Another Day, Another Bone: Home Sweet Home

  In a dark alley a dog limped forward on his only front paw, tired from that day. He didn't know how much more he could stand living this way, all alone, nobody to really talk to or live with. This alley was his home, but he didn't like it. In fact, he hated it. He hated the dark, he hated the musty smell, hated the rats crawling around, he hated everything!
  He looked up at the cloudy sky, the stars blocked due to the lights outside his alleyway. He gave a small whine, and put his head on his only front paw. He gave a lick to the side of his muzzle, feeling the smoothed, burned skin. The memories still haunted him from that night... He wished hard on whatever star was there that he would be pulled out of this dank, depressive alleyway.

    Slick was standing on the piano bench in his home, paws on the window sill, watching his master leave for another business trip. He was thankful not to go, because if he did that would mean a dog show of some kind. The fancy Dalmatian really didn't care for the shows, but when needed he would pick his head up, straighten his tail, and flatten his fur. Now that his master was gone, he could go out and meet up with his pal Zero with Charlie. He may have looked fancy, but once outside he'd ruffle the fur on his head and enjoy his time out.
  The Dalmatian grinned widely, and hopped down. His thin, spotted tail wagged happily as he swaggered to the back door, going through the doggy-door installed for him, and going through the backyard. It was fairly simple, but since his owner was a big-shot he of course had a huge garden as well. The beauty of the place was ignored by the dog, who had seen it a million times already. He went over to a twisted looking shrub near the fence and pushed his way under it.
  And a mere two feet in, he felt his clean paws go in a hole he had buried a long while ago and he grinned. The perfect way to get nice 'n' dirty and get out to the city. His master always blamed the dirt on Slick being rambunctious and rolling around in his garden, but could never find traces of rolling. The optimistic dog crawled through his hole until he came out on the other side, a dirt patch just barely close to the street.
  The bored hound shook the mass majority of the dirt off his fur, ruffled his head fur, then looked himself up and down for his handi-work. His fur was darker than the usual shining white, but it wasn't dark enough for his spots to be gone. Grinning wider, he chuckled. He liked his fur better this way. Ladies liked the down-and-dirty look, especially with the ruffled up head fur. Satisfied by his street-dog appearance, he took off to go see his pal Zero.

  "Alright Koko, let's see ya down another!" Zak said, grinning. The red and orange wolf gave a smirk and picked up the glass, then downing the entire thing in a manner of seconds.
  "Top that Zak!" Koko growled challengingly towards the tan Doberman that was his drinking buddy. Zak gave a smirk and grabbed another glass, draining it quickly. Watching the two canines from nearby seats were Zero and Duncan.
  "How much do you think they can drink?" Duncan asked, looking up at Zero.
  "Not sure." The black dog replied simply. "A better question is why my doofus brother and Charlie keep re-supplying them." Duncan giggled as he turned his attention back to the grown-ups drinking just as Chandler brought new drinks to them. The two young dogs watched Charlie pay for the drinks and Chandler taking them to the Doberman and wolf at the table, where they were promptly swallowed down.
  Charlie was about to buy another round, but he paused, ears perked. He looked around and, seeing an empty table with a glass of water on it, he walked quickly over to it and stared at it. Duncan and Zero watched him a moment curiously as he nodded, shook his head, and flicked his tail multiple times. Glancing at each other and shrugging, they looked back at Zak and Koko, who had decided to call their beer contest a draw so they would only be buzzed. Suddenly, Zero felt his back prodded by a short claw.
  "Hey hey Zero, the Slickster doesn't like to be ignored." A voice said behind him. Turning, the black Shepherd grinned widely at his best friend Slick.
  "Hey Slick! Owner out of town again? How long this time?"  He asked, knowing Slick only came when his owner was gone.
  "Two weeks best buddy o' mine." The Dalmatian said, clapping Zero on the back. Zero's tail wagged quickly, happy that he got two weeks to hang out with all of his friends. They all heard the door open and looked over, seeing Itchy dashing in, heading towards Charlie. The mutt looked down at his best friend, and they conversed lowly.
  Zero, figuring something was up, walked over, Slick behind him.
  "Something wrong guys?" He asked when he was close enough. Charlie took a glance at him then back at Itchy, who gave a small shake of his head.
  "Well... Er..." Charlie scratched the back of his neck, digging deep into his wild fur as if trying to get rid of a really bad itch. Slick raised an eyebrow.
  "Kitty cat got your tongue Charlie?" He asked, making Zero smile a bit. Itchy looked up at Charlie, shaking his head again. Deciding to ignore him, but not tell the whole truth, he started.
  "Well... Itchy here told me about a dog in trouble." Charlie said, Itchy's jaw dropping at the comment about him. "He's all alone in an alley, needs a good home, that sort of thing."
  Zero blinked at him. "Really? Are we going to help him?"
  "Of course we are! I'd be insulted if we didn't." Charlie said, thumping Zero's back and wagging his scruffy tail.
  "Let's go then, lead the way Itch!" Zero said. The Dachshund, looking nervous, started to go, the two young dogs following, Charlie at his side. Chandler decided to stay and help the buzzed canines get home, watching them leave. The two older dogs started arguing in low tones so the other two couldn't understand them, and Zero glanced at his best pal.
  "What are they arguing about?" He whispered.
  "Beats me." Slick said, his narrow tail swishing through the air.  The four stuck together closely, looking in different dark alleys for the dog they were supposed to find. Soon Itchy turned one corner and heard a growl, quickly backing off.
  "What? You jerks here to mess with me?" The voice growled. Zero and Slick looked around the corner and backed off as an older dog came out, looking a bit bad-tempered and defensive. Zero couldn't help looking shocked at the dog's appearance: a missing leg and ear and the left side of his face burned to a smooth pink. Slick managed to recover faster than the others.
  "We're not here to make fun of you guy. But you look like you need some help out of that dank alleyway." The Dalmatian said quickly. The disfigured German Shepherd seemed to loosen up only slightly as he looked back at the alley he called home with his good eye.
  "Help... Huh, more like need a new place..." He grumbled as he looked at the other four. "So, you're supposed to be trying to help me find a new home eh?" He growled.
  "Yeah. We wanna help so you won't be by yourself..." Zero said. "I'm Zero." He continued, offering his black paw to shake. The burn-faced dog looked at the proffered paw in slight annoyance, and just as Zero was getting nervous and about to pull back he pushed his shoulder against the wall to keep balance and offered his good paw, which all the dogs took turns shaking.
  "I'm Vincent. Shouldn't ask why you guys are so concerned, the way I look." He said. "Still, why help a dog who's... Broken..."
  Zero tilted his head. "Broken? You're not broken Vincent." Vincent merely gave a snort.
  "Yeah, sure. Look at your friends Zero." He said. Zero took a glance from Slick, to Charlie, Itchy, and finally back at Vincent, who was looking at him with a face that clearly said now you see what I mean.
  "... I see no difference from you and them Vincent. Besides that I don't know if you consider me a friend or not." The young black Shepherd replied. Vincent merely stared at him.
  Talk about puppy-like innocence... Vincent thought.
  "You really shouldn't consider yourself a broken dog. Sure, you're a little messed up but..." Zero paused, seeing the thoughtful look starting to darken. Slick immediately jumped in.
  "What my best friend is trying to say Vince, is that though you think you look bad, that doesn't matter. How do you feel about us?" The quick-speaking hound asked. The dark look turned into one of slight understanding and went back to thoughtful.
  "Well..." He started, "I consider you guys friends since... Well, I've been kinda vicious and I nearly jumped down Zero's throat, and yet you guys are still willing to help..."
  Slick playfully grabbed the older dog's maw shut, making him jump in surprise. "Say no more Vincent, we get it. You wanna be friends, we wanna be friends, so now we're friends." He grinned, letting go. Giving a blink at Slick, Vince turned his attention back to Zero.
  "Strange little Dalmatian huh? Not as... Tame as others."
  "If I wasn't sure he was pure-bred I would say he had some little yappy dog in him the way he keeps talking." Zero grinned, Slick