The Wounds We Heal

Chapter nineteen: Method In The Madness

Chase had resorted to pacing back and forth now, his tail barely wagging with the anxiety still coursing through him. He stopped for a moment to set his paws up on the slim edge of where the window nestled, into the metal framed runner that supported it, but his shoulder only gave him nothing but grief. He'd try to ignore it, but it bugged him nonetheless. He groaned and lifted his shoulder to where he could clench his neck sideways and rub the side of his head against his shoulder. And eventually resorting to a paw to scratch at the tape holding support on his shoulder. But this too failed to no avail, given how the crawl of his skin was nowhere near in reach for his best scratching paw to get to; rendering it useless.

Ned looked around, until he decided to go outside and try to talk to Chester.

"Chester?" Ned called out.

In the light that was cut out from the illumination inside the Lookout, a small upright shape sat with his back to him. Even in the dim light, he could tell when Chess's ears laid back slightly, and how his head lowered a little.

Ned walked over to him and nuzzled him.

"Chester," Ned said softly.

"I didn't mean to, ya know." He told him, finally looking his way. "I guess I still have that effect on pups sometimes.. and Chase is no exception."

"You mean pushing others too far? Trying to challenge them in a competitive way, or what?" Ned asked, trying to understand.

"No..-" Chester sighed, his gaze falling again. "I'm always goofing something up by doing the wrong things, or.. saying the wrong things.. I mean you saw how I blew up the volcano in there,.. somehow I can't get away from rubbing others the wrong way."

"You still had a point. Chase and the others have been on pretty dangerous missions before, so it's not like they aren't skilled to help out. Honestly, you didn't mess up. You were trying to get Chase to understand he's being too hard on himself. Don't get me wrong, I miss Snowflake and I hope she and Rocky are safe, but I also know they are tough. You were just trying to get your brother to be confident and he took things too far. Believe me, given my adventures with Snowflake, I know how you feel. Heck, personality wise, you and I could be twins. Triplets even if you included my brother Brian. Chase and Snowflake just see things in a more serious and emotional way; that's who they are. When they get concerned, it's for a good reason. They want everyone safe and for life to be good. We may bother or push them at times, but we only do that because we want them to embrace other challenges or fun parts of life. Even I can go too far. I mean look how I kept teasing Chase to the point where he left. Thank goodness Snowflake snapped me out of my goofball mindset so I could go apologize," Ned explained sincerely.

"Except I did mess up.." Chester countered shamefully. "I wasn't trying to hurt him,.. it just happened, I'm not one to be violent I swear, I.. I just lost it.. *sigh* Maybe I should just go back to the ranch and give him some space." He sighed once again and remained as sulkily as before.

"No. If you did that, Chase would be even more upset. He's already worried over Snowflake and Rocky missing. How do you think he would react if you just left out of the blue? Keep in mind he left on Halloween to find YOU! He clearly loves you, even if you guys disagree sometimes. Just let him know you were trying to help him cool down, and didn't mean to push things too far. Once Rocky and Snowflake return, he'll calm down," Ned suggested. He hugged Chester, trying to calm down the German Shepherd.

"Thanks, pal." Chester said, a small smile coming to his lips as he patted the husky's shoulder. "Eventually, after this all finally starts to roll off our shoulders.. I might actually start to believe you."