Dog On A Rope

12 - Who Am I?

"A bear pelt?" Oona's shaggy pelt ruffled as she trotted closer to them in an oval, circling the two, tail out long. Laika eyed her closely, watching her movements, curious and sceptical. "Is it in good condition?" The coyote asked, large ears alert. They were orange along the rims.

Laika spoke, slender head raised high, "Yes, in great condition. It was my bed for a long time." The coyote eyed them both up and down, as if studying them long enough could help her determine whether or not the two canines were lying.

Then, Oona said, "Alright, lead me to it." Afore and Laika gave each other a wide smile, ears back, excitedly.

"Not far from where we came," Afore said. He tried to hide it, but his tail wagged a little. He was excited to finally be out of this mess, and finally away from this annoying dog who was tied to him. He was assured that she felt the same, and she did, tail wagging at the thought of being free of him. Still, a little thought persevered at the back of Laika's mind, telling her she wouldn't be happy going back to her shallow, safe life in her tribe. She enjoyed this adventure, this new air in her lungs and ache in her paws, the wind in her black fringed fur.

The wolf, the dog, and the coyote pranced their way through the woods, each with their own way of walking. The wolf, of course, with strong, heavy paws and a bushy pelt walked heavily and with his head low, a pound in every step. The dog travelled with head and tail held high, a light prance to her step. She walked with elegance and domestication. The coyote walked more like the wolf, or perhaps like a fox, low and sniffing the ground, huge ears perked for any sound, curious and clever. Oona trailed the two others, alert and careful.

Oona spoke over the sound of crunching leaves and branches, "How did you two end up roped in this, anyways?"

"It's a long story," Laika said.

"Tell me anyways," Oona said. "I want to know who I'm working with."

She sighed, "Fine. Well, our leader roped us together like this, without any warning."

"Her leader, not mine," Afore clarified. "I work for nobody but myself."

Oona spoke up, "A wolf, then? Just as I'd suspected, a face as wide as yours, a scent as primal. I've not met a wolf before. I heard they were extinct. Huge monsters, in fact."

Afore groaned, rolling his eyes and glancing back at Oona as they trotted along, "Oh, I've heard those things, too."

"He's likely the last of his kind," Laika said. Adore did not like her tone. She almost sounded proud.

He grumbled towards Laika, then, "No, I doubt it. I do have a pack. We're just all scattered about. I'm trying to find them, but this saluki has made my life a lot harder with her antics."

"Antics? You mean my job?"

"Your stupid job."

The coyote chuckled a little. Her chuckle was wiry and loud, like a hyena, "It seems like you two want to go back to your own lives then?"

"Oh, absolutely."

The trees seemed to move past them in rows and rows of grey and browned bark. Afore glanced back at the coyote once again, eyeing her pelt and small, lanky figure. Then, he asked, "And a coyote. I can tell you're primal, but I've never met a coyote before, either. So why aren't coyotes extinct?"

"Coyotes were not deemed powerful enough to overtake domestics," Oona said with a groan, "So we were not eradicated. Instead, many of us became enslaved."

"Like you," Afore nodded.

"No," Oona hissed, "I am not a slave. I am a merchant. A trader. I do not work for any tribe. I merely help them to help myself."