Underhowl- Rise of the Pures

Chapter One

Author, again-

Thank you so much for the comments, all of you deserve awards! It has been great reading everything you put on here, all the tips and such, and I'll definitely recommend you to other readers in the furture!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter One

 “Alright, Jeda! Calm down!” Oliver exclaimed.

    But Jeda couldn’t calm down. He was too excited. He wagged his long brown tail so fast it was a blur, his brown paws with white spots dashed through the open door, and went wild over the kitchen tiles. He bent down and stuck his tail in the air, in the ‘play-with-me’ position, and started yapping madly.

    “If he doesn’t calm down then he’s going to have to go outside.” A deep voice rumbled from the car.

    “Aw don’t, Dad. He’s just happy! Finally, he doesn’t have to go back to Dr. Baker for more vaccinations!”  Oliver explained. Oliver was twelve years old, tall for his age, with short, straight black hair and light blue eyes. His father, Paul, was thickly built, bald, and was shutting the boot of the car with a thud.

    “To celebrate I’m going to take him for a bike ride tomorrow!” said Oliver, holding the door open for his father.

    “So soon?” Paul asked, his eyes narrowed.

    “Yeah, Jeda will be fine. With all his vaccinations he won’t catch any disease.” Oliver said, shutting the door.

    “It’s not the diseases I’m concerned about.” He said. “He might get scared of something and run off, or he might get lost. You don’t know how he’s going to react to the outdoors, it’s very different from indoors.”

    “Don’t worry, Dad.  He won’t get lost. He already knows how to come when I call his name, and have you seen him run? He’s faster than the bike running full pelt.”

    “I’m sure he is, but just remember you have to take care of him.”

    “I promise I won’t let him get lost.”

    “That’s my boy.”

The next few hours for Jeda went painfully slowly, as he was too excited about his first walk tomorrow to wait any longer. He played ball out in the backyard with Oliver, ate dinner, and then fell asleep. He was still a young puppy, only three months and a bit old, and fell asleep often.

    Jeda had been adopted by Oliver from an animal shelter. He had pointed ears that were folded on top, chocolate brown fur over his entire body and a patch of silvery-grey fur that stretched from his chest across his belly, which felt different to the rest of the fur on his body.

    Jeda didn’t know his parents. He didn’t know any other dogs at all. He had been taken to the shelter before his eyes had opened, and all his litter mates had already been adopted by the time he did open his eyes. So Jeda had been kept in the shelter, watching the visitors walk by. Jeda was sure nobody had adopted him because his fur was too ‘mixed up’. 

    That night, Jeda dreamed of how Oliver picked Jeda out of his cage, looked him in the eye and said ‘He’s the one. I want this one’. He woke blinking in the morning sunlight that streamed from the kitchen window. Today’s the day! Jeda thought happily as he stretched himself over the tiles. My first walk ever!

    A couple of hours later, Jeda was being harnessed into his leash in the garage, with the roller-door wide open letting the fresh air in. Jeda didn’t like the leash very much, it kept tightening every time he walked too far and it was constantly yanking around his neck.

    Oliver was just swinging onto his bike when the door opened.  His father stood there.

    “You know you need to be really careful with him.” he said to Oliver, eyeing him carefully.

    “Oh don’t worry, Dad. I promised, remember?”

    “Yeah, but if you lose him it won’t be like losing your favourite toy, or a book. He could get himself killed, and you may never find him again.”

    “Dad, you’re being over cautious.”

    “You’re probably right, but I think that’s a good thing. Are you absolutely sure he will be able to keep up with you on your bike?”

    Oliver stared at his father. “Are we having this conversation all over again?”

Jeda had had enough- it was time to get going. He barked and whined and pulled on the leash to the outside world a few metres away. Oliver and his father laughed. “All right, fine, you two get going before I drill you anymore.”

    Oliver didn’t need telling twice. He pedalled out of the garage with Jeda rushing by his side, and in no time were flying down the path to the park. The park was a block away, and it was a very big park from the way Oliver had talked about it.

    Riding next to the bike was easy, but Jeda didn’t like being restricted by the leash. They finally made it through the entrance, and Jeda was overwhelmed. So many different sights and smells surrounded him, he didn’t know where to go first. Jeda was just about to have a sniff at a shrub when Oliver pulled him the other direction, where they stopped under a large pine tree.

    “Okay, Jeda. I’m taking your leash off now, which means you have to be really careful and come when I call you. I have treats in my pocket to give if you have been a good boy.” Oliver said, jangling his pocket. Jeda got a whiff of the tasty-treat smell, and immediately sat down. Oliver laughed.

    “Not yet! Come on, let’s get going.”

    Oliver unclipped the leash, put it into his pocket, and then pedalled off. Jeda hesitated, not sure whether to smell the closest bush before earning his treat, and sprinted off after Oliver anyway.

Running was the greatest feeling. Jeda had no limits now, no leash to restrict him, he felt like he could run for hours. The bike was fast, and Jeda had to keep up with it, but that was easy. He sprang forward on each step, his feet flying through the air and barely touching the ground, his tongue lolling out feeling the fresh, early summer breeze roll off it. The trees and bushes were a blur, a shimmer of greens and browns. Oliver’s bike clicked as he changed gear and they pushed up a grassy green hill. They made it to the top, and the sight below stopped them both in their tracks.

    Down at the bottom of the hill was a wide field with trees surrounding it, and a large group of humans stood chatting to each other, with their pet dogs frolicking and playing at their feet. Jeda’s ears went back a bit, and he moved closer to Oliver.

    “Don’t worry, Jeda. You have to socialise. Come on, let’s go meet them.”