Street-Bred

Chapter Twelve - Buck

A male dog with red fur and a white diamond on his chest stared back at Fawn. His eyes were the same shade of green as hers, his ears and nose were pink, he had to have been a Pharaoh Hound. A blue collar was around his neck with a few silver tags attached. Fawn's mouth gaped with disbelief, "B- brother?" She asked again.

"Fawn! I can't believe it! This is a dream come true!" He exclaimed, wagging his tail wildly as his ears blushed madly.

"Buck! I thought I'd never see you again!" She howled, and bounded to him.

"So, you're still a stray, huh?" He inquired.

"Yep, how's the collar wearer life going?" Fawn sneered playfully.

"Oh, just fine. I really love my master, you know," he replied, smiling, "but what about you, Fawn? You seemed a little worried earlier," Buck said, eyes filling with concern. Fawn sighed as the thought of Cash swam in her mind.

     "In short, let's just say that someone is after us... well, me. And we're running from them right now," Fawn eyes fell. Buck tilted his head in worry, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," then, his green eyes lit up with an idea, "hey! Maybe I could help!" Fawn's eyes darted from him to the pack.

"How? I hate to say this but, you don't know much about the stray life."

"Well, do you want help or not?" He asked. Fawn stared at Ace, who gave her a small nod, "Let's do it," he barked. Buck wagged his tail and grinned, "Wait here! I'll be right back!" He woofed before speeding off into the park.

Fawn looked back at her pack, and turned to hear Paisley say, "Are you sure a collar wearer can help us?"
"He's my brother, we can trust him," Fawn reassured the little dog.
"Fawn is right. Besides, we need all the help we can get. This is Cash we're talking about, after all," he told the pack. Fawn turned around as she heard Buck barking, and saw her brother leading four other dogs towards the pack. There was an elegant, white Saluki, a bulky Bull Mastiff, a fluffy, grey Australian Shepherd, and a Golden Retriever with a shining coat that was practically glowing in the sun. All of them were wearing collars with jingling tags. Buck's pace slowed as he neared the fence, and the other dogs copied. Buck lifted his head proudly, "This is my pack!" Fawn cocked an eyebrow.

"This is Marley, the Bull Mastiff. Finn is the Australian Shepherd, and there's Cody, the Golden Retriever," then, Buck walked over to the Saluki, "and last but definitely not least, this is Shelby. My wonderful, beautiful, intelligent..." Buck was interrupted by an impatient Paisley.

"Okay, we get the idea, Buck-o. What are they all here for?"

"Well, we can help you," Buck replied.

"Sounds fool proof to me," Paisley retorted sarcastically, and Fawn nudged the dog to quiet her.

"Why? Don't you have your master-people to hang out with? Why help me?" Fawn asked.

"Because, you're my sister. I will not let anyone hurt you. And if protecting you means leaving the pet life, I'll do it," Buck answered, wagging his tail.

"And if this is important to Buck, it's important to us, too!" Shelby added, then shooting a quick, admiring glance at Buck.

"Well, that's up to-"

"Yes," Ace blurted, making Fawn raise her brows in surprise, "we need as much help as possible."

"Then, I suppose it's settled! Welcome to the pack, guys! Fawn welcomed, making the collar wearers go up in joyful cheers. Fawn sighed, doubts brewing slowly inside her mind.

Buck and his pack eventually calmed down, "So, uh.... how do we get past this fence?" Cody asked, staring at the strays on the other side.
"There's a hole under those bushes," April directed her muzzle to the bushes with the hole underneath. The collar-wearer pack made their way to the strays, and Ace stepped forward, "Welcome, I am Ace, the leader of this pack. April," Ace gestured at the black lab with his tail, "is my Beta. Captain is the Rhodesian Ridgeback, Mei is the pup, and Paisley is the Puggle. And I'm sure you all know Fawn by now," Ace introduced, "now that combining packs is out of the way, we should get going. Who knows," Ace glanced to Fawn, "Cash could be on his way."

Fawn nodded, "You lead," and Ace began to lead the strays and collar wearers away from the park. Buck caught up with Fawn as the packmates began to mingle, "Is Cash the dog who's after you?"

"Mhm."

"Why?"

"I disrespected him," Fawn replied, refusing to make eye contact.

"Are you scared?" Fawn paused, the thought of Cash's jaws closing down on her throat made her shiver.

"Sorta..."

"I bet he's not that bad," Fawn gave Buck a cold, hard glare.

"You have no idea," she grumbled.

"Why can't you just fight him?"

"He'll kill me."

"And what if you kill him?"

"Then his pack will kill me," Buck blinked surprised, green eyes.

"Has he ever killed another dog before?"

"Probably."

"Sheesh..." Silence followed Buck's comment, until Shelby trotted up to Buck and nuzzled him, "Wow, Buck! We're wild dogs now! Free! No rules, no-" Shelby was interrupted by Captain's snarl.

"Oblivious collar wearer! There are many rules on the streets, and if you break one..." Shelby gulped, "you don't get a second chance," he snapped. Ace looked over his shoulder to growl a warning to Captain, "Let's not scare the new dogs, Captain. They're gonna run away before they can spend their first night sleeping on the streets!"

Captain sighed and mumbled somethings inaudible under his breath, and walked to the back of the crowd. Shelby looked at Fawn with worry painted on her face, "Is it true? Do you die if you mess up?"

"If you're fast, that doesn't apply to you."