[1] Lions Inside | Tony Stark

four

[Jade]

The next time Jade woke up it was morning, meaning that she had slept through the rest of the day and through the night. When she felt something moving slightly beside her she looked over only to find Tony laying beside her in deep sleep.

She was surprised at first before she guessed that she had chosen his bed to sleep in the day before and when she thought about it, it made a lot of sense since the bedroom had the best view out of all the other rooms on the same floor.

She stood up in the bed and started to stretch the tiredness out of her. She let out a loud yawn before jumping down and walking out of the room.

When she came downstairs she started to sniff to see if she could catch Pepper's scent, but she noticed that it was very faint. She listened and confirmed that Pepper hadn't been in the house recently.

She de died to eat and saw that the bowl was filled this time. She had never really eaten dog food before, but the taste wasn't so bad since she herself was a dog.

After that, she de died to just walk around to get familiar with the house and soon enough she heard a car driving away from the house. She knew it must have been Tony going out for some business.

***

A few hours had passed until Tony came back and she could smell his uneasiness, she guessed whatever he went out to do didn't work as planned.

Tony only patted her head before hurrying to the workshop, but she was right in his heels down the stairs.

Tony went straight for his computer and started clicking on the very unusual keyboard.

"Jarvis, you up?" Tony asked, even though Jade couldn't see anyone else in the room. "For you, sir, always." A voice spoke in the room, startling Jade since she still couldn't see anyone. She recognized the voice from somewhere and when she thought about it, it was the same voice that spoke when she came here injured.

While Jade was lost in thought, Tony had started to work on something and when she looked up she some kind of design that looked very much like the shape of a human. Jade knew there wasn't much that she could do in the house while Tony was working, so she stayed by his side as he continued working the coming three hours.

Soon enough Jade knew there was something she had to do that Tony hadn't done with her yet take a walk. She didn't know how to get his attention properly without showing that she's more intelligent than a dog, so she went upstairs and took the leash in her mouth and when she walked back into the workshop she pushed one of Tony's legs and whined a little.

She never knew that there was a feeling deep inside of her even existed. A feeling that made her feel so loyal to Tony and one that made her feel like she had to make sure Tony was alright.

The first time Tony ignored her attempts, but when she did it again he looked down at her and let out a sigh before giving her a small smile.

"I guess you have to go out, huh?" He said before he crouched down to take the leash from her mouth. "To be honest with you: I've never had a dog before, so I guess you can teach me something new."

***

Jade had never been taken out for a walk before so she didn't really know what she would do, but she kept herself at Tony's pace as they walked along a street with the view over the sea.

Jade felt the warm wind go through her fur, it was something she never got tired of no matter how long she stayed as a dog.

Beside her, she noticed that Tony also seemed more relaxed than in the house and she felt herself becoming relaxed too.

They stayed in a nice mood for a few minutes until someone else came closer to them.

Jade felt herself tense up as she knew there was something wrong with the man. He walked in a strange way and he never took his eyes off of Tony.

Tony himself noticed something was wrong too and was about to turn around when the man pulled out a knife and started running towards them.

Both of them became startled and Jade started growling as a warning to the man. The man slowed down a little but sped up again and now, Jade decided to do something about it.

She felt that Tony's grip on her leash had lessened, so she ripped it away as she ran towards the man. When she was close enough she jumped and bit his wrist, the same that connected to his hand with the knife.

The man let out a shriek in surprise and dropped the knife, then he realized that it was Jade that was the source of the pain. He hit her in the head, but she didn't let go and instead the man fell to the ground with Jade on top of him.

Soon enough Jade let go of the man and slowly backed to stand in front of Tony. She didn't know what had happened to her the pas day as she went from trying to not get attached to wanting to protect Tony with her life.

The man laid there for a few seconds, holding his arm before he stood up and ran away. Even though Jade wanted to protect Tony, she didn't bite hard enough to actually tear into the flesh.

She only knew that she had never felt so good about herself as she did at that moment when she saw Tony's relieved and proud smile.

***

When they walked back towards the house, Jade wondered if she had done the right thing. Sure, she saved Tony and scared off the other man, but now Tony seemed a little distant and almost a bit afraid of her.

It also showed when they got back and Tony went straight back into his workshop. Since Jade didn't want to make him uncomfortable in case he was starting to become afraid, she went to explore the rest of the house.

At first, she didn't find anything interesting, but when she walked into Tony's room again, she saw the sun about to set.

She sat there and looked at it, thinking about her family again and how much she wanted them to be there. She shook the thoughts out of her head, but first now realized how alone she truly was. For almost as long as she's been alive she has been alone, she has never had anyone to talk to, or hug, or kiss, or a shoulder to cry on when needed. And even if she had Tony now, he only knew her as his dog and not as a person beneath that.

She felt a sinking feeling in her heart as she played down, head on paws, and watched the sun setting over the ocean.

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That's the fourth chapter! I had a little trouble making it but now it's done. And I know it was a little shorter than the other, I'm sorry about that.

And if anyone feels like it: comment and/or vote.

As always: Stay awesome and be the best you can be   ;)