The end was imminent, and the universe itself would be swallowed whole from the inside-out. As Marcus stood on the hard obsidian shell of the impossibly-vast spherical being that expanded rapidly like a terminal cancer and looked up though the protective dome above at the visible outer limit of space itself, he suddenly felt his stomach sink as another smaller barrier formed over him.
“Protect.”
“...What are you doing?” he asked as he turned his head to the one who had created it, who’s only response was a nod of understanding to their siblings.
“Protect.”
“Protect.”
“Protect.”
With each new barrier formed, they melded together with an array of colors - white, blue, red, yellow, and green - creating a nearly impenetrable forcefield around him.
“No… no, what are you DOING?!” he shouted as he pounded his fists on the shield, though he understood in his heart that he knew the answer. “Matoro! Laila! Marigold! Liam! Don’t do this!”
“...It’s all we can do now.”
Marcus looked pleadingly to the fifth, who still held firm the large dome of psychic energy above all of them.
“Don’t say that…” he muttered, beginning to cry. “We’ll find a way… somehow… we always do. Together.”
“I know you will, Marcus,” she replied, fighting through tears of her own, “and so do they. We’ve always been stronger with unity. But you know as well as we do that this is our duty, because… ending this has always been your destiny.”
“I’d rather die than live on without you. I love you.”
“I know. I love you too. We all love you. But only you can do this. You will do this. You must do this. Just remember that to us, you are… everything. And no matter where you go… no matter what roads you walk…”
She focused all of her energy into completing the invincible barrier around Marcus, adding a vivid golden hue to the color spectrum that surrounded him - and him alone. A blinding light began to slowly envelop his wife and children as they all gave it everything they had in their final moments, the void now nearly upon them.
“...We’re always right behind you.”
Colby’s eyes shot open as he jolted awake from his sleep, suddenly slipping through the treetop canopy he’d fallen asleep on and landing one by one on several branches on his way down - before falling flat on his face. The sun hadn’t quite risen yet, but the sky was beginning to dimly lighten over the eastern horizon.
“...How the hell am I supposed to live on without you…” Colby whispered under his breath, clutching a pawful of dew-covered grass tightly in his furry yellow fist as tears fell onto the ground and were absorbed by the earth. “I feel so lost… I don’t know what to do… I just wish… I wish you really were right behind me.”
At the same time, the door to the Barker house swung open as Scooch Pooch let himself inside, having been given a spare key by Tag quite some time ago. He normally would’ve been one to sleep in, especially on Saturday mornings like this, but on this particular morning, he decided to head over to wake his best friend up early to make up for lost time the day before. He walked up the stairs, practically having to climb up each and every one with his incredibly small stature. When he finally reached the top, he just barely managed to catch a glimpse of an orange blur speeding past him as Tag rushed down the stairs to start her day.
“Ough…” Scooch grumbled a bit as he now had to make the same journey down the stairs again, but smiled all the same. He couldn’t help but smile whenever he thought about Tag, her constant boisterous energy always livening up his days. Now that he’d finally get some time alone with her, he considered that maybe today might be the day - the day when he’d finally come clean about his true feelings for her. Not to say he wasn’t incredibly nervous that she might not feel the same way about him - in fact, he was terrified. If she didn’t love him back, then… what would that mean for their friendship?
Would it all come crashing down?
When Scooch finally arrived at the bottom of the stairs and headed into the kitchen, he found Tag sitting at the table and frantically lapping up a bowl of Sugar-Bone cereal like her life depended on it.
“Hey, Tag!” Scooch said with an enthusiastic wave, his tail wagging back and forth behind him. “Wanna play ‘Chaser and Chewer’ again today? A new issue is coming out next week, and I am hyped!”
Tag took a moment to finish her bowl before slurping up the rest of the milk and wiping the remainder off her lip, letting out a sigh of satisfaction before finally turning to him.
“I’d love to, Scooch!”
“Great, let’s go, dog, g-”
“I’d love to, but I can’t today. I was going to introduce Colby to my family, you remember Colby, right?”
“Who?” the little blue terrier asked.
“The dog who saved me at the racetrack the other day!”
“Oh. Him.” Scooch’s tail drooped to the floor, a bitter scowl now on his face. “Okay. That’s fine. Great, even! I’m so happy you made a new friend!”
“I hope you’re not upset, Scooch. We can play some other time, promise!” Tag said, noticing her buddy’s sudden change of tone.
“I’m not upset!” Scooch replied with a smile as he headed for the door. “I have tons of other friends I can hang out with! Totally! So you go on and have the time of your life with ‘Cole Lee’! Because since you and I are such good friends, best friends even, we should be able to spend time with other dogs without ever feeling like our relatio- friendship is at risk! Nooo problem!”
“Scooch, are… you okay?” Tag tilted her head, a little worried for her best friend. “You are my best friend, I hope you still know that.”
“Yep! And you’re my best friend too! Great friends! Just friends!” Scooch grinned with his teeth showing, now peeking through the kitchen door as he made his exit. “I’m gonna go hang out with my other friend… J…J-efferem. Yeah, Jefferem… Leashford! You probably wouldn’t know ‘im. Anyway, uh… see ya, Tag!”
With that, Scooch disappeared, followed by the sound of the front door opening and closing once again.
‘Jefferem?’ Tag wondered curiously, until a smile came on her face.
‘He must be new to Pawston too! I’m so proud of Scooch, finally making new friends all on his own!’
‘380 Dogwood Drive, huh?’ Colby thought as he approached the bizarrely-shaped yellow and purple house, noticing that there were ten doorbells beside the door. Ten! He sighed deeply and closed his eyes for a moment, bracing himself for the horrors of social interaction. Aside from Tag, it had been literal millennia since he’d held a conversation with anyone. What could he even talk about? He had no past in this world, and barely had any idea of how it even operated.
His body tensed up as he prepared to ring the doorbell when a tiny blue terrier suddenly opened the door, walking right through his legs without even noticing him as he mumbled something to himself. The terrier then stopped in his tracks, suddenly looking back at him with disdain in his eyes. Colby looked back at him.
“Hey, I think I saw you yesterday. You’re Tag’s friend, right?” Colby asked casually.
“...It’s all your fault,” Scooch said, shaking his head as he walked away.
Colby suddenly felt short of breath at those words, collapsing onto his weakened knees as another panic attack set in. He never considered that Scooch meant what he’d said in an entirely different context than what was on his mind, only thinking back on the dream he’d just woken up from. It was all his fault. All his fault. All his fault. Allhisfaultallhisfaultalllhisfault. His loved ones, his whole family, had sacrificed themselves for him to live, and at the root of it all, it was all… his… fault.
Colby crawled around the corner of the front entrance of the Barker house where there was a small potted tree and a planter box beside the wall, hiding himself away between both as he curled up into a fetal position.
“All your fault, all your fault,” he muttered quietly, his arms and legs trembling from the traumatic memories as his breaths quickened. He just wanted to sink into the ground and decompose, forever forgotten. He didn’t deserve to be alive. He didn’t deserve to ever exist in the first place. He’d only ever brought desolation and death wherever he went, so why should anything be any different now? Everyone would be better off if he had just-
Suddenly, he heard the front door open, and a familiar little orange beagador walked right past him without even noticing him tucked behind the plants. She sat down in the front yard and faced the road, her tail wagging cutely behind her as she anticipated a certain someone’s arrival.
“Hmhm,” she hummed giddily, barely able to contain the wiggles within her.
Colby’s breaths began to slow as he looked on at the young dog girl, feeling a sense of ease. He couldn’t help but listen in as Tag began talking to herself.
“Okay, deep breath. When you see him, just… wave. Not a weird wave, a normal wave. Oh no, how do people even wave normally?!”
Colby watched in silence as Tag tried out several different types of waves before finally shaking her head.
“What if I just… compliment him? No, too forward. But what if I subtly mention how good he looks in that collar?”
Colby looked down, almost forgetting that he was even wearing a collar in the first place.
“Okay, don’t overthink it. He’s just a normal guy. A ridiculously handsome, charming, makes-your-heart-race kinda guy… but still, just a guy.”
Colby glanced away a little, but a red blush warmed his cheeks all the same. He never saw himself as all that, so she must’ve been talking about some other dog… right? Plus, she was only seven years old, he reminded himself. And because of this, he couldn’t allow himself to develop any sort of romantic attachment to her. He took another breath as he now felt calmed enough now to sneak away,quietly climbing over the Barkers’ backyard fence to circle around the block.
He walked casually down the sidewalk as though he hadn’t heard a thing Tag had said before, giving her a polite wave as he caught her eye.
“Colby!” she barked, standing up and rushing over to him before giving him a hug. “Nice… c-collar!”
“Woah there,” Colby raised his arms up, now hesitant to hug her back. “I’m glad to see you too, Tag.”
“Heh, sorry,” Tag said as she let go of Colby’s waist, tidying herself up before holding her paws daintily behind her back. “You’re here a bit early, aren’t you?”
“O-oh, yeah…” Coolby said, brushing it off. “I just woke up a little early this morning and couldn’t fall back asleep, so I figured I’d find my way over here. I hope I’m not, uh… intruding.”
“Not at all!” Tag insisted, grabbing Colby’s wrist and practically dragging him to her house. “I’d love to, I-I mean, I’d be glad to show you around inside, I’m sure my family won’t mind. We just have to be quiet, they’re still sleeping upstairs.”
“Got it, they won’t even know I’m here.” Colby replied, clearing his throat a little as Tag led him into her home.
When Tag shut the door behind them with her foot, Colby looked around and instantly felt a sense of hominess here. This was a house that felt truly lived in, and he immediately felt strangely at home here. A sweet smell filled his nostrils, though he wasn’t quite sure what it was.
“Your home is so nice,” Colby complimented, “What scent is that? I’m assuming it’s some kind of potpourri?”
“Oh yeah, that’s an air-freshener. Sweaty socks.”
Colby blinked. ‘Sweaty socks?’ Surely he must’ve heard her wrong.
“S-sweaty socks?” he repeated. He couldn’t deny that it was a pleasant scent to his canine nose, but… why?
“Yeah, it smells great, doesn’t it?” Tag asked with a smile as she led him to the kitchen. Inside was a large round table with nine chairs, as well as the typical amenities any usual kitchen would have. But upon closer inspection, Colby noticed many of the objects were shaped either like bones, pawprints, or tennis balls, and the wallpaper had a pattern of dog bowls. He then looked at the fridge and noticed a colored drawing of an orange dog and a blue dog on a piece of paper.
“I’m guessing this is you and… what’s his name?” Colby asked, pointing to the blue dog.
“Scooch,” Tag answered, “I drew this when he first moved to Pawston. We’ve been best friends since day one.”
“It’s very nice,” Colby commented politely. Though in truth, it wasn’t exactly a masterpiece - it looked like a typical crayon doodle that any average 6-year-old might come up with. How was this drawn by the same mechanical genius that ranted on about hydraulic actuators and composite materials in her self-built scooter just yesterday?
From there, Tag showed him to the living room, which had the longest couch Colby had ever seen in his life. It was set across from a TV mounted on the wall, which was also unusually long.
“So how big is your family, anyway?” Colby asked, “Anything I should know before I meet them?”
“Well first there's me of course, but my oldest sister is Cheddar Biscuit, then my oldest brother Spike, then my other brother Gilber, and finally my baby brother Yip. And of course there's Maw and Paw, and Grandmaw and Grandpaw. So that makes… nine of us! So far, anyway.”
Tag sat down on the center of the couch, cozying into the cushion as she looked expectantly at Colby.
“That's quite a family,” he replied, still standing in place by the doorway. “And how are… things? With them, I mean. Did you talk to them about wanting to keep racing?”
“Oh, uh…” Tag shifted uncomfortably, shaking her head. “N-not yet. But I was going to today. I guess I'd feel a little better if you were here to back me up, if that's okay with you.”
“I can't make any promises, but I'll do what I can.”
“Thanks, Colby,” Tag smiled again, her tail wagging slowly as she bashfully brushed her ear aside. “But enough about that, do you wanna… watch something together for a bit while we wait for the others to wake up?”
She patted the cushion next to hers.
“I don't bite.”
Colby looked at her for a moment, then at the TV, then back to her. For some reason it felt a little inappropriate for a grown man - or rather, a grown dog - to be alone together with a young puppy girl such as her. The very idea of sitting on the couch side by side with her, watching something within such easy cuddling distance…
He forcibly put the image out of his mind, coming to his senses. It was merely the many years, centuries - millennia of complete solitude that made him crave physical intimacy, but he knew better than to ever depend on a young girl like Tag for such things. She was just a sweet, innocent child, who probably had no intention of anything more than watching some mindless cartoons or something.
Colby finally joined Tag on the couch, feeling a pleasant chill up his spine as he sunk slightly into the soft cushion beside the little orange beagador. With that, Tag held up the remote and turned on the TV and began flipping through the stations. There was a commercial for flea medication, a reality show called “Furvivor” where dogs competed to survive on a deserted tropical island, followed by an informational history program called “Wolves: From Wild to Wag” about the evolution of canines from their quadrupedal ancestors to the bipedal dogs of today, and then a show called “Droolers, Dog-bowls, and Digs” about a charismatic bulldog with sunglasses and fiery hair who traveled the country to uncover all the best diners to eat at. Finally, Tag settled on a documentary about the greatest racedogs in the history of racing. Household names like Drift Blazer, Ace Rocket, Chase Nitro, and of course, Sam Whippet, who was practically a shoe-in to join the greats from yesteryear in the FASCAR hall of fame.
One hundred 1st-place trophies. That was how many a racer needed to have their name in the history books, and Sam was on track to reach it in record-time. Far from an easy feat, this was a milestone that that many racers never reach. But according to this documentary, Sam Whippet was an unstoppable force of speed, winning every single race he'd ever entered with such ease. Many experienced racers had hung up their helmets for good because of Sam, knowing they could never hope to end his winning streak.
The more Colby heard about how great this Sam was, the more he began to feel a great sense of disdain. That cocky smile, the arrogant look of pride in his eyes, the way he vainly groomed his signature mustache, all the self-absorbed merchandising… something about it just made Colby want to knock him down a peg or five; to feed him not just a slice, but to shove the whole humble pie down his throat.
He was about to say something when he felt something furry and warm press against his right arm. He looked down to see Tag leaning against him slightly and held onto his forearm as she watched the screen intently, with a sad and longing look in her eyes. A look that plainly said,
“That will never be me.”
Part of him wanted to pull away from the awkward position, but his paternal side knew that she simply needed a shoulder to lean on. So instead, he gradually rested his left paw on her arm as well to offer her some comfort.
“You wanna know what all these dogs have in common?” Colby spoke, not taking his eyes away from the screen.
“What's that?” Tag asked, looking up at him.
“They all started small; they didn’t become the best overnight. But they didn’t give up when it got tough, because their passion kept them going and going, and they let no one - no one - tell them that they couldn’t win.”
Colby suddenly looked down at Tag without realizing that she was already looking up at him, both feeling a slight ticklish flutter in their chests as their noses were now inches apart from one another.
“...And you have the same passion in you, too. I can tell.”
They held their gaze for only a moment longer before Colby broke eye-contact with a blink, taking his paw off of Tag’s arm and reaching for the remote.
“I think I’ve seen enough of this jerk for one day,” he said as the program showed a photo of Sam with all of his trophies, changing the channel to a cartoon where two playful pups were making their dad freeze with a magic xylophone. “Much better.”
“Do you not like Sam?” Tag asked, almost feeling offended on the racer’s behalf.
“I wouldn't say that exactly, it’s just… I dunno, there’s something about him that just kinda rubs me the wrong way,” said Colby as he kept his focus on the show, feeling as though the dogs on the screen looked vaguely familiar to him somehow.
“But he’s the best! I mean, I’m sad that I lost to him of course, but… he’s still my hero! Has been ever since I can remember. I even got my race-flag tag from him!” She held up the small metal tag hanging from her collar. “And he’s my teacher in the Race Cadets, he’s taught me everything he knows about racing!”
“Everything, huh…” Colby muttered, now deep in thought he began to understand Tag’s rose-colored perspective a little better.
But before the conversation could continue any further, the two heard a herd of footsteps coming down the stairs as the rest of Tag’s family had woken up. Colby stood from the couch apart from Tag and quickly slicked down his fur to make himself look more presentable, when suddenly a tall brown dog that looked similar to Tag poked his head through the doorway.
“There you are, Tag! And you must be Colby.” Paw approached the Labrador, reaching out to shake his paw. As Colby politely shook it in return, Paw turned to his daughter. “Tag, could you go help Gilber get breakfast started? I need to speak to your friend alone for a moment.”
“Okay, Paw!” Tag hopped up from the couch and headed to the kitchen, leaving Paw and Colby alone.
‘Oh no,’ Colby thought in horror with an anxious gulp, his stomach sinking into his gut. ‘I hope he doesn’t think I was doing anything with his 7-year-old daughter just now. Fuck. I knew this was a bad idea-’
“Listen,” Paw began after a sigh, placing his palm firmly on Colby’s shoulder. “I need to talk to you about my daughter.”
“I-I swear, I didn’t try to-!”
“Shh, don’t talk. Just… listen.” Paw continued in an uncharacteristically serious tone, removing his signature goggles. “A good parent never has a favorite child, but Tag… she’s truly special to me. Out of all my kin, she takes after me the most. Heck, she’s even my spitting image. I’ve spent her entire life trying to protect her, making sure she’s safe, watching over her. So when I hear that someone got close to her, someone like you…”
Colby wasn’t sure yet what Paw was getting at, but he hoped it wouldn’t come down to a fight. Not for his own sake… but for Paw’s.
“I couldn’t be more relieved.”
Admittedly, not the direction that Colby was expecting.
“After what happened at the race the other night, I couldn’t stop replaying that moment in my head. Over,and over. Imagining… what would've happened if you hadn’t shown up. I still don’t know exactly how you did it… but you did.”
Much to Colby’s surprise, Paw suddenly pulled him in for a tight hug. He felt a shudder in the tall beagador’s chest, understanding that he was overwhelmed with emotion. Paw continued,
“I realize that there’s nothing I could ever do to repay you for that. I owe you more than I can say. You protected my little girl when I couldn’t. So you will always, always be welcome here with the Barker bunch. Understand?”
Colby nodded silently, and Paw let him go.
“And I hate to ask even more of you, but could you do me just one more favor?”
“S-sure, well, within reason, I guess,” Colby replied.
“Please continue to take care of her, alright?”
Colby hesitated. That was quite a big - and rather vague - commitment. For how long? The rest of his life? And to what degree? Physically? Emotionally? Paw went on.
“She’s always been a ‘go’ dog - always running off, looking for adventure whenever she can. She usually has her friend Scooch to keep her in check, but if I’m being honest, the little guy can’t exactly do much in the way of keeping her safe. Believe me, I’d do it myself, but I have a business to run, not to mention four other kids to keep track of. I just want to feel like… like she’s in good paws. Your paws. I know it’s asking a lot, and you don’t have to answer right away, but it’d be a huge weight off my shoulders if I never have to worry about if Tag is safe or not ever again. Please, just… think about it.”
Paw wiped his tears and put his goggles back on, letting out one more sigh to calm himself before giving Colby a look of gratitude and stepping out of the living room, leaving the Labrador alone with his thoughts.
Colby hated the lonely silence though, deciding to head for the kitchen as well to meet the rest of the family.
He was welcomed by the smell and sound of sizzling bacon on the frying pan as he found the kitchen packed with dogs of all ages and colors. An elderly couple, presumably Grandmaw and Grandpaw, were sitting at the table, keeping a precocious purple puppy preoccupied as a tall female lavender dog buttered piece after piece of toast for everyone. Paw was attending the boiling pot of eggs as a yellow dog barely taller than Tag with neatly-combed hair was flipping the bacon. Tag, meanwhile, was setting silverware on the table, trying her best to navigate through all the cooks in the kitchen.
And amidst all the chaotic energy of this large and noisy canine family, Colby felt more at home than he had in a long, long time.
“Anything I can help with?” he asked no one in particular, to which Grandmaw Marge responded first in her thick Northeastern dialect.
“Nawnsense! You’re our guest, relax with us for a while! Sit, dawg, sit!”
Colby immediately sat in the nearest chair at the table without any objection, feeling oddly compelled to do so at those words.
“Do you wanna hold Yip?” Grandpaw Mort asked gruffly with a smile, presenting the adorable baby pup to him. However, Colby didn’t have much of a choice as Yip squirmed out of Mort’s grasp and immediately jumped into Colby’s arms, smothering his cheek with fervent licks.
“Sorry about that, Yip’s just excited to meet you. Down, boy!” Grandmaw chuckled.
“Th-that’s okay, I don’t mind.” Colby managed to let out a ticklish snicker as Yip’s tongue lapped at his face without letting up, moving his head aside so as not to get a facefull of doggy-drool. When he caught a glimpse of Tag looking over at him with an amused giggle as she placed the final set of silverware, his cheeks briefly felt a little hotter.
Out of the corner of his eye, Colby noticed a small white dog with purple ears and a purple splotch on her eye enter the room, as well as splotches of multiple other colors covering her body.
“Good morning!” said Tag, giving her big sister a hug.
“Morning, Tag,” Cheddar replied, not even noticing for a moment that a new dog was present among the crowded kitchen. But when she locked eyes with him, she seemed taken aback. “Oh! H-hello.”
“Hey,” Colby replied, giving her a brief wave. “Cheddar, right?”
“Yeah. Cheddar Biscuit.”
“I saw a poster for your circus show, I’d love to see it sometime.”
“Me too- I-I mean, thanks,” Cheddar Biscuit replied, taking a seat next to Colby at the table as Yip continued snuggling up to the yellow Lab. “Looks like Yip’s taken a liking to you.”
“Hehe, yeah, he reminds me so much of-”
Colby stopped abruptly, his eyes glossing over as his smile disappeared completely. Arms quivering, he stared down at Yip for a moment before handing him back over to Grandmaw.
“I’m sorry, can you take him for a moment?”
Without another word, Colby left the kitchen in a hurry.
“...I think I’ll go check on him,” Tag said after a few moments, leaving the kitchen as well to find him.
She went into the hallway and heard the voice of someone screaming in the bathroom, heading over and giving the door a light knock.
“Colby? Are you okay?”
She gently twisted the doorknob, realizing it was unlocked. Pushing it open and peeking in, she saw Colby hunched over the toilet and emptying his guts out into it.
Not wanting to intrude at a bad time, Tag quietly shut the door again. Was he sick with a stomach flu? He seemed perfectly fine until a few seconds ago. Could it be that he was possibly feeling unwell for some other reason?
After the noise from the bathroom had quieted down, the toilet flushed and Colby appeared from the opened door.
“H-hey,” Tag said awkwardly, “just wanted to check on you. Are you… okay?”
“...”
Colby looked like he wanted to say something, but only nodded, a deathly expression on his face. Best not to trouble her with his own personal problems, he thought. Instead, he held his palm out, as if to ask to be escorted back into the kitchen with the rest of the Barkers. Tag gladly accepted his paw, a warmth filling both of their chests as she led him back through the door.
By then, breakfast was finally ready. Colby sat between Tag and Cheddar Biscuit, a spread of ‘pooched’ eggs, bacon, toast, and doggy-biscuits were laid out on the table. However, at the words, “Alright everyone, dig in!” from Maw, most of the food had already disappeared from the serving dishes before Colby could even get a grasp at anything.
‘Ah, uh… okay,’ he thought to himself as he struggled to get even a single helping of food. Tag noticed that Colby was left empty-pawed, casually scooping two of her eggs onto his plate.
“Sorry Colby, seems like no matter how much we make, there’s never quite enough to go around,” she chuckled, “I’ve never been a huge fan of eggs anyway, so you can have mine.”
“You can have my bacon,” Cheddar insisted, scooping her bacon onto his plate as well. “And the crust from my toast.”
“Hey, I usually get your extra crust!” Gilber objected, before he saw his mother’s expression. He scooped his toast onto Colby’s plate. “Y’know what, you can actually have a piece of my toast. If you want, that is.”
“Yip yip!” Yip added, crawling across the table and placing one of his biscuits on Colby’s plate before giving him one more affectionate lick on the cheek.
“You guys really didn’t have to do all this, but… thank you,” Colby said with gratitude, and with that, they all began to scarf down their breakfast. As he glanced at Tag, he couldn’t help but find it cute - the way she frantically stuffed her face with the multitude of food left on her plate as though she were starving to death. His lips began to naturally curl into a smile, which Tag took notice of, and a brief instant of flirtatious tension permeated the air between the two.
It only lasted for a second, however, as Colby turned his gaze down and focused only on filling his stomach.
‘She’s just a kid, she’s just a kid,’ he repeated to himself in his head. But then, why did he find himself so drawn to her? The moment he’d first met the young girl had undoubtedly left an impact on him - could it be that these feelings were simply coming from his desire to continue protecting her? To protect someone he cared about? To recapture that feeling of being useful to someone?
To finally do something right, for a change?
Once everyone’s plates were licked clean, Colby spent the remainder of the day getting to know Tag’s family better. He remained mostly quiet as each Barker shared their interests with him - Grandmaw and Grandpaw showed him around the Pawtomotive Garage, Maw took him up into her blimp that she drove for her job as a pilot, which was just ‘parked’ outside via a rope tied to the house, Gilber gave him a presentation about his rock collection he’d collected from his barkeology club, and Cheddar Biscuit gave him a short preview of her circus act. Last, but not least, Tag walked with Colby to the doorbell store her dad owned, as she hadn’t gotten the chance to show him inside the day before.
“By the way,” Tag spoke after some time of walking together in silence, “I would’ve introduced you to my brother Spike, but he’s up in space right now, and he’s stationed on the dark side of the moon, so the connection’s pretty bad right now. But I think you’d like him. Who knows, maybe someday we could go up to see the Space Cadets satellite.”
“Space?” Colby asked with a shudder, “...Honestly, I am perfectly okay with never going there again.”
“You’ve been to space?!” Tag gasped, “So have I!”
“...You have?”
“Yeah! Grandmaw, Grandpaw, and I flew a truck to space to get Spike’s special blankie up to him! It was so fun!”
“...Uh-huh…” Colby’s brow raised in disbelief. “You sure that wasn’t just a dream you had?”
“Of course! You can ask Grandmaw and Grandpaw about it!!”
“And you didn’t happen to ever eat any brownies you weren’t supposed to, did you?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Tag said, confused by the random question. “But what do brownies have to do with that?”
“Oh, n-nothing,” Colby brushed it off, “Forget I even asked.”
“...So,” Tag said, giving him a playful nudge, “what do you think?”
“Of what?” Colby asked, looking both ways at the crosswalk. Without even thinking, he held her paw in his own as the walk sign lit up and they crossed together.
“O-of my family!” she replied coyly, a slight skip in her step as they made their way across the intersection.
“Your family is great!” he answered calmly, “Really, they are. I feel like… nevermind. I dunno, it’s stupid.”
“No it’s not!” said Tag, “I mean, I’m not sure what you’re thinking about exactly, but whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not! Please tell me!”
Now on the other side, Colby stopped at the front door of the doorbell store, looking down at the adorable little girl before him as the evening sun made Tag’s orange fur more vibrant than ever.
“...In a weird way, I just… being around you and your family… I guess I… I kinda feel like… I’m home.”
They lingered for a few seconds more in silence until Colby noticed that he was still holding Tag’s paw, instantly letting go of it and using it to push the door open. They went inside.
“Hey, Tag!” Paw grinned from ear to ear as the pair walked in. “And welcome to the doorbell store, Colby! Hold on, I’ve got something for you.”
He disappeared down under the desk, fumbling around for a moment before popping back up with something small in his hand.
“Every new Pawston resident gets their first doorbell from me, on the house!” Paw’s expression went blank for a moment, as though he just realized what he’d said. He suddenly burst into laughter. “Ha! On the house?! Because it’s a doorbell?! I gotta use that! On the house!”
“Good one, Paw!” Tag giggled, and soon the father and daughter were both laughing it up. Colby feigned a chuckle as well, though he did genuinely appreciate the unintentional word-play. But for some reason, he just didn’t feel capable of truly laughing yet - almost as if his mind wouldn’t let him.
“Anyway, this is your you,” Paw said once he regained his composure, handing Colby the small doorbell. As the Labrador looked down at his paw, he saw it was what appeared to be a yellow dog in a running pose. When he pressed the button, it made the sound of a cheering crowd.
“Uh… thank you?” Colby tilted his head, as if to analyze the doorbell closer.
“I’ve been doing this a long time,” said Paw, “And this is the right doorbell for you, trust me. Believe it or not, I like to think of myself as somewhat of a ‘fortune teller’ with doorbells, you could say. I don’t know exactly what it means either, but I just have a feeling about these things. Because doorbells, they don’t just let you know when someone’s at the door… they bring us together. You’ll know what yours means when the time is right.”
“Alright then, well… thank you.” Colby said, tucking it away behind his back. “Oh, that’s right, I almost forgot. Tag, you wanna… y’know…”
Colby looked to Tag and subtly gestured to Paw with his head, reminding her that now might be a good time to appeal to him about letting her race again. Tag took a deep breath, stepping forward.
“Paw… um… I need to race again.”
“What?” Paw shook his head, his demeanor shifting drastically. “I’m sorry Tag, but no, absolutely not.”
“But I’m not a puppy anym-”
“I don’t care if you’re a dog now, you scared me to death the other night. You live in my house, so you live under my rules. I love you, Tag, and I hate to be strict, but… I cannot in good conscience let you race again. You almost-”
“I know what almost happened, Dad!” Tag raised her voice a bit, struggling not to let tears escape her eyes. “But it didn’t happen! I’m fine!”
She gestured to Colby.
“And I have Colby to thank for that! You have Colby to thank for that!”
Colby shuffled his feet awkwardly, not liking how much this debate was heating up.
“I had to deal with the horror of almost losing a daughter, so now you’ll just have to deal with finding something new to get interested in!” Paw demanded, “Death with that! You could find much safer hobbies, like stamp-collecting, or, or writing!”
“But I don’t want to do stupid stamp-collecting!” Tag stomped her foot, wiping her eyes as she headed out the door. “I just wanna race! And that’s all I’ll ever want in life!”
The door slammed shut behind her. Colby and Paw stood awkwardly for a moment as silence deafened the otherwise empty store, until the yellow Labrador backed away slowly towards the door.
“Uh, I’m gonna just… go… check on her…”
With that, Colby exited the store and looked around for the little orange beagador. It didn’t take long before he spotted her moping in the grass on the other side of the bowl fountain right across the street.
“Hey…” Colby sat a few feet apart from her. “Are you okay?”
“No,” Tag sniffled, “I’ll never be okay. Racing is my whole life. Without it, I… I’m nothing.”
“Tag, don’t ever say that,” Colby scowled, leaning over to her. “You’re not nothing. You’re smart, you’re… you’re kind, and you’re fun, and you’re cu-”
“But apparently, I’m not a racer,” Tag interrupted, “And at this rate… I never will be. And no one will remember me.”
Tag buried her head in her arms as she sat in a fetal position. It was in that moment that Colby came to the only conclusion he could.
“...I’ll be right back.”
Colby entered the doorbell store again, finding Paw with his arms crossed as he remained in the same spot at the counter.
“Alright Paw, it’s a deal,” Colby said firmly as he held his paw out. “Your proposition before. I’ll supervise Tag, but on one condition. You let her keep racing.”
Paw sighed.
“If that’s your condition… then it’s gonna have to be a ‘no’ from me, Colby. The whole reason I asked you to help take care of her was to keep her safe. And racing, well… it’s clear to me now that it’s the exact opposite of that.”
“Come on.” Colby stood firmly, refusing to lower his paw. “You saw with your own eyes how I saved her once already, right? So, worst-case scenario, I’ll just save her again. And again. As many times as I need to.”
Paw scratched his chin as he pondered, though still didn’t seem totally convinced.
“Besides, what would feel worse? Seeing your daughter take some risks? Or seeing her miserable for the rest of her life?”
Paw lowered his head, raising his goggles and rubbing his eyes with his fingers before putting them back on. Just then, Tag returned into the store to see what Colby and her dad were discussing.
“...Fine. She can race again.”
In an instant, Tag’s somber face lit up once again.
“But if anything happens to her… well, you’d better hope that nothing happens to her.”
Paw finally shook Colby’s paw as they finally came to an agreement.
“I promise, you’ll have nothing to worry about,” Colby reassured him with conviction. For the first time in this new world, he now felt like he had a purpose.
“...We’ll see,” said Paw as he let go of Colby’s hand, looking down at Tag. Seeing the joy on her face, he couldn’t help but smile a little.
“Oh, you will see.” Colby nodded confidently, turning for the door again as Tag followed closely behind him. “Mark my words, in her next race…”
He looked down at Tag with a smile, giving her a fist-bump.
“...Tag Barker is going to beat the unbeatable Sam Whippet.”
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