Dinner Time
One after another the puppies bounded up to Jenna,
"Mum! Mum, look what I found!" cried Robin, dropping what looked like a filthy old rag at her feet.
"That's lovely dear," Jenna said, slightly disgusted by the dirty old rag,
"I found it under the dresser," Robin told her proudly, her tail wagging happily.
As Jenna went to step over the rag and keep going, Balto stepped forward. "Perhaps you should take a closer look at it," he suggested in a sly voice.
Not quite sure what to expect, Jenna lowered her nose and sniffed the rag cautiously. When she realised just what it was, it was no longer an old rag to her. She looked up, delighted. "My old bandana!" she exclaimed.
Jenna bounded around excitedly, and a laugh came from the kitchen. It was Rosie.
"I thought you'd be pleased," she said as she placed 6 bowls on the floor. "Come on, Dinner time"
As the puppies raced for the food, Jenna hung back a moment, still sniffing at the old bandana, now so dirty you could hardly tell it used to be red. Rosie came over and picked it up gently, Jenna's eyes following it the whole time.
"I'll give it a wash for you, girl," Rosie said, lowering a hand to pat the excited dog's head.
Satisfied, Jenna left Rosie to the washing and went to eat her dinner.
By the time she had gotten to the bowls, her puppies had just about finished their meals. Balto's bowl, however, was as untouched as Jenna's; he was busy making sure the Puppies ate their fill.
Jenna flashed him a toothy grin, and settled down to eat her meal, before the puppies moved on from their own and scoffed hers too. As she started to eat, she watched Balto do the same. It was always interesting to watch him eat, as it seemed that his wolf instincts kicked in. He would look around carefully, making sure no one would come to close to his bowl, bar the puppies. They were allowed, but no one else. After living in the wild for so long, he always seemed a little afraid that someone would take his meal before he could finish it himself.
Scarlet lay on the floor, daintily licking the remnats of food off her dainty paws. Jenna went and sat beside her
"So what did you do today dear?" she asked, she had always tried to take an interest in her childrens days.
"Rosie gave me a brush again today, it was lovely. She let me lay by the fire all day and brushed me. Doesn't my fur look lovely?" The puppy looked over at her own back, admiring the shining coat.
It was still a mystery to her how she and Balto had ended up with a daughter such as she, but she loved her all the same, despite her excentricities.
"That's wonderful dear" she cooed
Their time was interrupted when Blitz came bounded over, followed closely (of course) by Shadow. "Tell us a story, mum!" he cried.
"Not until you settle down and let your dinner settle in your tummy," she quietly scolded the energetic pup.
Blitz whined and slunk over to the mat by the fire, pushing Scarlet out of the way, and sat down to wait until his dinner had "settled" whatever that meant. Shadow had of course followed him and was currently rolling around the mat behind him, trying to catch his tail.
"Shadow!" he barked irritably. "Do you have to right now?"
"I just wanna play," Shadow sulked, looking at their mother for support.
But Jenna smiled at her gently. "Now, Shadow, now's not the time. Let your food rest, or you'll be sick again."
With a small grumble, Shadow sulkily lay down too, but Blitz kept his eyes on his mother. "Tell us a story?" he asked hopefully.
Jenna sighed, resigned, "Oh all right"
Balto came over and settled down on the floor next to the sofa. Scarlet reclaimed a small section of the mat and curled up. The family gathered around for Jenna's tale.
"It started 3 winters ago, it was harsh, the snow was horrible, and Rosie was sick…."