Not Today

| Sanaa || Kuerr |

Zonje's gaze had barely risen over the peaks in the distance when Sanaa found herself strolling to the training arena. Today she would be continuing her laps before seeking out one of the warriors about proposing combat training. The opportunity to advance to being a hunter was so close, Sanaa could just taste it. But she wanted to ensure her body, now becoming more lean and muscular than it had been, was in tip top shape for the tasks asked of her.

Even though the sun had yet to be full in the sky, Sanaa could already feel the impending heat of the day. She judged it to be another very hot day, one that might see her retreat either to the shades of the trees, the Temple, or her home. If it were to be this hot, Sanaa had doubt she could even muster the energy for sparring later.

When she arrived, there were a few dogs about, stretching themselves to get ready for their intense workout for the day. Sanaa smiled to herself as she passed them, taking a spot closer to the equipment instead of the dogs as she began to stretch her legs out. A long time ago, Sanaa would've turned and walked away if she saw other dogs in the training arena, out of embarrassment, but now she no longer felt afraid. Shy and nervous, sure, but not enough to avoid the arena completely. Just enough to want to avoid the dogs, especially in case they wanted to seek her out to start problems with.

Kuerr

The hairless dog had found himself rising rather early and with an abundance of energy. This lead him to the decision to train. Not that he usually didn’t, it’s just that he usually couldn’t find the energy to rise early to get a kick-start to the day. He rose from his bed of furs with a gentle sigh. He then proudly stood from his den, pale grey eyes assessing his surroundings. So far, it was just like any other day. Just less canines running about, but as the sun got higher in the sky, that would change.

Upon reaching the training gaze, he allowed his pale gaze to wash over the dogs that occupied it. There were not many, and all but one seemed to be clustered in a little group. He could understand why you would train in a group, but he also knew that it makes it easier for canines to be left behind. Not that he would be, but he found it more fulfilling to train on his own. As he descended into the training grounds, he felt the harsh heat of the sun pound down onto his back. Today would be a short training day, that was for sure. He would not want to risk the sunburn.

Choosing to be closer to the lone dog than the group, he decided he better ask if they’d mind if he intruded on their training space. As he approached the dog, he found his gaze wander over them. They looked strangely familiar, yet he could not place where he had seen them before. They were rather masculine whilst there remained to be something feminine within the dog. Frankly, it confused him. With a shake of his head he confidently began to speak as he was finally close enough to do so without shouting. “uh-excuse me… sir?” He couldn’t decide if that was the right term, as they didn’t exactly look male, but they did at the same time and it confused him to no end. With another soft shake of his head he decided to continue. “Would you mind if I stretched beside you, it’s just that I do not want to be so close to that group over there…” He felt as though he needed to explain himself, and so did as politely as he could manage.

Sir..?

Sanaa's eyes twitched as she looked up at the dog that had approached her. He looked familiar to her in some way, though she couldn't think of how exactly. He reminded her of her mother Sanae though, strangely enough. But that wasn't what she was thinking about. At the moment she felt deeply insulted and aggravated. Was it entirely his fault? No. But did it mean she cared for it? Also no.

It had been a while since anyone had assumed her to be male, or at least had openly assumed so. Sanaa was sure her mere existence confused many dogs - she was both feminine and masculine, but neither one or the other. But so far they had done the courtesy of either not caring or not pointing it out directly to her.

It wasn't this dog's fault. Not entirely. But the horrid memories of humiliation and abuse for it returned to Sanaa, and suddenly training didn't seem as important anymore.

"I'm a female," she responded, her voice tired and neutral, indicating her displeasure of the comment. "And yes, you can come train over here. There are a lot of dogs here today." She shifted in her spot to make room for the bald dog while keeping a good distance from him. Not his fault, not his fault, she kept telling herself over and over, but she still felt bothered by it.

Kuerr

His mouth fell ajar at her statement. Not a male, but a female and he had called her ‘sir’. He couldn’t prevent his mouth from forming the perfect ‘O’ shape, and the heat he felt spreading from his chest caused his heart to speed up. His skin turned a brighter shade of pink as he stood there blushing. “Oh-Uh…” he couldn’t hide his clear embarrassment over the situation, suddenly uncomfortable in the familiar canine’s presence. “My apologies, I just assumed… well, I shouldn’t have assumed, but I did… ah-I’m-sorry.” As he continued rambling he found his words began to run together.

With a quick shake of his head and a clear of his throat he turned his domed head from the female before him, turning his pale gaze towards the direction of his den. She had said that he could train near her, but he found that he simply couldn’t entertain the idea of doing such a thing after their previous misunderstandings. With a deep inhale, he returned his attentions to the female. He had already asked the question and it had been answered, therefore, he must go through with it. Who knows, perhaps they may even recover from their misunderstanding.

“thanks…” he couldn’t help but mumble his response, still partially embarrassed. With his head hung lower than usual, he began to stretch, preparing himself for the intense training session he was about to give himself. Occasionally, sparing the female a glance or two.

Sanaa watched him keenly, gauging him to see how the dog would react to her statement. It seemed that the dog knew he overstepped his boundaries with his assumption, which pleased Sanaa that he was embarrassed about it. Good, let him know his mistake so he knew better for the future. She couldn't be the only dog who suffered such a defect, could she? Granted, yes, she might've been a rarity in the deserts.

"It's okay," she offered, still a little tense after that, but trying to keep herself calm. Already she could feel weight settle in her stomach, a bad sign already, but she needed to power through it in order to do what she had intended for the day. Besides, the dog seemed awkward, out of place as she once did.

Not only that, but Sanaa found herself studying him a little more. Her offense gave way to curiosity - for sure she felt like she had met this dog before, for he looked so familiar. So compelled was she to know that she ended up blurting out, much like he had, "Have we met before? I feel like I've seen you somewhere."

Realizing too late she had just blurted that out, Sanaa froze a bit, eyes widening in her now shared embarrassment while her paw sat over her mouth briefly. "Sorry, I-I didn't mean to blurt that out either."

Kuerr

She had stated that everything was okay, which Kuerr assumed meant she accepted his apology and they could move on from the embarrassment and he could focus solely on his training. He stretched out his muscular form, feeling his skin pull around the muscles at the movement. Focusing on relaxing himself so that he would better his training, he barely noted the silence that ensued after their misunderstanding. He had just assumed all pleasantries, if you could call it that, was over and that they both could go about training separately.

That was until her curiosities were expressed in a rather abrupt way. At her words, his tall ears flickered in her direction followed by his domed head. Grey orbs met brown as he raised a single eyebrow, causing more wrinkles to form upon his brow. He noted the way in which her eyes widened before she apologised for blurting out such a question. He allowed a soft chuckle to escape his maw. "I, actually, wasn't going to say anything. But, I too, feel as though we have met before. Though, I cannot place where…"

As soon as the words had been spoken he immediately regretted them. What if the female before him was one of his past victims? No. she couldn't be. He was certain he would've remembered someone with her particular ailment.

Oh so she wasn't the only one who had had that feeling. That was certainly a welcomed relief to Sanaa, who now felt a little less ashamed for the sudden outburst. In fact now she was curious about this male beside her, wondering just where exactly the pair might've crossed paths, if they had.

It was not hard for Sanaa to deduce the only possible way she would've bumped into this dog. Her memory was not as sharp as others were, but she felt she had a good memory nonetheless. There were no traveling companions during her time before The Ascended. "I used to live in a pack that often traded with others," she said, looking considerate as she thought back to the past. "They were a very, uh, zealot lot. Really liked Zonje a lot. Our leader was a male named Miro. I don't know if that helps any, I'm sure you've heard a lot of names in the past too."

Kuerr

His ears trained forwards as the female spoke, seemingly relieved that she wasn't misguided in her statement. She had then shared some of the memories she had of her old pack, perhaps hoping to spark something in the mind of the hairless male before her. Though, there was nothing. Kuerr had roamed to countless pack to do trading whilst at Alpha's side, most were the same and, unfortunately, hers was one. Though the name of which she spoke, Miro, sounded awfully familiar. So much so, that it was upon the edge of his mind. But no matter how much he tried, he could not grasp the memory. Bald brows knitted together in frustration as his pale orbs dropped to the ground between the duo.

"I'm terribly sorry but your old pack does not stand out to me..." He paused, bringing his gaze to meet hers. "Though, that name. Miro. Sounds frightfully familiar." He shut his eyes momentarily as he shook his head, trying to remove the clutter that was building within his mind, before he return his pale gaze to the female before him.

"My-uh-old pack was... well, they were ruthless and took without question. They had deals with packs, much like your own in the ways of culture. Our leader was named Alpha." He couldn't help but force a rush of air from his nostrils in the form of a half-hearted laugh. There were so many emotions that came with the name Alpha. There was disgust, disdain, and more repulsively... respect. "If you ever met him, you would not forget him... trust me."

Alpha?

Now why was that so eerily familiar?

Sanaa's face scrunched up in thought as she tried to peer back into the recesses of her mind. Her past was never a happy memory to return to, but her puppy hood was quieter, better when she was a mere shadow on the blip of everyone's radar. Not worth the time unless they were looking for a means of exerting their aggression.

She remembered her aunt and uncle never allowing her to attend any pack dealings with the others, merely brushing off her inquiries if she had any. 'It was better if you stayed still,' her aunt used to tell her, and never being one to disrespect her guardian, Sanaa did just that.

Her brown eyes fluttered back to the hairless dog before her. An unusual creature, but a stand-out one at that. And so much like her mother in some regards, at least in terms of body structure, that Sanaa wondered if there was any correlation...

It was sudden when it came to her. Sanaa couldn't explain, but slowly she was getting an idea of where she might've seen this dog. The dealings. Miro talking to an intimidating and scary figure. She was an 'unfavorable' and was going to be taken away. Her aunt and uncle stepping in to accept her as their own.

And it was dim, but Sanaa wore she could see a faint hooded figure with her in memory. Who was with her when she eavesdropped on her mother's hatred of her.

Suddenly it came back to her. Like a snap.

"You were the hooded pup!" Sanaa cried out, ducking her head when she saw several looks of disapproval from the other dogs in the arena. In a hushed voice, excited now, she blurted, "I remember now. We traded pups with you, all the ones that my pack thought were shameful to keep. I was going to be one of them, but I got away. And then... you were there."

'B-But he's family right?'

The childish plea from so long ago came back to Sanaa. The dog staring back at her was not just a friendly face, but kin. A cousin. Now everything made sense to Sanaa, and she couldn't resist smiling back at him, beaming, hopeful that perhaps some mental connection for him would occur as well.

Kuerr

His ears flattened as he took a fast step back from the female as she exclaimed that he was ‘the hooded pup’. Grey eyes widened as he glanced around to the dogs that surrounded them. Few casting dirty looks whilst the rest clearly thought she was some form of insane, Kuerr was one of them. He stood tall, tilting his head upwards as she ducked hers. Then there was silence. His mind was working overtime for a reason to leave the larger, wrinkled dog before him. She was beginning to make him fairly uncomfortable.

Once every other dog seemed to get back to their training, the female before him began to speak in a hushed voice. One that still portrayed her excitement over the fact that he was a hooded pup. But, there was more than one hooded pup roaming the wastelands. His pale gaze met her deep brown orbs. She really thought her words would trigger some form of memory for him. He hated to disappoint the unsound of mind, but he was left with no other option.

“Sorry, but I don’t remember. Pups were his main trade and escape was more common than you would think.” His pale grey eyes searched hers, hoping she would understand. “But, I have no other explanations, so it must be true.” He hated the fact that Alpha and his pack, Kuerr included, had separated pups from their families. So, he felt the need to apologise to this pup for them taking her away from her home as well.  “I know this may be a little too late, but if it is as you said, I sincerely apologise for you being taken away from your family by my old pack and I hope that your life hasn’t been too harsh as a result.”

His gaze once again turned to the direction of his den. He wouldn’t find himself in conversation with the senseless there. So, it had been decided… that is where he would go. He didn’t need to train that much today anyway. Having made up his mind, he turned his attention towards the wrinkly female once more. “If you’ll excuse me,” or if not, “I just remembered that I have to… uh-run some errands.” With that he bowed his head to the female, as he began to slowly back away.

All the joy upon realizing who this dog was died immediately in Sanaa when she saw how poorly she executed this realization; even more so realizing how uncomfortable she made the dog feel. Perhaps it was some level of payback for his uncomfortable assumption earlier, but Sanaa did not mean to make him nervous. It hurt even more when he was quick to respond and depart, leaving her behind, words of apology and hoping to take back what she said dying on her lips.

Perhaps she had been wrong, and he was not the dog.

But she was so sure... he looked similar...

Hooded eyes cast downward at her paws, a pathetic sight really, but Sanaa was reeling from embarrassment and guilt for suddenly blurting out to this dog, hoping against hope that there was a connection after all.

The past should've stayed buried, she thought, bitterness starting to creep upon her. Training was soured for her for the day. Sanaa ignored the interested eyes now casting towards her and angrily began to make her trek home, hoping to hide herself out for the day while trying to forget what she said. Hopefully she would become a Hunter soon, then she wouldn't have to worry about bumping into the pale dog any time soon again.