Street-Bred

Chapter Nine - The Journey Begins

     Fawn's green eyes enlarged when she realized what Ace had asked her. Ace blinked in the silence, waiting for her answer. Fawn looked back at the sunrise in thought, "What would it be like? Would I be at the bottom of the pack? What if I break a rule? What if..." Fawn returned her gaze to Ace, and after seeing the sincerity in his eyes, she knew that he truly wanted to help, making the doubts in her head fade. After a long sigh, Fawn nodded, "Ace, I will join your pack," she said. The male smiled and wagged his tail, "Welcome to the pack, Fawn," he responded. Fawn felt blood rush to her ears and nose, making them a dark pink. Ace tilted his head slightly, "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Your nose and ears, they turn red. Why?"

"Oh, they just do that when I'm happy. It's normal, I promise," Fawn laughed.

"Ha, well I'm glad you're happy Fawn. Will you stay like that for the whole trip?"

"Trip? What trip?"

"You know, getting away from Cash. We'll find somewhere to stay once he's no longer a threat," Ace replied.

"Oh, I see. Well, in that case, we should probably get back to the pack before they realize we're gone," Fawn woofed, and turned back to the staircase. Quietly Ace followed her, smiling to himself.

They climbed down the staircase and trotted back to the pack's alley, where they found them sleepily blinking themselves awake. April picked up her head and turned her gaze to Ace and Fawn, "Morning... how long have you guys been up?" she asked, beginning to stretch.

"Fawn saw the sunrise this morning," Ace replied, and all of the pack's eyes were immediately on Fawn.

"Does this mean... she's a packmate now?" April inquired. Ace nodded the answer. Instantly, Mei scampered up to Fawn, "Yay! I knew you would join the pack! I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Woohoo!" the pup spun around in tight, quick circles, until she toppled over with dizziness with an "Oof!" Ace chuckled and nudged the little one up.
"C'mon, we don't have time to waste," Ace barked.

"What's the rush?" Paisley yawned, standing up on her short legs.

"We have to start moving. Remember last night?"

"Oh... well, okay then!" she yipped cheerfully, "c'mon, let's go!" with that, Paisley ran outside of the alley, only to return by peeking behind the exit, "Uhhh... where exactly are we going?" Ace shook his head, chuckling. Fawn suppressed a small giggle as she watched the energetic dog. Until she heard a loud grunt, and turned around to see Captain stretching, "I know where we could go, but it will take us the whole day," he said.

"Where?" Ace questioned.

"We'll go to Harvey's, if we get going now, we can be there by this evening," he answered, slowly walking towards the exit. April's eyes filled with concern, "Are you sure you can make that kind of a walk?" The black lab whined.

"Of course!" Captain growled back, "I've been making that walk my whole life!" April averted her eyes.

"I know, but you're fifteen now..." she whimpered.

"Hey, this isn't about me. This is about keeping our friend safe," he grumbled, "let's go. I know the way."

     April and Ace exchanged glances, and then shrugged and began to follow  the aged Rhodesian Ridgeback. Fawn, Mei, and Paisley did the same. Fawn caught up with April and whispered, "Hey, how do you know about Cash's pack?" April looked up and blinked at her for a few moments, and finally replied, "Well, believe me or not, Cash was my best friend as a pup. Don't tell anyone, but... he had a ginormous crush on me," Fawn couldn't help but let out a few snickers.

"I met all of his other friends," she continued, "Night, Angel, Dusty, Gunner, Axel, and Thorn. We would all play in the alley while the adults watched. But even though he asked a million times, I still wouldn't join Cash's pack. One day, Ace and I met. Both of us were abandoned, so we became fast friends. I introduced him to Cash and the others, and I believe Cash got jealous. So Ace and I ran off together, and then we met Captain, so on and so forth," the lab explained.

"Are you in any sort of relationship with Ace?" Fawn asked.

"What? Me and him? No, we're like siblings. I could never be in a relationship with him, romantically, I mean," April said, and Fawn nodded.

"So... do you like Ace?" April giggled, and Fawn felt her nose redden.

"Why do you ask?" Fawn gulped, slightly embarrassed that April would bring something like that up.

"Sorry, I shouldn't of asked that..." April sighed. Fawn's nose paled slightly in relief. Liking someone was the last thing on her mind. Luckily, she knew how to change the subject, "So, where is this Harvey place we're going to?"

"Oh, you'll love it! Captain, Ace, and I used to eat there all the time, until we moved," April responded.

"Why move away from a reliable food source?"

"I'm not too sure, Captain has always been an adventurer. Not even old age can hold him back!" The Labrador laughed.

"Ha, my brother liked exploring too..." Fawn's sentence trailed off.

"Is something wrong?" April worried.

"Oh, no. It's just... sometimes I really miss him. He was my only friend before I became a loner," Fawn sighed.

"Why did you become a loner?"

"My brother... he became a collar wearer. So, you know, I left, since I had nobody to hang out with."

"What about your parents?"

"Well, I couldn't stay with them forever," Fawn spoke, "I had an urge to see the world independently," she added. April nodded in understanding.

By evening, the pack had made it to their destination, just as Captain predicted. Fawn looked up at the building with tired eyes, and saw a glowing sign reading, "Harvey's Bar and Grill". Fawn knew what that sign meant. Food.