darkSpyro

Matilda sighed.
"I worry about whether my cousins will accept me."

"I think they will." Scott said. "But you have to accept them also."

Matilda smiled.
"I can accept them. They're my cousins. My life's gonna changing now. Thanks, Scott."

"No problem." Scott replied.

Matilda smiled.
"Is there anything on your mind? I ought to return a favor to you for helping me so much."

"Not really." Scott said. "Just remembering, I guess."

Matilda cocks her head.
"Remembering what?"

"The old adventures Lila and I used to have." Scott said. "For example, the time I got stuck on a small ledge on a mountain, and Lila tried to convince the birds who were living above me to grab my legs and fly me down." He paused for a moment, then added, "Or the time when Lila almost ate poison ivy because she heard from "a reputable source" that it tasted like chicken."

"Hey, I was hungry!" Lila said, pretending to be hurt by the comment, but then perking up again as she said, "And those birds looked really friendly, and I bet they would have helped you down if you hadn't refused to be helped."

Matilda laughed.
"I rather I didn't remember my past. It's a long story I doubt you'd want to hear."

"I'll listen if you want to talk about it." Scott said.

"Are you sure?" Matilda asks.

"Of course I'm sure." Scott replied. "I'll listen to whatever you've got to say."

Matilda nods.

OOC: Long story begin

"When I was a pup, I was the third in my litter. There were four of us, I recall. Sadly I was the runt, and my parents loved all my siblings more than me. They especially loved Trojan, who my father named for his brave attributes. I was alone, as all my siblings shunned and hated me. They bullied me, my parents yelled at me, I could never live up to their expectations. After a few months of that torture, I tried leaving. As you know, my father kept me from leaving saying I was too young, and...I killed him. I ran far, reaching the city. Even there, I had no friends, and I only learned more hurt and pain as I was bullied at least once by every pack. My siblings were often the leaders of the packs. I never felt so alone. I met another dog once. Ha, I bet you wouldn't believe me if I said it was Delgato. He protected me for awhile until we were split up by a dogcatcher. I was bullied more after that. Then, there came the time when Trojan's pack took me in. I was shunned, but at least I knew I had a group who would take care of me. I was wrong. The group didn't care much about me in any way. When I finally showed some strength, I was just used. Then came that day when I was supposed to kill Alyx. Trojan changed, as if for some reason on purpose, and he sent me running. I lived alone from then on."

OOC: And then the long story ended.

"That's terrible." Scott said. "I don't know if I could have survived a childhood like that."

OOC: Lol yes

Matilda shook her head.
"I almost didn't. Delgato kept me from leaping a cliff once."


Delgato, over hearing this, nodded.
"It's true. I barely got her out of it."

"Wow." Scott muttered. "Yeah, I probably couldn't have survived all that."

Matilda nodded.
"It's great you met Lila. I had nobody."

"Well, you have friends now." Scott said.

Matilda smiled.
"Yeah. Thanks Scott, for listening."

"I'm here if you need to talk about anything." Scott said. "Stories, no matter how depressing, are at least a good way to pass the time."

Matilda smiled and nodded.
"Alright. Thanks."

"No trouble at all." Scott said. He paused for a moment before adding, "Say, did I ever tell you about the time Lila used me as bait to stampede a herd of buffalo?"

Matilda laughed.
"No. Please, do tell."

OOC: Yet another long story begins......

"Well," Scott said, "Lila and I were in the mood for some sort of action in our lives, as nothing had happened for at least three days that was worth mentioning. So, when we were still in the jungle, on the edge of some grasslands, we came upon a herd of buffalo. Lila came up with the idea that we should each wrap one end of a very long vine around ourselves, and that one of us should spook the buffalo into running. Well, as you can imagine, Lila made me be the one to spook the buffalo. Our plan backfired when, instead of running away from me, the buffalo were provoked and started chasing me instead. I had to run away as fast as I could, and since Lila was at the other end of the vine that we were both attached to, she had to run with me away from the buffalo instead of helping me to chase them. We left the vine on so we wouldn't get separated, but let's just say we had to make it to the other side of the jungle, lose the buffalo, and climb a tree before we were sure we were safe."

OOC: And it ends...

OOC:

Matilda began laughing.
"Wow. That sounded like a lot of fun!"

"It was." Scott said. "I was exhausted, but hey, we had a good time and a good laugh."

Lila nodded. "Ahh, good times." She said.

Matilda snickered.
"Delgato got himself stuck on a barb wire fence once. Want to hear about that?"

Delgato growled, but he was partly smiling.
"Shut up Matilda."

"Sure." Scott said, smiling.

"When Delgato watched me as a pup, before we got split up, we went scavenging for food. A dog catcher spotted us and chased us down the alleys for a long time. When he gave up on us, we thought we were safe, but a dog pack chased us. We came to a barb wire fence which we thought that if we leapt, we could finally get away. I cleared it easily, but Delgato was a bit less...graceful. When he climbed under the fence, the mesh wire snagged his pelt and he got stuck. It took hours to get him unstuck. We needed a human to help us." Said Matilda with a grin.

Kargolo was pawing through the jungle. He sniffed a bush and plucked some berries from the bush using his beak. He silently scoffed them. He heard voices nearby.
"Dogs. Now's me chance." He swiftly leapt into a tree and stayed there, waiting for them to pass.

"Poor Delgato." Scott said. "Did a human help you?"

Moonlight left her home. She wanted adventure! She wandered around the plains that were next to her home, it was empty. She was completely isolated.

Matilda nodded.
"A human child came by and made the hole bigger for Delgato so he could get through. You should have heard and saw Delgato before that kid came. He was whining and whimpering and saying I should leave him. He sounded pathetic."

Kargolo silently swung from branch to branch, until he was close enough to the dogs.
"Be patient..." He told himself. He heard them talk about humans, and the past. How soppy. At least he would help by putting them out of their misery. A meal big enough to fill part of his stomach. He had to wait for them to get into the jungle to attack. It would be fun, playing with his food.

Lila looked at Delgato. "Really?" She asked.

Scott laughed and said, "Wow, I never would have guessed there were humans living around here." He paused for a moment, then asked, "Aren't we getting close to the jungle?"

Delgato nods.
"Yeah. I sounded real stupid."

Matilda laughed.
"Yes, you did. I do believe we're nearing the jungle."

"Good." Lila said. "I can't wait to get there." "New adventures will arise!"

Scott nodded. "Yes, they will."

Alyx smiled. Everyone was so happy, even Matilda.

"There it is!" Lila shouted. "Come on, let's go!"

Matilda bounded beside Lila.

Delgato and Alyx trotted behind the two.

Scott followed behind all of them, making sure there was no danger, but he was very excited anyway.

Matilda dropped back to knock Scott forward.
"I'll watch the rear. Go ahead."

Scott nodded and went up behind Lila. "Come on!" Lila shouted. "We're almost there!"

He would wait until they were just entering the jungle. Then he would drop onto the leader...kill it there and then.
"Heheh...They don't stand a chance." He whispered under his breath.

Matilda suddenly halted, twitching an ear.
"LILA! STOP!!!" she howled.

Delgato stopped Alyx and Scott.

Lila skidded to a stop and ran back to her friends. "What?! What is it!?" She asked, hearing the fear in Matilda's voice. "Is something wrong?!"

Matilda nodded.
"Stay with the group. I just sense something ahead and my sixth sense doesn't fail me. Believe me. Don't stray ahead."

The four-legged eagle creature knew something had happened. He dropped from the tree and stood there, blocking their way into the jungle. Whether they ran or not, he would kill them and make them his meal. He squawked, growled and screeched. He ran with his hind legs, to pounce on Lila, the closest one. His talons were itching to sink into flesh.

Matilda barked and ran at Kargolo. She tackled the eagle and snarled.
"Don't touch Lila!" she barked.

He stopped and stood up, ruffled his feathers and sneered.
"What's it to you, wolf? Just tryin' ta feed me-self. Y'know how it is these days. Take the food ya can get, eat it, find more, eat it...life's hard. Then it's over. Easy as that. Now, what'cha doin' on my territory? Make it good or I WILL take that there Ila of yours. It is Ila, ain't it?" The huge four-legged eagle hissed. He combed his spiky head-frills with his fore-claws.