Hound

artificialhound:

“Real dogs…” Hound muttered. “Real actual dogs. Not mutations…” He stood up and took his staff from Thunder’s flank.

Tesshin is tense and glaring, teeth bared though he doubts very seriously they could do anything to these creatures. They were huge and made entirely of metal, something he’d never seen before. The other four stand their ground with him, still growling and tense as if ready to lunge when given the order to.Though attention promptly drifts to the three that run up with tire iron clamped in between them, acting little more than like puppies. It confuses the group of Ohu canines.

What were these things? Why did they act so much like dogs and yet look nothing like them except in the vaguest of manners? They look at one another in an unsure way as the first one barks at them, raspy and robotic but clearly a bark. And it didn’t seem to be threatening, only curious.

“Tesshin… orders?” one of the other Koga mutter, glancing to his Leader. This leaves them in a bit of a bind.

“Back away… slowly, do not attack,” he doubts very seriously they could do anything to the hulking metal bodies of these creatures. They’d only end up breaking their fangs. Slowly, the group of dogs begin to carefully back away in order to try and leave.

Behind the group of wild dogs came two more of the artificial ones. Two robots with their eyes shining blue and tails swaying slowly much like the on ahead of Tesshin. The two new comers had circled around when their shared com link had fed the information of the dogs. One of them, with half of its face charred with black and welted spots where repairs had been done up its front legs, put its nose to the ground and examined the tracks that the pack from Ohu had left. 

These were not capable of speech. Their voices only what they had in their programming, curious high pitched barks that echoed through the machinery was their way of greeting. The blackened one lifted its head and tried that now. A short friendly bark as a greeting.

When one of them had started the others joined in. Even the group of playful ones dropped their tire iron and perked their heads up to see what would happen.

artificialhound:

It took Hound a few seconds. Then he sat up and listened closer.

@armyofou

This place was not what they were used to. It was dark and the air was musky and smelt of the vehicles the humans used to get around. There was no sky and definitely no mountains. There was barely any grass, only sparse plant life that rustled under their paws, weeds mostly. A group of five wandered through the towers of metal sniffing around and frowning slightly when they did not catch even a whiff of the others or Gajou on the air. Where was this place and how did they get out?

The apparent leader of the group, a Koga dog with a mohawk like tuft of fur on the top of his head, twitched. Every so often he heard the scraping of metal and loud huffing sounds. Almost like a machine moving around. Something about it put him on edge and put his group on edge. This wasn’t right. The noises were definitely not normal. Something that proves true when was looks like a huge metal dog appears suddenly from around one of the junk mounds, startling the closest dog and the Koga as well.

“Roshi, get away from it!” thankfully the other dog obeys and scrambles back to them, all five turning and growling at the beast lowly. They wouldn’t attack yet, they didn’t know if this thing was actually dangerous or not. It wasn’t worth risking their lives on uncertainty. The question was whether or not this… thing would come after them.

The HOUND bot that had been trotting along the mound of scrap had registered the noise of organic animals. Yet it was not prepared to round the heap and find five dogs scrambling back and growling at it. The robotic canine was as much of a dog as any human could have programmed it to be. Aggressive and dangerous, loaded with weapons from how Kane had created it. Then reprogrammed and reformed with a tail of coiled wires, by Hound’s own hands. Yet it was not familiar with the real animals that it had been made to look like.

It was supposed to growl to threaten. It was supposed to observe intruders. It knew how to play with its own kind. Were these its own kind? Slowly the robot began to sway its tail back and forth, twitching slightly and a curious whir vibrating through its voice box. The single blue eyes rotated with a hum and flickered back and forth over the group of dogs. 

A bit behind this robot three more came bounding across a clearing, a tire iron trapped between their jaws and pulling it from three directions. They were playing like if they were mere puppies. 

Immediately the one that had run into the Koga, perked its head up and gave a short metallic bark. The three frozen where they were, eyes peering over but their plaything still stuck between them. Up on top of a scrap heap the silhouette of one of the robots stood up, one small blue light shining in the distance. Then it turned it’s head and gave out a long sequence of computerized noise and the presence of the dog of Ohu had definitely been noticed.

artificialhound:

It stuck its snout out and sniffed at the bat while its tail wagged furiously.

The bat can’t help but look up as the small dog trots over, ears swiveling and a confused look on his face. Though he can’t really help but jump as a metal snout soon presses against his furred stomach and inhales, the bot’s tail furiously wagging back and forth. Oh… uh… friendly one, wasn’t it?

Chuck hesitates a moment, having recalled many encounters with nasty HOUND bots like this one. Still… it seemed friendly enough, didn’t it? Least it wasn’t tearing him to pieces.

Slowly, the bat moves clawed hands out and begins to run them over the dog’s chassis, clicking curiously.

The dog preens and twists around so Chuck can scratch it on the butt. Tail wagging and long cable tongue hanging out as it mock pants happily. Yes, the furry one could scratch this bot all day long. The dog even whirred with excitement and pleasure.

All was as it should be. 

continued (x)

[~=💀] It didn’t take very long for him to arrive over at Hound’s warehouse at a rather record breaking speed, but it was pretty obvious that he had ended up getting attention from the H.O.U.N.D bots that were usually there to protect the one who had invited him out there… seems they found their usual play mate had come back to play.

One big bot with sparks flying off it’s right flank just barely miss the antennae at Mutt’s back as it leaps clean from one end of the road to the other.

There was no way that these dog robots would hurt Mike or get his car severely damaged. They still play a little too rough for any regular person to be comfortable. Mike Chilton was no regular person. HE was the leader of the Burners!

@artificialhound

[~=💀] He looked over his messages in order to see that he had something from Hound, as he pulled up the screen, bringing it away from his car window’s view in order look it over.

Important, huh? It must be if the other was adding that last word in just by itself. Acting as quickly as he could, he typed into the screen in order to reply to the other.

[txt]: I’m over at Antonio’s, should be there in a couple minutes, or quicker if I speed.

The message had probably sent after Mike had gotten into the car. Hound didn’t get any response at all until he noticed the sensors at the outer skirts of the territory went off. 

Hound got up from his chair and lowered his head.

Outside the warehouse a group of five H.O.U.N.D bots sprung up on their paws and rushed off.

“All I want is to be left alone. No KaneCo, no one laughing at me, no crazy people in flashy cars, just me and the Dogs, alright?”

*shows up four years late* hi my name’s splickedy and I enjoyed Artificial Nocturne and I hope whatever fandoms the author is writing for now they are enjoying themselves and their skin is clear and their sleep is good 

oh nnNOOOOO I can totally see that in the ref now??? <:C  

WELL NOW WE’RE BOTH CRYING so THAT’S COOL, I LOVE TO SUFFER

((Bonus Mike b/c i realized while drawing this I had no place to put his missing right arm))

When the experiment sits down the dog shifts its head to look over at Hound.

Hound has scooted out to the edge of the crate he was sitting on. Now he made a none committed motion with his hand.

It smelt okay and nothing set him on edge. 

Slowly attention is turned to the occupant of the warehouse and the many H.O.U.N.D bots that lay about the floor. Normally he would flee at the sight of them but the lack of any aggression on their part keeps such a thing from occurring. Instead, Chuck tilts his head back and lets out a small burst of sonar. It takes a minute to come back, his ears twitching and synapses firing as they paint the image the sound produced for him.

Interesting. 

The inhabitant of the warehouse twitched slightly as the bat let out the sonar call. Hound sighed and settled back down again, grip tightening slightly upon his staff. He wasn’t sure if he should speak or not. At least he didn’t hear the other blond hissing or growling. So far so good.

———————————————————–

When Chuck woke up he would found himself on a tattered old mattress on the floor of an old warehouse. His arm bound with clean bandages. Wooden crates stacked in piles around the large room and a computer as tall as the building itself in the corner. Looking more like a living growing tree of cables and consoles than an actual machine.

Every window high up by the roof was fully open. The doors to the old place ajar and the cargo doors pulled fully open. If he wanted to escape he could just do so.