Ruff and Purr
The following story was an assignment for my Fiction Workshop class. Well I guess it's not suprising that a furry would write a story with anthros in it. It's gone through a lot of changes from the first sketch that I put together several weeks back. I played around with it to test changing story order but I wasn't particularly satisfied with it and I still think the last section has a disporportionate share of the emotion and action. Ah well tis just a play of words to learn from. Enjoy.
Ruff and Purr
Gale's Story - Part 1
Dad's happy this morning. As he walks downstairs I can see the big smile on his face. Maybe we'll go to the park today.
"Gale," he says as he scritches me behind the ears, just the way I like it. "I think my dryspell is finally coming to an end, I've got a friend coming over tonight." He's rubbed more of that stuff on his sleeves again. It smells kind of funny and is covering up his scent but Dad likes it, so I will to.
I have no clue what he's talking about. But I'm sure when we go on our evening walks he'll try his best to explain everything to me. And so while Dad goes on with his exciting story of something or another I gently shake my head and nudge my dog food bowl towards his feet. His hands and face are doing some funny movements and then he looks down at me. I do my best sad impression, giving a soft whimper and tilting my head to the side slightly, it seems the message has gotten through to him.
"No puppy, I wouldn't forget your dinner. Make sure Pica isn't sleeping on my bed during the day and please don't make a mess." The familiar clanging of kibble against metal bowl makes me hungry but I'll wait till later when Pica's awake.
Yes Dad!
"I have to get going now. It's going to be a busy night at the restaurant, so be good for me; won't cha boy?" Dad's putting his shoes on and I sit patiently at the door to see him off. He smiles at me one last time, pats me gently on the head and then locks the door behind him. I kinda wished he would have gone on a walk with me, but it's okay because we'll do it when he gets back. I wonder where Pica is.
Pica's Tale - Part 1
The slamming of the door is my sign that the coast is clear. I jump off of the couch and do my stretches on Dad's pants. Hm... I wonder if Dad would mind if took a snooze on his bed. Well it's either take a nap or go and have dinner. I can feel something through the floorboards. It's as if something is slamming itself into the floor repeatedly towards me. Damn. It's the mutt.
"PICA! PLAY! PLAY! PLAY!" shouts Gale as he hurtles towards me, tongue hanging out as if he were on a car ride.
I firmly stand my ground, well firmly enough since there isn't a rug or anything on this particular area of flooring.
Gale's huge body comes sliding towards me as he turns the corner. At the last moment, I sidestep out of the way of the behemoth. His body crashes past me into Dad's bedroom. Hm. My paws are dirty. I gingerly lick at the grey spot. It tastes of the leather couch, but I don't mind it too much. As I finish one paw, I can hear the mutt slowly creeping up behind me.
"Please! Pica, play with me."
"No." I'm not even going to bother looking at him at this point, I'm sure he's just going to bend his head to the ground and give me that stupid puppy face he's been using since we've met.
Gale sticks his muzzle in front of me almost as if he wanted me to bat him a few times. I stare for a moment at his splotched complexion, "But there's nothing else to do and Dad just left."
"Go lick yourself or take a nap or something, just do it somewhere else. I've got a lot of cleaning to do."
"Pica! Dad said something about you and the bed and a mess. What did he mean?"
"He doesn't want me to sleep on his bed because I leave trails of fluff wherever I curl up. Hm... mess? Gale do you know what that means?"
"You'll play with me?" he says tilting his head to the side.
"Like I said before, no. Dad's going to have a friend over tonight. A female."
"Will she play with me?"
"Probably, I'm not sure what humans see in you mutts, they gawk over you for the stupid head tilts and when you yawn and other stupid things." Gale's not listening of course. Obviously he didn't hear 'maybe', he heard 'yes'. I don't bother continuing with him since he probably won't even notice me. As he begins an imaginary war with his tail, I slip away from his presence and jump on Dad's bed. Dad won't notice if I take a short catnap. I promise I'll get rid of the hair this time.
Gale's Story - Part 2
DAD! I can hear him walking up to the door. There's another sound behind him. It sounds like clicking or something like that. I rush back into Dad's bedroom to awaken Pica. I'm sure he'll be excited too.
"Pica! Dad's coming home!" I shout into Dad's bedroom. He's stretches and begins licking himself again.
"Why yes, the clicking sound of her shoes didn't tell me."
"Do you think she'll play with me?"
"Why do you think I'll know?"
"Well come on, let's go greet them!"
"I'm not going out unless Dad drags me." The front door clicks open and I rush back outside to greet Dad.
"Down boy, down!" Dad grabs for my collar and keeps me in check as the female examines me. I pant heavily and sit, hoping it'll impress her.
"Luke, you didn't tell me how big he was. What breed is he?"
"German shepherd, couldn't you tell by the rustic muzzle and sharp presence he commands?"
They're talking about me, I'm not sure exactly what's being said but since Dad's hands aren't holding me back anymore, I do my lap around the stranger. Pica was right, she's a female. She has other smells though; like the little dog that goes to the park, there's also something else on her. The flowers that Pica likes nibbling on? Something like that. I wonder what she tastes like. Just a nibble of her dress to test.
"GALE NO! Don't chew on Bernice's dress." Dad's hands are swatting at me pushing me away from the female. It tastes like plastic and my tongue doesn't like it too much.
"It's ok Luke, he's just being a dog. My Cilantro would never do such a thing, but that's because mine is such a respectable dog."
"To your room, Now." Dad sounds angry at me. His finger twitches slightly as he points inside. I walk away my tail between my legs. As I look back, Dad's inviting the female to sit at the dinner table as he begins cooking.
Pica is standing at the door way. "You okay puppy?" he asks me.
"Dad's mad at me because I tasted that female's dress."
"Well what do you expect? Dad isn't too happy with you eating his socks either."
My ears are drooping. "But I was just being nice. I just want to make her to like me."
Pica's Tale - Part 2
The mutt got his feelings hurt again. He's lying down next to me in that depressed mood he occasionally gets in when Dad gets angry at him. I really shouldn't care too much about it, but hey if a woman's involved, I might be the next to be hurt. Slowly tiptoeing outside, I hide in a shadow and spy on Dad and his friend.
"But you know you really should get him neutered." She says.
"Gale's still a bit young. He doesn't have any temperament problems and he's purebred." Dad retorts.
"Well he's going to have some temperament problems soon enough, did you see how he went straight for my dress?"
"You're the one who said it's just a dog thing."
"A bad dog thing. Seriously what do you think will happen when Cilantro and I move in? Do you think I'll let that savage interact with my refined pup?"
"Move in? Uh... aren't you thinking too far in advance?"
Undetected by the bitch, I slowly crawl towards Dad. He needs some comfort I can tell. And though I don't particularly like being in the open to such people, she needs to know Dad is ours.
"What's this! A flea market? No, no, no... You'll have to get rid of that too, I won't allow such a mangy specimen in my Cilantro's presence." I rub my cheeks on Dad's pant leg, circling him in the same way I do every evening. He bends down next to me and strokes my cheek. I respond with a gentle lick to the palm of his hand.
"I think you're over reacting Beatrice, Pica's never had fleas and the two of them are my family."
"You'd rather choose them over me and Cilantro? Do you know what you're saying?" I can smell something in the air. It's a mix of perspiration, bad breathe, and the stuff she put on herself melting off with her sweat. Her face is getting pale as she stares at me. She picks up one of the oranges that Dad has as a display on the table and is about to hurl it at me when Gale rushes out of Dad's room at her."
"Leave my friend alone!" Gale's dives forward and grabs the woman by her dress. She stumbles backwards, pulled by the force of Gale's sudden lunge. The orange flies upwards and slowly descends back to earth, imploding on her dress. Ah well a waste of a good piece of fruit but it's not my fault.
"Aren't you going to help a lady up? Those two ruined my dress, just look at this mess. Give me a hand!"
"Actually no. It would seem that Pica and Gale have made a ruling. And I'm going to agree with them. Leave. I'm sick and tired of hearing about how perfect your dog is. It was cute when I thought you were a protective dog owner, but this is seriously out of hand. I admit that Pica and Gale aren't the most perfect animals in the world but they're my non-perfects."
"How dare you, put them above me. This is over! You'll never see me gracing your bedroom." She picks up her things and heads out the door. She turns around and glares at the three of us. Gale growls defensively and slowly moves forward. She gets the message and slams the door on her way out.
Dad lets out a sigh and then looks down at the both of us. "I had hoped you two would like her. But in the end you two are wiser than I give credit." Dad kneels down next to the both of us and gently scritches us before lowering her dinner for us to enjoy.