A Tiny Error

Chapter 5

Ink opened the door to his small cottage, the pup in his arms still shivering. He sat down and petted the tiny creature in an attempt to calm it down. Dream sat next to him and studied the dog.

"Wonder who he belongs to..." he thought aloud.

"Don't know, there's no collar," Ink carefully looked the little dog over. "He looks... slightly malnourished. Whoever had him before must not have taken proper care of him."

"He was in Sci's AU...."

Ink gasped. "Y-you don't think-"

"..."

"Dream, Sci isn't that cruel. Besides, how would he even get a dog?"

"I don't know. Whatever happened, we can't take this little guy back. He's safer here, anyway."

Dream stood up and walked to the kitchen, leaving Ink alone with the pup. Ink carefully set the dog on the couch next to him, and thought back to all the stuff he knew about dogs. Which wasn't much, considering he has memory problems, and he didn't get much time to learn more about them once Error arrived on the scene.

Speaking of whom, Error stood up shakily on his little paws. He stumbled over to the warmth of the person who rescued him, knowing whoever it was didn't recognize him. He hoped they wouldn't mind him curling up next to them to warm up some more. Then again, they might not want a dog they found to curl up next to them for fear he had some sort of contagious disease.

Ink's soul swelled as the tiny dog laid down next to his leg. It was still shivering, but seemed content. He took off his scarf and wrapped it around the little dog to give it more warmth. It snuggled into the scarf, and Ink thought he was going to die of cuteness. His eyelights turned to magenta and green hearts as he pulled the bundle of fur into his arms. He cradled the dog, and softly stroked it's ears.

'Oh my stars,' Ink thought. 'Who would be so cruel as to starve this little angel?'

Error looked up at the person holding him and his eyes widened.

The person holding him was none other than Ink, the creator of worlds.

Error squirmed and twisted to get out of Ink's hold, whimpering and whining to be let go. Dream rushed in, feeling the fear instantly.

"What happened?!"

Ink was struggling to keep the little dog from falling out of his arms and onto the floor.
"I-I don't know! He took one look at me, and freaked out! What do I do?!"

"Set him on the couch! He'll get hurt if he falls!"

Ink did as Dream instructed. The little dog's ears had swept back in fear, and his eyes darted from Ink to Dream. Dream thought this behavior was not normal, but if his hunch was right, then this should've been expected. A skeleton, even if they didn't look quite the same, could still trigger memories of abuse if it's bad enough. But, Ink might be right. Sci isn't that cruel. Unless....

"Ink, stay here. I want to have a friendly chat with Sci-"

"Oh no you don't!" Ink got up after making sure the pup wouldn't fall. "I don't believe this is Sci's doing. He isn't the type to experiment on live subjects, especially not one this small. He loves small creatures, and would never hurt one. That's why I took him to a petting zoo, remember? He wanted to take the bunnies home to spoil them!"

Dream sighed and looked back at the dog. The little creature backed up into the scarf and trembled as he approached. He knelt down and put his hand out, palm up.

'What does he expect me to do?' Error thought as he looked from Dream to his hand.

"C'mon little guy. I won't hurtcha." Dream smiled and inched closer. Error's ears pivoted forward, then back again as Dream lifted his hand. He scratched behind Error's left ear, then stood up. "Well, at least he isn't aggressive. But he might become so if we push him."