Underhowl- Rise of the Pures

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

    They slowly made their way down the hill. Jeda didn’t take his eyes off the dogs, as they played with each other. They got to the base of the hill, and one of the dogs looked up straight at Jeda. He had drooped ears and a mixture of black brown and white on his face. He dodged away from the playing dogs and galloped to Jeda faster than a raging bull. Jeda didn’t know what to do, should he run? Should he hide? He was frozen to the spot, his tail jammed between his legs.

    The stranger dog made it to him and skidded to a halt.

    “Hi.” the stranger dog said, his voice friendly. He walked over to Jeda and started smelling him.

    “H-hi?” Jeda replied, still not sure what to do as the stranger dog poked his nose all over Jeda’s body. This was very new to Jeda. The dog was around the same height as Jeda, but he had a weird sort of smell about him.  But he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to smell him…

    “It’s alright, Jeda, he won’t hurt you.” Oliver reassured.

With Oliver’s encouragement, he leaned over to the stranger dogs back and smelled him. In a few sniffs he learned a few things about the dog. Lives with humans, a few years older than Jeda, and something very strong…

    Jeda couldn’t believe what he smelt. He could smell how this stranger dog liked Jeda, a kind of warm taste and a sweet smell, which Jeda suddenly recognised. He remembered this smell, from when he was with his litter mates with his mother. The stranger dog wagged his tail, as he smelt Jeda’s sudden reaction. Jeda liked the stranger dog too; he couldn’t wait to meet some more friends!

    “Do you wanna come meet some of the others?” The stranger dog asked.

    “Sure!” Jeda agreed. The stranger dog jumped back and began running towards the pack of dogs, and Jeda followed.

    “Are you a mutt?” The stranger dog asked as they ran.

    “Yes, I guess so.” Jeda replied.

    The stranger dog laughed. “I shouldn’t have asked! You have more colours than a human with his extra skins. I’m a mutt too, a Cavalier cross a Beagle. A Beaglier. The name’s Hudson.”

    Jeda was confused. The dog read his expression.

    “You know, I’m two dog breeds mixed into one. But you look like you’re seven dog breeds brought into one!”

    “Yeah, a lot of people think that. I’m Jeda, by the way.”

    “Pleased to meet you.”

    They made it to the dog pack, and each dog jumped over to meet Jeda. All of them poked their noses all over Jeda, and Jeda learned a lot of things about them. But one thing was in common. Every dog liked Jeda.

    Jeda had a load of fun running around with his new friends, until something caught his eye. Another dog wasn’t playing with Jeda, Jeda didn’t even know if he had met this dog before. It was small and fat with creamy yellow fur, a black muzzle and an extremely squashed nose. It was sitting at its owner’s feet, with its head up nice and proud. Jeda hesitated, and then walked over to it. The dog looked at Jeda, but didn’t say anything. Tentatively, Jeda walked over and sniffed his course fur.

     The next thing he knew the dog was growling and biting, and Jeda was sprinting away. The dog barked at him and bared its teeth.

    Jeda didn’t look back, he was running to Oliver as fast as his little legs could carry him. Only when he was in the safety behind Oliver’s legs did Hudson come over.