"LARIET!"

The sharp cry could be heard all around the ranch. The cattle in the small pasture raised their heads as a black female came darting around the corner, amber eyes blazing. "Beggin'  yur pardon, ma'ams," the dog said, bending a leg into a bow. One cow mooed, and the female took off around the barn.

"Lariet, where in the hay are you!"

"Will you quit your shouting? Your disturbing the wallabies in Australia!"

The black female turned as a dusty tan dog poked his head around the corner of the red barn, looking rather cross.

"Clyde, I've toldja once, I've toldja a hundred times. I don' know what a wallaby is, and until you decide to go an' tell me, I don't care if I'm a waking 'em or not!" the black female replied, stamping her paw on the ground, a sure sign she was in no better mood then he was.

Clyde rolled his eyes. "What's got your tail in a knot?"

"Nevermin' my tail, is Mattie in there with you?"

Clyde arched a brow, but called over his shoulder. "Mattie, Brier needs ya."

A second later, a cream and brown female appeared beside him. "Evening, Brier," she greeted kindly, "Shouldn't you have headed out by now?"

The black female snorted. "Ya, we shoulda've, but that scatterbrained Lariet's gone and disappeared again! Please tell me you've seen 'im, Mattie," Brier asked, her tone slightly pleading.

The brown female smiled. "He disappeared with Dally after lunch. I haven't seen either one since," she said.

Brier huffed. "Shoulda known. Thank ya kindly, Mattie!" she said before taking off.

The black female raced past the corral of cattle again, the cows paying her no heed this time, past  the wooden house where her humans lived, and a small shed where they kept tools before she came to a stop outside a smaller barn, this one dark blue instead of brown, and much older. Nudging the door open with her nose, Brier poked her head inside.

"Lariet! I know yer in here, now come on out!" she shouted, her voice echoing off the rafters. There was a rustling in the hayloft, and Brier's head snapped up. Instead of seeing the brown eyes of the male she was looking for, she saw a pair of golden eyes.

"Dally! Is Lariet up there with you?" Brier barked.

The black border collie looked around, her ears lowering shyly. "Uh, well, you see, we were, we thought, that, uhm," Dally stuttered.

"He's stuck again, ain't he?" Brier interrupted flatly.

"Yes ma'am."

Heaving a sigh, the black female made her way to the steps and bounded up. "Lariet! What in the name of all things good have you gone an' done now?" she asked sharply.

"ow id ou ind us?" came a muffled reply.

"Yer as predictable as a salmon in spring, that's how," Brier retorted, "Now where are you?"

Dally walked over to a spot by the wall and pointed a paw at it. Arching a brow, Brier padded over and look down into a hole in the straw. A pretty deep hole, too. At the bottom of the hole, his paw stuck in the floor, was a black and gray male. Lariet grinned sheepishly. "Aheh, heya Brier."

"Oh for-! Lariet! You know how behin' we are al'ready jus' lookin' fer you! Lands sake, why'd you come up here fer? An' why'd you come with 'im?" she added, looking at Dally. Both dogs blushed in unison.

Brier huffed, shaking her head in annoyance. "Ya'll can do whatevur ya like, aftur work! Now, Lariet, gimmie yer other paw, pronto," she ordered.

Lariet held up the paw that wasn't sunk through the floor, and Brier grabbed it in her teeth. "Ow! Hey, watch it," the male said. Brier glared at him and gave a hefty tug. Lariet yelped, there was a snap, and the male's paw jerked free. Brier released his paw and grabbed his scruff. "'imb ou ig issy," she growled through her teeth, and Lariet scrambled up the hay as Brier pulled.

The male flopped foreword onto the straw. He grinned, but Brier butted him to his paws."C'mon, ya lazy bum! We're late enough as it is! Dally, you get yerself back to Miss Mcaslin! Ya'll can pick up where you left off aftur we're done with the herdin'!"

Lariet grinned at dally as Brier butted him out the door. "Git movin' or I'll start treating ya like a caribou!" she snapped.

This got the male practically sprinting his way towards the big barn, Brier hot on his heels. Waiting for them were three more dogs:  two males and a female. The female trotted up to meet them, swatting Lariet over the head. "Shame on you for making us late and having Brier run all over just to find you!"

Lariet winced, but grinned at the brown female. "Sorry sis," he said, giving all four dogs a sheepish look.

Brier opened her mouth to snap at him, but was interrupted when Mr. Mcaslin came around the corner. "There ya'll are!" he said, tilting the tan hat on his head back. The five dogs barked and crowded around as the man bent down to their level. Giving each dog a pat, the man straightened. "Awright, gang, let's git to it!"

Master and dogs headed out into the large field where about three dozen caribou grazed. Their brown and white coats dappled against the snowy background, making it easy to spot stragglers. Mr. Mcaslin whistled sharply, and the five dogs took off, each knowing what the other was supposed to do.

Brier darted in, nipping at a stubborn caribou's heels. The caribou bellowed and swung it's antlers at her, but the black female was quicker and nimbly dodged them. On the other side of the heard, Lucy and Lariet brought in a couple of caribou that lagged behind. Brier quickly looked around, seeing her fellow herders keeping the rest of the herd together.  Aside from their usual bellowing and stamping impatiently, the caribou came along somewhat willingly. A few kicked out at the dogs, or swung their antlers at them, but the dogs were used to this and knew how to avoid the broad hooves and sharp antlers.

Things went smoothly until they reached the gate. There, several caribou began to balk. This made the rest of the herd uneasy, and they began to bellow louder then before. The dogs moved quickly, barking at them and nipping their heels to get them to move foreword as Mr. Mcaslin shouted over the bellowing.

Brier jumped in front of a caribou that tried to break away, keeping it in place. At last, the caribou began to move again, stamping and bustling into the barn. Mr. Mcaslin shut the heavy doors, putting the lock in place. "Good girl," he said, patting Brier on the head. The black female barked happily as the other dogs came up. Mr. Mcaslin praised them all and gave each one a pat.

Another day of good work, and the group headed back. Mr. Mcaslin went to the house, while the dogs headed towards a small shed, where all the dogs slept. Dally came out to greet them, giving Lariet a lick on the cheek, making the male grin. Brier rolled her eyes and Lucy giggled as they entered the shed.

The other dogs were already there, having finished herding the cattle a little earlier. Six dogs looked up as the others came in. Emmett, a german shepherd mix, watched as Lariet and Dally sat down. His mate, JoBeth, a border collie, nudged his shoulder and gave him a firm look. Dally was their daughter, and it was only natural for him to be protective. The rest of them found it amusing how hard Lariet worked to prove to the older male he was good enough for his daughter.

Brier trotted over to a pile of old blankets on the floor. Stretching once, she laid down, glad to give her aching paws a rest.

"Rough day?" Mattie asked with a smile.

"You have nooo idea," Lucy said, taking a seat beside Brier. "Those caribou are so restless lately, aren't they Travis?"

The german shepherd male nodded from his place across the shed, next to Clyde and a large brown and black male.

"You okay, Mac?" JoBeth gently asked the other male.

Ol'Mac was the oldest, and largest, of them. Due to his large size, the Mcaslin's used him for both herding caribou and cattle. Lately, though, the male's age had started catching up with him, leaving him a bit stiff at the end of the day.

Ol'Mac chuckled. "Don'  you worry, non. I'm fine," he said in his deep southern accent.

"Man, at least you guys get some excitement," Nash, a australian cattle dog, spoke up from the corner.

"Speak for yourself," the male beside him, Cutter, Clyde's brother, muttered.

"What happened to you?" Brier asked, spotting a cut on the males shoulder.

"Cow took a kick at 'im," Nash said, "Getting slow, aren't ya?" he teased.

The others laughed when Cutter swatted at the younger male, narrowly missing his head. The dogs chatted for a bit longer, then one by one began to doze off. Lariet and Dally snuggled up together in one corner, Emmet and JoBeth in another, Brier, Lucy, and Mattie on the old blankets, leaving Nash, Clyde, Cutter, Travis, and Ol'Mac to dog pile in the middle of the floor.

~=~=~=~=~=~

The next morning did not start well for anyone. There was a mild rain, and within minutes the dogs were soaked and cold. The cattle and caribou were in no better mood. One cow raised such a fuss that it kicked Buck Mcaslin, Mr. Mcaslin's brother, and he had to be taken inside. That left Jeremy Mcaslin, the younger brother of Buck and Mr., to do the caribou while Mr. Mcaslin did the

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