Mako shook his head. "I'm guessing you like to talk." He smirked right back but his smile faded as he listened more. "I'm fine you found it and it's finder's keepers." He thought back to before the humans came and shook his head roughly trying to forget. "I do not look like a walking skeleton anyway." He yawned again. "Sorry, I'm just tired. So you really think being owned by someone would be that great?"

"Well, when you put it like that, owned, I mean..." A thoughtful look enters Terra's eyes. "Anyway, I do like a good chat. It gets lonely out here sometimes." Rapidly, Terra tears the last morsels of meat off of the bone and stands back up on her feet. With one swift motion of her paw, she bats the bone into the bush she'd hidden under previously.

"i'm off to this big grassy patch where the humans sometimes run around. There's some good sleeping spots there." With that, not even waiting for a response, Terra trots around the corner of a small brick house, her tails bobbing behind her.

Mako thought that sounded oddly like an invitation so he followed her. "Mind if I join you? I'm not up for looking for a new spot to sleep." He added as an excuse. He really was tired and thought that she might not mind too much. He also wanted to learn where this good sleeping spot was so he could go back to it some time. He was sure that Terra could teach him a lot, she seemed smart and skillful.

Terra continued her trot as if nothing had been said, letting Mako trail along if he so desired. The duo passed at least a dozen more human nests before the grassy area came into view. The neighborhood itself seemed like some sort of patchwork quilt with no two tiles quite the same. Each yard was a similar sized rectangle, with various bushes and flowers, along with the odd tree. The nests themselves were what varied so much. Some were made of brick and mortar, others of colored slats of wood. The wood could be so many different colors; blue, yellow, brown, even a bright cherry pink. Terra could see into some nests through the invisible barriers on their sides. Some of the homes had various sylesti. One of these sylesti just happened to be a highly temperamental vulnyx that leaped at the barrier as Terra dashed by. Through another barrier, she could see two young zolnixi, scampering around the stone floor of the nest and barking as they chased each other around and around and around.

When the grassy field came into view, Terra spared a glance back at Mako, taking in his appearance. One thing stood out to her; a green cloth wrapped around his neck. As she continued her forward gait, Terra spoke.

"if you dislike people so much, why do you keep that thing around your neck?"

Mako was a little surprised she had caught on so fast. "It's almost the reason why I hate them..." He mumbled then fakely yawned not caring if Terra caught on to it. He hated the thought of the subject and didn't want to talk about it. "My father had it when he left the humans and he gave it to me." He explaned a little hoping that would make her want to drop it.

Despite Mako's vague answer, Terra decided to drop the obviously touchy subject. Not that she wouldn't bring it up again later...

At the end of the grassy field, a cluster of tall oak trees stood with tall yellow grass all around them, most likely to prevent the noise of the street on the other side of them from deafening anyone in the field. The grass also happened to be the perfect height for hiding creatures in. As Terra walked into the grass, she parted it with her snout, heading right towards a specific tree in the cluster. Once closer to the tree, it was easy to realize that the ground under large roots of the tree had been disturbed when the roots were growing, leaving a shallow pit under the roots. It was dark, protected, and secluded, the perfect place to hide from any curious young humans playing in the field the following day. Terra crawled into the pit, before looking back to see if Mako would follow.

Mako was glad Terra had dropped it. He really didn't want to think about it. He followed her until she went into the hole. He stood outside of it wondering if she was inviting him inside or if he should just stay outside and sleep there. He turned around and laid down outside the pit. He yawned again and waited to see if she would say anything about it.

Terra watched as Mako dropped to the ground, obviously tired from the "excitement" of the night. Terra found herself dropping to the dusty earth herself soon after, trying to wedge herself into one of the snuggest corners of the shallow depression under the tree roots. It was a habit really; Terra had always found herself feeling more secure when she went to sleep with her back to a surface. The position ensured that any threat would have to approach her from the front, not a blind spot. Tucking her muzzle into one of her glossy brown tails, she shut her eyes. The last thing she heard before giving herself to the void was a high pitched yawn from Mako outside, as if to remind Terra that she wasn't alone.

Mako felt the sun hitting his face in the morning. He smiled and opened his eyes. He froze as he tried to figure out where he was. He must have rolled into Terra's hole during the night. He looked over to see that he was right next to her his tail just touching one of hers. He scooted away from her a little trying to give her space. He poked his head out the hole to look around to see if it was safe to get back out onto the grass. He sighed before he saw them he heard them. The little humans were playing. He looked around for a place to hide besides Terra's hole but couldn't find one. He slowly dropped back down into Terra's hole and sat on the other side of it curling his tail around his feet tightly so it wouldn't touch her. He yawned and let his head fall away from Terra as he started to go back to sleep.

Noise. Deafening noise.

The roar of a lawnmower mercilessly mutilating stalks of grass was the only thing that existed in Terra's mind right now. After lowering her ears flat onto her head, she brought her paws up to her ears and smashed them into her fur. Anything to stop the sensation that her head would split open from the sheer volume of the metal, grass murdering beast.

All of a sudden, the agonizing screeches disappeared, leaving silence in their place, as if they had never existed. The pain still remained, but the adrenaline kicked into an even higher gear, allowing her to focus on her surroundings through the exploding aches. Sunlight filtered in through the opening of the hollow. Mako's speckled tail glowed in its radiant light. Wait, why the heck is Mako in-

No time to question, focus. Your life could end at any moment. Was that logic talking, or adrenaline? Stop questioning. Focus. Her heightened senses took in everything that was going on within the field instantaneously. Human pups, screaming, screeching, playing. Birds cawing from her upper left. Insects buzzing. Insects biting. Insects dying as they were slapped to death by skinless human paws. A cicada somewhere nearby, whirring as fiercely as a cicada can whir, feebly trying to protect its grassy lair from imminent destruction. Mako, head pressed up against a tree root, probably trying to figure out what was going on, same as she was. Then, from two feet away, crunch. Footsteps cracking decaying leaves. Getting closer.

"Mako, we need to bolt out of here, now!"

thunk

Light faded from the entrance to the pit. The lawnmower had been pushed up against the duo's exit, and the sounds of a human yelling loudly came from just outside.