Episode 10 - The New Pup (Part 2)
"Morning Princess," Leo said gently. The cat was curled around the tiny puppy, acting as a living blanket for Princess through the night. At first Princess was nervous, but Leo's soothing slow, rumbling purrs, as well as the body heat he had accumulated, finally won her over, so she agreed to try sleeping by Leo's side. Leo was very careful not to move while Princess slept, and with each passing moment, she began to trust him more and more.
"Morning," Princess said back. Looking around. she saw that everyone but her, CiCi and Leo were absent. "Where is everybody?"
"Out," Leo yawned drowsily. "With the other pups."
"They'll be back soon," CiCi said calmingly.
Princess then looked at CiCi. "I have to go ... Where do I go again?"
CiCi took Princess outside, and after Princess finished, she saw two older dogs, a Scottish terrier and a bloodhound, walking down the street.
"Ms. CiCi!" Jock barked happily. "Bonnie good to see you again."
"Why yes," Trusty drawled warmly, before sniffing loudly. "Hmm ... Did my keen sense of smell catch a new scent?"
"Aye, it did," Jock said, observing the small black puppy hiding by CiCi's side, and Jock and Trusty walked over.
"My my, she's so sweet," Trusty cooed.
"Is she your bairn, Ms. CiCi?" Jock asked.
CiCi giggled and blushed a bit at what Jock had asked. "Oh no," she chuckled. "But my pets adopted her, so she's part of our family now." Then she turned to Princess. "Princess, these are your Uncles Jock and Trusty."
"Nice ... To meet you," Princess whispered.
"Aww, that name really suits you, Miss Princess," Trusty smiled.
"Have you shown her to the others yet?" Jock asked.
"Only those in our house and a few of the other pups," CiCi answered.
"Ah, I see," Jock said understandingly, but then smiled. "You know, with the pups out and about, it seems like a bonnie wee time for the rest of us adults to meet her."
"That is a nice idea," Trusty agreed. "If Ms. Princess wants to meet them."
"Well, what do you think Princess?" CiCi asked.
Princess trembled. "Are they nice?" she asked tentatively.
"Oh yes," CiCi said reassuringly. "I'm sure they'd love to meet you. They're the parents of Penny and her friends, and part of our extended family."
"Well ... Okay," Princess said shyly, and the four of them walked leisurely to Jim Dear and Darling's house.
"You may not know this lassie, but you are one very lucky puppy," Jock smiled.
"That's right," Trusty agreed. "For you get to be part of the best group of dogs I've ever tracked down."
Princess smiled uncertainly as they arrived at Jim Dear and Darling's house. CiCi went inside first to inform the others of their guest, so as not to accidentally scare Princess with their surprise. Once she did that, Jock and Trusty then went inside, and she and Princess followed them.
As Princess stepped into the kitchen, she saw that all the other dogs had gathered in a little circle. She looked at each one of them closely. Apart from Jock and Trusty, she had not seen any of them before. At first, all she could feel were the many sets of eyes upon her. But as the initial shock wore off, she began to notice that all of them were filled with warm and love. Slowly, Princess' body relaxed, and she began to feel curious about each of them.
"Hello Princess," Pongo introduced himself. "I'm your Uncle Pongo."
Pongo nodded to Perdita who promptly followed. "I am your Aunt Perdita."
"I'm Auntie Peg," Peg smiled.
"And I'm Uncle Spunky," Spunky said with a slight laugh in his voice.
"I'm Uncle Tramp," Tramp said happily.
"And I am your Aunt Lady," Lady finished. All of them had never introduced themselves as aunts or uncles before, so it sounded somewhat odd to all of them. Jock and Trusty nodded reassuring to them as Jock said, "We've already met lassie, but I am your Uncle Jock."
"And I am your Uncle Trusty," Trusty finished.
Princess worked hard to memorize each face and voice with their names before saying, "Hello Mr. P-Pongo, Ms. Perdita, Ms. Peg, Mr. Spunky, Mr. Tramp, Mr. Jock and Mr. Trusty," she said uncertainly.
"Very good," Pongo chuckled. "But you don't need to be formal with us. you can just call us by Aunt or Uncle, or with just our first names, we don't mind," Pongo said reassuringly.
"All right ... Pongo," Princess said.
Pongo smiled. "We may not be your relatives by blood," he explained, "But as far as we're concerned, we're all family here."
"Take Tripod for example," Perdita explained. "He lives with you now, but he has lived with us before he reunited with your brother. While we may live in different houses, we are never far away, and since we spend so much time together, it truly feels like we are all one big family."
"All of us are just down the road, so if you feel like dropping in, our doors are always open so you can see us whenever you wish," Peg added.
"I know this all seems like a lot, but trust me, you're gonna like all this once you get used to it," Spunky said happily.
"Yeah, with all of us, you'll have more fun and adventure than you've ever dreamed of!" Tramp added excitedly.
"You will meet everyone soon," Lady said warmly. "For now, just know that all of us will be there for you whenever you need us, and we welcome you as a part of our family."
Princess smiled at all the nice words everyone said to her. "Thank you," she said shyly.
CiCi could tell that Princess needed some time to rest. "I'll be taking Princess home now," she said.
"Goodbye everyone," Princess said, and she and CiCi left.
As they made their way home, CiCi looked to Princess. "How did you like everyone?" she asked.
Princess sighed. "Everyone seems nice," Princess said. "I just wish I could feel at peace with them."
CiCi smiled. "That will come with time, Princess," she said, stroking her as the two of them returned home.
Once they arrived, CiCi watched Princess walk around the living room before the little pup found the ball she and Penny played with and began playing with it again. As CiCi watched her chasing after the ball, she realized just how fast Princess was. She hadn't seen a pup that fast since Tripod.
CiCi found this very intriguing, for a pup who was shy and small, she was energetic and fast when playing. If Princess wasn't so shy, she could see Princess competing in races with some of the boy pups like Scamp, Tripod and Lucky.
CiCi giggled a bit at those thoughts, before her thoughts were interrupted by the dog door opening and closing. She looked to see XL, Scavenger and Tripod walking into the room, all covered in mud and dirt. She smirked before asking, "Had fun at the park today you three?"
XL got a confused look as he asked, "How did you know we were at the park?"
CiCi giggled before pointing at their fur. The three boys looked at themselves and saw all the mud on them, causing them to giggle a bit. "Guess we got carried away," Scavenger said before the three pups went to go see their pets for a bath.
CiCi chuckled at this before she heard soft giggling. To her surprise, she saw that it was Princess. "What's got you all giggly?" she asked playfully.
Princess stopped giggling a bit before answering, "One of my litter mates, Rufio, would always get into trouble, like getting dirty and running around the house." As Princess continued to remember, her giggling started to get louder. The giggling then turned to loud laughter and she fell on her side from laughing so hard. CiCi was surprised at the volume of the little pup's laughter before she chuckled at this.
"Rufio was always running around and getting dirty in the backyard, Tilly was always the one to lecture him and telling him to stop, she would get so grumpy when Rufio was so dirty," she laughed before finally calming down, enjoying her memories. "Tilly was bigger than me, but also the smallest next to me, while Rufio was the biggest of the litter," she sighed happily. "I hope they went to great families," Princess said, before she realized that she wasn't speaking so softly or quietly, rather she was talking quite clearly. This was a shock to her because she was always so soft spoken and quiet. Ever since she was born she was quiet, and she had never spoken this freely before.
"Sounds like you had good brothers and sisters Princess, I'm sure you will get to meet them again someday," CiCi said as she lay down.
Princess smiled before she went next to CiCi and lay down as well. "Yeah, I hope so too," she said before she slowly fell asleep for a nap. CiCi smiled at this as she also fell asleep.
Little did the two know, XL was listening to them behind the wall. He stayed behind because he thought Princess was laughing at him and the others, thinking she was showing her 'bully' side, but after hearing Princess explain why she was laughing and her clear voice, he looked unsure. "Is she really a good pup? Was I jumping to conclusions?" XL thought, feeling more confused than ever as he peered around the corner and saw CiCi and Princess sleeping.
He honestly didn't want to believe Princess was a bully, but then old memories started playing through his head. "Out of the way, peasant! A princess is much more important than you, you freak of nature," echoed a snobbish female voice. It made him so angry remembering that day, but he calmed down before looking at the sleeping pup again.
"I'll keep an eye on her, just in case. Please don't be like them," XL thought before going to find his pets.
The next day, Princess was walking outside with Tripod. He was taking her to meet some of the pups she hadn't met yet.
"Trust me Princess, you're going to like them," Tripod said confidently as they then saw three boy pups she hadn't met yet. Princess was immediately greeted by them. Two were dalmatians, one with a patch around his eye and the other with a pattern of horseshoe spots, and the third looked like Tramp but smaller and younger.
"Hi Princess!" Patch said first. "I'm Patch! Penny says you're a great friend. Wanna play a round of tug-a-war?"
"Sure," Princess said with a smile. Patch couldn't help but be surprised when he saw just how comfortable Princess seemed. She had come quite a way from where Penny said she was, and as they tugged on the rope together, Patch knew Princess would have no problem integrating into the family.
Scamp and Lucky then approached her. Remembering all the warnings they got about Princess, they made sure to be very gentle with her. "Hi Princess, I'm Lucky," Lucky greeted.
"And I'm Scamp!" Scamp added.
"Hi," Princess said very friendlily, actually looking at both Scamp and Lucky in turn. Both Scamp and Lucky were amazed, and were even more so when Princess asked, "Want to play a game?"
"Well, how about let's have a race down the street? There and back!" Scamp said excitedly.
"A race?" Princess asked. "Um ... Okay."
The three pups started at the edge of the sidewalk with Patch serving as the referee and Tripod watching from the side. "Ready, set ... go!" Patch exclaimed.
The three pups took off down the sidewalk. To both Lucky and Scamp's surprise, despite Princess' youth, she was lightning quick. Lucky tailed far behind and upon seeing Princess meeting him back while he was still going there, he just smiled, shook his head and walked back. Scamp managed to keep even with Princess until the end of the street, where in his haste he tripped on the sidewalk, after which he caught up with Lucky and then the two headed back together.
Princess didn't even know how fast she was going until she returned, thoroughly out of breath. She was a sprinter, so while she ran fast, she tired easily, especially since she was such a young pup.
"Nice run, Princess!" Scamp exclaimed as he and Lucky huffed in.
Princess looked back. "Sorry," she said sheepishly, realizing how far back they lagged behind.
"Are you kidding?" Lucky asked. "That was great! We had no idea you were that good! You could give Tripod a run for his kibble," Lucky teased as Princess panted.
"We'll see about that," Tripod smirked to Lucky as Princess smiled modestly. "But man Princess, I have never seen any pup as small as you be that fast before," Tripod complimented, causing Princess to blush.
Scamp then walked over to Princess. "Hey Princess, we were wondering if you would like to have a sleepover. You could get to meet the rest of us there and have a good time," he suggested.
Princess thought about it, still a little hesitant. But everyone she had met has been really great so far, making it easier for her to get out of her shy little shell. "Maybe I should go to this sleepover," she thought.
Princess then smiled and looked at Scamp. "Sure thing," she said.
"Great, it will be at our house tonight," Scamp said as he went inside his house, showing Princess which one it was.
"Bye Princess, see you!" Patch exclaimed as he and Lucky also went home.
"Come on, let's go tell the others," Tripod said as he and Princess then went home, the latter feeling excited for the sleepover.
Soon it was the afternoon. CiCi, Leo, XL, Tripod, Scavenger and Princess were walking to Jim Dear and Darling's house. Each of them was excited for the sleepover, but someone was a bit more excited. So excited that she didn't believe it herself.
Scavenger turned to Princess who was smiling brightly. "Seems like you're excited," he said to the small pup, to which Princess giggled softly a bit at this.
"Yep, everyone I met so far is really great. This is also my first sleepover, so I feel like this is gonna be great," Princess softly said.
They then made it to the door, each going through the doggy door. Princess was the last to enter, and as she did, she looked inside the house in awe. She honestly was amazed by the well-decorated and beautiful Victorian house's inside. Sure she liked her new home with Thomas and Anna and her new housemate, but this place was a sight to behold for her.
"Whoa," Princess said as she looked around the foyer, then deciding to look around the house, starting with what she assumed was the living room.
Princess walked into the living room, where the other pups were inside, while the adults were watching. Scavenger and Tripod just joined Lucky, Patch and Scamp in a ball game, Puffball was telling Rolly about his favorite snack haunts in town, and the girl puppies were happily chatting over their food bowls. She saw CiCi settling down with them, giving her an encouraging nod. Princess approached the group of puppies. She had met Penny, Cadpig, Rebecca, Annette and Angel before, but she had never seen the other three puppies before, though upon a quick sniff, she recognized one of the puppies from fur that was frequently on XL's coat and realized that this was Collette.
"Girls," CiCi said, which caught the puppies' attention.
"It's Princess!" Danielle exclaimed, to which Annette and Collette looked at her, reminding her not to be so boisterous. However, Princess was getting more and more used to the pups now and felt less frightened than ever. Seeing this, Danielle approached.
"Hi Princess! My name's Danielle and I'm so happy to meet you!" she exclaimed, and brought Princess into a hug. This surprised Princess but at the same time, like all the other pups she met, Danielle had a certain warmth to her that put her at ease.
"Hi Princess," Two-Tone walked over. "I'm Two-Tone! I've heard so much about you ... All good stuff, of course! I can't wait until we finally get to hang out! We're gonna be best of gal pals by the end of the night!"
"Well, that leaves me," Collette chuckled, primping a small mat in her ear. "I am Collette. You'll be seeing me a lot since I'm XL's girlfriend," she giggled. "But I can also be like your big sister, if you'd like," she said, starting to primp Princess' ears, which made her giggle gently.
"So you ready to party?" Danielle asked excitedly as everyone stopped what they were doing to listen.
Princess paused, but with each passing moment, she was feeling more comfortable with the group, so she nodded.
"Yay!" Two-Tone cheered, putting her front paws together in excitement. "Let's get this party started!"
So it began without a hitch. Jim Dear and Darling brought out a big trough of multiflavor kibble, complete with little bits of bacon thrown in. After dinner, Tripod and Scamp were trying to beat each other at tug of war, while XL was doing impressions of pets the runaways knew with Lucky, Patch, Scavenger, Rolly and Puffball trying to guess who he was impersonating. Princess was with the girl pups as Two-Tone was showing some fashion accessories she brought to show Princess. Princess oohed at all the sparkling jewelry and rhinestone-studded paw bands, and each of the girl pups had put on an accessory to see which fit them the best.
Then Jim Dear put on a sing-along album, to which the whole group, puppies and adults alike, began to howl along to. Princess loved this, for it really helped her feel like part of the group as they all did it together, making their big group seem much more intimate. Once Jim Dear and Darling went to bed, the puppies played hide and seek in the dark house, each puppy getting a chance to be the finder. When it was Princess' turn, each found puppy asked Princess to say their name. When she found everybody, the whole group just stayed in the kitchen and living room where all the dog beds were laid out and chattered until they were ready to go to bed. The visiting adults joined Lady, Tramp, Peg and Spunky on some long soft blankets, while the pups staying over surrounded Scamp, Annette, Collette, Danielle, Angel and Puffball in makeshift beds of spare pillows, apart from Lucky and Two-Tone, who together shared a blanket and XL, who jumped into Collette's bed. Princess yawned exhaustedly, readying herself for a good night's sleep ...
Crash. Princess woke up with a start. She was still sleepy so she didn't register much, but she thought it came from outside.
Outside the window was Mooch and Vendella. Mooch had crashed into a flower pot, breaking it in the process. "Great stealth there Mooch," came a sarcastic whisper.
"Hey don't blame me, blame those stupid pets for putting these here, Mooch whispered back. They then quietly peeked through the window to see the pups asleep, all except for one, the only one they didn't recognize.
"Well, what do we have here?" Vendella said as Princess got out of her makeshift bed and yawned, still tired, but curious on what the crashing noise was.
Princess walked to the window, making Vendella duck down and dragging Mooch down as well. She pushed it open and looked around outside, seeing if the noise came out from there.
"Hello?" Princess asked sleepily, trying to see if anyone was outside. Just below her, Vendella signaled Mooch to grab the pup before anyone else woke up.
However back inside, XL slowly opened his eyes, feeling a draft coming in from somewhere. Looking around from his and Collette's bed, he then saw Princess peeking out the window.
XL tilted his head in confusion and was about to ask Princess what she was doing when suddenly, from his point of view, she jumped out of the window, making him wide awake from shock.
"What the?!" XL quietly said as he went to see where she went.
As he looked out the window, he saw none other than Vendella and Mooch, and Princess was with them.
"What? Was ... Was she faking it?" XL started to think. "Was she faking everything this whole time? But she liked it here, right? If she faked it then why was she so nice? Come on!" XL said o himself as he jumped out the window, slowly following where Mooch and Vendella went. He wasn't as great of a tracker as Scavenger or Rolly or even Uncle Trusty, but he could still track.
Meanwhile in the forest, Mooch was covering Princess's muzzle with his paw. Princess was shivering and tearing up in fright at the sudden kidnapping and wanted to scream for help, but couldn't because of Mooch muzzling her.
"So why did we kidnap this brat" Mooch asked his partner in crime.
"Easy, she seems to be the new member of these fools," Vendella smirked. "If that's the case, then they will do anything to get her back when they realize she's missing, coldly looking at the small pup. "But then again, she is rather small. Maybe they won't even notice she's gone, and if they don't come for her we'll think of something else," she said, chuckling evilly with Mooch following shortly thereafter.
Princess was scared out of her mind. She was with a family, a real, loving family, and now these two strangers were taking her away from it. What was she going to do?
Meanwhile, XL was determinedly hunting down the two troublemakers as he traversed through the forest. "Princess, I swear if you are with them, you're gonna be so sorry," Xl said to himself as he walked swiftly through the forest. "And if you're like ... Them ... Then I will ... I will ..." XL said to himself, only to think again.
Princess was so nice, so shy, so scared, it reminded him of ... himself when he was first found by Thomas. "She ... she can't be like them, she just can't," XL kept saying but old memories kept flashing in his mind suggesting otherwise. He stopped though, as he suddenly heard whimpering. Focusing his hearing, XL walked carefully to the noise to find where it was coming from.
As he came across a clearing in the forest, he saw Mooch, Vendella and Princess. Looking at the small pup, he saw that she was crying quietly, curled up, trying to hide herself from the two bullies.
XL was horrified. It was because of him and his suspicions about Princess that he let her get kidnapped by Vendella and Mooch, and that those two were going to use her as a hostage so they could get revenge. "It's my fault ... I got her in this mess ... If I wasn't so suspicious, if I wasn't so stereotypical ..." As he thought this he started to get angry, baring his fangs and growling lowly. He was not going to just sit around and let Vendella and Mooch scare Princess to death. He wanted to stop this, he wanted to help her, and so out of anger, much of it at himself, he got in a running position.
Princess was crying, and while quiet, they were tears filled with fear. She had been taken from her new friends by these two dogs she barely even knew, but already she knew they were trouble just by looking at their evil expressions, Vendella's smoky scent and Mooch's spiked collar. She curled up, her paws covering her face, wanting to hide from these two dogs.
"What are we waiting for? How do we even know they'll come for this wimp?" Mooch questioned.
Vendella scoffed. "They'll come, but even if they won't, who will miss a tiny coward like her? Maybe we can just leave her in this forest, or dump her in a lake," Vendella said as she chuckled evilly. What happened next however shocked all three dogs as someone shouted, "LEAVE HER ALONE!"
Suddenly, Mooch and Vendella got headbutted by XL who ran at them full speed. He then quickly ran to Princess who had taken her paws away from her face to see XL looking to her. "Come on, we gotta go," XL said as he helped the small pup up. XL then began to lead Princess away from Mooch and Vendella, who were recovering from the sudden attack.
As they got far enough away, XL sniffed the air they were in. "I don't think they will find us," XL said. He then sighed and looked at Princess. "Princess, I'm sorry, this is all my fault," he said. Princess was confused. "Wh ... What do you mean?" Princess asked as she wiped her eyes.
XL sighed sadly as he looked at her in the eyes. "Let me tell you a story," he said as he started to tell his story.
"When CiCi, Leo, me and Scavenger used to live in the UK, we had no trouble with anyone, nobody at all. But that changed on one day. We went to the park, it was a fun place. i used to play there all the time with Scavenger. But on that day, things changed. We met two new dogs, one was named Prince Paws, and the other was named Lady Juleca, they treated anyone who didn't have 'royal' titles like them like they didn't exist or the scum of the world."
XL sighed before continuing, "When they came near us and saw Scavenger's dirty collar, they made fun of him, calling him a dirtbag, a dog who should be ashamed of himself. Then when they saw me, they called me a bunch of names I wish they didn't. A mutt, a killer, a monster ... They even said I should be put out of my misery. When they said all those things I got so mad. All I wanted to do was to make them stop making fun of me and Scavenger. I ... I wanted to hurt them. I wanted to show them that they were nothing but bullies and that they were the scum of the world, to show that dogs with 'royal' titles were nothing but uptight snobs and bullies. Ever since then, I despised dogs who had titles that made them think they were above everyone else," XL said as he started to choke up, tears starting to appear in his eyes as he looked to Princess.
"Princess, I thought you would be like them, all because of your name. I thought you were gonna bully us, make fun of us, make fun of me," XL said, to which he was slowly crying, tears fell from his eyes. "But now I see ... I was acting like them. I was judging you just by knowing one thing about you, like you were nothing but a single thing ... I thought you being shy and scared was just an act, like you were planning something behind our backs, but now I realize I was being a hypocrite. I was acting like those two bullies from before. All I saw was what I knew, not who you really are," he said as he looked away from Princess, who was shocked to hear this. He thought all this time she would be like those two dogs from his past, because of her name.
"I was stupid to ever think you would be like them! To ever think a sweet and young pup who was making friends would be a spoiled dog who thought highly of herself," XL said as he cried, tears falling from his eyes onto the ground. "You must hate me for thinking that don't you? I deserve it ... For letting of this happen to you, for ever thinking that ..." But before XL could finish, he suddenly felt something wrap around him, he looked to see Princess hugging him.
He was very shocked at this as he saw tears in her eyes. "D-Don't say that! I would never hate you! You just wanted to protect your friends and family! You h-had a bad experience and didn't want it to happen again," she said, more clearly and loudly than her usual quiet voice. "I understand why my name might bring bad memories for you, but I promise I won't be like those snobby dogs. I just want to make friends ... I just want to have a family," she said as she hugged him. XL's eyes widened, still shocked, for he was expecting to be yelled at in anger, not being comforted by the pup he thought wrongly of.
He then slowly smiled as he turned around and hugged her back, letting the small pup nuzzle into him. They only stopped letting tears fall and stopped hugging when suddenly they heard paw steps. XL looked around and spotted shadows coming near them.
"You sure you heard them?" he heard Vendella say. XL tensed up, then turned to Princess, who got nervous when she heard Vendella. XL motioned Princess for her to follow him, as he slowly led her away from where Vendella and Mooch were coming from.
XL and Princess then hid inside a bush as Mooch and Vendella came into view, Mooch growling loudly in anger.
"Ugh, where is that pest? Nobody gets away with headbutting me!" Mooch yelled angrily as he looked around.
XL was trying to think of a way out of this while at the same time keeping Princess safe. It was at times like these he wished the wolves from the Runaways' last adventure were around in the area to help them.
When XL thought about the wolves, he got an idea. Turning to Princess, he whispered, "Stay quiet. I'm going to try something," to which Princess just nods, hoping her friend will help them escape.
XL then started to let out some howls, trying to make them sound like a wolf's howl. When he did that, Mooch and Vendella froze up.
"Is ... Is that what I think it is?" Mooch asked, almost scared of what the howling could mean.
"I ... I don't know," Vendella said, equally scared, thinking it could be the wolves who had helped those pups out from the wild dogs. She turned to her partner before saying, "L-let's go, the brats are probably wolf chow anyway."
They then quickly made their way out of the forest, which left XL and Princess to sigh in relief as they came out of their hiding place.
Princess turned to XL. "How did you do that?" she asked.
XL smirked in pride as he said, "I'm kinda self taught in impressions."
After that, XL walked with Princess back home so they could finally rest after that whole fiasco.
When they made it back home, XL led Princess to her bed, to which the little pup snuggled into the pillow. But before she fell asleep, she looked to XL.
"XL ... Thank you for telling me that story ... I promise I will never be like those bullies," Princess said before finally falling asleep.
XL smiled gently as he made his way to Collette's bed and laying down, he closed his eyes before saying one last thing, "I know Princess ... I know." He then fell asleep, finally at peace with his his new housemate and clear of any bad feelings for her.
The next morning, XL had told everyone of what happened last night. They were all very interested in the story and had great feedback.
"Aww, why couldn't I come?" Danielle asked.
"Yeah, that would have been a blast!" Scamp agreed.
"Well none of us can play the hero on every adventure can we?" Angel teased.
"Yes, let us just be thankful that nothing bad happened to Princess and Mooch and Vendella got some appropriate karma," Cadpig smirked.
"I can just imagine them now," Lucky added as everyone laughed.
Then Jim Dear brought out his camera. "I think we should get another photo shoot, what do you think Darling?"
"Yes, Roger and Anita and Thomas and Anna would like it very much," Darling agreed.
By now the others were used to photos, so they assembled into their positions quickly, but made sure that Princess had the front and center seat. Three different photos were taken - the first a formal picture, the second where all the canines were in a begging position, and a third a spontaneous photo with everyone enjoying each other's company.
Soon Jim Dear went to have the photos produced and copied, and Thomas and Anna hung them on the living room wall in their home. And many times thereafter, Princess went to look at the photos. "I really am part of a great family," Princess thought to herself, and her heart warmed, ready for another day filled with friendship and love.