teddy bear

chapter two

The man glared at her, whistling loudly, getting Jeju's attention. "Jeju is a weapon, not a pet." He said sharply, his bubbly facade gone. Kaia's smile dropped immediately, clearing her throat and standing straight. "He will never attack without his cue word." The man paced back and forth. "For this demonstration, I will be pretending to grab you, understood?"

"Is this safe?" Jin crossed his arms, his face dark as he stared at the man. He didn't like him. "For Kaia?"

"Of course it is!" The man smiled brightly, suddenly a nice human. "Jeju will be doing his job. He won't let me lay a finger on her." The man turned back to Kaia, Kaia's uneasy eyes leaving Jungkook. She didn't really trust anyone in this room, but she trusted Jungkook more than not. "Jeju will bark at aggressive behavior, he is trained to. When in a public place and you don't want him to bark, say 'silence' in French." The man paused. "Do you know that word?"

Kaia swallowed, not wanting to talk anymore as she nodded.

"Good." The man quickly advanced her, his feet stomping on the ground. Jeju stood up immediately, a growl crawling up his throat. "His cue word is 'attack' in French."

Kaia held onto Jeju's leash tightly, backing up in real fear as the man glared at her, advancing at her, arms out to grab her. "Attaque!" Kaia closed her eyes, turning away as Jeju lunged, sinking his teeth into the man's thick jacket. Kaia let go of the leash, backing up several feet as Jeju pulled at his arm, still biting him, growling and shaking his arm. "Libération." Kaia's voice cracked, staring in fear at the scene in front of her.

But Jeju listened immediately, the man's evil smile dropping. He loved demonstrating the weapons he created.

"Viens." Kaia motioned for Jeju to return next to her. Jeju picked up the end of his leash and ran back to her, holding his leash out for her. Kaia took it and stood straight again, looking at the man. "I don't think we need to do another demonstration of that. Thank you."

"Right." The man gave her a distasteful look, taking off the thick jacket. "He also has retrieval abilities. 'Retrieve' is his cue word." The man picked up a water bottle and threw it, everyone watched it skid across the floor.

"Récupérer." Kaia let go of the leash, letting Jeju run, picked up the water bottle, and retrieved it to Kaia, his tail never wagging once. "Good boy." She mumbled as she bent down, rubbing his head before getting the water bottle. "He's very impressive."

"Good." The man glanced over at a closed door. "Now!"

A man slammed open the door, wielding a knife, and ran straight at Kaia. Her eyes widened as the man ran at her, but Jeju's bark was the thing that made her jump. He stood between her legs, refusing to leave as he barked at the man, the boys protesting to the first man in the background. She knew she had to shout the cue word, she knew she should react. But, she couldn't move.

Kaia gasped as she fell backwards, tripping over Jeju's paws. Jeju remained standing, however. The man with the knife ran to the other side of her, Jeju immediately following, being a sturdy wall between him and Kaia. He was protecting her without cue, without any attack. He was doing his job perfectly.

"Sir that is enough!" Jin shouted, pulling the knife out of the man's hand. "Can't you see she's terrified??"

Jungkook ran to Kaia's aid, but Jeju was still in protection mode. Jeju growled at Jungkook, refusing to let him get to Kaia.

"Calmes." Kaia's voice shook, putting her hand on Jeju's back. Jeju stood down immediately, looking at Kaia for an explanation.

"Are you okay?" Jungkook helped Kaia stand, holding her arms tightly as she wavered on her way to her feet.