A Tail of Two Wobbledogs

Chapter Two

Burnt grunted slightly as he fought desperately with the wall to get at his cocoon. The way he had managed to worm his way behind the incubator to place it there in the first place had slipped his mind. Now a feeling of desperation was washing over him as hunger clawed at his stomach and he continued to struggle to reach the slimy green cocoon.

Finally, Burnt managed to snag a tooth on the thing, pulling it out. He began gnawing away at its walls. Once his hunger had been calmed somewhat, he sat back, chewing a bite of the metallic-tasting cocoon slowly. It wasn't good by any means, but the jelly he'd been given by that mysterious dog had run out and he sure as anything didn't want to eat anymore of the burnt dog biscuits. Swallowing the bite, he reached in for another one, before being rudely pulled away from the cocoon. His teeth clamped down on nothing as he looked up to see The Hand, hatred filling his heart almost instantly at the sight of it.

It dispensed more burnt dog biscuits from the nearby dessert dispenser, most turning to dust as they hit the ground. The Hand selected a whole one before pulling it over to Burnt and forcing him to take a bite. By now used to this routine, Burnt went along with it, secretly stuffing the crumbs into his cheeks so as not to swallow them. He knew ingesting every sharp, little, black morsel was terrible for his digestive tract. Eventually, when The Hand was satisfied, it zipped away. Wasting no time, Burnt spat out the crumbs and crawled back to the cocoon, sighing as he took a bite.

Chewing the cocoon gave him time to think- it was tough and fibrous, by no means easy on his mouth. But he knew it was far better for him than anything else he had access to right then, so he simply sat, deep in chewing-fuelled thought.

If only I could get more of that jelly. . . he yearned, part of him almost expecting a jelly mold to pop into his room. But none came, so instead he sank his teeth back into the cocoon. But then, an idea struck him.

"What if. . . I sent the cocoon over as a gift," Thinking over the idea for a moment, he nodded to himself in confirmation. Standing up, he began dragging the cocoon over to the wall. "Maybe then they'd send me another jelly mold in return."

Sinking his teeth into the edge of the cocoon, Burnt readied himself before putting all of his energy into throwing it up and over the wall. It brushed the edge of the wall but ultimately fell back to the ground, hitting Burnt on the head and stunning him for a moment. Trying again, he aimed closer to the edge of the wall, in the hopes that a more horizontal throw would clear it. This time it fully ricocheted off of the wall, once again hitting Burnt in the head.

Growling slightly out of frustration, he once again bit into the cocoon. "Third time's the charm." He muttered to himself, before tossing it up. Sure enough, it cleared the wall, and a sense of satisfaction fell over Burnt as he heard the distinctive noise of the tube suctioning it over to the other dog's pen.

~

Jelly panted happily as The Hand rubbed their belly. They were sitting close to the tube, which Jelly had been playing near when The Hand zipped over to their pen. It did make them slightly nervous to be so close to it- they feared what would happen if they were to be pulled into it like the jelly mold they'd sent over. Perhaps the dog the wall was preventing from visiting them was vicious and would rip them to shreds.

Yes. That must be why there's a wall there in the first place.

Suddenly, something hit Jelly in the head, hard, causing The Hand to zip away and Jelly to yelp. They dizzily stood up, glancing around the room for a moment before realizing they were standing over what had flown in from the tube. A cocoon- half-eaten, at that. This must be from the other dog. Still wary about what this mysterious yet probably terrifying dog wanted, Jelly settled on something not too far off from what had been sent in the first place- their own cocoon. It was whole still, as Jelly preferred their abundant jelly molds to the tough skin of the cocoons.

They sank their teeth into the cocoon and sent it flying into the tube, unaware that a pack of ivy seeds had been sent with it. Just as they were about to snack on some jelly molds, though, a bark rang through the tube. Still scared of the other dog, Jelly warily barked back, before slinking off to a corner of their room.

~

A surprised yelp echoed back through the tube as Burnt held his ears up to the imposing wall he'd thrown the cocoon over. A twinge of guilt sparked in his heart- had he hit the other dog by accident? Hopefully they would still send a jelly mold over, despite Burnt's accidental aggression.

The touch of The Hand alerted Burnt to its presence, spurring him to let out a yelp of his own. He cursed the cocoon he'd sent over for a moment, sure that if it had not caused a scene by hitting the other dog he wouldn't be having to deal with The Hand at that very moment. Suddenly, it began stroking him. Hair spiking along his spine, Burnt barked with all his might.

When will that idiot learn? He scowled to himself, glaring up at The Hand. He had thought the first time he barked at the entity it would have learned not to bother him- apparently not. Carelessly throwing a burnt dog biscuit at Burnt, The Hand flew off. He kicked the thing away, watching it crumble to dust as it hit the wall.

A bark rang out into the tube, likely a response to Burnt's outburst at The Hand- though a new smell also caught his attention. It was a cocoon, though not his own. Its familiar metallic tang carried fruity tones, not dissimilar to the jelly mold he had so cherished.

I suppose it's better than my own cocoon. . . Burnt reasoned, padding over to the crack between the walls.

Sure enough, as he thrust his nose into the small bit of open space, the smell nearly overwhelmed him. Now, how to get it out of this prison?

Burnt's first instinct, to furiously dig at the crack, turned out mostly fruitless. The wall moved slightly out, which besides demonstrating that the wall could in fact be moved, did nothing significant in terms of getting the cocoon out. Stepping back, he allowed himself to brainstorm.

"It's possible to move with enough force. But, I have to be careful- if it tips over onto me I'd be squished like a bug. Maybe. . ." He stared at the wall, unsure of what to do. But the faintly fruity smell of the cocoon was driving him slightly mad with hunger, allowing the idea of simply going at it until he could fit his head through the crack to creep back into his head. Resigning that it would probably be the best idea he could come up with, Burnt forewent further thinking and instead simply pawed at the wall until he thought his legs were going to fall off.

Taking a breath, Burnt silently placed his head between the walls, delighted when he was able to just barely squeeze his snout through. Snagging the edge of the cocoon with his teeth he pulled it into the room, wasting no time taking a few bites before haphazardly stashing it behind the incubator. This cocoon was smaller than his, making it easier for the thing to fit into his normal hiding place. Turning back to the wall, though, something caught his attention- a small package, glimmering in the light.

Warily creeping up to it, Burnt held his breath. His fur spiked slightly as he slowly moved his snout towards the package, eventually letting himself breathe again as he sniffed it. To his surprise, it smelled pleasant. Like dirt or freshwater- swampy, in a good way. Inspecting the package closer, he found a small cut, which he bit down on and ripped. Small pellets tumbled out of the metallic sleeve as he set it back down. Seeds.

Looking up and around the room, Burnt settled on a hole he had dug earlier as a suitable place to plant them. It was somewhat sheltered between the incubator and the wall, meaning whatever grew could be easily hidden from The Hand. Carefully picking up the now ripped packet, he nearly tiptoed over to the hole, before dumping the seeds in. He covered them with some nearby dirt he'd dug up.

Now newly hungry from the work he'd done, Burnt circled around the incubator, taking a bite of the cocoon. It was fruitier than his own- much more delightful. A sense of contentment settled in his stomach as he went in for another bite. His life was by no means good, but he now once again had tolerable food and even a companion in the form of the possible little plant. Yawning, he set the cocoon down behind the incubator, before laying down beside the patch of soil that held the seeds. Right before he let himself drift to sleep, a small green sprout caught his eye. Hope swelled in his stomach that he would survive, just like the little plant.