Gentle touch

Pink tigers

~~

Staring down at the plate, she knew this had to be a test of sorts, yet she wasn't sure what the right answer was exactly- yet. In front of her, stood a small bowl of fruit, she had already eaten the main part of lunch. Then Lottie had taken the mittens off her hands, placing the bowl in front of her.

Was she to ask for them to feed her? To seem openly accepting their gestures, or was she merely expected to eat it by herself. She hadn't been given such choices, and she really didn't want to ruin her progress so far.

As she peered at the fruit, she imagined how sticky it would make her hands, and the thought made her grimace slightly. It had been a peculiar accommodation wanted, but she much preferred eating fruit with a fork.

Her test seemed to run out of time, before she had any chance to answer. "Do you need some help?" Daisy enquired, watching the girl from the dining table, her head resting on her hands. Alexa glanced over briefly, looking back at the food in front of her after, "I'm full." She told her. The lie slipped through her lips easily, having panicked briefly about how to respond.

Daisy seemed to scan over her for a second, then she gave a nod. "Cooper!" She called out, the dog came rushing in, knowing what being invited to the dining room meant- food. The brunette stood up and walked over to the girl, plucking a strawberry from the bowl. "Sit, paw." Alexa watched as the dog followed the commands, to which he was fed a strawberry promptly after.

"Can I try...please?" She questioned- hopeful, "for those good manners, of course you can sweetheart." Lottie beamed at her, getting up from her chair. She picked up a grape, a glimmer of mischief in her eyes. "Well it looks like you're already sitting, so now you just need to give paw."

Ignoring the rush of heat to her face, she stared back with her brows furrowed, unsure if the woman was serious about her words. "Be a good little puppy and then you can feed Cooper." Lottie laughed, Alexa was at a loss.

Daisy couldn't help but also laugh, "don't be mean Lot." for a moment, Alexa thought she was gonna be on her side. "Don't make her give paw, she's already sitting so well." Daisy finished, the women both exchanged a look of amusement with each other. Alexa really wanted to feed Cooper, and she also wanted to be able to feel his fur for the first time, so she did reluctantly give in.

Really, it was no different than being fed usually, but being called a puppy made it seem so much more embarrassing. She opened her mouth, to which she accepted the Grape that was placed in it. Lottie patted her head gently, "such a good doggy." She teased, the words would've been condescending if said by anyone else.

Fulfilling her side of the promise, Lottie got the girl out of the high chair, handing her a piece of strawberry.

~~

"Why don't you colour a pretty picture?" Lottie suggested, flipping through the colouring book. There was a splay of crayons and coloured pencils on the coffee table, not that Alexa had even asked for them. She had been almost dumbfounded when the mittens hadn't been returned to her hands, but it did come with a price- playing.

Alexa focused her attention on Cooper instead, "Cooper, come here Cooper." She attempted, the dog raised his head briefly before putting it back on the floor. "Cooper!" With Lottie's words, he was immediately up and with them. The girls ego felt a little bruised, "he's just not got to know you well enough yet sweetie, don't worry." Lottie reassured.

Stubbornly, the girl turned away from her, not wanting to accept that she wasn't Cooper's favourite- he was definitely hers. She began petting the dog, threading her fingers through the black fluff.

That was until a bird flew past the window, Cooper's head shut up, and he ran to the window.

"You can see Cooper anytime, why don't we go back to colouring?", the girl wanted to point out the woman's choice of words, how 'going back to' implied they were colouring beforehand. Giving the dog a brief glance, she gave a hesitant nod, colouring couldn't be too bad.