Toby Recharged: Fallen Angel

Angel never intended to become a thief. Indeed, there was little to suggest that she might turn out to be one. It was true she was a little prone to get into mischief. But then all of her brothers and her sister Arrow were prone to minor misbehaviors; even their parents spoke, often with laughter, about the trouble they had gotten into in their growing-up years. Only Star, whom some would have considered the youngest of the litter, was obedient every single time without hesitation and never went anywhere without their parents' immediate presence or at least their permission. But Angel, like all puppies, enjoyed wandering around and was known to get a little bit obstinate at times when called or told to go somewhere. All in all, her parents thought her no worse behaved than anyone her age.

Her road to rebellion began in one of her family's favorite places for a good frolic, a storage lot near the harbor.

“Hey Dad!” yipped Caspar, a boy pup with orange-ish fur like Luna's. “Can't catch me!”

The whole family was involved in a spirited game of tag, and Toby was it. He turned toward the sound of Caspar's voice, tripping over his feet and falling on his face. It was an act; he could be quite light on his feet when he chose to. But early on as a father, he had practiced a habit of being clumsy on his paws whenever the game was anything competitive. Most of the pups realized it, but it didn't matter to them. The faking was just part of the fun. The boxes and crates scattered around also gave an extra element of sport to the game. While climbing them was forbidden in tag, they made excellent places to hide from pursuit or lie in wait for potential targets; an especially effective maneuver when everyone was constantly running to and fro, trying to stay in sight of the action but out of sight of whoever was “it.”

Caspar stuck his head out from behind a crate and blew a raspberry – a noise both Toby and Luna always frowned upon. Toby scrambled to his feet and was after him like a shot. The two disappeared from Angel's sight, followed a moment later by a triumphant “Gotcha!” from Toby. Then he came galloping out, tongue waving in a most ridiculous-looking manner, with the pup bounding after him.

Angel stopped behind a crate on the edge of the storage lot to catch her breath. And it was then that she heard a voice.

“Psst! Hey, over here!”

Angel looked around and saw some older pups, about six to nine months old, beckoning her over. Looking back, she saw that her parents and siblings were oblivious to the matter.

“What are you waitin' for? C'mere!”

Curious, she approached the dogs. They were mostly well-groomed, testifying that they were not strays, but well-cared-for pets. “What do you want?” she asked.

One of them, a black and brown mixed-breed, shrugged. “You looked kinda bored and we thought you'd like to hang with us.”

Angel hesitated. “My parents said not to wander too far away,” she replied.

A brown husky sneered. “So what? You always do what they say? Come on. Be your own dog.”

Angel frowned. Part of her knew she'd get in trouble, but another part said, Why not? They're busy with the others. A couple minutes and I can go back. So she nodded. “Yeah, okay,” she said. As they set off down the street, she added, “My name's Angel.”

“Oh, a perfect little Angel, huh?” asked a black-and-gray malamute, guffawing. “Always do what mommy and daddy say, right?”

As the other dogs began to laugh, Angel bared her teeth. She had been taught that it's good to do what you're told, but this bunch made it sound baby-ish. “Hey, I can do what I want!” she protested.

“Ah, relax, Angel,” said the brown husky. “We're just yankin' your collar a little. You stick with us, we'll show you how to have a good time. By the way, name's Max. We were just about to have a little lunch. You want to join us?”

Angel hesitated. Toby and Luna didn't like it when she and her siblings ate between meals, as tempting as that had been since they'd been introduced to solid food and the realization that every garbage can and pile was a potential source of nourishment and flavor.

Max seemed impatient for her reply. “What'sa matter, mom and pop don't want ya to spoil your dinner?” This drew more snickers from the group.

“Well,” she tried to reason, “They might notice if I'm not hungry later, and then I'd get in trouble.”

“Oh, I guess you're right,” Max said, dripping with sarcasm.

“Yeah,” added a girl Akita. “By the way, love the goody-two-shoes you're wearing. What size are they?”

“Ya want me to polish them?” chimed the mixed-breed.

“Okay, fine!” Angel snapped. “I'll have a bite or two, you happy?”

“Gee, don't be so tense, sista,” said Max. “It's okay. We'll have you back with your folks in no time, and they won't know a thing. What they don't know won't hurt 'em.”

As they walked, Angel learned the other dogs' names. The Akita who had made a crack about her “goody two-shoes” was Lily, the black-and-gray malamute was Buck, and the mixed-breed was Sammy.

Angel wasn't surprised when they stopped at the butcher's shop. The back was a popular place for dogs who wanted something tasty to chew on. Toby and Luna had taken their kids there once, and taught them the difference between bones that were safe to chew on and ones that weren't. Going there didn't surprise Angel in the least. What did surprise her was that they didn't stop at the back, but slid into a hole under the building. That hole led to a grate which led up into a cold room lit only by light under the door. What caught her attention, though, was the smell. The room had an overpowering scent of sawdust and meat. She zeroed in on the latter and followed it towards the ceiling, where as her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw dangling hams, strings of sausage, a haunch or two of venison, and some great big slabs of beef.

“What are we doing in here?” she asked as Lily boosted her in.

Max turned to her, his face smug in the dim light. “What, you ain't gonna start up about your folks again, are ya?”

“No,” she replied, although she had indeed been thinking about that very thing. “It's just that I... I heard about a wolf that got in the butcher's shop once. The butcher thought he was stealing and threw a knife at him. He almost got killed.”

“Don't worry,” said Buck, climbing in. “The man'll never know we were in here.”

“But aren't we stealing?” asked Angel as Lily stood on her hind legs to sniff a ham.

Lily smirked. “Of course we are...”

“Aren't,” Max interrupted. “We're just, uh, you know, takin' the stuff that's gonna go bad soon anyways. Saves the butcher havin' to throw it out. We're helpin' him.”

“Oh,” said Angel. Well, there couldn't be anything wrong with helping someone.

“Here,” offered Max, pulling down some sausage links for her to sample. “These are past their prime. Knock yourself out.”

Angel reluctantly took a bite and started to chew. At first it felt like chewing snow mixed with beef juices, but as the cold meat warmed in her mouth, a smile grew. The juicy meat and tangy spices mixed to form a taste like nothing she'd ever had before. “Mmm,” she mumbled contentedly as she swallowed. Maybe it was too old for humans to appreciate, but hey, their loss was her gain, Better not eat too much, though, she thought. She still didn't want to risk her parents' suspicion if she wasn't hungry later. So she only ate four links and, deciding that was enough, turned to Max. “I'd better get going,” she excused herself. “But thanks for the snack.”

“No problem,” he mumbled around a mouthful of beef. “You sure you don't wanna stay a little longer?”

“Nah, I don't have the time,” she admitted. “But maybe we can meet up some other day?”

“Yeah, sure,” Max replied.

“Thanks. Bye.” And with that, she exited through the still-open grate.

After she had gone, the other dogs looked at Max. “Why are you letting a squirt like that hang with us?” asked Lily.

“Yeah, echoed Buck. “Ain't she a little on the shrimpy side for us?”

Max rolled his eyes. “I know that,” he muttered, “But don't you mutts get it? She's so small, she can fit into all kinds of places. We could use a scrawny little pup like that.”

“Not if she knows you were lying,” Sammy pointed out. “That steak I just had was the freshest I've ever tasted.”

Max smirked. “Just leave that to me,” he replied. “She'll be one of us before you know it.”

Angel returned to where her family had been and found them still there, nosing around and calling her name. “Here I am!” she called.

Everyone ran to greet her. “Where were you?” asked Luna.

“Yeah,” echoed Caspar. “We were playing hide-and-seek for hours, but even all of us working together couldn't find you.”

“Caspar,” Toby gently corrected, “It