My Pink Puppy (Book 1)

Chapter 5 - The Pet Store

I was having a great dream about winning the Kemu Zaleon Literary Prize for best new novelist when I was abruptly woken up by a paw to the face. I lightly glared at the pink puppy responsible and then giggled when I noticed the sleeping position he was in. He had fallen off the pillow during the night and he was now sleeping on his back with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "I guess it's time to make breakfast" I quietly said to myself, making sure not to wake Natsu as I got out of bed and headed to the kitchen.

As I was cooking the bacon, I heard a rush of tip tapping sounds coming towards me and I knew who it was. I felt Natsu jumping up onto my leg and I looked down to see his tail wagging excitedly. 'Same old Natsu' I thought as I dished up the bacon. "Something smells good in here" Gray said as he appeared in the doorway. "Sit at the table, I'm almost finished dishing up" I replied and he walked out of the kitchen.

I saw Erza, Gray and Happy sitting at the table when I walked out with plates of food. I set down Natsu's plate, stacked with a mountain sized pile of bacon, onto the floor besides the table before I dished out the rest of the plates. "Thank you for the food" we prayed before digging into our food. "So, are we going to the guild today?" Gray said as we ate. "Actually, I was thinking of going shopping today to get some puppy supplies for Natsu" I replied. "I remembered you mentioned it to me yesterday" Erza said.

"Are we bringing the idiotic pink puppy with us-OW!" Gray exclaimed when Natsu bit his foot from under the table. I thought about it, if we brought Natsu I would have to carry him which would make it hard to shop. "I think he should stay here" I replied, "good" Gray said as he glared at Natsu.

After our breakfast, I washed the dishes, had a nice relaxing bath and got changed before getting ready to go out. As Gray, Erza and I were about to leave, Natsu tried to follow us out but I stopped him with my foot. "No Natsu, you have to stay here with Happy" I said to him before closing the door. Happy had volunteered to babysit Natsu while we were gone. Wouldn't it be called puppysitting? Nevermind, it doesn't matter.

I could hear Natsu whining and scratching at the door but I didn't open the door because I knew he could handle himself for a few hours. As we stepped outside, I heard muffled barking and looked up at my closed window to see Natsu standing up on his back legs with his front paws leaning on the window. His eyes looked like they were begging me to come back. "Oh no, Natsu's using his puppy dog eyes. Lets go" Gray said as he dragged me away from my apartment.

When we arrived at the pet store, the first thing I searched for was a collar. "How about we buy this one for the pretty pink princess?" Gray joked as he held up a glittery pink collar with a big girly pink bow on the side. I giggled as I imagined Natsu wearing that collar but of course I won't let him wear that. I spotted the perfect collar and picked it off the rack. "No, I think this would be better" I said as I held up a white dragon scales designed collar which reminded me of his scarf. "Yes, I believe that will suit Natsu the best" Erza said and we moved onto the leashes.

I picked out a red leash for Natsu since I know he loves the colour red. This will make taking him around and walking him easier. Next, I got two metal bowls for his food and water, a small comfy dog bed for him to sleep on, shampoo for his baths, a brush to groom his soft pink fur, treats, and varies of toys for him to play with when he's bored. "Now, what else do I need?" I muttered to myself. I looked around the store until I spotted a magic tag maker. 'Natsu will need a tag' I thought and walked over to the machine. I had Natsu's name engraved on the front and my name and the Fairy Tail name on the back in case he gets separated from us.

"Natsu better pay me back for this" I said as we checked out of the store and walked towards my apartment. "He should because there goes 10,000 jewels" Gray said. "How am I supposed to pay my rent if I have to take care of Natsu" I said. "We can still do jobs with Natsu" Erza said. "Really, in the state he's in?" I asked, "Happy and Carla always come with us and besides I'm sure Natsu wouldn't want to miss the action" she replied. "You're right about that" I smiled thinking about Natsu whining if we left without him.

As we walked closer to my apartment, I noticed Natsu still leaning on the window, looking at me with his tail wagging happily until he ran away from the window. Just before we entered my apartment, I heard happy barking coming from the door. I opened the door to a very excitable puppy who was lifting himself up on my leg and barking with his tail wagging. He followed me by my feet as I put the stuff I bought for him on the table.

"We got some stuff for you Natsu" I said as I pulled out the first item out of the bag, the collar with his name tag attached. "Come here Natsu" I said as I kneeled down and wrapped the collar around his neck. It was hard for me to put it on while he was excitedly moving around looking at the collar. "Natsu stay still" I said just before I finally put the collar on him. "I hope you like it Natsu" I said and then I saw him licking his collar. Since he's not trying to bite it off I think that means he likes it which I was happy about. Now with the collar on, it really does look like his usual scarf around him.

Suddenly I had an idea. I took the dog bed I bought for him and placed it at the foot of my bed besides my desk. I got Natsu's scarf, from the clothes we retrieved that day, and placed it around the walls of the bed. Hopefully, that will make the bed more comfortable for him. As soon as I was done with his bed, he jumped onto it and looked around before laying down. I guessed he liked that too.