Strays Like Us
Chapter One:
Padfoot
Sirius was hungry.
The holidays were approaching fast, and contrary to the prospect of 'peace on Earth', less and less people were offering him scraps every day. Thankfully, in his mane of soft black fur, he was more than suited for a cold environment. Starving, however, was something he could live without.
A small child stumbled in front of him, holding tightly onto his mother's arm as he passed, and Sirius gave a loud, pleading whine when he spotted a fat parcel of what smelt like freshly cut steaks clutched in the mother's gloved hands. He would gladly die for a good-sized bite of meat right now…particularly steak.
The child looked back after he let out another pitiful, canine whine, and giggled happily. "Momma, momma, I wanna pet the puppy!" he laughed, beaming as he turned and began to walk towards Sirius, who wagged his tail feebly. "See, momma? Puppy wants me to pet him."
"Josef!" the woman scolded, jerking him back towards him. "Look at that creature! It's a stray—it'll bite your fingers off…"
"But mom-ma…"
"We have a dog at home, Jo-Jo," she said soothingly, pulling the little boy back into step with her. "Come on—it's getting cold out here."
"Okay," he pouted, giving Sirius one last fleeting glance. "Bye-bye, puppy."
"Woof," Sirius answered, his heart sinking. Time to go to the butchery.
He hated the butcher's shop—it was his last resort for food. The butcher himself was a kind man with a good heart, and he had taken kindly to Sirius when he had first seen him. Every night, the man would dump his leftovers by the dumpster in the back alley for stray animals to take care of.
Usually, a butcher grinds his leftovers into sausages, hot dogs, or maybe haggis. Sirius's stomach would always squirm unpleasantly when he thought of the things a butcher wouldn't even put into a hot dog. After all, that was exactly what he was eating, he thought bitterly as he trudged through the snow.
"'Ello, there!" the butcher called fondly when he saw Sirius approach him. "Back for more tonight, eh, boy?" Unfortunately, yes, Sirius thought unhappily, but he wagged his tail in a friendly sort of way and watched with revulsion as the man emptied the slimy contents of a large plastic bucket onto the ground with a loud glurping noise. Ears. Intestines. A stomach or two. Lots and lots of guts 'n gore.
Yum, yum, yum.
Thankfully, the butcher must have seen his doomed expression. "Here, boy—I've got a surprise for you tonight," he said suddenly, giving him a quick scratch behind the ears before retreating back into his shop. Intrigued, Sirius lowered himself onto his haunches and watched the doorway with big, curious eyes until he came out again…
And this time, he was carrying a large, full plastic trash bag. His perceptive nose picked up the delicious scent of fresh, raw meat, and his tail immediately began to wag as the butcher dumped a large, stripped carcass onto the ground in front of him. Meat was clinging to every bone of the cow's dead body, and he could see where the man had severed each fillet; torn every rib.
"I normally use these buggers for soup bones," he laughed heartily, patting him again, "but I figured you'd put them to better use." Good man! Good man! he woofed, whining appreciatively and giving his hand an indebted lick before he moved in on the carcass; drooling excessively. God, his first real meal in weeks.
The remains were a little rough, but he wasn't complaining. After he had stripped the bones of any excess red meat, he gnawed on the fat, the gristle, and even the tough, stringy meat at the base of the neck with gusto.
Blood stained his chops as he trotted back through the alley with a full belly, clutching a few hearty bones in his teeth and leaving the intestines for the other unfortunate animals. Thank God he wasn't squeamish.
A/N: Hey all—this is NeverMore. I know I haven't introduced Libby yet, but I figured I'd make this story a tad longer than some of the others. Love love love!
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