Chapter 11: Charade Antics – Part 1
It had been a few days since Andrew had made that speech about me and how he had asked all the other dogs to treat me as a citizen to their region. I'm not one to normally believe in the concept of magic, but it felt like there was some of it behind that speech as over these past few days, there was barely even one moment a bipedal dog gave me an uneasy glance. Practically any of them I acknowledged were quick to give a small wave accompanied by a welcoming smile. It's almost like you had earned the trust of the chief of a native tribe and the rest of said tribe saw you as a faithful ally, only the tribe had the same sophistication as domesticated humans.
One thing that still worried me about all this however was that Bandit and Chilli seemed to have not yet decided on whether they should adopt me or have me taken into foster care. With Canistralia no longer seeing me as a threat, I shouldn't have any trouble fitting into any of it's foster homes, but…
...I don't know. Even if it's only been a few weeks or so since I first met the Heeler family, I somehow feel like I'm almost a part of them. I wonder if the parents felt the same way.
"Nathan?" I blinked as Bluey's voice suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts, making me avert my gaze from the window of the Heeler's car and turn to the young Blue Heeler in question.
"Yeah, Bluey?"
"Do you and other humans have a nana as well?" She asked me, her eyebrows raised curiously.
Oh yeah, I was so in thought that I had almost forgotten that Bluey, Bingo, Muffin, Socks and I were going to visit the former's grandmother, or "Nana" as they referred to her and I had been sitting in the back of the Heeler's car alongside Bluey and Bingo.
"Oh, I do actually! Been a while since I last visited her. A few months I think." My smile as I recalled such a moment fell to a frown when I realised that my current situation heavily jeopardised whether or not I'd ever see her again. Oh god, I hope she isn't too worried about me. Luckily, Bingo seemed to be aware of what I was thinking and didn't hesitate to give my arm a gentle hug to make me feel better.
And it worked as I couldn't help but smile a little and pet Bingo with my free hand. She was just so adorable sometimes.
"Alright kids, we're here!" Bandit announced as Bluey and Bingo both held their hands up with an outcry of "Hooray!" before we all got out of the car.
My jaw nearly fell as I first saw the apartment complex the stone footpath lead us to. To say that I was stunned was an understatement especially since the building had floors that all had a balcony that gave the tenants a perfect view of the ocean to our right. And just as I expected, Stripe and his kids were waiting for us at the entrance to the complex.
"Hey Nate, long time no see!" Stripe was the first to call out to me eagerly as I smiled in response. Muffin and Socks turned to face me too upon hearing Stripe call with the latter running up to me with excited barks as I knelt down, allowing Socks to stand on her hind paws and rest her front on my knee for support, giving me some tender loving licks on my face, earning a laugh out of me.
"Wow, Socks really likes Nathan, huh?" Bandit pointed out with a chuckle.
"Oh, tell me about it! I think it's rubbed off on Muffin too. Almost all of the drawings I've seen from her have been of her and Nathan playing together." Stripe responded as Muffin hopped up onto my other knee and gave me a hug, her arms wrapped around my neck which proved Stripe's point.
"So… how about we say "Hi" to your nana, then?" I asked the four child dogs as they responded with an ecstatic "Yeah!", with Socks instead giving a single bark in response.
It took maybe more than three flights of stairs but we all soon arrived at the door to Bluey's Nana's apartment as Bandit knocked on the door. It only took a few seconds for the door to open to reveal a Blue Heeler that was only slightly taller than Bandit and Stripe. Unlike them however, the lower part of her body was a little wider. Her fur colour matching Stripe's with her stomach, muzzle, hands and feet being a lighter blue whilst the areas around her eyes, ears and stem of her tail being a darker shade. And like Bandit and Stripe, she had white hairs on the sides and back of her head only she also had them on her back and near her eyes. Her most prominent feature however was a pair of pink glasses with semi-circle frames.
"Bandy and Stripy, it's so good to see you!" The elderly dog greeted Bandit and Stripe. "Oh, and a "Hello" to you four!" She said sweetly, kneeling down a little as the four young heelers hugged her when she glanced up to finally notice me.
"Oh, hello there! You must the young human Bandy told me about!" I was about to say "Hello" to Bluey's Nana when Bandit went ahead and introduced me.
"Yep! Mum, this is Nathan. He's been staying with us for quite a while and you just gotta love him!" I felt Bandit's furry hand on my shoulder which made me smirk at his comment before I waved to Nana.
"Well come on in, there's plenty of room for five of you!" Nana joked as she stepped back into her apartment, giving us the "Okay" to step inside. My ears and eyes were met with the giggles of Bingo and Muffin as they were playfully running around inside of the apartment. Typical young child behaviour which earned another smirk from me. Socks meanwhile was lying on her back, pawing at Nana's tail whilst Bluey was looking through Nana's glasses.
The wall was plastered with photo-frames of unfamiliar locations, most likely places Nana had visited in the past with a counter underneath that rested a ceramic figurine and two more photos, one of the four kids in question and the other what I could only assume was possibly a younger Bandit with a graduation cap and a scroll.
"Okay, mum. Please try and limit the amount of ice blocks to a reasonable number." Bandit said to Nana as Bluey gave her glasses back and joined Bingo and Muffin as Nana retorted with "Okay, got it!" Stripe then nudged Bandit with a shoulder as I faintly heard a "Right, let's go!" come from him as Bandit turned to attention to me and the kids.
"See ya, kids! Be good to Nana." Bandit said the last sentence with a playful warning tone as he and Stripe took their leave, the kids and I waving with a "Bye!" as Nana closed the door.
There was a second of silence until three of the young Heelers held their arms up excitedly, exclaiming "Ice blocks!" to which Nana parroted their gesture with a "Yeah!".
The next thing you know, we were all out on the outside balcony as the four kids were sat on a bench whilst Nana occupied a single chair. I meanwhile was leaning on the glass wall of the balcony and overlooking the oceanside. The view was absolutely breathtaking with part of Canistralia's city being in view as well. The group of four were helping themselves to a popsicle each, or ice block as they referred them as such, with Muffin holding an extra one for Socks to eat on account that she wouldn't be able to hold on with her paws. It was at that moment I remembered a question that I was going to ask Nana. If humans had existed on this area before long before the New Zealand War of 2015, then she should know.
"Miss Heeler?" I turned to face Nana, getting her attention.
"Ohoh, please just call me 'Chris', Nathan. Miss Heeler makes me feel old, not that I'm already old!" She kindly asked with a chuckle. For a brief moment, I was a little confused on why her name was Chris until I figured out that it must be short for "Christine", perhaps that's where Bluey's middle name came from.
"Alright, in that case… Chris?" I acknowledged before asking again this time with her name.
"Yes, sweetie?" She replied, with a smile that only grannys gave to anyone they were friendly to.
"Did you know of any humans there, maybe a few years ago?" I asked as Chris' eyes lit up a little, like she had expected me to ask something like that.
"Oh yes! There were humans here as a matter of fact, a long time ago! I think I was friends with some of them who used to live here. Like this one nice young man called 'Alfred-"
"Finished!" Chris' answer was suddenly cut off by Bingo as she held up the plastic handle of where her ice block once was. "Can we play Charades now?" She then asked as Muffin and Bluey responded with a cheerful "Yeah!", followed by Socks giving a single bark. The four kids rushed back inside with Chris and I following behind, until I realised something about Chris' answer that was cut-short.
She had mentioned that she knew a human known by the name of "Alfred" when humans used to reside in Canistralia. Nothing unusual about that, except that… I believe that my late grandfather's name was Alfred.
I merely shrugged it off as just a coincidence before returning back into Chris' apartment. I guess I'll ask her for details later.
"What's Charades?" Muffin asked as we were now all sat at a white couch in the apartment's lounge with Chris having a box full of cards rested on her knees. I was about to explain until I noticed a large framed photo behind us that appeared to be a family photo with Bandit's family on the left and Stripe on the right. In the middle was Chris with who I could only assume was her husband.
But that was when I noticed someone else at the far left of the photo. It looked like another Heeler only their fur colour was completely different compared to the other Heelers with a light sea blue and golden yellow and the fur on their head resembled more like hair with a part of it on the top being a light yellow. Just who was this dog in question? Another relative?
"It's easy, Muffin!" Bluey replied before she began to explain the instructions to her younger cousin.
"First, you pick a card..." Bluey said as she took a card from the box.
"But don't let anyone see it, okay?" Bingo added as Muffin responded with an "Okay!" before Socks barked again.
"Then you look at the picture on it." Bluey continued as she analysed what was on the card she had chosen before putting it back in the box with an affirmative "Okay, got it!"
"What's on the card?" Muffin suddenly asked.
"No, Muffin!" Bingo was quick to protest as Muffin got off the couch and tried to pull it out of Chris' hands. "I need to see it!" Muffin insisted until Chris managed to pull it back away from her.
"Oh, no sweetie. We don't look at it. Bluey's going to act it out!" Chris explained to Muffin.
"And then we guess what it is!" I added.
"Ohhhhhh!" Muffin exclaimed with realisation, finally understanding what we were telling her as Bluey rushed ahead behind a coffee table in front of us.
"Okay, ready?" Bluey asked us.
"Ready!" Chris, Bingo and I confirmed as Bluey began. She had her arms bent to resemble wings as she walked around in a circle, making it evident she was being some kind of bird.
"Uhhh, Eagle!" Bingo was the first to guess.
"No." Bluey debunked the guess.
"Well, it's some kind of bird so… A goose?" I assumed.
"O-Ohhh, it's a… Bush Turkey!" Chris guessed after me.
"I bet it's-" Bingo was about to say when Muffin interrupted with "Squirrel!". Where did that even come from?
"Nope!" Bluey responded. So none of our guesses were right. Hmm…
"Brolga!" Chris guessed again. Must be some kind of bird native to here.
"Chicken!" Bingo threw in her guess next before Chris looked down at Socks.
"What about you, Socks?" Chris asked, Socks only let out an unsure whine as she shrugged.
"Duck!" Bingo called out as Bluey responded with "Yeah!" confirming that to be the correct guess as everyone sans Socks cheered "Hooray!", as did I. I swear their playful nature was starting to rub off on me.
"Good one, Bingo!" Chris praised Bingo as she did a celebratory fist pump before getting off the couch. "My turn!" She said before reaching for the box, only for Muffin to grab the box as well, exclaiming "I wanna turn!". I couldn't help but watch a little awkwardly as the two were fighting over the box of cards. I definitely don't recall Muffin being this… rambunctious the last time we met. Fortunately, Chris managed to break it up.
"Maybe just watch one more, sweetie." She encouraged. "Okay, Nana!" Muffin agreed before sitting back on the couch.
"Go on, Bingo, pick a card!" Chris said as the Red Heeler did just that, running to the front of the coffee table with a giggle as Bluey sat back on the couch next to me. Bingo took a good few seconds to look at the card she was holding before putting it back in the box.
"Ooh, this is a good one!" Bingo said, eager to begin. "You ready?" She asked as we all affirmed we were. Bingo held her arms out, having them bent in a circular formation.
"Uhhh, Circle!"
"Donut!" Chris and Bluey guessed respectively, receiving a "No" from Bingo as a response before she held her hands up in the air in a graceful pose.
"The sun!" Chris then said before Muffin guessed with "Squirrel!". How do you guess Squirrel from that?
"Uh uh!" Bingo debunked both guesses as Muffin immediately responded with "Chicken!" as another guess.
"A yoga instructor?" I decided to throw in a guess myself, that and Muffin's guess being shot down by Bingo.
"Uhh… A dancer!" Bluey then surmised. "Close!" Bingo responded. So that was a clue, she was some kind of dancer, but what?
"What do you think, Socks?" Chris asked Socks again, in a manner of her trying to get her into the game. Socks however shrugged again, giving an unsure whine.
"CHICKEN!" Muffin yelled, loud enough to make Socks flinch. At this point, I wasn't sure if she was seriously misunderstanding how the guessing part of charades works or if she was just being funny.
"I know! Ballerina!" Bluey guessed once more, Bingo's response making it clear that was right.
"Good one, Bluey!" Muffin congratulated as Socks looked down, letting out a disappointed whine. Seemed like this game was difficult for her to grasp, given that she was younger than Muffin. "Oh, never mind, Socks!" Chris said as she petted Socks to try and make her feel better.
"Ooh, what if Nathan has a go?" Bluey suggested. I expected Muffin to protest but she liked the idea as she encouraged with a "Yeah! Go on, Nathan!". I smiled a little before standing at the spot Bingo was at seconds ago as she returned to the couch whilst I picked a card and looked at the picture to find a face of a gorilla.
"Alright, ready guys?" I asked as they responded with "Ready!", giving me the all-clear to start as I knelt down and crawled around on all fours, stopping for a moment to use one hand to scratch my back to mimic a gorilla grooming itself.
"Ooh! Dad on the morning after a weekend!" Bluey was the first to guess. I stifled a laugh as I shook my head "No". I then pounded my chests with my fists a little to give a better clue.
"A strongman?"
"SQUIRREL!" Chris and Muffin guessed respectively, the latter which I rolled my eyes at before responding with "No."
"Any idea, Socks?" Bingo asked, the Heeler puppy shrugged again, her whine being more as if she was trying hard to guess this one. Deciding there and then to give them a better hint, I then mimed the action of peeling a banana.
"Oh! A monkey!" Bingo was quick to assume. "Close! It's related to monkeys!" I explained before Muffin guessed with "CHICKEN!", what is with her and these two guesses only?
"Uhhh… A gorilla?" Chris finally guessed right. "That's it!" I confirmed as they all cheered. "Nice acting, Nathan!" Bluey complimented how I played my round, making me chuckle as I scratched the back of my head before returning to the couch.
"It's MY turn!" Muffin exclaimed rather boisterously.
"Okay, Muffin. Your turn. Are you sure you know how to play?" Chris asked as Muffin ran to the front of the table.
"Yes, I know!" Muffin affirmed, looking down at the box of cards.
"Pick a card..." Chris instructed as Muffin did just that. "Okay, now take a look..." Chris continued, Muffin observed the image on her card.
"...Now act it out!" Chris concluded as we all waited for Muffin to begin her round.
...Only for her eyebrows to furrow with aggravation.
