Red Rebel (open)

[Willow••]

"You're the - Red Rebel, Red Devil, sticky sweet like caramel, Phoenix-fire, deadly liar, Lady Red of forty-five." The sung verse hung in the stale air like smoke as Roxanne trotted across the floor of the empty factory, her steps making prints on the dust-coated concrete. Notes continued to vibrate in her throat as she hummed the song, something she had heard one of the street dogs crooning early this morning. After eavesdropping on his tune, the pitbull committed it to memory and dumbfounded those around her by singing it herself through the alleyways as she made her rounds among the avenues of the University district. To Roxanne, any prose or rumors about her were ego-boosting, and shocking the street dogs that lived around her by knowing them herself was completely and utterly hilarious. She knew they talked about her; she knew they sung about her and plotted her death. But these things didn't bother her, because she was still better than them. Not that Roxanne was egotistical to think this; she just knew it, and this is because those mutts that made theme songs about her were cowards. A smirk tugged at her muzzle. She found the stairway at the back of the building and climbed it, her nails making sounds that echoed on the walls and reverberated through her bones. Roxanne went up two flights before she emerged on a catwalk high above the floor, and found herself staring down at a sea of murky gray concrete. It almost moved and waved before her eyes in the dim light filtering through the grime-coated windows, but logically Roxanne knew that to be false. Still she observed in mild interest through the grated catwalk that she stood upon, before trotting across the elevated floor and humming her tune once again.

[Kat]

Zephina was never one for keeping up with rumors... but songs, now that was another story.

The Utonagan loved music, songs, tunes and melodies. Her ears were almost always perked as she listened carefully for the music that was made around her. The roaring of engines from the cars, the clattering and chattering the people provided, the breeze that traveled down the alleys and made flags ad curtains and clothes flutter to a rhythm; her world was full of a beat, even if it was a mismatched one. The colourful canine rarely found herself somewhere that was simply silent. This time, however, was one of those exceptions, as she found herself wandering up to the cold gray mass that was known as the abandoned factory.

She peered up at the stone walls quietly, her pretty amber eyes scanning over the walls and windows slowly. She had never been inside this odd building, and it unnerved her whenever she walked past it in the past, but something was drawing her toward it. Her curiosity was peeked as she thought about how she had never been inside, and she wondered what hidden treasures could have been protected by such silence. Her adventurous side egged her on, and soon, she was padding up to the entrance.

The first think Zephina noticed was how cold the place was. The dead silence was accompanied by the deader temperature. She wandered around the first floor, her claws scraping against the concrete ground as she slowly walked around, examining everything around her for any sign of adventure or a prize of any sort. Just when she thought that the place had nothing of interest to offer and she got ready to turn-tail and leave, she heard something other than her own pawsteps or the creaking of old machinery. She blinked curiously and her ears perked as she listened carefully to what sounded like singing.

Could it be another dog??

Zephina's fluffy tail wagged as she began to follow the sound, locating some stairs to walk up as the sound moved up the floors. It had been too-long a while since she met another dog as interested in music or melodies as she was, so the excitement at the thought of finding another was great. Soon, her careful trot began a slow run as she made her way up the stairs and up to the next floor. She paused to look around for the source of the sound as the song had become humming, and was pleasantly surprised to find another canine walking about on an elevated floor.

She smiled and her tail wagged again as she looked up at the song's source. Whoever she was, she looked kind friendly... right??

"You're song is lovely," Zephina chimed, walking up so that she was standing almost just below the elevated floor. She sat down as her fluffy tail wagged from side to side, sweeping up the dust a bit and clearing a small space as she continued, "...My name is Zephina!! I heard your song downstairs... Did you make it yourself?? It sounds very pretty."

[Willow••]

Just as she was about to reach the other side of the building via the catwalk, a figure disappearing at the stairway in the corner caught her eye. Roxanne stopped and turned in time to see the tail of the other dog disappear up the steps. Her hazel eyes narrowed and she waited, listening for paw steps that might tell her which way the other creature was headed. Unfortunately it appeared that she had been followed, because the brown-hued dog appeared on the floor below, standing at the rail that offered safety from falling to their death on the ground floor 20 feet down. The pitbull turned her body so that she was facing the Utonagan, a scowl set upon her features. A sweet voice rose to her, complimenting her on the song she had been singing. Roxanne's cropped ears flattened against her head and she leered. It was one thing for someone to like her singing - which, she found a bit odd anyway - but it was another to stalk her just to tell her such a silly thing. Roxanne's eyes traced the rapid movement of the other dog's happy tail as it swept the ground behind her, irritation quickly rising in her gut. Stop watching it! She told herself, blinking roughly and refocusing on the smiling mug of the dog. My name is Zephina! I heard your song downstairs... Did you make it yourself? It sounds very pretty. The pitbull couldn't help but snort in disdain. The hell did she care who this chick was? Furthermore, Red wasn't sure "Zephina" would be calling her song pretty if she knew all of its lyrics. A snarky grin pulled back her lips and she laughed condescendingly, the sound echoing on the walls. "Pretty? You're mistaken. It's a death ballad." She corrected, stalking forward a few steps while speaking the next verse on-beat. "You're the - red witch, vicious bitch, as you creep the mutts all itch, Phoenix-fire, deadly liar, Lady Red of forty-five." Her pawsteps matched the syllables of the words, her tone growing bitter with the darkening of the lyrics. She inched forward on the catwalk, closer and closer until she was almost directly above the other female on the floor below. "Pluck her eyes, wretched disguise, break her neck for all the guys, kiss of death, it's her last breath, Lady Red of forty-five." The pitbull stared darkly down at Zephina through the grated floor, her lip curled slightly in a silent snarl. Should she be able to read the fluffy dog's mind, she might find Zephina to be retracting her thoughts of Roxanne being just as much a lover of music as she. The female cleared her throat and rolled her shoulders with a sneer. "Nice to meet you. Zephina." But her tone was anything but pleasant.

[Kat]

Zephina watched as the pitbull scowled, and felt she might possibly want to reconsider approaching her. She wasn't a small dog, but she wasn't exactly a tough one either, so she wouldn't really fair well in a fight if the other felt frightened or insulted or got any kind of wrong message. She tried to keep up a friendly demeanor, giving the other the benefit of the doubt and offering a more friendly attitude. The snarky grin was mistaken for a smile but the brown-hued canine, and her tail wagged again as her smile became more bright and friendly again.

The laugh quickly made the tail-wagging stop, and the Utonagan seemed a little disturbed by the rest of the lyrics as the stranger walked along the catwalk. She didn't move, her hazel eyes following the pitbull until she was directly overhead. The looks she gave made Zephina rise to her paws slowly, ready to take a few steps back and retreat. All hopes of finding another lover of music or friendlier companion seemed to drain from her mind, and the pleasant thoughts were quickly replaced by plans or turning-tail and running off. She was an adventurous girl, but not a fighter; this canine, whatever her name might be, seemed much more experienced in the world of brawls and battles.

"...Nice to meet you, too, miss," was all the hazel-eyed dog could muster, her ears falling back as her tail hung limply between her legs. With her head lowered and her shoulders raised, she had taken a much more submissive stance, not wanting to instigate anything she might regret later. She tried to force another smile, although it came out more awkward than the smiles she had offered before. She was obviously more nervous now, less willing to continue the conversation or make a new 'friend'.

"I'm sorry... I was interrupting..." she added, taking a few steps back toward the stairs, "Er... I'll l-leave you to your death ballad, if you wish... Um... N-nice meeting you, though. Maybe we can catch up later, heh..."

[Willow••]

As quickly as she expected it to, Roxanne noted the other female's countenance rapidly change and her demeanor shifted like a trick wind. Yet the air in the factory was still, and thick, and the pitbull reckoned she had just made it thicker. Zephina had attempted to smile again at one point, but now it seemed that she had no intentions of being friendly toward the obviously not-so-friendly Red. Seeing the fluffy dog cowering on the level below appeased her in a way, but at the same time it was frustrating. Roxanne was used to those with much thicker skin, and the street dogs around tended to hold their own but Zephina was clearly disturbed. She stuttered out a response, echoing Roxanne's words but with definite displeasure. A small smirk quirked at the corner of the pit's maw, but it flattened into a straight line as Zephina began to step backward, apologizing spinelessly then saying she ought to go. Maybe we can catch up later, heh... Roxanne frowned for a moment, then put on a grin, similar to her initial expression. "Leave?" She crooned back, her thin whip-like tail swishing behind her. "But you've just arrived. And you went through the trouble of climbing thirty-two or so stairs to greet me and 'interrupt' my song to say hello. Seems you put in some effort already. Why waste that?" The female focused on the platform below and sized up the gap between her spot on the catwalk and the floor beyond the railing below. She should be able to make it, but if she didn't, it would be thirty feet to probably her death. What the hell; its not like anyone would miss her. After all she was just singing about her neck being broken. Roxanne exhaled, spotted her landing area, then leaped. Fairly easily, she sailed from the catwalk to the floor that Zephina stood on, and landed between said dog and the stairway. Straightening up, Roxanne turned to her again with another quirk of her lips.

[Kat]

The hazel-eyed Utonagan hesitated as she was spoken to again, her decision to leave being questioned. She didn't like this anymore. She felt as thought she were being pushed back into a corner, trapped in the factory between the walls and the pitbull. It wasn't a position she wanted to be in, and that was reflected in how she kept her submissive stance and took another small pawstep back toward the stairs. She was not at all used to being confronted, since her friendliness was difficult to mistake for hostility and her size and breed normally made dogs who were looking for trouble look for another target. She had never really fought before. She didn't ever want to have to result to such things.

Why am I fretting so much?? she suddenly wondered, blinking curiously as her attention was drawn away from the stranger, She's all the way up there, and I'm down here. By the time it takes her to get off the catwalk, I can run down the stairs if I still feel threatened.

Zephina smiled slightly, fairly certain that she had an escape plan, a back door in case things went wrong. The other was more muscular and seemed to have more stamina, but she was a good runner and with a head start could likely get to safety before the other caught up or ran her down. She was unpleasantly surprised when the other canine leapt down from her perch on the catwalk and landed between the brown-hued dog and the exit. She frozen completely, joints stiff as all she could do was stare with wide eyes and a slightly dropped jaw.

"...H-how did you...??" she began, but couldn't finish. She turned her head quickly to peer back up at the catwalk, back at the pitbull, up at the catwalk, back at the pitbull, before giving her head a slight shake and backing up a few steps. She would have been far too frightened to make that jump herself, so the other's bravery was already proving to be very impressive. Her hazel eyes were wide as she backed away from the other dog.

"I'm sorry..." she muttered, keeping her submissive stance as she lowered her head and tried to show that she really meant no harm nor offense, "I d-didn't mean to interrupt you. I'm sorry if I upset you... I r-really can leave, now, I don't want any trouble..."