THE YARD

Chapter 14

Grey Dog rushed over first, meeting The Man at the back door. The male's body was wiggling with energy- he seemed excited, and it took Flare a moment to realize that he hoped Mocha would be following behind. After all, this was something other than the daily dog food feeding ritual.

While the other dogs followed close behind, Flare and Shadow kept their positions near the porch- but didn't approach it. Flare's nose twitched as she detected the scent of an unfamiliar, intact male dog overlaid with The Man's. She completely forgot about hoping for scraps just then.

The tan female moved closer but could see nothing; White Dog, Jax, and Grey Dog were nearly inside of the doorway- all three had high hackles. Jax was already yipping.

"What's the ruckus?" Shadow said, struggling to wake. Flare didn't answer him, craning her neck to see. All she could make out was a dark mass of black fur, from what she could see through a multitude of legs.

Then The Man cut through the path of dogs, and the dark mass of fur followed. She caught view of the new dog, flat head, ears pointy and furry. His gaze, pinpointed on White Dog, rusty brown and piercing. The male had jet-black shiny fur that was at least two inches long. His fur shimmered from the light hitting it as he moved, shaping the male's long legs from his torso. He had a thick chest, and looked clean. And he eats better than us, Flare thought with a jealous twinge as she eyed his belly. No ribs poked through his side. The male took tiny steps, swinging his face nervously away from one dog- only to have another get in his face; barking, sniffing or even nipping his ears.

Flare noticed that he was a very large male, nearly as formidable in height as well as weight compared to White Dog. And although dogs have no knowledge about their own breeds, The Man knew he'd bought this young German Shepherd Dog because of it's rare black coat- well, that, and because he was the host of a weekend dog-fighting show. And this young dog, he'd been told, could thrive in a Yard with repetitive fights.

In the next few seconds, though, things unfolded a lot slower than Flare would've liked to watch. The Man took the leash off this new dog before leaving the porch, and retreated back inside whilst all of The Yard's current residents barked up a frenzy.

She saw Grey Dog come close to the male's face- close enough to bump into his muzzle, accidentally. Though the pitbull was only sniffing the black dog's face, the black dog's head bucked, clipping Grey Dog in the forehead. As he turned his head, Flare noticed that the German Shepherd's muzzle was riddled with scars. Even from this distance, the tan dog caught a flash of pink against the black, and realized that the dog's ears were also scattered with bald patches from old wounds.

That must have stung like a swarm of bees! Is there more scars under his fur? Was his old Yard even worse than here? She didn't have time to think into it further.

The male began growling from deep in his chest; a clear threat that made Flare nervous. His growls caused the other dog's barking to cease.

She watched his small-set eyes upon his narrow face. Scars were visible through the thinner fur around his muzzle and nose- in particular, it looked like the male's leathery upper portion of nose had once been split open. Far more noticeable, though, was the shade of his eyes. They were copper-brown with a rusty orange hue- a stark contrast of color against his jet-black pelt.

Jax barked some sort of encouragement- something like "show 'em, Grey Dog!" but Flare's ear didn't even twitch as she ignored him, watching the two dogs instead.

As Grey Dog moved in to snap near the male's triangular ears, his opponent stepped back. His tail, thicker and fluffier than hers, did not lower- Flare watched him, beseeched. The newcomer had his eyes narrowed, ears flicked back- but he was not submitting.