Thanks for the reviews, you guys are truly great! Here's the next and final chapter, enjoy!
Not bothering to heed D'artagnans 'wise advise,' Athos kept his eyes locked on Champ as he padded across the top of the table towards him, stopping to drop the dead rat in his lap before backing up slightly to stare at Athos, wagging his tail expectantly.
Under normal circumstances, Athos would have been disgusted if a broken necked rat had been dropped into his lap; the saliva and crimson stains spreading across his breeches slowly.
But these were not normal circumstances, Athos acknowledged with a sly grin, no, these were ideal circumstances -and he couldn't wait to test his theories.
Rubbing the pups fuzzy head for the first time with a real feeling of happiness spreading through his gut, Athos ignored the dumbstruck expressions of Aramis, Porthos and D'artagnan -all of whom were looking at him with a mixture of confused amazement.
Athos was bi polar, Aramis decided, rifling through his medical brain for an answer that would justify, or at the very least, explain the mans 360 degree turn about in behaviour.
As Athos stroked the pup, Champ returned the affection, jumping into his new masters arms and began to lick at his nose, making him laugh slightly.
This was certainly not the Athos they were used to seeing. Such a fearless fighter, such a practical gentleman, always serious, always emotionless…so… Porthos scrambled his brain as he looked for valid answers.
"See! He likes the name, don't you champ?" Athos rubbed in, talking more to his brothers than the pup itself, "Ever the clever fellow, aren't you?" he complimented, eyeing the dead rat on his lap again with a mixture of pride, appreciate and adoration.
"Might wanna tie 'im down lads, I think Athos has finally gone an' lost it" Porthos said seriously, shifting as if to move.
"Exactly what was in that brew of yours? D'artagnan teased, peering into the cup and grimacing at the floating insects squirming around on top while Aramis clapped him on the shoulder, "My thoughts precisely."
Ignoring their mocking banter Athos rose to his feet carefully and placed Champ on the floor at his feet, the pup rubbing at his boots affectionately.
"Come on, Champ" Athos called, a friendly smile on his face as the pup followed him obediently towards the stables, not a second glance back at his former protectors.
"Do excuse us boys, we have some unfinished business to attend to" Athos called from over his shoulder, a smirk on his face.
It was eerie, Aramis thought, he much more preferred the moody Athos to the strangely happy one. It made him feel as if something bad were to happen.
"Trading places with Athos, I see" D'artagnan teased when he noticed the frowning look of worry on Aramis face.
"Bah, I'm just reasonably concerned" he argued, the comment causing Porthos and D'artagnan to pause and share a knowing glance, smirks on their faces.
"Now you sound just like him!" Porthos accused, forcing Aramis eyes from Athos' retreating back to glare at his brother, realizing that his expression was an exact replica of Athos' and gasped in horror.
"I will not accept these 'insults'" Aramis began, a smile forming on his face as he returned to his normal self.
"Therefore, I must challenge you fools to a duel" he mocked playfully, getting to his feet and pacing out into the open courtyard, unsheathing his rapier and taking an overly dramatic stance.
Laughing at his humour, the two brothers stood and drew their swords, continuing their idiotic charade as they traded insults and lunges.
~o0o~
As it turned out, man's best friend was a very helpful hunting companion, an expert tracker whose undivided attention could pick up even the quietest of sounds, faintest of smells and smallest of movements garnered great success.
Athos supposed he could have adopted a feisty feline for the job but he was just as happy to have Champ run around the stables tirelessly, chasing and killing the annoying infestation of rodents instead of doing it himself.
He could get used to this kind of thing Athos thought, nodding with a smile as his prized pup and new best friend returned to his lounging position on a bale of hay, three rats dangling limply from his mouth, tale wagging with pride as it dumped them at his feet.
Taking a knee and stroking Champs head affectionately, Athos rustled through his pockets and produced a strip of jerky, one of the many tough rations carried by the musketeers on long journeys.
As Champ dug into his treat, Athos turned back to his position on the bale, a sly smile crawling up his face as he though about Porthos' reaction to his missing jerky stash.
~o0o~
Before long it was easy for the brothers to see that Athos had become enamoured with Champ -leaving bowls of warm milk in the stables for him while he tended to his horses, feeding it jerky at the end of each patrol they did together and even teaching it tricks in his spare time in the evenings instead of drowning his sorrows in drink.
And of course honing his skills as a musketeer mascot and part time rat catcher.
Champ surely had wormed his way into the family of brothers with his cuddly but rough play fights, puppy eyes and fierce demeanour whenever they met with red guards in the town square.
He was always loyal and always loving.
Aramis, Porthos and D'artagnan had already discussed how Champ seemed to be taking after his master, to a T -snickering behind Athos' back as his dog seemed to strut down the streets by his side, while Athos seemed all the more proud of him for even attempting it.
And there you go, that's the ending! I really hope you liked it! Thanks go out to those who reviewed/followed/faved, I really appreciate it! I've posted the first chapter of my monster story now, so if you're interested, look it up and let me know what you think! Until next time!
End note- as you may have guessed during the story -but I did not mention for spoiler reason- I chose the terrier for its feisty but loveable traits and its primary background for hunting rodents- which served my purpose. Im secretly glad the breed produces an adorable puppy- it would have been awkward if I had to describe a really ugly mutt and have everyone go googly eyed over it ;) Alls well that ends well!