Chapter Forty Three – Top of the Food Chain

Suvi bounded around in his third circle with Olivia at the center before turning his attention to weaving through Olivia's legs. He tripped her once, whipped around, stepping on her feet in the process, and tripped her again. Olivia caught herself on the wall and sighed in exasperation. He'd been on this wild energy spree for a little while now and he didn't seem to be cooling down. She was beginning to get rather tired of basically walking through a one-dog obstacle course just to get ready to leave.

"Suvi, we'll get to the park faster if you knock it off."

Saying the word park again caused even more excitement. He began nearly head-butting her legs in his demand to get out the door. Even though she wasn't dawdling while getting their things ready, he thought she was taking way too long and kept trying to speed her up. Enough was enough. Olivia caught Suvi's collar and pressed a hand to each side of his head. He stilled for the first time since she'd initially mentioned the word "park" and looked up at her.

"Good boy. Relax. Stay."

She released his head, and he obeyed. Now able to move without worrying about getting knocked over Olivia grabbed everything they needed, tucked Suvi's vest in her bag, clipped his leash on, and led the way out the door. Suvi was more than happy to get the trip started and almost rocketed out the door like he'd been shot out of a cannon. When Olivia didn't catch up right away he stood dancing at the end of his leash. His head continued snapping back and forth between the elevator and Olivia. With his flapping ears and lolling tongue she couldn't help laughing even though he'd been driving her nuts for the past few minutes. It was way too adorable. He spotted her watching and snapped back around toward the elevator, but when she still didn't move he glanced back at her again in question. What was taking so long anyway?

"Yes, Suvi. I'm coming. I'm coming," she laughed.

Deciding to take matters into his own hands, or paws, once they'd reached the elevator Suvi jumped up and hit the down button himself. That accomplished he looked up proudly at Olivia.

You're being so slow I'm just going to do it for you.

Even though they'd been to the park mere days ago, he was acting like they hadn't gone in months. He really was in such a funny mood that day. Going to the park would do him some real good, and it would probably amuse her as much as it would him. As they stepped outside she tugged her coat a bit tighter around her. It was starting to get cooler and cooler out with the leaves beginning to turn. There were already some littering the ground near the few places trees grew. Before long they would be dealing with snow. At least with this trip to the dog park she wouldn't have to worry about freezing. It wasn't cold enough for that yet.

For the entire walk down to the park Suvi was speed-walking a foot in front of her, which for him was equivalent to a normal dog nearly pulling their owner off their feet. It meant he was incredibly excited (as if Olivia hadn't already known that). When they actually entered the park Suvi became even more alert. His ears pricked and his tail lifted, waving like a flag. A quick scan of the area confirmed that none of the smaller dogs that bothered Suvi were there. Most of the dogs were familiar to her as well so there wouldn't be any reason to keep an eye glued on him at all times. She knelt down and unclipped Suvi's leash before releasing him into the play area.

"Have fun, buddy."

Suvi jumped up to put his front paws on the fencing in goodbye before he turned and raced off. Olivia smiled warmly. She loved all of these little moments when Suvi showed her how important she was to him. Despite how eager he was to play, he'd been willing to take the time to check-in briefly with her first.

He made a quick circle around the area before joining a husky mix he'd played with a few times in the past. Together they took another lap, crashing into each other in their race. They made one tight turn that sent both of them sprawling out on the ground after their legs had gotten tangled, which made Olivia grin widely. It didn't take either of them long to get back to their feet and take off again, ears flapping in the wind. After a few Nascar-speed laps they both slowed to a walk and had their noses to the ground sniffing at Olivia didn't even want to know what.

With Suvi content Olivia drifted off toward one of the empty benches. She pulled out her phone and started scanning through her emails and text messages. The message at the top of her inbox made her pause. There wasn't anything written in the subject line, but the email address was from Ben's work. Usually Ben sent her text messages and not emails. Curious, she clicked on it. There wasn't much more to the body of the email than there had been in the subject line. Only two words: Just Because. She frowned in confusion. Without any warning music began playing. It took Olivia completely by surprise. She turned the volume down just as the opening lines of 3 Doors Down's "Your Arms Feel Like Home" began. As always, the song really fit them, especially the part about how their lives weren't fairy tales but it didn't matter as long as they were together. She honestly didn't know how he did it.

While Olivia was lost in the music, the peace of the dog park was about to be destroyed. Normally a new dog entering the group wouldn't cause much of a stir aside from a bit of butt sniffing. This time, however, was different. The new dog had taken two steps in and stood surveying the other dogs like they were his subjects. Some silent, indeterminate cues from the other dogs triggered the new one, shattering the stillness. The resounding growl of challenge quickly devolved into deep-throated snarls. It drew everyone's attention, and by the time Olivia looked up chaos had erupted. All Olivia could make out was a twisted heap of multi-colored fur, snapping teeth, and glinting eyes. She didn't need to see more of the massive fight to start running toward the compound, heart in her throat. Two dogs managed to scatter away from the fight and hide in a corner. Neither one was Suvi. Nor was the third dog that escaped. Pack instinct and excitement had set in. The remaining dogs had either joined in the fight for dominance or were unable to escape. There was just no way to pick out one dog from among the mass. More snarls, growls, and barking erupted. Olivia's stomach clenched tight.

Where was Suvi? She couldn't pick him out of the confusion, but somewhere in that mess was her boy. Not much time had passed since the fight began, but not knowing where Suvi was made it feel like much, much longer. Panic and adrenaline replaced the blood in her veins. No matter what it took she was going to find him. With her heart pounding in her ears she circled the compound.

"Suvi!"

There was a high pitched yelp of pain, and while there was no proof it was from Suvi her heart told her it belonged to him, her amazing boy that had given her back so much. She was just as sure of that fact as she would have been if she'd seen it happen even if she couldn't explain why. Olivia still couldn't see him, but slowly dogs were peeling away from the violent gathering in the middle. A few owners were making their way inside as well. Olivia was about to consider doing the same when a flash of cream colored fur caught her eye. Suvi had managed to separate himself from the other dogs in his search for her. Tail tucked between his legs he stood at the edge of the fence trembling and unsure. She'd never seen him looking so disoriented and scared. Even thunderstorms and tiny yapping dogs didn't make him shake that much.

"Suvi!" Olivia called out again.

His ears pricked at the sound of her voice, and his head snapped around until he spotted her. That was all it took to unfreeze him and ease some of the tension vibrating through his body. Immediately he moved toward her at a stumbling hobble that was somewhere between a walk and a light run. Olivia wanted to be relieved, but suddenly she couldn't breathe. All she could see was the blood.