:Miss, Twas only a joke:

Austin lay at the base of the pine. The prickly needles didn't make much of a bed, but he had sat here so many times that he didn't even notice them poking his skin.

Austin often came here to think. He avoided the times he knew a pack meeting would come into session, usually laying here during the day.

Now he lay here with his head high and his reddish brown eyes looking forward with an unseeing gaze. His ears lay limply, shaping his head and his paws stretched out comfortably in front of him. Austins red string-furred tail lay next to his hind legs, his left one sticking out and his right one tucked neatly underneath his body.

Austin didn't often think of his past as he lay here, but today he thought it was nice to remember the days when he had a dream. He remembered when he was a mere pup, only 3 months old. He imagined himself chasing a rabbit, barking happily for the human to take it down. The hunting trait was in Austins blood. He could feel it now. He still wanted to be that dog that chased the rabbits. He wanted to be the dog his parents were.

Austin thought of his parents. Their smiling faces and ability to track a deer. Austin thought of good things about his parents, what they taught him and how they believed in him. But then he remembered the day he was abandoned. His parents sitting by the humans side, their eyes saying we love you, but their hearts saying he wouldn't make a good pup anyways. Austin remembered how they turned their backs on him and walked away, leaving him in an unknown place.

Austin shook his head. He didn't want to remember the bad things. He pushed them away, just like his parents pushed him away.

:Miss, Twas only a joke:

Austin shrugged his shoulders. Was it wrong to go and sit under the great pine? He was sure thinking that, but no way was he going to say it. His redish brown eyes looked at Aden as he spoke. "I'm just thinking. I actually come here often, you know." he said in a matter-of-fact tone. For some reason he wasn't in such a great mood. He wasn't trying to sound mean or daring, it just kind of came out that way.

His ears stayed perked and his mouth was in a straight line, no smile shone. His eyes were showing a bit of confusion. Why did it matter to Aden why he was here? He flicke his tail sub-consiously once to the other side and he blinked his eyes, gazing at the Alpha.