I am so sorry for not updating this for a while, but I'm back!
"Shh!" Naomi hissed to Michael who was behind her. They had snuck their way downtown and haven't found Joel and Ellie yet. They were about to turn the corner around a building when Naomi heard something whining. She peeked ever so slightly out of cover and relaxed a little bit. She turned back to Michael. "It's an injured dog." She said before stepping out of cover to approach it.
"Whoa! Hey!" He whispered and went after her, pulling her to a stop. "What do you think you're doing?"
"We can't just leave it," she said.
"It's a dog." He sighed. "Look at it, it's growling at us." He pointed out. He was right. It was growling and baring it's teeth at us.
"That's because it doesn't know we're friendly." She scowled and looked at the dog. "I've always wanted a dog..." She muttered quietly.
"What? I didn't hear that."
"Nothing. Come on, let's see what it needs." She approached it slowly, keeping her hands raised in a 'I come in peace' type thing. The dog growled as it backed away. She noted that it was probably trained to stay quiet in case any infected were near. She also noted that it had an injured hind leg since it barely touched the ground.
Michael sighed. "Make it quick, I'll keep a lookout."
"Thanks," she smiled at him before turning her attention back to the dog. "I'm not going to hurt you," she said soothingly. The dog kept its guard up as it kept backing up. She pulled her pack off and took out a small bowl and a bottle of water. "Are you thirsty?" She asked. The dog stopped growling, but it still glared at her with hostility. She set the bowl on the ground and poured some water into it, then backed away. After a while, the dog finally gave in to its thirst and slowly inched forward and began to drink small amounts of water, occasionally stopping to see if Naomi was going to do something only to be met with a warm smile.
Michael watched the scene before him with fascination. This was a side of Naomi that he never would have guessed. So far he knew that she didn't like killing, infected or not; she is a tease at times when she feels like it's right, very good with the sword, and now he knows that she is great with animals.
After the dog finished drinking, it just stared at Naomi. It probably was wondering why it didn't attack the girl. She clearly has her guard down. Naomi pulled out a wrapped up piece of dried meat from her pack and showed it to the dog. The dog instantly went from a hostile and teeth baring dog to a panting house pet. It wagged its tail in excitement while still trying to keep the weight off of its hind leg.
She smiled as she approached it slowly, unwrapping the dried meat. "Hungry too huh?" She knelt in front of the dog and held out the piece to it. The dog took it from her hand and heartily chewed on it before swallowing. She reached out and petted the dog on the head and it warmed up to her, rubbing its head on her hand. She had seen a dog like this before. German Shepherd.
"Wow," Michael breathed. She had tamed the dog in less than five minutes.
"Mind if I take a look at your leg?" Naomi pointed to its hind leg. The dog laid on its side and whined as she gently held it in her hand. It didn't look like there was any external damage. She slid her finger against the leg, feeling for any fractures. The dog whined when she slid her finger over a certain point. "It's nothing serious." She smiled. "Just a sprain." She pulled out the bandages from her pack and bound the hind leg. "It should feel better in a couple of days."
"It's obvious that you're going to keep it, Naomi." Michael said. "But it can't really walk."
She frowned, "I'll carry him." She smiled at the dog.
"Naomi-"
Without a second thought she picked him up. "I'm carrying him," she repeated, then continued onward to find Joel and Ellie.
Michael chuckled. "She's also a stubborn one." He said to himself before following her.
"What do you think we should do?" A hunter asks his buddy. They had been watching Naomi and Michael the entire time from far away with binoculars.
"The others are busy trying to catch that old man and the little girl. We definitely can't take those two on without guns." His buddy said, thinking of a solution. "You got any smoke bombs on you?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Let's go then. We're gonna set up a trap and jump them. I know which route they are going to take."
"What about the dog? It will pick up on our scent."
"We use a trip wire with the bomb and wait from far away, not too far though." He said, getting up. "Let's go. We have to move quickly if we're gonna get the jump on the bitch and the Firefly."