(Still set in narration of the past)
Two weeks
Amazing what you can accomplish in two weeks
Two weeks after being taken in with Ryder and I had fully adapted to living with him and Chase and Marshall
Chase and Marshall were best friends and always hung with each other, which made it harder to be close to them, but I had no problem with it because I mostly spent time with Ryder
At first I wasn't sure whether I should trust him, but we had so much in common it was almost impossible not to
He showed me his ideas for gadgets the team could use, and I came up with some myself. After that, we started building them and in less than two weeks we had complete sets of gadgets and improved vehicles
Since Ryder knew I had a thing for recycling, we created a recycling truck modified for pups to drive that would also convert into a pup house, and gave Marshall and Chase newly improved versions of their vehicles, which would now also turn into pup houses
We created voice activated gadgets for each pup to use, including a megaphone for Chase to direct traffic (which I soon regretted after he started using it to wake us up), and improved Marshall's water cannon to make it retractable, along with a mechanical claw for myself to use and eventually designed uniforms and created pup packs for everyone to carry all their tools
He showed me a plan to build some sort of room that was meant to help us get into our new suits more easily, and we quickly got to work into designing it
But most importantly, we had worked on tracking pups with special skills to form part of our team
So far, we hadn't got much luck in finding one, or at least until now; Ryder and I spotted a chocolate labrador around my age that was really good at swimming. And I mean really good at swimming
It was as if a water god had reincarnated in the form of a pup who kept swimming at the same spot in the beach with such gentility and graze
We watched him swim for a couple of hours before he finally left the water and layed in the sand to relax, and that's when we decided to approach him
The pup definitely seemed relaxed. He layed in the sand, looking at the ocean and smiled. Somehow this pup was doing better than I did when I lived in the streets. He seemed to have so much experience he got used to living like that, and even got himself to smile. I'm not really sure if I feel happy or sad for him
Careful not to scare him, we slowly walked up to him to talk to him about his skills and possibly joining the team
"Has anyone ever told you you're a very talented swimmer?" Ryder started the conversation while I analyzed this new pup
"A-Awe you talking to me?" The pup looked up to Ryder, trying to figure out what he wanted from him
"Yes. I have been watching you swim for a while, and I have to say you are very skilled at it. Is your owner around?"
This question did not do good to this new pup. I watched as his body tensed up and he seemed to get anxious
I could see before he answered that he was a street dog. He was very thin, so much that I could see his ribs marked in his body; he had definitely not eaten for days. Poor guy, I know what it feels like to be in his position, and I can say with certainty it is not pleasant
Though I don't get why he would focus on going for a swim rather than search for food if he really hadn't eaten for days
"I-I don't have an ownew" he said lowering his head. Ryder seemed to know the answer before he had said it as well, but I assume he asked it to start a conversation and eventually suggest taking him in
"Well, you see, we want to know if you'd like to be part of our team"
"O-Our?" He said as he looked up and to me. It appears he hadn't noticed me at first 'cause he seemed surprised to see me standing next to Ryder
"Yeah, our. I'm Ryder, and this is Rocky. He was a street pup too before he joined us, and there are another two pups back home. We are part of a team that goes around Adventure Bay to help those in need. We're called the, uh... Paw Patrol"
"Paw Patrol? I wasn't aware we had already chosen a name for the team" I said from behind Ryder
"We hadn't, but I just thought of it and I think it may be our official team name; it might even catch up quickly" he told me before facing the new pup, awaiting his response
"So, you guys awe inviting me to be a pawt of youw team?"
"Precisely. That would mean you'd move in with us and, based on your skills, work as our water rescue pup"
"Umm... would you wait hewe one sec?" The lab said as he got up
"Sure" Ryder said smiling
"Hey, can I get your name? Uh-oh" just as Ryder said this, we saw the new pup start running towards the nearby forest. Unfortunately, however, it was clear he wasn't running towards something; he was running away from something, and that would be us. In fact, he didn't even bother to look back
"Yeah... I don't think he's really coming back. He's pretty fast considering he hasn't eaten for days" Ryder said as he watched the pup disappear into the forest
"Aren't we going to follow him?" I asked
"I don't think that'd be a good idea. We should probably give him some time to reflect on our offer" he said as he directed himself to his ATV
"So, is that it? We'll just leave him like that?" I was a worried about the pup. I get what it feels to be in his position, but I don't want for him to miss getting out of street life because he was too scared to be part of a new family. I might have only spent two weeks with Ryder and the others, but I have to say it had changed my life for the better. I can't imagine someone else missing out on such a great opportunity
"Relax, we'll just track him down tomorrow. It's definitely going to be harder in the forest, but I'm sure we'll find him eventually. In the meanwhile, we should head back to the lookout, and maybe we can work on that hovercraft for when he decides to join the team"
"But what if he doesn't?"
"Oh, trust me, I have a feeling he will"
Afterwards, we simply went back to the lookout for the day and went to sleep to get ready to search for the mysterious pup the next day
However, I was not able to sleep. Thinking of the pup kept me awake all night, as usually happens when something's on my mind
I spent hours tossing and turning in my pup house unable to sleep until I finally had enough
Knowing I wasn't going to sleep that night, I sneaked out of the lookout and went to the beach where we met the pup for the first time
It was probably somewhere around midnight when I went out, but I was obviously not going to the beach to swim, not after that day, but the repetitive sound of the waves crashing on the bottom of the rocky cliff was quite soothing, like music to my ears
Anyway, as I walked to the beach planning to lay there for a while, I spotted someone else who was staring at the midnight sky, laying in the sand
By the time I saw this figure I was already walking towards the top of the cliff, but I decided to go back to the lookout to avoid disturbing whoever that was
I tried my best to be silent so they wouldn't notice me leaving, but despite my attempts I still managed to be heard, and I saw what appeared to be a pup turn to me surprised
"I'm sorry to bother you, I was just leaving..." I said before turning around and continue to walk back home
"Wait, awen't you the pup fwom eawliew?" The pup questioned. I turned to face him; I could not see him in the dark, as if his fur blended in with the darkness of the night... or as if he was a chocolate labrador...
Alright, Rocky. This is your chance, your chance to convince him to join the team. You better not screw this up...
"Yeah... are you going to run away again?" I'm not even sure if I said that as a joke, but I really needed to know
"Oh... I'm sowwy about that. It's just that... I don't know, I have lived by myself in the stweets for a while and suddenly moving in with stwangews is... just a change I'm not suwe I'm weady to take, but I won't wun this time". He turned to me for about a second before going back to looking at the sky
"But don't you want to get out of the streets? Look at you, you are not living a healthy life neither physically nor mentally... I was a street pup once, and I can't tell you for sure that I did not like a second of it. You should join our team"
"But I like this life... I don't have any wesponsibilities, ow anyone to take cawe of; I'm a fwee spiwit. Evewy night, I come hewe and look at the sky and admiwe its beauty, and evewy day aftew seawching fow food, I come hewe to swim". He responded calmly. His bright eyes of a greenish-yellow color reflected the light of the moon that shined upon them, and even standing a few feet from him I could smell the ocean water in his fur
"Huh, I never saw it that way... I guess street life does have some perks, but I still think you should join the team... don't you want to become a part of our family? I can promise you, it's great". I smiled as I slowly come closer and layed next to the pup
"...I'm not suwe. Last time I was a pawt of a family it fell apawt... both my pawents died and my bwother left home, and I was kicked out into the stweets" he said, still staring at the sky
It's amazing how he said that so calmly; I wish I could talk about that day like that... I can't even think about it without almost bursting into tears
"I know what it feels when a family breaks apart, but even though I barely know you, I can tell you deserve to be a part of one, and I can tell you with certainty you will not regret becoming a part of this one"
"You weally think so?" The pup finally took his eyes off the sky and turned to me
"I don't just think so, I know so. Plus, even when you join the team, you will still be able to come to the beach often. After all, you would become our water rescue pup, which means you will be in missions involving water... actually, mind telling me why you seem to like water so much?" I looked at the pup. I could barely see his body due to the darkness of the night, and because of his chocolate colored fur, but it made his greenish yellow eyes stand out
He sighed, "duwing my fiwst day on the stweets, I met some othew stweet pups who bullied me for sevewal weasons..."
"What do you mean? You certainly seem like what others would describe as a "cool pup", I can't think of a reason for someone to bully you"
"Well, thank you, but I have had twouble fitting in in the past, and the same thing happened when I twied to hang out with them. Accowding to them, it was pawtly because I 'talked weiwd', but mostly because I was not aggwessive like them. Those cwazy pups would fight fow food. Instead of distwibuting it like nowmal people, they made a wule of 'whoevew wins the fight wins the food', and in theiw fights, all moves wewe allowed. But I am not like them. Believe it or not, I can be kind and compassionate. Most people see me and think I am a fightew, and while I am one to stand up fow what I believe in, I also think violence isn't the answew, but when I told that to them, they attacked me, saying that I was 'too soft fow the stweets' and they 'wewe doing me a favow'... lucky fow me, they didn't know how to swim, so whenevew they chased me, I would wun to the ocean so they couldn't weach me"
I was astounded by his story. I couldn't believe a pup like him could have such a horrible past. "So, what happened to them?" I asked to the pup with an astonished expression
"Animal contwol caught them. And they would've caught me too but I wan to the beach and swam until they gave up and left, but I guess that's why I like watew... it just makes me feel safe. You know what I mean, wight?"
"Oh, I'm afraid you're talking to the wrong pup; I have aquaphobia"
"Huh?"
"Fear of water"
"Wait, you'we scawed of water? How is that possible? Isn't it, like, 70 pewcent of our bodies?" He said as he gave me a quizzical look
"Close, it's 60, and I'm not telling you why... it's personal"
"Alwight then, I won't pwessure you... anyway, do you know if this Wyder has lots of food?" He asked with his tail wagging
I laughed, "you bet! And about your speech impediment, I think it's rhotacism, the inability or difficulty to pronounce sounds of the letter R. There is a chance you outgrow it in the future, or you might have it for the rest of your life, but if makes you feel any better, I think it's adorable" I said, which made the pup slightly blush
"Well, we better get going" I continued. "... wait, I never got your name"
"It's Zuma"
"Oh, cool. Did you know zuma means peace in Arabic? It's interesting because based on what you've told me it seems to fit your personality"
"Wow. I didn't know that... wait, how did you know that?" He asked curiously
"I like to read"
"Yeah, I don't know what kind of books you'd have to wead to leawn that, but based on youw kind of newdy look, you must wead lots of them" he said jokingly
"I'll take that as a compliment" I replied smiling. "Anyway, we should head to the lookout so you can start training tomorrow... oh, wait, I haven't told Ryder that you accepted joining the team, but I guess you can sleep in my pup house tonight"
"Weally? Thanks, um..."
"Rocky"
"Thanks, Wocky!" He gave me a quick hug and afterwards we carefully sneaked back into the lookout. When we got back, I still couldn't sleep but it turned out for whatever reason Zuma couldn't either so we just stayed up all night and talked
It turns out even though we didn't have much in common we still became great friends very quickly. We talked about all sorts of things, such as how street life was for us, and I told him about my experience from the past two weeks I spent with Ryder, Chase and Marshall in the lookout. He told me about his dream of becoming a famous surfer, and I told him about my dream of being a distinguished inventor. The next day, Zuma began training with Ryder, and soon he was able to join us in missions, and he became our water rescue pup. Ryder and I even fixed a hovercraft and modified it so it would become his vehicle and pup house, and gave him a pup pack of his own, though what I would consider to be the best part is that we were the least needed of the group, so I got to stay behind with my new best friend while Chase and Marshall went on missions (and even when they weren't)
Well, those were the good times...
Oh, who am I kidding; it only got better from there! Though I've got to say I was surprised to see a pup like Zuma would have trouble fitting in, but hey, I guess that's one thing we have in common: neither of us finds it easy to fit in, but at least we got each other
Anyway, it's good to remember my past from time to time, but now I better get some sleep considering I couldn't sleep at all last night, so—
I am interrupted by someone knocking outside of my pup house... wait, I think I know where this is going... please don't let it be morning, please don't let it be morning!—
"Wocky! Time to get up! We need to get weady to continue youw swimming lessons!" A voice called from outside
Again?! Seriously?! When will I be able to get some damn sleep?!
Hey, everyone. Since we've had a lot of flashbacks and narrations of the past in the story, I realize some of you may have some trouble keeping up on the timeline, so basically:
"What is love?" (First chapter), narration of an event a year from the present
"Still in need for answers" (Second chapter), occurs from morning till the afternoon, set in the present
"The end of a good day" (Third chapter), occurs the same day as "Still in need for answers" all the way to noon
"That day" (Fourth chapter), continuation of "The end of a good day", and includes a narration from an even occurring several years ago, though it's not specified exactly when. Said narration occurs while Rocky is trying to sleep
"The very first day" (Fifth chapter), the very next day after "That day". Occurs sometime in the morning, then skips through the rest of the day until noon
"A Rocky life" (Sixth chapter), narration of Rocky's life before joining the paw patrol, also occurring while Rocky is trying to sleep (poor Rocky, he really needs some sleep XD)
"The new pup" (This chapter), also a narration, this time on how Rocky met Zuma, and also occurring while Rocky is trying to sleep (during that same night as "A Rocky life")
"How I came to love a particular mix-breed" (Next chapter) haven't posted it yet but it will be set in the present in Zuma's perspective, including a narration or flashback of an earlier event. Will occur from the morning after "A Rocky life" and "The new pup"
So, I hope I cleared any doubts on the timeline (if there were even any to start... I think I worry too much haha). Anyway, hope you liked this chapter! I've already started writing next one so it'll probably be out in a week or two. Until then!
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