A Truly 'Howling' Commando

|5| Similar, Yet Different

We began to head back to the home and upon reaching it, Bucky began to unlock the door. I stood a little ways away, looking out at the street. "You want to stay out for a while? At least until sunset?"

My eyes widened with shock at his proposal, and at the trust he has in me. I trot over and he stroked my neck and shoulders. I let out a soft growl, my eyes shining with gratitude. "Thank you." I trot off, my tail wagging a little before stopping at the stairs. I looked back at Bucky and stood there. He shook his head before walking into the house and closing the door.

I jumped down the steps, walking out onto the streets. I looked around before beginning a trot down the sidewalk. The drifts of snow blew over the road with the light breeze as the snow began to fall a bit heavier than before. The people walking the streets began to dissipate as they fled from the cold.

I was walking for while before an alarming scent drifted across my nose. Blood. I put my nose to the air and began to follow the scent. Eventually, I heard the sound of blows and the clattering of metal cans. Rounding the corner, I saw a sight that wasn't that surprising.

There was Steve, getting beaten up in an alley by a couple of men. He just kept getting back up again and again. I couldn't help the spark of respect that formed in my perception of him. No matter if it was stupid...

A growl harshly rumbled from my throat as my fur began to bristle. The men looked over at me as my eyes went dark with warning.

Steve had gotten up again and was leaning against the wall, his lip was bleeding but overall seemed fine. I made eye contact and he gave me a small nod to signal he was okay. The mere sight of him hurt caused the growl to rise up into a loud, harsh, and violent sound that was filled with hatred. My ears flattened down against my head, fur bristling so much it looked like it was alive with static, and legs stiff with my tail held up horizontally.

The men shared a laugh as they began to point at me. At that moment, something snapped inside me and I became a raging demon. My lips lifted in a snarl as I rushed forward jumping onto one of them with my 90lbs of muscle and rage. He threw his arms up to try and fend off my teeth as they slashed open his forearms. The other man snapped into action a bit too late and kicked me off his friend.

I rolled in mid air before landing on my paws and skidding a little bit. I was snarling terribly from where I stood, now next to Steve. The bridge of my nose was wrinkled as my lips trembled, my eyes dark with rage.

The men got up and began to walk away, not fast enough in my opinion. I began to trot quickly after them, my claws clicking against the ground. They instantly moved faster, running as best they could out of the alley.

My snarl died down as my fur laid down flat again. I pad back over to Steve, the residual rage from their laughter remained in my eyes. However it was quickly drowned with worry as I gently sniffed him over, occasionally nudging him with my muzzle to check for any bad injuries.

"I'm alright. How are you? I mean you got kicked pretty hard..." I wasn't going to deny the pain in my chest. Nothing was broken, but it hurt a lot. We're in the same position, hurt but nothing too serious considering we threw ourselves into a fight.

"Come on, let's go home." I let out a pleading wine before gently pushing Steve forward. He began to walk on his own down the street with me following him. He reached a home and unlocked the door. Turning around, Steve knelt down and gently began to rub the top of my head. "Thank you..."

I whined before closing my eyes, pulling away after a moment. "Stay safe... punk..." A flash of amusement shone in my eyes.

"Goodbye, Fluffy." He went into the home with that comment and shut the door. I snorted before putting my nose to work, retracing along my scent trail to find my way back home. I reached Bucky's home at about 3:30, 4:00 o'clock. I gently scratched on the door and he let me in.

"Hey, how'd it go!" Buck began to rub my neck with one hand while the other rested on his knee.

"Oh you know, just had to save a certain blonde from two men with both if us getting a little hurt. No big deal or anything." I let out a small grunt before yawning.

Bucky nodded and went back to whatever he was doing, while I went to the bedroom and jumped onto the bed. Putting my nose down towards my closely bunched feet, I circled couple times before my legs buckled beneath me. I settled down with a grunt and put my head down before falling asleep, the iron-y taste of blood still slightly staining my mouth.