Happy Birthday Daiki! My dumb little baby!
(21st January, 2020)

Just a side note, I actually began writing this in 2017, but due to me being a lazy, short-attentioned little sheet, I only managed to finish this 3 years later. So, come with me as we discover the slow evolution of my heinous writing in Memories of Mephistopheles!

|Memories of Mephistopheles|

Word Count: 14,075

"Honey, we can't keep him."

"But the landlord allowed for pets!"

"He allowed for small well-behaved pets, and it's too late to pull out now, the transaction's already been made."

"...We don't have anyone to give him to, though."

"Yeah...don't worry, I'll deal with it."

. . .

The snowy highlander tilted his head curiously as he was placed down, the barking of other dogs in the park making him want to run over and play.

"Now, be a good boy and have fun with your friends. I'll be back later." The man smiled, petting the young pup's head.

Yipping loudly, the highlander took off, bounding over to tackle his peer, another couple coming over to join the rough and tumble. Occasionally, an older dog would snap at him when he bumped into their legs, making him back away with an apologetic whine and dash back to his friends, loud calls for him to return to their game sounding over the park. Soon, his friends had to go, but new ones came and took up the game instead, the day giving an almost infinite amount of playmates for the little pup and he rolled and scrambled around balls of fluff and noise.

He didn't notice it at first, the setting sun and taper of dogs, the lowering noise and the cooling air. Dusk had fallen, but there was no sign of the man.

The little highlander, not much bigger than a pint, sat patiently as the entrance of the dog park, his tiny tail wagging in anticipation of the human couple and the warm house that would come to receive him soon.

He had been good; he had played nice; he didn't bite the other dogs; he waited as he was told! They would be so proud of him!

The thought made the young pup restless and bouncy, high-pitched pants leaving him as he eagerly waited.

. . .

The little highlander yawned widely, his tongue curling as barks shook him awake. He grunted in distaste as he shook his coat, not liking the way the dew clung to his fur and dampened both his mood and body, chilling him.

The pup had waited all night for the man to arrive but had fallen to sleep when the stars had begun to fade. He had hoped he would wake up in his bed, having magically done so before when he had slept in the yard of the old home, but no such thing occurred as a Shih Tzu started nosing at his ear.

He blinked before perking up, sitting up with his ears attentive. The other pup seemed to share his new enthusiasm and lept away, urging him to chase.

The human couple had been gone overnight before, but they came back eventually. He just had to wait a little more, after all, they were his humans.

. . .

"Komi-chan! Komi-chan, come away from that stray!"

The highlander whipped around and growled as a brightly dressed child toddled up to him, grabby hands coming to tear and yank at his matted fur, greyed and thick from time and dirt. Wide, brown eyes looked at him as she took a handful of his ear, tugging with shrill laughter. With a yelp of pain, the small pup snapped his teeth at her, forelegs coming to kick her away as well as he could. The dirty dog shook his head violently to try and soothe his ringing ear, having heard the faint crack of cartilage.

"Oh, you bad dog!"

The air in his lungs was knocked out at the human woman kicked him aside, gathering up her wailing child and cooing.

How was he the bad one? He was protecting himself!

"Mean! Mean dog!" The child screeched, clinging to its mother as she pulled out a device.

"Hello? Narumi Pound? There's a violent stray near the dog park. A little one, white."

Pound?!

The pup had heard of that horror stories told by the elder canines flooding his mind as he turned tail and ran, bolting out of the grassy park, ignoring the snaps of adults as he dove between their legs. He heard the voice of the human woman calling for his capture, leading him to dodge the hands of the towering giants, his breath coming quick and loud.

The concrete battered his soft pads as he ran, not knowing when he was safe, and not willing to risk.

Why had they not come? He had been good, waiting for as long as he had. He had been patient, not hurting anyone, despite how they pinched, picked and tampered with him. He had sat out in the open at night, wanting to be visible for his humans, not complaining how his coat got waterlogged in the rain, or how cold he got as the dew settled. The noises in the dark scared him, but he remained quiet, waiting by the post that held the sign of the park.

But still, nothing came. No one came, even three weeks later.

. . .

The pup breathed heavily as he finally managed to tip over the shiny bin, having witnessed some older dogs do it previously with much less effort. He had been learning a lot by watching the other canines of the alley go about their business, taking in as much information as possible before he inevitably got chased away by salivating jaws and untamed claws.

For twenty minutes the tiny dog had been trying to knock over this trash can, running at it and throwing his body against the side repeatedly until he felt his ribs throb and his head became light. And now, with his success, he jumped over the pile of moulding trash and began digging around for something that his stomach could manage, his palette not nearly as important. Letting his nose lead him, the highlander upturned a plastic plate and beamed, pinching a half-eaten, soggy sausage between his teeth.

A booming bark made him freeze, the alley amplifying the sound and making it seem more menacing then perhaps it actually was to the pint-sized pup. In his paralysed state, the small highlander could only take the sudden assault, sharp teeth grabbing him by the nape and tossing his tiny body across the gritty concrete.

A yelp escaped him as he hit the ground, his spine meeting the corner of a heavy crate. The little highlander winced as he tried to get to his feet, attempting to flee the scene, knowing he had no chance against the huge hound. Shouts of pain came as fangs sank into his hide again, the larger dog obviously wanting him to give over the morsel in his jaws. The pup thrashed and writhed, the gnawing pain in his stomach not affecting him as it used to, the shrill pulsing of his assaulted skin taking precedent at the moment.

He knew he would need his teeth for the fight, but was hesitant to release his hold on the piece of meat. A harsh tug was his breaking point, however, and he opened his little maw to bite down as brutally as he could on the hulking leg, tiny pins of teeth sending the hound into a howling fit.

The small highlander sprawled on the ground for a moment before he was pounced on, high shrieks of pain leaving him as he felt cartilage and sensitive skin be gnawed and ripped, the crunching and clacking of teeth and soft bone ringing clear in his canal as the shell of his ear was taken as retribution for his defence.

In a blinding panic, pain overriding sense, the pup whipped around and sank sharp teeth into the closest thing, growls rumbling in his throat as his mouth was coated in warm metal. The hound threw him aside with a mighty roar, small feet wasting no time in sending him bolting out of that alley, ear pulsing white-hot, morsel still between his teeth.

…

It was official; he hated the Pound and its army of uniformed men.

For nine months now the highlander had been chased from every home he had made for himself, the box, the crate, the cafe porch, the gas station's dumpster. Every one of them had had to be abandoned as the uniformed men came running with poles and leashes.

The little highlander bounded over a fallen box as he shot into an alley, a gnarly grin coming as he heard the man stumble over it instead, not nearly as nimble as the stray. He couldn't deny it now, he was undoubtedly a stray, the kind of mutt those pedigree dogs at the park turned their snouts up at. It had been ages since he had been ditched by the human folk, and he could honestly say that he couldn't remember their faces anymore, too busy with survival to bother recollecting such useless information.

"Get back here, fucking dog!"

Big black eyes rolled in their sockets, all too used to that phrase, wondering if they really were just that uncreative and hadn't got anything else to say.

. . .

The sight of the park brought a bitter taste to his tongue, so he had abandoned that town.

Taking a running start, the now larger dog had lept up onto the step of a moving van, deciding to hitch a ride with these human folk and their giant metal casing off to wherever huffing whenever children would gawk at him from their windows.

Hopefully, wherever he was going, the Pound people would have better profanities.

. . .

The tattered-eared pup blinked awake as the truck stopped, a street light lit street greeting him, doors slamming and the car rocking as the humans inside dismounted, prompting him to leap off and take to a dark shadow. He huffed and stretched himself out, a yawn splitting his maw before he shook the sleep from his mind. Looking around the dark place, the jaded mutt gave a gruff noise before trotting off, keen to learn his new surroundings.

Dirt matted paws pushed off the concrete and thudded down on a box, the action repeating with increasing elevation until the highlander dropped softly onto a rooftop, moss and small weeds growing between the tiles and on the rainwater pipe. He gave a breath before sitting down, looking over the horizon of lights and soft noise.

Hm...Yeah, he liked this town enough.

. . .

Fucking hell this town is annoying.

It was nice, don't get him wrong, it wasn't as noisy as the other one and there weren't as many strays either. The problem here lies the streets themselves: they were too clean. It was bloody hard to find a good-sized scrap around here; they were too meticulous and wasted almost nothing. Needless to say, it was making these last couple months rather difficult for him.

The mutt grumbled as his stomach made a pitched gurgle, a grimace coming to his snout as he felt a disturbance in his left side, hunger gnawing at his lining. It had been roughly a fortnight since he had last managed to snap a small bird's bones in his jaws, and that had long since faded from his system, leaving him ready for another clumsy hatchling, but no such luck.

Wait…What is that?

The highlander's head snapped to the side, its nose in the air. He sniffed loudly, blinked, then bolted, following the heavy smell of bread and caramel. His stomach egging him on and zeroing in on the source of his chance.

Food. Food. Food. Foo- Human!

He skidded to a halt and lept behind a trashcan, his ears plastered to his scalp as he crouched down and waited. The atmosphere was tense, he could smell the sugary human loitering. They both knew the other was there.

"...'Ello?" they called out, the voice reverberating in the thin alleyway.

The highlander growled warningly. His stomach tilted inside him; he was hungry.

He took a breath and bolted, feet bounding across the pavement before he vaulted, hearing the human youth yelp and hit the ground. The puppy spun around and snarled, ears and tail high, nose twitching as more of the scent reached his senses.

The human was on the ground and remained crouched, purposefully showing their hands and keeping their frame compact and small. It vaguely occurred to the pup that they were trying to be nonthreatening, but years on the streets didn't let him lower his posture.

"Hey boy," they called, their voice soothing. "Are you trying to stop me from leaving?"

Give him food and get out. Give him food. Food, food, food.

They moved left, and the pup copied, blocking their path. The human frowned before they sat down, long hind-legs crossing and their head leaning on their hand.

The mutt continued to hold their posture as they muttered to themselves. There was a long stretch of silence and he began to pace, stomach twisting up as the scent continued to permeate and his hunger growing.

Then the human stood up and he jumped back into position, teeth exposed. They slowly approached, each step an equal distance apart, their hand extended towards him.

The touch was soft and just on the tip of the pup's nose, ears pricking up as he struggled to focus on the limb. The touch then turned into something the small pup hadn't experienced in a long time: petting.

"Good puppy," the human cooed, rubbing their hand along the crest of his skull and, gods bless, scratched behind his ear. "What a good puppy."

The dog should have known better, his months of rough living should have kicked in, but after so long being scared, so long being hungry and so long being cold, the pup leant into the warm touch.

"I dub thee Mephistopheles, Lord of Time," the human declared, lifting him off the hard ground the tucking him to their chest.

Smells good. Feels warm.

Could you blame a pup for falling asleep?

Mephistopheles yawned as he woke up, jaw stretching wide and tongue curling. He huffed and looked around the dark bedroom, his master and their mate curled up together under the sheets. Their pup was tucked between them, occasionally kicking until it woke up Mephisto's master, who grunted as the foot struck their breast.

"Bo-kun," they grumbled, sitting up. They sighed and massaged the wounded meat before they paused and smiled, noticing the mutt that sat at the laid of their bed. "Did he wake you up too, Miphy?"

At the address, Mephisto got up and walked up their body to sit in their lap, panting happily as their warm body and familiar scent calmed him down. His tail whipped around and his master huffed, complaining about him breaking their ribs at this rate, which he responded to with a wide lick to the cheek.

"Good puppy," they praised, wiping away the saliva with a laugh. "Good puppy."

Mephisto leant against his master as they wrapped their arms around him and brought him into the fold of their family, nestled against their pup in the warmest place in the world. His stomach was full of dry food and scraps of chicken, his ears didn't ache and as his master ran their hand along his belly, Mephisto fell into yet another comfortable sleep, like the many he had experienced since he had been found all those years ago, tail wagging until he was completely blissfully asleep.