Chapter 1
Chad sniffed cautiously and dug his paws through some more trash. After spending so many weeks doing hunting training with Trusty, Chad was itching to get home. But first, he needed to find food. He sniffed again, this time searching for some trace of food.
He jerked his head away from the metal trash can. He had definitley heard someone nearby. He could've sworn seeing a bright flash of sunlight blaze by out of the corner of his eye, but when he whirled around, he saw none. He shrugged, figuring he was imagining things. But as he sniffed for more food, the scent of another dog caught his nostrils. Female.
Chad looked around. Finally he saw a bright golden dog tipping the neighbor's trash cans and then going through their wreckage for food as well. Chad strained his ears to hear what she was saying to herself.
"...dumb Mazie. Getting her foot sprained. Making me do all the food foraging. She was supposed to find food not play in dangerous junkyards with cute males! What's so special about love anyway?"
Mazie? Who is that? Chad shrugged and went back to trash digging. This dog wasn't his problem. He had a belly to feed! But as he did some more pawing through unwanted human items, his paws began to burn with an urge to go over to the gold female and see if she needed any help feeding herself.
Chad figured she would want to be alone. She was a stray and he was a stranger. Strays tended to be hostile when you don't know how nice another stray is.
Finally, Chad found a large bone with a few bits of meat still clinging on to it desperately. He scooped it up in his jaws and walked over to the female. He tried to appear confident with a head held high and tail standing tall and straight (or as tall as a scruffy stubb can be). On the inside, he was panicking!
Chad had met up and flirted with other females before, but somehow, this...just seemed different. He couldn't tell why. She was just another stray female, right? Wrong. The way the half moon shone on her gold fur and made it silver, the way her paws worked delicately, but productively, even the way she hummed a simple little song was beautiful. It was all just...wow. Chad stopped in awe.
Chad shook his head. He started walking again. Keep it proud, keep it cool. Keep it proud, keep it cool. Keep it proud, keep it cool, he chanted to himself. After all, it was only a really pretty female. He's done this before. All he needed to do was offer her the bone and be on his way.
Chad had to cross the street to reach her. As he did, he heard an old car coming his way. He noticed the all to familiar words on the side. 'Dog catcher.'
"Oh no," Chad whispered. He dropped to bone and fleed Snob Hill. He could hear the rattling old car begin to pursue. For a brief moment, he forgot about the gold female, who hadn't seen anyone or anything coming...
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Lily angrily clawed at a banana peel. She was upset her sister, Mazie, had been careless enough to get her paw sprained at the junkyard. Their mother had deliberately told them to avoid that place, but no. Mazie always had to be the one to stand out. Who was this 'friend' that made her want to go there anyway?
Either way, since it was Mazie's turn to find the family some food and got her paw sprained, Lily would have to do it instead.
Lily worked delicately and carefully with her paws to dig up something edible. She found a large rag and pawed at it to make drag it to her side. She could use that to carry the food better. Sometimes I feel like the only brains of this family, Lily thought. Well, besides mother of course.
Lily thought she saw something behind her. Across the street was another dog doing the same thing she was. Lily shrugged, figuring he hadn't even noticed her. Then she realized it was a half-moon tonight. So much moonlight tended to make her fur glow brightly. He must've seen her run right by the house!
Lily shrugged again and turned back to foraging. He doesn't seem to care. So why should I worry about it?
Lily started to hum an old tune to get her spirits up. It was the tune to her favorite song. It was something her whole family loved because it was her mother's favorite to sing. She called it 'He's a Tramp.'
Lily dug through. No luck. She moved to the trash can next to this one and tipped it over with her nose. Immediately, she noticed some food fall out. Excited, she pawed at all the edible remains and scooted them onto her rag. She bent her head to make a secure fold when she heard something again.
By the time Lily's head had turned around, she saw a light brown dog running up the street. She was confused until she heard the familiar, but eerie (if you're a dog) rattle of an old car. Lily gasped. Dog Catcher!
Lucky for her, the clumsy man was focused on the brown dog. But as Lily ran, she realized her home was the other way! She had to run behind the intimadating car. Summoning up her courage, Lily ran beside the dog catcher's car.
Lily tried to run back to the safety of her home, but the other dog's panicked barking made her confused. She was running too fast to see anything familiar. And even if she did, she suddenly remembered, her family was there! The dog catcher's attection had clearly switched to her since her bright golden fur was easier to see on such a dark night, therefore, easier to follow. If he followed her, he would find and catch her whole family! What's with the if? He's almost on my tail! Lily thought as she cast a worried glance over her shoulder.
Lily finally noticed she was approching the lake. Perfect! I can easily lose him there! Lily smiled triumphiantly as she swerved to the left and headed straight for the lake. All she had to do was make him think she fell into the water and sneak away while he switches back to chasing the brown dog. A simple plan right? Now if only plans always played out as expected....
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Chapter 2
Chad ran as fast as he knew how to. His thoughts wouldn't stop slowing him down. But he couldn't shake the fact that if he had only accepted Trusty's offer to stay a little longer, perhaps he wouldn't be in this mess!
There were many bushes seperating him from the gold-furred female he had seen earlier. It was hard for him to tell if it was him being chased or her. Just to be safe, Chad quickly came up with a way to outfox this dog catcher. Luckily, it was the clumsy one that couldn't even catch a housedog.
Chad made a sharp turn to the left and dashed towards a lake. If he could make the dog catcher think he fell in the water, he would give up, go away, and Chad was home-free!
Chad was about to actually run right into the water. Fortunately, he was able to skid to a halt before falling into the lake. This lake was in a large hole, like it was water inside a huge bowl. He was about to slide carefully into the bowl when he heard a scream.
Chad looked to see the gold-furred female again. Her forepaws were scratched and clawing at the dirt and grass on the outside of the bowl. Her hind claws scraped the insides of the bowl-like earth. She was hanging on for dear life and her eyes were the size of trash can lids.
Chad cocked his head. Surely she could swim? What was so scary?
Chad looked into the water. Now was his chance to fool the human. He just had to jump in...swim when the dog catcher can't see him...run back...Chad tried to play out his plan in his head but he kept getting distracted by the gold female that was desperately trying to avoid falling into the calm water.
"Help! Please! Don't let me fall!" she begged.
Chad paused. His heart was beating a mile a minute. If he helped her, he risked the dog catcher getting him. But if he let her fall...well Chad just couldn't watch her drown! Obviously, she couldn't swim.
At the last minute, Chad's concience made him dive to the left and sink his teeth into her scruff. He pulled as her forepaws gave way. The she-dog scrambled to get a firm hold on land, but it just wouldn't go her way.
"I gotcha," Chad tried to assure her. The female struggled some more.
"Go! He's almost here; he'll catch you!" she squealed.
"I can't leave you!" Chad protested. "You'll fall!"
Poor Lily. As Chad argued, he let go of her scruff. Lily fell from his paws and slid down the bowl at an unstoppable speed. The rocks that were hidden in the dirt scraped her back and sides. She screamed. Not because of the cuts she was recieving, but out of terror of the water.
Chad's ears drooped. "Oh no," he whispered. He had let her fall! And now the dog catcher was about to get him!
Chad jumped. He didn't know what else he could do. It was a short jump that let him slide down after the female. He tried not to wince as the same rocks scratched his legs and belly. As he neared the water, he stopped himself with a hind paw and jumped into the water.
It was a little overwhelming when the water swarmed into his nose. He shook his head. That was not the key issue at the moment!
Chad looked at the surface of the water. He struggled to keep himself hidden under the waves. He could vaguely see the figure of a human with a large net stand over the edge of the bowl. It made a noise and turned and left. Chad sighed with relief, but as he did, his precious air left him in little bubbles. Chad struggled and then swam to the water surface. He gasped and coughed. Chad swam to the shallower end of the lake and lay there. He was exhausted. He was about to surrender to blackness. As he closed his eyelids, the first thing that came to him was a bright flash of light.
Wait... that wasn't light...it was fur! On a dog's pelt. The dog had lovely gold fur and icy blue eyes that were the prettiest he had ever seen. The dog! The gold-furred female!
Chad stood up before he had even fully opened his eyes. He looked around frantically for her. What if he was too late? Could ten seconds of sleep really end her?
Finally, Chad spotted her. She was struggling to keep her head above the water. She was becoming weak and wouldn't be able to fight for much longer.
"Hang in there! I'm coming!" Chad called. Her only response was a cough.
Chad leapt into the water and swam towards her. She was started to sink. Chad was able to dive under and grab her scruff. He had to fight even harder this time. Especially now that he had someone to carry.
Chad felt like he was going to give up. But the thought of letting the dog in his jaws drown encouraged him to stay strong. She wasn't going to be concious for long. Finally, after much struggling and grunting, Chad had managed to drag them onto the forest border. He collapsed, panting and exhausted.
He heard a cough and the gold dog came back to her senses. "What happened?" she asked after spitting up some water.
Chad coughed too. "I might've jumped in after you and dragged you all the way out here," he answered.
Lily looked around. She blinked. "Well, thanks. But I must be going now." She stood up and began to walk away.
"Huh? Wait, what?" Chad jumped to his paws, alarmed.
Lily didn't stop walking. "I have to get home," she said over her shoulder. "Well, first to Snob Hill and get dinner that I dropped."
Chad blinked. "Well...who says you have to go? You nearly drowned. I saved you. You owe me something, right?"
Lily stopped. He was right. She needed to be fair. She turned to face him. "You're right," she admitted. "What is it that you want?"
Chad thought carefully. He brightened at his first thought. "Rest. You should rest. You nearly got caught by a goofy dog catcher and then nearly drowned. Now you want to go back to Snob Hill and then go all the way to wherever your home is? I just saved you, so naturally, I'll be concerned. You must be exhausted."
Lily's ears drooped. She really couldn't argue. But how could she sleep knowing her family would be worried sick? But the way his eyes shone with a mizture of charm and pleading just wouldn't let her resist. Lily rolled her eyes at herself. "Fine, but just an hour or two okay?" she told him.
"I can deal with that," Chad smirked at his victory. He trotted to the closest tree and curled up among its roots. Lily trotted over to curl up beside him. Chad looked at her, surprised.
"What? You save my life so I can't use you as a blanket?" Lily demanded.
Chad shook his head. "Oh, no. You're fine. Just surprised me is all."
Lily let out a small 'hmph' before setting her head down. Chad set his down too and realized the right side of his face was brushing her neck. Ignoring it, he yawned and said, "I'm Chad."
"Lily," she muttered through closed eyes. With a sigh, she was in sleep. Chad smiled. She was so pretty! He drifted off to sleep as well. The way the two young ones were curled up would've convinced anyone passing by they were love ones.
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Chapter 3
Lily awoke to her head on something soft. It was someone's neck. She scrambled to sit up. She was alarmed and prepared to fight, Then, she saw the familiar form of the brown dog's sleeping with his head on his paws. She stood up and shook some water that hadn't dried up from her fur. The few droplets splashed Chad's face and he raised his head with a snort.
"Ya done there?" he asked with an amused gleam in his eye.
"Maybe," Lily teased. She looked at the sky to see it almost sunrise. She hadn't intended to stay all night! She suddenly froze and sniffed the air.
"What do you smell?" Chad tilted his head, intrigued.
"Some kind of party or picnic," Lily replied.
Chad stood up and began to walk. He smelled it too. He looked over his shoulder. "You coming?"
Lily brightened up, but tried to hide it. She cleared her throat and trotted behind Chad.
The two walked over to a park (the trek took about an hour, so the sun had risen by the time they got there) that had many humans gathered around one small kid that had a funny-looking hat on his head.
"What is going on?" Lily wondered.
"Birthday party," Chad decided. "Probably for that kid with the hat," Chad pointed with a paw.
"Huh." Lily scanned the area some more. She nudged Chad. "Hey, look. Easy food," she pointed at some unguarded food on a lonely table.
"I think your family could use some of that," Chad said. Lily smiled at him and raced him down the hill towards the table. Chad laughed at the fun and closed in to gentley nip her ear. She squeaked with surprise and pounced on him. They rolled around in the grass and Chad had Lily pinned down. She gave a playful growl and licked his cheek. Chad blinked with shcok. Lily used the moment to throw him off of her and continue their race.
Lily skidded to a halt a few feet away from the table. "I won!" she cheered.
Chad pounced and pinned her down again. "I got you."
"On the contrary," Lily pushed him off with a forepaw to his cheek. "You should keep me."
That hadn't sounded the way Lily had wanted. She realized it when her eyes met Chad's warm brown ones. She tried to hide the awkwardness with a playful smile and another lick on Chad's cheek.
"Am I interupting something?"
Lily's blood turned to ice as she recognized the voice. Chad looked at someone behind her. "Um..no. We're just passing through. Is this your family?"
Lily turned and feared what she saw. Buster. He was the leader of the Junkyard Dogs and hated housedogs severely....and Lily's family.
Buster scoffed. "As if I'd want to be a housedog. Oh no. I have a bad history with housepets. But this is my food to steal."
Lily moved closer to Chad. "Chad, can we go now?" she whispered.
"But what about your family's food?" Chad whispered back. To Buster, he said, "If this isn't your party, then it isn't your food. Anyone can take this food."
Buster ignored him. "Why, you seem familiar," he said to Lily. "Lilah right?"
"It's Lily," she told him.
"Whatever. I remember you. You're Mazie and Ginger's sister. That means you're trouble. I am in no mood to deal with trouble," the bigger dog said as he narrowed his eyes and started to walk towards Lily, making her back up.
Chad stepped between them. "Um...is us being here going to be a problem?"
Buster looked at him. "Well you, I don't care about. But I don't exactly get along with this one and her family." He looked back at Lily who growled defensively.
"Her name's Lily, not 'this one,'" Chad retorted. Lily smiled at the thought of him helping her out.
"Oh, so now you want to get dragged into this?" Buster growled.
"Hey, we didn't do anything," Chad snapped. "There's no need to be a jerk-"
"Um, what's going on here?"
All heads turned to the beautiful mutt padding up to them.
"Angel!" Lily's tone was excited, while Buster's was another growl.
Angel walked to stand beside Lily. She had a bright, violet ribbon around her neck which signaled she was a housepet now.
"Hey, Lily," Angel said casually. "Who's your friend?"
"His name's Chad. How's housedog life?"
"Okay. We're here for Junior's second birthday. I'm glad to see you again."
"Same here," Lily felt guilty. This was Angel's family and she was about to steal from it! What a rude thing to do to a friend!
Buster smirked at the sight of Angel. "Enjoying your housedog life, huh, traitor?"
Angel looked at him and spoke calmly though her look was hostile. "Yes. And you're still getting buried by garbage, right? I can smell it."
"Don't push your luck," Buster snarled.
"Chad, Angel, do you think we should leave right now?" Lily asked for only them to hear. She could sense a fight on the horizen. That was the last thing she was in the mood for right now.
Angel led them away with a friendly smile. "Follow me. I think I could find something for you two to eat and not steal."
Buster watched the three begin to walk away. He envied the way Angel hated him now and wouldn't share her food with him. "Sure, walk away you cowards."
Chad tensed.
"Just keep walking," Angel muttered through closed teeth. "You're encouraging him."
"I'm not exactly the type of dog to back down from a challenge," Chad protested.
"Chad, he's why I fear water. He chased me into a lake. He's bigger than you. You won't stand a chance against him," Lily argued. She had meant to discourage him, but the idea of someone scaring Lily into water just made Chad mad. He whirled around and stalked back to Buster.
"He went back didn't he?" Angel asked without turning around.
"I'm afraid to look," Lily whimpered.
The two females turned around. Chad was being circled around by Buster. The males were definately challenging each other to a fight.
"What're we going to do?" Angel spoke after a short while of watching.
"What else can we do?" Lily sighed. Both females trotted over to the two males.
Buster finally stood still. "Are you actually standing up to me?"
"Are you actually shocked by that?" Chad retorted.
"Listen, runt. No one stands up to me. Especially one that looks like you."
Chad growled. Buster growled back.
"I know you dad, runt. Wait 'till he hears his son wants to live with housepets too," Buster taunted. Chad snapped and lunged for Buster. His teeth instantly met fur, but Buster shook him off easily. "Big mistake, runt!" he growled. He jumped at Chad and pinned the smaller dog down. "I was going to go easy, but now you've made me mad."
"Buster, cut it out!" shouted two voices at once.
Buster looked up, alarmed as two female dogs leaped for him. Both hit his shoulders and knocked him down. Buster yelped with surprise.
"We're sick of you being a bully to us!" Lily snarled.
"Yes!" Angel put in. "I'm sick of having to put up with you just because you get jealous so easily." It felt good for Angel to finally release these feelings!
Buster snarled. He threw the two dogs off. Chad raced in and leaped up to bite Buster. He caught the spot right below the larger dog's shoulder. He hung on tightly which meant his teeth were deep into Buster's leg. Buster howled and then snarled beyond rage. He whirled his head around to bite Chad's scruff and rupped him off of his leg. He prepared himself to pounce on the smaller dog again, but neat little puppy jaws sank into his muzzle. Buster cried out in pain. He shook Lily until she fell off and landed on her side with a surprised huff. Buster stalked up to a snarling Lily, but before he could do anything, Chad leapt in again and slashed his small claws across Buster's cheek. Buster whimpered as the cuts began to sting. Angel was surprised at how satisfying it felt to hear Buster finally put in his place. Chad stood protectively over Lily.
Buster glared at them with scars over his right eye.
The dogstried to catch their breath. Lily sat up and Chad sniffed her. Angel noticed how protective Chad had been of her and how worried he was even though there was hardly a scratch on her.
But Buster wasn't finished. Angel heard Jim Dear calling her. She knew Buster wasn't finished here, but she didn't want to fight. She snuck away when no one was looking and ran back to her owners. She started barking urgently, but Jim Dear just assumed she was hungry. Angel tried all she could, but the Darlings wouldn't help her friends. Angel growled with frustration and watched in horror as the fight continued.
Buster lunged for Chad who jumped out of the way at the last moment. He nudged Lily away and the pair fled back to the lake. Buster pursued.
Chad and Lily were breathless by the time they reached the lake and both skidded to a stop at the edge. Lily's eyes widened at the waves below and Chad finally remembered her fear of water. But Buster was gaining on them.
"Lily, you have to jump!" Chad barked.
"Jump?" Lily shrieked. "I...I can't....the water!"
"Hurry!"
The desperation in his voice made Lily suck in a deep breath of courage and leap. The moment the water hit her, Lily began to panic. She thrashed and kicked and struggled. Then, she remembered what she did the last time. At least that helped her head stay above water for a little while. The waves kept taking her back under, but Lily knew she had to fight. She paused when she saw someone else fighting. It was Chad. He was being backed up against the edge. Lily tried to scream for him to be careful, but all that come out were bubbles. They made her sink faster.
On dry shore, Chad was getting pretty beat up by the bigger dog. He was making Chad back up against the edge and Chad reared up on his hind legs to swat the taller dog's nose. Buster's ear was caught since he had lunged to bite Chad's hind legs. Chad tried to leap out of the way, but he made the mistake of leaping backwards.
Chad fell into the lake with flailing paws. Lily's head came above water long enough for her to see him hit the water. She yelped as if it were her before getting taken down by another wave.
Buster smirked. "Don't mess with me, runts," he sneered before confidently walking away.
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It was about fifteen minutes until Lily stopped seeing blurs. She finally hit a pebbly bottom and collapsed in the ankle deep water. The waves kept making her sway. She knew she was about to hit the bowl's wall, but instead, she hit soggy fur and bones.
It was Chad. He wasn't moving.
Lily felt teary. "Why?" she whispered. Exhaustion overcame her and her head fell hard onto Chad's neck.
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Lily and Chad lay there for who knows how long. Large rain clouds were covering up the sun. Through her sleep, Lily could hear pawsteps sloshing in the water towards her. She was too exhausted to care who it was.
A someone's nose nudged her head softly. Lily's eyelids opened weakly and were still half-closed. She was wide-awake when she saw familiar blue eyes behind brownish-grey bangs.
"Mom!"
"Shush, dearie," Peg put a gentle paw on Lily's shoulder. "Your sisters are here too." She said after giving her pup a few motherly licks between the ears. "We'll take you home."
Lily's tail wagged slowly. She stumbled to her paws and followed her mother out of the bowl. When they reached the top, Lily's three sisters practically jumped on top of her.
"Enough of that," Peg scolded. "Don't you see how exhausted she is?"
After a few more licks and giggles, Lily's sisters followed their mother as she took the forest route to their alley home. Even Mazie had come despite her injured paw.
Lily started to follow, then paused with a look back at the lake.
"What's the matter?" Ginger asked.
Lily turned to look at her youngest sister. "I can't leave my friend."
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Someone nosed Chad. He blinked before looking up.
"Trusty?"
"What is with young pups these days? Hurling themselves into lakes! The insanity!" Trusty complained good-naturedly. Chad smiled.
"Where's your pap? Hasn't he told you better?"
Chad struggled to sit up. "SSorry Trusty. But I had no choice. Someone was attacking."
"I see. So tell me, was this attacker your size with bright yellow fur and blue eyes?"
"No! That was my friend," Chad looked around. "Where is she? She can't swim!"
"I didn't need to."
Trusty looked up with a smirk and Chad followed his gaze. Sure enough, there was a gold-furred female sliding down and then running towards them.
"I didn't need to," Lily repeated. "My mother came. She's taking me home. Guess that means you're off duty, guard dog," she added with a playful nuzzle.
"Oh, well, I guess that's good then," Chad couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice.
Lily nodded. She didn't want their adventure to end either. "Thanks for saving me....twice. I had fun," she confessed shyly.
"Me too," Chad replied softly.
"Tell him you like him already!"
Lily glared at her sister with eyes blazing.
"Ginger, shush," Peg spoke calmly. "You can't rush these things," she added only for Ginger and the other sisters to hear.
Lily sighed. "Sorry about that," she turned back to Chad.
"That's alright," Chad woofed as he got to his paws. "I guess...you should be going then."
"I guess so," Lily's ears drooped as she said it. "Maybe we can see each other again soon. Do some foraging and swimming lessons." The offer made both pups perk up.
"I'd like that."
The sun finally seemed to appear as Chad said the words
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Chapter 4
Lily had followed her family home which took about half an hour (not that dogs care since they don't read clocks). She had stared at her paws the whole time, but was smiling. The family had just laid down for some calm time when they all heard a voice.
"Peg! Lily?"
Angel appeared at the bright end of the alley. She looked worried but it completely fadded when she saw Lily in the middle of her family. "Lily!" she ran up to her friend and nuzzled her.
Following her was a familiar legend with a red collar. Peg blushed slightly at seeing the Tramp again.
"You okay?" Angel fretted.
"I'll live," Lily assured.
"What about Chad? Is he here?" Angel looked around for the brown mutt.
"No. He went back to his home. Don't worry though. Trusty escorted him there."
Trusty was Angel's neighbor, so she knew Chad was fine.
"Excuse me for trespassing," Tramp apologized to Peg. "I wanted to watch out for Angel to make sure she didn't run into anymore rough strays."
"Oh, that's fine," Peg sat up.
"Who is this Chad?" Tramp wondered.
"A friend Lily met...."
"I think I've seen him before. With Trusty," Tramp remembered all those times Trusty wouldn't visit because he had an 'apprentice.' "He sounds like a nice pup."
"Really?" Peg looked at her daughter. If Lily fell in love, she wanted it to be with a nice male that she could approve of.
Tramp noticed the match maker gleam in his friend's eyes. "You think it's more than a friendship?" he whispered.
Peg looked at him and nodded, grinning a little. Tramp nodded back and winked. Peg cocked her head with puzzlement at the wink.
Tramp walked up to Lily. "So? Did you enjoy your fun with your new friend, Chad?"
Lily nodded. "Well, Angel and I know Trusty. Maybe he can think of somewhere for you two to meet and do whatever it is pups do these days," Tramp offered.
Lily's eyes sparkled. "I would like that!"
Tramp chuckled with amusement. "Angel? We better get going then." Tramp began to walk out of the alley. Angel said bye to each of Peg's daughters before running up to catch up with him.
"Where do you think they should meet?" she asked.
"A little place called Tony's. It never fails."
Tramp sighed at the memories.
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Peg walked up to the door. Her four pups followed. "This is the place," she told Lily.
Lily started to look around for Chad, but one of her sisters stopped her. "Wait! Your fur is messed up!" Ginger growled before pawing at ther fur between Lily's ears. Ginger growled with frustration.
"Ginger, we're just going to play around with each other. That fur will get messed up anyway," Lily protested.
"I know....but....never mind!" Ginger remembered this was meant to be a surprise. "It's just....whenever I see someone who's less for--"
"Ginger!" Lily interupted. "Leave the whole 'breaking into song' thing to mother please!"
Peg laughed softly.
"Fine....Killjoy," Ginger muttered. She walked away from her sister. Lily saw Chad running up to her. He slowed to a trot, then to a stop in front of her.
"Hi, Lily," he greeted. Lily wagged her tail. "You hungry?" she asked.
"Little bit," Chad answered. He gave her a play bow. Lily pawed at his face and he gently nipped the paw.
Peg giggled. She gestured with a paw. "Dogs eat that way," she interupted their playing. Lily and Chad broke up their playing and trotted over to where Peg had gestured. Peg nodded to Trusty and Tramp who had led Chad there. They nodded back and headed back to Snob Hill. Peg watched the Tramp go. Peg sighed, remembering when Tramp had brought her here. She rounded up her other pups and guided them home.
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The meal was delicious. Lily and Chad dug right in, leaving only three meatballs left. Each pup ate one, but stared at the last one. Lily believed in being fair. Chad wanted to be polite and let her have it.
"I ate more, you have it," Lily declared. She rolled the last meatball over to Chad with her nose.
"Oh! But you deserve it more," Chad argued. He rolled it back to her.
"Maybe we could share it?"
Chad nodded in agreement. Lily picked it up in her mouth. Chad leaned in and took a bite out of the half that was jutting out of her muzzle. Lily chewed on the rest.
After gulping up their meatball, Lily stood up and darted out of the resturaunt. Chad laughed and playfully chased after her. It was winter, so snow littered the park that the pups ran to.
"Bet you can't beat me to the top of that hill!" Lily challenged, knowing Chad wouldn't be able to resist.
Chad and Lily raced each other. Chad had to duck under a bench and skidded to a halt at the edge of the hill. Lily popped out from behind a car and beat him there.
She nipped at his ears. He ducked and turned to face her. She was grinning from ear to ear and one tooth was sparkling.
"I know you have gold fur, but I think your teeth are jealous!" Chad laughed.
Lily spat. The firefly flew around her head dizzily. Lily snapped at it. Chad bit at the ones that joined their friend. Lily leaped up to catch one and nearly fell off the hill. Chad lunged and caught her by the tail.
"Careful!" his voice was muffled by bushy tail fur.
He pullled Lily back to safety. She sat down and pawed her tail.
"That makes three," she barked.
"Three what?"
"Times you saved me," Lily replied. "And I thank you for each one."
Chad sat down to puff out his chest. "All in a day's work."
Lily pawed him. She lay down and Chad laid beside her. They broke out into jokes, teasings, back stories, and the fun they had during their adventure.
They were interupted by music they heard back at the resturaunt.
Oh, this is the night
It's a beautiful night
"It is beautiful," Lily woofed, looking at the stars and fireflies.
"Not as much as you," Chad felt embarrassed that he'd said that aloud. But what was the point of hiding it anymore? Lily smiled and put her head sleepily on his shoulder. "Chad?"
"Yes?"
"I didn't know that I could feel this way."
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Applause