Walkies: Jackpot 2
It was amazing just how long the male members of the family were managing to keep the truth about Jackpot secret from Eva; she still had no idea that she was sharing the house with a young hellhound. Some things were a little difficult to explain away…like the scorched patterns on the grass…but somehow Sparda always managed to pass it off as a demonic accident on his part, shouldering the blame himself, or would claim it to be the result of an attack.
It all seemed to work and Eva was none the wiser. Luck was most certainly on their side for now but it was debateable as to how long that would last for.
Currently Vergil was attempting to do his homework while Dante was trying to stop him; one of his most loved pastimes.
"What's that?" Dante asked, half sprawled over the table and pointing at the page his brother was working on.
"You've asked me three times already." Vergil replied, swatting the hand away so that he could continue.
"Yeah, but now I'm asking again."
"Did you forget already?"
"No, I just like bugging ya."
"Do you want me to hit you?"
"Not really."
"Well shut up then!"
"Ooooh, touchy today."
Vergil glared and it was only the arrival of their father in the room which prevented an all out war being raged over the dinner table. "Have you boys seen Jackpot?" he asked them.
"He's been bouncing around the house all morning." Vergil informed him.
"I know; he needs to be walked." With this statement Sparda held up the lead he was holding. "You'd think a puppy with that much energy would want to leave the house but when I went near him he took of like a rocket; flames and all."
"Did mum see!" Dante demanded to know.
"No, but we have to get him out and calm before she does."
"Good plan, batman." Dante said, hopping off the table and heading for the patio doors. "He's probably killing bushes in the garden. He likes doing that when he's hyper."
They all finally found the puppy doing exactly what Dante had predicted he would be doing. His head was buried in a leafy bush so little more than its backside with a furiously wagging tail could be seen sticking out. He was growling and tugging at one of the low thick branches, trying to snap it off so that he could take it to one of his masters in the hope they would play fetch with him. The bushes were becoming rather sparse as he kept raiding them for new toys when the old ones were reduced to cinders. They'd never dared to give him any of those plastic squeaky things.
Sparda made sure that his footsteps were heavy and deliberate so as not to spook Jackpot, and then leaned into the bush to extract both the hell puppy and the stick it was so desperate for. He quickly attached the lead to Jackpot's collar and then set him on the ground again. As soon as the puppy heard the snap of the clip he was very eager to go…suddenly realising what was about to happen, nothing short of the apocalypse itself would get between him and the park. There wasn't a lot that even a legendary devil could do with Jackpot tugging on the lead…it was like trying to stop a bulldozer.
"Get the coats!" he yelled as the young dog dragged him away at an impressive pace.
The twins snickered to themselves and then went on to do as requested and tell Eva where they were all going before finally catching up with their father and pet half way down the road.
Jackpot was calmer now that he was outside; not so desperate to get away from the confines of the house and garden. Anyone watching Sparda being pulled bodily down the street would have thought the poor animal hadn't been walked in a week, even though in truth this was just the first of the two or three walks he got every day (though, admittedly, they were not all to the park). But he was obviously happy; his tail was wagging so hard that his entire backside was moving too, which gave him an odd and humorous walk.
Nothing much really happened that could be considered out of the ordinary when they got to the park. The twins had fun with the other kids there on the swings and slides and climbing frames as well as with their dog and it seemed that Jackpot was being on his very best behaviour. He wasn't growling and yapping at every other person and animal there and the only noteworthy thing he had decided to do thus far was to put the fear of Mundus into a squirrel by barking out a small lick of flame before chasing it up a tree, which people ensured themselves that they had not seen.
All in all it was relatively uneventful…until they were just about ready to leave…
Sparda was just extracting the lead from out of one pocket of his trench coat to rein the puppy in again when Jackpot bounded off to foolishly try and show an Alsatian who was boss.
It was a miracle that the Alsatian's owner had fallen asleep on a park bench and no one else was paying attention when the big dog got annoyed after trying repeatedly to ignore and get away from the puppy and made as if to bite him…not really intending to but it was a very close warning. Jackpot's immediate reaction was, of course, to spark up and hell flames leapt towards the clouds while a menacing growl echoed deep from within the flaming mass which sent the dog yelping and running. In an instinct reaction Sparda all but flew over, wrenched off his coat and dived on Jackpot before he could give chase…hoping against hope that the now smothered puppy would get the idea and put the flames away rather than making them stronger to burn away what was now tightly surrounding him.
Upon the guttural cry of "Stop!" from his tallest master Jackpot obediently extinguished himself and the thick smoke now rising from under the half charred coat confirmed this.
The twins sprinted over in time to see Sparda release the hell hound who looked distinctly pleased with himself. They noted the blackened, semi destroyed fabric and the wide circle of smoking ash and embers that was once part of the grass.
"Aw man," Dante whined, "that was your favourite too."
Sparda nodded and gathered up the remains of his coat. "Let's just get home."
On the way home there were two more incidents…one where Jackpot challenged a black tom cat and was spanked around the face for his trouble which he, strangely, did nothing about; merely whimpering and sulking off behind Sparda's leg (thus the devil assumed that during Jackpot's time in the underworld he had suffered the wrath of a Shadow). And then there was the incident with the lamppost. Feeling territorial because of the German Shepherd he had left behind to cower with his owner, Jackpot decided to really leave his mark and when he cocked his leg there was an ominous hissing, bubbling sound…then the lamppost toppled, crashing down on top of a car. The boys had just enough time to notice the melted hole near the base of the fallen post before being scooped up in the arms of their father and carried very rapidly back home with their pet obediently following behind with an unmistakably smug grin.
Back home, Jackpot went to find a place to have a good scratch while his masters flopped down into their respective favourite chairs or parts of the sofa.
"All in all," Sparda said with a sigh, "that went better than expected."
End
Author's Note – Wow, sorry this one's a tad late and so…odd…I got caught up reading Thud, and Bonfire Night got in the way. I didn't go anywhere but my bedroom has a great view and I saw plenty of displays from the comfort of my windowsill. One of these days Eva is going to have to find out about Jackpot. Ah, what to do next? So many ideas…ho hum. Ooh, replies –
Morwen (Devils that Cry) – If no one every grumbled nothing would ever improve. Grumble away to your hearts content, I know I do. Thank you for the review and I'm glad there's someone else out there who knows Samhain. Guess it's just because I'm English I really just don't like 'Halloween'. Never been trick or treating in my entire life.
Ri2 – hello again, and thank you again! Glad you like Bolverk…I may throw some more game characters in there at some point…
GryronInferno46 – No, I'm not Irish…sorry, I'm English. But yeah, Samhain is an Irish word. Here's some trivia for you; it comes from the Old Irish 'samain, samuin, samfuin' referring to 1st November (lathe na samna "samhain day") there was a festival to mark the beginning of winter, so All Souls Day and what we now call Halloween are continued elements of it. If you want more info, as it is very confusing and long, go to Wikipedia and look up Samhain. Thanks for reviewing!
BiOhAzArD - Ello. My dad's weapon of choice would have been the pressure washer…if only the pipe would stay on the tap…sigh…
Kid-author – Umm…Sparda just kinda went as himself…he had a big sword, so no one questioned him about it. Thanks for the review!
Bustahead – crazed fangirls turn up on Sparda's doorstep…oh dear…I think they would be seen rapidly running away with Eva and a shotgun close behind. I doubt it'll happen in this fic but it would be fun one-shot.
Meirelle – Yay for reviews! Thankee!
Kerrianne Harrington – Yay, you're back! Thank you for reviewing againand I'mglad you stilllike it.
Splendid Shadows – Thank you. I hope to keep this going for as long as people are interested…oh my poor brain…
All reviewers get muffins today! (I ran out of cookies) Hope to see you again next update! Ta ta! And thank you all!
