Mack Finds A Tiger
Late one afternoon in August, Foxy was sitting under a tree, blowing bubbles for Mariana, Jack, Sara, Paul, and Harry. She had been asked to babysit the group while the others went out of town, and had readily agreed. Jack was lying at her side, watching the others play, not finding anything particularly funny about getting bubble soap in your eyes after a bubble pops on your hood.
"Could I try?"
Foxy smiled and handed her the bubble wand. "Sure, even dipped and ready to go."
Jack gave her a smile, then proceeded to huff and puff with all her might. When she wasn't rewarded with a transparent orb, she sighed.
"That's not how you blow a bubble. You've got to be gentler. Like this." Foxy took the wand back and blew into it gently, sending a cascading array of bubbles into the slight breeze, sending the others scrambling to pop them. She dipped the wand into the bubble soap, then handed it back to Jack. Jack blew more gently this time, and watched as at least ten bubbles flowed out of the wand.
"Good job, Jack!" Foxy replied with a grin. At the sound of a familiar voice, she looked over to see Mack parked there. He smiled and she waved him over, then continued blowing bubbles. As he arrived at her side, she looked up and grinned.
"Bubbles are people too you know."
"How's that?"
"They start out fresh and new, and bright, like a baby. But as time passes, they grow fainter and fainter, until they finally pop, like when someone reaches the end of their life and dies." She said with a smile, seeing a bubble do just that. "Great job, Harry!" She called with a laugh as he shook his hood with a strangled exclamation, shutting his eyes tightly against the stinging of the bubble soap. He blinked his eyes open, revealing them to be slightly bloodshot. Foxy grinned as he came back over to her, and began snickering.
"What?"
"You look like you got drunk, Harry." She replied, bursting into laughter, Mack and Jack joining her.
"Yeah, yeah, ha ha. Blow some more, babysitter."
"Harry, come on, we were just kidding around."
"Me too." He gave her a grin, and she returned it before blowing about six more bubbles, then dipping the wand into the solution and making more.
Soon, the air was once again filled with bubbles, and one landed on Mack's hood, hovering less than a millimeter above it. He crossed his eyes as he looked down at it, and flinched slightly as it popped and splattered across his hood. The others laughed, and Harry threw his hood upwards, just catching a bubble with the rear of his blower. It popped, splattering onto his windshield.
"ARGH!" He exclaimed, shutting his eyes tightly and shaking his hood fiercely.
"Now, if you wouldn't do that it wouldn't happen so often, Harry." Foxy said with a gentle laugh, then called him over to her and began wiping the soap out of his eyes. They continued blowing bubbles, even Mack taking a turn, until well after dark, then the group headed back towards town. Foxy began pondering on a subject she had been thinking about often, and it concerned her dog, which she couldn't see any more. She was wondering if the town could get a dog, and decided to ask the others about it. That night, she proposed the question to the others, who agreed. "It'll have to be pretty big, that way nobody accidentally runs it over."
Mack surprised her with a Great Dane puppy, finding it dumped by the roadside, covered in trash, and shivering.
"Ohh, look how cute he is! Come here, sweetie." She called to the puppy, which whimpered and looked her way before scrambling over to her. She picked it up when it was close enough, then set it down in her lap, cuddling and petting it. "Now all you need is a name, a collar, a good bath, and someone to stay with." She held the puppy up to her eye level, giggling as it nibbled and licked her nose gently.
"What about 'Bubble'?" Harry asked, and Foxy laughed.
"That's a good name for a girl dog, but this is a boy."
"'Prince'?"
"Mayybe…"
"'Chase'?"
Foxy smiled over at Max, but shook her head all the same. The puppy squirmed, and Foxy set him down. He ran over to Sara, who petted him.
"What about Sam?"
"Good thought, but it doesn't seem to suit him…"
"What about 'Tiger'?"
"Tiger?"
"Yeah, 'cause he looks like he's got stripes." Sheriff replied.
Foxy looked down at the puppy's brindle-colored, striped body, and smiled.
"Tiger it is."
Tiger barked, and then pounced Foxy, knocking her over, pinning her down, and licking her.
"Tiger, Tiger, off!" Foxy exclaimed with a laugh.
The puppy obediently backed off, but didn't stop his tail-wagging, excited, happy prancing in place. He barked, then began chasing his tail. He bumped into Foxy, making himself topple over and land in her lap. She laughed, then hugged him tightly. "You're a screwball, Tiger." Tiger rolled over onto his back and waved his paws through the air. "Oh, who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" She crooned, rubbing Tiger's belly and smiling down at him. Tiger barked happily, and Foxy laughed. "Tell me one more time. Who's a good boy?" Tiger barked again, then reached up and licked Foxy. "That's right, you're a good boy!" She said with a grin, then continued rubbing Tiger's belly.
"SOMEBODY sure likes puppies." Doc said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, sorry. I absolutely love puppies. Much more entertaining than humans." She said with a grin, making the others laugh. She picked up Tiger, and then cradled him like a baby. He howled, his tail wagging, then reached up and licked Foxy.
"Aww, he likes ya, Elizabeth." Fillmore said with a smile, and Foxy grinned.
"I guess he does." She said. "Could he stay with us?"
"'Course."
"Thanks, Fillmore! I'd give you a hug, but my arms are full of a certain puppy right now." She said with a giggle, then leaned down and smiled as Tiger licked her nose.
That night, Foxy called Tiger from where he was playing with Lightning, and he came over to her side. "Come on, little Tiger. Time for bed."
Tiger whimpered, but Foxy scooped him up into her arms anyway. She toted him off towards Fillmore's, and set him down once they were inside.
He whimpered, then when she laid down, curled up in her beanbag chair beside her."Good boy, Tiger." She said with a smile, then looked to her right, smiling at Fillmore, who had laid down as usual by her side. "Goodnight, Fillmore. And thanks for letting Tiger stay with us."
He smiled, then ruffled her red and yellow hair gently."'S no big deal. I always wanted a dog, just never got around to gettin' one."
"Now we have one." Foxy said with a smile, then snuggled underneath the blankets, covering Tiger with them, and fell asleep, Fillmore following her lead.
In case anyone's wondering, I LOOOVVEEE puppies, and do this to my dog all the time. He loves it. xD