Chapter fifty-nine: Deja Vu With A Twist!
Snowflake watched Chase, hoping he would welcome the activity. Ned just watched curiously.
A challenge huh? Chase thought. Well, then it's on!
And to everyone's relief Chase began tracking again and when he started to get out of sight, they slowly followed. But were almost startled, when he was suddenly coming back toward them.
"Woah,.. Hello.." he said, straightening up abruptly at sensing them in front of him, then resumed tracking around them.
"I wonder what he'll find first." Rubble said aloud.
"Ah-choo!"
"There's your answer." Chester announced, shrugging.
"Ugh!" he sniffed, rubbing a paw across his nose. "Pepper.. really guys?.. I'm allergic to dust, you know.."
"And?" Skye queried.
"Ohh.. got it.." Rocky realized awkwardly. "Small particles, sensitive nose.. Oops."
Chase just sighed and continued to track..
"There isn't any more of my allergens in this thing.. is there?" he asked briefly.
"No.. I don't think so.." Marshall replied.
"And anyway.. 'Sensitive nose' you'd probably have known it." Chester clarified.
"Point taken.." Chase supposed, then kept on the trail.
"You'll find the other smells less sneezy," Snowflake commented.
"But, dust and pepper are different. Dust has no flavor when you smell it," the husky continued, confused.
"Right, but my nose.. is more sensitive than others,.. which is why I'm allergic to dust.. Therefore,.. things that are similar to it.. Can get me sneezing just as badly more than other people.. or pups.." Chase explained between sniffing frenzies.
"That's why he doesn't help with the cooking much.." Skye recalled. "Plus he's not that into it."
"Exactly." Chase confirmed.
Suddenly biffing into something drew his attention, but without knowing what it was he simply kept going, making his way around the empty treat dispenser and continuing his tracking.
"Oh, okay. Thanks," Snowflake replied now having her question answered.
He was making his way around past the front door when it suddenly opened, and he jumped to face the sound and rush of air defensively. But realizing what it was, he straightened back up and began tracking again. And it was after he'd gone only a short distance when he stopped and lifted his head.
"Found your bear, Marshall." he said looking back over his shoulder, expecting them to be there.
"How did you know?" Marshall wondered in a bit of surprise.
"Well,.. mostly 'cause it smells like you." Chase replied simply. "But it also smells like that lickity lemon jam we tried to make.. Ick!"
Snowflake blinked in surprise.
"I'm surprised you knew it was Marshall's teddy and not another item of his, like a chew toy," Snowflake commented.
'Boy he's good' she thought to herself.
"Well it's not like the lemon could be ignored. Wooph!" Chase replied, shaking his head at the thought. "It's the only reminder we have of how badly we messed up the recipe.. But I guess it was a good thing since it helped us keep the ants from ruining the jam fest."
Then Chase resumed tracking.
"You sure you guys don't have any cats hiding somewhere?.." He asked randomly. "Or some flowers?"
"No.. why?" Rocky asked, cocking his head, while Zuma continued to look confused.
"*sniffle* ugh, still feel a little sneezy.." Chase snuffled.
"Probably just the pepper.." Chester figured. "Shake it off.. 'Your eyes burning?"
"No, that's onions.." Chase replied, weaving a round a bit while continuing to track.
"Then you should be good." Chess continued. "Just keep going."
"What do you think I'm.. Woah!" tripping over a pillow only preserved his search direction. But even the soft cushiness was not enough to stop the shock to his injury that made him grimace.
"Doing.." he finished, seething as if it would relieve him a bit.
"You ok, dude?" Zuma wondered, as chuckles and snorts rippled through the group.
Chase finally eased his forepaws up to finally stand up again and he shook himself off tenderly minding his shoulder.
"Fine.." he sighed, then went back to searching for smells.
Snowflake winced at Chase's reaction.
"You don't think he hurt his shoulder with that wipeout, do you?" Snowflake whispered to Marshall.
"Nah,.. just probably aggravated it a bit.." Marshall shrugged. "And he's still walking on it.. so.."
Snowflake nodded before she continued to watch Chase.
"Go on, Chase, you're doing a good job. Find the smell! Go get it boy!- Ow!" Ned said in an encouraging, puppy like voice, until he got whacked behind the head.
"Stop treating Chase like a.. puppy. He has Ryder as an owner, he doesn't need a.. dog owner. Besides, you live in our hometown," Snowflake commented to her husky brother sternly.
"Um.. o-kay.." Chase hummed, unsure what kind of encouragement that was supposed to be. But as his nose began to search again, something strange yet familiar came across his nose.. And though he couldn't see it, the memory of seeing it painted enough of a picture for him.
"Pumpernickel bread?" he asked.. "Where did that come from?"
"What? We had some left over?" Rubble wondered. "How'd you know?"
"Well, I could barely smell it, but it was there.." Chase mentioned. "And I only remember it because of that weird sandwich you and Marshall made.. I was able to memorize the smell from the open bag."
"You really do have a sensitive nose.." Chester realized. "I really thought we were gonna fool you with that one.."
"Gotta be slicker than that, big bro." Chase replied, smugly.
"Yeah, yeah,.. just keep looking, you got a couple more scents to find, wise guy." Chester teased back.
The smile he gave them was all they needed to know, and he went back to tracking.
Chester stepped back to be closer to the other pups.
"That might be the first real smile we've actually gotten out of him in a while." Chester mentioned quietly to the group.
"How can you tell?" Rocky wondered. "We can't see most of his face."
"We can still see him smile and talk. At least my suggestion is working," Snowflake said, happy Chase was actually happy with the scavenger hunt.
"I know my bro.." Chess shrugged. "And you guys should recognize that cheesy grin too."
"He's happy," Ned commented hopefully.
"Really.." Chase's deadpan voice finally made them all look up and head over to him. When they reached him, he somehow sensed them in time to turn around. And he only held up the slice of cheddar cheese for a moment before tossing it up slightly, enough to fully eat it.
"'Probably shouldn't leave something like that out for very long." Chase advised.
"Isn't that what you're for?" Marshall joked.
"Ha ha ha.." Chase laughed slowly to show his humored sarcasm. "Very funny, wise pup.."
"Don't worry, the other smells are better," Snowflake reassured him.
"I didn't say it was bad," Chase shrugged. "Just said it probably wasn't a good choice for this kind of thing.." Sniffing around again, he began to search around, but when he came back around to the pup treat dispensers.. He seemed to find the empty one with a bit more interest by how he sniffed it, even accidentally bumping his nose into it a couple times. And they could tell he wasn't trying to on purpose by how his head jerked slightly with each tap on the glass and how his ears twitched and eased back slightly. Studying it almost like a blind person, but with the absence of hands to touch it.
"You okay, Chase?" Snowflake asked, curious if he knew what he was bumping against.
"Yep.. ok.." wandering over a bit he bumped his nose into the next one over.. And almost used this method to guide himself around all three of them slowly, basically tapping his nose across the glass to determine where it ended.
"Ok, if they're here.. Wait.." Then going back over them.. he noticed an anomaly about the three dispensers and was finally inclined to leave them and search the open floors again.
"I'm getting warmer.." He said, making his way further across the room.
"How can you tell?" Chester asked.
"And for what?" Rubble asked, mostly naive to his meaning.
Chase remained sniffing till he came to an abrupt stop and straightened up.
"The pup treats you guys emptied out of one of the dispensers over there.." Chase replied matter of factly.
"What?! How'd you figure that out?!" Chester gasped.
"Good. Wait, what?! How did.. but we just.. How do you know?!" Snowflake asked, surprised Chase figured out where the treats were without actually being in front of said treats.
"Well.. I noticed after sniffing around them earlier that the scent was slightly less noticeable around one of them compared to the other two." Chase began to explain. "And since I caught a whiff of pup treats somewhere else in the room earlier I figured that must have been one of the scents you set up for me."
"You're good! You may continue," Snowflake commented, impressed.
And Chase resumed his sniffing..
"How many are left?" he asked quickly.
"Let's see uh.. Pepper.. Heh..heh.. Pumpernickel.." Chester mused, thinking inwardly by tilting his head back and forth a couple times, like he were counting. "Uhhh one more.. I think?"
"Yeeaaahhh.. one more smell," Snowflake agreed thoughtfully, as she counted in her head too.
"Ok.. one last scent.. I'm on it.." Chase decided, beginning to search more aggressively. He became so bold, in fact, that he ran forward a couple paces but was met with a consequence. Not only with his aching shoulder, but also the clunk of his head to the glass of the elevator.
"Oof.. note to self.. Elevator.." Chase told himself, shaking his head out a bit. Then began to work his way around it by keeping a shoulder on it. And he only left it when he felt it necessary to wander off.
"Man,.. he's just flying through this exercise." Chester mentioned, while the pups watched him disappear from afar. "We almost should have put out more scents for him to follow."
"Maybe we still can?" Marshall suggested.
"What do you mean?" Skye asked.
"If we can cover his nose again.. Maybe we can put out some other scents for him and keep him going a little longer." The Dalmatian replied. "He seems like he could go a little longer."
"True, but how much longer?" Rocky wondered. "We don't wanna burn him out."
"Just a little longer.." Marshall returned. "He'll definitely need to take a break soon, especially after stumbling around here like this for a while."
"Great idea.. Come on!" Rocky agreed, leading the other pups after Chase.
"Agh! *cough* ack! Ugh.. blck!" Chase coughed, spitting out the stick he'd picked up. "Cinnamon?! Really guys!"
"Hey.. it worked, didn't it?" Chester said. "You always tell us to surprise you with the unexpected."
"Not what I meant.. Ulck!" Chase choked again.
"Well, you found all of them.. or have you?" Ned suggested, before giving Chase a hug.
Snowflake took that as the sign to lay out more smells.
"I got some ideas. Follow me," Snowflake said, before heading to the kitchen.
xxxx
Chase came stumbling in after a long game of hide and seek tag, and the gust of wind that came after him when the doors closed made him shiver. He stretched out his front legs, but the restraint from the tape on one of them reminded him of his restriction. So he just strode forward and approached one of the pillows. Yawning, he prepared to climb onto one as the doors opened once again.
"Gonna take a nap, Chase dude?" Zuma asked.
"*yawn* yeah." the pup yawned, setting his head down with his eyes already closed.
"Hi Chase. I found some headphones and a music set you can listen to. Give it a try! Calm music helps me fall asleep," Ned suggested, giving Chase a blue headphone and CD player for him to listen to.
Chase's eyes opened and he lifted his head quizzically.
"Um.. ok?" he said, almost apprehensively.
Is this really a good idea? He was wondering, as he put the headphones on.
Ned turned the music on and set the volume to soft, but still decent volume before walking away.
A soft, set of flute and piano music filled the headphones with sound, creating a peaceful melody, as if soothing Chase to gently float along imaginative fluffy clouds. And as he listened he began to think maybe Ned was onto something as he felt himself slowly float towards sleep.
The soft, soothing music kept playing gently for another few minutes, until a new sound was added to the majestic tune.
"Hello buddy. You've had a long, hard day, and it's time to relax with some nice soothing music. Take deep breaths.. In.. hold.. and.. out. In.. hold.. and.. out. As you calmly breath, notice your muscles relax as the tension slowly goes out. Notice your body relax, and focus on the soft music. Imagine you're floating along the clouds. The stars are shining above you, the air is calm, and everything is gentle. Relax as you focus on sleep, relaxing, and breathing, as you blissfully float into your comforting clouds of imagination," Ned's voice gently said, as the soothing music played.
Chase just cringed and decided to flip it to the next track, which also started out with soothing music. But then..
"Hello, thank you for continuing. I hope you enjoyed the first track of relaxing music, now let's move on. Take deep breaths in... hold... now out. Again, in... hold... now out. Keep doing this for another fifteen to thirty minutes. Notice you-"
"Hi again. Thank you for continuing your journey of relaxing music. Let's continue. Please take a deep breath in-..." he groaned lightly before flipping to the next one.
"Welcome back. I hope you're enjoying your relaxing time. Now let's take a breather to start'.." he quickly flipped to the next one.
"Greetings, and welcome. I-"
"Salutations and welcome back. I hope-"
"Hello again. I hope the-"
"Ah, welcome back, my friend. I hope your.."
"Ahhhh!" Chase finally cried, the slow progression of skipping through the tracks finally became a mad smashing of buttons till he finally just ripped the headphones off his ears.
"On second thought-.." he said with quite a bit more restraint. "I think I'll rest better without it.."
Ned watched and listened carefully from behind a bean bag and shook his head. The Male husky pup quietly walked back over to the others and shook his head.
"Looks like my relaxation music didn't work for Chase. He seemed more annoyed than relaxed," Ned whispered to the group of pups.
"Don't take it personally, Ned." Skye said, as their gazes all lifted to Chase. "He doesn't usually sleep well with background noise anyway.. but it was a good try."
"Thanks Skye. What should we do now? Trying to relax him to confess didn't work," Ned replied with a small smile before hugging Skye.
"Remember, we're not focused on getting him to open up right now.." Rocky mentioned. "We're backing off so that he can get a break from everyone hounding him."
"Right.." the pups all recalled, with various nods and shrugs.
"Heh heh.. 'Hounding him' hahaha!" Rubble chuckled at this goofy pun. "I get it!"
And we're back! The fun in this activity is actually something I wanna do with my German Shepherd some day. I don't currently have dogs.. But I definitely hope to have them someday. Especially, with Shepherds like Chase and Chester!
Anyway, enjoy this new chapter full of fun! And we'll see you next time! Thx!