Chapter ten: Would You Like a Blanket of Chase Hot or Cold?
Snowflake's face focused on Kylie with the same shocked, curious, and understanding look.
"The teams never got lost? Wrong turns? Seek shelter or had dog fights?" the female husky asked seriously.
"Not that I'm aware of,.." the cocker thought back. "But then again I didn't spend all that much time around them.. Not really my thing you know.. Me being a spaniel and all.. Us and snow don't really mix too well."
"Of course. Thank goodness it worked out well," Snowflake replied, before taking in a deep breath.
"Indeed, thanks to the rescue teams we had there.." Kylie smiled, a fondness to her thoughtful eyes.
"I'd give anything to get that back.." she added softly, the tone of her face shifting to that of sadness, which compelled members of the PUP Pals to draw closer to her.. and Rayla to set a paw on top of her friend's paws gently.
"Get what back?" Snowflake asked curiously, her ears folding back nervously.
"My life?.." the cocker replied lightly. "You know before the mansion.. I mean I love all my friends in the PUP Pals.. and Chase and.. All of you.. But.. nothing is better than the first home that loved you.. And I can never go back.."
"Don't feel too bad, Ky.. many of us didn't.." Tiny pointed out.. "I mean it's amazing that we're all still together.. Many of the other pups that were with us were split and scattered to the four winds.. And many of them never made it back to their original homes. Either cause of reasons like yours.. Or there was no way of tracking them down again.. What happened to Skyler was a sheer twist of fate.."
"You lived at the mansion, or somewhere else? What was your life like before?" Snowflake asked nervously. She went over and nuzzled Kylie.
"We all lived at the mansion for a while after being taken from our homes and/or adopted.. Mrs. CorDan would acquire us in any way she could.. And if our owners wouldn't give her what she wanted.. She found ways to take it.." Rayla explained.
"My life was rather sweet before.." Kylie ventured, her eyes staring at nothing in a thoughtful daze.. "I lived with a wonderful old man, who raised me from a very young pup.. We would often sit on his front porch and enjoy the warm weather.. And drink coffee and milk on the cooler mornings before every day got started. It's a moment I wish I could literally go back to."
"Don't you still do that where you live now?" CiCi asked her softly.
"I do.. but it's not the same.." the cocker sighed, meeting her gaze only a moment before letting it fall away again.
"Not the same, how?" Snowflake asked curiously.
"The moment.. I suppose.." Kylie sighed.. "but I guess the only thing different about it other than the location.. is that he isn't here..anymore.."
"I'm so sorry," Snowflake said sadly before nuzzling Kylie sympathetically.
"You can always hang out and drink coffee with us," Brian added kindly.
"Thank you." Kylie smiled lightly. "But.. I'm getting better about it.. it'll simply take time.. but having the PUP Pals and Chase sure does help."
"Good. Also, if your owner helped dog sled teams, did you help him too or no?" Snowflake replied curiously.
"Hmmmm. Why does that job ring a bell?" Melody joked to her husky sibling.
"Oh no, I was always too small, and it didn't really suit me.." Kylie replied modestly. "But My owner only helped when needed. He was never actually a hired rescue musher.. Though he did used to have a team he ran in the yearly races from before he adopted me.. But that was a long time ago, and by the time I came along he was much older. His son was a grown man at the time. And good old Richard was always worried if David would make it back from his flights safely, especially during a snowstorm."
"Okay, I was just curious. Anyone else want to look at my scarf before I put it away?' Snowflake asked, looking at all the pups.
"Nope. you're good." Chester replied.
"We're good." And others among him nodded to confirm this.
"Okay. Thank you," Snowflake said, before carefully taking her collar off, putting her blue scarf back on, then putting the collar on over the scarf.
"How's the parachutes coming along Ryder?" Melody asked.
"Just finished the first one." The boy replied, unclipping the material from the frame and setting it down on the floor for them. "Now, we'll get to the second one."
"Sounds good, Ryder." Ned agreed with a tail wag. Snowflake kept nuzzling Kylie kindly.
"Speaking of Chase.." Marshall spoke up, making many of them confused..
"Uhh, we weren't talking about him.." Chester mentioned in confusion.
"Then where is he?" the Dalmatian asked, and they all looked to the pillow where their German Shepherd had been.. Only to find it empty?!
"Chase!? Where is he?! Alright, we are looking top to bottom for Chase. That poor pup should be resting!" Snowflake exclaimed before taking a commanding pose and serious look at everyone.
"You don't think he went.. outside do you?" Melody asked nervously, looking at the glass doors.
"How did he get away from us?" Rayla wondered, clearly astonished by their police pup's disappearing act. "We're literally all right here."
"Brrr.. anyone else feel slightly cold just now?" Rubble shivered.
"Uh oh.." Marshall gasped.
"Where'd his blanket go.. We had him covered up didn't we?" Tiny asked as everyone scattered to look around.
"When I find him.. I gonna..-"
"Easy Chess.. When we find him, we'll just put him back to bed." Rayla told him. "It's not like he'd run off for no good reason.. He's not that dumb.. Even if a concussion messes with your head a little."
"Guys, outside.. The snow's stalled!" Rocky noticed, stepping his paws up to point a paw at the window. "And I think I see paw prints on the ground."
"Don't tell me.." Chester monotoned dryly.
Suddenly, Snowflake growled with a shocked, and concerned look on her face. Running to the open window, she poked her head out and looked at the tracks before yelling into the darkening afternoon.
"CHASE?! CHAAAAAASE?! WHERE ARE YOU?! GET BACK HERE! IT'S TOO COLD OUTSIDE!" Snowflake yelled out loud, hoping she was heard.
"Ryder, we have to find him!" Ned commented with concern.
"But what if the storm starts again?" Snowflake mentioned, turning back to the pups.
"And what about your vehicles? You can't parachute through the night looking for him," Brian added.
"True, but who knows how much snow we'd have to clear just to drive out there! Not to mention bad road conditions!" Melody agreed thoughtfully.
"Let's just go check around the yard, he can't have gotten too far.." the boy said, grabbing a flashlight. And sure enough when they headed out the back door, Ryder only had to shine the light around a little before golden paws were visible just behind the snowbank to the far left. And when they hurried over to get a better view, they found Chase laying on his back, rolled up in his blanket and his head dipped into the snow, appearing to be sound asleep.
"What the.."
"How the.."
"Uhh.."
"What am I looking at right now?" various pups wondered, while others just stood there staring.
"Ummmmm..." Snowflake said, baffled as to why Chase would be sleeping in the snow.
"Maybe the cold is helping his head? But, we could have given him an ice pack!" Melody suggested.
"Even so, the blanket will only keep Chase warm for so long," Brian added.
"And now I feel stupid for thinking Chase went off into the ice cold town, and yelling for him to come back," Snowflake admitted with a deadpanned expression.
Then Chester shook himself out of his daze to come forward in a bit of a huff.
"What the heck were you thinking?!" he questioned harshly, slapping a paw down on his brother to throw off one side of the blanket, which understandingly made him jump.
"Woah.. what?" Chase yawned, rubbing an eye. "Just cooling off.. What's the big deal?"
"The big deal is that it's not safe out here.." Rayla told him.
"Oh hey Rayla, when did you get here.." Chase greeted distantly.
"I've been here the whole time, Chase. You remember.." Rayla assured him. "Now let's get back inside before you catch a cold on top of everything else wrong with you.."
"Wrong?" Chase echoed as Ryder helped him up on his feet. And he stumbled forward off the snow bank almost falling over from the sliding motion. "There's not thing wrong here.. Just a broken heart full of nothing, but crumby memories.. and living nightmares.."
"Tell us about it later.." the golden lab told him. "When you're of a sound mind to know what you're talking about."
"Oh I know what I'm talking about.." Chase rambled on.. "I just wanna get it out there before I forget.."
"Believe me when I say, you won't forget." Rayla assured him. Chase stumbled and Ryder just happened to be there to scoop him up in the blanket as they reached the back door again. And they all filed in quickly as flurries began to fall again.
"No wait! I'm hot!.. I'm too hot!.. I'm burning!" Chase protested, trying to squirm out of the blanket,.. and Ryder's arms.
"Chase.. you're not burning.. You've just been exposed to the extreme cold for too long.." Marshall assured him, as Ryder was forced to set the German Shepherd down, laying on his back as he kicked the blanket off of himself. "How long do you think he's been out there?"
"No idea. I mean how long ago was it that he talked to us?" Melody asked.
"Hmmmm. Thirty minutes? Longer?" Snowflake guessed looking at the clock on the wall.
"But I don't think he got up right after that.." CiCi mentioned. "We saw him.. He looked to be sound asleep."
"You're right.. But that still gives us a rough estimate to how long he might have been out there.." Rayla agreed.
"So how do we treat this?" Skyler asked openly. "Is he ok? Is he hypothermic?! Is he.. Is he.."
"Calm down, Sky." Marshall assured the panicking Border Collie. "He'll be alright.. He'd just really cold from being outside a little too long.. He'll probably lay like this for fifteen or so minutes to warm back up to room temperature then he'll want to cover up and go to sleep again. And we can get him the ice for his head again."
"Ok,.. but do we do that before.. or after he warms back up? What's the protocol for this type of scenario!" Skyler gasped dramatically.
"Why not warm him up right away? Put him in the oven until he's soft and golden brown," Ned suggested, half joking.
"No. He has to warm up slowly. Otherwise he might get sick. Right?" Snowflake responded before turning to Marshall.
"Exactly." Marshall nodded.
"Would he need more blankets?" Melody asked, wanting to help.
"I don't think he would accept them.." Chester shook his head..
"But possibly.." Marshall broke in. "We'll just keep an eye on him and see."
"Cold..and..warm.. Warm..and..cold.." Chase mumbled, smoothly shifting onto his side with the blanket somewhat folding over with him as he snuggled down again.
"Man, he sounds like he's on pain meds again." Chester commented loosely.
"I think we can safely re-apply the ice to his head." Marshall decided. "And just watch for chills if they arise.. Not necessarily a sign of hypothermia, but still something to watch for."
"So more waiting.. swell." Tiny shrugged dryly.
"Recovery takes time.." Boomerang reminded them. "And in a few days, once he gets the necessary rest he needs, he'll be back on track once again. No big deal."
"I sure hope it's that simple, Boomer." Rayla sighed, glancing from the old Aussie to the young German Shepherd unsurely.
"Just have hope, young ones.." Boomerang shrugged. "That's all we can do now."
"Yeah," Melody agreed.
"So what should we do in the meantime?" Brian wondered.
"Ummm. Relax? Or snuggle?" Melody suggested, before going to Boomerang and giving him a hug.
"Finish my snowflake?" Ned asked.
"Actually,.." the voice of Ryder drew their attention now..
"They're done," he finished, holding up the freshly stitched parachute of a blue snowflake with a white background.
"Which one were you thinking of for Chase.." the boy continued, when setting the parachute in front of Ned, who had wandered over to inspect his work. "I know you wanted to give him one since he let you use one of his old parachutes.. and because he wasn't awake enough to participate with the snowflake making project."
"Good. I was thinking Chase could have the blue snowflake parachute. Since it's mostly his blue parachute making the snowflake design," Ned replied, pointing to the big blue snowflake parachute.
"Ok.. and again that's really nice of you, Ned." Ryder smiled, folding the parachute up as best he could. "I bet he'll appreciate that you thought of him."
"Isn't that what they say? It's the thought that counts?" Chester deadpanned, smiling.
"I'll leave it up to you to give it to him whenever you think is right." Ryder added, patting the folded material gently. "Meanwhile, I'll get these frames downstairs.. I think they could still be useful to us again someday."
"You know me, Ryder." Rocky smiled gleefully. "Why trash it when you can stash it!"
"Don't you mean, Don't lose it, reuse it!" Skyler wondered, smirking humorously.
"Haha, yeah.. that too," the recycling pup giggled. "I'll help you get those down the elevator, Ryder."
And as the pup ran off after the boy, the other pups looked around for something to do.
"Welp!.. It's snowing again.." Chester mentioned to break the silence. "Good thing we got Chase back in here.. Or he'd have been a pupsicle for sure!"
"Speaking of.. Look.." Rayla remarked, glancing straight ahead at something. Chase had now pulled the blanket over himself so that it was also squished between his paws, and cushioned up against his face; leaving one foreleg exposed to hold it in place.. His ears sagged back slightly and he even appeared rather cute with how tenderly he slept, though they could tell by the bend in his brow that he wasn't fully peaceful yet.
"Awwwwww. Chase looks like a cute snuggle puppy! I want to cuddle him!.. but, he needs his rest," Snowflake cooed before restraining herself.
"No, please don't!" Chester gasped, stepping between her and Chase to hopefully discourage the thought.
"Well, our snowflake decorations are done. There's got to be something we can do to pass the time. Oh, where's the wrapping paper?" Ned commented before looking around. "And a big box?"
"Wrapping paper?" Skye echoed in confusion, summed up by the cock of her head and brow.
"A little early for wrapping christmas presents isn't it?" Tiny wondered a bit oddly.
"I don't want Chase to see his gift before he has the chance to open it. Unless I should just give it to him.." Ned responded honestly.
"Ryder said you could do whatever you wanted to with it." Skye reminded him. "So I guess if you wanted to save it for Christmas you probably could."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Ned said in agreement.
"Then, I guess we could go find out where that stuff is at.." the cockapoo supposed.
"Or.. we could do this.." Chester shrugged, rolling his eyes loosely. Then tapping his pup tag to make it blip..
"Hey Ryder, can you and Rocky grab the wrapping paper and a box? It's for Ned's gift.." the German Shepherd requested.
"Sure thing.." Ryder's voice crackled back. "We'll be right back up.."
"Great.. Much simpler.." Chester sighed, nodding his satisfaction. "Eliminates the potential for any more shenanigans, especially knowing this bunch."
"What are you talking about?" Tiny remarked, almost indignantly. "Shenanigans are the unexpected fun you have when hanging with your pals."
"Yeah but we've had an awful lot of that lately.. Almost too much for my liking." Chester replied dryly. "And anyway the less shenanigans the better.. At least till Chase fully recovers.. I want that good old Chase we all know and love back. Then maybe those shenanigans won't go so bad."
"Whether Chase is 100% or only 15, it doesn't matter.." Rayla pointed out.. "Shenanigans happen regardless.. No matter what you try to do to prevent them."
"Yes, but the shenanigans aren't what I'm worried about.." Chester clarified. "It's him.. And how he deals with it.. He's got a shorter and shorter fuse lately and I know this is exactly what happened last time.. I'm honestly surprised it took this long for him to crack.. He was practically losing his marbles everytime we so much as looked at him.. Let alone any accidental mishaps."
"Yes, but he's grown from that.." Rayla reminded him. "And he's just gotten a lot better at masking it is all.."
"That doesn't make it a good thing.." Chester returned eerily. "And it doesn't make me feel any better either."
"It wasn't supposed to.." Rayla shrugged, "But, that doesn't mean we should lose our heads over this.. He finally confessed that he has a problem now we need to help him fix it.. Any ideas?"
Hey guys! And yay for backstory! More layers are peeling back for our characters and the continuity arises. Hoping to reveal more as the story goes on! See you next time! Thx!
