[ AW ] oh the many places you'll go

When news of the borders opening passed over his ears, he did not wish to believe it. He had never planned to go there, where the outsiders had lived. They were a strange and different kind of canine. He didn't need to know them, or to see them. He just knew. But his curiosity was getting the better of him. He mulled it over in his head for days before the beginning of the parade. Should he go? Should he see them? What if what he had been told all those years was a lie? He thought about it long and hard. Tadhg had spoken with his family, talked it over with them, and they had honored his decision to want to see what everything was about over there. He made the trek alone, and wondered if he would discover any "new" locals around. How would they treat him?

It took a long while to get from his home to these new lands. He was not worried about any danger, and he felt like he could hold his own. He did wonder what type of dangers lived over here. It was not until he heard loud noises and yelling that he figured he was getting closer to where the parade was being held. He was cautious, though he held himself with an air of arrogance about him. Tadhg was not an arrogant being, but usually he held this posture to keep others away from him. Of course, it did not always work on some. There would be those who could openly speak to anyone. He was not a fool to think they did not exist. Carefully, he made his way through the crowd and sat right on the edge of the street. He watched the many floats moving down the street. All the bright colors, the music. It was a very interesting scene to witness. He hadn't really understood what they were celebrating and almost wondered if this was the sort of thing that they did frequently.

"Ócáid suimiúil den sórt sin."1 he said to himself, for fear that someone might hear him speaking too loud, and get into a heated spat with him. His stripes were enough of a show of his presence. But any wolf could have these looks and not be of the same bloodlines.

1. Such an interesting event

"Mighty fine day..."
@name

Tae

Tae had returned only on account of the parade -- she'd been exploring the island across the pond before that. A mystical and new place that she quite adored so far. It's locals were nothing like she'd ever seen before and its customs were just the same; she was awestruck, to say in the least. As she crept through the crowd she spotted someone that stood out against the masses. His steely coat was striped in a way that did not seem natural to a wolf and that intrigued her. Did this parade have special animals?

No... this was a wolf!

As she came closer she heard him mutter something she did not understand but that did not deter her. She sidled up to him, chirping a bright "Hello!" into his ear before dancing out of striking range. She whirled to face him then, bright eyes burning with curiosity. "What are you?"

Some might call her rude but she didn't care. She was curious as she eyed him up and down, finding his fur quite interesting and his eyes alluring. She'd never seen someone with such a shade of eyes before. Hell, it would appear there were a lot of things she'd not seen in this world yet.

Through all of the loud noises that surrounded him, there was the smallest of little chirps that caught his attention. Maybe it was because of the tone of pitch, or the fact that from looking around at the others near him - none of them really could compare with his appearance. Most of them were boring colorations, or not exotically patterned. Some may have had really intense and interesting eyes, but he doubted it. He turned his head quick enough to find the one who shrieked bouncing away from him. Her eyes were locked on him so hard, it was as though he could feel her stares. "Mac tíre."1 The way that he said it was rather matter of fact. How could she not determine that by his bone structure he was the same as her. She was small, very small in comparison to him. He had to wonder if she were just a pup or if this were her permanent size? It would be rude to ask, right? He stared at her, looking her up and down. She was rather lithe and agile, he could tell. Speed was never something he thought about, nor really cared for.

He had a small grasp of the English language, so when she spoke - he got a grasp of what she was asking. He could have attempted to speak back to her in English. But he decided against it. Why should he have to go by their ways of doing things? It was enough of a culture shock to see this sort of thing going down their streets. "Cad atá tú?"2 He looked at her, thinking to himself, and the words just came out of his mouth. "Conas nach bhfuil a fhios agat cad is mac tíre ann, a chailín?"3 The way that she had questioned him, he knew it was not very polite. The large wolf looked her up and down. He could have asked her if she were covered in filth, either on the top or her bottom area. How could she be such a soft color on top and have a line through her middle that split the light cream color from the dark muddied look? He didn't wish to be too laud and cause a scene. This little girl's parents might not be too pleased.

1. Wolf
2. What are you?
3. How do you not know what a wolf is, girl?

"Mighty fine day..."
@Tae

Tae

The stranger continued speaking in a strange language she didn't quite understand. She had never learned Gaelic, only the common tongue... but she wasn't even sure that was what he was speaking. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, frowning a bit at him like a petulant child. "Hello... I don't know what the heck you're saying?!" she said, as if that should be obvious. He might not know her language but that thought didn't exactly cross her mind. She inched closer to him, inspecting his striped fur with curiosity in her orange eyes. "Are you some sorta cat-dog hybrid?" she teased.

Tae laughed a little at her own comment then bounced a few feet away, tail waving in the air as she looked around the crowded streets. Nobody seemed to be paying them any mind, really. She turned her gaze back to the stranger and pursed her lips again before rolling her eyes. "I'm Tae. If you can bother to talk to me in a way I could understand you... we could be great friends!" she suggested, as if that were some grand prize or something.

Luckily for him, he knew a little bit of English, and this is what she was speaking. He was hoping he would have ran into someone that could at least speak his native tongue. "Gabh mo leithscéal."1 He almost slapped his paw to his head, but stopped himself and instead he closed his eyes out of frustration for himself. He had not used his English in a while, so he was going to try his very best. "S-sorreh." He said softly. He looked around them to see if there was someone that could translate for him, but then he decided against it. "Cat!" he laughed as he shook his head. How could she think that he was a cat? He did not have the anatomy of one, just the stripes. Where he came from that was pretty normal to see. She must have been from here. He looked at her with a smirk. "Am wolf... girl..."

When she introduced herself, he bowed his head and looked back at her with his purple eyes. "Taghd." He told her as he patted his paw on his chest. He didn't know if she had ever met anyone with a name like him before.

1. My apologies.

"Mighty fine day..."
@Tae

Tae

He began again, those foreign words upon his tongue, and she frowned and shook her head. But then... he said a word she did understand. It was one she'd said herself and he looked incredulous about it. She smiled then, nodding her head and urging him to say more. He didn't say much but she understood him more or less. "Don't you know the common tongue?" she asked him. Maybe he only knew a little bit. Enough to converse with her. Then again... they didn't need to talk much at all if they were busy doing something else. These parades were chalk full of fun events they could partake in.

He then said a weird word and pushed his paw to his chest. "Taghd..." she echoed, taking it as a name more than anything else. "Nice to meetcha!" she exclaimed. "Do you want to check out the parade or were you leaving?" she asked curiously.

When she had asked him if he knew the common tongue, he gave a slight nod of his head. he knew enough, he thought, maybe not enough to hold a whole conversation. But enough to get on. She copied the way that he said his name and he gave her a smile, with a nod. She had done it right. He wondered if she knew what it was. He thought he was being clear enough by pressing his paw to his chest when he had said it. Then she asked him another question. This time he knew a little of it, far less than before. Parade. The word sounded weird to him on her tongue. Pa-ra-de. "Not leaving." he said softly and shook his head back and forth softly. The sound of the music was picking up, and the smell of food wafted in the air. "You to dance?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"Mighty fine day..."
@Tae

Tae

He said he was not leaving and then seemed to ask if she wanted to... dance? Tae shifted her paws and tilted her head, a little uncertain by the question. She had never danced before and didn't rightly know how to but the music and festivities around her would be a good reason to do just that. She shrugged and nodded her head before moving closer and tapping her front paws on the ground.

"Like this?" she said as she tapped to the beat, a smile forming on her muzzle. Her hips swayed slightly and she lifted her chin to look up at him curiously, wondering what he would do along with the music. She'd allow the singing wolves voices to carry her away as she moved beside him -- it wasn't anything crazy but it was a fun experience!

exit tae via dancing the night away