Half and Half
I whine softly, pacing back and forth. The door in front of me is shut tight. I could easily transform and open it, but not without getting caught. I turn and scratch at the door, begging to be let in. Blue is inside, I can smell her clearly. Getting to her is the only thing on my mind right now, so when a voice perks up behind me, I startle, despite it's familiarity. "Hige?" I whip around and then sigh with relief. "Kiba, it's only you." He feigns hurt, "gee thanks. What's the matter?" How do I answer him?
I sink down in front of the door. I can only hide it so long. But I have no idea how he'll react. "She's in there Kiba. And I can't get to her like this." He seems confused, "she?" I lay my head, ears and tail down. "Blue." He looks at me curiously. "You mean that dog?" I sigh, "yes." "What do you care?" Suddenly I'm looking down on him. "I happen to care very much, not that it's any of your business," I snap. After a moment I back down, realizing what I just did.
The white one in front of me looks somewhat shaken, probably because it was so unlike me. "I'm sorry Kiba. I wasn't thinking." He pulls himself together, "that's definitely not like you." He lays down beside me. "Snapping, I mean. Why don't you tell me what's up." I sigh again. I'm beginning to make a habit of that. "Still think pups are a good idea?" He glances at me in shock. "Hige, you didn't!" I'm not going to lie to him, "I did." His eyes widen, "but why?" Why? "Because I love her, that's why." "Hige..."
Suddenly the door behind us opens. It's a woman I've seen a few times inside the building. "Hey boy." She reaches down and pats me on the head. "I've got a surprise for you fella." I bark, knowing by now the expected reaction. "Come on, let's get you in to see 'em." I start to follow her in, only to remember something. I turn to find him right behind me. "Kiba, are you sure you want to come in. Quent's in there and he knows you're a wolf." He gives me a steady look, "I'm sure. I want to see them too ya know."
The woman opens the door to Quent's apartment. I pad in, with Kiba at my tail. Blue's on her blanket with six little balls of fluff beside her. "Hey beautiful." She looks up at me, "Hige." She glances at Kiba. "Brought a friend. Hope ya don't mind. He kinda followed me in." A soft smile plays on her features. "No, I don't mind." Kiba sits down a short bit away from us. "If I remember right, we've met before. I think I like these circumstances better." Blue laughs slightly, "I'd have to agree."
"So, who have we here?" I eagerly turn the subject to the six bundles. Kiba looks up expectantly as well. "And here I thought you came to see me," Blue teases. "I did. But I came to see them too." She sighs, "are three sons and three daughters good enough for you?" Kiba's eyes light up and I nuzzle Blue. "More than enough love. I'd have been happy with one." She gives me a somewhat sly smile. "Better times that by six. What's your friend's name?" I look at Kiba, "huh? Sorry, guess I got distracted. This is Kiba, alias 'snowflake'." Kiba glares at me, Blue laughs. "Snowflake? It's perfect for him."
"Speaking of names, have you named the little ones yet?" She turns serious again, "I have. Do you mind?" Do I mind, yeah right. There's no way I'm gonna mind. Whatever she likes in a name. "No I don't. How about tellin' us here?" She nudges gently through the pups and picks up a nice sized tanish one. "This one, is Makenzie. She's the oldest." Kiba studies the pup over my shoulder a minute, "she looks like you, Hige." He's right, she does. Blue places her back down and proffers one about her color with a tan underbelly. "This is Kaci. He's second. I'm just going to go through them in age order."
Kiba and I both nod. "Let's see, third is..." She hunts through them a bit and gently selects one that's solid colored, though slightly lighter than herself. "This little fellow is Caimen." Kiba and I look him over and then Blue exchanges Caimen for a little darling who's color falls somewhere between my own and Blue's. She has a dusted look to her, as if powders of the two colors were mixed together dry. "Gentian here is fourth. Two more." I take Gentian from her mother and sniff her gently. She smells all right, seems perfectly healthy.
"Kilana brings us to five." Kilana is tan, with bluish 'stockings' on all four legs, going about halfway up. "She's lovely." Kiba agrees, "she is. And the sixth one?" Blue smiles, "last one, last boy." She shows us a bluish one with a tan blaze on his face and tan on his right front and left back paws. "This, is Rokú. He's the sixth and youngest." She studies the two of us momentarily. "So, what do you boys think?" I sigh for the umpteenth time today.
"They're perfect. I couldn't ask for anything in this world better." Kiba nods, then stands. "I think we should go tell Tsume and Toboe about this. They'll want to know that there're pups. This is very good news." I shift my gaze back to him, "Kiba...." He smiles. "Come on Hige, you should know better. All wolf or half, pups are pups and they're always good news." I look down at Blue. "He's right. But I should be the one to tell them. I'll come right back, I promise." She shakes her head, "you don't have to hurry. I know you're not going anywhere." I give her a kiss. "You bring him back to me snowflake." Kiba attempts to glare at her, but fails. Disgruntled he turns and leaves. I laugh and then follow Kiba out the door. To find Tsume and Toboe, to tell them....
Chaos: Whew! Six puppies. And they sound so cute. Original, aren't I? Anyway, I'm going to have a lot of fun writing this from here on out. Not that the first 5 chapters weren't fun.
Hige: So, where do we go from here?
Blue: Good question. Sounds like it's gonna get better.
Chaos: It's gonna, believe me. We're gonna skip a few months to get to chapter six. Tsume's gonna get pounced!
Blue: Really?!
Chaos: Yep. Well see ya folks later.