"C'mon Mr. Fluffy. Just, hold still!"
Toughy pulled and tugged, anything to get away from the water and soapy studs that now covered his fur. "My name's not Fluffy," He thought with a huff and a grunt, "and I don't need no bath." He tried jumping out of the metal tub, but was swiftly caught and placed right back in the water.
"I know you don't like it." She scrubbed quickly. "But if you don't take a bath, mother and father will never let me keep you."
"I don't wanna be kept by anyone!" He mentally screamed to himself, trying to get his paws over the sides of the tub.
She went at it for a few more moments, targeting his head and back, before finally backing off and giving him the chance get out. "You made that a lot harder than it needed to be, we could have been inside already and- eek!" She shrieked as he shook his fur out, getting water droplets all over her. "Stop that! There are towels inside."
Once he was satisfied that his fur was dry and that his 'owner' was the wet one, he allowed himself to be led inside. That might have been the most opportune time to run, but he'd already gotten a good look at his surroundings and as far as he could tell, there was no easy way of getting over the large, tall walls which guarded the house, it's garden and it's yard.
Inside the house, he was towled off and given a good brushing, one which took with it several strands of old, shedded hair. Toughy shook his fur again, out of annoyance.
"Oh, Mr. Fluffy, you poor thing," She doted over him, "you were absolutely covered in dirt and flees, but now you're nice and clean, the only thing that's missing is..."
She hopped up to go fetch something, while he looked around and caught a reflection of himself in a nearby mirror. Where his fur had once been messy and unkempt, it was now neatly brushed out, where it had once been possible to see tiny black fleas hopping around, they had now all been eviscerated. "Okay, Toughy," He breathed in deeply, "Ya don't got no more of those precious fleas and ya friends would probably laugh at ya if they saw ya now, but absolutely nothing has chan-"
"Here we go!" She quickly tied the something that she had been looking for, around his neck, "Do you like it?"
Toughy's eyes opened wide in disbelief, around his neck was now a bright yellow collar, with a golden tag hanging to it.
"Just great. A ticket to freedom that I ain't even ever gonna get the chance to use."
"Mary!" What sounded like the girl's mother called her from a different room of the house, "tea time, come quickly."
Mary's eyes lit up in excitement for the second time that day, "Ooh! Tea time. I have to go Mr. Fluffy, but I'll be back soon, just stay here and don't go around misbehaving." She waved a stern finger in front of his face, gave him one more hug and then scurried off, shutting the door behind her.
Toughy watched her go and then turned back to the mirror. He scowled at his clean fur and brand new collar, finding them to not fit in at all with his usual qualities.
"But at least I got outta that darn pound," He spoke to himself, "now all I gotta do is find a way to get outta this prim and proper place and I'll have all my pals out in no time. Now..."
He looked around what he guessed was the spare room, there was a medium-sized basket, filled to the brim with pillows and blankets, a food bowl and a water bowl.
When he felt his stomach growling, he couldn't help but at least sniff at the food. "When did a little food ever hurt anyone?" It tasted strange between his teeth. Even he, not the picky eater at all, noticed the chunky bits of solidified beef, slowly sinking down his throat. It was a delicacy far from the usual scraps and bones that he indulged in.
After a few sips of water, Toughy backed off, looking for a way to get out of the room. "All I need is a little- bingo!" He leapt towards a partially opened window, the only one in the room. "Just gotta get a little leverage-" He pushed and tried to squeeze under it, distinctive grunts marking his struggles. "All right, no getting out this way."
He continued to search the room, checking for any other windows, or an alternative exit. There were none. Soon, he grew desperate enough to simply start scratching on the door, whining and doing whatever was possible to get the attention he wanted.
"Oh my," The door suddenly swung open, revealing a plump middle-aged man, the butler most likely, "whatever is the matter? Are you hungry? Thirsty? I could call young Mary to come in and as-"
He didn't get a chance to finish as Toughy quickly ran in between his legs and into the rest of the house. He ran past several different rooms and up a staircase. Only then did he realize that the house was much larger than he had initially thought, with the main living room branching off in various directions and windows as high and tall as any that he had ever seen. The house, which was starting to look more like a mansion, was littered with fancy couches, shiny chandeliers and ornate ornaments and antiques. All things that he felt were far above him.
"Dear!" A woman's sharp shriek cut into his ears, "You gave me quite a fright!" She took a few steps back from him, "Mary!"
"Yes, mother?" The young girl quickly stepped into the room.
"Please see to it that your dog is kept in the spare room, at least until it is properly trained."
"But..." Mary tilted her head at Toughy confusingly.
"No, no, madam." The butler walked into the room next, panting. He touched a cloth to his sweaty forehead. "T'was my fault, I let the dog out."
She shook her hand at him dismissively. "It's quite alright Jarvis, I suppose that all of us will have to keep a closer eye on it. Mary, why don't you take it to go play outside? Perhaps it is restless."
"Come on Fluffy," Mary urged him to follow, "let's go play fetch."
AN: Didn't plan on uploading again so soon, but I just got the idea for this chapter and couldn't resist writing it. Also PenName099 thought it was pretty funny, so I thought...what the heck :3Next chapter should be Peg's past.Thanks for all the support on that first chapter by the way.