Behind The Mask

Talk With The Leader

     Up at the Lookout, awkward silence filled the atmosphere between Ryder, Chase and Tundra. Ryder still had his arms crossed and he kept his frown on his face while the two pups were slowly motioning their eyes away from each other and the leader, waiting for the other to start talking.

"So, you might wanna start talking or else we'll be up the whole night." Ryder then spoke up, but Tundra and Chase stood silent for a second before the Husky spoke up.

"I...It's my fault, Ryder." Tundra quickly took the blame which surprised the German Shepherd standing next to her.

"I kind of...just let him walk off and If I just made him stay, then maybe we wouldn't be in this situation." Tundra then explained before Chase quickly stepped in.

"Look, it wasn't her fault, it's mine." Chase quickly defended which now surprised Tundra and caused Ryder to look from her to him.

"I decided to take a walk without letting you know, Tundra tried to stop me but I didn't listen. So it's not your fault." Chase then turned to look at the Husky.

"But, I shouldn't have agreed though..." Tundra said before Ryder spoke up this time.

"That's enough. It's both of your fault," Ryder admitted and looked at Chase who held the most accountable, "You knew you weren't supposed to leave until you got better." Ryder said.

"But I do feel better. I just wanted to get some fresh air, what's so wrong about that?" Chase asked, starting to get a little annoyed.

"The problem is, you left without calling me. What would we do if something happened to you and we had no clue where you are or anything?" Ryder asked, now in a worried tone.

"The problem is, even if I asked you, you still would've said no. But that's not the problem anymore. Look I'm sorry I didn't tell you and next time, I'll make sure to let you know before anything." Chase apologized. The leader's eyes softened and then his shoulders dropped with a sigh.

"Thanks, Chase. That means a lot, and yes, please let me or any of us know because we were all worried." Ryder accepted and gave both of his pups a light smile before kneeling them down and softly pulling them into a hug, which Tundra and Chase happily accepted and returned.

After a few seconds for what felt like minutes, they separated.

"Alright, now that's settled, why are the Ruff-Ruff Pack here?" Ryder then asked and Chase quickly had an explanation.

"Well...let's just say they lost their vehicles and it was somehow my fault so I thought we could help them out." Chase put it in short and Ryder seemed a little surprised.

"I see. Well let's get down and I'll see what I can do." Ryder said and was about to head to the elevator before Tundra spoke up.

"Hold on, if it's okay, Ryder can I quickly speak to you in private?" She asked and both Chase and Ryder looked at each other with a little confusion but the ten year old agreed.

"Uh, sure."

Chase, not really caring that much, made his way to the elevator and silently went down, leaving Ryder and Tundra alone.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" He asked.

"I've noticed that Chase's parents aren't here. It's the holidays, what's up with that?" She asked and Ryder winced a little bit at that question. 

He knew the answer to it all, but he didn't want to tell the others because Chase entrusted him with this information and he'd want to keep it between just the two of them.

"I'm...I'm not too sure myself. He said that they work often and they couldn't make it on time." Ryder repeated the lie.

"I know that, but still. I don't want Chase to spend Christmas without his parents." Tundra then sighed with a sad tone and looked down, causing Ryder's eyes to soften.

"If you don't mind me asking, why is that?" He asked, curious to know Tundra's reasons. The Husky stood silent for a moment before looking away.

"I know I haven't said anything about my past before, but I don't know much about my parents. My Dad...didn't really interact with us much, he was more distant," She frowned, but then warmly smiled, "My Mom on the other hand was caring and she loved me with all of her heart." Tundra said, then a sad frown slowly formed.

"When she passed away, all I had was my Dad and he...well he...I'm not so sure. He just disappeared. I still don't know where he is, or if he's even alive anymore. All I had was him and he wasn't even there anymore. 

So I kind of know what it's like and I don't want Chase to feel that way or anyone else for that matter." Tundra said and Ryder weakly smiled at her and kneeled down to place a hand on her head.

"Look, it's not my place to tell you. I'm sorry you have to go through that. But one thing is for sure, we all have each other. And I promise, he or you won't spend Christmas alone. We'll make sure of it." Ryder grinned which cheered Tundra up a little bit.

"Thanks." She responded and nuzzled Ryder's chest which caused him to giggle and then he finally stood up.

"Alright, well Wild Cat and the Ruff-Ruff pack are still down there, so we might wanna deal with them before more conflict breaks out." Ryder laughed along with Tundra and both of them walked towards the elevator.

They went downstairs and when the doors opened, they were revealed to a scene which completely shocked them. The group of dogs surrounded Hubcap and Rubble who were eating furiously while everyone else was awkwardly staring at them.

"Uh, what's going on?" Ryder asked.

"Well, Hubcap and Rubble got into an argument about food..." Katie began.

"And that somehow turned into them challenging each other to an eating competition..." Chase explained further.

"And we still don't know who's winning." Rocky finished.

Everyone watched as the two bulldogs devoured the pup-treats by every second, the pile getting lower and lower. Ryder was now having another thought as he kept staring at the competing pups.

Yeah, this is gonna be one heck of a night.