Escape Leads to Companionship

Writers: Avery, Miriah
Date Posted: 11th December 2017

Characters: J'ackt, Eronras
Description: J'ackt finds a companion
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 12 of Turn 9

J'ackt

Running had become a regular exercise for him; it helped relieve so
much of his stress, but it also gave him time to think. Faranth, he'd
had far too much going on in the past few sevendays to really absorb
it all at once. His feet pounded the ground as he worked to finish his
lap, and he found that the day's run had already reached that level
that seemed to give him boundless energy. Sweat trickled down his back
as he rounded a turn near the Beastmasters area.

About to pass it by, his ears picked up squeaks and little yips. His
brow furrowed as he turned his head only to find a lop eared little
puppy scrambling after him, yapping with eager fury as he passed by.
J'ackt's brows raised and he slowed, giving the puppy time to catch
up. Before the bumbling thing could pounce on his feet, he scooped it
up. It's squeaky growl and rapidly wagging tail brought a short
chortle from J'ackt. "You're cute, but I don't think you need to be
out here yet."

It was going to be a large breed of canine, he figured, at least from
the size of the paws that had made its' running so clumsy. He carried
it, the pup still trying to gnaw on his fingers, back to the barn
area. He called out, "I think I found an escapee."

"Hello? Who is it?" Eronras called out. He was in the middle of trying
to prevent any more canines from escaping the run. Of the litter of
six, two had gotten out. One he'd caught, but in the process of
getting it out, another one had escaped. He'd gotten that one, and
then couldn't figure out where the last escapee had gotten to.

"Oh, dragonrider, much appreciated, he's wiggled out twice today," he
said when he looked up and saw J'ackt holding a canine.

He nodded and offered the puppy who had caught his thumb and was now
tugging at it and giving mock ferocious growls. J'ackt winced. "Yeah,
he seems like he's a bit...owww.." He pulled his thumb away and gave a
quick smile. "..feisty."

"They're going to be tough working dogs. Sorry if he hurt you,"
Eronras said with a frown. "Do you need something for that?"

"Big ones too, I'm guessing." J'ackt shook his head. "No. My fingers
are pretty callused. It was just a pinch." He shrugged and handed the
pup to the man. "Looks like you have your hands full with them."

"Yes, they'll be very big," he agreed as he took the puppy. "Assuming
they all make it, of course."

J'ackt frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Not all animals make it," Eronras said. He stuck the escapee back in
the pen, then indicated it. "You see four, right?"

He scanned the pen, watching the four pups scramble over each other in
play, then nodded. "Aye."

"They're all healthy and active, yes?" The Beastcrafter then pointed
into the back of the pen, where there was a blanket and the water
dishes and some hay. "What's that over there?"

J'ackt was about to nod again but paused as his eyes followed in the
direction of the man's finger. His brows furrowed as his eyes caught
something small burrowed in the blanket and hay. "Another pup?" He
craned his head to try to see it better. "Why is it back there?"

"Runt of the litter. They bully the littlest one, so he doesn't get
the same access to food as they do and he gets hurt in games. Right
now, they tolerate him over there, but they might not forever."

"Can I see him?" J'ackt watched the blanket, never letting his eyes
off of it and searched for movement.

Eronras looked at J'ackt and shrugged. "Sure, why not? Let's hope
these ones don't gnaw on your ankles as we try."

He opened the pen and waved the bronzerider inside, then began running
interference with the other puppies.

As Eronras distracted the pups, J'ackt hurried over to the blanket and
crouched, lifting up the edge to peek underneath. There, a much
smaller, brindle colored pup scooted back with a tiny growl. Moving
gently and murmuring soothingly, he picked it up, and paused
immediately. "What happened to his leg?"

"It was like that at birth," Eronras said. "He won't be fit for
working, but I'd hoped maybe he could produce puppies without the
deformity. If he makes it to breeding age without them tearing him up,
that is."

Rising, J'ackt cradled the pup closely to him, noting that while the
pup made token growls, he also burrowed his head against his chest and
the little tail twitched rapidly from side to side, a bit tucked
under. The small creature was scared, but still making an effort to
voice his complaint. He examined the stump of the front leg and
frowned. From the malformation, it looked as though it simply hadn't
formed. He felt soft licks against his hand as he touched the stump,
the tail beginning to whip from side to side even faster as the growls
turned into whimpers. "Easy there. I'll not hurt you." He left the
deformity alone and began stroking his hand over the canine's back to
soothe it. "What'll you do with him?"

"It's hard to feed animals who aren't doing anything for the Weyr. If
he could breed pups without the deformity, he might be useful.
Otherwise, he's not suited for much."

Eronras watched the way the pup cuddledd into J'ackt. "Owned one before?"

The coldly pragmatic side of J'ackt's brain that still lingered after
turns of struggling for survival suggested that ending the pup's life
would be the best alternative, especially since he could not be of
use. J'ackt looked down at the pup and promptly shoved that notion
away. The little thing was a fighter and deserved a better fate than
that. His hand was gentle as he stroked it, and felt the thing calm
slightly under his touch. "No, never."

"The pup likes you. He doesn't calm down like that with me at all,"
the Beastcrafter said. "Would you want to keep him?"

Brows shot up at the offer. "Me? Don't know a thing about canines."
His fingers were getting licked happily now, the small pup gnawing and
trying to nuzzle J'ackt's hand.

"They're small, but they get bigger. They eat meat. They have to be
taught to eliminate outside your rooms and not pee on your things.
They're smart and can be trained to do tasks. They're very soft to
cuddle," Eronras said, listing some facts.

"Uh..." He looked down at the pup and felt a twinge of softness, his
lip lifting as the pup reached to lick at his chin. On impulse, he
nodded, not looking at Eronras. "Yeah, I'll take him. Give me a list
of what he needs, maybe?"

"I'll go write that up, but I'll have to leave the pen." Eronras
looked at the other boisterous puppies. "Do you want to put him down
for now and I'll let you out the pen? Or stay in there with him, but
the others might try to bully attention from you."

"I'll just carry him out." J'ackt nodded his head to the door. "If I'm
keeping him, then might as well start now."

Eronras held the pen door open. "Go ahead and hold him and I'll be right back."

Once they were both out the pen, he headed off to go find some hide
and write up a list for J'ackt of what the pup should get to eat, what
to use for bedding, and who to speak to for some extra training. He
included a lead and two collars, one that should fit now and one for
later.

"Here you go," he said, returning with the hide.

Taking the hide, leads and collars with his free hand, J'ackt looked
it over while the pup began slathering his fingers with biting,
licking affection. He had no real idea why he had decided to take on
the little runt, but the warmth and affection that rose up in his
chest couldn't be denied. "Thanks. What if he gets sick or something?"

"Bring him back here and we'll care for him. Truth be told, I wonder
if he'll grow a little more and be a bit healthier if he isn't
fighting for food," the beastcrafter said.

"Alright. Thanks." He looked down at the pup and wondered what he had
just agreed to. "Come on, Stumpy. Let's get you settled."

Last updated on the December 23rd 2017

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Escape Leads to Companionship