The Great Eight

Chapter 8

Riley stirred, the morning sunlight beating down on his eyelids. He slowly opened them, startled when he didn't recognize his surroundings.

Where's the barn!? Where are Mom and Dad!?

However, his panic quickly dissipated as he remembered where he was. Riley had spent the night in Sky and Tucker's sleeping room, curled up in a pile of soft material, which they referred to as blankets. Everyone else appeared to have woken up, as the space was empty. However, Sky then came in, carrying a limp rat and dropping it at Riley's paws.

"Hey, Tucker and I caught some breakfast for everyone," he said.

"Whoa!" Riley sniffed the dead rodent. "That's the largest rat I've ever seen!"

"They get pretty huge here in the city," said Sky. "We depend on them a lot for food, though sometimes we eat kills that the hunters bring back from the woods."

"Where's Ricochet?" Riley asked.

"Oh, he tried to catch a rat too, but it bit his paw," Sky informed him. "So he's gone to the infirmary."

Riley winced. "I hope he's okay."

"He will," Sky reassured him. "The nurse dogs are pretty good at preventing infections."

"How come you didn't wake me up?" Riley asked.

"We tried, but no offense, you're a pretty heavy sleeper," said Sky. "And you snore. Loudly."

"Oh...sorry." Riley hung his head.

"Eh, I'll get used to it," said Sky with a shrug. "I've gotten used to Tucker farting in his sleep."

"Did I miss anything important?" Riley asked worriedly.

"Nah, we don't have any duties at the moment," said Sky. "So you can just eat your rat for now. Just remember to bury the remains outside."

Riley nodded gratefully, and then tore into the prey. Its fur was grimy, but the flesh beneath was tender and flavorful. He quickly wolfed down the rat, then picked up its bones and walked into the soft-covered part of the den.

 Violet was lying beside the couch, gnawing on a large bone, while Sky and Tucker were talking. Maverick was over in a corner, scratching at what appeared to be an intense itch on his side. Tiny bits of fur flew up as he raked his long claws over the area. Riley winced as he noticed an enormous, bloated gray tick latched onto the base of the coydog's tail.

"What are you starin' at?"

Riley dropped the rat bones, startled to see that Maverick was glaring right at him.

"Um...there's a tick down by your tail..." he said quietly.

Maverick snorted. "I'm not blind, I see the little fucker."

He turned his head and craned his neck down towards his tail. Maverick opened his jaws, revealing long, dirty yellow fangs, and bit down on the tick. A second later, blood gushed from his mouth, which he spat out in disgust. 

"The fleas and ticks seem to be biting you bad today, Mav." Blackjack was coming out of his sleeping room. "You ought to go to the infirmary and have a poultice applied."

"Nah, I'll just go for a swim in the sewer and drown the tiny bastards," said Maverick.

Blackjack shook his head. "No, that's an order, head to the infirmary. We can't have you smelling like shit, especially around the newcomers."

Maverick's lip quivered. For a moment, Riley thought he would snarl a retort, but he merely grunted, got up, and headed towards the window. He seemed to briefly glare at Riley once more before he leaped outside.