Across Worlds - A Coyote Starrk Love Story

Chapter 12 - Scuffle

Saki pov:

"It's raining again...." I mumbled as I stood at the door of the shop. "That means no customers today. Oh well, it gives me some time to relax and work on something leisurely."

I looked down at Tomo when he trotted to my side. He looked at the rain curiously and jumped out of the shop. Startled by the rain that made contact with his body, he yelped and scurried back into the shop. Then he turned to the rain and barked angrily at it.

I chuckled, finding what he did really adorable. I shook my head and picked him up in my arms and holding him close to my chest. He barked happily at me, wagging his tail vigorously while resting his paws against my collar bone. I nuzzled his nose with mine earning slobber on my cheek as a reward. I wiped it off on my sleeve before letting him down.

"C'mon, Tomo. We'll be staying inside today."

He followed me, his tongue lolling out and his tail still wagging. I picked up the flower shaped squeaky toy that I had bought for Tomo and crouched down. I held it out to him and he grabbed it from my hand enthusiastically, biting on it and swinging it from side to side making it squeak. I brought a fist to my lips and giggled before giving an affectionate ruffle to his head and standing up.

I left him to play and I walked to my mini work studio. I put on my apron and rolled up the sleeves of my 3/4th top before opening a bag of clay. I got out a mound and sat down at the wheel. I threw the clay onto the wheel so it would stick well and started the automatic wheel rotation. Dipping my hands in water and making the clay on the wheel wet as well, I pushed down on it to center it. I kept dipping my hand in the basin of water next to me to make sure that the clay stayed wet while I worked on it.

When it was centered, I pushed my thumb into the clay from the top to make the opening. I pulled it outwards, making the opening of the clay bigger. When I was satisfied with the opening size, I pulled my hands away. I dipped my hands in the water again and proceeded to increase the height of the clay cylinder by pressing on the outside and inside. All the clay that was at the base had to be evenly distributed through the walls of the cylinder before I could give it any other shape.

When I had got it to the desired height, I pulled my hands away. I slowed the speed of the wheel to make sure that the clay wouldn't collapse while I worked on it. I was about to start reshaping it but I paused and looked up when Tomo began to bark.

A smile grazed my lips when I saw none other than Starrk standing a few feet away from me and watching me. When Tomo came running to his side and barked at him again, he looked at him passively. It wasn't surprising that Tomo was actually happy to see another person since he was friendly with everyone. But it was surprising to see Starrk get down on one knee and scratch Tomo behind the ears. He seemed oddly avid when he looked at and pet Tomo.

"You like dogs?" I asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Not particularly. But this dog is a wolf breed, isn't it? I guess I connect to wolves more than dogs." He spoke, not taking his eyes off Tomo.

"I see. Then I'm sure you and Tomo will be good friends." I smiled and went back to working on my clay vase. "Would you like something to eat or drink?"

"No, I don't want anything." He stood up and walked around my shop on his usual routine of looking at all the items on display.

Everything fell silent after that. The only thing that we could hear was the pitter patter of the rain outside, light footsteps, the sound of the wheel running and the occasional splashes of water.

As I worked, I took occasional glances at Starrk. He seemed content with just walking around. I didn't know what to talk about so I stayed silent and let the feeling of having a friend around settle comfortably into me. Tomo was following Starrk everywhere he went and he didn't seem to mind it.