Rivalry: Part 3

{Chapters 7-9}
 

Chapter 7

Afghanna's nose twitched. Her ears jumped. She smelled...food! Yes! ...But she was going to have to hurry in order to meet Fang and Skip in Fang's alley home. She began walking in a fast trot, nails clicking on the sidewalk as she went.

A crowd of humans were huddled on the curb, in front of a brick building. Afghanna's eyebrow arched, eyelids half-closed. If she played her cards right, she'd get a free lunch. She already smelled hamburgers. The humans were cooing and tossing the food into the middle of the crowd. Afghanna padded silently up until she was behind the humans, crouching. She peeked through their legs, trying to see. But a few other humans stepped in her way, blocking her view.

Afghanna finally squeezed her way through the crowd, yelping once or twice when her paws or stubby, fluffy tail was stepped on. She eventually pushed into the center.

She groaned.

There, in the middle of the crowd, the humans gazing down, was a pup about Affy's age. She was a mutt, but very, very pretty. She had a fake rose behind her ear, probably given as a fashion statement by some doting human. Her ears framed her head, the color of an evening sky--orange. Her belly-fur was creamy and so were the circles around her eyes. Speaking of which, they were bright, gorgeous blue--the eyes, that is. The puppy was sitting on her hind legs, tongue out in a doggie grin, looking up at each human face, her front paws in the air--the begging position.

Food was being tossed her way...mostly bits of hamburger. Must've been a burger joint they were in front of.

"Oh, for--" Afghanna groaned.

She pushed through the crowd and grabbed the puppy by her scruff, dragging her out. The pup was still holding a slab of hamburger meat.

Once they were safely around the corner, Afghanna let go of the pup's scruff and faced her.

"Rose!" barked Afghanna. "What do you think you're doing?"

Rose smiled sweetly. It was so cute it made Affy want to wretch. "I wanted an early snack."

"Are you nuts, kid?" Afghanna circled her.

"Was it really that bad?" Rose asked in a small voice, crouching.

"Uh, you were begging. To humans!"

"I'd just rather not steal," Rose muttered.

Afghanna groaned. "Whatever. Tell that to Fang."

Rose's eyes brightened at the sound of the Golden Retriever's name. "We're gonna see Fang?"

"Yep. Remember when I told you about Fang's..." Afghanna paused, looking for the smartest word. "...obsession with that House Pet, Angel? Well, he's got another one of his brilliant little plans to win 'er over."

Rose immediately looked gloomy. She was in love with Fang, but the leader of the gang refused to notice. She didn't like it when Afghanna had told her about Fang's schemes. But she was determined to help him with his latest plan to get Angel all to himself. She, like the others, knew--or thought they knew--his obsession with Angel would pass.

They trotted along again.

"Think he'll want this?" Rose lifted her head, displaying the burger meat in her mouth.

"Try again, Rose," Afghanna commented dryly. "His Highness loves steak..."

"Oh. Well, I can always go back and get some from th--"

"...but he'll take burgers!" Afghanna corrected sharply, cutting her friend off. "Let's move, kid."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fang lay lounging on his pile of boxes. It was a mound of cardboard boxes, and if the sun was just right, it was sure to warm his back and turn his golden fur ablaze with bright colors of yellow. You see, his alley home (from a bird's eye-view) was an upside-down L.  It was between two brick buildings. If you walked into the alley from the sidewalk, cement underneath your feet, you'd keep walking in a northern direction until you turned left, then the alley would have a small-spaced corner, and you'd reach a dead-end of a brick wall. There, in the upper-left corner of that tight-spaced left-handed place, would be Fang's mound of cardboard boxes. He was the only dog who knew the ways into the mound, out of the mound, and the safest way to the top of the mound and down again.

 Skip paced at the foot of the box mound, eyebrows lowered in his usual scowl. He glared up at Fang, ceasing to pace for the moment. "What if she's in trouble? She should've been here by now."

"Relax, champ," Fang yawned, showing a row of the sharpest puppy teeth this side of the town. His tongue curled. "Affy's almost as streetwise as yours truly. She'll be fine."

Skip grumbled for a moment, then snapped, "Afghanna's more of a street dog than you'll ever be."

Fang raised his head. His front paws he repositioned. "Wanna run that by me again, kid?"

"Save your macho lessons for the squirrels, Fang," Skip growled. "I'm only sharin' my oppinion."

"Be more selfish next time, mutt, and keep your opinions to yourself." Fang muttered, resting his head down on his front paws again. "If Affy ain't here by the time I count to ten, we're startin' the meeting without 'er."

"Try counting to three, Your Highness, we're here." Afghanna appeared around the corner.

Fang sat up, giving his ear a scratch with a hind leg. Skip looked up and wagged his tail, but he didn't smile or lose the scowl.

"We?" Fang asked, curling his lip.

Afghanna looked over her shoulder, poking her head back around the corner. "What're you waiting for? Get over here."

Fang's ears jumped, listening.

"Hang on," came a muffled squeak from around the corner. "I dropped it."

Afghanna shook her head hopelessly and turned back to Fang. She sat down.

Rose came padding gingerly around the corner and stood beside Afghanna. Her tail wagged so hard when she saw Fang, he was sure it would lift her a few inches off the ground. She held a slab of burger meat in her jaws, big blue eyes sparkling up at him.

Fang's mouth watered at the sight of the meat, but he barely took notice of Rose. He hopped onto a flattened piece of cardboard and surfed it down the mound, jumping off as he hit cement, landing in front of Rose.

She was panting with adoration, but again he ignored it.

"Nice work, Affy," Fang grinned out-and-out as he took the meat up into his mouth and began chewing.

Rose's smile fell.

Afghanna noticed. "Hey, wasn't me. It was Rose."

Skip snorted.

Fang continued chewing. "Yeah? Good work, then, I guess," he muttered in Rose's direction. She beamed. "How'd you find it, anyways?" Fang asked between bites.

Rose jerked her head back the way they'd come. "I got from some humans--"

Fang spat out the hamburger and growled low. "Phah!" He bared his teeth at Rose. "You what? You were beggin' again, weren't ya?"

Rose tried to make herself small, eyes wide, crouching beneath Fang. "I-I-I didn't..."

"Call yourself a Street Dog?" Fang scoffed in disgust. "Why don't I just strap a collar 'round your neck and call it square, huh?" He circled around and hopped back onto his box-mound.

"Cool it, Fang, she brought it for you anyway," Afghanna snarled, barking a bit as she stood protectively in front of Rose, who stood and was gazing over Affy's shoulder at Fang.

"I don't want meat from humans, Affy, an' she oughta know it." Fang shot a mutinous look Rose's way. He sighed. "Kid, if you're gonna be part of the gang--"

"What gang?" Afghanna muttered.

"--you're gonna have to act like a Street Dog. No begging, got it?" Fang squinted at Rose.

She bounced on her paws, grinning a beautiful grin. "No problem!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Fang rolled his eyes. "Now, back t'buisness. Affy, Skip," he swung his head towards Rose again, "an' you, kid--"

Afghanna snorted.

"I got a plan that'll pry Angel away from that dopey House Pet friend o' hers faster than you can say 'bone'."

"Bone." Skip grunted, shrugging one shoulder. "Can we go now?"

Rose giggled. Afghanna snickered.

"In a minute you ain't gonna have any bones, Skipper, 'cuz I'll be chewin' on 'em." Fang's slang always showed up when he was the most peeved.

"Whatever," Afghanna muttered. "So, what's your big idea?"

 Fang rolled his eyes upward and this switched his gaze back to his "gang". One corner of his mouth was open, showing his infamous fangs in a doggie-grin. "Well..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"So lemme get this straight," Afghanna asked for the fiftieth time as they strolled down the sidewalk towards the house where Lady, Tramp, their four pups, and Angel lived. "You're just gonna take her out to...?"

"Breakfast." Fang answered, irritated. Sure, it wasn't his style, but being sincere was the only thing he hadn't tried with Angel.

"No tricks?" Afghanna checked. "No schemes, no daring adventures? No heroic