the valley / joining

[div style="width: 450px; height: auto; margin: auto; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 12px;"]Hah... shit, he'd been walking for a while now. His paws ached more with each step, and he was sure they were bleeding a bit; he had never been one for... exercise, and perhaps that was coming back around to bite him in the ass. Running away, truthfully, had not been a very good idea. Though his parents were assholes sometimes, he couldn't help but miss them, but it had been long past time since he quit their company. It was time for him to move on and live his own life, without their meddling.

The golden dog padded slowly over the border, stepping gingerly over fallen branches and sticks, trying his best to be careful as he moved through unfamiliar territory. Sunlight breached the trees as he did, deep brown eyes turning to gaze at the horizon for a few moments before his gaze moved to land upon the observatory in the distance. Oh, perhaps this place was inhabited already. Had he passed scent markers? He frowned slightly, sniffing loudly, to no avail. "Stupid nose." He grumbled under his breath.

He looked around him slowly, searching for any signs of life, but could see nothing. A slow sigh escaped the boy as he plopped himself down in the warming grass, stretching out his small figure in the path of the sunlight. If anyone did live here, he hoped they were friendly; he wasn't looking forward to a fight today, or... anything, really. He hoped if someone saw him they would just turn and walk away and leave him to himself, rolling in the warm light of the morning sun.