Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the least.

[axel]

The lullaby from his mother rang in his head as he slept. Some German words and then
My son, I have nothing I can give, but this chance that you may live, I pray we'll meet again, if we will.
Then he woke, that nightmare had troubled him since he had left his home little more than a year ago, he wasn't sure exactly how long ago. He knew it was quite some time ago, however. What he did know was that currently he was sleeping in a train car, and that he longed to be back in the care of a human, at least his leg would be at least partially healed by now. Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the least. he concluded. He wasn't crazy, just beyond dog intelligent, nearly as intelligent as a human. He heard something about then, "Shouldn't you be asleep?" the true silver German Shepherd asked in the dark of the night to whatever owned the noise.  If it were Ryland, he would apologize with the reason I thought you were a pup. Anyone else he would simply stand by his question, because while it was meant for a pup, the question was also directed at adult dogs that were not the Mafia leader.

[mayday<3]

Night time was upon the town, as a light drizzling rain washed away the dust that covered the ground. The rain made the town smell musty with a stagnant, earthy aroma. The faint drizzle of precipitation cooled down the land, making the air not so humid, and warm but crisp and damp instead. The moon was shaded behind thick, fluffy clouds, preventing the light from the moon to shine up the street, making the alleys and pathways deep within the city appear darker than usual. Creatures scurried down the avenues, soaking up the darkness that concealed them from being shown. Familiar, animalistic sounds echoed off the brick walls of the alleys. The yowl of a cat, and the shrill of a rat, became accustomed to sensitive ears, as it became more of a well known song more so than an annoying jingle. The circle of life, endless, always in motion, infinite and definite, as set in stone as when the sun falls and the stars rise. Always occurring, always happening, in its constant cycle of life and death. Eventually, the cries of birth and department from this earth becomes so identified that it is almost nearly impossible not the hear the whimpers that the circle of life makes. Gingerly, a large being walked along the alleyways, weaving in and out of the city limits, following the streets that he became acquainted to. He knew where he was going, aimlessly heading towards the destination with no particular sense of time. He would arrive when he did, not taking any shortcuts or quick steps to get to the train engine. He wasn’t necessarily slow, just careless of the duration upon arrival. He took his time, walking at an unhurried pace, scanning the area, as if he was on patrol. In a way, the male was scouting the town, assuring the city was actually how it should be, safe and sound, without bloodthirsty lunatics running down the boulevards. Although, the purpose of the mafia was not to protect citizens of Saddle Creek, however it is to rid the city of parasites that call themselves Hermeaous Mora. At the thought of the murderous, scandalous gang of illiterate parasites, disgust crossed the mysterious male’s face. Since the Mafia inhabited Saddle Creek, and the declaration on anyone that is a member of the Hermeaous Mora will soon have a death sentence, the pack has been rarely seen. That, is exactly what the Mafian leader wanted. Truthfully, as long as the Mora’s left the town, the leader would be perfectly happy, but he knew that they wouldn’t give up so easily, and a war was starting to brew in the undertow. The sense of war was thick, thicker than the blood that would be spilled over the crusades to eliminate anyone with any loyalties to the Hermeaous Mora.

Finally, the large, blue brindle male reached his destination. Entering the graveyard of the train station, he casually walked up to the engine. Before entering the metal framework of the locomotive, Ryland took in a deep breath. The fresh scent of another Mafian member filled his nostrils, verifying that it was membership who was in the metal body work of the train and not some random stranger. Coolly, the large mastiff leaped up inside the engine, effortlessly making the relatively large jump inside. Heavy paws came down against the metal, making a sound similar to that of thunder, as the iron underneath him waved with vibrations, Ryland stared into the eyes of a silver German shepherd. Giving the solider a curt nod, the beast moved closer inside the belly of the engine. Without saying a word, the male sat down next to the shepherd. Thoughts searched his brain as words formed into sentences. He needed to tell Axel about his duty as an Mafian, and what he has to do to be an successful member. A tense smile crossed the lips of the blue brindle male, as he scanned over the shepherd. Sleep sounds excellent, but this meeting needed to occur for quite some time now. We can sleep later. All playfulness left Ryland’s voice, his words were rough in tone and a serious expression concealed his face, which was absorbed deeply inside his blue-green tinted orbs. Overall, Ryland wasn’t essentially pleased that he had to track down the shepherd, nor the fact that he had to do so in the middle of the night. Exhaustion circled his eyes, falling into dark bags underneath both irises. The male’s aching body cried for rest, but Ryland sat still in a rigid position. Annoyance was written all over the body language of the cane corso male, as he stared at the other male with a hard trance. An angry fire danced in Ryland’s green orbs, as he watched the shepherd with scrutinizing eyes. The blue brindle mastiff wasn’t going to be very enjoyable on this particular night. Irritated by the shepherd male already, on top of pure fatigue and the weather conditions contributing to the soreness of his muscles, the last thing the male wanted to do was sit on hard, cold, steel. Theoretically, the shepherd male didn’t do anything wrong, and Ryland subconsciously knew this, but as the night dragged on, so did the painful exhaustion that would not escape his body, and as the pain increased, so did the irritation that boiled directly underneath the surface of his smooth, brindle marked fur. Abstractly, Ryland was nothing more than a ticking time bomb, waiting for the right time to combust, sending shrapnel straight towards the silver pelted German shepherd.

[axel]

Axel's face held a look of calm surprise to it. "Hmm, apologies, I thought you might have been a wandering pup, for a mere moment." he sat up, with a bit of difficulty, to look the fellow male over, noting the tense body language. It would be best not to be a smart alek tonight. It would be so much wiser to tread carefully with the fellow male. Carefully choosing his words he asked "So then, what brings you to my humble, albeit, temporary, home?" It was well known among the mafians that Axel wandered from place to place for rest. Usually simply sleeping when night fell without coming back to any particular area. So it only made sense he was difficult to track down.