Bright Shadows 2: A Hinterlands Anthology

Epitaph 4: Doggie-sama's Pet Human, Kai Brickle

Having a pet is an awesome commitment, no less so if said pet does NOT have 4 paws, a wet nose, and a waggly tail! (To dogs, other dogs are people . . . but humans are weird. With some exceptions, like Kai Brickle. Kai-Girl was to howl for!!)

Kai-Girl?? Best. Pet human. EVER!!!

Being colorblind, Doggie-san neither knew nor cared what color Kai Brickle's eyes were. All that mattered was that her girl was an open scent mark. What you saw, heard, or smelled carried no agenda and even less deception. This was refreshing!

Now, like a puppy, her pet girl frequently made goofy decisions. Just as importantly, the girl had howl-worthy claws. Yet the girl marked their territory infrequently. (Which left that task to the dog: yay / woof!!)

Her girl was a lethal huntress, but (as their pack leader) Doggie-sama had to initiate these hunts. That, and choose their targets. Fortunately, once a target was chosen, Kai-Girl was delightfully relentless. Doggi-sama would usually flush out the prey. Then...!!

• O!! Watching her pet human flay their prey was: Pure. Carnivorous. Poetry!!

The pair's hunting hierarchy being undisputed, Doggie-sama had first devouring rights. (Fragrant... Hot... Entrails... YUM)

• Liver is simply The Best when it's Fresh & JUICY!!! (Wag that tail!)

***

Kai Brickle (that's Brickles to you, you great silly) was entranced. Doggie-sama was the best eater, like... EVER!! Yep. She really loved flash-roasted seagulls to pieces! Literally!

(Chomp.) The girl was gnawing on a piece of crunchy, flyblown kelp. Not terribly yummy, but a good tummy source of...

Well, something! (Um... It better have: Something! Because the taste was: Atrocious!)

Finding this beach had saved them both. Plus, the sky had been sicker, oh, 1 or 2 full moons ago?

The rocky beach had scant sand but many, many tidepools. Most Important Job: never let Doggie-sama drink any seawater. Ever. Fortunately, freshwater streams peppered the local coastline.

Once, Doggie-sama drank the bad water. So... Brickles had given Doggie-sama temporary bulimia...!

• By force-feeding the dog a sparkly, electromagnetic, plasma probe! Yikes!

--(cold plasma: of course) but, like electric eel soup, quite shocking--

• Ever since, Brickles' angry growl (plus a finger-knife rattle) was a real attention getter!

Today was a good day. Rather windy, though. But the wind was washing the sky's face clean. And the windy wind was calling the seagulls home. More food for Doggie! Yay!

Sniff, sniff! What's that bad smell?! Oh. Me. And Doggie's fur needs a new stench, also too.

Hmm... "Doggie-sama?"

???

"It's laundry day. When you's done with lunch, let's take us a bath."

!!! (thump, thump, thump)

"Yeah. Right. Pretend that your waggly tail understands me, you waggly great silly."

Whimper.

"-sorry, tail-"

***

The forest on both sides of the noisily babbling brook was a mix of shrubbery, ferns, and both evergreen trees and deciduous trees. However, due to the burnt sky, autumn had come during midsummer.