Everchanging Hearts is a spin-off of my other fic, Burning Desire.

This fic is written in first person, compared to Burning Desire which is in third.

This fic is the story of Jiff's life before Burning Desire, and I do plan to keep the two well intertwined, so if you read this one, you may want to read the other as well.



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Into to Everchanging Hearts: A story of Father and Son


Day after day, week after week, all I do is dig through trash, trying to find my next meal. For as long as I can remember I have been a stray.

“There he is! Get him!”

Aw shoot! I thought as I started to run. I had accidently wandered into a group of other dogs who all decided that they didn’t like me. I had to run for my life.

Lucky for me, most strays that I come across aren’t very bright, and these guys weren’t any exception. All I had to do was run down a few alleys, jump over some junk in the street, then climb a fire escape.

They all just ran right on past me. Just living on the street doesn’t make you smart, you have to become smart. And one thing you learn when you become smart is to never pass up a chance to get something to eat.

As I climbed down the ladder I noticed the smell of food in the air, perhaps from a restaurant nearby. That could mean some of the trash here has leftovers from the kitchen. That’s about as good as it gets for someone who needs to dig through trash to live.

It would be a while before those dogs that were chasing me would come back this way, so I went and checked out the nearest pile of stuff I could find. That was when I noticed the sound of something crying. It was faint, but was there.

I looked around until I found the source. It was coming from a box no more than ten feet away from the fire escape that I used to trick those dogs chasing me. Inside the box was a golden colored puppy, no more than a week old.

Firtst person writing is working out really well!
I can feel how chracter is feeling, I just want more little bit more sensory detail.

Coolz. I always liked 1st person stories.

Liked the start, can't wait to see what happens next.

It's a good thing I saw your signature, otherwise I wouldn't have know about it. Good job so far. Maybe a little bit more detail here and there.

It's a good start, Jeff. You're doing okay with first point of view narration. But in my opinion it's too short It should be a little longer, and as the poster above me said, you must work on details.

I don’t know why I decided to care for him.

Maybe it was because he was just so young and helpless.

Maybe it was because I needed something- no, someone that I could trust in this city.

Maybe it was both of those reasons. I don’t really know, yet here I am searching through trash, trying to find something to feed that poor pup.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that I couldn’t even find enough to feed myself, I couldn’t even share what I did find with a puppy as young as that one. So I’m searching through piles of trash, hoping that I can find puppy formula in it somewhere.

“Now that I think about it, I’m going to need a bottle too.” I said to no one but myself as I went to another pile of trash. Not surprisingly, I was unable to find any formula. I needed to search somewhere else other than the alley that I had just found him in, but I couldn’t just leave him here while I went somewhere else.

I had heard stories about the shelters around here, and they weren’t good. If someone found him and brought him to one, chances are that he would never leave.

I picked him up and started walking. I need to find someplace that I can hide him at, someplace safe, yet still easy to get to at night. I can’t just carry him everywhere. As I look at him in my arms, I notice that he has fallen asleep. He seems pretty content for now. ****, the only way he can be this content is because he isn’t hungry right now. He couldn’t have nursed anymore than a few hours ago. He had a home and mother who cared for him no more than two hours ago, yet I just found him in a box. Whoever did this is a horrible person and they better hope I never find out who they are.

I walked for a little bit, then noticed that I was at someplace I had never been before. Not the best situation to be in with a sleeping puppy in my arms, but that quickly turned around when I noticed a dead end alley with a dumpster in it. This was the perfect place to hide the puppy in. I could put him on the other side of the dumpster and no one would ever know. And who knows, a new area could lead to better luck finding what I need. I thought as I laid the puppy down, doing my best not to wake him.

Even if he woke up and started to cry, he was far enough away from the street that no one would hear him. Confident that he would be fine on the cardboard that I put him on, I went out to try and find something to feed him.

-----

I searched through bag after bag but was still unable to find anything. I wasn’t searching for puppy formula specifically, but anything puppy related that might suggest the person who left the trash has a puppy. Even if I didn’t find something I could use, it would indicate that it might be worthwhile coming back to this spot to look again later. If I didn’t find anything, then it would be a safe assumption that there wouldn’t be anything no matter how many times I looked.

Unfortunately, this was the third place I had checked and still nothing. I sighed as I started to move on to another area when something caught my eye. It was something green at the edge of the pile of trash I was looking through. I picked it up, and it was a $20 bill!

I couldn’t believe my luck! I often found loose change, maybe a dollar bill, but never had I seen a twenty just laying on the street! I wasn’t sure of the cost of puppy formula, but $20 should have covered me for a little bit anyway. Of course, it wouldn’t be as easy as just walking into a store and buying it. Most stores wouldn’t let pets in, much less a stray like me.

As dishonest as it seemed, I would have to wait until the store closed down and sneak in. Then I could grab everything I need and just leave the money behind. Even though it would be a lot easier, I make it a point never to steal. If I take something, I always leave money behind to cover the cost. I may have been a stray, but I was not about to become a thief.

-----

Fortunately I didn’t have to long to wait until the stores started to close down. And it just so happened that I had seen a pet supply shop not too far from where I was. Once it came into view, I could see the owner locking the front door. Perfect. I thought as I hid and waited for him to leave.

Once he was gone, I snuck around to the back and found a door there. Just a wooden door with nothing more than door knob, probably locked. Not a problem. I thought as I pulled out the card I kept with me all times. It was some kind of credit-card type thing, most likely an old, used up gift card. It was so worn that I couldn’t tell what it originally was.

That didn’t matter though; it did its job just fine. I slipped the card in where the latch was and jiggled the door knob and…

Bingo. I was in. Good thing this guy doesn’t have a deadbolt, or I wouldn’t have been able to get in here so easily. Or quietly. Or at all really.

I went to the front of the store and started checking the shelves for puppy formula. While I was looking, I saw a lot of things I could only dream of getting. Chew toys, bones, huge bags of food, and all of it was off limits because the money had to get me as much as it could for the puppy.

I finally found the place with the puppy stuff. Right away I found cans, about the size if soda cans, with puppy milk in them. That was just perfect for me, as I had no way of mixing up any powered stuff. I started grabbing the cans and keeping track of the cost in my head.

I was about to grab the eighth and final can when I remembered that I still needed a bottle. I can’t just feed him straight from the cans. Reluctantly, I didn’t grab the eighth can and instead looked for a bottle. They weren’t too far away from the milk, and soon I was at the front of the store, leaving the twenty right on top of the cash register. I was about to go when I saw the plastic bags that people put the stuff they buy in to carry out.

Well, I can’t carry seven cans very well, and I am technically a paying customer…

-----

I went through alleyways and behind buildings in order to stay out of sight with my recently acquired puppy supplies. I couldn’t risk being seen carrying a bag full of stuff, you never know who could call in a stray that could have recently robbed a store. If word got out that a dog without an owner was stealing from stores, there would be no rest until I was caught. And I just can’t risk that right now with the pup to care for.

What a life I’m living, I hope I can get that pup a better one. I thought as I approached the alley that I had left him in. As I made my way to the dumpster, something seemed off. Something I couldn’t quite figure out. As I got closer to the dumpster, that feeling grew. Something is off here, but what is it-

I don’t hear any crying. He should be crying from hunger by now.

I dropped the bag and ran to where he should have been, and to my horror he wasn’t there.

“Looking for this?” A voice from the alley entrance called.

I looked up and saw five dogs standing there. The one in front, most likely the pack leader, was holding the pup. “I found this stinking puppy right where you are now. What’s a dog like you doing with a puppy?”

I didn’t recognize any of the dogs there, but they all looked like they meant business. Dangerous business. “What do you want with that pup?” I asked trying not to sound desperate.

“Oh, nothing much.” He said as he handed the pup to the dog on his right. “Actually, I’d like to know why I found a puppy you’re caring for on my territory.”

I answered slowly and deliberately. “Isn’t it obvious, I was trying to hide him.” I was trying to think of a way to get the pup back without putting him at any risk.

“I guess…” The dog seemed to think for a second. “Actually, there’s one more thing that I’d like to know.” There was a dangerous looking smile on his face, and I didn’t like it at all.

“What’s that?” I asked as I took a step back.

“What are you willing to do to get this puppy back safe and sound? You must be willing to do a whole lot.”

He had me cornered. I have to do what he says, and if I don’t then he’s going to hurt the pup. Unless… I suddenly had an idea. I had no time to waste.

“Actually, you can keep him.” I said, doing my best to sound like I didn’t care.

This seemed to confuse all of the dogs. “You… don’t want him?”

“Nope.” I said as I shook my head. “You see, that puppy actually belongs to the mayor of this city.”

“What’s a mayor?” One of the dogs asked.

Perfect. “The mayor is the boss of everyone in the city. He’s the one that tells everyone what to do, including the dog catchers and the pounds.” I figured none of them would know any better.

They all looked at the puppy with surprise. “This is the mayor’s?”

“Oh yea. I stole him from his house and told the mayor that he would get him back only if he gave me a yearlong supply of food.”

All of the dogs suddenly stared at me with a hungry look in their eyes. The lead dog asked “So, where is all of this food then?”

Good, they seem to be falling for it. “I never got any. Actually, the mayor sent out every dog catcher in the city to look for that puppy. He’s pretty mad, I can’t imagine what is going to happen to the dog caught with him. I was actually trying to get rid of him, so thanks.”

I walked down the alley, past the dogs, and out onto the street. I was doing the best I could to look like I didn’t care.

It must have worked, because the pack leader yelled “Wait! I changed my mind! You can have it back!”

“Nah, he’s yours now.” I said without turning around or even stopping. “Good luck avoiding the dog catchers. I hear they like to work at night too.”

“Dog… Catchers…” I just barley heard him say before he yelled “That’s it! We’re out of here guys! Leave that thing behind, I didn’t take it from the mayor and I’m not about to be caught by dog catchers because of it!!”

I turned around in time to see them rounding the corner at the end of the street, running as fast as they could. And sure enough, they had left the puppy right there on the side walk.

I walked back and picked him up. Sure enough, he was crying, although it seemed to be more from hunger than anything.

I took him back into the alley where I had left the bag full of formula. “Good thing those dogs were idiots and really thought I somehow stole you from the mayor.” I said as I was getting the bottle ready. “You’re one lucky pup there… pup.” I really should give him a name. I can’t just think and call him ‘pup’ forever.

“What would be a good name for you?” I asked him as I put the bottle in his mouth. He started to suck on it.

“You’re the first that I have ever cared for, that I ever wanted to care for. It’s like when I saw you in that box, there was a fire that was lit in my heart. Fire…”

I smiled at the pup as he ate in my arms. So young and helpless, he could grow up to be anything. And he could do that because he put a spark in my heart that lit a fire.

“Welcome to your new life, Cinder.”

END

Cinder, a nice name indeed.

I am enjoying the first person narrative. Seems to be getting popular lately.

Alright, sorry for not commenting, but I just wanted to see what everyone thought without my comments.



I am liking first person myself, I'm very pleased with how it came out.


... you could have looked and saw that I was the one who started this topic.


Yes, but it is what it is. As you can see, my second part wasn't so short. I just wanted a basic introduction into the story, then get into it in the second part.


Yay! Name approval!

Oh, wow. It's been 7 days since my update on Burning Desire. Time flies, I should have been done with this one by now.

Oh well. So I just wanted to let everyone know that I will hopefully have this in the next day or two. While I don't like having a bunch of shorter updates in a row, this one will probably be short. I am pretty much going to finish up the city in this one because there isn't really much going on for long periods of time except for Jiff looking for formula for Cinder. Pretty repetitive and hard to write a lot about.

So I will introduce a new character that I didn't plan on introducing until much, much later. I feel that it actually works better to introduce him now anyway.

I will note however that he is not the character I said I would introduce at the same time in both stories. I still have a to go through some things before I introduce this character.

Sounds good. Cannot wait!

Alright, as you guys may or may not know, today was my Birthday. So as a birthday present, I finished up that update that I said I would have yesterday. YAY!!

...Wait. I'm supposed to get presents on my birthday, not give them.
Oh well.


Enjoy it


Cinder was growing up. Fast.

His teeth started coming in, and that was good news. Once they were in, he would be able to eat solid food and I wouldn’t have to look for puppy formula anymore.

I could only hope that the bottle would survive his chewing on it until then.

However, him growing up also came with challenges. He’s started to scoot and crawl. That meant I could only leave to look for food whenever he was sleeping out of fear he would make his way somewhere I wouldn’t want him getting.

For reasons like that and many more, as I looked at the puppy in my arms drinking from his bottle, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had done the right thing in choosing to care for him.

Was this the best life for him? Should I have given him to a shelter? I had heard the horror stories about them, but never actually been in one. Maybe the stories were wrong. Or maybe I should have tried to find him an owner. Someone who would love and care for him and have the means to feed him every day without fail. Or at the same time, it could be someone who gives him a horrible life. There are people who would do that.

I’ve been able to at least feed him every time he’s become hungry, somehow.

It hasn’t been that easy on my body though. The kind of searching required to find formula for him means that I sometimes wouldn’t eat for two or three days at a time.

And it’s only gotten worse as he grows up and I have to spend more time watching him to make sure he doesn’t craw away. As of right now, I haven’t had anything significant to eat in the last five days. FIVE DAYS!

While I would sometimes find some small things that I can snack on when searching for Cinder’s food, I just didn’t have the time to look for anything for myself.

I was going to have to eat at some point. I was barely able to stand as it was. But the problem was if I looked for food for myself, I probably wouldn’t find enough for Cinder. And not feeding him at this young an age is a dangerous thing to do.

But if I just kept looking for his formula, I was going to pass out at some point. And that wouldn’t be good either.

It was just a no-win situation.

“Caring for a pup on the street is more than one dog can handle.” I said out loud.

“It looks like it.” A voice from behind me said.

I jumped up and turned to look at the source of the voice, holding Cinder close just in case I needed to run.

I faced a dog that had a two-tone color. Brown arms, legs, stomach, chest, and his face below his eyes. The top of his head was black, and his back probably was too.

Like me, he appeared to be a mutt. A mix of probably four or five different medium sized breeds, none of them really standing out over the other.

I was right to be on my guard when I jumped up. He was one of the dogs that I had scared off with my whole “Cinder belongs to the mayor” story.

He put his paws up in the air and said “It’s alright. I come in peace. I’m not with those other dogs anymore.”

I didn’t let guard my down, instead I asked him “Why are you here? And how can I be sure that you aren’t with those other dogs?”

He dropped his paws and said “I actually want to help you. I was only with those other dogs because they managed to find a lot of food. When they found that puppy, there was nothing I could really do to help. If I spoke out against the pack leader, I would have been literally kicked out of the pack. Those dogs aren’t kind to those who betray them.”

“I imagine so.” I said, not dropping my guard at all.

The dog continued. “Well, I was relieved when you came. The other dogs didn’t see it, but I could tell you were worried about getting the puppy back. I could see it written all over your face until you started that fake story with the mayor.”

“… And how are you so sure it’s fake?” I asked while trying to keep a straight face.

“That pup is too young. The mayor would never have the time to care for such a young puppy. And even if he could, they would never adopt him out while he was so young. They would wait until he was at least old enough to eat solid food. Fortunately for you, I was the only smart one there.”

I relaxed a little, he seemed to be honest. At the very least he was smart; I had to give him that. “You still haven’t answered why you’re here. You said you wanted to help me, how so?”

“I want to help you care for the puppy. I was looking for a reason to leave those dogs, but couldn’t find one that justified losing the food they managed to gather. Well, not until I saw you anyway.

“You were so dedicated to getting that puppy back; I just couldn’t turn down the chance to help someone who was so selfless. By the looks of things, you could use some of the food that I took from those dogs before I left.”

I looked and noticed the bag of food by his feet. I had been so distracted that I didn’t even notice the potential meal right in front me. I also realized that I was ready to pass out.

I sat down and put Cinder in my lap before anything could happen. I wasn’t sure if I could trust this dog or not, but I had no choice right now. I needed something to eat and fast.

Almost like he could read my mind, the dog sat down in front of me and handed me a piece of food from the bag.

I thanked him and began to slowly eat what he had given me. After not have eaten for a week, it would not be smart to just scarf down what I had. I could easily become sick from doing so.

We just sat in silence, me eating and him watching me, waiting for me to finish.

Once I was done, he spoke. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but you have no choice. You spend all of your spare time looking for food, but it’s still not enough. To find enough food for both of you, you can’t look after him. That’s where I’ll help you. I’ll look after him while you go search for whatever he needs. Or you look after him while I search. Either way, you need the help.”

I hated to admit it, but he was right. I could only search for two or three hours a day if I was lucky. If this dog was to watch over Cinder, I could look all day and find enough food to feed all of us.

But the biggest problem was if I could trust him. He seemed honest when he spoke, and he seemed smart too.

Unfortunately, the only way to see if he was trustworthy was to leave him here with Cinder while I went to go look for food. I had just used up the last of Cinder’s formula, so if I sent him out and he didn’t find any, Cinder wouldn’t have anything to eat for the night.

I wasn’t too happy about the situation, but I didn’t really have a choice. I would have probably passed out today if that dog hadn’t come with some food for me. And even if I didn’t, I certainly wouldn’t have had the strength to find anymore puppy formula. Letting Cinder go hungry could be deadly at his age.

“… As much as I hate to admit it, you’re right. I need the help.”

The dog just nodded his head.

“I don’t want to do this, but I have no choice. I’m going to leave Cinder here with you and go out to search for more formula. I expect you to take good care of him.”

“Don’t worry, I will.” He said.

I nodded my head and reluctantly gave Cinder to him. I then stood up and started to walk out of the alley.

Right before I was out, I turned my head and said “By the way, what’s your name?”

He looked back up at me. “My name is Burin. Any reason you decided to ask now?”

“Just so I know who to kill should anything happen to Cinder before I get back.”

END

Another awesome update! I really liked it. So Burin enters the picture. Let us hope he is a nice doggy.

Happy Birthday! So selfless, giving us a gift.

Well, I cannot wait for the next one now!

Hmm... for a stray who must do everything to survive another day, he seems to be pretty naive by leaving his pup in arms of a stranger. But I guess it will be revealed in next update was his choice to trust him a good or bad one.

I just hope Burin doesnt turn out to be who I think he is...

Only time will tell for both...


However, I would like to point out that Jiff is anything but naive. This was his very last option.

He can't just leave Cinder because he is starting to crawl, so Jiff can only search while he was sleeping. And would have to get back before Cinder woke up.
Because if this, the time he could look for food was very limited. To the point that he was out of formula for Cinder, hadn't eaten in almost a week, and would have passed out sometime that day from hunger if Burin hadn't come along with some food.

The only option he had was to leave Cinder with Burin so he could search all day and have enough time to find food and formula. He couldn't let Burin search because if he didn't come back with enough, Cinder would have gone hungry for a while. Not good for a pup who is still so young.

So while leaving the pup in the arms of a stranger might not be a good idea, if Jiff refused the help, he would have basically been killing Cinder at that point. He had no choice.

If is the worst case, this story could turn out to be pretty short...
I hope, well i dont know what to hope really.

you know the proverb "Clear accounts, lasting friendships"

Hey, better late than never. It turns out that my gym teacher had put this along with my gym notebook in a safe place instead of my locker.
Oh well, here it is. It's not long, but it is what it is.

Enjoy


“Listen guys, I don’t want any trouble.” I said as I backed away.

“It’s a little late for that. We’re onto your tricks.”
I was staring into the eyes of the very some dog that I had scared away when I had made up the whole “Cinder belongs to the mayor” story. The dogs that had been with him that day were all standing behind him.

All except for Burin, who was standing next to me right now.

“Listen, we’re just trying to leave the city now.” Burin said. “Just let us by and we’ll be gone forever.”

Burin’s old pack leader seemed to grow angry. “Burin, you’re nothing but a traitor. Stealing out food before you leave and probably giving it to this guy, you have some nerve asking us to leave you alone. The only reason I don’t send these three in after you two right now is because I want to see you suffer.”

I held Cinder tighter in my hands. This was turning ugly fast. His teeth having finished coming in, I decided it was finally the time to finally get Cinder away from the danger of the city. I was one day too late with that decision it seemed.

“Tell you what.” Burin’s old pack leader said with a cruel smile on his face. “I’ll give you till the count of three, and then I’m going to step to the side and let these three at you. One.”

Cinder started crying. Burin looked around, trying to find some way out of this situation.

“Two.”

I had no idea what to do. We were cornered in an alley, it was four against two, and I had to protect Cinder if anything happened. Meaning it was more like four against one seeing how once Burin was out of the way, there wouldn’t be much I could do while holding a pup in my arms.

“Three.”

“AHHHHH!!” One of the dogs screamed in pain as they fell down.

“What the- URF!” The dog in the middle kneeled over and fell to the ground. Whatever had got the first dog got him just as quick.

The third dog began running away, but didn’t make it three steps before he was knocked into the wall. He slumped over after impact, knocked out.

Burin’s old leader simply stared at the three dogs in disbelief. Something had taken them all out in a matter of seconds.

Just as I realized what had happened, a figure partially stepped out of the shadows. His face remained hidden in the darkness, but I could tell it was a cat that had just saved our lives.

The cat spoke. “New plan. I’m going to give you until the count of three. If you’re not out of my sight by then, I hope whoever cleans this city will have fun scraping you off of this sidewalk. One.”

Burin’s old pack leader didn’t need to be told twice. He was gone almost before the cat finished saying “one”.

The cat turned toward us, his face still hidden in the shadow of the building.

I simply said. “Thank you. I don’t know why you did this for us, but I owe you one. If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what they would have done.”

“Don’t forget about this.” The cat said back. “I may decide to use that favor you owe me one day.” Then he turned and left.

One of the dogs groaned. I wasn’t sure which one it was.

Burin turned and looked at me. “We should go now. We have to get out of here before anything else happens.”

So we left the city and traveled all over. I was finally out of that darn place of misery and suffering, and Cinder was one step closer to having the life that I never did.

END

Oooo, VERY interesting. So the cat is the Original Master it seems. I wonder how this develops.

Cinder is very cute! I hope he grows up well.... even if he ends too soon.

Thats a heck of a cat.

Sounds like that pack is gona be a stone in the shoe.

I want to see whats Burin up to.

A new charActor has appeared has appeared! Things are looking up!!!

He's going to become even more awesome in my next update to Burning Desire.


And although I'm not one for spoilers, I will tell you all that I'm through with that pack. As of right now, I have no future plans for bringing them into either story.
I actually only planned to bring them in once, that's why I never gave names or really even described them. I only used them a second time because it seemed like the best way to introduce my mysterious cat character. (That I'm surprised no one has guessed who he is yet. I've actually put a pretty detailed description of him somewhere on these forums before )

You sure is HIM?

I was trying to make some memory but no... no clue... im sure i have read all of your fic and even like that nope



Well that takes a few elements out of the equation.

Oh, it wasn't in my fic. It was somewhere else that I described him.

MMMmmmm...

*searching*

Alright, a quick note that I would just like to give everyone.

In my story, I think I have had Cinder developing a little too slowly. Like, physical development. I didn't really know how fast he should grow up because there really was no comparison that I could look at since cats and dogs in the Housepets universe live to be older. So I assumed that the development would take a little longer than it does in real life.

And while I still think my assumption is correct, according to this comic:

At one year old, they were more mature than I thought they would have been. So I am going to have to speed up Cinder's growing up. This is good for me in a way because it now makes it a whole lot easier to keep this story accurate with details I have given in Burning Desire, but at the same time may seem to make his development seem rushed.

I just wanted to let you all know what was going on, and that I will be updating here next now that I got the Bino/Stealer chapter done.
(Once I figure it out. I've started writing, but I have absolutely no idea where I'm going to take it. Plus I have another fic that I really want to work on too, so that may cut into this one as well)

I feel like this story is a side story to the main one.
I dont think that if it takes some time to get cleared its going to be a problem.

Do as you have and most importantly as you want

I got something.
It's only a short something, but still something.

Enjoy


I walked down an old dirt road, Cinder in my arms, Burin to my left.

It had been about three weeks since we left the city with the help of that strange grey cat. We were just wandering wherever the roads took us, looking for a new place to call home. Somewhere safer than the city was. We hadn’t had much luck so far, but that was to be expected.

Burin turned his head at me. “Jiff?”

“Yea?”

“I’ve been wondering, why did you decide to take care of Cinder? In the city, it’s usually everyone for themselves. Most dogs wouldn’t have given a pup that young a second glance, much less try to take care of it.”

I thought for a second before my reply. I wanted to make sure I gave the most honest answer I could. Why I would lie, I don’t know. Maybe I just didn’t want to lie to myself for some reason.

“I’ve been thinking about that myself ever since I found him. While I haven’t fully figured it out yet, I think- scratch that. I KNOW part of the answer is I saw so much of my youth in him. For as long as I can remember, I lived in that city. I never had a mom or a dad; I don’t even know when my birthday is or my actual age. I didn’t want to see that happen to such an innocent youth, one that I had the power to do good for, to help.”

I was silent after that.

“And that’s only part of the answer.” Burin said.

I nodded my head. “I don’t know why, but I feel like there is more to it than that. I don’t know what it is, and no matter how hard I think, I can’t find it.”

Burin turned his eyes back toward the road. “Well, let me know when you do. I’d like to know why.”

I found his comment a little strange, but I decided not to say anything about it. I noticed over the past few weeks that Burin seemed… off. Not dangerous, not in the least. Just off.

I couldn’t help but wonder what goes through his head most of the time.

We continued down the dirt road. As we climbed over a hill in the road, a town came into view.

A town meant a source of food for us. In the city, there was always garbage if you knew where to look, so finding something to eat wasn’t that hard. But that was a different story in the country. Every town we had been to so far have wasn’t too receptive of a few stray dogs begging for food, and finding food on the side of a road didn’t happen too often.

What usually happened was we ran into the town and gathered as much stuff as we could get before animal control got us. With all of the alleys and dark hidden places, it was easy to hide from a dog catcher in the city. But a town was just too open to do so. Especially with Cinder needing constant attention, so we just got in and out as fast as we could.

“Another town.” Burin commented as he saw it. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be. Let’s go.

-----

“Wow, this dumpster has a lot of good stuff in it.” Burin said as he dug through the first dumpster we had come to.

“Well, it should considering it’s right next to a restaurant.” I said back to him as I held Cinder to keep him from wandering around. And to keep him quiet too.

Cinder was now walking and talking. Well, more like falling down most of the time and creating sounds that may or may not be based on actual words in the English language. But walking and talking is close enough.

“Urn.” Cinder cried as he reached up toward Burin. ‘Urn’ was one of the few sounds he made that we knew had meaning whenever he said it. Urn was his attempt at saying ‘Burin,’ and indicated that he wanted Burin to hold him now.

“Burin, Cinder wants you to hold him now.”

He pulled his head out of the dumpster. “Really?”

“Urn.” Cinder confirmed.

“Alright buddy, I’m coming.” Burin said as he climbed out of the dumpster.

I handed Cinder to him then climbed into the dumpster myself to continue the search for food.

“Iff.” I heard Cinder say. His attempt at my name.

“Just stay there.” Burin told me. “I don’t think he knows who he wants to hold him.”

I rolled my eyes as I was about to start digging, but saw something that almost made me panic.

“Burin, we need to go NOW.” I said as I jumped out of the dumpster.

“What?” he asked, too busy trying to hold a squirming Cinder.

“Dog catchers.”

We both started running as he handed Cinder to me. I seemed to be the one Cinder viewed as the dominate parental figure, probably because I was at least fifteen years older than Burin, if not more, and was always the one to feed him. This fact meant I was the one who could handle Cinder better in an emergency situation, like this one.

“This is ridiculous!” Burin said between his panting. “We just got here!”

“Someone probably saw us at the dumpster and called them.” I said as we rounded a corner.

A van pulled in front of us, cutting us off.

“This way!” I called as we darted between two buildings. The dog catchers were following us almost instantly. I didn’t know what had happened in this town to make the dog catchers have to be so organized and precise, and I’m not sure I wanted to know.

“Jiff, go left up here and take Cinder to a safe place. We don’t know where he’ll go if those idiots get a hold of him.”

I understood instantly what Burin was going to do. “How do you know they’re going to chase you instead of me when you go right?”

“Don’t worry about it, just go!” He yelled as he stopped and faced the dog catchers.

I don’t know what he did, but after I went around the corner, I heard someone yell, “Get back! He’s dangerous!”

It seemed that I was off the hook for now. I could only hope Burin would be alright. If he got caught, there’s no telling what might happen to him now that they think he’s dangerous.

“Good luck Burin.” I mumbled to myself.

“Urn.” Cinder seemed to agree.

END


Just to address this quick:

It is. The whole purpose of this is to explain some of Jiff's background and why he acts like he does. It's to also show just how close of a connection he had to Cinder.
And possibly a few other things that haven't come up yet in Burning Desire. (And, if you're really, really good, you may just put two and two together and figure a few things out. Like, say, possible connections between seemingly unrelated characters...)

Yeah, yeah, always hinting, never telling.

Seems Burin might be in some trouble soon. Perhaps a guardian angel will come once again. Or not, who knows but you?

It may be a side story, but it is a good one.

I'm starting to get a little worried. Copper was the only one who responded to my most recent update here.

I mean, I'm not trying to force you all to feel like you have to comment on everything, but this just worries me.


Did I do something wrong? Is the update too short? I know I haven't given this story the attention that the main one has, and I feel kind of bad about that, but if you all aren't happy with it I want to know.

I have plans to do some big things in this story once I reach a certain point, and have the end of this and the end of Chapter two of Burning Desire to go side-by-side with some big stuff that won't make sense unless you read both. But that means I can't slack off when it comes to writing this. Just let me know if you aren't liking it for any reason.

!!! You updated it! I must have marked the forums read before I got to the fanfic section. I'm sorry

I'm sorry, but I cannot comment on fan fictions. That's all I can say.

I was out of "Internetz" ... also time

I liked the lenght of the last update, I keep feeling them as diary entries



...Somethimes im slow to do "maths"...eventually I get it though

anyways. dont push yourself man.
the more you enjoy the writting the more enjoyable the reading will be.

Uh, an update.

Enjoy


Three months.

It had been three months since I last saw Burin.

I didn’t even know if he had managed to get away from the dog catchers.

I had stayed around the town for as long as I could, hoping that he had escaped and we could meet up again. But I had to eventually leave. The dog catchers around there were just too good to evade forever.

“Weeee!!” I heard Cinder yell in joy as he went down a slide. He was growing up fast.

We had come across a playground in the town we were currently in, and I couldn’t say no to him when he asked to play on it. Dog knows the kid had a hard enough life traveling around every day, so I like to let him do as much as we could whenever we were actually in a town.

It’s not like letting him do so was going to hurt anything anyway. After the incident with Burin I had found us a few collars to wear in town. We could walk around in the open and people would leave us alone. Even if the town had a leash law we were usually left alone as long as we didn’t cause trouble.

“Push me on the swings Dad!” Cinder pulled me toward the swings.

“Alright, alright. I’ll push you.” I chuckled to myself. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had that much energy as a puppy.

He got on and I started to push him enough to get him going.

“Higher Dad! Higher!”

He had started to call me “Dad” too. For whatever reason, he didn’t seem to remember Burin.

Right now, I consider that a good thing.

I can’t really say how I felt about him calling me dad. I tried to stop it at first, but with Burin gone, there was no one to call me by the name “Jiff” on a regular basis. And with no one calling me by my name, he seemed to find “Dad” easier to say and refused to say anything else.

He’s old enough now that I could probably get him to stop, but I don’t think I will. I’d hate trying to explain to him why I wanted him to stop. Besides, is it really so bad to let the kid have a father figure?

Another thing I could be thankful for was that he seemed healthy. He sure ate a lot, that’s for sure. Thankfully, all of the towns I’ve been to so far have supplied us with a lot of good pickings from restaurant dumpsters. To be honest, while in town, we probably ate just as much as any pet. And it was all good food too.

The problem was carrying enough for Cinder to eat between towns.

While our life may have seemed pretty good at this point, the truth is I was getting tired of it. For almost 4 months we have been traveling around with no break. We go from town to town in search of food and shelter when it rains.

It’s actually crossed my mind more than once to just go to a shelter, but I never do. Whenever I think about it, I move on to the next town. I have no idea how good the shelter might be. I could handle whatever they throw at me, that’s not the problem. Cinder is. I have no idea if they’ll treat him well, or if they’ll feed him enough, if they’ll even have enough to feed him in the first place. The staff can be as nice as they can, but that won’t keep Cinder full if they don’t have food.

I know we can’t just keep moving forever though. I keep hoping that we eventually find a town that welcomes us as strays, but I really need to think about what I’m going to do if I don’t. And let’s face it, I probably won’t find a town that’s going to welcome us with open arms.

I looked up at the sun and noticed it was starting to get low. If we wanted to be far away enough from the town to make sure no one would bother us when we slept, we had to go now.

I stopped pushing the swing and let it come to a stop. “Alright Cinder, time to go.”

“OK.” He said as he jumped off.

Another thing to be thankful for was that Cinder was well behaved. He always did everything I asked him to do. A puppy this well behaved has to be one in a million.

As we walked off of the playground, Cinder asked me a question that I hadn’t been expecting.

“Dad, why don’t we just stay in one place?”

“What?” I asked him, too surprised to give any other answer at that moment. I guess I should have seen that question coming at some time, but I just hadn’t expected it to be then of all times.

“Why do we keep moving around? Does everyone do that?”

I tried to think my answer through carefully. He had never complained about our life before, but he also doesn’t know any other life. I didn’t want to say anything that might lead him to question it, not while he was still so young anyway.

“No. Most people don’t keep moving around like we do.” Not the best answer to give if I wanted him not to question our life, but I wasn’t going to lie to him.

“Why don’t they?” He had that look on his face, the look that said he wanted to really know why. He wanted to know everything that he could. How rain gets in the sky, how water comes out of a water fountain, anything he didn’t understand.

“Well, most dogs live with a human that takes care of them. They feed them and make sure they go to bed every night and-”

“Like what you do for me!” Cinder interrupted.

“Yea, just like that. Except that we don’t have someone to do that for both of us. So we keep moving around so we can eat and maybe even one day find someone to live with.”

I could see Cinder’s eyes light up with excitement. “Wow! I hope we find someone to live with! I think that would be exciting!”

Oops. I had been hoping to prevent that. If he remembered this conversation, it could be hard to answer why we don’t have a home in the future.

Or worse, he could do something like ask strangers of they want to adopt us. That might lead to some big trouble if they make a big deal of it.

But just as quick as my fears came, they went. Cinder seemed to have lost interest in our conversation and had run ahead to sniff something on the side of the road.

Even if he did bring this conversation back in the future, it wouldn’t be for a while. I had time to think of something.

-----

“Dad, it’s getting cold.”

“I know Cinder. I’m sorry that I can’t do anything about it.”

We were outside of the town, getting ready to lie down next to a dirt road.

While the days were mostly still a comfortable temperature, the nights were starting to get a little chilly. Fall was starting to set in, and I had no idea how I was supposed to get us through winter. Our fur only worked so well, pretty soon I’d have to acquire some blankets or jackets. And even then it would be hard without a warm place to stay every night.

Cinder had fallen asleep in my lap by this point. Letting play on the playground had wiped him out.

Just as I was about to take him off and lie down myself, a pair of headlights from a truck going by the dirt road we were sleeping next to stopped me.

The dirt road had seemed inactive the entire time we had been walking along it. We would normally sleep far enough away that cars wouldn’t be able to see us, but I had decided against that tonight.

I was regretting that choice right about now, because right after the truck passed us, it stopped and backed up to us. I was about to pick up Cinder and run, but the driver rolled down his window and yelled. “Wait!”

I sensed no hostility from the voice, but I still didn’t let my guard down. I had in Cinder in my arms and was ready to run is something happened.

“What?” I had no idea what he could want.

“What are a couple of strays like you doing sleeping in the dirt by the side of the road?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” He was staying in his truck. I didn’t know if that was a good thing because he wasn’t trying to sneak closer to us while asking innocent questions, or a bad thing because he could just run us down in it if I ran. “Your truck is the only thing I’ve seen on this road the entire time I’ve been on it. I didn’t think it was used anymore, so that’s why. My question is why are you so interested in us?”

The man, who seemed to be in his mid 20’s from what I could tell, chuckled a little. “It’s not often I see anything on this road. My house is the only thing this road gets used for anymore I think. Actually, I wanted to see if you needed a place to stay for the night. I think that pup you have with you would appreciate sleeping on a bed instead of the ground. And I’m sure you would too.”

I don’t know why, it went against every fiber of my being, but I agreed to go with him. Maybe it was the thought of getting to be in a warm house, or maybe the promise of Cinder getting to actually sleep on a bed. Perhaps it was the fact that I felt absolutely no hostile intent from him whatsoever.

Whatever the reason, I was careful not to wake Cinder as I carried him to the passenger side of the truck.

Once we were in, the man put the truck in gear and went, doing his best to keep the ride smooth for Cinder’s sake.

I noticed right away that the truck was a standard shift. It was really nice, very clean and well kept, but older than most cars you see on the road. I couldn’t help but think that he didn’t have a lot of spare money.

The man tried to start a conversation with me. “So, you’re taking care of that puppy then? W-”

“Cinder.” I interrupted him. “His name is Cinder.”

He nodded while still keeping his eyes on the road. “A good name indeed. You seem rather protective of him despite not being his father.”

“And how do you know I’m not his real dad?”

He looked at me real quick. “You’re a mutt, he’s pure lab. At least if he’s not, he’s darn close to it. Too close for you to have fathered him.”

I nodded, acknowledging his being correct, and he looked back to the road.

I wasn’t sure how far away his house was, so I tried to strike up some conversation next.

“You’re the first person who’s helped us. It’s been about four months that we’ve been traveling around.”

“And you’ve been raising him the entire time?”

“Yes, and it hasn’t been easy.” I started to lightly stroke Cinder’s back. “But he hasn’t had any complaints. His life has been as good as any.”

I felt the truck turn a sharp left and I could see a house come into view. It was an older house, two stories but not too big. It probably had two bedrooms and a guest room.

“This is it.” The man said as he turned the truck off.

I followed him inside, carrying Cinder the entire way.

He showed us up the stairs to what was probably the guest room. There were two beds in it. One was the size of a kid and the other an adult. Well, human kids and adults. I could have fit on the smaller one if I needed to.

“Feel free to use whatever is in this room. I’m sure it’ll be a nice change over sleeping in the dirt.”

“I’m sure it will be.” I told him as I put Cinder in the kid bed. “I can’t imagine the surprise he’s going to have when he wakes up.”

The man closed the door as he walked out. Before the latch clicked, he quickly said. “I’ll be sure not to bother you until morning.” Then the door totally closed.

I sat on the edge of the larger bed. But I didn’t sleep.

I kept my eyes looking back and forth between the door and Cinder. I planned to stay like this all night.

Whoever that guy was, he seemed honest. But I wasn’t about to take that chance. If he so much as touched that door before morning, he was going to regret it.

I was going to make sure of it.

END


Yea, so I've had this written on paper for about a week, but just haven't typed it up. I kind of rushed to finish it so I could start working on the largest single story I've done so far, and this kind of took a back seat to that even though I didn't want it to until it was finished. Oops.

Oh, and Everchanging Hearts and Burning Desire will probably not be updating until after the New Year. Sorry, but like I just said, I am working on something for you all.

...I pray that man doesn't open that door before morning...or Jif's idea of morning

Oh, surprise!
Well gotta wait.
I hope that guy is not too good to be truth 'cause it could turn to be a nightmare.

Finally get a chance to read this! Quite the interesting story indeed. Cannot wait for the next bit.

So Jiff is going to sacrifice sleep yet again. A good father indeed.

It will be like human children waking up on Christmas morning! Cinder will wonder what he is sleeping in for sure.

This fic's just as awesome as your other one. I can't wait for the update for this, either.

also, what's with your obsession with fire? (in)Ferno, Cinder, Bur(i)n

Hey everyone!

I know I haven't touched either of my stories in way too long, but today I finally started to write the next part to Everchanging Hearts.
No promises on when I will have it, I still consider myself on break right now. It feels good to finally have some time to just not worry about it after trying to have regular updates for a year.

One of my friends who reads my fic recently asked me if I gave up on it, and I want to tell you all that I haven't. It's just a break so I don't wear myself out.

And also, I'm holding a contest to add a new character to my fic! Just look for the thread labeled Burning Desire Contest. I'm just letting people know because I want to make sure everyone knows.

Great story so far, it's good to hear that you haven't given up. Unfortunately, I don't really have any characters at the moment that might be suitable for your contest.