There must be some way to help Hunter. Dylan knew there must be some way to help the human that he wasn't seeing.
But ... How? That was the question that had successfully stolen several hours of sleep from the Dalmatian puppy.
How do you help someone who clearly thinks so low of himself? It was no secret to anyone in the Dalmatian household that Hunter right now was clearly his own worst enemy.
Always thinking so bad of himself or letting constant tired sighs escape throughout the day while his eyes were lost in the void and clearly transported him all the time to a past full of abuse and mistreatment to which he obviously did not want to return.
His parents had already constantly told him that Hunter would improve over time, and that if he hadn't done it as soon as they, dogs, usually do, it was mostly because he was human and it took them much longer to recover.
Dylan was beginning to seriously doubt that Hunter would improve over time if they did nothing. The human child seemed to be getting worse in terms of mental and nutritional health, and Dylan was not by far the first to notice.
Questions like; Why did Hunter seem to suffer whenever he ate kibbles? Flew through the heads of all Dalmatians whenever they caught him eating.
Why did Hunter insist on continuing to eat croquettes if he clearly didn't like them? They had already tried to buy him human food, but he ...
... he kept rejecting her without seeming to really want to reject her. ¿Why?
Worst of all, Hunter didn't seem to want to talk about it. And he even looked annoyed whenever the puppies commented something about him, being great, for the simple fact of being able to understand them, something that no human could have done before.
Dylan let out a sigh. It seems that tonight again he is not going to sleep much either.
Why do humans always have to be so confusing and complicated to understand?
"Bro, are you awake?" Dylan's ears perked up as he heard his stepsister whisper.
"Yes, Dolly. I'm awake," he replied in a whisper.
"Are you still thinking of Hunter?"
"Yes, and you?"
"... same ... ", Dolly revealed in low voice after a few seconds of silence," ... I think Mom and Dad are wrong. I don't think Hunter will improve on his own bro "
"I think the same, but what can we do, Dolly?", Dylan asked, "Clearly Hunter doesn't want our help, and I don't think he wants to talk about whatever is wrong with him."
"Come on brother. there must be something we can do, "Dolly exclaimed," I mean, we've always been able to help the other puppies when they're feeling sad, why should Hunter be the exception? "
"That's the problem Dolly, Hunter is not a puppy," Dylan rolled his eyes and told his stepsister, careful not to raise his voice too high, "We can't help him the same way we would help a puppy, that's probably just it will make it even worse "
"Well, what if we help him like humans would ...?" Dolly told him.
"Dolly ...", Dylan blinked and looked up, "... Do you even have the slightest idea how humans help themselves with these kinds of problems?"
"Nope, no idea bro," Dolly told him with brutal honesty, "But, I mean, how different can it be from how we do it?"
"Well, according to what our parents say; a lot," Dylan commented.
"Well, what if we try to do the same thing that Dixie and Dan do," Dolly commented.
"Dolly, we already try to do that whenever we help him with the housework ...", Dylan said something downcast, "... He doesn't like me, and with you, he can hardly stand you. I think the only reason why he spends so much time with Dan and Dixie is because those two barely talk and it seems they don't care in the least that he keeps getting worse. "
"Dylan ...", Dolly poked her head out from where she was lying to see her brother with a raised eyebrow, "... Why do you sound like you're upset with Dixie and Dan?"
"I'm not mad at Dixie and Dan," Dylan growled looking away from his stepsister.
"Oh brother, you totally are," Dolly said knowingly, "But ... why? What could they do that we couldn't do to help Hunter?"
"First: I'm not angry, and second ... They can try to convince him to talk about what's bothering him, but they don't. They are the closest to Hunter right now, but it doesn't seem like they're doing anything at all to help him. They are just there, giving him company wherever he go as if they were his second shadow. "
"Dylan, I think you're forgetting that Dan and Dixie are so much younger than us ...", Dolly told him, "... I don't even think we're supposed to expect them to do something to help him get better, help the puppies with her sad problems have always been our job, remember? "
Dylan hung his head, "I know Dolly, but ... It saddens me to see Hunter so defeated and Sad. I don't know how Dixie and Dan can bear to see him every day like that."
"Yhea, I know what you mean Bro", Dolly sighed sadly, "It's hard not to know how to help someone who needs a lot of help, even more so when he's just a puppy"
"Dolly, for the last time, Hunter is not-"
"Child-puppy, Tomato-Tomate, for me everything is the same bro ...", Dolly revealed as she looked up and looked in the direction of where a certain human child was buried in a pile of puppies, "... Pup or child, spots or no spots, in the end none of that matters. Hunter now lives here whether we like it or not, and we need to find a way to help him, just as we would if any other pup walks through that door looking for a new home. This is how this family works "
Dylan fully agreed with his stepsister on that, "You're right Dolly, it doesn't matter what he is. Hunter lives here now and we need to support him the best we can, just like we would we the others."
"That's the spirit Bro-" Dolly suddenly fell silent, her ears had perked up and she had looked up to look in Hunter's direction.
The boy had just got up.
Dan and Dixie had also woken up, and they had helped him move some puppies that were lying on him so that he could get up without waking up any other puppies.
After a few minutes, Hunter, Dan, and Dixie made as little noise as possible out of the room and up the stairs.
Dylan and Dolly, who had seen them, shared a look, it's two in the morning, what would those three get up at this time?
Dolly soon jumped from where she was lying with the intention of following them. Something strange was happening. She had seen Dan take the keyboard from Dj while he accompanied Hunter and Dixie.
"I'll be back in a second bro. I'll see what those three are doing."
"Dolly, maybe Hunter only goes to the bathroom. You should respect his privacy, if he discovers you it will be more difficult to help him"
"Don't worry, I'm going to act like a ninja. They won't notice me," with that said, Dolly left behind the boy and two Dalmatian puppies.
Dylan let out a somewhat annoyed sigh before going after his stepsister, he also suspected that something strange was going on. It was not normal for any of his brothers to get up at this time.
Dolly smiled when she noticed that her stepbrother was soon following her step. both adolescent dalmatians ended up following the boy and cubs until they reached the roof of their home. Dolly and Dylan watched from their hiding place in surprise as the two puppies interacted with the boy.
"This is stupid," Hunter exclaimed looking a bit grumpy.
"Come on Hunter", a positive Dan exclaimed in his direction as he placed the DJ keyboard in front of him, "You said you would give this a try"
"That doesn't make it any less stupid ..." Hunter told the cub looking away.
"This is not stupid, this is what Dixie and I do all the time when we feel sad," Dan told him while pressing a key on the little musical keyboard, his sister nodding with a smile in accordance with her brother's words, "We sing in the moonlight the first thing that come to our minds where no one can hear us. I guarantee, you will feel much better after doing this "
Dylan and Dolly, after hearing this, shared a look from where they were hiding, since when did Dixie and Dan do that?
"How exactly will howling at the moon make me feel better? That doesn't make any sense."
"Hunter, we are not going to howling at the moon ...", Dan told him as he looked at him with his eyes rolled, before he smiled, "We are going to sing, that is something completely different from howling!"
Hunter saw the little Dalmatian puppy puzzled, "... Since when do dogs sing?", He asked into the air.
"Since the beginning of doggy history, in fact-", Dixie quickly added looking excited, "-Max Rotwiller Howl was the first dog to upload his first CD on the market-"
"Stop ...", Hunter suddenly exclaimed raising a hand in the direction of the cub, "... don't ask for a doggy history lesson, "Hunter interrupted.
"Oh ...", Dixie dropped her head losing her emotion, "...I'm sorry. I'll be quiet now ", she muttered somewhat sadly as she readied a couple of empty dog food cans in front of her to use as a couple of makeshift bongos.
Dylan and Dolly frowned in Hunter's direction, they didn't like seeing Dixie so down. she seemed to really want to explain something. Which is weird, seeing her sad almost makes Dolly or Dylan come out of hiding just to give the poor sad pup some comfort.
Good thing Dan was there to give the shy puppy some much needed comfort.
"Don't worry Dixie, you can tell me everything you want about Max Rotwiller Howl ... Later", Dan told her from his place on the roof, "... I always like how you explain things when you feel like speak"
Dixie gave her brother a smile, and nodded.
"Are we going to do this or not?" Hunter suddenly called, making all eyes focus on him, "I don't want to be here any more than necessary."
"We can start whenever you want, Hunter", Dan told him as he turned to see him with a smile, "Dixie and I are just going to give you a beat, after that you have to sing the first thing that comes to your mind while you watch the moon. As easy as eating cake, isn't it? "
"No, but whatever," Hunter told him, "I just want to get this over with so I can go back to sleep."
"Don't worry, as soon as we're done with this we can go back to sleep. And, hey, if you end up liking it, maybe we can make it a habit between the three of us, huh?"
"I really doubt I'd end up liking doing something like this ..." Hunter exclaimed as he rolled his eyes at the puppy.
"You'll never know until you try," Dan shrugged, before looking down to focus on the keyboard, closing his eyes, and beginning to play it with a serene expression.
A somewhat calm melody but at the same time melacolic began to be played that night with the full moon.
Dixie, like her brother, soon closed her eyes, and began to play her improvised bongo drums to accompany her brother's music.
Dolly and Dylan widened their eyes after listening to the music that their little brothers were creating, they had no idea that those two had this kind of talent.
The melody that sounded was beautiful and at the same time calming, something that could easily be used as a lullaby melody. It was not a surprise as this melody had not woken them up in the past, but still, the melody played by those two was so ...
"... I'm sorry in advance if our music sounds a bit sad," Dan suddenly said to Hunter still with his eyes closed as he was still playing the keyboard, "...It's the only thing we know how to play. Our dad used to play this music for us before we go to sleep, the challenge now is to sing something that makes it sound less sad "
Hunter was silent, as he let out a long breath and looked up to see the night sky over London.
"... What should I sing? "he asked, his eyes fixed on the sky and the full moon.
"Sing or talk, whatever your heart asks you to sing or talk ...", Dixie murmured with a smile, "... It doesn't matter if it's good or bad, no one here is going to judge you, we promise," she encouraged.
Dylan and Dolly began to look at Hunter, the human boy suddenly looking much older than he should have, as he looked down and put a hand on his chest.
"My Heart ...", Hunter exclaimed with his eyes empty and broken, "... I think that is already broken. It is useless now"
"Then try to use the pieces to create a better one ...", Dan exclaimed from his place, "... A Broken Heart is just a puzzle waiting to be rebuilt - you can put it together yourself - or let others do it for you. Our dad used to tell us that all the time. "
"A new heart? ... I'm not sure I want a new one", Hunter told them as his eyes began to darken with some tears caused by phantom pain, "... I'm just going to break it again. I don't want to go back. to suffer that kind of pain. Not again. Never. I think I'm better without one "
"Do you really believe it, Hunter?" Dan asked, "... You don't want to ever feel what it feels like to have one. Laugh, love, share your feelings with others. You don't want to be able to do that again? Even if ... Do you risk it breaking again? "
"I ... I don't think I deserve to have one after everything I did ... After everything I almost did to all of you ... "
"We already forgive you for that, Hunter."
"I know ... Every day ... You trhee repeat the same thing to me ... But ... I still haven't forgiven myself. I did everything I did with my heart, and look where I am now ... "
"With a family that loves you?", Dan with some positivism told him.
"No ...", Hunter told him, as he clenched his hands into fists and tears of pure sadness began to run freely down his face, "I'm alone and crazy in a house full of dogs. Talking to them as if it were normal. Before I was just lonely, now I'm lonely and crazy, my life just keeps getting worse with every second that passes ... I don't even know if I'm still alive, ", he muttered.
"... Hunter", Dixie called opening her tear-filled eyes to see Hunter, "Please ... Don't say things like that ... In this place we really love you very much, and it hurts us too much to see you sad every day. We only want the best for you, even ... if we know that maybe we are not enough or what you really need "
"I just ... don't understand ...", Hunter turned to see the two cubs whit tears in his eyes, "Why ...why do you care so much? How can you not see that I am just a hopeless case. I'm just a defective product that my great-aunt had created in a silly laboratory ¡That's all I am! ... I-I am not worth the effort of anyone "
"You don't decide that, Kibbles for brain" Dan barked, narrowing his tear-filled eyes at Hunter, "... You are an idiot if you think you're nothing more than a silly bottle baby that someone didn't appreciate. You're smart, creative, you know how to create better machines than Dawkins and Dylan, you throw the ball further than any of us can, and you give incredible tummy scratches. For us, you are someone more than worthy of giving our best effort and more "
"If everything you say is true ... Then why wasn't any of that enough for her to love me!" Hunter suddenly raised his voice as he fell to his knees and began to scratch his head, letting the pain sink in. will begin to invade and hit him where it hurt the most, "... Why why why why, was I never enough for the only family that I knew to love me? Why did she have to condemn me to this? ... Why me? ", Hunter asked between muffled groans.
Dan and Dixie quickly stopped what they were doing, ran towards the boy and hugged him, letting out small moans after feeling the incredible amount of sadness that he was expelling.
"... I don't know," Dan sadly muttered near Hunter's ear, "...I really wish I could, Hunter, but- ... I don't know why your great-aunt did what she did to you ... All I can tell you is that she is gone and now, and you have us ... I'm really sorry for calling you an idiot and kibbles for brain "
Hunter just stayed on the ground crying, and after a minute, he almost unconsciously hugged the two puppies that were hugging him in the same way that he often took them every time he had a nightmare.
"... I hate my life, "Hunter continued crying as he hugged the two little dalmatians until he fell asleep on that roof.
Dylan and Dolly, still in hiding, were watching the whole situation in complete shock and with tears in their eyes. Never before had they seen someone so crudely damaged expel their emotions in the same way that Hunter had.
Dylan and Dolly, while laying a blanket over Hunter and the two puppies so they wouldn't catch a cold from sleeping on the roof outside. Now they discovered that they were now more determined to find a way to help Hunter.
Because ... Hunter was someone worth that effort.
(To be continue)
