Nur | The Brains | Mentions: everyone because she's already giving orders of course

If she said that she felt nothing, she'd be lying. Anxiety tumbled in belly, ears pricked towards her trainer, straining for any tip, any hint, any inkling of what was to come. Her posture, however, didn't betray her feelings as she trotted coolly at his side. She had some idea of their future, of course, they had trained for months leading up to this, but her independent nature had not fully severed the bonds of domestication that encouraged her to look to humans for guidance. And in this, when facing the complete and utter unknown before them, she would take anything she could get. Her trainer was a resource she wouldn't squander. If he had further words for her, she'd take them.

The scents along this stretch of the facility were different, the trail unknown and littered with the traces of more people than she'd ever met. She saw strangers, too. Many people stopped to watch them pass, eyes flitting hopefully over the procession of dogs. Some waved or offered a few words to her trainer. It was simultaneously confusing and enthralling, and her tail swayed lightly back and forth as she soaked in whatever information she could. She didn't know this place, or these people, but her trainer did. He tossed playful retorts back their way, but his posture and emotional state were anything but playful.

She sensed a deep fracture of worry from somewhere within. Strange to think that he went places she did not, that he was familiar with things she'd never encountered. Strange to think that he existed outside of the time they spent together. It was something that had never occurred to her self-oriented mind before, and she wasn't sure that she was comforted while picturing the scenario.

And then they were standing in front of a door that sent shivers of anticipation rocketing up and down her spine. This area felt different somehow. She didn't know how, but she had undoubtedly picked up on the vibe pulsing from the people who'd brought the dogs here to this door. She snorted air, picking up distant whiffs of marvelous things, foreign and strange to her nose.

The voice of her trainer drifted behind her, crackling like a switch through the dimness of night. Her gaze flickered upwards, meeting his, and her head tilted. She could read concern on his face and in his hands as he reached down to brush against her neck and back. Already she felt distant, mentally ploughing forward into a new life, eager to be on her way, but his hands brought her back if only for a moment.

"Be good. Work hard. Watch out for each other. Take care of your team." He told her, fingers ruffling deeply into her coarse fur. She stared back calmly, understanding if not certain just how to convey this comprehension to him. A low, gentle whine slipped from her jaws, nostrils twitching eagerly as the door slid open and released a bounty of fresh scents.

It wasn't outside, not quite, but as soon as she stepped through, a second door opened up to reveal - well, she wasn't quite sure what. The first thing she noticed was the light. It was bright here, the ceiling shining with a raw brilliance that she was unaccustomed to. No, she admonished herself. Sky. That was the sky. Just like in the simulations. Grass. Ground. Sky. Earth. It was just like training, except that nothing could have prepared her for the overwhelming sense of smallness that took hold of her and struck her silent in her observations. Scents that she'd been exposed to during training were now full and fresh and in a way that she could have never predicted.

There was a skip in her gait as she took her first steps onto land that was intimately familiar and yet achingly distant. Nur needed a moment to collect herself in this strange new environment. Her tail wagged with an enthusiasm that seemed beyond the usually stiff and composed canine, and her jaws parted as if to drink in as many new scents as possible. Yet, even with this outward display of what might be joy, her mind was constantly calculating, and it took no time at all for her to turn to her teammates.

Her nose was twitching like crazy as the light breeze continued to carry scents over the earth, her eyes narrowed to golden slits in the sun as she began ticking down the roles. It was warm on her back, pleasant enough to lull her into a nap, were she a dog with nothing important to do.

"Valentia. Nose down and ears up. Koda, rear guard." She began, pacing before the door that now separated them from everything they'd ever known. She suspected that Koda's skills were half training and half breeding. He was massive, no doubt a fearsome guardian even on a bad day. Valentia, on the other hand...well, she only hoped the hound would remember her head before her nose. "Frosch, don't wander too far until we get a heading. Ajax, with me. Geralt, you'd best stick by Koda, Ajax or me. Your bravery will be needed later. And Camino." She paused, meeting the catahoula's gaze, silently conveying a trust that until now, had remained locked away. "Lead on."

sandwhich posting to keep this alive forgive my sins pls

Awestruck, and absoltuely at a loss for words, Camino just stared at the vast expanse before her.

There was no sturdy concrete structures, no little grassy pens, no hanging lights - it was something that really wasn't withing the dog's power of description.

The sky was so, so impossibly blue - and there was no end. It just seemed to extend... forever. Nothing was stretched between Camino and the white - clouds, that's what they were.

Clouds.

She looked back only to check that her team was, well, there. She refused to meet her owner's eyes, not when she knew it would be too difficult to turn away the next time.

With a thoughtful pause, and then a breath, the wayfinder stepped across the slightly raised concrete threshold. She didn't quite know what she was expecting - the sandy dirt and shrubbery her paw dug into was similar to some of the simulation pens, but it was so indefinitely wild and raw and natural, that it felt nearly unreal - everything did. Vast, towering pines edged into view over a crest not too far away, and mountains - mountains! lay in the sight.

There was a certain pup-like joy in Camino's often gentle, thoughtful features as she lowered her nose to the ground, taking everything in. It was overhwelming, the trace of long-gone animals, of sandy dust and earth and pine. And dirt, and dust, and also dirt.

It took not even a second, and against her better judgement, Camino was on the air, rolling, legs flailing in an undignified manner as she dug her shoulders into the earth gleefully.

The shutting of the door, and the sharp tone of Nur snapped Camino to her sense, and the catahoula found her paws beneath her once more after shaking her dusty coat thoroughly. The dog's head inclined with a slight furrow in her forehead as she watched the new addition to the team.

They needed a moment to enjoy this - to grow accustomed to it all, to figure out their plan of action, to prepare, Camino thought - a sudden movement seemed... well, sudden. And everything seemed to pile on at once - their mission, what rested on their shoulders. The thought made her nervous, admittedly, if she wasn't enough of a worrier already.

"Perhaps we should take some time to get used to our surroundings, while I get my bearings," Camino said, reining in all emotion of the moment, finding that calm once more.

It wasn't a question, merely a thoughtful suggestion. Although Camino wasn't the leader of the crew, and had no desire to be, there was certainly a bit to work out in terms of how the team functioned, especially with the addition of Nur.

~ Valentia ~

The Detector | M: Everyone

Valentia's handler led her behind the others to a large, grey door. None of the scents in the area were familiar, and she pressed against him nervously. Like this morning, he didn't seem to notice. Once they had stopped, he knelt down, rubbing her ears, a serious expression on his face. What's going on? Valentia wondered.

"Alright, listen to me, okay?" he spoke softly. "We don't have much time." Valentia cocked her head quizzically. Things were getting weirder and weirder by the second.

"I know you can do this. I know you won't let us down. Just do your best, okay? Keep your nose clean and use that temper of yours wisely. Be brave, Val." With that, he unclipped the leash and stood as the door rose noisily.

Valentia blinked as bright light filled her eyes. When her vision cleared, she saw blue sky marked with the whitest clouds. No simulation could have ever prepared her for the scents that assaulted her nose. The scent of the earth, the slight breeze. The scent of the pine trees over the crest, the scent of the foliage speckling the ground. She looked back at her handler in awe. He gave her a sad, but hopeful, look and a gentle push out the door. She gave a slight whine, a last goodbye, before stepping over the threshold and into the wild.

She gazed sadly at her handler until the door hid him from view. So this was what all the oddness had been about. Today was the day that they were to start their mission. Today was the day that they would say goodbye for goodness knew how long. She hoped they would make it back alive. As she turned to face the rest of the group, she couldn't help but put her nose to the earth and take a big sniff.

She quickly lifted her head, sneezing. No one had prepared her for the dust, either.

At the sharp tone of Nur's voice, Valentia gazed at her silently, teeth slowly clenching. Hesitantly, she gave a dip of her head, the only semblance of a nod that the leader would get for now. However, she looked around her instead. New environment, new dangers. And here they were exposed. Too exposed. If one of those monster-things came near, at least one of the team would be easy prey, Kodaline or no Kodaline. She gave a small, imperceptible whimper.

"Um... I-I think that Camino had-had the right idea. Masking our-our scent would be smart; compared to the-the smells here, we stink." She paused, gathering her thoughts. "And, Nur?" She looked at the leader. "I-I don't mean any-any disrespect or anything, but maybe-maybe we should head for-for the tree line? We seem kind of ex-exposed here." She gave a slight shiver, hoping that the others might agree that this was a good idea. Maybe it was just her, but not being surrounded by something seemed like a bad idea right now, since none of them knew their surroundings.

She looked around at all of them, shivering slightly and panting because of her nerves. Why do I have to be scared all the time?! she yelled at herself. For all I know, this could be the safest place to be right now.

Familiar footsteps announced his handler's presence. She reeked of an unfamiliar chemical, which caused his hair to raise on end, especially, when she moved closer to latch on his leash. It filled his nostrils, and he had a hard time concentrating on anything else. He pranced uncertainly, and she gently rebuked him for behaving abnormally, even though he was trained to notice the unusual and out of routine. Docilely, he settled, and followed her without question. It was what he was trained to do.

His fur was still slightly pricked up on his back, and his ears were pointing forward quite alert, but she apparently didn't consider this inappropriate behavior that needed to be corrected. His long legs easily kept up with the two lanky human ones, as she headed toward their destination without hesitation or pause. Everytime they passed a way where there were multiple halls, he thought they would take the one they normally did, and half the time, she took one that he wasn't expecting. Finally, they arrived in the section that he wasn't familiar with. It felt a little more empty, and rather forbidden.

His handler kept moving without hesitation, so she must be here frequently. What else did these humans have up their unnatural sleeves? He smelled air that was different, and it wasn't the stench coming off of his handler. It was similar to a simulation he had tried out once. For just a moment he hesitated, even though she continued to lead him forward. The leash had almost lost it's slack and tautened before he got a grip and moved forward. Before they came into view of the other canines on his team, she bent down and unclipped him, and then she opened a door which led into the light-real sunlight.

His eyes squinted as his pupils began to restrict, and he immediately smelled the difference. He looked back at her, and she seemed rather sad, but he knew he was meant to join his team. Soon, Nur's confident orders settled his nerves, and he obeyed her without thinking, just like the humans had trained him. There would be no hiccups, as long as he moved on autopilot, and there was none of the challlenging that he did, when he felt more confident. He was relying on old habits at the moment.

As he became more used to his surroundings, he realized just how much more vibrant the real world was compared to a simulation. The scents were way deeper, there were different noises, and the sun was brighter. There was also no end. He was rather tall for a dog he realized, and he could see no wall at the end of the way. No matter which room he was in during training, he could always see another wall. Here they had the complex behind them, and everything in front of them. It didn't look like there would be any stopping unless they wanted to.

He gingerly placed each paw onto the ground until he realized it appeared to be as safe as the fake grass in some of the recreational rooms. Like any dog, he found dirt delightful. Ajax let out an amused yip, as Camino rolled on the ground. Ajax found himself nodding and agreeing with Camino. They needed to get used to life outside of the complex and work as a team without the humans, especially with the new addition of Nur. What better place to work out the kinks, but still close enough to home where they could get help if needed?

This jack of all trades had always wanted to try his paws at digging a large hole in the dirt, and he wondered if anyone else would object. As he looked at Koda, he followed his gaze, and was amazed to see land soaring up so high that it pierced the clouds. Was this really possible? Could this be real? Ajax let his tongue loll out of his mouth at Valentia's suggestion. That was a great excuse to dig a huge hole, however, that would leave traces of where they were from, which would be frowned upon. He stuck his tongue back in his mouth, saddened that the excuse hadn't held up, even though he hadn't mentioned it to anyone.

While Ajax was jittery, he wasn't the kind of dog to look back. Not even to the handler whom he had become quite affectionate of. It made life harder, and he tried to simplify it. Ajax wanted to be encouraging to Valentia, but he was rather brash and to the point. He bored through things rather than gently nurturing. He had to agree with her. Doubt began to creep into his mind. Were they really ready? How had the humans finally decided to let them go? Would they survive? Which direction did they need to go?

<< Kodaline >>
m; Nur, Ajax
Kodaline fell behind as his team headed toward the treeline. While they had been out in the open, he wasn't particularly thrilled about moving into the forest. There was far more room for something to lurk in the shadows and the underbrush. Despite his extensive training, most of it hadn't been directly in defense scenarios. He had worked primarily on being able to discern between what was actually a threat and how to best disable them.

When it came down to it, instinct took over like it had with his handler. A strange man, one of the kennel techs had gotten a little too close for comfort. He had waited patiently for his woman to hand him his breakfast as she grew increasingly tense. It had been drilled into him from a young age that anyone within the building he lived in was friendly, but he couldn't ignore the fear that radiated off of her.

When the man reached out and grabbed her arm, it was the first and only time Kodaline had bitten a human.

It had all happened so quickly; a flash of fangs, and a scream that shattered the relative peace of the empty kennels. The red-tinted fog in his mind cleared as he felt something give way beneath his jaws, and immediately he had released the bloodied hand. He had been expecting to be removed from the team that day.

Instead, they noted him ready for the next phase of his training. And he got an extra treat from his handler.

He had little time for pulling about the past now. He needed all of his energy focused on his team. Geralt's playful dancing about worried him, but he was glad the small dog was staying close. The little terrier would be needed later.

He followed their leader's watchful gaze up to the treeline. What was she looking at? Nothing had changed, had it? Bright amber eyes met steady brown as she asked him a question. The locals?

"Admittedly not much. There are dog-things--like us--that shouldn't be much of a danger. They're far too shy, we need to worry mostly about massive not-dogs. Bears, I think they're called?" The word was foreign to him, but Kodaline could recall the images of the creatures clearly. The first time he had seen them his hair had stood on end from behind his ears to the base of his tail.

"We need to stay as far away from them as possible."

With his piece said, Kodaline pointed his nose toward the wind. The breeze had picked up, hadn't it? Something foreign was on the wind, but it didn't smell like something that was alive. Camino would know what it was, yes. She would take care of it.

He planted his feet firmly in the loose earth, waiting for his teammates to pass before him. With a huff, he turned to Ajax, "Keep an eye out in the front. I'll take the rear."