Another Day, Another Bone:  New Year Bash

  It was a cold morning in Nome, and a wolf was on the hunt. He was orange and red, he had a glow stick around his neck, and he was hunkered down, teeth exposed. But he wasn't chasing for food, far from it. He had spotted a flock of birds and he just wanted to chase them just because he could do it. When he was asked about his habit, he blamed his inner puppy, even though he was the alpha of his pack.
  The birds he was after were by the docks, where they always searched for food. Koko, as the wolf was called, crawled behind barrels, crates, ducked low behind boxes as he snuck his way forward, licking his lips eagerly for the chase. Closer the wolf crept, closer... Closer... Just a bit more...
  He suddenly darted forward, barking and howling. The birds screeched in surprise, jumbling up as they all tried to fly away together. Koko nipped at them, but never actually got them. A few tail feathers or stray feathers, but he never actually hurt one. Spying a particularly fat one, he grinned and went after it, rushing through the rest.
  The bird in question saw him coming and quickly tried to take off, towards the boat that was ready to leave towards the south. He chased, grinning mischievously, barking louder. It flew above the boat, and he ran up the plank the crew was using to get up, which was abandoned at the moment while they got a last meal, and jumped. What he didn't realize was there was an open crate under him, and as he fell he fell in, hitting his head against crate wall and knocking himself out. As soon as he hit, the top of the crate was shaken shut.
  Minutes later, the crew boarded and nailed the crates up, even the one with the unconscious Koko. After that, they shipped off, heading to some unknown location... But wherever it was was definitely warmer than Nome, and it was fate why the unconscious wolf was going wherever he was.

  "Easy Itch, easy... No, to much, to much! Look out below!" Charlie shouted from the ladder. Zak and Zero, who were setting up the table below, glanced up and dived away, yelping. Suddenly a large roll of streamers came down onto the table, making a loud thump as it hit.
  "Sorry... You guys alright down there?" Itchy asked, looking down at the two dogs getting up from the floor.
  "Yeah Itchy, we're fine." Zero said. Seconds later, Zero's brother Chandler and Zak's nephew Duncan came from the next room.
  "What was that crash Uncle Zak? Are you and Zero okay?" The pup asked, looking at the table.
  "Yeah, we heard yelping." Chandler said, looking over Zero to make sure he was okay.
  "Chandler, cut it out, we're fine." Zero said, giving a grin to show he was alright as Chandler patted his face and shoulders. Duncan hugged his uncle's leg, looking up at him. Smiling, the tan-colored Doberman ruffled his nephew's head fur.
  "I'm okay Duncan, thanks for checking on me." He said with a chuckle. Duncan smiled and backed up a bit, holding his paws up, his silent sign of saying 'let me up?' Zak grinned and picked him up, setting him on top of his wide head then going down on all fours. After that, Charlie came down, looking around the floor.
  "No nail fell down here right?" The mutt asked.
  "Nah, we would have heard it." Zero said.
  "Good... Means I don't have to nail it in again..." Charlie picked his head up and grinned. As the door opened up, everyone looked and Duncan waved.
  "Hey dad! Hey grandpa!" He yipped, grinning. The two Dobermans, Joey and Will, grinned at him and picked up their hind paws, moving them up and down in a sort of wave since their paws were full with boxes of fireworks.
  "Hey guys. Where'd you find those?" Charlie asked. Joey grinned mischievously.
  "Snagged 'em. Carface had loads, so we nipped over and got some." Will explained, chuckling. Charlie grinned and patted them both on the back as they set their loads down. "This is gonna be a great New Year!"
  "We got everyone invited?" Charlie asked.
  "Everyone besides Andrew the-" Zak started to say.
  "The what, exactly, mutt?" The heard a bored voice say. Looking over, they saw Andrew and Sam. Zak's eyes narrowed and he growled, Andrew growling back. Seeing the danger, Joey and Will got between the two.
  "Zak, it's New Years Eve, time to celebrate, not fight." Joey said.
  "Come on Andrew, be nice just for today." Will muttered to him. They two looked at each other from around their relatives and stepped around, walking up to each other. They stood there, face to face, staring quietly. Soon they brought their paws up and shook.
  "Truce." They said simultaneously. Duncan jumped down to his sister and they shook paws also. Sam had started making fun of him even less, seeing that he was getting braver, more confident, and he had a sort of prideful strut to him when he walked.
  "Alright, so what are we doing?" Andrew said, looking around at everyone.
  "Just decorating right now Andrew." Zero said, picking up the fallen roll of streamers. The older mutt nodded, then held his paw out, offering to carry it up. The black German Shepherd handed the streamers to Andrew and he started to take it up.
  "This is all gonna work out fine..." Charlie said gratefully, following his son up. Joey looked at the others, his stub tail giving a twitch.
  "So, who wants to help set up the fireworks for tonight?" He asked. Zero, Chandler, Zak, Sam and Duncan raised their paws, looking eager. Joey grinned then jerked his head towards the door, then the group helped pick up the boxes and lead them out.

  Sitting on the roof alone, Lupus watched the group go outside and start deciding where to put the fireworks Joey and Will had taken. He watched them thoughtfully, wondering if he could do anything.
  "Another year..." The fallen angel said, sitting on the edge of the roof and sighing. He checked his fur, and pulled out a golden, shining dog tag: the miracle he had gotten for saving Duncan awhile back. "Still no use for this thing..."
  "Have faith, Lupus." A voice behind him said. He quickly turned his head, staring at a shining metal plate. Instead of a reflection of the sky, there was the head and shoulders of a pink whippet smiling at him.
  "Faith?" He said slowly. "Annabelle, I've had faith for a good long time. It hasn't gotten me very far."
  "Just wait Lupus. There comes one who might need that miracle during the New Year."
  "How sure are you?"
  "As sure as I am head angel here in Heaven." She gave a smile and then left. Lupus stared at the sky in the plate then looked back down at the working group.
  "Who could need this miracle...?"

  It was afternoon when the ship docked in San Francisco, and Koko had been awake for hours. The crate he had been in was full of raw meat which he ate on the trip, and as they moved down the snow melted and provided him with water. When the boat jolted to a stop, he perked up.
  Finally back in Nome... He thought. He heard voices outside, talking about how the crates should be checked before they got loaded off. He heard someone pick a crowbar up, and jumped as the metal was suddenly shoved under the lid of the crate he was in and it was suddenly starting to be pulled up. As soon as it was opened, he was blinded by sunlight.
  "Got it open! Wait... Hey, there's a wolf in here!" A guy called, then reached down to catch Koko. The wolf was quick to recover, and he jumped up as the guy reached for him, pushing his hands aside.
  Seeing the rest of the crew around him, he darted for the rail he hoped was around land and jumped. Luckily, he landed on a dock and took off. He was shocked by his new surroundings, but hearing the men after him he ran into an alleyway, taking every turn he could. As soon as he thought he was okay, he sat down and took a breather.
  "Where am I...?" He growled to himself, looking around. He was in a dark, murky back alley, and he didn't like it. It smelled, it was chilly, and it didn't feel right to him. He started to walk away from where he had come, and soon sunlight touched him again.
  The streets were crowded, more crowded than he was used to back home. He mixed into the crowd, and he heard only one topic mainly coming through: New Years. People were talking about fireworks, drinking, going to friends places for the final countdown. Koko would randomly pop into alleys so he wouldn't be quickly noticed, though people did double take at him, but he was gone before they could get a good look.
  I need a place to hide... The wolf thought, looking around. Soon he saw an apartment that looked abandoned, and he quickly rushed over, crawling through a hole under the fence. He got against a wall, watching to see if anyone had followed him. Seeing nobody, he was about to go around the corner but quickly backed off when he saw a group of unknown dogs.
  He could see some of them standing on their hind legs, some using their paws to set up fireworks. He blinked at the sight. Back home dogs stood on all four paws and couldn't use them like humans could. He decided to watch to see if they were hostile, even though clearly they were having fun, and there was a pup among them. Just watch and analyze...

  Lupus, on the other paw, from his high viewpoint spotted the wolf from the