~DA family: The newest member~
On a not so sunny day…
"Drat." Abi cursed underneath her breath as she felt water at her ankles. She'd tried rolling up the back of her jeans six times, but they refused to stay up. And wet ankles on jeans meant discomfort and marks on the carpet she'd have to clean up. She stomped down the road to her house after a day of looking for another job in some big brand store (she nearly had one, if only she'd had the right driving experience) and she was not feeling her most spectacular. Particularly as she was in the midst of a bad cold which made her want to fall asleep wherever she was.
She just got up the street that led to her shared house when a car drove past and decided she was not wet enough.
"…Frick." She grumbled and wiped away the water from her face, feeling more dirty than refreshed.
She rubbed her eyes as she walked up the path to her house, a little blurry vision kicking in when water ran from her eyelids. She squinted as she spotted a brown blur on the porch, bending over and thinking it was a package.
It was only when something licked her hand did she jump back and fall on her behind, in a nice big wet puddle.
"ALIEN!" She shouted, only realising a second later how ridiculous that sounded.
"Ok…so not an alien." She wiped the rest of the water from her face and held her hand aloft to see what exactly it was had 'tasted' her.
A very small, very WET and with a look of 'very pleased with himself' puppy stared up at her, his tongue hanging out as he panted in what Abi could easily see was excitement.
And the worst thing? He was ADORABLE.
"Oh…oh hello," she bent low again with her hand out, no fear as usual when it came to dogs, "you alright? Where'd you come from little guy?"
The 'little guy' came forward, licked her happily before allowing his wet back to run up against her equally wet hand as she carefully patted him.
She looked around for any sign of a distressed owner, but everyone was inside (it was raining badly after all).
"I should give you some water out here." She said, glancing down at a spot he could lie. A small whine from the animal made her glance back at him, noticing a shine in his eyes as if to say 'me? Outside? This cute face?'
"Oh you…you know, I should be immune after having to live with Jessica and Hana, but still…oh…alright, but don't give me that look!" She shook her head at the wall inside herself that was usually so strong, seeming to crumble at one creatures look.
As soon as she opened the door, she knew she had her hands full.
The puppy seemed to spring to an even new step of excitement and spontaneous energy, bounding inside in front of her and jumping about the living room, kitchen and even attempted to go upstairs (a small shout from Abi quickly making him remember her and bound back to tangle in and out of her feet).
She'd eventually got herself sorted enough (shoes, coat and scarf on the radiator) to finally go upstairs and grab a towel for him).
After rubbing him down with the towel, she noted down some of the other noticeable attributes the puppy had.
She tentatively ran a small finger along a scar that stretched across one eye, as if something (or someone) had lashed out at him. She gave him a small smile as he looked at her with a 'What? What is it?'
And that's when she could drink in those beautiful eyes.
One bright blue and one dim green. And they seemed to remind her of someone, yet not quite.
Abi stroked the little tuft of hair between the little guys ears when it dawned on her; she wasn't sneezing. Her skin wasn't itching and her chest wasn't tight and she was…fine.
"You must be crossbreed with something…either that or my body is betraying me to your cuteness." She said to the content little chap. Suddenly, pulling away from her and deciding it was play time, he began to tackle the towel. Abi could only watch amused as he seemed to take it for a chew toy and then a tent, crawling under it so only his nose could be seen.
"Crazy," a knock made her stand quickly and stalk towards the door, "now, until I explain, please keep it down…I'm talking to a dog."
With a mental shake to make sure she wasn't going completely crazy, she opened the door to a barrage of familiar faces.
Jessica gave her a small kiss on the cheek and a quick hug as she marched in, kicking off her back-pack and instantly heading towards the kitchen.
Hana and Hans followed suite, both giving Abi small smiles before turning their undivided attention' back to one another.
Ripki was too busy having a heated argument with Luke about something important, Abi only picking up on the words 'chocolate' and 'nitwit'.
Yaz glanced to her, throwing a quick, blissful smile as she chatted happily to her new man. Abi just smiled and rolled her eyes playfully as usual.
Mandy came in with a few bags of shopping, quickly followed by a struggling Kat.
"I said I could carry a few more for you." Mandy turned and stopped only to make sure Kat wasn't about to trip.
The girl seemed to have taken DOUBLE what Mandy was carrying, but showed a clear determined pout of exasperation on her face.
"I'm fine. Hey sis…you forgot your umbrella again?"
Abi realised, she'd spent most of the time cleaning the dog off rather than herself and still looked dishevelled and very wet.
"Don't start. I've had an…interestingly horrible day." Abi smirked as she recalled Kat saying that sentence once to her last week.
"Oh?" Kat smirked back, a faint twinkle in her eye, "Do tell the juice details so we can be amused and comfort you?"
They both shared a teasing smile as Abi prepared herself mentally for everything.
She was about to explain her 'interesting' day, when a small yelp from Luke interrupted her and drew everyone's attention to his spot on the sofa.
"The towel licked me!" Luke clambered back in surprise and slight fear of the unknown as he watched the piece of fabric come about with life.
Everyone gathered to watch the wiggling ball underneath the fabric, making it appear as the towel itself was possessed. Abi calmly stepped forward and grabbed the edge of the fabric, making a slow reveal.
"Guess who ambushed me in the rain?" She smiled as she glanced at the faces around her, the reactions making a small bubble of joy ripple throughout her.
The small yelp of renewed excitement from the puppy was the only sound for a few seconds before Ripki was the one to break the silence.
"PUP! PUPPY! IT'S A PUPPY!" She got in her knees and placed her hands out to stroke the dog, reeling in happiness as it nuzzled and then began to playfully lick at her hand.
Soon enough, like a wave, each girl seemed to cave in closer, the boys quickly making way as they were nearly pushed aside.
"Oh he's so cute! Yes you are, yes you are!" Jessica used her baby voice too tickle him underneath the chin.
He obediently rolled on his tummy as each hand came and indeed began to tickle and stroke his exposed stomach.
"But…aren't you supposed to be covered in a rash?" Kat arched her brow and looked her sister over. Abi was thankful for the towel passed to her from Hans who'd decided to be useful. Luke had meanwhile gotten a fresh bowl of water for the pup when he'd had a chance to move.
"Hmmmm, pretty eyes," Jessica let out a small smirk not unlike Kat' and turned to Abi, "remind you of anyone?"
Abi just shook her head and stuck out her tongue with a stoic face on, smirking as Jess let out a small snort of laughter.
"Oh…poor guy, get in a fight? Well I bet you gave whoever done this to you a scar back." Mandy smiled and ruffled the patch of hair that came down from in between his eyes and tickled his nose.
Although he loved being the centre of obvious attention, he seemed to want to calm down a bit, choosing to spring away from the affectionate hands and weave between Hans' legs, almost like a cat. Hans just smiled and bent down low, easily picking the puppy up in one hand and holding him close to his chest.
"Always good with dogs. That's why I love him so." Hana sighed contently and watched as Hans rubbed the dog calmly, seemingly sensing his tired state.
"Ok, unwind time." Kat kicked her shoes and reclaimed her usual spot on the sofa, a little thankful that she had the night to just her and her sister' (Hans was going to be sent home due to his housework and Luke was already being pestered to fetch some dog food from the market nearby).
A few days later…
Time had actually flown by easily. The day after the new house guest, flyers had been put up and a call made to the local wardens to see if anyone had called in a lost dog. No luck had come up within the local area, not even someone whose dog had had a litter of puppies.
So, on the third day, and after some encouragement (her sister' innocent looks and small, pleading voices) Abi had decided on a bold mood.
"Until the owner or owners come forward, we shall keep little…dog until further notice." She said happily, stroking the said dog on her lap, as he'd chosen that as his current resting spot.
"Yay! What shall we name him? Where will he sleep?"
"Oh, Oh! What do we do if-"
"ONE question at a time," Kat held up her hands as she could see chaos being let loose if not controlled right away, "ok…the name can come later…as for sleeping…since Abi the one that found him and she seems quite content - as does he - with sleeping on her bed, I think it's appropriate if we leave him there until he makes his own mind up. AND, knowing what little Red Rose was saying," she winked at Jessica, "we can allocate timetables. Like who gets to bathe him, buy the food, take him for walks and so on."
Everyone seemed to nod in understanding, all happy with the choice that was made for them.
"And…since Abi already told Mandy about this earlier," Johnn stood up and stepped forward, "I saw it right to get him this."
Johnn leant down and put on a small, brown collar around the neck of the content canine.
"It's got your address on the back, just needs the name engraving on the front," Johnn pulled back and smiled at his handiwork, "Until someone comes forward as Abi says, we don't want him wandering off and getting lost again, so I got him this. This way, if someone finds him, they return him here."
Mandy stood up and wrapped her arms around his waist, place her head on his shoulder.
"You're smart." She giggled and nuzzled into him, kissing the pulse point on his neck sweetly.
The little yelp of approval made everyone laugh, Kat commenting 'even if he believes you two should get a room!' just making everyone laugh harder.