Irregular (mlm)

Chapter 9

Owen put his hand on the doorknob and looked back at Kai. He was standing in wolf form staring at the door. "You're sure you want to do this?"

He nodded slowly and Owen flicked the lock open. Kai had told him that morning he wanted to try going outside into the yard of the complex. At first, Owen was skeptical because he seemed so nervous about anything new and Owen didn't know if his father would be watching them, but Paxton said it was alright as long as they stayed within the complex. Eventually Owen agreed to take him down after lunch.

So there they were, getting ready to go out into the hall. When the door opened, Kai watched Owen step through the threshold before following. He was tentative when he stepped into the hall, but he seemed to loosen up as they made their way to the elevator.

The ride down to the ground floor was short, but Kai was practically glued to his leg by the time the doors opened revealing the courtyard. Owen patted his head. "It's okay. No one here will hurt you. You have to have a special key card just to get in."

Kai blew air out of his nose heavily, then walked out of the elevator. Owen followed two steps behind, letting him choose where to go. He wound up walking on the pavement around the grass, watching the various families and groups of children playing. There were a few groups of teenagers in both wolf and human form, some tossing balls and some skating around the paved areas. Kai seemed wary, but overall calm.

Owen watched as he stopped near a bench and sat down, looking onto the activity on the grass. He sat on the bench and leaned his elbows on his knees. "Whenever you want to leave, we can okay?"

Kai nodded once in response. He looked tense, but Owen knew he was mostly just trying to get used to his surroundings. He probably was never around so many families before.

Owen saw a few faces he recognized, since he knew almost everyone in the complex. Most of the pack lived there, but the few rooms not occupied by wolves were taken by human family members or friends. Paxton had a house just down the street from the complex, at the end of a cul-de-sac that housed the reigning pack members.

Kai flinched as a ball rolled toward him and stopped at his paws. Owen waited to see what he would do, but he just stared at it. He cleared his throat. "It's okay, Kai. You can roll it back."

*****

Kai looked at Owen, then at the little red ball, then to the group of fuzzy little wolves who'd kicked it astray. Slowly, he nudged it with his nose. One of the pups t
yipped loudly and bit down on it, creating a very loud squeak that sent the others into a frenzy of barking and running.

One way or another, the ball wound up back at Kai's paws. This time, he hit it harder so it would roll farther. The pups chased it with clumsy limbs, and one kicked it back towards him. The whole group of them stopped and stared at him, tails wagging and bodies wiggling with barely contained energy.

Owen chuckled and nodded toward them. "They want to play with you."

Kai slowly picked up the ball, then bit down. It squeaked and the pups burst into a run, surrounding him. Some of them put their front paws on him to try and reach the ball, but he was too tall. He flicked the ball back into the grass and a few of them chased it, but two stayed. They sat in front of him, with big puppy-dog eyes.

He looked at Owen, not sure what to do. Owen smiled and motioned to the grass with his chin. He was supposed to play.

Kai slowly stood up and walked into the grass. He was careful not to knock over either of the pups that followed, having to run since their little legs couldn't keep up with Kai's long strides. Kai looked back at them and tilted his head.

They were so fuzzy.  It reminded him of the few pups he'd been around in the warehouse before they inevitably got sick and passed on. He couldn't play with those pups because they were usually too frail.

These pups were hyper and rather sturdy, he noticed. They'd trample over each other without a care in the world and keep running like it didn't happen.

Kai wound up tossing the ball for them a few more times until one of the little pups decided to play keep away. He tried to get the ball, but the pup squeaked it mercilessly and bolted. The other pups ran after him, barking and tripping over their own feet, to which other older wolves had to jump out of the way to avoid getting trampled.

Eventually the group circled back to Kai and a different pup who'd stolen the ball dropped it at his feet and barked. He picked it up and all of them stared. Did they want to chase him like they had the other wolf?

He stood up and they all barked and wagged their tails in anticipation. Carefully, he took a few steps and they all followed after him. He knew he couldn't full on run or he'd get too far from them, so he settled for a light jog that had the entire group of pups running as fast as their little legs could take them.

Every once in a while he'd squeak the ball to grab the attention of any stragglers. He could feel the eyes of older wolves on their group as he ran, but he honestly didn't mind. Seeing the absolute glee in the pups eyes was enough to make him ignore his anxiety from being watched and keep running.

Eventually he made it back to Owen, who snatched the ball away and threw it across the head. Kai huffed, not expecting to lose the ball so soon, and Owen laughed as all the pups chased it. He patted Kai's head. "You looked very cute with all those pups prancing after you."

Kai would've done something in response if a yawn didn't catch him by surprise. He hadn't done this much running in a very long time. He wasn't used to it. Owen chuckled and stood up. "C'mon, let's go back. We can eat dinner and then you can sleep."

Kai didn't want to leave, but he was tired. He whined quietly as he stood up and Owen scratched behind his ears. "We'll come back tomorrow afternoon, alright? The pups are always out here in the afternoons."

Kai licked his hand and followed him back to the elevator. He cast one last look at the still energetic groups of pups and felt lightness in his chest.

The pups weren't the least bit fazed by his size or the numerous scars where fur didn't grow. In fact, they looked at him like he was their favorite person for playing with them. It was nice. He'd missed being able to interact with pups.

As they got into the elevator, Kai only had one thing on his mind.

Today was a good day.