Charlie looks down at me as we drive off and asks my dad, "What happened? Mike is shaking. Did something go wrong?" he asks as my ears perk up, and I wish I could tell him how scary that had been.
"Mike...had a brief run-in with a pair of horses that were not too happy about a wolf near them. Nothing bad happened, but they were agitated, Mike was wanting to take off running and escape from them. Nothing...bad happened, but I can't imagine what it was like for him."
I just shake my head, shivering, NOTHING?? Okay, nothing happened, but it felt like it was just moments from it. What if the horses had reacted even worse and tried to attack me? Could I have gotten away? I give a small whine to the two of them, trying to convey my feelings.
My dad looks back as he sighs and pulls over to the side of the road to look back and pet my head, "Mike nothing bad would have happened, I wouldn't have let them hurt you. I know this isn't easy for you, but we can talk about it, heck if you want to avoid the Santa Claus parade let me know." he says. I tilt my head, trying to decide on that. The parade is an important part, but could I handle it? Could other animals handle me?
Sighing, I nod my head. Maybe after some thinking and sleep, I could decide what I want to do. I rub my head against his hand and even lick it before lying back down. My dad drives back off, and soon we're pulling into our driveway, and I'm no closer to understanding my feelings.
I climb out of the car, nudging my dad and then giving a woof and a wag to my sister before walking into the house once my mom opens it. Right now, I just wanted to lie down and relax, not worry about things. I move back under the table to the place I had hidden from the furnace monster.
Sarah comes in looking around, "Fluffy, where are you?" she asks as I give a small whine from under the table. I hear her as she leans down and crouches under the table, looking concerned, "Fluffy, what are you doing under there?" she asks.
I whine, shaking my head as I wag my tail slightly. I was fine...just needed a little bit of time. My sister gets a look of concern on her face as she calls out, "Mommy, I think something's wrong with Fluffy," she says.
"Honey, Fluffy just feels overwhelmed. He had a busy day at the market. He just needs some time, go read for a while," she says as my sis nods, giving me a small hug before running into the living room, allowing me to relax.
I close my eyes for a few moments until my eyes shoot open, SHIT SHIT SHIT, as my sister calls out, "MOM!! I can't find the book. I left it by the couch, and it's not there." I panic as I quickly get to my feet. Suddenly, the fear about the horses seems minor compared to the dread.
I bolt for the stairs up into my bedroom, nearly knocking my mother over as she frowns, seeing me run as she says to my sister, "Have you tried looking under the couch? Maybe it got knocked over," she says, making it worse.
I quickly hide under my bed. No one will possibly ever find me down under here, nope. I then hear my sister scream, "MY BOOK!!!" she says as I wince, pinning my ears against my head as she calls, "Mommy Fluffy ate my book."
I hear my mom reply, "Awwe, honey, is that your favorite? I'm sure Fluffy didn't intend to eat it, maybe it had your smell on it and wanted to be closer," she says. My sister might not catch it, but I definitely notice a hint of, 'oh, we're having a talk later, Mike,' in her voice.
I hear my dad coming up the stairs and try to hide even more, forgetting that...well, dogs have a very long and obvious tail that was sticking out from under the bed as my dad sees me, "Fluffy, did you destroy...Sarah's book?" he asks as I remain still. If he doesn't see me, I don't exist.
I try to pretend I'm not there a bit longer before my dad says, "Fluffy...your tail is sticking out, I can see you." I frown and slowly crawl out from under the bed and try to motion over to my bookshelf and mime reading a book...which could just be me chewing on a bone.
My dad squints at me as he tilts his head, "You were... hungry?" he asks as I shake my head quickly, pointing to my books again. This time, he seems to get it, "Oh...you were trying to read, and I assume that didn't work too well?" he asks as I whine nodding.
He sighs a little bit, "Well, we will figure something out, but you should go down and apologize, or at least as best as a dog can, I know you didn't intend to do it," he says. I whine and tuck my tail between my legs as I head down.
I make my way downstairs, where my sister is sitting, looking upset, and sees me as she walks up with her book, "Fluffy, this was my favorite book, and you damaged it," she says. I roll onto my back, trying to act as submissive and contrite as I can.
She sighs, looking down at me, "I'm still angry, but you're too goofy to be upset with for long. Just don't touch my stuff, okay?" she says. I give a whine and wag my tail to look cute and innocent.
That's when I hear Shiners' voice from outside, <Okay, so you did get in trouble for the book, I warned you. But OHHH no, you didn't think anything could happen,> he says, making me roll my eyes. Which, thankfully, my sister just seems to consider more goofiness.
My dad then speaks up, "Now that the mystery of the eaten book is solved, I think we should figure out what to feed Fluffy. We've been giving him dog portions, but he's pretty big even for a large dog, maybe I should call the vet and find out what would be best for him."
I perk my head up and bark, licking my lips. I definitely had felt hungry as I followed him when he went into the den to speak to the vet. I was too curious about what the vet might say and how much food I should be getting.
I hear him dialing as I sit next to him, and he laughs, shaking his head, "I can't tell if you're hungry or just mooching," he says as I whine slightly. Soon, I hear the click as the secretary comes on the line, and he asks for the vet.
The vet asks my dad if everything was okay with me, and my dad just laughs, "Nahhh, nothing too wrong, the issue is Fluffy has been hungrier than I would expect for a dog, and just making sure we're giving him enough food for a wolfdog his size."
My dad nods his head a few times before saying, "Ahhh, okay, we can increase his food a little more, add some raw meat, but not a lot," he says as I lick my muzzle, drooling a little bit at the idea. That meat at the market was SOOOO good.
"Okay, try feeding him another time during the day? I will keep that in mind, thank you very much. I know dogs can be drama queens when it comes to food, but I still want to make sure he's getting enough."
I glare at my dad, I am NOT a drama queen...okay, maybe a drama king, or at least a prince, but not a queen. My dad smiles as he gives my head a little pet, and finishes the call before hanging up, "Okay, you win, you get a little bit of meat. I'm going to have to run to the store and get you something," he says.
Giving a small bark, I get up and walk out into the living room and realize that Charlie was sitting on the couch laughing, "So you finally remembered I exist," he says as I groan. With everything that just happened, my mind got distracted as I moved over to nudge his leg apologetically.
He laughs, "It's okay, you had a long day, I'm glad you got to see Frank and John," he says as I nod, my ears perking up for where my sister was, but I could hear her downstairs watching TV. I take a moment to relax and lay down, closing my eyes, I give him a small apologetic look, but I was now tired from all that had happened earlier. He grins, "Okay, I can take a hint, I'm boring..." he teases, "I was planning on heading home, just wanted to check in on you," he says.
I give a small woof and wag my tail again. Hey, he wasn't boring. I just needed a little more sleep. Maybe I've already half turned into a jaguar with how tired I was at the moment. My dad comes out and spots me with my eyes closed and asks Charlie, "You want a ride to the bus depot since lazy butt is too tired to be a good host."
I give my dad and Charlie a bob of my head as I felt my eyes barely staying up and yawned as I closed my eyes fully and barely hear them walk out the door and the car drive off, and soon I was asleep.
