Three days had passed on their journey into the Southern Alps, but there had been no sign of any other creatures, save the high whines of the game birds. It was these birds that they feasted off, but though nothing occurred, the high sweet scent of the blossoms and the many spring flowers made it nonetheless enjoyable. But though Scanlon thought he was leading half of the time, Nezumi was always too close and steering them all carefully, though he seemed afraid of something.
After a fourth day, the poodle chose to stop and wait a few days before carrying on. But they had no sooner stopped in a clearing amongst trees then spotted a rising spiral of smoke in a nearby clearing. Eagerly, but carefully, Scanlon and two of his friends, Kin a fawn coloured Staffordshire bull terrier, and Hiroshi a red Shiba Inu, crept toward the smoke to investigate. With their absence, Nezumi disappeared to hunt, Akili and Kerrianne also wandered off, whilst Kensell, Tibelda, and the Doberman bitch, Tamoshii, stayed behind to rest and guard. But what Scanlon and his pals found was intriguing….
"Either a very rich old hermit, or that human's living off the land and selling it on too! Whatever it is, he ain't poor to own fifteen proper hunting dogs, and he definitely must be strict to keep them all from breeding and yet working with him. I wouldn't go back there though, those working dogs are probably dumb, part-wild, terrified, and…" Kensell had been growling as he chewed at a few game birds. The others were also eating; Akili and Kerrianne had found the area littered in game birds and other prey items. But Nezumi had not returned, and Scanlon had felt compelled to interrupt.
"Beautiful is what they are!" He snapped savagely at his good friends, and they both lowered their ears in annoyance or bared their teeth in slight fear. But Scanlon was not afraid to continue. "The bitches are more then good enough prizes for Ohu's pack! I cannot fail this mission and we're resting here for a few days anyway!" The others were unsure what to make of this phrase, but most felt that Scanlon was taking his job too much to his brain. All except Kin and Hiroshi of course, they had seen the female dogs and most particularly one Labrador-like Retriever they had seen. Most importantly they had sworn to their shepherd friend that they would not speak of him having talked and arranged a meeting with this bitch, after all she had spotted them in their hiding positions.
"Humans can't be trusted, it's not the dogs we're nervous of, but imagine what a human could do if his prized and expensive pet disappears?" Kerrianne growled quietly at her brother, but Scanlon bared his teeth at her. They both stood up with hackles up, growling angrily, and ready to fight. The others were afraid to try and come between the two quarrelsome siblings, and the air around them grew tense. But it was not until nervous Hiroshi mentioned a noise near by that they snapped out of it and every dog stood to fight.
"It's only Nezumi!" Akili snarled gently, and the Basenji bitch turned her scarred muzzle toward the greying poodle as he stepped through the bushes to their small clearing, not a single prey item in his jaws. No one dared to ask him why not and he would not talk. Instead he merely insisted that they all settled down to sleep, and did not think of the humans. So they did, but Scanlon lay aside from his companions and was the last to fall to sleep.
So, for a few long hours, until it was truly dark around their grove of bushes, and the stars were burning brightly overhead, Scanlon slept. He then threw his head up to the sky and looked carefully around at the other dogs. No one had felt the need to go on guard duty, so Scanlon had no one to trick or avoid. He simply stood up and paced off silently along the stretch of scrub and forest, down a steep hill into and through thicker scrubs smelling of birds and rabbits. Then he was at the edge of a large wide clearing beside a lake, staring at the little raised wooden house, which sat ominously with light beaming from its doors and windows.
He paused at the edge of the clearing, nervous about what could be found with the path of humans. But, though light poured unnaturally from a doorway that was made of two sliding doors, he was nervous, though they had been parted to make room for the dogs to go out. Yet he gained confidence once he spotted a soft brown-like Labrador-ish bitch sitting on the floor between the slide-doors, waiting for him. She gave a gentle toss of her neat almost cocoa brown head to the side, and Scanlon stepped toward the light with a wagging tail, no fear visible in his eyes.
"Good evening, Miho. I came back, just like you asked me to come back." Scanlon grinned at the pedigree Chesapeake Bay retriever bitch, but she seemed disinterested. In fact, though she had captured Scanlon's imagination earlier, when she had hunted in water so expertly and then taunted him with words about her breeding and grand genetic traits. But her yellow amber eyes seemed harsh, if slightly guilty, and his wagging slackened as he watched her. Then it was aided as she stepped down, nosed him carefully, and then padded off back into the house.
Thinking it was an invite to join her inside, Scanlon stepped forward and heard growls. He had not checked the area with his nose and he had not even told the others were he was. As the other hunting dogs stepped into the light Scanlon, he realised it had all been planned. He also noticed a very large mastiff like dog stepping toward him, wearing a spiked collar and a cruel grin…
Coming soon Part 4: First Blood, First Bitch