were going down to the creek to meet up with Marie's band, right Ripley?" said little Tyler.

"We insist," Bianca challenged. The others nodded. Tux sighed, wondering how long it would possibly take these dogs to get somewhere.

"I could use a break. We had a calving this morning with some problems. Dr. Kinley's at the barn helping Dave so I guess he'll be fine," said Ruffian.

"Righty then, let's git goin'," Ripley began toward the back of his home with the pack on his trail. They ran on through the open feild, even the small ones, without missing a step. Tux, however, could hardly keep up and struggled after them. His chest heaved; he coughed and wheezed and tried to press on but only found himself getting farther and farther away from them. Tux finally collapsed of exhaustion, wondering if they had noticed he wasn't with them yet. After catching his breath he rose to find Ruffian scowling at him only a few inches away.

"And just what are you doing, pretty boy?"

"I....uh.....think I got something in my paw so I just...."

"Listen here Champ, this is the last place a pansey like you oughta be, espcially nuzzling in on my territory. You know you've got a lot of nerve just barging in here expecting us to take you in and baby you like we've got nothing in the world better to do."

"You think I wouldn't go if I could? Please! This place is deader than an armadillo on a Texas highway. What in the makes you think I chose to be let off at this dump?"

"You are such a snob, you know that?"

"And what are you, Miss Personality?"

Ruffian stamped the ground with her paw, "I suggest you shut that overrun mouth of yours before you get yourself in some more trouble, buddy."

They were nose to nose again. Ruffian's eyes were furious but that wasn't quite the reason they made Tux back down.

"I'm sorry. I'll......I'll just find my way out of here, alright?"

Ruffian's stomach lurched. Tux's pathetic expression bore right through her. He ambled around her solemnly, ears back, toward Ripley's house. Toward the road out of town. Was she going soft? This was the same jerk who challenged her for her own bone, who had just waltzed into her family without notice. She couldn't believe he was turning her around.

"Come on," she sighed, "They're probably wondering what happened to you."

The pack had reached the creek on the otherside of the thin woods line. They were gathered together with a small band of strays and were mingling happily. Tux followed Ruffian into the crowd where they were greeted by the strays' alphas, the brindle and white Basenji mix Marie and her Rottweiler-looking mate Roux. Tux didn't even recognise them as strays; they were a very healthy looking group of dogs. Suddenly a scruffy looking salt-and-pepper English cocker spaniel tore out of the crowd and straight for Ruffian. He met her with nuzzles and kisses.

"Oh darlin', I missed you. Somethin' been wrong, sweetheart? I waited for you late last night, had a whole pork chop for us and everything," he whimpered. Ruffian looked tense, not happy at all to see the little spaniel. Tux struggled to hear them as they began to walk off together.

"Milo I......," she stumbled, "I was so tired from mousing in the barn yesterday evening, I could hardly stand. I'm so sorry Mi, I had to get some sleep. I would have come out to tell you it's just that the clearing's so far off."

'What a production. Must have taken her extra long to think of that one' Tux thought to himself.

Milo's voice was as smooth as silk as he wrapped himself around Ruffian, "Now don't you worry about that. We can always get together another time. How about behind that catfish place tonight? There'll be pleanty of scraps, and maybe we could find a nice spot after and...."

"I'm going down to the camp with David tonight, but another time for sure, Milo, I promise." Ruffian was faintly shaking.

The spaniel's expression turned rapidly from compassionate to icy. His haunches raised and his tail grew stiff. For the first time, Tux saw Ruffian submit and submit fast. She turned over on her side and nervously allowed him to sniff her over.

"I'm dissapointed Ruffian. VERY dissapointed. We don't have much time left...meet me in the clearing in exactly seven days," he growled.

"Milo, I'm not so sure......"

"Seven....days," he whispered in her ear, "Or we'll have ourselves a problem...." Milo slinked past her, making his way back toward the band with a spring in his trot and a happy grin across his face.

Tux couldn't catch the last part- even though he had "sort of" followed them to the edge of the clearing- but he understood loud and clear what Ruffian had gotten herself into and that Milo was no happy-go-lucky cocker. He thought twice about going to her and seeing if she was alright, but he knew she'd accuse him for listening in. He quieted his conscious and unconspicuously snuck back into the crowd where everyone had fallen silent exept for the curl-tailed alpha female, Marie. She was a beautiful dog, wearing a "coat" of dark brown brindle markings over a white base. She was a medium sized mix and had long, powerfull legs. Her voice was even more powerful.

"I'm sure everyone is well aware of the new hardship that has befallen us strays recently. Other packs in the area have been resisting the Stray's Code, breaking the #1 law.....letting humans see them deliberately. They are stealing without limit. I've even heard of a band actually breaking into a human home in broad daylight to steal food right in front of their eyes. This kind of behavior has to stop! You may think it is only the effect of the shortage of food we've been having. But these dogs' unnessessary ignorance is going to make all strays pay......some with their very lives."

Tux felt the dogs around him shudder. Marie began to pace the circle of both pets and strays that had formed around her. Out of the corner of his eye, Tux spotted a small litter of puppies playing at the feet of a dark dappled Catahoula mix. From the look of them, they had to belong to Marie and the brawny Roux. The dappled female hushed them as their father continued where Marie left off.

"Without being able to take from the human garbage, since security will be promisingly tight, there is a high possiblity of finding ourselves starving in a matter of days. The growth of the Briaridge pack has almost completely wiped out our already dwendling natural food sources; overhunting's gone on everywhere. And so we ask your help pets, we ask you to help your brothers."

Ripley barked, "You have our word Roux, we'll do whatever we can." The other pets nodded in approval.

"How about a stash?" Tux blurted.

The crowd was now fixed on him. Marie beckoned him to the middle of the circle.

"A stash. Get us pets to bring food to a safe spot, then just take from there. I know we won't be able to take a lot at a time, but there are more of us than there are of you. It can only help," he offered.

Marie and Roux smiled at each other, pleased with the new dog's plan. The group began to whisper among themselves. Tux even heard the usual "he's so cute!" being passed between young females.

"Thank you Tux, I have no idea how much this means to us. And for being so new I admire your courage," said Marie, touching a friendly nose to Tux's. The majority agreed with Tux's idea and the plan was set. The food storage was to be right there at the creek clearing. Many of the dogs began digging a place of deposit beneath a large boulder on the other side of the creek. Meanwhile, Tux was invited to join Marie, Roux, and their children to share the final portion of a stray's delicacy- a cow found dead by the pack weeks earlier. When offered, Tux shied away.

"It's just not sanitary.....no offense."

The pair weren't offended at all; Roux could hardly keep himself from laughing.

"Where'dyou think your fancy dog food comes from, boy?"

Tux thought back to the hard green kibbles he had eaten the night before. No telling what that stuff was made of. He insisted that his stomach was hyper-sensistive and the alphas shrugged it off. They and their litter dug in as if they had never seen food, or whatever you would call a rotting cow carcass, before.

The sun was begining to set. Ripley barked to his group to follow him out of the woods. Ruffian stuck to Ripley's side; she was keeping eerilly silent. Tux thanked Marie and Roux once again for their hospitality. He had always thought of all strays as being the disgusting thugs who ran around fighting, gang raping, and stealing food like those found in the city. These guys stole for their lives though, and he was inspired by their strength and will to stay alive.

Ruffian and Tux broke off from the group and jaunted home down the now darkened dirt road. They didn't speak, nor did they look at each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ruffian was hurting....badly. That meeting with Milo had her feeling even more hollow and sorry for herself than usual. She knew the others talked about her. They talked about how she had been running out on Milo, she knew they did. How were they to know how awfully he treated her? How were they to know how many times he had bitten her or forced her....

'Why can't I just end this?' she thought, trying to keep from breaking down in front of Tux who ran quietly behind her. She was supposed to be the strongest, the leader of her farm's dogs. She couldn't even free herself from an abusive relationship. Some leader! But she knew exactly why she dared not to separate herself from Milo. Under his "affectionate" outer layer lay what Milo truely was- vicious. Killing her wouldn't be under him. All he wanted from her was a litter after all; there wasn't much for him to lose. Once she came into heat Milo would act even more of a savage, he would be twelve times more dangerous to challenge. The only thing she could do was to try and keep her distance from him for as long as possible, and to hope for a

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