A/N: For those of you who don't know how the game works, here's a quick explanation:
Three families/groups of roommates compete for one dog (even though there are lots of other dogs in the animal shelters but I suppose they think this is more "fun").
The host assigns them (the families) two or three tasks that actually prove nothing in the evaluation of how well they would take care of the dog.
Three self-proclaimed animal experts watch videotapes of the tasks and the puppy's overnight stays and decide would family would be best suitable.
Excuse me for not using the real host's name…I'm making this a somewhat different, even more annoying person, if that is ever possible.
Who Gets the Dog?
The next day went by much too quickly in Robin's opinion. Beast Boy and Starfire spent the day preparing the home for the puppy. They got out some old dishes for the dog's food and put them on the kitchen floor; then they proceeded to "puppy-proof" the Tower, blocking the entrances of the rooms that they didn't want the puppy to get into and keeping any chewable objects out of reach. Cyborg prepared some meals of mixed meats from the refrigerator, and Robin and Raven half-heartedly assisted their friends in some of the preparation.
On the day of the dog's arrival Raven was the first one to wake up in the morning. Knowing that the dog would be brought to the Tower at about ten, she reluctantly sat on the floor by the entrance with the Book of Azar, wishing that one of the other Titans was there so that she wouldn't have to be the first one to greet the TV cameras.
Silently she read, now and then looking up at the clock to observe its hands rotating ever so slowly towards their ten o'clock positions. Soon the time came, and she tensely awaited the doorbell's ring…
Ding.
Raven got up and opened the door. A blond woman clad in a shocking pink shirt and light blue jeans stood before her, accompanied by two cameramen and clinging to the lead of a puppy that instantly darted to Raven's boots and gave them a thorough sniffing.
"Hello! Hello! This is BARKLEY!" The woman was screeching away in an obvious "dog voice", and Raven could tell that most of these greetings weren't directed at her. The hooded telepath looked down at the dog, "Barkley", with distaste; he was very small, barely coming up to her calf, and a bit scrawny as well. His coat was somewhere between wiry and fluffy. In most places it was an off-white color, except for a copper patch on his back, and the fur sprouted up in small tufts, thickly around his feet and legs. His slender, whip-like tail lashed around in circles behind him as he sniffed Raven's right boot, trying to get her scent. Raven stepped back a bit, her face remaining expressionless. Barkley saw this and settled down, lowering himself onto his haunches, as if he could possibly make a better impression if he looked a bit more like her.
"We're very excited to see you!" the woman exclaimed. "You must be Raven!"
"I was the last time I checked," Raven drawled. She found the emergency alarm on the wall and activated it.
Not too long after that the other Titans came sprinting to her aid. "Titans, tro—" Robin cut himself off when he saw the cameramen eagerly recording the team's mad rush. "Uh, we woke up late…the dog's here…" His face now slightly flushed, he gave Raven a look, and she shrugged it off before retiring to the couch in the lobby.
XXXXXBeast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin escorted the host, dog, and cameramen to the lobby, where Raven was waiting. She sighed as she closed the Book of Azar, figuring that she wasn't going to get any time alone this morning anyway.
The Titans gathered around the couch as the cameramen set up a few feet away. Despite the fact that they had expecting a dog that was slightly bigger, Beast Boy and Cyborg went crazy over Barkley, and were clearly eager to begin the tasks. Robin and Starfire held back a little bit, Starfire seeming a bit nervous and Robin eyeing the cameras with regret. As soon as the blonde woman sat on the couch and brought Barkley up with her, Raven excused herself and stood next to Robin.
"This is Barkley," the host said. "He's a six month old Poodle crossed with a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel."
"What a mutt," Raven muttered aside to Robin. The Boy Wonder swiftly poked her in the shoulder, but she could see that he was smiling a bit.
"Your first task," the host began, "is called 'Shake'. You need to teach Barkley how to shake hands on command."
"Um, excuse my interruption," Starfire said softly, "but please, how does teaching the Barkley a trick prove us worthy as pet owners?"
The woman turned and looked at her in shock. Then she glowered, and turned to the cameramen. "Turn off the cameras," she hissed, and they did as told. "You see, Starfire, being able to teach Barkley a trick represents…uh…your ability to…er, TRAIN the dog! Yeah."
"But what purpose does teaching the dog to initiate a manual salutation serve?"
"Oh, uh, more purposes than you think," the host answered hastily. "Now, let's get on with the task. I'll leave you all alone with Barkley so you can have plenty of space to train. Good luck!" She cheerfully walked to the sliding doors, but not before warning the cameramen, "Don't miss a thing!"
There was a long pause as the Titans stared at Barkley, wondering how to start. Finally, Beast Boy hopped onto the couch next to the mutt. "All right, Barkley," he said, bending down to the dog's level. "If we're going to keep you, we need to be able to teach you a new trick. How about it?" He extended a gloved hand. "Shake, Barkley!"
Barkley cocked his head to one side whimpered.
"You have to show him, BB," Cyborg corrected. He sat on the other side of Barkley, making the dog face him. Then he took hold of Barkley's left front paw in his hand and said, "Shake, Barkley! Good boy."
Beast Boy brought the dog's attention back to himself and spent about a full minute trying to persuade Barkley to shake hands. "Come on guys," he said irritably to the others. "We need full group participation!"
Robin and Starfire joined the half-robot and the changeling, uneasily holding the dog's paws and trying to teach him the trick. They had only just started when the host returned. "How's it going?" she asked, not dropping her painfully cheerful tone of voice.
"Can't see much success from where I'm standing," Raven muttered in reply.
The cheerful woman seemed a bit disappointed at Raven's lack of enthusiasm, but quickly dismissed it as she made her announcement. "Well, I'm sorry guys, but we need to move on to the next task! The next task is called 'Obstacle Course'…"
XXXXXFor the next half hour the Titans spent their time outside running through the course of tunnels, hoops and A-frames that the sadistic host had brought with Barkley, who, this time, was fortunately content with the idea of a running game. Now Beast Boy was bent over with his hands on his knees, panting, after trying to keep up with the energetic puppy for more than half the time.
"Good job, Titans!" the host complimented as the five of them as they trekked back to the Tower. "Before I leave you guys to your sleepover, I need to give you this Iams overnight puppy kit…"
"You never said anything about it staying overnight," Raven hissed to Beast Boy through her teeth. The green teenager sweatdropped and discreetly slipped away from her.
For the next few hours Beast Boy (in his puppy form) and Barkley raced around the Tower in a game of puppy tag. Cyborg and Starfire would occasionally join in, and it would tend to end up with Beast Boy being run into the corner and taunted. Robin took refuge in the chair in front of the computer so as not to get run over, and Raven bounced back and forth from her room to a quiet corner in the lobby.
Beast Boy started filming the goings-on in the evening with a camcorder after he had set out Barkley's dinner in the kitchen. He returned to the lobby to see Raven in her corner. Beast Boy approached her. "Hey, Raven! How do you like our new roommate?"
"Beast Boy, stop filming me."
"I have to. We're sending in a tape, remember?"
"And I'm going to meditate. I'm sure that's boring enough to be left out of your little documentary."
Defeated, Beast Boy returned to the kitchen. The sight that greeted him was little Barkley, slumped over his food dish and snoring. "Aw, are you tired?" He scooped up the mutt and realized that they had neglected to get a dog bed. Beast Boy went back to the lobby to look for a place that could be a potential sleeping quarters, and saw Raven. She was levitating a few feet above the floor in her signature meditative pose, with the hood of her cloak hanging limply at her shoulders. Grinning to himself, Beast Boy had an idea.
XXXXXEnd of chapter two.
CHAPTER THREE: What was Beast Boy thinking? Will the two birds of the Titans ever warm up to Barkley? And, most of all, will they win?