Chapter 2
"Haa…."
This was definitely the highlight of the morning for this particular bighorn sheep: drinking some good, old-fashioned green tea after breakfast, and enjoying the brisk morning air. Would that he could simply kick back his feet, read a few books, sleep, and allow the day to lazily creep by. He then let out a frustrated sigh knowing it would be impossible to enjoy those kinds of days at the moment with almost fifteen or so years left before retirement.
The tan sheep grunted softly as he stretched his thick arms and briefly rotated his broad, rounded shoulder before returning inside from his apartment's veranda. With a height of about six feet, large forty-five-pound curved horns, and a thick, muscular build that would intimidate even a carnivore, no one would think him a regular real estate broker.
While it was normal for bighorn males to strengthen their bodies and pursue very "masculine" careers and sports to prove their worth among their peers, he was satisfied living a quieter life with his wife and children.
The large sheep sat back down at his laptop on the kitchen table, teacup in hand, looking over spreadsheets and contracts while his wife—who had lighter tan fur, a bit of smaller stature, and even tinier horns— washed the dishes collected from breakfast. Since their children were currently boarding at Cherryton, there was not very much to clean, allowing her to take her time while humming a generic tune.
The phone began to ring in the nearby living room. Seeing that her husband was already tapping away on his laptop, the wife briefly turned off the faucet and casually walked over to answer it.
"Yes, hello?" she said politely. "...Yes, that's right."
While listening to the voice on the phone, her face, which started out as a placid smile, slowly morphed into one of confusion and slight trepidation.
"What? Wh-what do you mean, 'Rob has been admitted to the hospital'?"
No sooner than when the last word fell from her lips that there was a loud clatter from a fallen chair from the kitchen, followed by heavy footsteps bounding towards the living room. With nostrils beginning to flare and his brow furrowing, the bighorn sheep gently grabbed the phone from his concerned wife.
"WHERE IS HE?!?!" he bellowed into the phone, his voice deep, causing the caller to let out a squeal.
" U-wel-I-Th-," they sputtered. " S-S-Saint… Edens Gener—"
The bighorn hung up immediately, not even bothering to let them finish. He then walked towards the front entryway as he thumbed a number on his smartphone.
"Hey, I'm not gonna be able to meet the client today. Take care of it for me," he said while impatiently stepping into his shoes.
"...Family emergency. Now, just do it," he replied almost curtly.
"Now, wait just a minute! Dean!" huffed his wife. "Do you at least have the name of the hospital?"
"Hm," he hummed as an answer. "Here. Put on your jacket, Sandra."
After letting his wife through the open door, Dean shut the door with a loud slam, shaking the entire apartment. His now-spilt teacup teetered at the edge of the kitchen table and fell to the ground, shattering into about a dozen pieces.
…
In front of the hospital, a car swerved and screeched to a halt, crookedly parking in two spots. Slamming the car door behind him, Dean strode towards the main entrance, with Sandra trotting closely behind him.
Past the automatic sliding, several on looking animals seemed a bit alarmed eyeing the large ram practically charging in. A female cat working as a clerical nurse nearly jumped out of her fur when Dean banged his palms on the desk.
"Oh! Um… m-may we help you?" she asked as she tried to regain her composure.
"I'm looking for a lion," he said with a growl.
"Huh?"
"Dean! Please, you're scaring the poor girl," scolded his wife from behind. "Please excuse him. We came to see a young lion named Rob," she said pleasantly, reinforcing her point with a small smile. "We were told he was just admitted here?"
"Oh, yes. Of course." The nurse began tapping at her computer.
"A...friend of yours?" she asked, quickly reviewing names in the system.
"Son," Dean said.
"Eh?" The nurse looked up at the ram, taken completely off guard by his response. Her coworkers next to her, as well as several passing animals within earshot, nearly tripped themselves at the statement.
"He meant to say we're his legal guardians," the wife quickly explained, the polite smile enduring. "He's like a son to us."
"Oh, really? How nice..." the nurse began to say nervously.
" Room," Dean interjected, his irritation bubbled right under the surface.
"Right! Um...Room 311."
Dean immediately turned heel towards the elevator down the hall, leaving the nurse and some other animals in a bit of a daze.
"I am so sorry for his behavior! He gets this way when he's extremely worried," his wife apologized, bowing continuously. "Oh, allow me to sign both of us in."
She quickly scribbled their names on the clipboard next to them, filling out the form's request for their species and reason for visit. With another bow, Sandra once again trotted after her husband, who was already three-quarters to the elevator.
…
As soon as the elevator doors opened to the third floor, the bighorn couple's ears were quickly assailed by loud screams, shatters, and crashes coming from several doors down. A couple of patients and visitors sheepishly peeked from their rooms to see what in the world was going on. Dean nearly sprinted towards the ruckus, already having a good guess of the situation on his mind.
"For the love of—! Kid, HOLD STILL!"
Along with a male moose in a doctor's coat held a needle, a quivering female goat nurse behind him, and two security guards—a bull and a tiger— struggled to restrain a rather large, young lion thrashing on the creaking hospital bed. An I.V pole laid flat on the floor, with the fluid pouch lying empty, its contents spilled. A tray and several broken pieces of bottles littered the floor, and a monitor leaned diagonally on the wall adjacent to the bed.
Dean didn't even notice the mess as he stared in disbelief at the flailing young carnivore. He barely recognized Rob, as his fur and mane were starkly white and a large bandage wrapped the left side of his muzzle. His panicked screams and sobs were almost unbearable for the ram to hear.
"Sir? Sir! Please, you must leave!" the moose doctor warned frantically, noticing Dean at the doorway. "It's too dangerous to—"
"Outta my way!!!" Dean shouted as he shoved the doctor aside, causing the syringe to fling out of his hand. Dean jumped on the bed, saddling himself on Rob's erratically moving legs.
"Hey! The $!# you think you're doin'?!?!" the bull yelled, struggling to keep a firm grip on Rob's wrists and shoulder. "Get outta here!!!"
CRACK!
The room grew silent, a stark comparison to the chaos that filled it mere moments before. Dean's hands were set on either side of the lion's head as their foreheads pressed flush against each other. Rob was frozen with his mouth agape, making no sound save for short, broken gasps.
After about ten seconds, Dean finally spoke. "Eleven times twenty-two?"
Everyone in the room blinked at the strange and seemingly random question.
"...T...Two."
The four hospital staff members quickly turned their heads towards the young lion who quietly responded.
"Two... hu-hundred… fo-forty… t-two."
"Good, good," Dean said soothingly. "Thirteen times forty-six?"
"...F-f-fi— GASP! — F-five…" Rob attempted to breathe out.
"Slow down. Breathe in…and out," Dean quietly directed. "Yeah, just like that. You're doing great."
The ram continued to rattle off different math equations and breathing instructions for almost ten minutes while the other animals watched in awe at the surreal sight.
Finally, after Rob's breathing became more stable, Dean lifted his forehead away from the young lion's, a very noticeable bump now prominent from the impact of the ram's head butt.
"U...Uncle…" he said quietly, while looking into Dean's hazel eyes. "I…"
Rob's bottom onyx lip began to quiver and tears soon welled up in his eyes. Dean gently pulled his head onto his broad shoulder, stroking his now-white, curly mane.
" Shh, shshshh. It's okay, boy. I got you…"
Rob groaned and then proceeded to cry loudly as he wrapped his thick arms around his uncle's back. The moose, the tiger, and the bull stood quietly, the female goat nurse covered her face, as she too began to cry. Sandra, who came a few seconds after her husband, was on her knees, leaning against the door frame, and covering her mouth as she wept bitterly.
A few yards away from the room, a large bear with ebony fur leaned against the wall, he wore a white dress shirt, dark-blue pants, and carried a dark sports coat around his forearm. He pulled his hat down over his eyes as he let out a deep, long sigh.
Author's Note
You gotta love the animal kingdom! The dad has already become my favorite. I like wolves and big cats the most, but I love how MANLY some animals are, like the bighorn. Hope I can develop Dean and the others more fully later on.
Anyways, hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!
Edit (Nov. 26, 2021): I didn't realize how many errors I left before, and I read and reread my own chapter like half a dozen times! DX
THIS is why I need an editor!
