The Tale of a Dog Hero

Awakening

      Oscar enters the hardware store, and catches Tippy in the corner of the room, looking at some nuts and bolts.
Oscar desires to try to sneak up on her. Maybe give her a little jump as a joke.
As he crept closer and closer, he tried to be more and more silent. Even to the point of holding his breath. Just when he was about to scare her, Tippy spun around and and yelled. "Raaargh!" Oscar fell backwards in shock. "How did you-" tippy interrupted, "I saw you coming up on the reflection of the window. Nobody can get the drop on me." She smiles and helps Oscar to his feet. "Well, what do you need help with in here?" Oscar said as he looks around the room. She walks over to some boxes labeled "3inch by 12inch rods. 5 coin each rod" and grabs one. She turns to Oscar and plops it in his arms. "Careful. It's a bit heavy. There should be 10 in there. For now, your gonna be carry basket." She walks to a small section that has screws, doorknobs, hinges, and other miscellaneous items to grab a 40 pack of screws. "Catch." She tosses the box of screws to Oscar as she continues looking around the shop. After a while of looking and gathering, she finishes up, pays, and leaves. Oscar follows her out of the shop and looks around again for Zuko. "Well, what now? Where am I talking this stuff?" Tippy looks at Oscar and here eyes light up a bit. "Oh! You can come see the shed we are making! It's a bit of a far walk if that's ok with you. Are you not struggling with all that?" Tippy sorta tilts her head while examining Oscars posture while holding the boxes. "Nah. I'm quite a bit stronger than I look. But I should try-" just as he was about to finish his sentence, a whisper had sounded in his left ear,and swayed to his right... "Behind... and... left." Oscar spun around and noticed a character with red fur, and green paws. It was that character from a little under a month ago. This time, they had a shirt and goggles on. "Hey, I know I said I'd help, but I have to go do something. I'm so sorry." Oscar placed down Tippy's things and ran towards the mysterious character before she could say anything. This strange fox-like character is leaving the blacksmith with the orange metal and heading feeling into the plaza. As Oscar gives chase, people seem to come from everywhere and get in the way. As Oscar gets closer, he sees them walk around a corner of a wall, which is a dead end. "Wait!" Oscar yells as he turns the corner. But there is no one here. Just a dead end, as he knew. Where did that strange person go? What is going on today? First, Oscar finds a wisp that knows magic, then hears voices, dies twice, gets robbed and now, finds the same person he met when he fell in that portal, only to find out they disappeared in a dead end? Oscar has had enough of today anyway. He begins to head home when he hears another whisper. "Beware of who you have trusted." Oscar shrugs it off and walks home in a grumbly mood.
Oscars mother, who had been waiting on the porch, stands up to say something. "Uh, uh! I don't want to hear it mother. Today is a mess and I'm not having you add on it." His mother looks scared. "Wait!" Oscar walks inside and immediately gets hit in the back of the head by his father. Oscar falls on his knees, yelling, and gets hit in the back. He turns around on his back to see his father with a firm stick, and a dead look in his eyes. "You. You've been nothing but a disgrace. You make my life hell. You make your mother's life hell. You do the most devilish of things, then run off while disrespecting your mother. Not in MY HOUSE!" Oscar's father swings again, snapping against his left cheek. Oscar yells again in pain... "Your not welcome here! Get away from my home!" He swings again. Oscar blocks and it snaps against his wrists and right forearm. Another yell from Oscar... "You can barely do anything to provide for us or even your self! 10 years old, yet you can't do anything!" Another swing. Another block. Another snap, but only a deep seething breath in through his teeth from Oscar. This was it. He has broken. As his father went to strike again, Oscar rolled to the right and got up. His father had a look after confusion for a moment. It quickly turned back to anger as he walked towards Oscar. Another swing. A Dodge this time. No more... A swing from the left. Back step. An overhead swing. Right sidestep. A low swing aimed for the shin. Oscar couldn't Dodge, so a quick lift of the leg and he blocked with his foot. Oscar put all his weight on the stick and it broke in half. ℕ𝕠 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖... He grabbed a piece and blocked another left swing. 𝕠𝕟𝕝𝕪 𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕠 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟... He put the stick in his right hand and bashed it into his fathers head. 𝕀𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕙𝕚𝕞 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕡𝕒𝕚𝕟... His father fell over and yelled. 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕤𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕙... Oscar shook his head quickly and took the other stick and threw them outside. "You have no clue what I do. You've never been a father and never will be. People like you don't change. You and mother are not my family. She has grown scared of me, today. She knows that I would do the same to her, as I have done to you." Oscar walks out of the house and heads into the woods. His father still in the house, eyes wide. His mother, on the porch crying to herself. Oscar walked to Artemis's shrine and kneeled. She appeared moments later. "Well. That was something. You seem to have let some of your frustration out on your father after a long day today?" "He is not my father. I have no mother. I have no last name." Oscar walks over to a nearby log and sits down. Artemis sits next to him and holds his hand. "Well, I have news. In one month, I believe you will be ready to inherit my power. You are ready physically and spiritually. Although you will likely not survive mentally. We much work on your state of mind. If you wish to be free of yourself, we must work towards your temper, then your desires, and ego. If we can make you determined, then we shall have a warrior strong enough to wield my gift. For tonight, you should rest..." "Well, I have a lot of work ahead of me then. A lot of meditation as well... You speak so free. Like, you sound wise. The way you talk, I mean. I wish to speak like that someday..." Oscar lays his legs on the log and rests his head on Artemis's lap. She looks cautious, but it turns to calamity as she runs her fingers through his hair. "Rest... Be ready for tomorrow. You may have a guest..."