A/N: Poor Breda, left in in the hands of the Warg... At least I don't own him, for his sake. I really do love dogs of all sizes, otherwise I wouldn't be working with them and I wouldn't have the scar from the Bichon Frise.
"Manny! You have to see Betty Browning's new dog! He's absolutely adorable!" The mop of tan and white fur in his sister's arms was kind of cute, Heymans supposed, nibbling on a piece of toffee. He was thankful that she and her friends weren't teasing him, for once.
"What's his name?" the redheaded boy asked, scrutinizing the long-haired canine more carefully. He wasn't sure exactly what breed it was, but his best guess would have been a cross between a mop and a rat. The bug-eyed animal began to yap continuously as Manny approached it, making it easier to differentiate between the head and the rear because heads usually didn't wriggle that much.
"This is Snuggles. I think he likes you," Betty told Heymans, patting her pet gently upon the head.
"Hi, Snuggles," Manny said, offering his hand for the lapdog to sniff. The little dog wasted no time in attempting to lick it off of his arm, occasionally grazing Heymans with its teeth in its enthusiasm. "Hey, chill out, little buddy…" the redhead said, trying to grab the short muzzle with toffee-flavored fingers.
In the end the dog grabbed hold of him. "OW! He bit me! I'm bleeding, I'm bleeding!" Pressing his other hand firmly around the gushing finger, Heymans shoved it in his sister's face. "See what he did to me?"
"You just don't know how to play nicely with dogs," Carol Breda informed her younger brother, pulling the five-pound ball of fluffy terror away from him as if to shield the dog from the blood.
"Poor Snuggles," Betty agreed, lifting the puppy from her friend's arms. "Come to Mommy and she'll make it all better." Betty Browning nuzzled the gory muzzle, letting that blood-soaked tongue lick her face.
Heymans stared at the girls, utterly aghast. There were drops of blood on the sidewalk and it was still pouring from his abused knuckle! "Doesn't anyone care that my finger hurts?" he asked.
"Don't be such a baby, Heymans," Carol informed him. "Run home and put a bandage on it, if it's still dripping." For a lack of other options, Manny followed her advice.
"You have to admit, that Edward Elric is as cute as a button." Heymans Breda did not turn around.
"He's a bit strange, but he's a smart kid. It'll be interesting to see if he passes the exams."
"You think he can?" the female corporal asked. Breda hadn't caught her name.
Breda nodded and stirred more sugar into his coffee. "It's the little ones you've got to watch out for."