Show and Tail

It was a normal day, as it always had been. He walked the boy to the end of the road where the big, long machine took him away for the day; he walked around the grassy fields and murky woods and even where the big moo-dogs grazed; he munched on old bones from a rotting masked-dog by the big bins where the good stuff disappeared to. It wasn’t long, however, before he heard the familiar whistling of the nice lady, and trotting home he went; only to find the nice lady waiting by the small machine they took trips in. Open the back door she did, and he needn’t a command to jump happily in the back seat and take his place by the window. A rope was attached to his collar before the door was shut and they were off, the beauty of the country rushing past and making way into modern civilization. 

People walked past on their way to and fro -- through to where, he wasn’t really sure. He could call out to them, but only to be ignored or scolded by the nice lady as she turned the spinny thing every so often; the machine moving in tandem wherever it was spun. Just as quickly as they had made their way into common human place, the woman slowed to a stop in front of a large building he had never seen before. Excitedly, he stood, staring out the window expanctly. His enthusiasm did not waver even when the nice lady rolled down the windows and told him to be a ‘good boy’ -- good boy? That was him! -- before her heels clicked on the concrete, and quickly silenced as the door to the building shut behind him.

The wait was forever -- but eventually the sound of the door opening caused him to straighten even more. Boy? The boy! He was so excited to see him again so soon -- especially when the boy happily opened the back door and invited him out, leash grasped firmly in his hand. The nice lady met them at the door, along with a barrage of so many smells -- and so many people, too! More nice ladies behind heavy blocks of wood spoke sweetly to him as they passed through a small room; from there, the building seemed to open up as they went down one hallway, and then another. The nice lady said something to the boy he didn’t quite catch, and the boy responded enthusiastically before coming to a heavy-looking door.

It opened for the boy with ease, showing a room with tables and colors -- and children! The tables were moved in a cluster as so the small humans could sit in an odd formation on the floor; each holding various items in their hands. A man sat on a chair outside of the formation, and a grin formed on his face as he and the boy entered the room; the children turning and giving out various sounds of wonder and excitement. Many of their items were forgotten as the formation shifted, many of the other children trying to make space and trying to grab for the boy, obviously vying for his attention.

Once the man on the chair quieted all of the children, they began speaking one at a time; each one looking disappointed that the boy was not talking, and instead many fiddled with the objects they had and didn’t seem too pleased to have to make such an effort. Eventually, the man turned to the boy, and the boy reached over to him -- the sound of the leash unclipping causing him to jump to his feet with enthusiasm and sniff at the nearest child. This was corrected quickly, and so he followed the boy closely to the inside of the formation and then from one child to the next as the boy spoke of him (he knew because the boy kept saying his name, and yet wanted nothing from him but to continue to entertain the other children) to the man and the other children. It wasn’t clear why, though he enjoyed the pets and the kisses just as well once his boy was finished, and the children were allowed to greet and pet him. They even pet his stomach; it was like a dream!

All too soon, the man stood and spoke; and the children then stood as well, moving to bags that made their items disappear, or through the heavy door. He and the boy followed suit, exiting through the door -- to find the nice lady waiting for them outside the door. Her voice was happy as she spoke to the boy; the boy’s similar as he spoke back. Together they followed the same route out, all the way back to the car. Again the door was opened for him, and merrily he jumped in and moved to the other side of the seat, looking back at the boy expectantly. But the boy, with his saddened face, reached in and gave him a pat on the head. He said something about being a ‘good boy’ -- good boy? He was really gonna get something good for dinner tonight! -- before the door closed. He watched as the woman embraced the boy and spoke to him, before the boy trotted back inside and the woman returned to her place behind the spinny thing.

Their journey continued for a few more stops -- the nice lady stopping at the house with the small window where a nice man handed a bag with those great smelling meat foods (of which he got most of; the nice lady was so nice!); to the busy place with all the people and the small clanky machines (the nice lady had him keep an eye on the small machine while she left for a bit; making sure all of the windows were down for him so he could let other humans know not to come too close to the car); to another window where strange sounds emitted from a weird tube as the woman put something in it.

Their journey was complete when the smell of dust overtook the smells of the city; trees giving them shade as the nice lady drove casually down the road (as so he could stick his nose out of the window) until they reached their territory. There, he was let out to roam as the nice lady carried in her hunt. From there he ventured until it was time for the boy -- where he would wait at the end of the road until the big, long machine rumbled down the road, stopping in front of him and opening it’s jaws to reveal an ecstatic boy who hit the ground running, racing him all the way back home.

***

He woke up with the boy that morning, but that morning, the boy did not grab his bag or walk into the waiting jaws of the big, long monster. When there were times like this -- where the boy did not venture from their territory to presumably find more -- they woke up early as they always did: ate their meals -- mmm, bacon grease! -- after the boy put on more fur, took care of the moo-dogs and the squawking white birds (the humans didn’t seem to understand that the white birds did not like their eggs to be touched, but that didn’t prevent them from outright taking them; humans were so brave!) and helped the nice lady pour water on her nice smelling flowers and odd plants. Once they were finished -- then they could play!

The air was still cool as they padded through the tall grass towards the wooded area. Today was going to be so much fun! As the woods grew thicker, he instantly began headed to his usual spot. He could hear the boy call out to him; but he only turned back to cock his head to one side and wag his tail, before turning and jogging further into the woods with his companion not far behind. The boy was confused -- but then they’d be having so much fun! Soon enough, there came parts of their woodland where the trees lessened, and as he stepped into one of those areas and looked back to the boy expectantly -- the boy have a hard time moving through the thick brush -- there came snaps of twigs and the crackling of leaves.

As the boy steadied himself in the clearing and began to look around -- the boy froze, eyes behind him with worry as he tried to call him back over, towards home. But he turned with a wag of his tail, greeting his friends one by one, even as they seemed more interested in watching the boy. His friends came out here with him often -- most of them had territories nearby and would come visit every day or so(give or take), some with no home at all who wandered, and who he happily shared the magic with -- but were always afraid of the boy. But the boy was his friend, and these were his friends, so why couldn’t they all be friends? Turning to the boy, who was now more curious than anything, he wagged his tail and told him it was going to be okay; then, with his ears down, he approached the boy and prodded him with a wet nose. A small hand patted his head, and he turned to his other friends; and he told them that the boy was friendly, that he loved giving pets.

Almost at all once, his friends both big and small became happy; tails wagging and mouths drooling as they rushed the boy and enclosed him in an odd formation. A flurry of squeals and giggles erupted as wet noses poked and prodded him, tongues leaving copious amounts of slobber wherever they could reach; and no amount of pettings or ‘good dog’ -- good dogs? Oh, he thought they were good dogs! -- would make them relent. And he sat, merrily, glad he had friends to share share friends with; and especially so since they seemed to get along so well.