Chapter fifty-seven: Flashbacks!
"Wake up. Wake up, Chase! Time to decorate!" Ned happily exclaimed before he sang. "It's so great, making turkeys with paws! We'll paint our paws orange, with yellows galore, and red ears for you! It's so fun, painting turkeys with paaaawwwwsss!"
"Ok..Thank you, Ned!" Marshall chimed in. "I think he's plenty awake now."
Chase blinked and then stretched, shaking himself out to likely wake himself up. But wandering forward, he paused as if forgetting where he was going.
"What're we doing again?" he wondered lightly.
"Well first we were gonna see if you wanted to eat something since you haven't since you got here.. And then if you wanted to paint a turkey." Marshall told him. "So do you?"
"I guess." Chase shrugged. Then Ryder suddenly appeared and set a bowl in front of him full of food. And even taking one bite made him begin to realize just how hungry he actually was, and soon he was practically inhaling his food till nothing was left in the bowl.
"Wow,.. guess you were hungry." Chester commented. "Maybe I should have recorded that."
"Don't you dare!" Chase threatened in a low voice, though it didn't seem as severe as you'd think it would.
"Relax Chase. We.. just didn't expect you to eat so quickly!" Snowflake reassured, trying to ease some of the tension.
"Ok, ok, you've had your fun.." Chase sighed dryly. "Can I get a little more please, Ryder?"
"Sure thing," the boy replied, disappearing once again.
But standing up, Chase groaned and sank back down, slumping where he sat.
"You good there, bro?" Chester wondered, looking him over.
"Yeah.." the younger German Shepherd replied a little flatly.
"Probably still needs to refuel.." Marshall supposed. "Maybe eating a little more will perk you up again."
"*sigh* 'Wish it could work a little faster." Chase remarked openly.
"I've got an electrolyte drip, if you want it." Marshall offered. And while it took a moment for Chase to look his way, his firm nod was consent enough.
xxxx
Marshall had just secured the needle in place, by the time Ryder returned. And moving aside gave Chase his space back as he began to eat a little more slowly.
"By the time he finishes eating and drinking, we should be able to remove the IV." Marshall mentioned. "I've set the drip on a high flow setting that won't overwhelm his system, but will perk him up again quickly enough."
"We could get the paint station ready while you're finishing up." Zuma mentioned, making Chase pause for a moment to cock his glance over to him from his peripheral vision. Then a few of the pups ran off.
"I think we can set it up just like Ryder did." Skye suggested.
"Works for me." Chester shrugged, then proceeded to look around at all the supplies they had stacked against a wall beyond the elevator.
"But leave the paint till last,.." Rocky suggested. "It's the messiest part."
"Good call." Chess agreed.
"Yeah. We can wait," Snowflake replied as Ned nodded his head.
xxxx
They were just placing the work mat down, when Chase was taking one last drink after finishing his second bowl of food. Then bent down to take hold of the IV tube..
"Nononononono,.. I got that.." Marshall interjected, halting Chase in confusion. "Let me take care of that."
"It's just an IV.." Chase replied.
"Yes, but you will bleed a little when you take that out, and unless you're prepared to cover it right away.." Marshall trailed, to counter his statement. Chase seemed like he was gonna say something, but stopped himself regrettably.
"That's what I thought." the Dalmatian affirmed. "Let me take care of this.."
"*sigh* Fine.." Chase sighed, sitting back, as Marshall got out his gauze.
"So what are we doing again?" Chase wondered.
"Ah!" he hissed a second later, jumping slightly from the needle being removed. Then Marshall immediately covered the needle prick and readied the tape to secure it.
"We've all painted turkeys with our paws earlier, a little before you woke up. Then we painted the feathers on with these sponge brushes." Skye explained.
"Ok, now we're good." Marshall decided, after smoothing the tape down. "We'll be able to remove it later today before we go to bed."
"Thanks." Chase replied to him quietly, then turned his attention to the group as a whole. "How does it work?"
"Well we paint your paw.." Rocky began. "And then you press it onto the paper and let it dry."
"You might have to add a head 'cause our paws don't exactly give us a good one." Zuma suggested.
"Got it.." Chase confirmed.
"What colored paint?" Snowflake asked kindly. Chase blinked then looked down at himself.
"Well I would imagine its body would be brown,.. and then uhh green, red and yellow feathers?" he said slowly, and waywardly to say the least.
"Sure, hold on," Snowflake said before getting the paint and paper for Chase. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.
"Wait, you don't want any blue paint?" she asked, surprised.
"I don't see why we would need it.." Chase shrugged. "I mean,.. logically speaking."
"You do know you don't have to be so 'logical' you know?" Marshall mentioned.
"Yeah,.. but it makes sense." Chase shrugged, and Marshall just sighed and shook his head.
"I'm surprised he didn't wanna make it a bunch of odd colors." Rocky whispered to Zuma.
"Or the color blue, which is his signature color," Snowflake whispered.
"Yeah. Since when is Chase this logical? It's kinda concerning me," Ned added in a whisper.
"Uh,.. have you met Chase?" Chester countered. "He's like the king of logic. I mean he can be creative when he wants to be.. But.. the rest of the time.."
"Yeah this sounds just like him." Marshall agreed. "But he still doesn't quite seem all there yet. He probably won't till tomorrow morning."
"True, but I'm surprised he didn't pick his favorite color." Ned commented.
"Even still.." Marshall shrugged, then a crash of scattering supplies drew their eyes over to Chase again. He had knocked over the small step ladder, which had all the supplies Snowflake brought over sitting on it. Luckily only a couple paint bottles leaked. Chase blew at the piece of paper that had landed on his head, so that at least one eye could see.
"Oops." he said simply.
"Chase! Are you okay?" Snowflake asked before looking at her friend to see if he was hurt.
"Oops. Hehe," Ned giggled.
"What, I'm fine." Chase replied innocently, fumbling slightly to sit down; which allowed the paper to slide down his back off him. "Just didn't see that thing there."
"Can you see straight?" Marshall asked, coming to get a closer look as a flashlight retracted out to shine in each of Chase's eyes.
"Sure." Chase replied, barely seeming phased by the light. "I mean, mostly."
"And what does that mean?" Chester wondered suspicious.
But Chase's vision, while mostly clear,.. would be tainted by the occasional blur.
"Uhh.. mostly.. clear.." Chase finally replied.
"He's probably not fully back to normal yet." Marshall figured, retracting the flashlight back again. "He'll be ok.."
"Wait, MOSTLY clear? Should we be concerned about his vision?" Snowflake asked nervously.
"Nope.." Marshall replied simply.
"You sure about that?" Chester questioned in a low conflicting voice.
"Disorientation." Marshall stated, looking over at Chase, as the German Shepherd shook his head and then rubbed his eyes. "Just an effect of the medicine wearing off. He'll be ok once it fully wears off."
"Okay, good." Snowflake commented. She got the paper and put it down in front of Chase. She then got the paint and other stuff needed and put the items in front of Chase. But when she went to pick up a small paint brush, she took the handle in her mouth to lift it out of the spilled paint. However when she straightened up, she was just close enough to Chase to paint a streak across his shoulder.
"Hey! We're painting a turkey, not me!" Chase reacted quickly, instantly shying away from the cold, wet brush.
"Oops, sorry Chase," Snowflake said with the paintbrush in her mouth, upon seeing Chase's shoulder being painted bright green.
"Heh heh, besides.." Rocky giggled. "That's my color!" And everyone began to laugh.
"Well, that can be arranged..." Snowflake said with a smirk, approaching Rocky with the green tipped paintbrush and paint container.
"Unless you want to be blue and yellow first?" the husky pup said, turning towards Chase.
"Nope,.. I am good." Chase shook his head, sliding further away from the husky.
"Woahwoahwoah wait.. I..I didn't say I wanted to.. No.. no.. n..ahh!" then turning to run away, the husky took this as a challenge and everyone else scattered as well.
"Come back here! I'm painting you grass green whether you want it or not!" Snowflake said, chasing after Rocky.
"Painting the pups? Fun!" Ned said before he grabbed a brush and pink paint before running after Skye. "Oooh Skye! You want to be pretty flower pink?..."
"Oh no! No no no! I don't need a flower! Ahh!" Skye cried, giggling as she ran away.
"NO! Stop! I'm not a canvas, just leave me be! AAGGHHHH!" Chase cowered, ducking behind the spilled step ladder.
"I got this.." Marshall called. "Ruff! Water cannons!" But timing was not on his side when he ended up hitting the spilled paint instead of the huskies, and it pooled everywhere. And when pups ran through it, little watercolor prints were being left behind.
"Oops." the Dalmatian said.
"Oops?! That's all you got?! OOPS?!" Chester exclaimed.
"Well what else am I gonna say? You're welcome?!" Marshall gasped, then both looked up and split ways as Rocky zipped past still pursued by Snowflake.
"When did this become a paint war?" Rubble cried, hiding behind some pillows.
"I dunno dude, but.. we can't stay here,.." Zuma reasoned, looking up abruptly. "Yikes!"
"Run!" Rubble cried, as the two turned and booked it and painted pups came hopping over the pillows after them..
Snowflake kept chasing after Rocky, painting him bright green every time she could get close to the mixed breed. Ned did the same for Skye with his pink painted brush. However, they soon noticed the pool of paint and got an idea.
"Hey Marshall, want a hug?" Snowflake asked as she ran towards the dalmatian pup.
"Great idea, sis. Yo Zuma! How about a hug, buddy?" Ned exclaimed, chasing after the chocolate lab.
Snowflake and Ned ran towards the pups before playfully grabbing them in hugs, then rolling sideways. The pups' rolling resulted in the two hugging pairs of pups to roll into the pool of paint, making their fur different colors; Red, yellow and green on Marshall's fur, orange, black and purple on Zuma, a mix of light and regular blue on Snowflake along with pink, and a mix of light and dark green on Ned plus some orange and purple. Once they stopped, the huskies kept hugging their buddies, despite being covered in colorful paint.
"Awhh man! That's gonna take forever to wash out!?" Marshall cried.
"At least you're a reasonable color." Zuma mumbled, sporting a tie-dye of dark and darker fur.
"Ohhhh.. Hehe sorry.. dude.." Marshall apologized. And it was at this moment that the elevator arrived at ground level.
"Uh oh.." Rocky said.
"It's Ryder!" Skye gasped.
"Wait, where's Chase?" Zuma asked.
As soon as the boy stepped out of the elevator, he noticed one of the pups and froze as he panned his gaze around.
"Heh heh.. Hi.." Zuma chuckled nervously, waving with an awkward smile. Rubble pulled a paint brush behind him with his back paw and looked away, while Marshall shook himself out and Zuma recoiled away from the spray. Rocky and Skye now stepped way back away from the colorful puddle, as Snowflake and Ned began to recover themselves from its soaking surface. And then he found Chase emerging from the fortress of pillows he'd barricaded himself with, still bearing the bright green stripe across his shoulder; which had dried.
"What.. happened.. in here?" Ryder asked.. still in shock.
"Ummm..."
"It's our fault Ryder. We woke Chase up and offered to help him paint paw print turkeys like you showed us. However, I accidentally painted his shoulder bright green when getting the supplies. Rocky was joking about the color I painted being Rocky's color on Chase's shoulder. We laughed, but then I got into a playful mood and started to chase after Rocky to paint him green. Ned did the same for Skye and her color. We got carried away painting each other, stepping in the paint by accident, and well.. you can see our masterpiece didn't turn out as we hoped. Hehe.. We're sorry." Snowflake explained as well as apologized.
Ryder sighed, yet a smile remained on his face.
"Well, at least you pups had fun." The boy said, making Chase and the others feel more at ease again. "Now we can all finish the fun by cleaning up."
"Yes," Snowflake and Ned agreed with relieved smiles.
"But.. how exactly are we gonna clean this all up?" Zuma wondered, and curious glances spread throughout the group..
xxxx
"And?.." Chase wondered, almost expectantly. "How did you.. I mean we do it?"
"Well, it was tricky, but we made it work. There was no way we could go get washed up at Katie's place or go outside because of the blizzard, so..." Snowflake replied, before continuing.
"So what did you guys do?" Chase asked.
And everyone began to think back again..
xxxx
Ryder dragged a kiddie pool out of the elevator. And Rocky and Marshall were just pushing a stack of towels and a crate of supplies over to it as well.
"Ok, since we can't get to Katie's in this storm, we'll have to clean you pups up here." Ryder said. "Marshall? Do you happen to have your gear with you?"
"As a matter of fact? Yes." The Dalmatian replied.
"Then that'll help us out alot." The boy smiled. "But first.." he added, wandering over to retrieve the pup pack from Marshall, then took it over to set it next to the pool. Then taking a knee and touching the device with one hand, the cannons retracted out and shot water into the pool, beginning to fill it up.
"You'll be first, so you can help me clean up the other pups." Ryder said, looking over at the Dalmatian, who had wandered over to be on the other side of the pup pack.
"Wait, won't the water be cold?" Snowflake wondered.
"Not with the water from my water cannons.." Marshall said. "I put warm water in it the last time I filled it.. and the tanks that hold the water for my cannons are thermal so they maintain the temperature." Then, since Ryder had motioned Marshall to come, he immediately hopped into the pool with a small splash. So Ryder could begin his work.
"Well.. the more you know." Chester shrugged.
"Once we get cleaned up we can actually finish Chase's turkey." Skye said.
Chase pressed his paw down onto the paper one last time.
"Uh..I think I got it." he said. Then all the pups came over to view his work and what they found was a splotchy turkey body with a chaotic plethora of green, red, and golden yellow paw-printed feathers speckled with some brown ones.
"Well, not pretty,.. but it works." Chester remarked.
"I told you I'm not an artist!" Chase cried, almost dramatically.
"Woah, easy bro, I was kidding!" Chester recovered quickly. Then Chase's theatrics dropped suddenly when he looked at his brother.
"We both know you weren't." He said, then wandered off toward the pool.
"Remind me why we're getting all 'falled up' today?" Chase asked openly.
"You mean 'dolled up'?" Chester wondered, turning to draw near to his brother again.
"No.." Chase denied, thinking for a moment. "Maybe?.. No wait.. No! Why would we be getting dolled up? That's ridiculous.. No.. I mean why are we suddenly exploding with leaves and feathers and turkeys all of a sudden?"
"Ummm. We are decorating for Thanksgiving. Remember? Making turkeys is part of the decorating. As for the paint on our fur, Ned and I wanted to have fun painting with you pups.. until we painted everyone," Snowflake explained.
"Ok but.. when did this happen?" Chase wondered, gesturing to everything around them.
"Ohh.." Rocky realized.
"Right.." Skye recollected.
"We decided to do this as a way to pass the time while you were asleep." Marshall explained. "And since we can't go outside right now because of.." and they all looked to the window where the roaring winds still howled and hard rain splattered into the glass windows.
"Woah." Chase realized, a bit stunned now. Then let his guard down to wander away, putting the windows behind him. "So how else are we gonna 'pass the time'?"..
Cliffhanger! Yay, what fun! I love flashbacks and these are probably among my favorites.. The bantor amongst the characters is pretty fun. Hope to hear your thoughts, and we'll see you next time! Thx!