Chapter Text
Cold dead eyes stare back at him well not dead per say due to them never being alive in the first place. But still there was something undeniably creepy about the small figurine Master held out for him.
He opened his jaw wide to gently take the small figure away perhaps it’s best buried in the loose dirt of the garden but Master pulled it away just as the porcelain grazed his canines, “No Buddy! You can sniff but no bite!”
He let out a huff in frustration because it was all terribly confusing, the doll and it’s siblings had no place in HIS home. Master decorated it as she saw fit but these little glass beings smelled of moth balls and an age long passed.
It was just so strange from the way she’d been acting before when she’d left him alone to look after the small humans.
Buddy refused to recognize the authority of Kristen the Babysitter, she spent a majority of her time laying on the couch, taping at her small light box, and refusing to play the Barbies.
Buddy was always up to play the Barbies but apparently he did so incorrectly. According to all the small humans, taking the long hair of the thin plastic figurines and shaking vigorously until head separated from body was not the right way to play the Barbies.
Buddy believed it to be a magnificent showcase of his strength.
Thankfully the Friendly Stranger showed up soon after, surely he would agree with Buddy.
Only once again he was relegated to the backyard so while half listening to the smashing and crying going on inside the house Buddy also watched the treehouse.
Soon enough the Friendly Stranger walked calmly out followed by his pack, pausing momentarily to give Buddy a nod which resulted in mixed feelings. The destruction inside was no doubt caused by the Friendly Stranger but it was a violence aimed at Master and her kin, something Buddy was wholly unfamiliar with.
Walking back into the house was another chore in and of itself with glass on the ground and litter mate warning him not to come in. Thankfully all of the little hummels were destroyed...well almost Buddy saw one survivor, a frauline with clogged shoes and a teasing expression. Master and the other two warily admire the tiny thing before all four of them jump to a sound outside.
The one good news is that the object shoved up the tree house is not a large cat sent to sabotage Buddy and his peaceful household.
The bad news is that it is simply a dirty small man who wiggles down the slide and off into the night. Master plus the other two race out after him luckily they head south west which is where the smelly male had hobbled off to. Master and litter mate have a car, an advantage which unfortunately Buddy still has not figured out.
It goes to the dog park and to the vet but he still doesn't understand how?!
Buddy was now gingerly stepping through the remains of an Alpha who’d lost his patience but the male Master was chasing was different.
Buddy wants to forewarn Master as he sniffs among the broken glassware and china. The male who’d runoff was practically feral but humans never understand what that truly means. He’s reminded of a time where Master’s litter mate attempted to befriend a grey and black striped bandit rifling through the trash one fall evening while Master and Carman had a ‘ date nigh t’. She’d called to it like a cat with bits of salami and cheese as offerings not recognizing the stench of disease and hostility radiating off it. Eventually he’d had to chase it off while littermate grumbled about ‘Buddy being no fun just like Beth.’
Saving the lives of those who Master cared for and loved was a thankless job.
Not that Buddy totally blamed the desperate male, an animal backed against a wall will do anything to escape.
One summer while Master spent the majority of her time resting and waiting for her young to arrive, the house had become a favorite of mice and rats perhaps due to the bowls of cereal and various crumbs Carman would leave unattended for days upon weeks. Eventually glue traps were left at the most opportune places.
Buddy could still recall the small grey legs stuck to the sticky yellow paper with weak incomplete bodies only a few feet away, little mouths gasping for air with red stained teeth from desperately chewing their way to bittersweet freedom.
Eventually Buddy had brought one of the corpses to Master with her engorged belly and tired eyes as a trophy...though he felt no satisfaction in presenting a prey that he would neither eat nor took part in hunting, it was a cheap victory. When Car-man returned home there were extremely tense words exchanged plus yelling and thankfully a return to the status quo with no more traps.
Now Buddy felt Master faced a similar and just as desperate opponent.
But there were clear boundaries of who was on which team and Buddy was on whichever side Master chose.
Master eventually came back with a disgusted sneer but without any battle wounds, she’d won...this time.
***
A few days later saw the small humans bickering over the big light box as Master attempted to figure it out. Buddy didn’t get it, going to the park or watching the backyard was much more entertaining, certainly more than watching a bunch of moving pictures that made no sense but the small humans loved the yellow creatures.
Except for the largest little human who was being helped by the Friendly Stranger in the backyard with mathematics another discipline Buddy has neglected to learn. The small humans argue about the yellow pill movie ignoring once more his suggestion for ‘The Secret Life of Pets.’
He’d watched from the back door as Master ushered her pup indoors when she’d finally caught on to his presence.
The two only talked for a few short minutes but Buddy could smell the tension in the air from the brief seconds when the door was opened.
Buddy wasn’t ignorant of the notes of lust coming off the male in waves and strangely Master also smelled of it perhaps not as strongly but still.
Was Master looking to acquire a new mate? Perhaps she wanted to make another litter with this stranger? Buddy wasn’t sure if he could handle four more of the small humans especially if they weren't his own offspring
Once when Buddy was younger he'd been quite the Casanova. After all, how could anyone not be enamored by him?
With his long flowing golden coat, wide powerful stride, and expert ability to catch a ball midair no matter who was throwing it.
He remembers in times past prancing around the dog park as the local bitches took in his impressive frame in the bright sunlight. Not even a large mudhole that he’d gleefully rolled in could diminish his raw animal power. Master had been less than pleased and that day had unfortunately ended in a dreadful and wholly unnecessary bath.
He also remembers Master and Car-man arguing about how to contain his magnetism, like any mere mortal could!
‘He spent twenty minutes humping Emma’s stuffed ducky this morning and when I went to take it away and wash it, he cried like I was stealing his girlfriend.’
‘He’s a growing boy Bethie with urges, I just don’t see why he needs to be fixed.’
‘It’s not going to make him less of a man Dean! Besides I don’t want to be on the hook for child support when he finally decides to hop the fence and take a tour of the neighborhood.’
Like every argument, Master wins but it dawns on Buddy as they pull into the vets parking lot a few days later that maybe her winning wasn’t the best outcome.
He still hates the vet. It is a sad and lonely place staffed by people who smile wide and compliment how handsome Buddy is and offer extra treats with open palms. It’s all a ruse, a farce that only the stupidest of puppies fall for. He has learned not to trust them though he still takes the cookies they offer, they are peanut butter flavored and of the highest quality.
He’d returned home a day later groggy and wearing a cone. The lavish treatment that he’s received in the days after almost made it worth it... almost .
There was something missing after that day though even now years later he couldn't sparse what it actually was.
The stranger leaves and Master returns inside, calmly sitting in the middle of her offspring and stares at the big light box but fails to laugh like the small humans when the ugly yellow creatures fall over.
She pats his head with a far off expression and Buddy falls into his usual dreamless nap wondering if Master is plagued by worry or desire.