"And~ there. You like that?" I smile, pulling back to reveal a big pink bow around the frisky little dog's neck. So cute~! The little fru fru dog happily pants, wagging her tail back and forth with the happiest look on her face. My fingers brush through her completely clean fur, watching as she paces back and forth under my hand before sitting and leaning against my leg.
I wonder how long this little dog has been on her own for? The fur covers it but she's fairly boney and malnourished. That's what it looks like but she has such a plump belly. I pat her head and move my fingers to her belly, feeling the skin make bumps and defined divots. What the? Did she eat something bad? Or maybe she's pregnant? The thought sends a small shiver down my spine as I tap her hot dry nose again. She's sick and she's pregnant. That's not good.
My fingers curl around the empty bowl as I stand up, heading over to the sink in the bathroom. The little Pomeranian hugs my leg, energetically hopping and moving around as I fill it up with more water. While I was walking around I was able to find a few useful stores and one of them was a vet's clinic. But I doubt they'll be open while it's Night out. Before I set the bowl on the ground the thirsty mother to be lapped at the bowl and eagerly drank as much as her little belly could hold.
While I wait I should go to sleep. I've walked all day and they won't be open at this time. I checked out the times on the door while I was walking by, thinking it will be useful to know where the vet is. The times were Dawn to Dusk. As I yawn the dark Night suddenly shudders to brightness, ruining the mid yawn. Oh ... it's Dawn. I glance over the happy dog as she trots into the room, sniffing the air.
I want to go to sleep but if I wait much longer something might happen to her future puppies. My eyes watch the little prima donna trot around the room and explore her new environment. Y-Yeah, I need to take her.
"Come on little lady, let's take you to the vet." I call, softly scooping her up. I'm glad I cleaned her up before taking her to the vet. It's easier to examine a clean dog rather than a little dog. I glance over to the counter, making sure the little flower's vase was filled with water. I'm glad it seems to be taking to the vase alright. I'm sad I had to throw the others away but, I still have the one.
I trot out of the Train Station with the doggy in arms, searching for the vet's office. Let's see ... if I remember right it was somewhere around here. The little dog gently licks my chin as I pass by the shops, passing pet supply stores and bakeries with pet goodies too. I wonder if this entire street is dedicated to pets? Or, maybe this is all there is in the town and the owners decided to cluster them all together?
My eyes pass over a sign with a dog and a cat on it with a needle and bandage on either side of them. I-It looks like this is the place. I shuffle the dog into an arm and open the door on loose hinges, listening to the light chime of a bell.
"Welcome~," a faceless woman welcomes with a tired yawn, "and how may I help you today?" She smiles, looking over the fluffy dog in my hands. Ah~ perhaps I should have trimmed her fur while I was at it. The poor girl is so shaggy!
"S-She's pregnant and she needs her shots." I say, watching as the woman lets out a sigh.
"Oh I don't see the reason to bother with it but, it's how the doctor and I make a living." She sighs, turning and poking her head down the hall.
"There's a young lady here with a pregnant dog!" She shouts, her voice reverberating down the old halls.
"Send her down to the first room to the left!" A loud voice trills back. The woman turns her gaze to me with a lazy smile and gestures towards the door.
"First room to the left dear."
"S-So she'll be fine?" I stammer, nervously watching as he reads over his notes from his examination.
"Perfectly so, my dear. She will need lots of rest and proper food since she was so malnourished but a time change or two here and I'll be sure to have her up and healthy." He promises, feeling her belly once again. "I'll have to say ... let's see, one, two ... three. There are three little ones in there." He chuckles, letting the dog go. The little lady shakes herself out before sitting down, happily panting as she looks around the room.
"U-Um, thank you so much. Please accept this. I-It's all I have." I say, taking out my wallet.
"Oh no, you don't have to. She's a stray so I will not take any." He says with a light chuckle, stopping short as I shove a combination of $1s to $20s equally about three hundred dollars. I'm glad I went to the bank before coming here. "O-Oh, well-,"
"Please, sir, I insist. I know how hard it is being a vet and how expensive treatments and such are." I say, holding it out for him still.
"Well, Miss, this is not any currency I am familiar with. It's worthless," he says, looking at the bills before pulling out money of his own. "This is the currency here."
"W-Worthless?" I stammer, taking the bill and comparing it to my own. Oh my goodness so that's why that man got so angry. He thought I was trying to pull one over on him but I thought I was paying him with money that, well, counted. "S-Sorry." I say, tucking the worthless bills away. But, wait, why would that hooded man take the money? Did he ... give me the flowers for free then? I should go and thank him when I get the chance.
"No need to apologize. Just be careful when pulling the wool over someone else though." He grins, gently petting the happy little lady on the head. "Now, off you go. Come back in two time changes to come and pick her up."
"A-Alright, thank you." I stammer, running my hand over the card in the back of my pants. I think I'll go there now and thank him. I wonder if I can work the flowers off for him? I turn and leave out the front door, nearly tripping over a speckled colored dog. The medium sized dog dashed out of the way, whipping behind an alley. Oh? I wonder if that's the vet's dog?
I leave the door cracked and head towards the flower shop, blowing on the whistle the whole time. I'm so worried about Jaiden and Jett ... but my goodness am I tired. No, no I will go and talk to the flower boy first and then ... and then walk around a little more. I can handle it.
"Hey~ you're that same woman from before." Someone calls out from within a group of about five men. I look over, catching sight of the man in a hoodie. Oh, that's the same gentleman as before. I'll bet it's his day off. "You were pretty rude to me earlier." He says, walking up to me with a disappointed frown. "And it looks to me you've lost your way."
"Not really." I say, calculating how fast he could move at the distance he is at. Being outnumbered is never a good position to be in. I back up towards the sidewalk, keeping my eyes moving and making sure the coast is clear behind me. Living in Chicago makes one learn very quickly where not to be and at what time and it looks like this is one of them.
"Ya sure?" He asks, sounding a little cheeky. Hm ... this man is acting rather creepy but I can already tell they are just some punks. Not really bad but not really good guys. It's amazing how much someone's personality changes when with friends.
"Have you seen a dog with eyes? Thin, lean and growls a good deal?" I ask, taking my stand against them. No one is sneaking up on me and they are not making any sketchy advances. But, still, times like this make me happy about my training. Whereas most girls would feel fright I only feel ... well, not excitement but not fear either.
"A dog with eyes? Yours?" He asks, taken off guard a bit by the information.
"Doesn't matter. Have you seen one?" I ask. I don't want to scare them but I don't want them to think I'm shaking in my boots like a little bi- oops, naughty word.
"Maybe I have, but maybe I haven't. You'll have to play with me to get the answer." He chuckles, tapping his groin. I follow his hand, watching the motion with practiced eyes before sighing. My brothers warned me this would eventually happen.
"Well, surprisingly, you wouldn't be the first." I note, sounding bored. And here goes my pride as a fighter. I hold out my hands, making him stop short for a moment. "Tap my knuckles if you wish to proceed."
"Knuckles? Huh ... kinky, I guess?" He uncomfortably says, shifting on his feet. He stares at my knuckles, wetting his lips with a nervous lick. His fingers tremble as he taps my knuckles, quickly pulling his hands back with an uneasy shift of the legs. Nervous, uneasy, pulled into peer pressure. Yeah this will be easy.
"Now pull your pants down." I flatly order, tapping my knuckles together. This isn't the first time. Once my brother 'lost' a ball and panicked and, since I was the only one home, I had to help the poor idiot find it so this sort of thing doesn't bother me.
"W-Wait, what? Really?" He stammers, face going completely red.
"Whoa~ who knew foreigners were so forward." One of the stringier guys of the group uneasily says, shrinking back. The nice flower shop hooded figure, obviously edged on by peer pressure, hesitantly unbuckles his pants and lets his pants drop to his ankles.
"Whoa! Y-You're really going through with it?" One of the thicker friends stammers, startled at his decision. The hooded boy remains quiet, staring at my slender fingers with a deeper blush. Good, now he can't kick.
"Hey, a deals a deal." He shrugged, looking cool from behind I'm sure but looking like he's about to piss his boxers in front of me. I get their type. They aren't bad kids, they're just trying to look cool. I get that. But, that doesn't mean I'm not going to discipline them. I'm going to do to them exactly what my grandfather would have done to my brothers if he found out they were doing any of this.
"Against the wall." I say, walking towards him with a confident stride. He jolts and backs up, pressing up against a brick wall. He visibly tries to keep his cool in check but his face cracks as I gather his wrists in my hand and hold them over his head.
"Eh?" He asks as I slam his hands against the back of the wall. "Ow-!" He shouts, ending in a short, startled high pitched squeal as I cup his jewels and threaten to crush them within my grasp. Can't kick, can't punch, can't move and can only talk. "W-What are you doing you crazy b****-OWWWWOWOWOW!" He cries as I tighten my grip.
"I only wanted to know if you had seen a dog with eyes yet you try to take advantage of a clearly lost woman who needs help? That's hardly manly. It's cowardly and pathetic. That is nothing a woman looks for in a man." I callously say, tightening my grip.
"S-S-STOP STOP! You're going to pluck them right off!" He frantically cries, his legs trembling as I hold firm.
"In the future, please keep in mind that you should treat a woman like a lady and not a hooker, alright?" I softly say, making sure the message is clear in his mind, "you never know who is out there and whoever you decide to pick a fight with next could very well be your last." I warn, lightening my grip on his tenders but holding his hands over his head firm through his feeble resisting. That's interesting, he's earnestly not trying to hurt me despite the hold I have.
A soft smile tugs my cheek up. I knew he wasn't a bad kid. I lean forward, giving him a small peck on the cheek. I pull back, noticing his wide and frightened eyes from being up so close. I knew they had eyes. I just need to look really close.
"You see? I knew you weren't a bad kiddo." I smile as I let him go. He hastily yanks his pants up and buckles himself up, stumbling back with a wider stance than usual.
"W-What the hell b-b-b-bi-bi-!" He stammers, unable to utter a curse word towards me.
"I'm s-sorry, I really am. But it's the truth." I say, sheepishly holding my hand up and making a tight fist with it. A shiver visibly shoots down his spine as he hides behind his equally startled friends. Ah~ I should have realized they were probably too young to do that. They look about, how old now, fifteen, maybe sixteen? Ew, now I feel like a child molester. Yuck.
"W-What do you want?" One of the bigger guys stammers before straightening his spine, trying to size me up. A kick to his thigh is plenty to take him down. Aim for the nerves, take out the legs of the giant mother fu- no, no a lady mustn't think bad words.
"I just want to know where my dog is. He's lost and I'm worried about him. If you happen to find him please come by the Train Station and let me go. I'll appreciate it." I smile, not wanting to attack any of them without reason.
"W-What the hell makes you think we are going to do that?" One demands, sounding rattled by the sudden rough molesting I just committed.
"You're good kids and I would appreciate your help. Thank you, a-and have a good day." I smile, waving as I turn to leave. What nice kids. I feel bad I had to resort to that but I think they've learned their lesson. None of them says a word as I trot into the street with a deep blush on my face. Ah~ I didn't mean to scar any of them for life. But, I did what had to be done. If I wasn't the one to warn them then they could have gotten killed by someone else who doesn't appreciate their cheekiness.
I mindlessly walk around for hours, continuing on through the sudden shifts of time changes. I carefully take care not to pass the same place twice, making the mistake of passing by the same vender as only a few time changes ago. Thankfully he only casted me a stink eye, unsure and uneasy as I passed by. I'm happy he didn't resort to any other confrontations.
I run a tired hand through my hair, continuing to sharply exhale into the dog whistle while taking breaks to call out for them. Jaiden ... Jett ... where could they possibly be? I've searched everywhere and if they were in town then I would have run into them at this point. My heart slowly crumbles as I trudge forward, the aching in my feet and legs beginning to wear me down to an exhausting point. I'm so tired ... I haven't slept for who knows how long at this point.
Just a little rest. Just a little bit. I slump over to a bench and heavily plop onto the wooden structure, leaning my head back and continually blow on the whistle. So tired ... but goodness, I need to go find my dogs for goodness sake! I heavily blow on the whistle, shutting my eyes for a few moments.
"See? I told you, Julius. This is the foreigner right here." A warped voice proclaims as a soft pressure pokes my side. My eyes sleepily crack open, barely taking in a short brunette with bright red eyes. Urn ... too tired. My head cranes back as I feel my heavy eyelids shut, succumbing to sweet sleep.
JULIUS'S POV
So Jericho was right. There is a foreigner here. I had my doubts but here she is right in front of me. Ace pouts, continuing to poke her side before patting her cheek.
"Is she dead?" He asks, bored. "So weak." My eyes narrow as I smack him upside the head, trying to teach him some manners. "Ow!"
"No no, continue because she's going to wake up if you poke her enough." I sarcastically huff, brushing him off to the side. She's going to freeze out here in the Night. Her head limply hangs back as I lift her up, a slim silver object slipping out of her lips and onto the ground.
"What's this?" Ace asks, picking up the long silver whistle. He twists it in the air and brushes it off, trying to figure it out. I pointedly ignore him and head towards the Art Museum. Jericho would know how to take better care of her than I would. And be willing to. I gently shuffle her amazingly long body in my arms, trying to rest her head comfortably on her shoulder.
"Oh, it's a whistle!" He excitedly cries before putting it to his lips and giving a sharp, hard blow. I brace for the loud high pitched squeal of the rather annoying toy but no sound comes out. "Awe, it's broken!"
"Thank goodness." I huff, still trying to right her body in my arms. My goodness what a troublesome woman and she's not even awake. A high pitches whine catches my attention as something skitters and drags over the ground. I half turn, finding a four legged figure limping towards us. And what would this be? Ace's eyes glide back as he turns, keeping a tight grip on his blade. The hobbling dog slips under the street post lamp and reveals two gleaming eyes in his head. My eyes widen as the bandaged dog pants and wheezes small whines, hopping towards us while keeping his left paw off the ground.
"Ooh~! That's one of her doggies!" Ace says, hopping over to the canine and patting him on the head.
"He's injured." I state, watching him trot past Ace and come right up to me. His eyes gleam as he looks up to Avery, standing up on his hind legs to get a better look at her. He drops back to his paws for a moment before trying again, balancing for a few moments and giving her cheek a small lick before shuffling in place for balance.
"Doggie~," Ace hums, petting and rubbing the dog's head, taking care not to knock his hand against the plastic cone around his head.
"Come on. It's not safe being out in Night." I state, trying to ignore the shadows lurking in the allies. I can only hope that they are Jericho's gravediggers who have been keeping watch on her. Ace mentioned somewhere in his useless babbling that he noticed some gravediggers following her around. But I don't know for sure if it is them or not. I let out a small sigh.
Such a troublesome woman.
JERICHO'S POV
"And you're telling me Jaiden managed to slip out of a locked room, somehow get passed your watchful eye, and vanished without a trace?" I summarize, pinching the bridge of my nose. This isn't good. I was hoping to get on her good side and now I doubt she'll ever want anything to do with me. Wonderland is dangerous and foreigners rare to nonexistant.
"W-We apologize for our incompetence." A gravedigger apologies as they both bow before my desk.
"Very well. Get out." I heavily sigh, running a hand through my hair. That old dog won't survive for long out in the open especially at Night. Who knows who will notice the old dog walking about town. Good hell I know countless faceless that might just use the dog for shooting practice. I drop my head against the desk, thumping my forehead against the desk.
"S***." I growl, tilting my head to the side as someone knocks at my door.
"Master Monrey has come for a visit, along with Master Ace." The worker announces through the door. This late at Night? Something must be wrong.
"Send them in." I call, righting my tie and sitting up straight. It is very unusual for Monrey to be out at Night like this so it must be important. The door swings open as the guard holds it for them. My eyes widen as I spy a young woman with visible closed eyes, awkwardly shuffled in his arms.
"Take her, take her now." He says, his arms shaking as he struggles to keep her righted in his arms. I quickly circle the desk and take her in mine, surprised by her heavy weight. Julius lets out a relieved sigh, letting his arms hang to rest. How long was he carrying her for? My head pops up as I spy Jaiden trot into the room, followed by a grinning Ace chasing after him.
"What in the world happened?" I worriedly demand, using the utmost gentle care while laying her down on my bed. My fingers brush over neck, feeling her pulse throbbing strong. She doesn't seem to be injured.
"We found her passed out on a bench in the middle of the Night. I did not want to lead the troublemakers to my home and they dispersed by the time we neared the Graveyard." Julius sighs, rubbing his obviously sore arms.
"That is just fine. And the dog?" I ask, trying to keep the anxiety out of my voice. I had him in my care and I let him get hurt. I need to take responsibility for that. The German Shepherd limps over to the bed, sniffing the air for a moment before jumping up onto the bed with her. He circled the bed a few times before laying down at the corner of the bed.
"He came up to us shortly after we found Avery." Julius answers as Ace reaches across the sleeping woman to pet the dog. I lightly bop him on the head, making him jolt before dragging him over towards the door.
"Don't bother a young lady while she's sleeping." I gently scold, standing between him and the woman.
"That's not very kind hitting a young boy. That's abuse of power." He pouts as he glares up at me.
"And I will use it as I please in my own territory." I gently retort, flicking him on the forehead.
"Now that she's here I'm leaving. I have other things to do." Julius sighs as he rubs his head.
"You are free to stay the Night here but if you insist I will have you escorted back to your home." I offer, sweeping a finger over her forehead. She's out cold.
"Thank you for the offer." Julius says, "but it is unneeded. I will be back for the next exhibition."
"To the which I will give a personal tour." I promise with a smile, watching him leave.
"That's good, Julius, because I'm strong enough for any enemy." Ace cheerfully grins as he follows the weary man out the door. The moment they are out of sight I cradle Avery's face, feeling her cold skin on mine. She feels awfully cold. How long was she outside for? A very faint groan slips out of her throat as she tosses her head to the side, seeming uncomfortable.
My eyes travel over Jaiden, wondering for a brief moment why he was lying so far away from her. A folded piece of paper tucked into Jaiden's collar catches my attention. What is this? I reach over the sleeping woman, fishing the paper out and flipping it open.
Subject: Jaiden
Owner: Avery
Injuries: bullet through body cavity and slash across front left leg.
Recovery: Time and lots of water and vitamins. Time to take to recovery, unknown.
Seems to be a note the vet put on him. He has an awful memory so I'm sure he sticks a summary on all of his patients. I flick the paper a few times in thought before shuffling her into my arms and pulling the covers back. She needs to warm up if she wants to sleep comfortably.
"Hn ... mhn," she murmurs, craning her head back. I chuckle and set her under the covers, leaning in to kiss her forehead. Hard knuckles catch the bottom of my chin and whip my head back. I stumble away from her, shocked as I stare at her outstretched fist.
"Hmnrh no shtealing mah cookie ... ," she mutters, rolling onto her side. Ah~ so she's a hitter in her sleep, huh? I'll keep that in mind next time. I rub my aching chin and head towards the door, deciding to rest in a guest room rather than the couch. I don't want her to freak out seeing me in the morning.
"NO!" She suddenly shouts, making me jump. She woke up? I whipped around and watch her sitting up in the bed with uncoordinated eyes before falling right back into the pillows.
... pfffft
I deeply chuckle under my breath, heading out the door before she does something to make me laugh louder. I've just met her and she's already has me this entertained. It will be interesting to see what happens from here on out.
Alright so what are your thoughts on this chapter? What do you think is going to happen in the next chapter? 10 REVIEWS for the next chapter~