I Among Dogs

Chapter 11: Charade Antics - Part 1

It had been a few days since Andrew had made that speech about me and how he had asked all the other dogs to treat me as a citizen to their region. I'm not one to normally believe in the concept of magic, but it felt like there was some of it behind that speech as over these past few days, there was barely even one moment a bipedal dog gave me an uneasy glance. Practically any of them I acknowledged were quick to give a small wave accompanied by a welcoming smile. It's almost like you had earned the trust of the chief of a native tribe and the rest of said tribe saw you as a faithful ally, only the tribe had the same sophistication as domesticated humans.

One thing that still worried me about all this however was that Bandit and Chilli seemed to have not yet decided on whether they should adopt me or have me taken into foster care. With Canistralia no longer seeing me as a threat, I shouldn't have any trouble fitting into any of it's foster homes, but...

...I don't know. Even if it's only been a few weeks or so since I first met the Heeler family, I somehow feel like I'm almost a part of them. I wonder if the parents felt the same way.

"Nathan?" I blinked as Bluey's voice suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts, making me avert my gaze from the window of the Heeler's car and turn to the young Blue Heeler in question.

"Yeah, Bluey?"

"Do you and other humans have a nana as well?" She asked me, her eyebrows raised curiously.

Oh yeah, I was so in thought that I had almost forgotten that Bluey, Bingo, Muffin, Socks and I were going to visit the former's grandmother, or "Nana" as they referred to her and I had been sitting in the back of the Heeler's car alongside Bluey and Bingo.

"Oh, I do actually! Been a while since I last visited her. A few months I think." My smile as I recalled such a moment fell to a frown when I realised that my current situation heavily jeopardised whether or not I'd ever see her again. Oh god, I hope she isn't too worried about me. Luckily, Bingo seemed to be aware of what I was thinking and didn't hesitate to give my arm a gentle hug to make me feel better.

And it worked as I couldn't help but smile a little and pet Bingo with my free hand. She was just so adorable sometimes.

"Alright kids, we're here!" Bandit announced as Bluey and Bingo both held their hands up with an outcry of "Hooray!" before we all got out of the car.

My jaw nearly fell as I first saw the apartment complex the stone footpath lead us to. To say that I was stunned was an understatement especially since the building had floors that all had a balcony that gave the tenants a perfect view of the ocean to our right. And just as I expected, Stripe and his kids were waiting for us at the entrance to the complex.

"Hey Nate, long time no see!" Stripe was the first to call out to me eagerly as I smiled in response. Muffin and Socks turned to face me too upon hearing Stripe call with the latter running up to me with excited barks as I knelt down, allowing Socks to stand on her hind paws and rest her front on my knee for support, giving me some tender loving licks on my face, earning a laugh out of me.

"Wow, Socks really likes Nathan, huh?" Bandit pointed out with a chuckle.

"Oh, tell me about it! I think it's rubbed off on Muffin too. Almost all of the drawings I've seen from her have been of her and Nathan playing together." Stripe responded as Muffin hopped up onto my other knee and gave me a hug, her arms wrapped around my neck which proved Stripe's point.

"So... how about we say "Hi" to your nana, then?" I asked the four child dogs as they responded with an ecstatic "Yeah!", with Socks instead giving a single bark in response.

***

It took maybe more than three flights of stairs but we all soon arrived at the door to Bluey's Nana's apartment as Bandit knocked on the door. It only took a few seconds for the door to open to reveal a Blue Heeler that was only slightly taller than Bandit and Stripe. Unlike them however, the lower part of her body was a little wider. Her fur colour matching Stripe's with her stomach, muzzle, hands and feet being a lighter blue whilst the areas around her eyes, ears and stem of her tail being a darker shade. And like Bandit and Stripe, she had white hairs on the sides and back of her head only she also had them on her back and near her eyes. Her most prominent feature however was a pair of pink glasses with semi-circle frames.