Angel On Earth- A Dog Novel

12🐾 Vanished

"Star!!!" Gypsy and her puppies cries were in vain as she howled from beside them. It was the next morning, and she knew all of this was just a last-hope attempt at honing in on Star's location.

The forest was silent with twittering birdsong in the treetops as they then cuddled each other after the in-vain yelping. Kiwi and Finn had now lapsed into quiet uncertainty, joining Copper in his benevolent whimpers.

They drew their paws in at each fluttering leaf, rather than pouncing on it like before.

"It's okay, you can play." The white mother-dog calmed them with tears in her eyes. The grass felt stiffer, the earth harder, the light more piercing against her slanted eyelids.

"Bronx said its very rare for stuff like that to happen. And owls only hunt at night, so you're safe now." She struggled to keep the whine out of her voice as her puppies looked at each other.

"Okay, then. Let's play, Copper!" The male pup turned his head away, however.

"No thanks. I'm still scared that it might come back. Like what if Star didn't fill his belly?"

Dejected, Gypsy tuned out the puppies. She was thinking of her little white male pup, playful and eager to know more about the world. He would've grown into a wise dog. Star always knew how to get others into the spirit of play.

But now he's dead... I'll never see him again.

The thought in and of itself made tears gush from her eyes like a faucet. Gypsy laid her head down on her paws to try and hide her grief from her puppies.

Bronx had tried to comfort her after the long search last night, but it was to no avail. They'd searched high and low, but dogs couldn't reach the very tops of the trees. And an owl's nest was nowhere in sight among the trunks and forks, either. Yet Bronx had time and time again assured her it was an owl.

Gypsy could only assume he'd been taken far away and killed by the bird. She almost wished that some dog had seen Star be taken, so she could know for a fact that it was indeed what had happened to him.

But it wasn't like she could find out. She still had three pups to take care of, and they needed dry food. So, when Ace approached with it, and asked Gypsy what was wrong, she let her pups eat it all as she told him.

"It's so good!" Chimed Finn, as Copper filled his jowls with the meaty kibble next to him.

"No, I'm not okay. Star's gone. I can't get him back... there's no scent, no pawsteps, no fur, no trace...!" Her voice rose viciously on the last few words, and the two male puppies who were eating paused to glance at their mother.

"I know... I'm sorry. I looked again this morning, too. I think it's strange how there's so scent- or even trace of the owl. Only our usual packmate scents. And not even a dropped feather..." Ace lowered his voice. "Do you think North could've killed him out of jealousy? She's the only one who was away from camp at that time. Maybe she snuck back and-"

Taken aback, Gypsy looked him up and down in disbelief. "North?! Of course not. She lost her male pups from sickness while I was gone, remember?" Lifting her head, the she-dog stubbornly looked up at the cloud-littered sky. Why would North be so petty as to do such a thing?

Kiwi fell away from Gypsy's flank with a feeble tumble. She began coughing, but the Pitbull was too distressed to notice that her female puppy wasn't getting any food.

"I know. I mean, I didn't see them very much before they died... but I know where their graves are now," Ace began softly.

"And I sort of meant- maybe she's jealous that your pup lived... rather than her two.
But-Okay then..." Ace trailed off uncertainly. "Anyways- where's Bronx?"