Scout: A tail of Babylon Gardens

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

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Chapter 14: Gregory

Scout opened the door to stop the constant knocking. He’d been in his basket, half-asleep, when someone had approached the door and started knocking, knocking continuously until Scout opened it.
Gregory looked down at him with a wide grin. “Well hey, there, Sport!” He invited himself in. He was tall, blonde, and dressed snappily, in crisp slacks and a button-down shirt with the top button undone. One hand held a briefcase, which he had set down to knock, and the other held a duffel bag. He tossed the duffel bag onto the couch, set the briefcase by the door, then knelt to mess up Scout’s headfluff. “How you liking the pet life so far? Much better than that smelly farm, right?” Without waiting to answer, he stood up and took off his shoes, setting them on the shoe rack and grinning as he looked around. Ma had all her various wall decorations up; it looked cute and charming.
Gregory grinned. “So, it’s just you and me until mom and dad get home this afternoon. What do you wanna do? Wanna play fetch? Watch TV?” He bent down and scooped up Scout into his arms with a grin, mussing up his fur.
Scout glowered at him. “Put me down. Y’all know ah don’ like bein’ picked up.”
Gregory snickered. “Aww, it’s so cute that you think I care what you like.”
Scout gave him a death glare, then put all his focus into not biting him. Gregory proceeded to carry Scout around the house for most of an hour, holding him like a baby as he found the spare room and put his luggage in it, helped himself to a snack from the fridge, and answered a phone call, talking loudly into his cell phone about “shares” and “market value” and other stuff Scout didn’t have a clue about. After a few minutes of talking into his phone, he set Scout down and stomped off to the back porch to yell some more.
When he came back in, he pocketed his phone angrily and grinned down at Scout. “Hey, Bucko, let’s go for a little ride. I’ll get you some ice cream, my treat.”
Scout scowled at him. “No thanks, ah’m all set.”
Gregory smirked and scooped him up. “Nah, you’re gonna go ahead and come with.” He took him outside and loaded him into the passenger seat of his sporty, low-riding car before getting in the driver’s seat and backing out of the driveway. As he drove down the road, he grinned sideways at Scout. “So, Cuddles, what’ve you been up to? Make any friends yet?”
Scout snorted, tugging at the seatbelt and straining to see where they were going. “Ah don’t wanna talk t’ you. An’ mah name’s SCOUT.” He glared at him and repeated it very slowly. “Sssscooouuuut.”
Gregory reached over and ruffled his headfluff. “Heh. Still don’t like me, huh? That’s fine, I suppose. At least you don’t have to put up with me all that often, eh?”
Scout snorted again and waved his hand away. “Don’ touch mah FLUFF!” He fixed the coif and scowled at him, leaning away in the seat.
After a few more moments of driving, Gregory stopped the car. “Well, here we are at the ice cream shop.”
Scout looked out the window, then snorted. “Ah can READ, Greg. This is the vet. You don’t gotta LIE t’ me, neither. Coulda jus’ TOLD me we were goin’ to th’ vet.” He started unbuckling himself, grumbling.
Gregory sighed and started to get out of the car. “Let’s teach the dog to read, they said, it’ll be funny, they said.” He walked around to intercept Scout before he could get too far. “All right, so Mom asked me to take me to your appointment so she or Dad didn’t have to take time off. Can you blame me for saying we were going for ice cream? I don’t exactly want your shed hair all over my car either.”
Scout looked up at him and vindictively ran a hand through his fur, gathered all the loose furs that came off, put his arm back inside the car, and dropped them, looking Gregory in the eye.
Gregory grumbled to himself. “Whatever. I gotta get it detailed after this anyway. Let’s go. Be happy it’s no shots today unless you need them. Just a checkup. And I suppose we can still do ice cream after, if you behave yourself.”

Predictably, Gregory seemed to “forget” all about the ice cream as soon as Scout had had his appointment. Scout didn’t even care that Gregory opted not to come back with him; it wasn’t the first time he’d been to a vet by himself, but it WAS his first time at Dr. Little’s practice. They collected his basic information, height and weight, looked at his eyes and ears and tested his reflexes and got his core temperature all while Scout cooperated obediently and accepted a biscuit from the bowl of mixed biscuits and candy the vet tech offered him. He met Dr. Little only briefly, since it was just a checkup and there was no actual medicine or treatment required today.
Gregory took Scout straight home without a word. Scout intentionally shed as much as he could all over Gregory’s car the entire ride, then perked up when Paw’s truck was in the driveway when they got home. He barely waited for the car to stop before he undid his buckle and jumped out, running in to greet Paw. Paw greeted him with an affectionate pat to the back of the head, then looked up at Gregory.
“Dad.”
“Greg.”
The two stared at each other a few moments, then went separate ways, Paw into the kitchen and Gregory into the living room. They didn’t get along very well. Scout understood it was because of something that had happened before he was born; Gregory had never lived on the farm as long as HE could remember, and he couldn’t even picture Gregory getting dirty or wearing anything but nice clothes.
Scout followed Paw and helped him make supper, getting it on the table just as Ma got home. Scout rushed to greet Ma, but had to wait because Gregory got there first, hugging her and putting his hands on her shoulders to look her over. She gleefully kissed his cheek and hugged him back, then started chattering excitedly. She led him right past Scout, ruffling Scout’s head on the way past, into the dining room.
Scout felt his cheeks flush with jealousy. Every time Ma’s kids came over, he fell into the background. Normally, he didn’t care much, but this time, it really bothered him. Ma had been paying more attention to him, now that he lived in the house, and her attention suddenly being elsewhere made him upset, for reasons he couldn’t fathom. He wondered if this was a housepet thing that he’d already picked up.

After supper, Scout sat in his basket. There was no longer room for him to sit with Ma and Paw on the couch, so he watched the evening shows from here. He glared at Gregory. Gregory made a point not to notice.
Eventually, Gregory went upstairs to get the guest room set up, and Scout used the opportunity to climb up on the couch and nuzzle into Ma’s side. Ma stroked him behind the ears. “Oh, Scout, I’m sorry.. Have you been feeling a little left out? How was your vet visit?”
Scout cuddled into Ma a little bit harder. He talked to her quietly about his day, and about the vet. She stroked him and listened patiently. He left out the parts about Gregory picking him up, promising ice cream and not delivering, and lying to him. He didn’t want her to think he was just being a tattletale.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Gregory, I feel, is going to have karma bite his bottom at some point...

[Chieris]

Or if karma doesn't get to him, Scout still has his slingshot

[Amazee Dayzee]

Or! And try to have a very open mind with this. His bigger, stronger, single cowboy brother comes and puts him in his place!

Yeah I know its never gonna happen but it would be fun!

Also I liked the chapter even if I wanted to shove a piano up Gregory's nose.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

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Chapter 15: Academy Bound

The week with Gregory was awful. They squabbled and fought and poked at each other like siblings do, pretending to get along in front of Ma and Paw but secretly kicking each other under the proverbial table.
Gregory and Paw were tense with each other as always, barely saying a word to each other. On the fifth and final day, while Gregory was packing and Paw was washing up, Scout climbed up to sit next to Ma. “Why don’t Paw and Gregory get along?”
Ma pulled Scout in to cuddle, stroking his back a little. “Oh… they just don’t have compatible personalities or goals. Your Paw thinks the only honest work is hard work, done with your hands, like the farm, or his new job down at the factory. But Gregory’s a lawyer. He works with people. It doesn’t help that he’s a defense lawyer, whose job it is to defend those accused of crimes. And yes, some of them are guilty, but he can’t help that. Your Paw just doesn’t understand.”
Scout nodded, thinking about it. That did seem like Paw.
Morning came, and Gregory woke Scout up by shuffling past him with his duffel bag. Scout followed him out, grabbing his briefcase and carrying it out for him. Gregory nodded thankfully and loaded it into his trunk, then, surprisingly, knelt and put a hand on Scout’s shoulder, looking him in the eye. “We have our fights, don’t we? But we have one thing in common- we love that little old lady and that crotchety old man. Take care of ‘em for me, would you, Scout?” He gave Scout’s shoulder a little squeeze, climbed in his car, and was gone.
Scout watched him go. Once he was out of sight, Scout nodded. “Sure thing, brother.”

Ma took off her reading glasses and looked to Scout, setting down the pamphlet she’d picked up. “It looks like just about any dog can sign up to try the police academy. They have a fresh class starting in two weeks. Are you SURE?”
Scout nodded eagerly. “Ah can’t jus’ sit around th’ house all day, ah need somethin’ t’ do.”
“All right, we’ll go ahead and sign you up.” She tore off the form from the flier and picked up a pen. “But you have to promise to do your best. There’s a fee to enter the police dog academy, and it’s a little expensive."
Scout nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I promise.”

The two weeks dragged by slowly. Scout hung out with Coco and the Sunshine Gang, did any chores he could find, and waited. The day before he was supposed to leave, he was packing his things. His acceptance letter stated that he would have a small locker to keep personal belongings in, and to only bring what he needed. He got a framed picture of Ma and Paw, and stuffed it into his little bag. He added his slingshot bag; he wasn’t sure if he’d be allowed to use it at the academy, but he wanted to bring it anyway. At the very least, he felt better having it on hand.
He also went through his little box of belongings from the old house and pulled out a steel ring with three heavy iron balls attached to it via some decently long ropes. A bolas, one of the tools of being a shepherd. It was used to stop the sheep running in the event of a stampede, or to take out a running predator. He’d nearly forgotten about it; he was practiced in its use, of course, but he had never actually needed it. He stuffed that in his bag, too. Who knows, maybe he’d get a chance to use it.
He considered bringing his sheep-wool blanket, too, but decided against it. They might make him wash it at the academy, and all the scents would be lost. The doorbell rang; Ma called him.
Coco stood at the door. Scout brought her in and sat with her in the living room.
“How long are you going to be gone?” She looked at him with sad eyes.
Scout scratched his chin. “Th’ letter said it’s three months, but ah get t’ come home every other weekend. Ah’ll try t’ visit when ah’m home, okay? We can get ice cream an’ play ball together.” He nudged her gently.
She hugged him and lay her head on his shoulder. “I’m still gonna miss you. It’s more fun around here with you around.”
Scout blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected so much affection. He put his arm around her and rubbed her opposite arm. “Ah won’t be gone forever. After th’ academy, ah’ll still be livin’ here, across th’ street from you. We can still be friends.”
She was quiet for a few moments. “Yeah, still friends…”
He sensed he had said something that upset her slightly, but wasn’t sure exactly what. Before he could ask her, though, Paw came in. “Scout, it’s bedtime. Ye gotta get up early tomorrow so I can take you to th’ academy before work.”
Coco climbed off the couch. “I should be heading home, anyway. Mom doesn’t like it if I’m out past dark.” She gave Scout one last hug, then saw herself out. Scout walked her to the door and watched her cross the street, slightly confused. He didn’t understand why she was acting like he was never coming back.
“Women are confusin’...” He muttered as he closed the door, checked that his bag was ready, and went to bed.

The academy was a big, imposing brick building. Paw walked behind Scout as he approached, clutching his bag of belongings nervously. Paw walked up to the counter and spoke with the receptionist. It was early, not as early as Paw was usually at work, but still early. Scout looked around nervously. There was a squad of trainees already out in the yard doing warmups, and he could hear more down the hall. His stomach flipped, and butterflies fluttered around inside.
The receptionist came around the counter and squatted to get at Scout’s eye level. “Scout? I’m Miss Macey, I’m gonna show you to the barracks where you’ll be staying, okay? Say bye to your dad.”
Scout turned and looked up at Paw. “Bye, Paw… See you in a couple weeks?”
Paw reached down and placed a hand on Scout’s head. “Be good, kiddo. Show those other dogs who’s boss.”
And then he was gone, and Scout looked up at Macey. She smiled kindly and led him down the hall to a room filled with beds. They weren’t human-sized beds; half as long and half as tall, with a little metal box at the foot of each, they were clearly sized for dogs. Macey took a clipboard off the wall and looked at it. “Let’s see… Scout Edwards…” she hung it back up and walked to the fifth bed on the left. “This is your bunk, sweetie.” She knelt next to him. “I must say, you’re being very brave. A lot of pets get upset when their owners leave them here. I need you to stay in THIS room, or the one across the hall. There’s a bathroom two doors down, if you need it. There’s no class today, it’s check-in day, but we need you not to get lost.”
Scout nodded up at her, repeating her command. “Yes’m. Stay here, in th’ room across th’ hall, or in th’ bathroom two doors down.”
She smiled and nodded. “Good boy. I have to go back to the desk now.” She left, leaving Scout all alone in the barracks. He sat on his bed and looked around at what was going to be his home for the next three months.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Looks like I was wrong and Gregory isn't as bad as I thought he was. Guess almost everybody can be redeemed then.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

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Chapter 16: Class

It was two hours before the first other student arrived. Scout sat on his bunk and looked him over curiously. He was a rottweiler, beefy and loud, with a black collar. He looked at Scout and snorted. “Didn’t know they accepted pipsqueaks to the academy. What’chu doin’ here, SHRIMP?” He walked over to Scout and shoved him. “You think you can be a police dog? I’ve seen PUPPIES bigger than you.”
Scout was knocked on the ground by the shove, and looked up at this bully calmly. He wasn’t going to get caught fighting on his first day. Let the other guy get in trouble. He smirked back down at him. “Yeah, you better STAY down. Pipsqueak.”
“Now now, no fighting. Save it for combat practice.” A German shepherd walked in, checked the clipboard, and set her stuff down on the bunk next to Scout’s, on the right. She looked down, then put a hand down and pulled Scout up off the floor, patting him firmly on the back. “Don’t let him push you around like that.”
Scout looked her over. She was taller than him by at least a full head and wore a gray collar. Like the other guy, her tag was unremarkable, just a generic pet store engraver tag. “Thanks…”
She dusted him off and put her thumb over her shoulder. “That brute is named Bruiser. We grew up together. He’s always been a bully. You can call me Pandora.”
“Scout.” He waited to see if they were going to sniff, and when Pandora didn’t offer, neither did he.
“Nice to meet you, Scout. You seem a little old to be joining the academy. Not by, like, a lot, but a year or two older than general.”
Scout nodded. “Ah only just moved t’ the area, an’ ah wasn’t doin’ well without a job t’ do, so ah thought ah’d give bein’ a police dog a try.”
Pandora nodded thoughtfully. “You know, we’re gonna have sixteen in the class by the end of the day, but by the first home visit, it’ll already be down to seven or eight. Most don’t make it through training.” She looked him over. “And you ARE a little on the small side. Not the SMALLEST police dog I’ve ever seen, but still pretty small. I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t see you at graduation.” She didn’t seem to mean it in a mean-spirited way, but more as a matter-of-fact way. She put out her hand to shake. “I hope you prove me wrong. You seem really nice.”
Scout smiled and shook her hand. “Ah used t’ fight wolves an’ cougars fer a livin’. How hard could police work be?”
Pandora gave him a little nod and set about unpacking her bag, leaving Scout to lay back on his bunk again and try to ignore Bruiser’s glares from his bunk across the room and down a ways.
Over the next hour, other students of various breeds and ages filed in. Most of them were young, adolescents just barely breaking adulthood. One or two were Scout’s age, young adults of sixteen or eighteen years old, and one was far older, at least twenty-two, well into adulthood but not quite middle-aged.
The bunk on Scout’s left was the last one to fill up. When that student arrived, he was a Pit Bull, mostly white with some brown patches over one ear and on his side and tail. He looked skittish, taking his bunk with watery eyes. Scout watched him curiously as he sat on the bunk and pulled his knees up, hugging his bag and sniffling. He was about Scout’s age, not quite as muscular as one would generally expect a pit bull to be. His collar was bright blue and had a baseball tag. He looked at Scout and hesitantly put his hand out. “I’m.. uh.. Ruth. As in, uh… Babe Ruth. My dad loves baseball.” He sniffled a little. “I wanna go home, I don’t wanna be a cop…”
Scout put his hand out to shake Ruth’s. “Ah’m Scout.” He watched him sniffle a bit longer. “Why are ye here if’n ye don’ wanna be?”
Ruth shook his head. “Dad signed me up. It’s my third time here. He told me that if I flunk out again I’m gonna be in trouble, but I just wanna go HOME. The drill instructors are SCARY. The exercises are SCARY. EVERYTHING is scary!” He whined and clutched his bag tighter.
“Buck it up, soldier!” Pandora barked from the other side of Scout, stomping around Scout’s bunk to jerk Ruth’s bag from him. Ruth flinched and let her have it. She snatched it and started unpacking it into his footlocker for him. He had a lot of stuff, including a teddy bear. She stuffed that into his footlocker too, somehow making everything fit. Once she had it packed, she grabbed Ruth by the wrists and looked him in the eye. “You’re a police cadet now, like it or not! Buck up, stop crying, and act like it!” She gestured at Scout. “Look at your bunkmate. He has almost NO chance of making it through the class.”
“Hey! Ah take offense to-”
“BUT do you see HIM cryin’ and carryin’ on? NO! He’s ready to try his hardest anyway!” She gave Ruth a light slap on either side of his muzzle and stood him up. “Now look sharp!”
Scout was surprised when Ruth seemed to calm down, rather than get more upset at Pandora’s words and actions. Pandora grinned at him. “Pit bulls are ruddy cowards, but if you yell at them they usually stop blubbing, at least. Come on, let’s go across the hall to the recreation room.” She grabbed Scout and Ruth by the wrists and led them across to the other room. Scout blinked. This room had a television, some games, a few tables, and a few other basic odds and ends to keep themselves entertained. “Probably won’t get many chances to use this room, so you should do it while you have the chance. We’ll be getting up way too early to have time in the morning, and we’ll be too tired at night.”
Scout picked up a game box and shook it. It was definitely missing some pieces. “How do ye know so much about this place? Ye been here before, too?”
Pandora smirked. “Oh, no, I’m a fifth generation police dog. My dad- that’s my real dad, not my owner- was a police dog, and his mom, and HER dad, and HIS dad. I’ve heard so many stories about this place it feels like I’ve been here before. We all live together. Or the ones that are still alive do. Our owner is also a generational police officer, so I guess it’s all in the family.” She found a deck of cards. “Anybody know any card games? Go fish, poker, anything?”
Ruth sniffled. “I know how to play war…”
“I thought I told you to stop crying.” Pandora gave him a glare, then started shuffling the deck. Scout joined her at the table, watching. He didn’t have much experience playing cards, but he did understand the rules of a few games. She shuffled up the deck and split it between the three of them.
Ruth straightened up his stack into a single neat pile, rubbing the last of the tears out of his eyes, and Scout copied him. Pandora looked at Scout. “You know how to play war?”
Scout shook his head. “Ah can’t say ah do. Run me through the rules right quick?”
Pandora nodded. “Twos through tens are worth face value. Jacks are eleven, queens are twelve, kings are thirteen, and aces are fourteen. Jokers aren’t in the game. We each flip over one card, and the highest card takes them all. If there’s a tie for the highest card, we lay down three cards face-down, then flip another card. Highest card takes the whole lot. If it’s a tie again, we-”
“Ah know this game. We called it Haystacks back on the farm.” Scout interrupted. “Ah got it now. Winner collects th’ whole deck, right?”
“You got it.” She grinned, looking around at the three of them. “And… begin.” She flipped her first card.
They played cards together the rest of the day. Around noon, a human came around pushing a cart with lunch for them, juice boxes and sandwiches for every student, then again at six, the same human came back with sodas and hamburgers. At eight o’clock, Pandora suggested they go to bed. “They’re gonna have us up really early tomorrow. We’re gonna want the extra sleep.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

This is going to be really fun to watch Scout end up going through training and seeing how he does! I do hope we might get to see some more characters from the comic who are in the K-9s make an appearance to show them the exercises!

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

There will be cameos, but there's also a character near and dear to my heart. Their main instructor was based on my own recently-deceased doggo.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Is he gonna be muscular and handsome with a very nice body to put Kevin and Mungo to shame? o3o I always like characters who are hunky and have heroic builds.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

My doggo was a girl, so no. Sorry.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

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Chapter 17: Day One

The entire room was startled awake by a voice shouting. “Up and at ‘em, wake up and line up for inspection, TEN-HUT!”
Scout snapped awake and looked left and right. Pandora was jumping out of bed and darting to stand in front of her bunk at attention. Scout drowsily followed suit, making sure to nudge Ruth awake as he did so. He stood at the foot of his bunk and rubbed his eyes. Most of the other recruits were also drowsy.
The voice that was still shouting was coming from a coonhound standing in the middle of the room. She was white with brown spots, and was wearing a locking police collar and vest. Once everybody was standing at the foot of their bed, She stopped shouting and looked up and down the line for a few moment. Then, she started speaking. Loudly, but no longer a shout. “I am drill sergeant Shiver. You will call me ma’am, when I allow you to speak, and it will be the first and last words out of your miserable biscuit holes! Do I make myself clear?”
There was a general sleepy mumble, and she spoke up again. “I SAID DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!”
“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” Scout spoke up with the rest of the group.
Drill Sergeant Shiver started pacing up and down the line, inspecting each recruit in turn. She got so close to Scout that he could smell her breath. Once she had done so to each of the sixteen dogs lined up along the room, she resumed her post at one end. “We will go down the line, and you will shout your name.” She pointed at the recruit to her left. “BEGIN!” One by one, each dog shouted his or her name, and then Shiver lined them all up by marching them straight forward until they met the person across from them, then a left turn and march forward until they met the person on their left, having the frontmost row stay put.
Once they were lined up, she took them for a jog around a track for over an hour. The sun wasn’t even up yet; the track was lit only by lights along the outside. Just as pink was starting to show over the horizon, she called for a stop. Fifteen dogs stopped and panted, putting hands on knees and trying to catch breath. Pandora alone seemed to be fine, probably because she was brought up with this type of physical exertion. After only a minute, Shiver once again called for a jog and took them up to the mess hall. They were all treated to a plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast and finally allowed to rest.
After exactly half an hour, Shiver reappeared and called for them to form ranks again, then marched them down to an equipment room, where they all lined up and got fitted for a vest and a collar. Unlike the drill sergeant’s vest, these vests were plain and said “Recruit” on the back. There were a few velcro strips here and there for patches they didn’t have yet; they were each issued two patches to begin. One that said “Initiate” to go on the left shoulder, and one with their name to go directly under it. Each cadet returned to the barracks after receiving their equipment.
When Drill Sergeant Shiver returned, She called loudly for attention. “Everybody, place your regular collars in your footlockers. You won’t be wearing them during training or, if you should pass, on duty. Also lose any additional accessories- bandanas, necklaces, barrettes- if it’s not your uniform, it goes in your footlocker.”
Scout put his ears back and reached up to undo his bandana, folding it neatly and placing it with his collar in his footlocker. Once everybody had put their stuff away, Shiver continued. “You will be wearing your uniform and uniform collar at all times from morning inspection to bedtime. At wakeup call, it is your responsibility to get it on and line up as quickly as possible. Now, form rank. We’re going to the M.E.’s office for your preliminary health evaluations, and then you’ll be done for the day. Tomorrow, the real work begins, if you’re still here.”
She led the group through the maze of hallways until she arrived at a door marked “Medical Examiner.” She knocked and poked her head in, exchanging words with somebody inside for a moment, then closed the door and turned to the group. “Left line, merge into the right line. Right line, make space between you and the person in front of you for the person next to the person in front of you. We call this a zipper merge, you will do this any time I tell you to form a single file line. You will enter this room one at a time. When the person in front of you leaves, you will enter. When you leave, you will return to your barracks. Understood?”
“Ma’am, yes, ma’am!” Was the chorus of answers.
“Good. Begin.” She poked the cadet in front and pointed to the door.
The medical exam wasn’t like any Scout had taken before. It had the usual checking weight and height, but they also made him run on a treadmill and then checked his pulse after, tested how far forward he could reach from a sitting position, measured around his belly, had him read from a chart from across the room, and a half dozen other tests that he had never experienced before. He understood why most of the day was set aside for this; it was going to take most of the day to get through the whole line.
When Scout returned to the barracks, he found Ruth sobbing face-first on his bunk. He sighed and rolled his eyes. “What’s th’ matter, Ruth? They ain’t even tell us th’ results yet.”
Ruth lifted his head. “I’ve failed, I know I’ve failed, and Dad’s not gonna love me anymore.” He sobbed and whimpered, burying his face. Scout huffed and rolled him over. “Ye’re in good shape, ye’re gonna be FINE. Now stop yer blubbering an’ hollerin’. Ye’re makin’ a scene.” He turned to return to his bunk and nearly walked right into Bruiser, who had walked up behind him.
Bruiser had been almost directly in front of him in line, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him here. He raised a hand and shoved Scout. Scout stumbled backward a step, but managed to stay on his paws. Bruiser gave him a nasty smirk. “Get ready to be sent home, PIPSQUEAK. There’s no way YOU’LL be allowed to join at YOUR size. Any criminal you tackled would just shake you right off.” He shoved him again, forcing Scout back another step.
Scout clenched a fist. “Why don’t ye leave me alone, then? If’n ye’re so sure ah’ll be gone by tomorrow, then let me be.”
The rottweiler leaned down right into his face with a snarl. “Why even wait? Why not just quit of your own accord? Or do I have to convince you with my fist?” He grabbed Scout by the vest and pulled him in threateningly. “No Pandora here to save you this time, she’s still waiting in line and won’t be back for at least twenty minutes.”
Scout let himself be picked up by the vest. Not that he really had a choice. The other dog was bigger and stronger than he was, and he didn’t particularly want to get in trouble for fighting, so he just didn’t. A few seconds later, he realized the room had gone silent. His gaze moved from Bruiser’s face up to Drill Sergeant Shiver’s, standing not too far away with her hands on her hips, watching. She stood there for a few more moments while Bruiser drew his hand back. Just as he was about to let it fly, she spoke up. “Cadet Bruiser!”
Bruiser gave a startled squeak and dropped Scout, turning around. “MA’AM YES MA’AM!” He saluted awkwardly.
“This is not how we settle disputes with our fellow cadets. Give me twenty pushups.” Bruiser immediately dropped to the ground and started doing pushups, and Shiver looked at Scout. “BOTH of you.”
Scout thought it was unfair, since he hadn’t done anything, but he dropped down and started doing pushups anyway without a word. Once he had pumped twenty, he got back up and stood at attention. She nodded, then turned and pointed at a stack of thick foam mats in the corner. “Cadet Asher, pull those out and lay them in the middle of the room for me.” An English Setter called out the affirmative and rushed to pull them out, revealing a ten-foot wrestling circle. As he did so, Shiver shouted out to everybody who was present. “If you should have a dispute with a fellow cadet, you will come to ME first. We will pull out this mat, and you will work out your dispute together under supervision. Cadet Bruiser, Cadet Scout. On the mat.”
Scout hesitantly stepped forward onto the mat, and was directed to one spot, while Bruiser was directed directly across from him. Shiver called out the rules. “There will be no punching, slapping, flicking, biting, or injuring of any kind. Wrestling only. On my mark… GO.”
Scout moved to jump aside, but found himself scooped back up by his vest again as Bruiser smirked in his face. There was cheering and jeering from the other cadets; this was like watching sport. He raised his arm to smash Scout into the ground, whispering to him. “Gonna put you in hospital long enough that they send you home, PIPSQUEAK.”
Scout snarled at him. He suddenly swung around and hooked his legs on Bruiser’s shoulders, jerking himself out of Bruiser’s grip and finding himself mounted on Bruiser’s face. He swung himself around to the back of Bruiser’s head, hooked his legs over Bruiser’s shoulders, and then locked them behind the back to restrict the movement of Bruiser’s arms. Bruiser yelped a bit and snatched at him, trying to get his grip back, but couldn’t reach him because his arms couldn’t go that high. Scout slowly leaned himself forward, then suddenly threw himself back, putting all his weight into throwing Bruiser to the ground, ejecting himself by untangling his legs and pushing off of Bruiser’s chest right before Bruiser hit, and putting his elbow down to land right on Bruiser’s belly with all his weight.
Bruiser gasped, wheezing, and clutched his stomach, rolling to his side as Scout stood back up and stepped back. Bruiser’s breakfast came back up and spilled all over the mat. His eyes were watering.
Shiver put her hand up and shouted for a stop. “The winner is Cadet Scout. Someone get a mop. Someone else escort Cadet Bruiser back to the infirmary. That HAD to hurt.” She grabbed Scout by the elbow and led him out into the hall. She lowered her voice and looked him over. “If you could do that the whole time, why did you let him pick on you?”
Scout hesitated. “... Ah didn’t wanna get in trouble fer fightin’.”
She put her hand on his shoulder. “Son, this is the police academy. If you’re getting picked on and you just let it happen, you’re going to get walked all over. I’m not saying you wouldn’t have gotten in trouble for fighting, but fighting back and getting a reprimand is better than everybody thinking you’re an easy target. Especially since you’re so small.” She looked him over again. “Now return to your free time.”
When Scout reentered the room, he was greeted by Pandora standing by his bunk, looking impressed. “Not sure what I missed… but I walked in just in time to see you absolutely PLASTER Bruiser. Where’d you learn to do that?”
Scout shrugged. “Fightin’ wolves back on th’ farm.” He glanced around. Some of the other cadets were giving him strange looks.
“Nobody was expecting you to win that fight, I promise. Not even the drill sergeant. She just didn’t want you to get punched in the face.” She grinned at him. “You know, you might do better here than I thought.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Yeah Bruiser did deserve all of that and then some so it was so cathartic to read happening.

Also I never knew that your now deceased dog was basically R. Lee Emery as a female.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

I may have embellished the personality a bit. She was a sweetheart, but I needed a drill sergeant. I let her real personality poke through here and there though.

[Welsh Halfwit]

First let the bully take care of himself. THEN take care of the bully.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Elbow drop to the gut right after riding him like a pony has GOT to be humiliating and I'm CERTAIN there will be no grudges held after that.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

<Previous First Next>

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Chapter 18: Basic Training

“Company, HALT!”
Scout stopped running and panted desperately. The weather was turning warmer, and these three hour jogs every morning didn’t really help. A week into basic training, and so far it had been almost all working out and exercising, with an hour or two of classes in the late afternoon before more working out. Even Pandora was getting tired out, and she was in great shape. In front of Scout, Ruth whimpered. “Oh, she’s coming back here to yell at us, I just know it.”
“How… do ya still… have energy… t’ WHINE?” Scout panted at him, gasping for breath.
He put his ears back and looked at him over his shoulder, but didn’t answer.
After a few moments, Shiver shouted again. “Company, LEFT FACE! Present yourselves to the sergeant for inspection!”
Scout turned left and blinked. There was a german shepherd standing there that he hadn’t noticed. He was wearing a silver police collar instead of the standard issue blue one, a visor over his face, and a somewhat nicer vest. The twin lines immediately shifted to single file, and they all stood at attention. This sergeant was completely different from Drill Sergeant Shiver. He had a stern, but kind expression as he walked up and down the line, making minor adjustments to some cadets’ uniforms. He didn’t shout, but spoke gently, so his voice couldn’t be heard more than two or three dogs down the line. When he got to Scout, he looked him over, then looked to Shiver. “This is the one? He put that brute in the infirmary for three days?”
She nodded, looking a little proud. “Indeed, sir. He’s a little below average in physical fitness, about average in his classes, but he sure can fight. He has weapons in his footlocker too, that I’d enjoy seeing him demonstrate.”
Scout opened, then closed his mouth. How did the drill sergeant know what was in his footlocker? He guessed it was probably standard to check, make sure they didn’t have anything dangerous or illegal with them.
“Weapons? What, like a knife? That’s against regulation.” The sergeant looked concerned. Drill Sergeant Shiver shook her head.
“No, sir. Not that sort of weapon. Non-lethal, primitive tools, sir. His file says he used to be a sheepdog, and the weapons track along that line. Once he’s finished with basic training, if he can manage to stay in the class, I’d like to recommend him on the specialist course. Never seen anybody move like him before, sir. He took down a much bigger opponent in seconds.”
The Sergeant nodded his head and continued down the line. Scout saw Ruth flinch away from the Sergeant’s adjusting touch out of the corner of his eye, and winced internally. That would definitely not help him stay in class.
Once the Sergeant reached the end of the line, he centered himself on it and spoke up. It wasn’t a yell, just speaking louder so they could all hear. “You may be happy to know that if you are standing here, you have completed the physical endurance test in satisfactory condition. You will still be doing daily exercise with Drill Sergeant Shiver, but it will be much less. Congratulations.”
“I am Sergeant Ralph. I lead the west-end branch of the River Ridge K-9 force. If you make it to the end of your first month, you’ll be doing ride-alongs with me. I am here today to congratulate you on completing the first portion of your basic training. You are all one step closer to becoming police officers. Form ranks and follow me, please.” He led them to a field full of what looked like football equipment: tackle dummies, agility obstacles, and a series of odd little plastic boxes.
The sergeant stopped and addressed the group again. “Starting tomorrow, this is where you will be spending the majority of your day. You will be practicing the three major skills that will be needed of you as a police dog: Tackling, chasing, and sniffing.” He grabbed the plastic boxes and tossed them, one at a time, to a few cadets at random. “These are called Sniff and Seek, or SAS, boxes. The humans load them up with samples of a scent or substance they want you to learn, and do various exercises with them.”
Scout caught one of the SAS boxes and flipped it over in his hands, looking at it curiously. There were three little slits in the plastic that was letting faint traces of an odor out. He hesitantly pressed his nose to it and took a little sniff, then screwed up his face, trying not to sneeze. Whatever was in the SAS box he’d caught, it had a bitter, chemical smell. He passed it to the next cadet to examine, receiving another one from up the line. This one smelled much better; it seemed to be full of flowers, though he couldn’t see inside to be sure.
Sergeant Ralph continued. “We’re going to play a game with them today. I passed out seven boxes- three pairs, and one extra. I want you cadets to get together and bring me the one that’s different.” He dismissed them and turned to talk to Shiver.
Within seconds, Bruiser had snatched the box from Scout’s hands and was holding it above his head. “That was a dirty trick you played on me the other day, during the fight. It took two days before I could keep any food down.” He gave Scout a shove, and Scout simply backed up to get out of his range. Someone handed Scout one of the boxes, and he turned it to sniff it, only to have it jerked out of his hands by Bruiser. “Hey runt, I’m not done talking to you! You still owe me for that stunt. BIG TIME. You made me look like an idiot!”
Scout huffed. “Ah ain’t made ya look like nothing you weren’t. Now if’n you’ll excuse me, ah’m tryin’ t’ do the assignment.” He took another box that was handed to him, sniffed it, and grimaced. It was the chemical scent again. Was this the same box he’d had earlier, or was it the twin? He looked around. The boxes were being passed around randomly. There was no way to keep track of which boxes were which. “Hol’ up, folks, we ain’t gonna solve it this way.”
He was generally ignored, but Pandora spoke up. “Everybody freeze!” She shouted above the din. The passing of boxes back and forth stopped and all eyes turned to her. “Cadet Scout has a suggestion.”
Bruiser rolled his eyes. “Cadet Scout has a suggestion,” he mocked in a high-pitched voice. Scout ignored him.
“We ain’t gonna be solvin’ it passin’ these boxes every which way with no way t’ keep track of which boxes are where.” Scout spoke after a moment’s hesitation. “Ah suggest this: One cadet holds each box, and lines up. Then we go down th’ line, an sniff th’ boxes so’s we can be sure we’ve sniffed ‘em all. Then we can pair up th’ cadets with th’ matching boxes, an’ the remaining cadet holdin’ a box has th’ odd box out.”
Bruiser mockingly repeated most of what Scout said, switching to saying “Bla bla bla” partway through. A few of the cadets snickered at his behavior, but the rest murmured amongst themselves, agreeing that Scout’s plan had merit. After a moment’s discussion, the seven cadets holding boxes lined up and held their boxes with the holes facing up or out. Six of the other seven lined up and slowly went down the line, taking a sniff at each box. Bruiser alone stood aside and rolled his eyes. Being the biggest in the class made him think he didn’t have to participate in the exercises, apparently. Or maybe he was mad because they were listening to Scout.
Scout’s ears twitched as he sniffed his way down the line. Flowers. Beef. Chemical smell- he nearly sneezed. Flowers again. Then a familiar odor he couldn’t quite place. Cheese, he realized a moment later. Cheese again. Beef again. He pointed at the box with the chemical smell. “That one’s th’ diff’rent one.”
It took a couple moments of snuffling for the others to agree with him, and then the box was stuffed into his hand. He blinked. Pandora smirked, watching. “You figured it out, you take it to him. I’ve met him before, he doesn’t bite. Unless you make him.”
Scout gulped and nervously approached Sergeant Ralph. He blinked down at Scout, looking surprised to see one of the cadets approaching him with a box so soon. Scout opened his mouth to speak, swallowed, opened his mouth again, and nothing came out. He cleared his throat nervously and tried again. “Sir, we found th’ odd box out, sir. Here it is, sir.” There was an unbearable silence as Ralph took the box, gave it a cursory sniff, took a pocket watch out of his vest pocket, looked at it, looked at the line of cadets, looked at Scout, looked at the watch again, and nodded. “Impressive. Under six minutes. It takes most classes fifteen.”
Without warning, Ralph raised his voice. “Cadet Bruiser. Name the three scents in the six boxes still held by your squad.”
Bruiser stammered and fumbled, naming off three incorrect scents. He hadn’t sniffed any of the boxes at all, apparently, and Ralph had noticed. When Bruiser couldn’t answer, Ralph nodded. “That’s what I thought. You won’t do very well in this class from here on if you keep acting that way and bullying the other students. Yes, I saw it.”
Ralph collected the SAS boxes and set them back on their folding table before addressing the whole squad. “I leave you with Drill Sergeant Shiver now, and I look forward to seeing you again when you make it to the practical applications portion of the class.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Just counting down the days until Bruiser gets thrown out of the K-9 Program because it is coming soon. Especially now that Ralph has his number.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

I'm actually really glad you all hate Bruiser. I was worried I wasn't writing a hateable enough bully. Especially given that a couple chapters ago Scout was the bully.

[Welsh Halfwit]

Oh, he's annoying enough. I'm surprised Amazee hasn't mentioned pies yet...

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

<Previous First Next>

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Chapter 19: Tackle Takedown

Scout grunted as he bounced off the tackle dummy. His chest hurt from a full morning of slamming into the firm padding at full speed and never really moving the dummy. His cheeks burned and his ears went back as he picked himself back up again. He could hear Bruiser and a few others snickering from the line. He stared at the ground as he walked back to the back of the line, pushing down the embarrassment. Of all the cadets, he was the one who had managed to move the dummy the least, at nothing, zero inches.
“Cadet Scout, front and center.” Shiver stepped in and stopped the next cadet from taking her run at the dummy. Scout put his ears back and jogged up to the drill sergeant, standing at attention. “At ease.” She looked him over for a few moments, then lowered her voice so they could speak privately. “You okay? You looked like you were in pain after that last run.”
Scout nodded. “Ma’am, it’s just mah pride, ma’am.”
She turned away for a moment, acting like she was examining the dummy, but Scout swore he could hear her snickering. When she turned back, her face was serious again. “You haven’t moved that dummy one inch in all your runs, have you? I want you to try something for me. Instead of going and tackling it with both arms like I showed you, I want you to dive in with your shoulder and grab with one arm, like so, in an upward motion.” She demonstrated charging in and diving at the dummy from right against it, pushing with her paw into the ground and shoving the dummy forward. It clicked and kept its position to mark how far she pushed it, and she reached behind to release it. It snapped back to its original position, then motioned for Scout to have a run at it.
Scout took the starting position, braced himself, and ran at the dummy, doing the tackle the way Shiver had. To his surprise, it moved rather easily, sliding a good six inches back before his upward thrust died off and it locked again. Shiver gave a satisfied nod. “I want you to do it like that on all your future runs, Cadet. Return to the line.”
Scout returned to line and, without looking, ducked aside from Bruiser’s swing. Bruiser sneered. “I told you that you were too small, shrimp. Had to have teach show you the cheater way.”
“Leave him alone, Bruiser. Or do you wanna get in trouble for trying to pick a fight? Again?” Pandora glared at him. “Are you ever gonna grow up and stop being a jerk?”
“That depends, you gonna go on a date with me like I asked?” He smirked back at her snarkily.
“Not if you were the last male on earth.” She rolled her eyes back at him, then turned to Scout. “You okay? Normally they don’t teach that technique unless you’re injured.”
Scout shrugged. “Ah’m fine. Jus’ bruised mah chest a little an’ wasn’t movin’ th’ dummy.” He looked over at Ruth, who was taking his run up at the dummy. Unlike his usual jumpy and scared attitude, he was loving this exercise; he seemed to be having the time of his life. Ruth’s bulk was perfect for tackling; he pushed the dummy all the way to the back of its track and tipped it over, every time, sniggering as he rode it down to the ground. “Ruth’s doin’ real good with this drill.”
Pandora nodded. “He’s got the perfect frame and plenty of muscle. Honestly, I’m not surprised you’re having trouble with it. You’re not… exactly built for this… particular… how do I say it nicely?”
“Ah know, ah’m small fer takin’ on things human-sized. Ah’ll prob’ly always have t’ have a plus-size partner in case of tacklin’.” Scout shrugged.
“All right, that’s enough!” Shiver called. “I’m going to pair you up, and you can practice tackling each other! It’s easy to tackle a stationary target, let’s see you tackle something you have to catch! Form ranks!”
As the cadets formed up ranks, only twelve remaining of the original sixteen, Shiver walked the line. She moved one cadet from one line to the other to even them out, then had one line turn around so the back of that line lined up to the front of the other line, and the front to the back. “Look to the cadet next to you. This is your partner for this tackle exercise.”
Scout flinched. He didn’t have to look. He could feel the smirk on the side of his head from here. Bruiser. He was teamed up with Bruiser.
“Spread out. Take turns tackling. If you’re the one getting tackled, run away and try not to let your partner catch you. There will be NO intentional injuring of your partners.” She looked directly at Bruiser as she said this.
Bruiser smirked and put his hand on Scout’s back, guiding him to a clear area far away from Shiver, before leaning down and whispering in Scout’s ear. “Run, midget. I’m gonna crush you so hard they’ll have to put your bones back together with a pair of tweezers.”
Scout gave a little yelp when Bruiser pushed him, and he took off running. He could hear the pounding footsteps of the bigger dog coming in behind him. He listened intently; he knew the only thing that would save him from being smashed was not getting tackled. There, a skipped step; Bruiser was diving. He turned on his paw and smashed the other one into the ground, launching him sideways. Bruiser sailed through the air exactly where Scout had been less than a second before; Scout watched it happen as if in slow motion. His heart was pounding frantically. He felt as though he was in real danger. Drill Sergeant Shiver was fifty yards away supervising five other groups; he was on his own. As soon as he landed from his jump, he turned and took off running in the other direction. He wasn’t sure how long it would take Bruiser to pick himself up and turn around, but he did know the bigger dog was faster and stronger. He only had his agility to save him until help arrived.
Thump thump thump THUMP THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP… THUMP! Scout spun around and dove low, sailing right under Bruiser as he hit the dirt. As expected, Bruiser had adjusted his dive to the left this time, expecting Scout to dodge the same way again. Scout panted and rolled in the air, landing on all fours and scrambling to his feet to start running again. He couldn’t do this forever, he needed to stop Bruiser from recovering somehow.
Scout’s ears flicked. He could hear Bruiser coming up again. Instead of waiting for him to dive again, he spun around and ran back toward him. Just as Bruiser dove, Scout turned his shoulder and jumped up into him, slamming into him and digging his shoulder directly into his belly. Bruiser yelped as the air was forced from his lungs, and he fell back with Scout on top of him. Scout straddled him and panted, trying to catch his wind.
“Well done, Cadet Scout. An excellent tackle.” Shiver’s voice sounded directly above him. “But we weren’t going to learn about dealing with a hostile perpetrator until next week.”
Scout looked up at the amused-looking drill sergeant, then hesitantly climbed off of Bruiser. Shiver leaned down and hauled Bruiser to his feet. He wobbled, holding his belly and dry heaving. Shiver looked up and addressed the group. “I am taking Cadet Bruiser to the infirmary! You lot, keep practicing until I get back.”
She looked down at Scout with a wink. “You catch your breath and practice on the dummies some more.”

[Welsh Halfwit]

He never stopped, did he?

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Almost feel sorry for Bruiser with all the gut shots he's taking. Not that he didn't deserve them, but a bruised stomach isn't fun.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

<Previous First Next>

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Chapter 20: First Weekend Home

Scout’s paws barely touched the pavement as he climbed out of Paw’s truck before he was tackled to the ground by a very excited brown mass. “Scout! Scout Scout Scout! You’re back!” Coco squealed happily, hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe. After a few moments, she let go of him and dusted him off, looking him over. “Wow… You’re already looking more muscular than you were, and it’s only been two weeks! Imagine how ripped you’re gonna be when you’ve finished training!”
Scout grinned and hugged his friend back. “Ah missed ya. Trainin’ is brutal.” He stood back to get a look at her. “Heh… ye’r just th’ same.”
She grinned playfully. “Not true! I’m even CUTER than I was when you left!”
He snickered. “That ain’t possible, ah-” He stopped in the middle of the sentence and blushed. She blushed back. After a few seconds, he cleared his throat. “Ah… gotta get inside an’ say hi to Ma.”
She gave him one last hug. “Okay, well… I’ll see you later?”
He nodded. “See ya later, Miss Coco.” He gave an awkward wave, then turned to go inside.

It took nearly a half hour to convince Ma to let Scout go. She had pulled him into her lap and hugged him tight, kissing his head and telling him how much she had missed him. “Ah missed ya too, Ma, but ah can’t breathe…” Scout had wheezed.
It was strange being home after two weeks at the academy; the house hadn’t changed, per se, but it felt like Scout had missed something. His basket with his blanket were still exactly where he’d left them. He inhaled the sheep scents deeply, wagging his tail, and grinned. He had missed this.
Paw cooked up some fried chicken while Scout recounted his experience thus far. He told them about his new friends Ruth and Pandora, and about how Bruiser kept trying to bully him, but wasn’t very good at it. Ma laughed when he talked about their wrestling match, looked worried when he spoke about the tackling drill, and seemed pleased when he spoke about how he’d eventually knocked Bruiser down again.
Scout munched on the dinner Paw had made them and made happy noises, closing his eyes to savor it. The food at the academy wasn’t BAD, per se, so much as it was just simply not Paw’s cooking. Afterward, Scout yawned heavily. The day was already over, and he was tired from two weeks of getting up early, staying up late, and exercising nonstop. He crawled into his bed, wagging his tail gently when Ma came to tuck him in and kiss him on the head.
“Night ma. Ah love you.” He murmured quietly, his eyes drooping tiredly.
“Good night, my brave little police officer.” She stroked his head, then turned off the light for him.

Coco tossed the ball to Scout, and Scout caught it and tossed it back. They were staying in Scout’s yard today, because Scout didn’t feel like having to worry about being back on time to head back to the academy. “An’ while ah was gone, Paw set up some targets in th’ backyard fer me t’ practice mah slingshot with. It’s real nice.”
“I know, I came over and helped him set it up. You like it?” She tossed the ball back.
He caught it and grinned. “It’s amazin’. Ah’d have already tried it out, except ah left mah slingshot at th’ academy.” He tossed the ball underhand to her, watching it fly high. She caught it above her head.
“That’s okay, You only have… like… two and a half months left at the academy, and then you can practice all the time.” She grinned and threw him a fastball. He ducked out of the way and caught it. “Whoa, you got faster, I think.”
Scout smirked and threw it back. “Well, catch me up. What’ve our friends been up to while ah was away?”
She grinned and chased after the ball. “Well, Sunny and Shade are up to something. Sunny’s been making Shade some pretty nice little outfits.” She threw the ball, intentionally making Scout chase after it. “And I gotta say, he looks GOOD in them.”
Scout retrieved the ball and tossed it back. “Ah bet they got somethin’ big planned. Butterfly still sneak thievin’?”
Coco smirked. “Oh, she got in trouble the other day and she’s grounded. Apparently she tried to steal something out of her dad’s wallet and got caught. Sticky little fingers. And August is out of town this week, apparently he’s visiting his grandparents. Wish you could be here when he gets back, she always sends him home with all kinds of goodies, and he LOVES to share.” She held onto the ball and tilted her head to look at Scout. “So, tell me more about this Pandora girl. Is she pretty?”
Scout slowly lowered his hands from the catch position, thinking about it. “Ah dunno… ah guess she’s a little purdy. She’s tough, no-nonsense…” He looked into the middle distance, picturing her. “She was nice t’ me, an’ helps keep Bruiser off mah back, so ah guess- ow!” The ball hit him right between the eyes, and he rubbed the spot, bending to pick up the ball and looking at Coco angrily.
Coco shrugged. “Oops, sorry. Accident.” Her voice didn’t seem sincere.
“Why’d ya do THAT? What’d ah DO?!” He threw the ball back to her, a little irritated. Now his head hurt. He rubbed the sore spot.
She shrugged again and grinned. “Maybe you should have been paying more attention, instead of thinking about your new GIRLFRIEND.” She teased.
“She ain’t mah girlfrien’. She’s just a frien’, who happens to be a gir- OW!” He rubbed his chest, bending to pick up the ball again. Coco had thrown the ball directly at him, and it was definitely not an accident this time. “Quit doin’ that!”
She grinned at him playfully. “Oopsie, sorry.” She caught the ball, then turned around when her human called her name from across the street. “Uh, I gotta go.” She tossed Scout back his ball and turned around. “Coming, mom!” She checked for traffic, then jogged across the street.
Scout watched her go, rubbing the new bruise on his chest thoughtfully. What had that been about? He shook his head and turned to go inside. It would be time for him to leave soon, anyway. “Ah don’t understan’ girls.”

Paw’s truck hit a bump, and Scout gripped the seat. He couldn’t stop thinking about Coco and how she had suddenly started hitting him with the ball after asking about Pandora. “Paw… Did Ma ever do anythin’... confusin’... before you married ‘er?”
Paw chuckled a little. “Well, kiddo, yer ma an’ I, we were friends for a good long while before ah decided to court ‘er. She moved t’ the area round about th’ time we were in high school. We used to tease an’ pick on each other all the time.” He glanced at Scout in the rearview mirror with mischievous glimmer in his eye. “You talkin’ about Coco hittin’ you with the ball?”
Scout nodded. “Ah thought we were frien’s, but she started hittin’ me, an ah think ah made ‘er mad, somehow, but ah don’ know how.”
The truck pulled into the drop-off lane and stopped. “Aw, you’ll figure it out, kiddo. You got two weeks t’ think about it before y’ see ‘er again.”
Scout put his ears back and got out of the truck. “Okay… Love you, Paw.”

[Welsh Halfwit]

Pandora vs Coco. Who will win? I wonder if they'll meet.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Looks like someone is developing a crush on Scout or at least feeling a little jealous he is spending time with another female dog.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Mayybeeee. What makes you say that? The gentle violence?

[Amazee Dayzee]

I honestly don't think the violence was THAT gentle if it left bruises on him. But yeah that is where I got that from.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Ah, just a little love tap.

[Amazee Dayzee]

That does seem to be a bit more forceful than a love tap. If that is what she calls a love tap then I would HATE to see how she would actually hurt someone.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

That does seem to be a bit more forceful than a love tap. If that is what she calls a love tap then I would HATE to see how she would actually hurt someone.

2012-12-10-something-off.png (109.58 KiB) Viewed 6858 times

[Amazee Dayzee]

I would imagine it woulkd be a lot worse than that though. I am thinking that there would be permanent damage involved.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

You and I both know Bino IS permanently damaged

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

<Previous First Next>

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Chapter 21: Advanced Training

Scout lined up with the other nine recruits- the class was down to just ten now- and stood at attention when Drill Sergeant Shiver entered the room. She looked around at them, then nodded approvingly. “At ease.” Once everyone returned to what they had been doing, she walked straight to Scout, paused at the end of his bunk, and opened his footlocker. It wasn’t unusual; during the last three weeks of class, Scout had gotten used to regular inspections and random checks.
Shiver pulled Scout’s slingshot and bolas out of his footlocker, then closed the lid. “Cadet Scout, come with me.”
Scout put his ears back and tried to ignore the class’s mocking calls, falling in and marching behind Shiver. Once they were out of earshot of the rest of the class, Shiver glanced back at him. “Relax, cadet. You’re not in trouble. This way.” She led him down a hallway he’d never been down, to a field he’d never been to. This one had a long booth on one end that was broken into cubbyholes, then a lot of long lines parallel to the cubbyholes, with a target at the far end of each one. Shiver brought him to the furthest cubby, then passed him his slingshot bag. “Demonstrate this for me.” She stepped back several steps, out of his range.
Scout slung the bag over his shoulder in the comfortable, familiar spot, then rummaged through for the sling itself. He hefted the familiar weight in his hand, finding his old grip spots, then loaded up a glass marble, looking at the target. It was shaped like a human silhouette, with spots to aim at on the head, chest, and middle of the torso. He started the slingshot swinging, speeding it up until it whirred through the air, creating a transparent circle next to Scout. He let it out, more and more, expanding the circle and making the whirring sound louder as he aimed, then fired the marble at the target. It hit slightly off dead center of the chest target and embedded itself in the particle board backing, leaving a hole in the paper target.
Shiver nodded. “Impressive, cadet. Fire again, six shots total.”
Scout nodded and loaded another marble. Whirr. ZingTHUD. Whirr, zingTHUD. WhirZINGTHUDwhirZingTHUD. Whirr, zingTHUD. Each marble hit its target: Two in the head, two in the heart, two in the torso.
Shiver gave an approving nod and signed something on a clipboard she produced from… somewhere. Scout stared at it. Had she had that all along? She waved for him to follow her and started walking. He hesitated, then came after her.
She led him to the normal exercise yard, where a group of advanced cadets were running drills. She had him wait at one end of the field while she went to talk to the drill sergeant. He watched as the other trainer called over one of his students, and then the student and Shiver jogged back across the field. She handed Scout his Bolas. “Here. Muffy here is going to run, and I want you to demonstrate this device and immobilize him for me.”
Scout nodded and uncoiled the bola, running his fingers through the ropes to be sure they weren’t tangled. “Ma’am, yes, ma’am.” He turned to Muffy, a rather tall and lanky English Setter. “Whenever ye’re ready, sir.”
Muffy saluted awkwardly, then turned and ran. He was fast. Scout held the bola over his head by the ring and began swinging it, keeping two fingers inside the ring, with one crooked to keep the Bola from flying up and off, and folded the extra one. The iron balls got moving at tremendous speed. Scout let the device fly, and the three balls went in three directions before spinning together, tied by the ring. A second later, Muffy went down as the ring struck him in the back and the ropes, kept in motion by the heavy balls, wrapped around his arms and legs.
Scout and Shiver jogged over to him, and Scout got to work untangling him. Shiver gave an approving nod as she watched, marking something on her clipboard. Once Muffy was freed, she nodded back in the other direction. “Again. But this time, Cadet Muffy, I want you to run zigzags and try to avoid Cadet Scout’s toss.”
Scout detangled his bolas and nodded. “Ah’m ready, ma’am. Sir.”
Muffy once again took off running, but this time, he ran serpentine, zigging and zagging seemingly at random. Scout wound up, watching him, and waited until just after he turned to throw. This time he took the hit in the side, and one of his arms escaped being bound, not that it helped him move any by the time Scout got to him and knelt on the small of his back to start untangling him.
“Very impressive. Do it four more times, please.” Shiver marked something on her clipboard.
Scout frowned. There was the six times thing again. He wondered what that was about. After running the drill four more times and managing to hit Muffy three, he looked at Shiver, who was smiling as she signed something on her clipboard.
Shiver nodded. “All right, that’s good. Cadet Muffy, you may return to your exercises. Cadet Scout, you may return to your barracks.” Scout packed up his bolas and walked back to the barracks, wondering what all that was about.
Once Scout returned to his bunk, Pandora grinned at him. “What was that about? You get in trouble for having that stuff?”
Ruth sniffled. “Oh no, they kicked you out for it, didn’t they? Oh noooOooO….”
Scout packed his slingshot and bolas back into this footlocker before answering. “Actually… she wanted a demonstration. She took me to a shootin’ range an’ had me fire six shots with mah slingshot…” He noticed Pandara’s ears twitch to attention when he said six, but ignored it and continued. “An’ then we got an advanced cadet an’ she had me throw mah bolas at ‘im six times.”
“And you’re sure it was six? Specifically six?” Pandora sat up with rapt attention, watching Scout intently. When he nodded, she grinned. “Scout, that wasn’t a demonstration, that was a certification exam. You have to hit four out of six shots. Usually, with a beanbag cannon. They don’t certify dogs for firearms. Did you hit?”
Scout shrugged. “Ah don’t miss with mah slingshot. Ah hit each target twice. Missed once with the bolas, though. Bit outta practice with it, never much needed it.”
Pandora grinned and ran around the bunk to give Scout a hug. He gasped, startled, then gripped his hands with hers. “Congratulations! I bet you get a specialist badge.” She poked a spot on his vest. “Goes right here. It’ll mean you’ll have extra training so you know when you can use it and when you can’t, but you’ll probably be allowed to carry it for the practical training next month.”
Ruth jumped up and joined in the hug. “I have no idea what’s happening, I just like hugs.” He admitted shyly.
Scout smiled and hugged his friends back. “Y’know what? Ah like hugs, too.”

About an hour later, Drill Sergeant Shiver entered the room, and they all fell into attention. “Cadet Scout, front and center!”
“Ma’am, yes, ma’am!” Scout called out and darted to stand in front of her with a salute. She put a hand on his head and spun him around to face the room.
“Cadet Scout is hereby granted the status of Specialist, certified in slingshot and bola operations.” She presented the badge, installing it on Scout’s vest for him. And that was the ceremony. She turned and left with no further fanfare. Scout blinked down at the new badge, then wandered back over to his bunk.
Pandora grinned at him, looking the badge over. “Nice. Very nice.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

I didn't think that they had drill sergeants in the police academy and it was only a military thing. Everytime I see the word "drill sergeant" in the story I half-expect someone to be forced to do push-ups in the mud.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

They probably don't but you know what it's my story and I say the doggy police academy has drill sergeants

[Amazee Dayzee]

That definitely is a great answer and one I can go along with. Though I am still hoping for someone to end up doing push-ups in mud because the very first military movie I watched had that as a punishment.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

<Previous First Next>

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Chapter 22: Ride Along

Scout ducked Bruiser’s swipe and stepped aside to dodge the second without even looking. Eight weeks into the class, he was so used to Bruiser’s attitude that he could tell when he was coming just by his scent and the sound of his footsteps. “An’ she keeps askin’ me about you, Pandora, an’ then hittin’ me with the ball when ah answer. Ah don’ get it. She’s done it every time ah’ve been home.”
Pandora grinned and started walking away with Scout, leaving Bruiser fuming right where he was. “What kinds of questions? Am I pretty, do you like me? That kind of stuff?”
Scout nodded. “Yeah, how’d you know?” Ruth snickered from Scout’s other side, and Scout looked up at him. “What’re YOU snickerin’ about?”
Pandora gave a little giggle and patted Scout’s back. “You know, I don’t think it’s my place to say. I have my suspicions what it’s about, but I don’t think I should tell you.” She pointed over at Ruth. “Don’t you be telling him, either. Let him figure it out.”
Ruth nodded and snickered again. Scout looked from one to the other. “Y’all’re weird. Ya know that?”
Pandora grinned and nudged him playfully with her elbow. “I dunno, we’re not the ones missing obvious signs.”
“Signs of what?” Scout gave a frustrated grunt. “What signs am ah missin’?”
“Not tellinnngggg~” Pandora teased, then looked up and fell in line when she saw Drill Sergeant Shiver approaching with two officers. Scout tried to hold back a groan. He recognized one of the officers.
Shiver looked up and down the class of seven. “These are the cadets that made it through so far. I don’t foresee any more of them leaving the class, but I’m not sure they’ll all graduate.” She said to the two officers, then turned to address the class. “Today you will be beginning ride-alongs. Officers Fido and Mungo will be picking one of you each to take on the ride-alongs each day for the rest of this session, so you should each have three to four days of actual experience by the time we get to the final month of training.”
She gestured to the officers, and they approached the cadets. The big black dog stopped in front of Scout. Scout hesitantly looked up at him. “Officer Mungo, it’s nice t’ see ya again…”
He crouched to get closer to Scout’s level and grinned at him. “I see you’ve gotten yourself certified on that slingshot. I hope that means no more taking shots at civilians.”
Scout heard Pandora giggle to his left, and put his ears back, blushing a little. “Yes, sir.”
A moment later, Scout found himself being pulled forward with Mungo’s hand on his back. Mungo looked down at Shiver with a grin. “I’ll be taking Cadet Scout here. Seems like he might be interesting to train with.”

Scout groaned tiredly as he hobbled back into the barracks late that night. Riding along as a trainee officer had been fun, but exhausting. He had even been able to make an arrest… sort of. It was more of a detainment for being drunk in public, but it counted in Scout’s opinion. The intoxicated man had thought Scout’s accent was the best thing he’d ever seen, almost certainly because of his exceptionally high score on the breathalyzer test.
The second Scout flopped into his bunk, he felt Pandora sit on the edge of the bed. “Oh no you don’t, I wanna hear the story. Shooting your slingshot at civilians, Scout? Really? Details. Spill ‘em.”
Scout groaned and dragged himself around to be face-up instead of face-down. “Noooo. Sleep. Ah need SLEEP. Ah’m sore all over.”
Pandora snickered. “Did they really work you that hard?”
“No. Mungo’s a hugger, and he squeezes SO HARD.” He raised an arm and bent it, making the elbow pop loudly. “Not much really happened tonight. Couple’a drunks, sniffin’ out a drug bust, an’ patrollin’ a street lookin’ for lost items, mostly. Nothin’ too excitin’.”
“Good.” She grabbed him and sat him up. “Then you can tell me the story.”
He pushed her off him and flopped back down. “Ain’t nothin’ t’ tell. Ah was bored, frustrated, an’ lonely, an’ ah went t’ the dog park an’ started shootin’ at people’s paws.”
She pulled him back up. “Aww, come on, there’s gotta be more to it than THAT! You got chased by the K-9s, didn’t you? Obviously they caught you. Did you give ‘em a run for their money? OOH! Did they have to tackle you down? That’s my favorite part!”
Scout huffed. “If ya must know, they chased me fer five minutes an’ then my collar snagged on a branch.” He rolled his eyes.
“Aww, that’s it? Lame.” She snickered and went back to her bunk. “So, you figure out why your friend keeps hitting you?”
Scout blinked at the sudden change of subject. “... Ah haven’t had time t’ think ‘bout it. Not really.”
He could hear the smirk in her voice when she spoke. “Really? Nothing really coming to mind? You can’t think of ANY reason she might not like it when you’re thinking about me?”
He rolled his eyes. “If you know, you could TELL me.”
“No, I’m gonna wait for you to realize. It’s funnier for me that way.” She giggled playfully. “Just try this. Next time she asks about me, just tell her you don’t feel like thinking about school friends when you’re at home. I bet she doesn’t hit you then.”
He rolled in bed to face her. “Ye’re really havin’ a laugh about it. What’s so funny?”
She grinned at him. “You can ask me all night, I’m not going to tell.”
“Shut up and go to sleep, pipsqueak.” Bruiser yelled from across the room. “Nobody wants to hear about your lady problems.”
Scout sighed and rolled to face away from Pandora. He couldn’t stop thinking about it. Why DID Coco keep hitting him with the ball every time he went home? Nothing would come to mind that made any sense. At first, he’d thought she didn’t wanna be his friend anymore, but then why would she keep meeting him when he got back? Why would she keep coming over? What could everybody else see that he was missing?
He closed his eyes and went to sleep. Maybe the answer would come to him later, when he wasn’t thinking about it.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I wonder since Scout lived on a farm when he realizes Coco likes him and he realizes he likes her also he will try to gift her a dead chicken. That is how another farm dog said you show how you like somebody and since Scout doesn't seem to get that Coco has a crush on him I doubt he will get how to reciprocate. LOL

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

I'm sure he'll get it eventually. Bruiser almost gave up the game just then, though. Scout, of course, missed it entirely.