I can't make sense like him yet, he thought, not liking the thought at all. “Well, I didn't get all of it either,” he admitted. “But he talked about how you and he are part of me, and other people and dogs who love me like Grandma and Grandpa are part of me, and even some humans like Connie, and those are all what make me strong.”
Luna was starting to get it, and she had some idea now of Toby's strategy. “Alright,” she said. “That's all I need to know for now.”
Caspar smiled and wagged his tail. “Now can I go play?”
Luna nodded. “Yes, we'll both go. I've been itching for a little fun myself.”
They found Toby cornered by the pups between two houses a few blocks away. His fur was mussed and damp with snow, a testament to the wildness of the game. “Looks like you've bitten off more than you can chew, huh caribou?” asked Luna.
Toby laughed. “I guess so,” he replied as the pups, circled around him, surged in for their “kill.” But just as they were about to get him, he gathered himself and bounded over their heads, laughing. “But then,” he added as he hit the ground and made a dash for the gap between Luna and the wall, “I've been wrong before!”
Luna calmly stepped in his way, causing him to crash into her and fall flat. “Yeah, you sure have,” she replied as she extracted herself from the wreckage and the pups rushed in to take her place.
“Hey!” Toby protested as they swarmed him like piranhas, “Whose-ow! Side-Ack! Are-dow! You oon-ow!”
Luna laughed as Caspar joined the fracas. “Ask me again when your ears are gone,” she joked as Arrow and Caspar began a game of tug-of war with Toby's ears between them.
“Ow-ow-ow!” Toby cried.
Luna smiled. “OK, kids, the caribou's dead. Let him up,” she chided.
“If he's dead,” asked Angel, “Why are we letting him up?”
“Because now I have to go to caribou heaven,” he replied with an exaggerated groan.
Luna laughed as the pups tumbled off of Toby and he rose to his feet. “Do I still have my fur?” he asked jokingly as he turned his head every which-way to check for damage.
Arrow smirked. “Everything but the top of your head, Dad,” she reported, to laughter from the rest.
Toby looked at Luna, worried. “She's joking, right?”
“Relax, dear,” she said, touching her nose to his. “Bald's a cute look for you.”
“Ha-ha, very funny,” he grumbled, touching a paw to his scalp just to be sure.
“Now what, Mom, Dad?” asked Caspar. “What do we play now?”
Toby smiled, a certain smile Luna had come to dread. “Now...” he gloated.
“Honey, don't you da-”
“It's your mom's turn to be the caribou!”
“Yeeaaahh!” cheered the pups, surging towards Luna. Luna, in mock-terror, ran off down the street fast enough to stay ahead but slow enough to make it a reasonably fair chase. “Toby!” she called, “I'm going to get you for this!”
Toby laughed and ran after them, chortling all the way.
At the end of the race, Luna suggested a visit to her parents, receiving mixed responses. Star was in favor. Angel and Zar were indifferent. Arrow was okay with it, but said she'd rather stay with Luna or go home and see if Eugene wanted to play. And Mel said he'd prefer to go home and take a nap. In the end, Arrow was permitted to go home, since Eugene was her master, and Caspar talked the others into going to see their grandparents.
Once they had dropped in to visit Copper and Taya (who were more than glad to have their grandkids' company), Luna quietly disappeared with Toby at the first opportunity. While the grandparents kept the youngsters entertained, the two stepped out onto the porch.
“Is something wrong?” asked Toby.
Luna shook her head. “I don't know as there's something wrong, exactly, but Caspar was playing around again this morning and from what he said, you said something last night that prompted him to do it.”
“What?” asked Toby. “I don't know what you mean.”
“He said you told him that you were part of him, and that he got his strength from that.”
“I told him... oh wait...” he trailed off. “Well, yes, but I told him that everyone was a part of him-everyone who cares about him and vice-versa, that is.”
“He mentioned that too, but apparently he zeroed in on one fact: you are part of him.”
He groaned. “I was trying to explain to him that I'm not the only part of who he is. That there's a great deal to his identity and his destiny, not just the little bit of him he got from me.”
She sighed. “I believe you,” she said softly, “But he's not getting that message clearly enough. You need to get the point across to him that his future is his own, and that he has to find his own gifts.”
He nodded. “I'll try,” he promised. “And soon. Definitely soon.” Lowering his gaze to the floor, he muttered, “But it would be a lot easier if I had some idea of what his gifts are.”
She smiled and licked his cheek. “You'll figure it out,” she said. “I have faith in you.”
Toby spent the better part of the day trying to decide how to talk to his son about their little problem. He wanted to be clear, but he didn't want to be so emphatic as to sound angry. More than anything, he wanted to avoid hurting the pup's feelings, knowing how difficult it had been when, as a pup, he himself had been brought face-to-face with his own ineptitude. “Caspar, I'm glad you want to be like me, but I just don't think you can,” he tested. “No, that last part sounds too harsh. Son, it's great that you want to be like me, but I think you should try to learn what you can do yourself. No, still not coming out right. Look, Cas...”
“Who are you talking to, dad?”
Toby looked to see Caspar coming toward him. “Oh, hey,” he greeted, taken aback slightly. “Caspar, I've uh... I've been meaning to talk to you.”
“You have?” asked the pup.
“Yeah, there's something I need to explain.”
“What's that?” asked Caspar, tilting his head.
“It's this business of you trying to do all the stuff in the stories.”
Caspar began to wag his tail. “You want to go practice?” he asked.
“No, no,” Toby replied. “I... that is...” he trailed off, trying to think. He took a deep breath and let it out before continuing. “Look, son, I'm glad that you want to be like me, really, it's just...”
Caspar groaned. “Have you been talking to Mom again?”
Toby paused. “Well, yes.”
“I knew it. You're starting her routine about how I should stop acting like you and try to be me.”
Toby clicked his tongue. “Well, yes, but-”
“But I don't want to be me, Dad. Me is boring. There's nothing special about me.”
“That's not true. There's a lot that's special about you.”
“Like what?” asked Caspar, looking up at him. “Name something.”
“Well,” Toby began, not sure how to finish. “You're adventurous, you're smart...”
“Yeah, but you were always smart, Dad.”
“Not according to your mother,” he joked. “Look, all I'm asking is for you to try something different once in a while.”
“You mean I can't play the stories anymore?”
Toby froze. He had no idea how to answer that. If he said Caspar couldn't practice anymore, the pup might think he wasn't proud of him. But if he said that he could, then how could he expect him to pursue gifts of his own?
After a moment's careful thought, he replied, “Well, I was just thinking it might be more fun to try something new, something we haven't done before.”
“But I like the old games. I like hiding and climbing and fun things like that.”
“Well, yes, but don't they ever get boring?”
“No.”
Toby blew out through pursed lips. I wonder if I was this much trouble, he thought. “We'll talk about this later, OK?”
“OK,” Caspar mumbled. No puppy likes to hear that his parents want him to quit his favorite pastime, and he was no exception to the rule.
“Come on,” said Toby. “It's getting dark. We'd better get you back home.”
After returning Caspar to Luna's house, Toby wandered around town for awhile, pondering his dilemma. So engrossed was he in wondering he didn't even notice the chill creeping through his fur. What could he do to get Caspar to try something new?
“Boy, you look glum,.”
“Huh?” Toby's head shot up. Looking back and forth, he spotted a familiar yellow husky a few yards away. “Oh. Hi Pete.” Pete's presence was much more welcome than it had been in the past. It was true, he still had his troublesome moments, but he was working hard to reform his character, and it was definitely showing.
“What are you up to this time of night?” asked the blusky.
Pete smiled just a little. “On my way home from a date with Trixie,” he replied.
“How'd it go?”
Pete's smile broadened. “She said she's never seen me so...” he paused to remember the word. “Courteous.”
Toby smiled. “Glad to hear it's working out,” he replied. But his smile soon faded as he thought again of his own problems.
“Something wrong?”
Toby nodded. “It's my son, Caspar.”
“Caspar, Caspar...” Pete