The Grand Elephant Search [Canis]

A young boy with fairly short, brown hair was walking along the cobblestone path. He had one hand crammed into the pocket of his khaki shorts, and another one readjusting the collar of his red flannel shirt. The sun shone brightly, unobstructed by rogue clouds, leaving the temperature mild and warm. Canis’ lips were pursed in frustration as he pushed his sleeves past his elbows. A small bead of sweat trickled down the side of his cheek, and the boy wiped away the substance with a swift swipe of his arm.

I really need to stop wearing these kinds of clothes, he thought, recalling that one day where he almost succumbed to heatstroke because he stupidly wore a sweater to the beach. He shook his head at the mere thought and snagged the map that was hanging out of his breast pocket. Opening it up with one hand, his eyes lazily scanned the page, decorated with cute, iconic heads that indicated where each animal exhibit would be. His gaze left the paper and focused on his surroundings. The zoo was packed with numerous families, taking the day off to spend some time with their loved ones. The young boy looked down at his shoes when he realized that he would probably never be one of those people.

Tucking the zoo map back into the pocket of his shirt, he concluded that he was near the elephants that weren’t actually there—when he passed by the open area, he remembered being confused temporarily. The confusion was short-lived, however, when he also remembered that he didn’t actually care about the elephants. He didn’t even know why he was at the zoo—he tended to wander the streets of Los Angeles mindlessly, without any set destination in mind. He just wanted to stay away from his sorry excuse of a home.

He continued to walk for another minute or two, his head slowly swiveling from right to left as he observed the animals that he passed by, momentarily awed before moving on with life. He stifled a yawn, and decided that the zoo wasn’t worth it. However, as he spun around on his feet to leave, he felt himself bump into somebody else—the said person skittered backwards and fell on her tender rump.

The “her” being Sheryl, the annoying, white-haired girl that was too nosy for her own good.

As an immediate reflex, Canis let out a groan, slapping his hand against his forehead. He stared at the girl for another second, and uttered a quiet: “Sorry.” However, right after, he whirled right around, spinning on the balls of his feet and hastily began to retreat in the opposite direction.

Please don’t follow me, he thought in vain, even though a sixth sense told him the girl would follow him anyway.

(OOC: Please follow him.)

A low growl escaped the young boy’s lips as he realized that the girl had latched onto him—it was going to be a pain to get her off. He knew that he would be stuck with her for quite a while. He scratched the back of his head, his expression weary and haggard after exposure to white-haired girl stimulant.

“I said sorry, didn’t I? I don’t deserve punishment yet,” he sighed, raising his gaze heavenward and sending a glare up at any higher beings that happened to be watching the amusing episode. His eyes trailed to the girl beside him—she was matching his strides, and though her visage didn’t show it, he knew she was determined to follow through with whatever evil scheme she’d plotted to make his day grim. Of course, it was merely child’s play—all she had to do was walk alongside him to taint his countenance shades of grey.

“Cool? I wouldn’t say that. Freakin’ hot? Yes,” he replied, stripping from his red flannel shirt to reveal a black tank top underneath, looking rather odd in comparison with his skinny frame. Another bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face, painfully slow, resulting in a low curse under his breath. Canis’ day was growing dimmer by the minute. “Also, wandering the zoo on the same day as you is bad luck on my part,” he added, disturbed by the fact that his prior sentence lacked an adequate amount of harshness. He was also disturbed by the fact that he didn’t want to break into a wild sprint away from Sheryl.

He grumbled childishly. It was a coincidence. A coincidence, good lord. Just because he was by the elephants, or where they were, doesn’t mean that he was interested in them. He could have very well been walking past. Did you really have to have an interest to walk by something? Of course, as the thoughts ran through his head, he couldn’t help but wonder why they weren’t pouring out of his mouth.

In an act of defence, he said, “Being alone at a zoo is perfectly fine when the alternative is walking around with you.” If he were being honest, he’d admit that being alone at the zoo is pretty dreary. However, he didn’t allow his thoughts to be heard. All he said was, “If you’re going to stalk me all day, let’s go visit monkeys rather than search for elephants—they remind me of you.”

He didn’t have time to worry about the fact that he had actually invited the white-haired girl to do something because he was already beginning to walk faster. Resistance was futile, anyway.

Canis lifted his chin and snorted derisively. “Freakin’? Honestly, I’ve been picky about what kind of words to use around you to receive less nagging, but if you’re going to be like that, I’m not going to get anywhere with my valiant efforts.”

He kicked a pebble across the cobblestone pathway, the stray rock banging into the wheel of a baby stroller. The woman pushing the stroller, a leery, obese woman with a pair of sunglasses on her head and a Hawaiian shirt shot him a stern look, double chins jiggling. Canis, stifling laughter, offered a sheepish nod in her direction and continued strolling leisurely, though his pace still managed to stray ahead of Sheryl. The chubby baby stuck out a sticky hand out towards Canis, who dodged it smoothly, wrinkling his face in disgust.

He snuck a look at the empty elephant pen, tuning out Sheryl for a tranquil moment, and was reminded of the horrid events that occurred at the dilapidated buildings. A divine being in a black dress radiating a bellicose, authorative aura, piercing eyes like sharp spears of ice, and a downpour of rain that would continue to remind him of the terrifying scene if he’d ever come into contact with a drop of water. The memories flooded back into his mind, an unrelenting black wave that would continue to plague him for as long as he lived. Feelings he wanted to forget, sanity he wanted to hold onto.

If there was one thing to note other than the negative, he’d felt stronger and more confident (if he ever got rid of the nagging feeling of horror that had latched onto him), his senses sharpening. He’d never felt so good physically. Still, the sound of a neck cracking like a whip haunted his dreams, the lifeless body of the woman, hanging like a rag doll continuing to fuel his nightmares. He’d often bolt upright in bed, a sweaty mess in the middle of the night.

He shook his head, paying more attention to the present and struggling to wriggle out of the dark, vise-like grip that was his mind. He decided that talking to Sheryl would be a better alternative to whatever it was lurked inside his imagination.

The pair neared the monkey exhibit, a small crowd of people watching with awed faces. Canis’ expression could be described as mute interest, smothered by his natural apathy and dampened by the presence of a certain white-haired girl. He shot a look at the girl. “See? Just like you.”

(OOC: Yeah, Canis is identified and I forgot about that. Whoooops.)