment as he thought. "I was born a stray, yes. Into a family that's been unfortunate so far." His tone remained cheerful as he spoke, shifting his weight to lie more comfortably before he continued. "My sister, Artemis, is usually with me. We're not sure where our parents or two siblings are. But if we do find them and our father isn't with out mother she will most likely murder him as she's threatened to do before." He spoke in slight amusement now as his eyes came to rest on her again, their warmth inviting for her to come closer if she wished.

"I won't bore you with too much family history though." He commented almost playfully before lowering his nose to his paw, rubbing it against his leg to get rid of an itch that had suddenly appeared. Then he looked at her again. "Why don't you try and find a dog family? Find someone to make a small pack with and family instead of being with humans. I've never heard of anyone that likes them. To me they seem to always just cause more trouble than they're worth." He spoke questioningly, just being curious and friendly. Maybe he'd even invite her to join himself and Artemis, if his sister agreed of course, which he was sure she would.

[kaia]

I stared into his eyes. They seemed warm and welcoming. I heard him suggest a 'dog pack'. It didn't seem that horrible. I looked at the beach and back at him. Where do you live? I asked him. I sat down ans gnawed at my foot. I felt somthing inbetween my toes that had to go away. It went away shortly.

Somthing caught the attention of my nose. I smelled somthing good. That ice cream the girl gave me barley helped my hunger at all. I looked at the male. "Hey, you smell that?" I wagged my tail and gave a light smile. "You wanna go check it out?"

[MENTAL]

Hearing her ask where he lived he looked around for a moment. "Everywhere." He commented in a cheerful tone. Watching her before hearing what else she said and raising his nose into the air more to take in the scents that were presented to him. He could smell many things and he wasn't sure which of the scents it was that she meant for them to go and explore though he guessed it was one of the ones to do with food. Nodding before he slowly pulled himself up onto his feet with slight difficulty, stretching a little as well before he moved towards her a bit, waiting for her to lead the way so that he could follow at a casual pace that didn't make it too difficult for him to walk as he limped over the sand.

The smells of food didn't really draw his attention too much, being that his stomach was comfortably filled from an earlier meal that Artemis had caught for them to share, the taste of it still fresh on his taste-buds. His full stomach made him slightly sleepy however, just for a short nap to let it digest though he wasn't tired and he was perfectly happy to remain cheerful through this exploration of where the smells came from. He had an extremely good nose so as soon as he knew what he was looking for he would probably be able to find it for her.

[kaia]

I wagged my tail and barked happily as he agreed to come with me. I quickly got up on my feet and panted and barked playfully again. My tail was wagging furiously. I playfully hit him lightly with my paw. "Let's go then!" I exclaimed happily. I started walking, following the scent. It smelled like somthing I had smelt before. I couldn't really remember though. Well I guess that was a loss on my behalf.

I remember walking through streets with my old humans. I would smell all sorts of peculiar smells. Like other dogs ,cats, rodents, trash , a strange odor of somthing that was probably dead. I heard all sorts of noises too. Like people talking to themselves with on of their paws by their ears. I found them crazy. I guess humans can be so stupid, they need us to help them survive...and vice-versa.

[MENTAL]

When her paw pushed against him his muscled tightened, tensing to hold him up so he wouldn't stumble before he continued to go with her, his pace still a little slower because of his disability but he was still managing to keep up with her as he let his eyes just stay on her instead of straying. He didn't need to look around, his other senses picked up enough things for him to know what was going on around him without having to pay too much attention to things. He was wondering where she was going but he didn't ask as he just followed calmly, a smile still plastered on his face.

"Do you know where you're going? Or what you're looking for?" He asked playfully as he sped up a little to catch up to her before limping alongside her, waiting for an answer to his question as he looked around a bit before letting his eyes settle on the landscape in front of him so that he could see where they were going, his ears perked slightly to wait for anything she might say and listen to her.

[kaia]

I noticed Scooter's slow pace then he caught up with me. I heard him ask if I knew where I was going, or what I was looking for."Nope." I said cheerfully in reply. "The best part is just randomly finding it." I looked at him. His eyes still had that warm and welcoming zeal/ (i think tht's the word I'm looking 4 lol) . He seemed.....different now. Now I felt some emotion when I looked at him. Probably a good feeling of friendship .

I wagged my tail and panted happily as people would pet me as I passed by. I didn't really know about scooter ; if he got pet alot or what. Suddenly I heard a voice of a young human pup. "Mommy, what's wrong with that doggie?" The mother noticed Scooter's paw and gave a disgusted, sorry look. "He's just.....different....he's having a hard time walking hunny....hopefully the dogcatchers will find him and take him to the pound so they can put him to sleep..." The mother walked off. I looked back at Scooter. "Scooter....? Is there somthing wrong with your paw?" I was a little worried when I asked him.

[MENTAL]

He listened to what she was saying, watching her wag her tail happily as the humans pet her and shaking his head slightly. He too would get pets while walking through crowd were it not for his somewhat intimidating appearance at times, even with his disability. Scooter understood perfectly the words of the human as she spoke of the pound and him getting put to sleep, his ears pulled back slightly in a saddened way as he dropped his gaze though it was only for a moment before his cheerfully warm and friendly appearance returned only to disappear again as he heard her ask if there was something wrong with his paw. Of course there was, it could barely even pass as one..

He sighed before turning towards her and sitting down, his own eyes resting on the useless limb tucked underneath his body. It was smaller than the other three, no muscles having developed on it, it was just bone pretty much with a small amount of meat covering it and then his tan coat. Some days he felt like he could be something that came straight out of a horror movie with the way it looked, almost shriveled up and completely useless. "I was born with my paw not being of any use. I don't know why or anything really, but I have no feeling in it and I can't move it or anything. It's just.. there." He commented before he sighed again and then looked towards her to see how she'd react. Probably run off to find a normal dog without a disability to be with instead of giving him a chance, he was used to it though. Survival of the fittest, that's how it worked, and he couldn't exactly even pass for fit even though he was a strong and very very capable dog, almost like only having the use of three paws didn't affect him at all, though it did. Some days he just got too tired to go very far, today was one of those days where he'd rather just lie around than run and play and attempt to hunt.

[kaia]

I looked at him sadly, my tail stopped wagging. "Scooter....I'ts okay.." I sat very close to him. "I'm not afraid of your foot. I don't mind it at all." I licked it lightly, as if if would heal that way. I looked back up and him and licked his cheek and wagged my tail slightly.

"I wouldn't run from you." I smiled. "Your a very nice guy and it doesn't matter how you look on the outside, it's the inside that counts." I liked him again and pushed his shoulder playfully.

[MENTAL]

Scooter listened to what she was saying and let her lick his face and his paw, just smiling happily as his tail wagged a bit as well. When she pushed against his shoulder playfully he shifted his weight so he wouldn't lose his balance and fall over before he stood up, his tail wagging. "Weren't we looking for something?" He asked her, wondering if she'd completely forgotten about that now or whether she still wanted to keep looking for whatever it had been. He didn't care how humans reacted to him, he was used to it. He just watched her while he waited to see what she would do or say now, he was fine with whatever she chose to do since anything that kept him occupied would be good. He didn't feel like just sitting around and being bored, having some company and something to do was nice.