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The rain making me cry
Topic Started: Jan 4 2018, 08:52 PM (16 Views)
Rosemary Taylor

Rosemary would say she was reasonably happy. How could she not be? She lived in a good home that gave her good food and she was taken off to shows where she usually won awards because, simply put, she was the best. Her housemate was a lovely Saluki who knew grooming tips, even when it came to her puffy fur. She never really wanted for anything, honestly speaking. When she had been young, she had worried about what future held just because she had seen her littermates being taken away one by one and knowing that she would never see them again. She worried because her parents hadn't seemed to care and shouldn't they? She worried because she had been picked up and taken away. But when she had gotten to her new home, everything settled. Caleb had all ready been there, not much older than a pup but enough that she had someone to go to, who knew the ins and the outs of the place. And that was when her beautiful and wonderful life had properly started. God she remembered her first show. She remembered being taken to a groomer and getting fur trimmed and washed and brushed out until it shone. They had taken her to a big open space with lots of dogs and then...then she realized it had been a competition. Of course she had won her first one. Now that they were there, she had realized that she had been training for this every day since she had been adopted. She had learned the subtle language of humans to know what they wanted and she had watched Caleb to learn what the humans didn't tell her. Winning that first time had been like a door creaking open for her.


She was a show dog, Caleb always said, through and through. She had beauty and grace that few dogs ever had, he kept saying. When she had pointed out that flattery didn't mean she was just going to roll over for him, he had laughed at her and told her she was a bit to small and female for him to be interested in that. It had made their friendship stronger, she felt. Of course it did. She couldn't imagine going into these shows without knowing Caleb was around...even though she told herself that soon she try to get use to it. She needed to be able to stand on her own four paws, she needed to be able to hold her head high without knowing her friend was there. And usually she managed it. Usually she was able to push back the need of having someone there to watch her. She was going to be a star, she was going to stand before all those silly humans and let them ooh and aah over her and tell her how amazing she was. Maybe one day she would even be able to do more. What if one day she got to be on television? Her and Caleb's owner did so like to watch movies that had that lovely looking dog that was apparently named Winslow. He was an actor and everyone adored him. That was what she was going to do with her life, she decided. She was going to amaze people with her show skills, make them love her and then...then she'd be in movies.


The problem was she couldn't be in movies if she was a coward. She had never really thought of herself as that. She had been worried when she was a pup about where she was going, what would happen to her family. She had been nervous during her first few shows, but who wouldn't be when there were all those dogs around and that some seemed to snap and snarl? It had never been outright fear. She didn't fear many things. Cars? Those were just big metal things that you controlled by getting into them. The vet? It was just another human who you could make uncomfortable by staring him down. She was sure she wasn't afraid of anything. Until they had been on a walk and the rain had started. Even that hadn't been awful. She liked the rain right up until she realized she could feel it slowly inching down her fur to reach her skin, until she realized that it made her paws disgustingly muddy. But other than that, rain had been fine. She had listened to her humans mutter over how Caleb had shivered – poor thing was always skin and bones and he said it was normal for him – and maybe they should go home. That was when the thunder had started rolling, the lightning starting to strike. The first boom at made her yelp, the first crack of light had made her cry, and the second rumble of thunder had sent her off in a panic. She had expected her humans to grab her leash tighter, maybe even haul her back and pick her up and take her home, but the leash went slack and she ran.


Her paws scrambled at the concrete, feeling like she was trying to out run the storm, pushing herself harder each time she could see the lightning or hear the thunder. She ran, tilting herself to hurry into an alley and then...then she saw a box. Without thinking, she dove into it, curling in on herself and trying to hide away from the storm outside. It wasn't like being at home. At home she could have curled up with Caleb, they could have hidden under the bed and their humans would have turned on more noise so they wouldn't even notice how it was storming outside. Now though...the box kept the rain off her, but she could still hear the thunder, could still see the lightning. She whimpered to herself, tiny little cries that were suppose to make her humans come for her. Shouldn't they all ready be trying to pick her up and go home? She hadn't run that far from them, had she? What if the storm kept going forever and she was stuck here? Oh she wouldn't like that at all.
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Clayton James Taylor

The life of a stray was tough, but James had never let it bother him too much. Mostly because he did pretty well for himself. He was tough and he was willing to scrap with any dog that wanted to say otherwise. If it was too much for him, he just had to call in his brother for backup and that usually sent them scurrying. So they didn't leave cushy lives. Well, so what? Because they were big and strong they were usually able to steal from other dogs or chase other dogs off from their areas, which means they got first dibs on whatever they found. Because they were both clever enough, they could usually steal or beg food off of humans. They were never going to be like some of the dogs he saw with the humans. Their coats were never going to shine and be free of mats. They were never going to be filled out. But so what? He was happy enough. He'd never needed humans before and all he needed was him and his brother. That was all he needed and, some days, neither of them needed that, either. Not that James wasn't attached to him, because he was, but they both had no problem in splitting up for a few days to make things easier all around. That was what they had done recently. When they split up, they were able to cover more territory and able to only have to feed one of them rather than two. They were able to scope out new dogs, scope out new places to get food or to maybe move shelter to. It benefited the both of them, for the most part.

The only problem was that if there were too many dogs you could be set upon. They hadn't really run into that problem much, but there were times when four or five dogs banded together in a small pack and if you were by yourself you could get injured pretty badly. He and his brother had always managed to survive through those situations so far but he didn't relish having to do it again and again, either. That was why his hackles were already practically up when he caught a scent that wasn't his own and didn't belong to his brother. It was pouring down rain, lightning and thunder flashing and popping in the sky here and there, and all he had wanted to do was get back to his temporary shelter with the little meager meal he'd procured for himself. He would eat it, curl up, call it a good day and then tomorrow it would start all over again. Nothing complex about it. But as he had drawn closer down the alley he had caught the scent and it was not only a stranger but it was fresh. That set his hackles up, letting the water drip even further between his strands of fur - which only served to make him more irritable. Someone was in his box and he wasn't going to stand for that. That was his home.

As he drew nearer, he felt his lips curl up around the scrap of food he was carrying, felt his fur fluffing up even more. He took a few stiff-legged steps until he was almost right up on the box. He dropped the food, feeling his irritation only grow as it splashed into a puddle, and he allowed a deep, rumbling growl to well up from his chest. He was going to show this interloper just who they had crossed and why they should think twice about practically stealing from him again. "Just who in the hell do you think you are!" He snapped the words out at the bedraggled pile of fur that had taken over his home. "Don't you know that this is my territory and that is my.... my..." His words suddenly failed him and he stumbled over them and then trailed off as the occupant of the box turned towards him and he finally got a good look at them, finally took a deep inhale of the scent and let it move past 'stranger' and let it settle on 'female' instead. "Ain't you just the prettiest thing I have ever seen," he said as he finally regained his tongue and spoke again. He didn't think he had intended to say them, but it was hard to tell because his mind felt like a complete blank with the only thoughts banging around in there about how gorgeous this dog was, even wet and a bit muddy, and how much of an absolutely perfect little mate she would make for him.

James leaned down to nudge the bit of food towards the female, his attitude completely changed from a few seconds ago. "What's your name, beautiful?" He asked her. "You hungry? You can have this. I don't mind." His stomach protested very much that it did, in fact, mind. The rest of him told his stomach to shut up because he was gonna woo this girl and he was gonna keep her around and there wasn't anything gonna stop either of them from being together. The two of them were going to spend their lives curled up together, being close, taking on the world, filling it with absolutely gorgeous puppies and knowing how absolutely they were meant to be with one another. He was sure of it.
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Rosemary Taylor

All Rosemary wanted right now was to be home. She wanted to curl up in the curve of Caleb's body or to crawl into one of her human's laps. They all would have taken care of her, they all would have protected her from the storm. As if the thunder and lightning wasn't bad enough, she could feel the rain making its way through her fur down to her skin, which was uncomfortable to say the least. There was mud on her paws to – her perfectly manicured paws. That's what the humans called it when she and Caleb went to get groomed; they were getting their paws manicured and made perfect and she and Caleb loved it because it was so nice knowing that they could control humans that way. But now there was mud and her claws were probably all ruined. And the alley she had wandered into smelled like no one was taking care of it. This was just the worst possible thing and she could help the few whimpers that slipped out. She wanted to be home. She wanted her humans brushing out her fur and turning on music or one of those movies with the music in them so she didn't have to think about the rain. What if she was lost forever? What if she could never find her way back? What if her humans were so distraught without her they had to move to get away from the memories? Would Caleb be able to survive without her? Oh, he was so skinny that if he stopped eating even for a few days, he might die.


That was when she heard the growl. And the voice! She felt herself curl into a tighter ball than when she had before. Surely whoever that was didn't mean her, did it? Someone so crude sounding! So mean! Couldn't they see she was a lady in distress? They went on to say that this was their territory even, which...all right, it might be true. Now that she sniffed a bit, she caught the scent that hadn't fully been washed away beneath everything else. She shifted a tiny bit, turning herself to look at the dog that had been so rude and – her heart stopped. "Oh," she breathed that out without meaning to. She had never seen a dog that looked quite like him before. He wasn't the fullest of figures that she had ever seen, but he certainly looked like he had more weight than her house companion. All her years going to shows, she had never seen someone quite like him; that mix of fur, that face that wasn't quite a German Shepherd nor was it a Husky. And those eyes, those were the prettiest eyes she had ever seen in her life. He went on to say that she looked pretty. "Oh stop!" she giggled, lifting a paw up. A second later she remembered just how muddy that thing was and she put it down, no sense getting mud everywhere even if it all ready was. She didn't want this dog thinking she wasn't pretty, even if she had told him to stop. How pretty would he find her if she started splattering mud everywhere?


She watched him lean down, nudging something closer to her. She couldn't stop the fluttering of her eyes, tilting her head down coyly as he asked her name. "Rosemary," she said almost shyly. She had always liked her name; it was the name of a star, she told Caleb. It was beautiful and special and she wanted to hear it from this dog. "What's yours?" Her tail wagged as she asked that, eager to know, eager to be able to call him something, anything. She needed to know his name, her handsome stranger. When he asked if he was hungry, it took her a moment to realize that what he had been nudging towards her had been food. A thousand things flew through her head – she wasn't hungry, she had a diet to follow, that didn't look like her kind of food – she found herself staring at him with wide eyes instead. "But what about you?" she could hear the worry in her own voice. What about him?? He had brought that here and clearly he hadn't been expecting her to be there. If he gave her that, what would he do? Oh, he was to thin as it was! He needed to be able to eat! She couldn't just take it from him, that would be so rude. She tried to never be rude – after all, she didn't want to be like those other dogs that always sneered and were jealous. When she and Caleb talked, it was an entirely different thing. She didn't want to just go taking this handsome dog's food out of his mouth.


It was then that another clap of thunder it, making her ears twitch up and her entire body stiffen. When the lightening struck, she couldn't help her yelping in surprise. Without a second thought, she turned quickly, diving back into the box, going into the furthest she could. Unlike before, though, she could catch the scent of the dog outside of the box. She could smell him in every corner and that was comforting, that made her feel better. "I'm – I'm sorry," she offered. "I'm not normally so-" She had never been jumpy, Caleb had always told her. She had seemed fearless and ready to take on the world, but this was a bit much. She was lost from her home and it was loud and bright and she just wanted to go home...just with this dog with her.
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Clayton James Taylor

His mood had shifted entirely from one of territorial aggression to wanting to completely show off. When the female turned around to look at him, he straightened up almost unconsciously. It wasn't quite posing, but it was close. Suddenly he wanted to show off. He wanted to keep those eyes trained on him. When she laughed, it had the most musical, melodious sound to it that he had ever heard and oh he wanted her to keep on laughing and he wanted it to be because he had said something clever or pleasing. He took another step or two closer and kept his eyes trained on her as she tilted her head just a little, giving him a look full of coy playfulness and he felt his heart quicken just a little at the way that she looked. Even curled up in a box with mud splattered and with rain soaked fur she was stunning. "Rosemary," he repeated her name with something like wonder and awe. Had he ever heard such a beautiful name? He didn't think so. And it was attached to such a beautiful dog. It was so fitting, so wonderful. In light of that, his own name seemed incredibly dull. "I'm James." He wanted to add something onto it, something that would prove how amazing he was, how strong and wonderful, but he couldn't think of anything that didn't sound too hollow and too obvious. He needed to show her how amazing he was, not just brag about it, he felt like. He needed her to know for sure. "Me and my brother, this is our territory but you can stay here as long as you like so don't worry 'bout that. " It was a complete 180 from how he had been just a few moments ago, but a few moments ago he hadn't known he was going to be meeting his mate right here in his own little home.

When she looked at him and asked what about him in such a concerned voice, it was all James could do to not puff up even more, to not stick out his chest and practically strut around. He wanted to show off what a good, strong mate he was, what a good provider he was. A good mate put his mate and his family before himself, didn't he? A good mate provided and made sure there was food for the one he had chosen. "Aw, I'll be all right, Rosie. Don't you worry, none. You look like you need it." His stomach protested again but he was used to going without food. He was used to having a tough time. She was obviously a house pet. She probably wasn't used to being cold and wet and missing out on meals like he was. He would rather she be comfortable, even though he was thrilled that she had thought of him.

When the lightning flashed through the air and the thunder rang out, he tilted his head up to glance up at the sky. When he looked back down at the sudden yelp it was just in time to see Rosemary practically throw herself back fully into the box, curling up there and shaking like it was the end of the world. James had never been bothered by much of anything but he knew there were dogs that were bothered by thunder, by cars, by humans, by any number of things. And he didn't like the way that she was scared like that. It put his hackles up because he wanted to defend her and stop making her feel so scared. The problem was that there was no way to go chasing away the lightning and the thunder. Those just went away on their own. But the little female, his little Rosie, was still practically shaking and trembling and looking so scared. He took a second to nudge the bit of food closer to the box so that it would be within easy reach once she actually wanted to eat. Then he stepped forward and squeezed himself in. It had already been a tight fight with just him in there. With her it was overly crowded but he found that he couldn't care in the least. He turned somewhat until he was able to curl his body around the smaller dog's, protecting her with his bulk, warming her up with his fur.

This felt just perfect and he reveled in the warmth of the smaller body and the way that she fit just right against his own as he curled around her. He brushed his muzzle against the top of her head lightly before he let his tongue dart out to make slow, soothing licks against the top of her head and her ears, cleaning away some of the mud that had splattered and the rainwater that had accumulated, doing his best to sooth and groom her at the same time. "So, what are you doing down here, sugar? You don't look the type to be out here on the streets." She had too much of a pet look to her. She just had too much of the feel and the smell and everything about her. Not that it was a bad thing, but it could be out here on the streets. Some dogs resented pets. Plus, most pet dogs didn't have the same instincts as the strays and the ferals that roamed around at times. She would just end up bedraggled and possibly starved or even worse. James wouldn't let that happen, of course. He would take care of her.
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Rosemary Taylor

She watched the other dog, watched him straighten and...well, it was like the poses Caleb always use to strike. It was the pose he did for judges, for the handsome male dogs that passed by. The thing was that when Caleb didi t, it always looked like posing. It looked like he had practiced it endlessly. Now that could have just been her having lived with him almost her entire life, but she stood by it. This dog, though...he didn't look like he was posing; he was standing tall and straight and he was the perfect picture of what an ideal dog should look like. Sure, he didn't look like anyone breed of dog, but he must have gotten all the handsome aspects of it. He said her name and it was the most beautiful way it could be said. If she felt like a movie star when anyone else said her name, when he said it it was like she was a dog in love. "Charmed to meet you, James, she said properly, the way she had learned along side Caleb to greet other dogs they didn't want to make a fuss with. This time, though, she meant it. This time, she was charmed – no, she was blessed to have met him. When he said he and his brother owned the territory, her ears went straight up. "Oh!" she said even as he said she didn't need to worry about it, "Oh, how awful of me! I must seem like I'm the rudest dog in the world!" She crawled a tiny bit forward, just enough she felt the drops of water going into her fur again. "I didn't even think to check and I just – oh you must think I'm the worst, not even thinkin' to check and just runnin' 'round here like I own the place." She let out a mournful little noise because she hadn't meant to intrude on anyone's territory.


Her heart swelled as he went on to say he would be all right and to give her a nickname. No one had ever given her a nickname before – she had never allowed it. She was Rosemary, thank you very much, and you'd best to remember it unless you wanted the sharpest nip you ever had. But when James said it, she thought it sounded awful grand and special. She was Rosemary to the rest of the world, but to James, she was Rosie. It was only proper that such a handsome dog got the honor of giving her a nickname. She could feel her tail wagging as he told her not to worry, as he said she looked like she needed it. Oh, wasn't he thoughtful?? Here he was, looking so skinny and having got that food for himself and he was gallantly offering it to her. "Oh I couldn't," she insisted, unable to keep herself from fretting. "You look skinnier than a rail, I couldn't possible take food outta your mouth." She would hold her head with pride, she knew. She was a lady and she was a show dog. She and Caleb had been hungry before – yes it had been because they had been traveling through different time zones or because a show had gone on long – and she wouldn't be so rude as to snatch it up when he needed it more. All she found herself wanting to do was taking him back to her home, begging a little bit extra so she might get him some good food rather than scraps.


The box wasn't doing much to make her feel protected from the thunder, the lightning. In fact, she felt horribly, horribly vulnerable. But what else could she do? She let out a tiny whine, a whine of fear and longing because she wanted to be home, she wanted to be in her home and with Caleb telling her it was going to be all right and James at her other side. It was when she was whining to herself, that she felt the box rattle a tiny bit. She curled in on herself more, as if somehow the lightning had become a great monster that could grab the box, but then she felt the warmth of another body. James slid in alongside her, fitting quite snuggly to an almost uncomfortable degree, but he was curling around her, wrapping her up in his own body. And she felt...safe, she felt secure, she felt like for the first time she had run off that things would be okay. "Don't tell me you do this with all the ladies when they whimper at you," she teased as she snuggled in closer to him, fitted herself against him more. There was a hint of truth in that tease, though. If James was with any other dog....well, she tried to remind herself that they had only just met and really, he was his own dog before this, but it didn't sit well with her. It made her hackles want to raise and snap at anyone who came close to James.


She felt him brush his muzzle over her head, his tongue giving gentle licks over her fur. It was almost too much, making her sigh out happily and resting her head against James' side from where he curled around her. Her ear twitched only slightly when he asked what she was doing down her, that she didn't look like she should be out there. "Well..." she started, "don't you dare laugh, but...I was out for a walk with my humans and Caleb – that's the other dog who lives with me, we do shows together," she said proudly as if James would somehow have managed to be at one, "And then the storm picked up. My humans were just goin' on and on about how the weather wasn't suppose to be bad 'til later. Well, that was when the lightnin' and thunder started and," she stopped, tucking her head a bit closer to James' side, "I got scared and I just...I didn't know where to go, it was like I just had to be away. And then when I started lookin' 'round, I didn't know where I was! That was when the storm got worse and it was just so loud and so bright...so I hid." Maybe that had been a long way to say she had been spooked and had wanted to hide somewhere, but she didn't want James thinking that it was something she routinely did. A girl had to be somewhat redeemable about that, right? "I'm still awful sorry for just burstin' in on your territory. I wouldn't've if I hadn't been so scared."
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Clayton James Taylor

He could feel her eyes on her and he liked it. He liked it quite a lot and he was determined to always keep her eyes on him. He looked down at the little female as she looked up at him, as she said that she was charmed to meet him, as she said his name. He could only strand straighter, stand taller, his tail waving just a little as she said that. "Charmed, he repeated in an almost awestruck voice. "Ain't that somethin'." She was so much fancier than him. It showed in everything. From the way she spoke to the way she looked. Oh, sure, she was a little wet and muddy right now but so was he. So was anyone out on the streets right now. You just had to look at her for more than a second to realize that she was a lady through and through. She was something and she was way, way out of his league. Not that he was going to let that stop him. Oh, no. He would fight tooth and nail to be able to stay around her for as long as he could. When she crawled towards him and apologized, he could only feel the deep amount of embarrassment and upset that she was feeling at the moment. "Oh, don't you worry about it, none. You didn't know, did ya?" Maybe she had known. It was kind of hard to miss the scents that were around. At the same time, though, James couldn't find it in himself to care one bit. In fact, he was glad that she was here. "It's all taken care of now, ain't it? No harm done." If his brother had been here, he might have had something to say about that. Clyde wasn't here, though - which James was quite thankful for. What if Rosie had decided that she liked the look of his brother more than him? He didn't think he could even begin to bear that.

He wagged his own tail in response to Rosie's tail going back and forth. "Aw, I'll be all right, sugar." His stomach protested again, but he resolutely ignored it. He had gone days without food before. One night wasn't going to kill him. He wanted to give her the food. He wanted to provide for her. That was what you did to show what a good mate you were - you provided for the other. If he could give her food, then he was a good mate. He was strong, young, he could provide for her and for puppies. He had territory of his own. He was the perfect mate, pretty much, and he wanted her to see that. He moved his head down to nudge his muzzle just a tiny bit against the food, pushing it just a little bit closer to her. It probably wasn't what she was used to it all. He was used to diving through garbage bins and garbage bags, in begging outside of restaurants, in swiping food from unsuspecting humans that weren't paying attention. He didn't think she was, though. She was probably used to some kind of special human food instead. Still, food was food. "If you're really that worried you can save a bite or two for me, sugar, but I'd rather you eat it. You're just a little ol' thing and you probably need it more'n me. You never know when you might get a meal out here." He spoke firmly, his tone saying that he wasn't going to hear anymore arguments about it. This was his territory and his home and it was his food to give or take as he saw fit.

The box was a bit of a squeeze but he didn't mind. How could he mind when it put him so much closer to her? He was bigger than her to a fairly significant degree, but he liked that. She fit so well into the curve of his body and it enabled him to curl around her so tightly. It made it so he could practically engulf her, shield her from the rain, the storm and from anything that might be coming along. His ears pricked just a tiny bit as she teased at him. For the first time in his life, he felt guilty that he had even looked at other females. That was just life out on the streets, though. He'd chased after a fair few females over the years. That had been different, though. He certainly hadn't let them take over his home. He certainly hadn't given them food that he had worked so hard to get for himself. He hadn't curled up with them to protect them from the world. "No, I don't," he finally told her, honestly. He knew she had been teasing, but he had heard the warning in the words, too. He desperately didn't want to do anything that might upset Rosie.

"I wouldn't dare, sugar," he told her, honestly. First off, she might leave. He didn't want her to leave so why would he laugh at her? Besides, she was absolutely perfect. Odds were that if she had run, she had a reason to run. He kept grooming along the top of her head, moving to the base of her ears for the moment as he listened to her story. In any other dog he probably would have scoffed. It was just loud lights and noises in the sky. It wasn't like it could hurt you, right? So why run? But with Rosie, oh, he could see that it bothered her and she must have been so scared. It just made him curl around her even more, made him present an even more solid bulk for her to feel warmed by and to feel like it was protecting her from the rest of the world. He lifted his head up a little bit as she apologized again for intruding into his territory. James gave a brief shake of his head. "Naw, told you. It's not a big deal. It brought you to me, didn't it?" And that was that, so far as he was concerned. So she had intruded - so what! She was just perfect and she hadn't meant to. If she hadn't intruded he would never have found her and so it all worked out in the end. "You can stay with me long as you like. I'll take care of you," he promised her. He only hoped that she wanted to stay with him.
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Rosemary Taylor

Everything about him seemed to tell her that this was the perfect mate...which seemed awful odd, didn't it? She had never really thought about mates before – puppies, yes, but not mates. She had talked about it with Caleb constantly. They were both going to have puppies at some point, their owners expected it, but no dog had ever struck her as 'mate' and Caleb had always preferred a gentleman's touch to that of a lady. She supposed she always expected someone like her, or another purebred dog. Someone that they could tell the lines of, after all. But James? She didn't know what he was but she didn't care. He was handsome, more than any other dog and...and she didn't think any of them would ever be able to compare to him. She wondered if she could sneak him into her life. Surely her owners would see how handsome James was, how strong he was, what could puppies they would make. They didn't need a snooty purebred that Rosemary and Caleb had probably sneered over in a show before. They had James. "That don't excuse rudeness. I would be beside myself if someone had come into my territory." But she had grown so use to her home where there were scents but it was more visual. She and Caleb could see dogs coming closer and they had to drive them off rather than finding the scents and realizing someone had been there. Maybe it was because their home had been protected by a fense while James was...well, it was kind of a box in an alley with invisible fences as boarders. "Well," she couldn't stop her giggle and her tail wagging, "It did bring me to you." And that was a good reason to celebrate, that was a reason to be happy. She had come into his territory and she had met him, how could she not be happy about that?


When he said he'd be all right, she crawled forward a bit more, reaching out a paw to him. "Oh honey, you look as skinny as one of the bars on my fences in my yard," she said sadly. "I don't want you to go hungry on account'a me. What kind of a lady takes from her man when he needs it?" Without thinking, the words had come out. She hadn't told herself not to call him her man, but it had been something she thought. It had been something she knew to be true. It was just something you didn't say out loud because...well, it wasn't proper. But it had needed to be said. Maybe James wasn't as skinny as one of the bars, but he needed the food. Meanwhile Rosemary? She had been getting awful chubby lately, though Caleb had been insisting that it was just fur being overgrown. But James just went on to say that she could save him a bite or two. "Oh, James," she sighed out because what an amazing dog he was, what a good potential mate he was. He had a commanding sort of presence, he knew how to take care of a lady, he just...he was everything, wasn't he? "Sugar, you are just the livin' end. You're gonna be a good daddy." Again it wasn't something she told herself to not say but...well, you didn't just go around deciding someone was your mate and you were going to have puppies with them without taking about it first. That was just plain rude. At the same time, this was James.


She had never felt so safe and loved in her life. Caleb had curled around her before, he had always been a good friend like that, but he had never made her feel this safe. He had been far too skinny to do anything but make her wonder how he wasn't constantly shaking or how he could win shows when his ribs were showing off all the time. This, though, this made her feel loved and safe and protected. This just solidified that he was the one. The one who she knew was going to be her mate. "Good," she said easily as he said he didn't. "You're mine, sugar, and I don't take kindly to those that go after my territory." Though the words originally a tease, that was all seriousness. She couldn't make it go back into teasing, bantering, because this was something that needed seriousness. Maybe she didn't have to say he was her territory – because how would he respond to that? Did anyone really want to be told they were territory? - but it was true. He was hers in the way that this box was his...the way she was to him, she hoped. They belonged together, to look at any males or females would be an insult to them. Whatever had brought them together today knew they belonged together and to think different? Well, that just wasn't okay. How could she think of other males when she had James? The only reason to think about them was that they would never be James. Just like how she hoped he thought about females.


Any other dog, she would have glared at and said "really" while not believing them for a second. But James was different. She knew James would never laugh at her or roll his eyes at her. He was her mate, he would only be worried about what she had been worried about, just like she would be for him. And he didn't laugh, he didn't scoff or sneer at her for running away – he just kept grooming her and she nestled her head against him. Was that what it was like being in love? Being able to tell someone your most embarrassing little information and know they wouldn't hurt you over it. That was pure love. "It did," she said happily, sighing just a tiny bit. "I don't think we ever woulda met if it weren't for this storm. It was fate me comin' here, fate so I could meet you." She knew it to be true. Why else would the humans have been complaining that the weather wasn't suppose to be bad until later? Clearly the weather had been moved forward faster to startle her into running so she could meet her James. But when he said she could stay with him as long as she liked, her chest tightened. She looked at him, concern in her eyes. "Sugar, I-" she hesitated. She couldn't say she wanted to stay in this box. It was a box, good for keeping out most of the rain, but it wasn't her bed at home or her couch. The brick walls weren't protective like at home. She wanted to be with James, but this place..."Sugar, James, I wanna be with you...but I don't think I can live here," she admitted slowly. "I gotta get home to my humans. Caleb don't know how to wrangle them himself. But I..." her ears flattened and she couldn't stop her whine. To be without James made her heart ache more than she could bear. "Come with me, sugar. Be with me at my home. You'll always get food and it's warm and...and we'll be together."
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Clayton James Taylor

The little female was just perfect. The thought kept passing through his mind over and over. She was perfect. She was the perfect mate. He had never really thought about a mate. Oh, sure, he'd thought about mating. That was just how it was with stray dogs. There was always an interest in that. It was rare that two dogs that lived out on the streets became mates though. Most of the time it was just a simple and quick thing. Then you went back to your own territory and they went off on their way. James had never looked at any female that he had run into and thought that he wanted that dog to be his mate, that he wanted to curl up beside her, groom her, make sure she was fed, protect her, to have puppies with her and raise them. She was small, sure, but she was strong; he could tell. And her coat was beautiful, her eyes just absolutely melting, her ears so delicate and the way she held herself even in her fear was so poised and refined. They would make such strong, sturdy and beautiful puppies together, he could tell. "Well, you apologized, didn't you, sugar? That makes it okay now. No harm done at all." At least now. Before, James had been so sure some dog was trying to take what was his. Now he would gladly give it to her if she but asked. He beamed at her as she wagged her tail, as she giggled at him. "That's right, sugar. You met me. That makes it all worth it, don't it?" They had met and now they would never be apart ever again. He would make sure of that.

He watched the smaller dog as she crawled forward some, coming just out of the box enough that some of the rain dripped down onto her. She raised a paw and waved it at him, the paw touching him just barely as she spoke. He was warmed immensely by her words. She wanted to take care of him, too. She was worried about him. She really was the perfect mate, wasn't she? She was beautiful and so sweet. So smart, he knew. So brave and strong. And now she was proving that she had the instinct to take care of him, which meant she would make the most wonderful mother as well. He couldn't have found a better dog to be his mate. "Aw, I'm not so bad, sweetheart," he told her. At least, he didn't think he was that bad. He didn't eat constantly but he wasn't all washed up yet. He leaned in to rub his muzzle against her own, against her cheek and her neck, nuzzling her somewhat as she sighed out his name. "I'll be all right, Rosie darlin'," he told her gently. When she spoke again, he was momentarily taken aback... and then he practically swelled up with pride. He didn't quite straighten up, stick his chest out and pose but it was a very near thing. She thought he would be a good father for puppies. She thought he was good mate material. What more could he ask for? "You would be the most beautiful mama, Rosie. And we would make the most beautiful puppies this world has ever seen." Of that he was more than sure.

James was just quiet for a moment - mostly from awe - as the smaller dog stated that she didn't like those that went after her territory. He had very little doubt as to what she meant. After all, they weren't talking about actual land territories anymore. They had been talking about each other and about whether or not he had a tendency to go after other females. There was little guessing room there. He was mostly in awe that she could so blatantly say that and so fiercely. "You're a little spitfire, ain't ya?" he asked her fondly, watching her with still that amazed and awed expression. "That's all right. Ain't no one gonna get me now, sugar. No one but you. I gotta warn you that I don't take kindly to someone sniffin' around what's mine, though, so you better not let anyone else even think they gotta shot with you." He would fight off any dog that even so much as looked at her now. He wasn't going to let anyone take her away now that he had found her. He had found the one that he was meant to be with and he sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone else try to slide in there.

"Well, even if it scared ya then we have to thank it, don't we? It brought you to me and that don't make it near half as bad as it was, right?" Oh, his little Rosie had been scared. She had been scared and now she was tired and bedraggled and she had probably been cold, hungry and wondering what she was going to do. Then he had come and now they were together. They would both be able to weather anything in this entire world if they were together; whether that was more storms, puppies, trying to scrounge up food to survive... anything. They would be okay so long as they had each other. When he said that Rosie could stay as long as she liked, however, there was a pause that said more in that silence than if she had started talking right away. His ears went back some and he pulled back just a tiny bit so that he could look down at her. "What's wrong with livin' here?" he demanded as she said that she didn't think she could live here. Sure, it wasn't anything amazing but it was his home. He had scrapped and fought and worked hard to find a place like this. It was mostly dry, mostly warm, and no one else took it from him. He survived just fine, thank you. He watched her sullenly as she went on to say that she had to get home to her humans. He might have tried to persuade her, but then her ears folded down and she gave a small little whine that all but broke his heart. He could only heave a sigh. "All right, sugar, all right. I'll take you home. I don't think your humans are gonna want a dirty old stray like me, though." Rosie was beautiful and purebred and obviously something to be cherished. James was just a mutt. He had seen plenty of humans chase and kick at dogs like him - he had been chased and kicked - and he didn't hold out much hope for these to be any different. A warm home with endless food sure sounded lovely but he wasn't going to get his hopes up one bit. Despite that, he couldn't deny Rosie anything that she wanted. He knew he would never be able to say no to anything that she asked.
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