THE YARD

Chapter 18

Then a brown pelt came into eye-shot. Shadow was walking away, ears twitching with annoyance. Flare exchanged a wide-eyed and nervous glance with him. 

"It'll be fine," he mouthed without speaking. Flare acknowledged him with a small nod, then turned to go when she heard the beginnings of a growl in Crow's throat. She hunched her shoulders and tucked her tail, fully resenting the fact that she had to follow him. 

The thick-furred black dog halted at the tires and flopped down in his grass spot. Soon after, The Man came to feed the dogs. Flare's nose twitched with excitement and she could hardly suppress a bound of glee towards the door. 

However, Crow once again was the first at The Man's feet. His long legs ate up the gap between dog and human as he bounded faster than even Shadow. The young male dog sat obediently before the master, until the others came by. 

But as Jax and Grey Dog stepped leaped onto the porch, Crow turned and snarled at them in an instant change of attitude. 

"Back off," he retorted with a flick of his ears before turning back to The Man. Flare clenched her teeth and managed to hold back a huff of annoyance. She didn't bother stepping on the porch, and instead sensed Shadow's gentle presence close by. 

He stepped up slowly from behind her, half hidden behind her shoulder. "We'll talk more tonight, but I think we should keep trying to escape this place. We're slowly starving, and White Dog seems thin as bones." 

Flare's impulse was to reply that White Dog had always been thin as bones- but she knew that it wouldn't be totally true. The isolated old male never complained, but his pelt had thinned out to nearly bald along his head and spine. His skin looked like it was stretched tighter over his bones than it had been in the year before. And he panted as much as Jax these days, who had a short stubbed snout.

Flare tipped her long, pale muzzle in agreement. For some reason, she had a rush of wanting to be nearer to Shadow suddenly. She felt the need for protection against the negativities of The Yard. But even Shadow can't change Crow. He can't change any dog unless they want to change. 

And I haven't changed much either, have I? No dog has, sparing White Dog's more docile demeanor these days... she thought sourly.

Her thoughts felt quite sullen as she sat down and watched Crow eat without expression. The Man went inside after giving Crow a single pat, seemingly unconcerned with how only one dog began eating.

At least he's in a good mood today. He didn't even fling the kibble all over the yard, and touched Crow.

All of the other dogs stood or sat on standby, waiting. The moments were long and agonizing, and the fact that Flare could smell the kibble on the porch made it all the worse. Jax stood shivering with anticipation, cropped ears as pricked as they could go. Alongside him, Flare could hardly contain her excitement by the time Crow lifted his head. 

"You can eat now." 

Almost in unison, all of the dogs who'd been holding in that temptation let it out. Flare trust her neck out fast as a snake, managing to find three round pieces of dog food close to each other and then moving along to search for more. Shadow and the other dogs bounded or whisked around her, claws scraping against the stone porch.

She saw another piece before she smelled it, and ran towards it on fleeting feet. Jax stopped just short of Flare, then whipped around in another direction. She crunched it between her teeth, stomach grumbling for more. He saw that piece right after I did, but... Oh well. She sniffed along the surrounding dirt without a second thought. 

The dog that Flare least wanted to see came up beside her shoulder from behind, staring.

"Sorry I didn't let you eat with me. I kind of just forgot when The Man first opened the door and then again when I started eating so..." Flare flicked her ears in dismissal, purposefully avoiding his gaze.

"Right. There's always tomorrow. Well, I'm going around the Yard to mark. Meet me back at the tires." His voice was serious and his tone short-tempered. It invited no argument, so Flare went to relive herself as well. Her place of choice was behind the dog-houses. She shook out her fur and relished the peaceful aura of a moment with no fights or other dogs staring at her.  

But when the tan dog padded back towards the water bucket, she noticed Crow glancing at her. However, he looked away almost instantly and carried about loping near the fence. 

Flare could feel the strong sunlight heating up her fur but it was sort of an afterthought. She knew she'd have to spend the entire rest of the day with only Crow- since no dog wanted to be around him and she was now forced to. Which is appaling. I won't even talk to him... I'll make it to where he doesn't want my company at all!

Determined and ticked off, Flare clenched her muzzle. This caused it to wrinkle and appear as if she were holding back a snarl or growl. She stayed upset as she stomped towards the tires and sat down stiffly. I also refuse to lay here, as if it's comfortable or normal! She angled her head to look up and watch the clouds softly float across the sky. The sun came and went as one lazy cloud after another took turns covering it.

Crow came back awhile after, then began licking his paws. There was grass seeds stuck in the entirety of his belly and tail, though- so it seemed like a lost cause. And he had chosen to settle so close to Flare that she whisked her tail to the opposite side of her, annoyed that it'd almost touched the brute. 

"You mad about something?" Crow stopped licking and asked mildly, seeming not all that interested in her reply. He stood up and shook out his fur, intimidating Flare all over again with his size and thick black pelt. He looked at Flare directly this time around. The German Shepherds' small but rich brown eyes were centered in the middle of the thinner, sleek fur along his face and nose.

Flare shot him a look of flint, then peered away as her nerves got the better of her.

"It's Brown Dog, isn't it? Well, I'm sure he was like your best hound friend ever, wasn't he?" He snickered a laugh. "Acting as a female," taunted the black male. 

"That isn't a real male dog, nor a female."

Shadow is a he! She seethed at hearing her only companion being called 'that.'

"He can't even reproduce. I've heard of dogs like him," he growled slowly. Flare realized that he was looking at something behind her head. Sure enough, when she turned to look- it was Shadow. He was looking towards them,- Flare could just barely see the outline of his ears (one split in half) and head among the grass that he laid in. His head was up and cocked sideways. Flare would bet a few tufts of fur that he was trying to hear them.

"So you'll be staying near me from here on out."

Defiant, Flare shot him a glare. However, she couldn't bring herself to hold his eyes. The female shifted her paws nervously.

It's going to be a long night, Flare sighed.

__________________________________

Crow