Riza was anxious. She was going to visit her friend Rebecca tomorrow and would be staying with her for the night. Roy regarded her with a tilted head. She glanced guiltily at her suitcase. Roy padded away and returned with one of her sneakers in his mouth. He set it by her feet.
"Aww. Are you trying to help me pack, Roy?" Riza asked her dog.
Suddenly, the door to her room went flying open. Ed skidded in. He saw the suitcase and began yapping at Riza. Roy barked twice and Ed quieted. He slunk away, tail between his legs.
Ed saw Roy carrying Mistress Riza's sneaker to her room. The door was mostly closed, so Ed took a few steps back and got a running start to slam into the door. His paws slipped out from under him. When Ed regained his footing, he noticed the case.
"Mistress Riza, don't leave! I'll be a good dog, I promise! Please, don't leave!" Ed yapped.
"Be quiet, Edward." Roy barked. The bastard was just going to let Mistress Riza leave them? Ed tucked his tail between his legs as he slunk out of the room.
Maes had shown up earlier than expected. Riza sat through his obligatory gushing about his daughter. Maes got suddenly serious.
"What's this I hear about a new dog, Riza?" Riza sighed.
"Ed is a troublemaker. He might try to start something with Roy, but he's usually pretty good. Don't patronize him; he's 'not' a lap dog." Maes laughed.
"That's adorable, but you should have stuck with just Roy." Riza's eyes flashed dangerously. Maes held up a hand.
"Roy requires special care and so do puppies."
"Well then. I hope you can handle them." Riza replied haughtily. She left.
Maes sighed. Getting up to go put his stuff in the spare bedroom, he caught sight of a golden puff wedged between the edge of the doorway and the door to the spare bedroom.
"So, this is Ed, huh?" Maes said looking at the puppy.
Upon hearing his name, Ed glanced up. The man was looking at him. Ed tried pawing at his long fur to get it out of the crack without pulling the hair out of his coat. The human's hand gently tugged Ed's fur free. The man said something, but Ed didn't care. Mistress Riza had left him with this man. Did she not want him because he'd been a bad dog? The man picked Ed up and Ed squirmed trying to get free. The man held Ed up in front of his face, which made Ed writhe even more.
Maes smiled at the tiny Pomeranian.
"Oh! You are so cute! My little Elicia would love you!" Maes squished the puppy to his chest. Ed scrabbled his paws across the man's chest. Maes got the hint and set the puppy down. Ed scrambled away.