Pixie and Brutus.. and the dog next door.

FOUR : 'Chasing Memories'

I have spent the last three weeks gathering my bearings, and I have just about settled into 'normal' home life. The life of a pet, I suppose. I still rise with the sun, and occasionally find myself following Carl around like a solider- like Barnes. I hear him sometimes, and I see him in my sleep. My shoulder is healing slowly, but a lonely part of me hopes it won't. An illogical sense that it is all I have left from my time with him. Pain is something real, something you can feel. Dreams are the illusion of fading memories, distorting and becoming distant as time pushes on.

I stand up from my bed, with a little more ease than a couple weeks ago. Carl had placed down my food, but I used to train before breakfast. It's funny, how the longer I'm here, the more I miss what my life used to be. I hadn't seen the kitten again, Pixie. I recall the encounter with her and the dog a while ago, limping through to the kitchen with a chuff of amusement. I picked at my food, and wandered through to sit by the front window. It was a large window, looking down on the driveway and the street. Carl came into view, he had returned from his morning run.

He came through the front door, and greeted me with a pet. "The neighbours are having a barbecue later on, fancy going? I'm sure the other dogs would love to meet you." He chuckled as he stood up, presumably heading to take a shower.

I've never been one for socialising- meeting other dogs doesn't sound like something enjoyable. Nevertheless, it's not as if I have something better to do. I can always just refuse to walk out the door if I change my mind. Plus, perhaps Pixie and Brutus, I believe his name was, will be there. I haven't met any of my other neighbours aside from a golden retriever and a sphinx cat, Lola and Mr. Wrinkles they were called. Lola was, well, friendly to say the least.

It was now later, and Carl was getting ready to leave for the barbecue. "Come on, Robin. We're leaving now." He put a slip lead over my head, and thankfully i could tackle the front steps with ease now, compared to a few weeks ago.

I walked down the drive besides him, and we waited at the end. The next doors' door opened, and a man walked out towards us. Besides him, walked Brutus. He had an assertive aura, something about him that would make smaller dogs tuck their tails between their legs just walking past. Perhaps it was the scars over his face or the way he held himself so highly.   He was around 5, not much older than myself by my estimate. He dipped his head to me in  greeting, and i returned the gesture.

If i weren't so focused on walking comfortably, i probably would have felt growingly awkward. He didn't seem to mind the lack of conversation, and i was partially thankful. Much to my fortune, the barbecue was only at a neighbour's down the street, no more than a five minute walk. I could smell the food when we got closer, the cooking of sausages and burger patties.

We went in through the side gate, and Tony and Carl were greeted by the neighbour. It wasn't too busy, but numerous unfamiliar faces filled the large garden. It was a simple plain garden, but a small path led along the fence through a couple trees to a planted area. There were five or six dogs already here, along with Lola and Mr Wrinkles- who came over to say hello.

"Hi Brutus, Hello Robin!" Lola enthusiastically chimed. Her tail was wagging faster than i thought was possible.

Brutus and was unclipped from his lead, thought Carl kept me on- presumably because I hadn't met half of the dogs here. I spoke to Mr. Wrinkles for a while, and Lola was distracted and hurried off after saying hello.

Carl was sat on a sofa talking to some of the neighbours, after grabbing a drink. I laid on the ground, the cool patio was nice and cool. Finally, as if i hadn't waited long enough, Carl unclipped me and ruffled my ears. "Okay," my release word, "you may go." I hauled myself up, wandering the outskirts of he garden.

Since coming here, I had met two labs and a Saint Bernard named Hugo. My stroll was interrupted by a belguim malinios, who stood in my path.

"Hey. We've not met. Dexter," he introduced, briefly nodding his head and casting me a smile. He was fairly tall for a Malinios, and stood roughly at the same height as me. He had a black and tan coat, very similar to Brutus'.

I smiled back at him, and sat against he fence. "Nice to meet you, Dexter. I'm,'' I was cut off before I had the chance to finish my statement.

''Robin,'' he interjected, though not in a rude manner. Dexter gave a chuckle, ''I heard from Lola.''

I stifled a laugh, unsurprised. He sat besides me, half angled towards me. If I had to guess, I would definitely say he was a bit of flirt, though he seemed good company.

''How are you finding it here? And how's your wound doing, I saw you when you first arrived. You looked pretty rough.''

Ouch, low blow Dexter- I'm fond of him already. I chuckled, before I replied, ''I looked rough because I had been sedated for weeks on end, arse,'' I sneered, teasingly. ''And it's not terrible here, a little boring though I must admit.''

''Tssk, you ought to count your lucky stars then. I'm the best company you could find yourself,'' he chimed, a challenging smirk over his dark muzzle.

Before I could muster a response, Lola appeared- out of nowhere- and stood in front of us. ''Hi Robin! Hi Dexter!'' She beamed, ''Wow, Dexter. I thought you were Brutus from over there. You look so alike, don't you think?'' The golden spoke so quickly, her attention quickly drawn elsewhere.

Dexter chuckled, ''I'm much better looking than him.''

''Don't flatter yourself, Backpack.'' A voice grumbled, Brutus stood a couple paces back. He glared at Dexter, unamused. By this point, Lola was long gone from sight- off in her own little world. Brutus and Dexter argued for a moment longer.

''It's only the truth.''

''Says who? Oh mighty reliable backpack?''

Next thing I knew, both the canines were staring at me expectantly. I glanced between them both, ''What,'' I groaned. ''You two are beyond immature, honestly.'' That earned a scoff from them both, yet seemingly they still both awaited my answer.

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a/n : This was a longish chapter-finally. And hang on a little, Brutus will definitely get more focus once he befriends Robin:)