"Tan Dog!"
Roused, Flare groggily stretched out her legs. One touched something firm, and she opened her eyes.
She had accidentally touched Shadow, because he'd been sleeping so close. They had dozed off from the slanted afternoon sunlight.
"S'what?" Shadow slurred while half asleep. Flare searched for the source of the call, stepping farther away from the brown dog who was struggling to wake up.
"Tan Dog! Come over here," said Jax. The female dog's legs loosened up as she walked towards the dog houses. She wondered what Jax could want so late at night.
His eyes flashed as she approached. He wasn't in a dog house; just next to one. Jax let his tongue loll out as he started digging at a shallow-dug hole. Muscles working, he made gasping breaths as he struggled to breathe through his vigorous digging. Then, the black-and-white dog pulled a dirty, round chunk of bone from the ground.
Even through the caked-on dirt, Flare could smell it. Her stomach cramped at the scent.
"How'd you get that?" She demanded, immediately annoyed that Jax was showing off something that she hadn't had in a long number of days.
"Just saved it. I ate some myself, of course, but it's from before Brown Dog got here. The last time we got scraps." He licked his chops and strafed towards the bone.
"I'm giving it to you," he said confidently. Flare eyed him uncertainly as he came out of the shadow of the dog house with the bone gripped in his jaw.
His posture seems un-threatening.
She decided to take it. Her tail wagged involuntarily as she received it from Jax. Falling on the bone so quickly, Flare didn't notice White Dog rise from a corner of The Yard and head towards them.
Her jaws salivated so much that spittle leaked onto the bone and her paws, but the tan dog didn't care; her stomach roared for more and more, easing only as she finished. Flare licked her whiskers clean, content.
"Tan Dog," White Dog said with an assertive certainty. She flipped herself around fearfully, more taken aback than anything. What do they want now?
"We can smell you nearing the end of your heat. What with the fight last night, and Brown Dog's arrival shortly before that, every dog has been distracted."
Flare shrunk towards the ground. Neck-fur fluffed up, she felt a defensive wave of annoyance sweep over her. Not again!
"But I've smelled her the entire time," Jax put in. Flare felt herself flush with embarrassment, resenting the smell that pooled from her rear-end like it was a recurring rash.
And what're more, she naturally assumed that they must had planned this together. Jax only gave me the bone to give himself a one-up over me. And White Dog probably told him to.
"Shut up, Jax. So have I. Even Shadow, who doesn't react to pheromones, has."
"What's pheromones?"
"I said shut your trap," White Dog said threateningly. Even without moving to attack Jax, his huge floppy jowels and shredded ears looked formidable.
"Tan Dog, it's time to breed. You'll soon be out of season and-"
"Excuse me?" Shadow cut in. Flare wildly darted her gaze this way and that until she found him approaching with a low posture from an odd direction- so he'd been eavesdropping on them.
"And Flare, is it your wish to breed with these dogs?" Shadow put in. He searched her gaze from his position. The brown dog looked nervous of the potential answer.
You know me better than that already, Shadow. "No," Flare said with as much strength and will as she could muster, but she didn't move yet.
Shadow's gaze immediately hardened and pinpointed on the males. True rage shone in his eyes, and he slowly curled his lip to show the whites of his long canines.
"Then why would you advance on an unwilling female?" Stated the male bravely. Flare felt white-hot fear engulf her. This can't end well.
White dog was on the offensive immediately, spitting a reply within seconds. He let his own lips curl as he spoke, although his teeth were stained yellow. Flare was astounded that he hadn't already attacked.
"You don't get a say in none of this, Half-A-Dog. You don't care about mating rights, remember? Butt out."
"And Tan Dog doesn't get to-". But Jax was interrupted by Shadow, who was all but radiating fury at this point. His eyes twitched as his teeth raised even further, past the gum-lines.
"I can't. I won't," Shadow stated with a snarl. He stamped his front foot as if he couldn't contain his anger. Never before had Flare seen any dog do such a thing.
The short-haired brown dog's hackles rose as he began to look like a completely different dog. Flare had assumed long ago that she'd never see him this way.
"Why?" Said Jax plainly. "Flare- Tan dog's just a she-dog. She-dogs are made for having pups." He looked short and stout next to White Dog. Flare could tell that each male was getting more impatient with Jax's interrupting.
"Dogs are made for whatever they want!" The male thrust his neck forward aggressively and forced a snarl to come into his words.
Jax looked much less confident now that the aggressive replies were toward him. He took a step back, a clear indication that he wasn't prepared to challenge Shadow.
Fearful, Flare resisted the urge to slink away. It was moreso from fear of the situation rather than fear of Shadow's anger, though.
"I've had enough," White Dog said in controlled fury. "Jax even gave you something to eat." He eyed Flare herself and gave a command. "Just get over here, now." Flare still didn't move, so White Dog let out a sharp bark to commend her to oblige. It almost worked, as the sheer volume and rage heard in the bark nearly jerked her legs into motion.
Shadow was almost trembling beside her. When White Dog started towards Flare, she saw the brown belt next to her blur into an explosion of movement.
He hit the White Dog with full force, their bodies thudding together like stone against earth. Though Shadow was smaller, he was extremely nifty with his biting. Shadow's shoulders were forward to aggressively scratch as well. As Flare watched it unfold, she trembled.
Shadow tried for several quick mouthfuls of skin that grabbed and ripped in rapid succession. The male flurried attacks on parts of White Dog's face, stopping only to let his teeth sink in deeper now and then. White Dog landed some shallow bites on his attacker, but since Shadow was moving so much he did not land most of them.
The brown whirlwind didn't last long enough. White Dog struck out blindly, his muzzle smacking against Shadow's. The two bared their fangs all over again and backed away from each other. White Dog shook his massive head. His wrinkles were ridden with tooth and nail scrapes.
"You don't even deserve to be here, can't-breed can't-fight mutt! You're worse off than Jax." Malice sang on his voice as he spoke.
Flare allowed herself to look for Jax just then. He was just by the dog house, watching. The male stood with one white paw raised uncertainly. The tan female wondered what he was thinking- side with White Dog, or neither? Join the attack, or stay back? His fear of Shadow seemed to be winning.
"All I hear is yapping. Are we going to finish it or not?"
Mouth agape, Flare's gaze came to Shadow instead. He still had the same expression of willful intent to defend.
He's being so brave just for a dog like me. And why?
It didn't take White Dog long to react to the taunt. He recklessly threw his front end forward in an obvious attempt to bite the head and neck. Shadow ducked and White Dog struck his forehead, a meager blow. The brown dog backed away, closing his eyes to protect them. But then he spun in rapid retaliation, throwing his front legs up off the ground and coming down on White Dog's shoulders with teeth bared.
The large ghostly male saw his chance and aimed for Shadow's legs. He knocked them out from under him, and in just a second had Shadow pinned underneath his huge paws.
And yet, Shadow escaped. White Dog's claws raked through his pelt as he squirmed free. Quick as a snake strike, he flicked his head sideways and dug his canines into the muscle-y part of White Dog's haunch.
The brown dog didn't let go, so the opposing male dog's growls turned into panicked high-pitched whines soon after.
He twisted this way and that to try and dislodge the younger Shadow, but nothing worked. White Dog could hardly get a purchase since the other dog was behind him.
Eventually, White Dog's defenses weakened. He slackened his attempts to get free and sagged towards the ground. When blood was running freely from around Shadow's teeth, the brown dog finally released.
The defeated male didn't get up for several heartbeats. He panted in the grass and caught his breath before swallowing nervously.
Shadow's tail was stuck straight up like a tree. He lowered his head to speak to White Dog.
"Don't bother her again." With that, he straightened and shook his floppy ears. The white bandage on one was held together in thin fronds, proving that the short fight had loosened it.
Only after Shadow stepped away did White Dog get up. His expression was embarrassed, and his thin shredded ears were pinned back. He loped away without a word. The stench of blood was still strong on the night air.
Shadow raised his voice to commend Jax as well. "And you as well, Jax. Trying to force a female who's unwilling to breed makes you a vile brute of a dog!" He curled his lip. Flare, still not used to Shadow behaving such a way, stayed where she was.
"All the noise woke me up," complained a new voice from across The Yard.
"Are they fighting over Tan Dog?" Mocha asked curiously. Flare couldn't make out the other dogs from the dark hulk of the tire.
"No." Grey Dog sounded suspicious as he fell silent for a few heartbeats.
"If I heard correctly, Brown Dog told the others to stay away from Tan Dog while she's in heat."
Mocha didn't reply, even as her mate got off the tire and jogged closer. Oh no- Grey Dog. Flare felt her heartbeat quicken, and resisted the impulse to run somewhere. There is nowhere to run.
Grey Dog's muscular features were soon within visible distance, although much darker. He was nearly black under the thin sliver of moon, partake his white paws and chest. As his small grey eyes bore into Shadow's, he stilled.
"Not so much a fightless dog now, huh?" He studied Shadow in silence for awhile longer. Flare took this time to study Shadow's face, which had defensive annoyance written all over it. Neither male lowered their muzzles, and to Flare it seemed one would attack the other at any moment.
As she realized she'd been holding her breath, Grey Dog finally continued.
"I'm well aware that I could do something about this," he started off slowly. Grey Dog's nose twitched rapidly, probably from the scent of White Dog's blood, Flare's heat-scent, or both.
"It makes no sense to me why you'd protect a dog that you don't want to mate, after all." He distastefully looked Shadow up and down. Shadow's lip twitched as if he wanted to say something, but the younger male held back.
"Lucky for you, I don't defend anyone but Mocha. And I don't fight other dog's battles for them- unless The Man would see it fit." Shadow held his gaze boldly.
"And also, I'd do the same for my she-dog." With that, Grey Dog had finished. He turned to leave, and Flare noticed many old cuts, sores and bite-marks along the male's haunches.
He's been in a lot of fights.
Shadow didn't reply; he didn't need to. That was probably the most non-threatening thing he'd ever get out of Grey Dog.
And I'm not his she-dog, she thought indignately, as she looked over at Shadow. He appeared more confident now, his tail tapping the ground. Shadow licked the blood from his whiskers and muzzle while stepping close to Flare.
"Don't announce it to anyone, but that was pretty easy. He moved slow, so I'm thinking he's older than I initially thought."
Flare knew that she ought to say thanks, but she was still feeling uncomfortable with how all of this had played out. Her back and shoulders went stiff, and didn't move any closer to Shadow.
"What's wrong?" Shadow came forward quickly, sniffing her face in concern.
Flare must have looked upset. She backed a pace away and masked her expression immediately. "Nothing, thanks," she began awkwardly.
Shadow gave her a strange look. He sat on his haunches beside her and cocked his head.
"Are you sure?"
Flare looked at her paws. She was struggling with her feelings. She felt remorseful that she needed protected like a pup, as if she didn't have teeth or a voice of her own to defend herself. I do, but I never use them. She frowned. The fear consumed her all too often.
And although relieved that the males wouldn't approach her for breeding anymore, Flare didn't feel the relief she had hoped for. The huge burden lifted from her shoulders had just made room for the others- constant hunger, lack of space, and endless nervous energy.
"Everything's okay now," Shadow said firmly. So Flare hadn't answered him yet. She pricked her ears and glanced his way. Shadow seemed to instinctively react to her look, and scooted closer once again. Flare almost sighed out loud, wishing Shadow's close gestures could bring her some relief.
But still- she felt the yawning, gaping hold of uncertainty grasp at her heart.
How long am I going to be here?
~
Image shown below is Grey Dog (he has no collar))