╭ ✦. nevermore | a dog roleplay | closed!

[deftonesly]

ＡＮＤＩＥ！

age. 3 yrs . role. the tenacious . where. canyon . tags. the six ; nef . words. 1072
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lol
the words of the others followed andie into the darkness, simultaneously renewing the danger of the situation but also lifting her up.
indent spunky riko's light, melodious voice floated down to her floppy golden-red ears──"be safe, andie!"──and she almost faltered when gunnery's gravelly bark bounced off the colorful layers of rock around her──"andie! if you get hurt, you better hope i don't get ahold of you!" the retriever's heart swelled a tenfold at these phrases, happy that the grumpy old sire seemed to harbor feelings towards her other than annoyance and sourness after all. their chatter continued on aboveground as they awaited her return, eventually fading to nothing, at least to the tenacious' ears, for she was deeply focused on finding safe footholds down to the canyon floor. she'd be lying if she said she hadn't expected it, but less than a few moments into her cautious journey down the tumbling red rocks and dusty pathways, grainy pebbles skittered from above to dust her coat and plummet to the depths below. the shower of dirt was quickly trailed by: "i'm going to help andie. i don't like waiting idly." of all dogs, of course nef had ignored her, the stupidly brave goof. andie shook her sleek head in a mix of fondness and annoyance as she looked back over her shoulder to see nefertiti hopping down the rocks after her, small brown body poofy as ever and a daring expression on his little maw.

indent andie loved the fiery pomeranian, so she didn't mind his company in the least. if anything, she'd counted on him debasing her words and following her like the rebel he was. nef had been the first of the six to show up in the laboratory after her, so she'd spent the longest time with him, and felt most comfortable in his presence versus that of atlas or riko or keno. not to say she disliked any of those dogs, just that the rough-and-tumble male trotting along at her side now had a ring of familiarity about him that no one could exactly replace, him being the first canine friend she ever truly made. the toller woofed as she bunched her muscles before making a leap for a rock a little ways beneath her, "glad to have you along! it'll be good to have our fiercest warrior at my side if we encounter anything down here." she landed and grinned at him briefly. then, with hazel eyes narrow in concentration, she returned to her careful navigating down the steep canyon-side. the golden-red female did not look back to view nef's chest puffing at the words; she was sure that it did regardless.
indent they continued on in companionable silence, nails clicking on dusty rocks, sharing a few chuckles and scares here and there. eventually, they were deep enough into the wound in the earth that they were completely cloaked in shadow. the remaining four above were just ants milling about, and the sun was rising faster and faster; they needed to hurry and get the others down here so they could evade the sun's rays, which were surely getting to hairy atlas and keno by now. already, the canyon's temperature was worlds different than the one they'd faced in their brief time on the sun-scorched terrain overhead, further hastening andie's desire to hurry. still, though she was anxious to check the place out, she did not rush herself, continuing with the slow pace she had set out of fear that she would slip into the gathering shadows otherwise. their main problem slowly shifted, however, and the lower andie and nef went, the more she could see the first of their dangers: the gravelly pathways and rocks were thinning out to form rusty red, orange, and cream shelves of stone, steep and crumbly.
indent closer to the bottom of the canyon as they were, it wouldn't be easy to get to the canyon floor or leave it. stunted, thorny trees and bushes clung to life on the shelves, and they were pretty much the only purchase their paws could find as the retriever and pomeranian half-slithered, half-scrabbled their way down to a shelf big enough for both of them to stand on.

indent there wasn't much further to go, so the pair caught their breath, noses dry and tongues lolling. so close, andie thought as she leaned over the shelf, taking a peek at what yawned below. a few more dog-lengths beneath them, the shelves molded back into dusty, gravelly ground punched through by tussocks of──surprisingly green──vegetation. a stream trickled along the middle of the canyon floor, stretching for countless paces in both directions; above the noise of the whistling wind, andie perhaps heard a waterfall, supplying it somewhere in the distance. water. thank goodness. we have to find the source. plant life, prey, and more shelter will be there, the toller thought. "come on, nef, not much further now," andie said encouragingly, scooting back from the edge of the shelf and twisting about, eventually locating a shelf next to them that could take them down even lower. a few more shelves and one sturdy branch to lead them safely to the canyon floor, and they'd made it. it was dark, but as the sun rose──slanting into the canyon in some areas──and andie's eyes adjusted, she was able to glean more of her surroundings. after glancing around and once more catching her breath, the golden-red dog stepped up to the bubbling stream, sniffed it, and then stepped inside to cool off her aching, calloused feet and quench her thirst.
indent she barked, lifting her snout from the chilly water after drinking so much she thought she would burst, "let's drink as much as we can. hydration is important out here, after all. then we should sniff around a bit, see if there are any dangers lurking about. we'll split up, meet back here, and then we'll bark to the others together. they should hear the echoes. sound good?" things came to her mind, creatures she'd seen in simulations: coyotes, poisonous lizards and snakes, birds of prey . . . it was possible this hidden oasis was too good to be true, so it was the duty of andie and nef to scour the land and make sure it was suitable for resting. andie tilted her floppy ears to the pomeranian at her side, wanting to hear what he thought.

[brad!]

► 𝚗𝚎𝚏 ◄
• tags; andie •
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memesNefertiti's small frame made its way down into the chasm, his beady brown eyes scouring the earth for the safest way to get down to Andie. Such was hard for the small dog, for he could barely see over some of the rather oddly shaped rocks that littered the landscape down, and throughout the environment below. Though he would never admit it, the sheer lack of sight caused a slight pang of fear to ebb in Nef's heart. Goodness me, it's almost the equivalent of my family trying to teach me that stairs aren't scary. came a fleeting thought, a surprised noise leaving Nef's chest as he briefly lost his footing. "Yikes!" but as quickly as the fear came it was gone again, the small beast having regained his composure, slithering down into the abyss below like a snake intent on finding their way back home.

It wasn't long before Nefertiti was at Andie's side, a feeling of relief washing over him as Andie seemed content with his company. He puffed up proudly at the retriever's statement. "Considering it's my job to keep us all safe, I'm more than happy to keep an eye out for you," he responded fondly, tail wagging. "I honestly don't know what we'd do without you." For a dog whose words were typically joking or had some mocking degree behind them, Nef's tone was sincere. The sand-coloured fluffball didn't say much more, following Andie in a comfortable silence.

His prior statements had left the Pomeranian pondering. What would they find down here? Nef was almost certain that the humans wouldn't have dumped them somewhere with the sole motive to die. He was no genius, but surely it would be a waste of all the time and effort the humans had gone into training them, if they died. But perhaps he was wrong. Humans were strange and confusing creatures, their inconsistent moods often getting the best of Nef. One minute they can't be happier, and then the next they're upset with you because you peed on the carpet. They certainly are strange creatures.

Andie seemed intent on going slow, Nef fidgeting behind her. However, the pomeranian stopped himself from rushing ahead (which was notably quite shocking). What use to them would Nef be if he was flattened at the bottom of the canyon? But soon the thought became redundant, Nefertiti feeling his burning hot fur start to cool and his eyes adjust to the new light levels. He followed the toller over the branch and allowed Andie to spend a few moments enjoying the coolness of the stream. "This place is nice." he commented, eyes moving from his friend to survey the area around them. There was little to no breeze, but the temperature was finally manageable, which was something Nefertiti was quickly coming to appreciate, even within the incredibly short time the group of dogs had been in the desert.

Once Andie had finished drinking, Nef made his way over and dipped his nose into the stream, the cool liquid washing over his nose. He lapped at the liquid, surprising himself with how thirsty he had been. The dog's ears twitched as Andie spoke, acknowledging her words as he continued to satiate his own need to drink, his muscles twitching every now and again as he kept an eye out for any unsuspecting danger. After some time, Nefertiti lifted his head, water clinging to his muzzle. He swiped his tongue over his face, catching the stray droplets. All the while Nef was considering Andie's proposition, mulling the idea over in his head.

"Sounds good, Boss." he answered after a few moments with a nod. "We're going to need to work fast, considering the heat back up top. As someone with luscious and long fur like myself, I can't say the others are going to be enjoying the heat all that much." The ends of his mouth twitched, but the Pomeranian suppressed his smile. It was time for the serious business.

"I'm going to head a few clicks that way," Nef continued, turning his head to face the direction where the stream was flowing downward. "If you want to head upward, that'd be great. Just start barking if things go paws up. I should be able to hear you, and I'll come running. Stay safe, Andie." And with that, Nef started marching downstream, his little paws quivering with anticipation as to what he might find.

For the most part, Nef found himself admiring the scenery of green foliage mixed with the dusty red dirt of the canyon. Though, his attention didn't deviate from the task at hand. His nose was pressed to the ground, the dog taking in whatever he could in the hopes of finding something just a little bit notable. The sound of the rushing water assaulted his ears, but something did catch the Pomeranian's attention.

Was that a rattle?

Nef's ears perked up and the brute's head tilted to the side in an attempt to hear the sound better. He hadn't heard one of those in a while, not since his time at the museum. Little humans would come holding them, held captive in their moving prisons as they cried and shook the blasted things around. Why, even sometimes the little goblins would throw them at the small dog. The thought made Nef sigh, but quickly left his head as the sound became louder and louder, the dog quickly realising that the sound was coming from behind him.

Nef turned, his beady eyes meeting the rounded ones of a snake, the dog taking a step back as the reptile let out a large, threatening hiss.

Remember what they taught you in the simulations. came the thought as Nef instinctively took a step back, baring his teeth.

"Mate, I don't have time for this. I just want to suss out your home, see if anyone else wants to kill me, and be on me way. Can you get lost?"