Multiple Settings Stray Dog Haven- Ghost's Pack

[m4ngy.mutt]

-CHIEF-

Momentarily distracted by Ches’s sudden arrival, Chief’s sharp ears caught a high-pitched yelp from Chive. Instantly alert, the massive Kangal spun toward the brush where the curious pup had wandered off. Without hesitation, Chief charged through the foliage, his muscular frame moving with urgency. The scene that greeted him made his blood boil, a raccoon had latched onto Chive.

A ferocious growl erupted from deep within Chief's chest, a sound that sent shivers through the air. He launched himself forward, jaws clamping down on the raccoon’s back with a force that left no room for mercy. The startled creature released Chive instantly, its claws flailing as Chief shook it with violent precision, his powerful frame swinging the intruder like a ragdoll. With a final, brutal toss, the raccoon collided with a nearby tree and lay still, its body limp. Most likely paralyzed due to the impact of the dog's canines on it's spine.

Chief’s amber eyes, normally calm and watchful, burned with raw intensity as he stalked toward the motionless form. His lips curled back, revealing gleaming teeth, and a low snarl rumbled from his throat. Gone was the reserved, protective "big-puppy" his packmates knew- here stood a fearsome predator, unyielding in his wrath.

“I’m no fan of vermin,” Chief growled, his voice a menacing rumble as he loomed over the raccoon, “but anything foolish enough to hurt a pup deserves to be eaten.” With that, his jaws snapped shut around the creature’s neck, the final, decisive blow ending its life.

Chief stepped back, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, his gaze softening only when it returned to Chive. He leaned down, nudging the pup gently with his nose, checking for injuries. As Nessie approached the scene in hysterics Chief would be quick to reassure the motherly figure of the young pup, "He'll live. A small tussle with a raccoon is all. I'd have Agnes check on the bite if anything, shouldn't have to worry bout any rabies. The thing smelled free of it."

Giving the two some space he went to retrieve the food Chive seemed so hellbent on sharing with the raccoon, dropping it at the pup's feet. "Id be more careful next time Kuzukuk, ya never know what lies behind some brush. You're lucky it was just some rodent." Chief took a lap at the pup's neck, nodding his head in respect at Nessie before going to grab the raccoon's corpse, making true to his promise in eating it.

 

[SilverFlight]

Lumi staggered and stopped, the coughing fit wracking her body. In a flash an adult was there, Ches giving an admonishing look at Trinket.
"Wait.." Lumi stammered between coughing. "Trinket didn't do anything wrong. I told him to chase me."
She fixed Ches with the earnest eyes of a child standing up for justice. "You can be mad at me but not Trinket." She said with a stubborn finality unbecoming of her tiny size.

She glanced back at Trinket with a parted smile.
Suddenly a puppy scream tore through the air. Lumi gasped. "That's Chive!"
Without another thought Lumi galloped in the direction it had come from.
When Lumi arrived, the creature was already dead, and Chive was lying on his side, red blood seeping into his pretty golden fur.
"Oh Chive!" She ran to him, whimpering and nudging his shoulder gently. She began licking the wound with her little pink tongue.
"Does it hurt?" She asked in a small voice.

She stood back as Nessie arrived, pausing for only a minute before turning on her heel.
"I'm gonna go get Agnes!"

It was only a few bounds to the porch, but Lumi felt like it took an eternity. She started calling for the medicine dog before she made the steps.
"Agnes Agnes! Chive got bit by an animal!"
She practically ran into the older dog's front legs in her rush to get to her.
There were flecks of Chive's blood on her muzzle and her expression was one of deep fear.
"You can fix him right? You can? Please you have to!"

Lumi hadn't spoken much of the brother she lost back at the mill, but the pain of it was etched onto her face. She was terrified of losing Chive like she'd lost him, and Kobi too. In truth the wound was likely not all that serious, but to her child-like experience, Chive could be dying.

Society of Strays m4ngy.mutt CHUUYAS_HAT Rusty Angel

 

[Redrin]

Finally, her new mentor, Bo, turned to acknowledge her. Rogue stood up straight, hoping he hadn’t noticed her jumping after that fly like an overexcited pup. More than anything, she wanted to prove she could be useful to the pack, not just a burden. She was used to being treated like one. Ever since she was born, the pale-skins had made it clear she wasn’t wanted, and her siblings never let her forget it. They teased her relentlessly, calling her a waste of space just because she alone had inherited her father’s blue eyes and pink nose. Looking different had always made her an outsider. However, she wasn’t a helpless pup anymore. And this wasn’t her siblings’ home. This was her pack now. Her family. And she would do everything she could to prove she belonged.
"Yes, sir. I’m with you," Rogue said to Beaufort, her tail wagging before she could stop it. The excitement was too much to contain. He had addressed her properly, no longer just pup, and that meant everything. She was ready to learn.
With that, they followed Ghost out of the house, passing by the puppies playing in the front yard. A pang of longing stirred in Rogue as she watched them tumble through the grass, yipping and play-fighting. For a moment, she yearned to join them, to lose herself in carefree play like she had in her first days with the pack. Her steps slowed unconsciously, eyes lingering on the scene. Then she realized how far behind she had fallen and with a jolt, Rogue dashed forward, berating herself for getting distracted so easily.
As they walked through the woods, she hung on to Bo’s every word. She didn’t interrupt, only speaking when she had carefully thought through her questions, making sure none of them were stupid. When he spoke about following scents, she lifted her nose, trying to pick something out, only to be bombarded by a chaotic mix of smells, none of which made sense to her. Frowning, she tried again, lowering her snout to the ground. This time, she caught something distinct: a musty scent, like damp earth left untouched for too long. The smell grew stronger as they reached their destination, a ditch cluttered with the nonsense the pale-skins had discarded.
Remembering Bo’s lesson about tracking feathers, Rogue sniffed again, struggling to pick out anything beyond the overwhelming stench of decay. She padded through the debris, searching, but nothing seemed worth presenting to the others. Then Bo called out. Ears perking, she turned toward him and bounded across the bank, only to freeze mid-step.
A box.
A large moving box, just like the one she had been abandoned in. Her chest tightened. A flood of memories surged forward, unbidden and unwelcome. Was there a puppy inside? Someone left behind, just like she had been?
Her scenting skills weren’t refined yet, but she was certain she would have picked up the scent of another dog. Steeling herself, she crept forward, heart pounding so hard she swore her companions could hear it. Fear coiled through her small frame as she circled around, forcing herself to look inside. A fleece blanket. That was all. A heavy sigh escaped her before she could stop it, and she quickly covered the noise with a sharp bark, not wanting to appear weak.
"Here, I’ll get it," she said hastily, darting forward to pull the fleece from the box. Gripping it gently in her teeth, she gave it a careful tug, making sure not to drag it through any puddles. The fabric was soft against her mouth, smelling far fresher than the other moldy junk littering the ditch. Climbing back up the bank, she placed it on a dry tuft of grass before turning back to help search for more.
Before long, her honey-gold paws were slick with mud and tangled in dead weeds. She barely noticed, too focused on the task at hand. As she sifted through the debris, something caught her eye, a pink blanket, covered in hearts, draped over a mound of trash. Rogue stepped forward to grab it, hastily jumping back with a startled yelp, the blanket had moved. Her fur bristling, gaze darting around, searching for Bo or Ghost. Help. Where were they?
Again, she scolded herself, she should be better than this, braver. But she had no time for self-lectures now. The blanket twitched again, followed by a sharp hissing squeak that cut through the air. Rogue whined instinctively, tail tucking between her legs
The first sign of a fight, and her immediate reaction was to run.

 

[Chaotic Poem]

★ The Hunt & The Confrontation ★​

---

➤ Scavenging & Training

Ghost was immediately pleased to see that Bo and Rogue were starting their training. It was about time. He watched with silent approval as they moved, working together to collect a blanket. Rogue was proving herself—slowly, but progress was progress.

Leaving them to their task, Ghost moved deeper into the ditch. His sharp eyes scanned the heaps of discarded things, looking for anything useful. Amidst the damp trash and broken debris, he found a pillow half-buried in a pile. Clamping his jaws around the fabric, he yanked it free with a forceful tug, shaking loose a few stray leaves before tossing it onto drier ground to retrieve later.

---

➤ Into the Forest

A moment more passed, and Ghost found himself near the far end of the ditch, where the trees stretched their limbs into the sky, their bare branches tangled in morning mist. The fog had long since burned away from the neighborhood, but here, the air was still cool, thick with the scents of damp bark and hidden creatures. Ghost inhaled deeply, relishing the crispness of it, the way the wild always smelled richer than the filth of human places.

The itch to hunt stirred in him. He needed something more than scraps, something fresh.

Ghost’s paws moved soundlessly over the undergrowth as he searched, his body low and controlled. His ears twitched at every rustle, his keen nose working to separate prey from the decay of fallen leaves. The first catch was a grackle—noisy thing had barely seen him coming before he snapped it up in his jaws. Next came two rabbits, their warm bodies now limp in his grasp.

Satisfied, Ghost turned back toward the ditch but hesitated. He needed something to carry his prizes. There was no sense in multiple trips.

Padding back to the trash heaps, it wasn’t long before he unearthed an old wicker basket, its handles frayed but still intact. Carefully, he arranged the rabbits and bird inside, along with the pillow he had found earlier. Stepping back, he gave a short nod of approval.

A good haul.

Then, he heard it.

A bark. Small, distant. Or was it just the wind?

Ghost’s hackles rose slightly, but he stayed still, listening. Nothing followed immediately, so he grabbed his basket and started back. He made it to where he had left the second pillow when the sound came again. This time, a whine.

Not the wind.

---

➤ The Confrontation

Ghost dropped his basket without a second thought. The food and bedding could wait. His paws pounded against the ground as he bolted toward the noise, weaving through the familiar path of the ditch. The scent of Rogue hit his nose first—anxiety, fear. He found her quickly.

A heart-patterned blanket lay discarded in the grass, but Rogue wasn’t touching it. Instead, she stood at the bottom of a small trash pile, her tail tucked tightly beneath her. On top of the heap sat a rat. A large one.

Ghost’s lip curled immediately, his upper teeth glinting as he let out a deep, snarling growl. This wasn’t a low warning—it was a threat, sharp and full of promised violence.

The rat’s beady eyes flicked from Rogue to Ghost. It was smart enough to recognize danger, but Ghost knew better than to expect it to run. A rat with a good stash would fight, no matter the odds. And this one? It had no intention of backing down.

Ghost could kill it. Easily. But the rat wasn’t looking at him. It was looking at Rogue again. If it lunged for her first—he was close, but not close enough. A few rabbit hops too far. And Rogue?

She wouldn’t stand a chance.

Ghost didn’t move, muscles coiled tight, waiting for Bo. The rat twitched. Ghost bared his teeth further.

Any second now.

---

 

[Rusty Angel]

She listened, a twinge of sympathy and understanding filling her as the Pomeranian explained her troubles. They sounded similar to what Walker’s had been in some ways. Moving vs. standing still, and vastness and quiet, vs. crowds and bustling. Perhaps it would just be a matter of Albatross staying with them long enough to get used to her new surroundings… though even then, she couldn’t really say whether that ebbing curiosity of hers would ever truly go away.

She sat into her haunches, “Maybe just give it some time,” Walker offered, nodding when she suggested moving on, “Alright. You’re right. We should go, but if you ever need-“

The scent of something cut her off. She looked around wildly, trying to find it’s source, her tail swishing slowly, then picking up speed. This wasn’t the scent of some stranger. There was a warm familiarness to it.

A patter of small footsteps, and sudden crash through the brush confirmed her suspicions, as she jumped to her feet, rushing forward to meet the small brown dog who had helped her and her companions in the early days of the pack.

“Fawn? Is that you?” she pressed her nose to the spaniel’s, her tail wagging excitedly as she greeted her friend, “It’s so good to see you! I was so worried when you left!” When she last saw her, she was following after a small pale-skin, hoping they could provide her another home. The thought shook her to her core. In Walker’s experience, nothing good ever came from relying on pale skins. What had she been through that caused her to wander back here in such a state?

Setting aside her concerns for the moment, she beamed down at the wayward dog, “I’m glad you’re alright. What brings you here?”

While her heart was still light with the revelation that her friend was alive, and seemed well despite the state of her coat, it did raise an important question: what should she do about the patrol? She couldn’t just leave it unfinished. That would open up the pack to who knew how many threats! But she couldn’t leave Fawn unprotected either. The other dogs didn’t know her, and they might run her off, believing her to be an intruder.

Going over her options, she turned back to her fluffy, white companion.

“Albatross, this is Fawn. She helped the pack early on when we were looking for a home. She’s the reason we even have one today,” she walked over to the sprightly Pomeranian, “I have an important job for you. Can you escort her back to the house? When you get there, take her to Ghost. If any dog tries to stop you, tell them the order came straight from me. Bite their ankles if you have to. Don’t worry about the patrol, I’ll finish it out myself. Just make sure you get her back safely,” her eyes shown warmly on her little packmate, “Can I count on you to do this?”

CHUUYAS_HAT Chaotic Poem

---

As Chive’s sharp cry pierced the air, and Chief overtook the pursuit, Ches veered back, attempting to guard the two remaining pups from whatever danger the golden had come across, but a streak of white rushing past him showed just how well that had gone.

“Fleas and ticks!” he growled under his breath, as he ran after her, calling back over his shoulder to Trinket, “Don’t move!”

When he reached the scene, he was alarmed at first to see Chive, bitten and on the ground, but upon closer inspection, the puppy seemed a little beaten, but otherwise fine. Nessie was already there, and Chief was feasting on the apparent culprit of the whole ordeal. A raccoon.

He sat back for a moment, scratching his ear with his hind leg to calm his remaining nerves.

“Ticks, Chive, you sure gave us a scare,” he said, glancing at the golden who had apparently been rewarded with whatever had drawn him there in the first place.

Deciding his presence was more in the way here, he left the cleanup and consoling to Chief and Nessie. Gathering his catch from where he’d unceremoniously dropped it, he paused for a moment, looking back at the site of the whole ordeal. Had Chive been trying to get the raccoon’s food? Huffing, he went into the house, to put his fish with the rest of the food store. He thought about dropping a few next to the nursery, but he didn't know what the puppies liked to eat, and he honestly felt like he was invading their privacy whenever he went near it. Still, if the little scamps were hungry enough to steal morsels from vermin, they should probably eat something soon. He wanted to eat too, but he didn't dare take anything before he knew if the pups and Agnes had eaten.

SilverFlight m4ngy.mutt Society of Strays

 

[m4ngy.mutt]

-TRINKET-

Trinket cowered, his ears pinned back under the weight of Ches's disapproving gaze. He hadn’t meant for Lumi to break into a coughing fit from laughing- he only wanted to play with his friend. Before he could dwell on his mistake, his demeanor shifted at the sound of Chive’s distant yelps. The sharp cries instantly caught his and the others' attention, prompting them to rush toward the source.

Trinket froze in shock as he reached the scene. Chive was hurt! Blood stained his neck, a vivid and terrifying sight. Lumi’s frantic barks filled the air, her panic stirring an overwhelming fear within Trinket. Could Chive really… die? “No… no, no, no!” Trinket whined, pacing back and forth in a frenzy. This couldn’t happen- not to Chive! They hadn’t even finished planning their next grand adventure together! As Lumi went to get help, Trinket hoped the magic Agnes was able to perform could save that of his and Lumi's friend..