Pixie and Brutus.. and the dog next door.

ONE : "Brutus, look!"

I laid in the back of the large military car, my head on my paws. We'd been driving for most of the night and it was now noon of the following day. The vehicle grumbled to a crawling pace, and I peered out of the darkened windows. My view was of a simple estate, each house similar to the next. The car stopped outside a small house. A man made his way out, greeting the drivers with smiles and handshakes. They spoke for a moment, before walking around to the back.

"Hey, girl." He popped open the boot and the door to my large crate, ruffling behind my ears. I recognised the man to be an ex-solider. He was fairly young, in his early fourties' at most, and wore a tight green tee and black cargos. He had olive skin, dark short hair and tattoos on the back of his arms.

The two soldiers, both in full uniform, that were driving clipped on my harness, and helped me to stand.

During my last service, I had been shot in the shoulder. It shattered my shoulder bone- so It is unlikely i'll ever be able to walk without a slight limp. Prior to my trip here, I had been in the military animal hospital for countless weeks; The time seemed to blur. My handler, Barnes, was killed in the incident. I was with him when he died, a bullet wound to the mid torso. The thought alone twisted the knife already plunged in my heart.

The soldiers gripped my harness, and aided my slightly painful jump out of the boot.

The men conversed for a few moments, and I laid on the grass of the front garden. The warmth of the sun was nice, basking in the sun wasn't something we got to do much on duty.

Pixie perched on one of the windowsills that looked over the front garden and street, watching the newcomers with curiosity. She didn't place that they were the military, rather noticing the new dog that looked similar to Brutus. "Brutus, look!" She called. Brutus trudged over with a sigh.

"Yes, Pixie?"

"That dog looks just like you!" The statement briefly made Brutus recall the malinois, Dexter. But he peered out the open window nonetheless. The first thing he noticed was the military vehicle and the soldiers besides it, talking to their neighbour, Carl.

"Don't you think!" Pixie exclaimed. Brutus only then noticed the dog on the grass. A german Shepard with a tactical vest on, shoulder bandaged up neatly.

"A little." Brutus replied. He hadn't seen another military dog since his time here.

Robin wagged her tail, the soldiers fussing over he before they had to leave. Carl crouched beside her, waving the soldiers off as they returned to the vehicle. "Take care, Sergeant," The solider saluted towards Carl, who nodded back.

We watched them drive out of sight. "Let's get you inside, hey?" Carl stood and I followed, though only at a slow limp. I cannot wait for my shoulder to heal.

His home was fairly spacious, and Carl led me towards a dog bed laid out in the living room besides the sofa. He had an unlit fireplace, and a table beneath the window with a couple picture frames sat on it. One was of me and Barnes, my handler and his brother, when I competed my training. Carl took my vest and hung it up, and i followed him into the kitchen. Two glass doors opened to a fairly long garden, with decking at the front.

"Make yourself at home, Robin. It's not quite like the camps in the military though, huh," he chuckled. "You'll get used to it." I sure hope so. The sun was still shining, and I decided to lay out in the garden for a while.