My Dog Dad

[Amazee Dayzee]

I think it would be nice if they went to help and build the Changed city for people who were forced into this transformation with a cure not happening for a while (if ever... ) and it could help them both out. Trotter might find a girlfriend for himself or his dad.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 20: Packing Up

I looked around my room and put my ears back, holding my new duffle bag. It was hard to decide what to bring with me; I imagined Dad was having a harder time. I was glad that I didn’t have too much stuff, like Sunny did. Dad wasn’t wealthy even before the change, though he’d done his best to give me what he could.
With a sigh, I opened the lid on my toy box and started stuffing things into the bag. By the time it was empty, it had barely made a dent in the bag. I looked around and walked over to my corkboard, starting to unpin photos. I stacked them neatly, photo after photo, of fun times with my friends, with Uncle Jared, and with Dad. I paused, looking at an old photo of him, from before. He smiled eternally out of the photo, looking somewhere to the camera’s left.
I smiled wistfully at the photo and touched Dad’s face, then added it to the stack, stuffed the stack in between two framed photos of Dad and myself, and packed the whole lot into my bag.
I looked around my room. I checked the closet. No sense bringing any of my old costumes, most of them didn’t fit anymore. I smiled at the tiny farmer outfit, from my first halloween; the fireman’s costume from my second. Good memories, already immortalized in the photo album I knew Dad would be bringing with. Everything else I had was packed. A dog didn’t need that much, just a few squeaky toys. I put my ears back and picked up my bag, walking down the hall with it to Dad’s room.
“... Dad? I mean, Teddy? Do you need extra space for your stuff? I’ve packed everything and it only half filled the bag you gave me.”
He turned and put his ears back. “Oh… Trotter… yes, thank you… So many memories here, I can’t choose what to keep.”
I put my bag up on the bed and stood back, watching him stuff photos and memorabilia from a lifetime into the bag, stacking it up in neat rows and turning it this way and that to fit as much as he could. He sighed and zipped up the bag, checking the weight. “... It’s not too heavy for you, is it?”
I checked. “... no, I should be able to carry it long enough to get on the bus and back off again.”
He smiled and pulled me in for a hug. “How are you holding up? Having any second thoughts?”
I shrugged. “Maybe a few. Gonna miss the place. Gonna miss my friends. But maybe I can make some new friends once we get there.”
He nodded. “I’ll finish packing. You go say goodbye to your friends.”
I put my ears back. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Go ahead and go.” He pressed his nose into my cheek. “Be back by dinner. We have to leave early in the morning.”
I smiled back at him. “Yeah… okay. Back by dinner, I promise.” I let myself out of the house and headed down to the dog park for the last time.
Cooper was taking a break on the bench. He looked up at me and smiled, his tail wagging a little bit. “Oh, hi, Trotter. Shouldn’t you be packing?”
I nodded quietly and scooted up onto the bench next to him. “I’m already done. Not much to pack, you know? Everything I own fit into one bag with lots of room to spare.”
He smiled and leaned on me. “My dad got the first of his new clients this morning. A wolverine. It’s going to get interesting around here. And you’re going to miss it.”
I nodded. “I mean… you can email me. Tell me about it.”
He hugged me suddenly. “I’m gonna miss you, Trotter…”
I closed my eyes and hugged him back, letting my ears droop. “You still have Butterfly.”
He snickered. I frowned and pulled back. “What’s so funny?” He started laughing out loud.
“Trotter… Butterfly and I HATE each other!” He laughed harder, clapping me on the back. “Haven’t you noticed that we never hang out without you? Heck, we BARELY hang out even WITH you!”
I stared at him for a moment, thinking back, then started laughing. “Why didn’t you ever SAY anything?! You goof!”
He laughed. “We agreed to get along for you. We’re not children, we can tolerate each other for twenty minutes every now and then.” He paused. “Well, I’M not a child.”
I snickered and hugged him, letting a tear run down my cheek. “I’m gonna miss ya, Coop. I gotta go say bye to the others. We’re leaving early in the morning.”
He hugged back. I swear I felt a drop fall onto my back. “I’ll try to stop by and see you off.”
I nodded and turned around to walk back into the neighborhood. My wandering took me to Sunny’s house. Somehow, I knew that’s where everybody would be. And, I turned out to be right. I knocked at the empty door frame into the playroom. Sunny looked up from watching something in the corner, then ran over and pulled me into the room. A man, I assumed it was Sunny’s dad, was installing a plexiglass panel over a new TV freshly mounted in the corner. All of our friends were gathered nearby, waiting for him to be done.
I nodded at the plexiglass. “That’s because we broke the old TV, isn’t it?”
Sunny nodded. “What brings you here? I thought you were… packing.” He put his ears back. “I only just met you. I don’t want you to go.”
I nodded quietly. “I know… but my dad can’t find a job around here, so we have to move to where he CAN get a job. I just came around to say goodbye.” I offered Sunny a hug, and he accepted happily. Then I turned to Coco, August, and Butterfly in turn, offering them hugs as well.
As soon as Butterfly let go of me, I put my hand out, and she grumbled, opening her hand and putting my emergency biscuit back into my hand. “... Spoilsport.”
I stared at the biscuit, then hesitantly gave it back to her. “Hey… Cooper said you and he don’t actually like each other. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Butterfly stared at the biscuit in her hand, then looked up at me meekly. “Well… because YOU like him, and I like YOU, so…” She blushed and fidgeted her paws on the carpet.
I hesitated. “You like me, or you LIKE me?”
Her ears went back, and she hugged me again quietly. “... both.”
I put my ears back gently. “... A little late to tell me now. I’m leaving tomorrow morning, and I’m probably never coming back.”
She nodded. “I know.” Her grip on me grew tighter. “I’m gonna miss you, Trotter. For the longest time, you were my only friend.”
I gave a sad smile and hugged her tightly, sniffling. “Mm. I’m gonna miss you too, you little klepto.”

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

And that's the end of Trotter's story. Thank you all for reading, and I can't wait to see if Trotter comes back later!

-------

Chapter 21: Bus station

I mumbled drowsily as Uncle Jared scooped me up out of my basket, wrapping me up in my blanket and carrying me out to the living room. In my half-asleep state, I could hear him whispering to Dad.
“He was so cute, I couldn’t bear to wake him up. It’s an hour’s drive to the bus station, he’ll be awake on his own by then.” Jared’s voice whispered.
Dad whispered back. “That’s fine. Here, help me load up our bags.”
There was a lot of quiet shuffling. The front door opened and closed, and there was silence for a few moments before it opened and closed again. More shuffling, and I heard a ziploc bag rustling, and the sound of kibbles being poured. Jared’s voice sounded. “You sure you just wanna take some kibbles? I can get you some actual food on the way.”
Dad’s voice whispered back again. “It’s fine, they travel well, so he can just eat whenever he’s awake and hungry.” I heard him walking, then pause and look around. “Well… guess it’s time to say goodbye to the old place.”
Jared’s voice had a fake smile in it. “Don’t you worry, I’ll take care of everything here. Put anything you left in storage until you send for it, sell the house, all that stuff.”
Dad was quiet for a few moments. “Grab Trotter, let’s get going. Don’t wanna miss our bus.”
I felt arms surround me again, and I mumbled, nuzzling into Jared’s strong chest as he carried me outside and through the cold early morning air. I opened my eyes a little and lifted my head. “Mmnng? Whazza?” I mumbled sleepily, looking up at Jared. He smiled and kissed my forehead.
“It’s okay, Trotter. Go back to sleep.”
I nodded and didn’t argue, laying my head back down and closing my eyes again.
When the car started, I lifted my head a little and peeped out the window, watching Cooper waving to me from the sidewalk. I lifted my hand drowsily and waved back, watching the neighborhood go past. There was Butterfly’s house. There went Coco’s house. And there was Sunny’s house, his dad just leaving for work.
Once we passed the sign that said “Welcome to Babylon Gardens,” my eyes drooped again, and I closed them. When I opened them again, it was much brighter out. I looked around at the tall buildings going past, and lifted my head. “Where are we?”
Dad looked over at me and reached over to scratch my ears. “We’re almost to the bus station.”
I looked around, pulling my blanket tighter around me. I wasn’t cold; it was just nice to have something familiar. Dad smiled at nudged my arm. “Are you excited to start this new chapter in our lives?”
I nodded quietly, then put my ears back. My eyes started to fill with water. “I’m going to miss everybody.”
Dad leaned over and pressed his nose into my cheek. I closed my eyes and let our cheeks rest against each other, inhaling his scent deeply. “I’m going to miss all my friends, too. But sometimes, it happens.”
I nodded quietly. After a few moments, I realized the car had stopped, and I opened my eyes. Jared turned the car off and turned around. “We’re at the station.”
We were quiet as we all got out of the car and unloaded our bags. Dad had an extra bag that he wore slung over his shoulder. We all walked into the station, then paused at a security checkpoint. Uncle Jared gave us each a hug, and he told me to be good. His voice was cracking a little bit when he did so, and I promised I would. I blinked back some tears as I did so. No time for that, wait until we were on the bus.
And then Jared was gone, and we went through the checkpoint. A man loaded our bags into the cargo space under the bus, and I followed Dad with his extra bag up into the bus. It was nicer than I expected; some of the seats could turn around, and a table could fold down out of the wall, so passengers could play cards or eat. There was a bathroom on the bus, and charge ports built into the walls. Dad took my hand and showed me where our seats were, handing me my ticket and telling me it was very important not to lose it. I nodded.
Once the bus started moving, Dad opened his bag and gave me a shirt like his, with pockets. I put it on, putting my ears back and looking at him funny. He told me to take everything out of my collar and put it in my pockets, and I did so. Once I was done, he reached toward my neck. I felt my collar suddenly loosen and fall away, and he tucked it into his bag.
It was a symbolic gesture, I realized. As of this moment, I was no longer his pet. As of now, we were brothers instead.
It was a two day ride. The bus rumbled along steadily, stopping every now and then so the driver could take a break and a different driver could take over. Luckily, Dad had packed snacks and drinks.
After the first few hours, Dad pulled out his laptop from his carry on and started showing me his design program. “I was thinking, we could build an EXTRA deep swimming pool for the aquatic species to go to. It’d be great, with lots of stuff to explore under the water. Maybe little air bubbles so they can stay under longer!” He said to me at one point, showing me diagrams of sculptures.
I listened intently, smiling. I hadn’t seen him happy in a long time. I hadn’t seen him THIS happy, ever. I hoped the people in the new city would let him build his ideas.
After what seemed like an eternity, the bus pulled up to our stop, and Dad grinned at me, getting off the bus. I followed him, and we got in a cab with our bags.
I looked out the window. After a few moments, a question occurred to me. “By the way, you never told me. Did they decide on a name for this new town they’re building?”
Dad nodded and grinned at me. “Oh, yeah, they did! It’s Wildside Haven.”

THE END

[Amazee Dayzee]

I highly enjoyed going on this adventure with Trotter and watching him try to navigate now having a dad that was the same species as him. I am sure we will see the both of them again and it will be nice to watch how the two of them managed to move forward after everything!

[Welsh Halfwit]

You're a heck of a world builder, knowing the 'big picture' is nothing but a mosaic.

[Amazee Dayzee]

You are one to talk as you can do the same thing and are just as great of a writer as Ginga is! The only issue is not replying back to the post that I submitted to you over PMs about our role-play so you should REALLY get on that! :3