Paws

Chapter 8

He was following Doltier, making sure to keep the safe distance from him. He didn't know what he might say if the canine would suddenly spot him in the crowd, however nothing was showing that this is going to happen. The dog was way too engaged in the conversation he was having with his 'friend' to even realise what is going on around him. Doltier never invited him to his house before, but something inside of him was telling him that this isn't were the two creatures are heading. Or at least he hoped so. His friend resembled someone who would live on the outskirts of town rather than in the centre. After all he told him before that he has to walk an extra distance if his parents aren't able to pick him up – or something similar. Arvi couldn't exactly recall what the dog said back then, but even if his house wasn't the place, they were heading to this still leave them with plenty of other options that Arvi would rather not want to think about. The thing he feared the most was that Doltier might be he heading to his friend's house. If this would turn out to be true then there was nothing Arvi could do about it.

They passed the main marketplace and the big church tower that dated back few centuries. There were quite a few different creatures down here, which made it easier for him to blend in. Unfortunately, it also meant that it was much more difficult for him to keep track of the two students with so many creatures running around. There were both younger and older creatures. Younger creatures consisted mainly of pupils who just finished the school and were now either waiting for their busses to arrive or were sitting in fast food restaurants enjoying their free time. The older creatures on the other hand consisted mainly of old lady's doing their grocery's down at the marketplace while chatting eagerly amongst themselves. He was afraid that because of all of them he might quickly lose track of them, luckily, soon they both turned into a less frequently visited street and stopped at one of the buildings.

For a second he though they both noticed him, but he soon realised that they were looking at one of the restaurants located there. Doltier seemed to be a bit scared as he nervously moved his legs and his friend tried to calming him down. This as it is was a lot for Arvi to take in, but what the horse did right after stopped his heart and blood flowing. He moved closer to the dog and put an arm around him, closing him in a hug.

Arvi wanted to scream and shout, but he somehow managed to find enough patients. He quickly started to think. What were they doing down here and why was Doltier so nervous? He knew that his earlier worries that Doltier might be heading for his friend's house were incorrect. Thankfully. But if that turned out to be false, then what were they doing here at a restaurant? At first, he thought that they both decided to go on a date, but could Doltier do this to him? Probably not. "But why was he acting so strange" – he thought to himself, when it suddenly hit him.

Doltier kept worrying that his parents will ground him when he'll come back home, but maybe they decided to give him a slightly different punishment? It would somehow make sense if they decide to tell him to get a job. After all, Arvi knew perfectly that older people weren't good when it came to thinking straight and so it was possible for them to come up with something equally stupid. This would explain Doltier's strange behaviour. Even Arvi himself could easily understand him. After all, he couldn't imagine how he would react if he had to start to work. He would probably react in the same way as Doltier. If this was in fact true, it would explain quite a lot, but he had to make sure he was right. When he saw the two friends walking in, he carefully moved to the restaurant's widow.