A Mountain Of Leaves [Nikolai]

Walking through a large field, Jenna was taking note of the fall. Autumn was a beautiful season. The leaves started to resemble her coat and her body had began preparing for winter. Her body was full and fluffy, ears perked forward as her tail curled over her spine normally. This was a constant position for her tail, barely ever did it hang straight. She walked through the chilled wind, unaffected by it's winter-like sting. She strutted gently through the land. Each paw lifted and fell gracefully. She had a small trot to her step, one which made her look even more stunning than normal. The wind whisked through her coat, forcing her to walk a tad bit faster. Her tail bounced from side to side, moving with her hips. Her tongue had a slight loll to it as it slipped from her maw. As the leaves continued to fall, Jenna saw a large pile of them not too far from where she stood. She stopped in place like as a statue. She stared to the pile and tilted her head to the side. It was taller than here where it stood, and for this she was extra excited. But not too far from where she stood, was a small little town. It looked quite and adorable in a way. She looked to the town and then to the pile of leaves. She went back and forth, looking to the two things she could really look forward to. Looking to the pile, she got a precious smirk across her lips. Applying the weight of her tiny body to her rear legs, she launched her small frame into the pile of leaves. From her action, the leaves jumped into the sky and fell back down like snowflakes. As the leaves consumed her body, she sunk into the pile. They covered the tops on her ears, and yet she could still breathe perfectly fine. She jumped from the leaves and ran around the pile in a big circle. Her ears pinned to her skull as she raced with glee. She jumped again and again into the pile of leaves, barking with joy as she did so. Her tiny muzzle nipped at the leaves that fell in the air. Eventually she grew tired. She panted and quickly laid on the pile of leaves. She rested peacefully, moving her nuzzle over them gently. "It's a beautiful day today... what more could I ask for?"

As always, Nikolai ran out of the stables in a thunderous sprint, bounding his large paws in and out as he applied more power to each and every heavy stride. The horses whinnied after the giant-like dog, which was commonly known as 'horse-like', or built as strong as a moose, stomping their hooves to give him even more of a reason to bark back as he made his way down the cobblestone paths. The village of the kingdom alone was vast, he still had yet to cover it all to know how far it stretched - so far, it was large, that much he knew, the part he didn't was how much it was, and how the Queen was able to afford such a price on private ground. His muzzle flitted with saliva as he ran, but as a dog, he paid little attention, nor care in where it landed. Nikolai's pelt kept him warm enough for the autumn and sometimes in the winter, but he preferred the indoors when it came to the snow, that is, unless he were to have a companion to warm him up - maybe then he wouldn't be so stubborn to go outside during winter. As the black and white spotted Great Dane looked on his way, he sniffed the ground and rose his head to it's full potential, ears alert and tail on point. A feminine odor curled inside his nostrils, along with the typical autumn leaves and must of the kingdom smell to swallow it whole.

Without a word, he galloped down the path that led to a clearing-like patch of grass that was conveniently scattered with endless piles of leaves and then some. He wondered if one of the servants had done this while everyone was out, in that case, he was not that surprised. However, his stormy hues moved to the movement across his way. A pile of leaves rumbled to life and soon appeared a glorious figure of crimson and white fluffed fur. He liked fuller coats, in all honesty, but the sleeker, thin pelts like his tended to show of their figures more. With this, he liked all types of Inu females. Even had a fluffy friend of his own at the moment. As he moved over to stand almost on top of her, he towered happily and wagged his tail in welcome as his body created a dark shadow over the tiny female husky. "Having fun?" Nikolai said with a tilt of his head. The gentle giant then moved in reverse to give her some room, plopping his rump loudly on the ground with a cheerful grin still plastered across his slobbered black maw. "I saw that some of the piles had been ruined and thought to check it out. I'm Nikolai, you must be new here. Welcome." The tip of his tail shook as he brought it around to rest at his side, "But.. may I ask why you're here?" he wondered, tilting his head again.

As she laid there, she head the noise of a dog moving closer to her. Well it sounded like a dog or something very large. She lifted up her head from the pile and gazed upon the very large dog before her. He spoke gently to her, friendly and welcoming. His body language showed he was a nice dog, and had no intent to harm her. She could not help the wag of her tail as he spoke to her. It swished through the leaves, making a crunching noise beneath her fur. "I am Jenna. Sorry, this is the first time I have ever seen anything like these leaves. I come from a very very very cold place up north where it always snows. Seasons are not a real thing where I come from. I've seen 'autumn' in the picture books, but I never dreamed they would look like this or even be this much fun!" she barked excitedly, wagging her tail left and right as her butt started to wiggle as well. She jumped to her paws, hearing the crush once more. The sounds made her smile even more. "I was planning on making my way to the small town ahead, but I saw these piles of leaves and I had to explore them. It has been exhilarating!" She looked to him with a smile. "Would you like to play?"

Nikolai listened well to what she had to say with such an excitement over, sitting still in his spot and casually shifting to a position that blocked the wind from the female's face. He looked to the leaves as she spoke, seeing at how she had managed to scatter them with one measly leap and plummet. The thought of cannon-balling inside the mess of fallen substances did however tempt him, but he shrugged it off as he remembered the time and place. "It's a pleasure to meet you Jenna, but I would have to decline your offer. The town you seek is the village beneath the power of Queen Willow, the ruler of Mora. But, you the borders would've stopped you from going any further to civilization in the first place.." Looking the Siberian husky, he frowned slightly due to the fact he may of ruined her plans of fun by not attending her side. He stretched out his four legs and phased to his human-self, easily leaving his arms in a stretched-pose before putting them back down at his sides. He wore jeans that fitted at the ankles, a black sleek shirt, and a priest's collar around his neck to hide the dog collar he had been given as a gift long ago. "Excuse the get-up. I was planning on going to a Halloween party, and the invitation required a costume." He added, shrugging his broad shoulders before finding it would be necessary to ask her questions about joining the kingdom's rule. Sleeking back his hair with his fingers, he glanced down at her silently to by some time as to what he would say first. "If you feel you are worthy enough to join my Queen's kingdom, I must know more about you. We accept any Mora here - Nekos, Kitsunes - and yes, Inus as well. If anything, I believe our census to be at a majority of Inus, given from my experiences and sense of smell when I arrived. Surely, we could always add more to our numbers in that case." The herald nodded affirmatively, slowly then stuffing his hands in his pockets.

When he did not move, only standing where he was, she knew what his reply would be. Her tail stopped wagging. She stared up at him, listening to his words as he spoke them in ways to keep her calm. She planted her ears to the top of her head. Her bi-colored eyes stared at him tenderly. It had almost been as if he had broken her heart. She pulled her body back together and shifted to her human shell as well. Her tail hung behind her body, straight and softly whisping through the wind. She did not speak a word, nor did she really care what he was dressed like. It did not make any sense to her. Where she came from, there were no priests. The collar was a strange thing, but she did not speak of it. What humans wore collars? She knew what Halloween was, but most of her friends had dressed up as Iditarod winners or things like that nature. "Well, I'm Jenna Wayne. I come from a land very very far north of here. It only snows all year long. I was born to my mother and father, and I have a twin named Sasha. In the first few years of my life, it was all about being a puppy, and doing fun things. But as I got older, I started to train for the Iditarod. I had always dreamed of being in one, competing and even winning. I trained for so long and finally I got my chance, but in the worst way. A horrible and deadly disease attacked our village. It affected the youngest and the eldest of our race. It was horrible..." she used an arm to rub her elbow gently. She looked down and then to him once more. "There was a great storm during this time, which stopped all railroad traffic, icing up the rails, which could cause the trains to derail. For that reason, they had to send a single team of seven to a far city even farther up north to retrieve the only known medicine to cure the illness. There was a race to see who would make it on the team. I was one of the seven winners, and in the next coming days we were prepared to head down the path of danger to save the lives of our families." She continued to look to him, looking over his form for a second, but taking it back to his eyes once more. "Those were the coldest nights I have ever faced in the far north. At night we all cuddled together, trying to keep warm. We finally made it to the city and packed up our sleigh. We made it back, almost losing the load a couple times there. When we made it home, the cure was given to everyone in the city. Because of that single action, I was granted a change at the Iditarod. I won it a few times, but as much as I love running, there is one thing I love more than that. That one thing is children. I adore them so much. I have found that through children, you can really make a difference. I want to work with children for the rest of my days. Holding a baby just keeps a bright smile across my face." Her tail started to wag at the mention of the young ones. She could not help but to smile. "If you will allow me entrance to your lands, then I will take great care of the young ones around the land. I promise my life to the Queen and all of her subjects."

The horrid case of dented attention-span seemed to get the bests of him as she ranted on about her back-story. He really did want to hear more, but they way she spoke on and on about it, the more he wanted to daydream. Nikolai stared at her eyes, finding himself lost, not within her bi-colored hues, but by his own accord. Nodding off and on and making sounds through his closed lips to make her think that he was listening, his tail hung lifelessly behind him. He started to see images of when he'd play lacrosse as a mere teenager, growing up beneath two parents that were barely home, though ones he still loved, as well as a bickering little sister. Articles of newspaper-clippings began to revise over his vision - still to this day, he remembered reading all about the crash and feeling the pain behind the losses he gained. Blinking hard, he managed to catch the end of her conversation. She spoke of the love for children, which made him wonder if she would want some of her own someday with a nice Mora within the kingdom. There were many individuals to choose from that she may take a liking in, and he wouldn't be surprised if she fell for the Irish Wolfhound he saw only a few weeks ago. However, this benefited for both of them, and more importantly - the kingdom itself. They had been trying to find a well-suited individual for the job a while now, he thought, perhaps Jenna could finally be the person to fit the bill.

"You have a tender heart for children you say.. It is amazing at how passionate you are in being able to take care for the young, so I'll make you a deal that favors the both of us." Nikolai began, using his hands to help explain his theory, "The kingdom has announced two new rankings as of almost two seasons now, which was before I arrived, so to speak - one of them being a caretaker. Since no one has been kind and willing enough to take the position, I see no one else perfect for the job other than you, Ms. Wayne. Queen Willow would be proud to see that a woman such as yourself with such a golden heart to care for the young of our lands. You will be granted equal respect to that of a Maston. The name of this rank you seek is Coincierge, if you are honest with your trust, then you make place yourself in the position as of now and grant your highest potential to the kingdom before you." The Great Dane inu looked to her with a thrilled expression, consisting of a wide, charming grin and twinkling grey eyes. The end of his tail wagged with acknowledgement, hoping that she'd see it in the brightness of his enlightened face, "Now.. since you've gained my trust, that means I can tell you my rank. I'm a spy - a Herald as the Mora put it. I am the typical messenger boy, the eyes and ears of what goes on outside the kingdom and act as a trust individual. If you are loyal and true to us, you must keep my rank a secret against any forces asides our own, m'lady." Tipping his head, he put out his hand and kissed the back of hers in a kind gesture before wishing her off, "I hope to see you once more, Miss Jenna. May it not be the last, and I wish you fun on what you may discover in these foreign lands. I suggest exploring a bit so that you get a feel of your new home." Shifting in place once more, Nikolai darted a few paces past her before coming to a heavy halt to look over his shoulder. "And one last thing," His eyes targeted to hers and his maw formed a neat smile

"Welcome home."