Lady is curled at the foot of his Master's bed, as he is every morning. He's awake, laying quietly and waiting for his Master to wake so he can have breakfast. He stretches prettily, looking forward to another day of being pampered and serving his Master
His Master yawns and stretches slowly, sitting up and rubbing Lady's soft hair gently. "Good morning, little Lady." he yawned.
Lady grins, gently nuzzling his Master's hand. He hops off the bed, to pass Master his slippers, then kneels by the bed, gazing up adoringly.
"Good boy." Master stood, taking his robe and wrapping it around himself as he headed downstairs for breakfast. "Come!"
Lady trots along behind obediently, looking forward to breakfast as well. He sits on his small mat in the kitchen, yawning softly.
"Good boy, Lady." his Master smiles, getting bread out of the fridge and putting it in the toaster. "Now, what do I have for my pet?" he asked, heading for the cupboard.
Lady grins, sitting up on his haunches and wiggling happily. He's already planning his day out in his head: breakfast, a quick walk, napping while Master is away at work, lunch with Master, another nap, dinner, a longer walk...after that, he wasn't sure, but he was sure it would be wonderful.
His Master grinned, rubbing Lady's belly gently before opening a can of wet food into a silver dish that Lady ate out of. He refilled his pet's water and watched his dog start to eat.
Lady lay flat for the tummy rub, wriggling with delight and lightly kissing his Master's hand whenever it came into reach. He then sets about neatly eating his food--always the same food, as it should be. After finishing, he laps a little water, then gently rests his head on Master's leg.
"Good boy." He murmured as he ate his toast. When he was done he dressed for work and grabbed Lady's leash. "Lady, walk!"
Lady makes his demure little noise, something between a bark and a grunt, galloping over to his Master, then having a quick game of 'can't catch me'--not too long, or his Master might be late!
Master caught him around his waist and held his wriggly pup while he clipped the leash to the handsome purple collar around his neck. "Come on, my wild pup." he chuckled. "This will be our last walk alone for awhile, won't it?"
Lady makes little squeaky giggly noises, holding still and nuzzling his Master. He cocks his head; he can understand what Master is saying, but has no clue what he means. Not that he needs to. He tugs gently at the leash, eager to get going.
Lady's Master helped the pup into his pretty knee pads to protect him from the rough side walk, grabbed a bag to pick up any leavings and they went out for their walk, Master giving Lady treats out of his pockets when he was especially cute.
Lady lifts his legs for the knee pads, prancing out of the house. He quickly does his business on the boulevard, waiting impatiently for Master to finish clearing up. He doesn't see any other pets in the park, so he sits quietly at Master's side.
After their walk, his Master gets Lady settled in to the house, filling his water dish and leaving out a nice toy to gnaw on and play with, putting his wool dog bed in the sun beam just outside the front window.
He heads out for work and drives away.
Lady wiggles appreciatively, seeing his Master off before drinking a little water, and settling down for a gnaw and a sleep in the sun.
***
Tramp is in the pound. Again. Despite threats, beatings, being starved, chastised, sprayed with water, hysterical sobbing, and everything else--here he is again. He sighs, curled on the lumpy bed, ignoring the chew toy that's been chewed by however many pets before him, and hoping he'll get out soon.
He hears a door open and close and men talking. "Well, I'm actually looking for something a bit more rough and tumble than Lady. Lady does brilliantly in shows, but I'd like to do flyball and I can't risk Lady getting hurt..."
"Well, we've got plenty of 'rough and tumble' here...That's a good decision, and some of these guys could sure use a second chance."
Tramp sighs and rolls his eyes.
"Well, I'd hate to think of any pup without a home." he was looking through the cages, stopping to pet a nose or whistle for a dog once in awhile. He came to Tramp's door and knelt down. "Hello, handsome."
Tramp lazily opens an eye, then closes it again. This one looks -much- too yuppy to bother with. He'll wait for someone a little scruffier to come by, then lay it on thick to get out of here.
Chuckling a little, the man took a bone-shaped dog treat out of his pocket and dangled it for Tramp.
Smelling the treat, Tramp opens his eyes again, looking bemused. 'Alright,' he thinks, 'I may as well get a treat..." He ambles over to the door, yawning and stretching and making it clear that he's taking his own sweet time.
The Pound worker looks a little alarmed. "Uh, sir? Not to discourage you or anything...but Tramp there is kinda infamous. He's in and out of here all the time..."
The man reached out to scratch behind the dog's ear. "Infamous for what?"
"Running away. He gets brought back here, or caught on the street, and then someone takes him home again, and... here he is again."
Surprised, Tramp backs away, then grins to himself. Maybe he'd get out sooner than he thought. He leans back into the scratch, making the cutest face he can.
"I can escape-proof my house until he settles in, I think. Though Lady will have some adjusting to do!" he laughed, scratching under Tramp's chin. "I think I'll take him."
The Pound worker frowns at Tramp, where the customer can't see. "Eh...alright...this is his last chance, though. And please don't say we didn't warn you. Believe me, he looks cute and innocent--it's an art for him."
Tramp growls softly at the pound guy, sticking his tongue out, making sure the mark can't see it or hear it. Turning back, he turns up the cute, making little whimpering noises and everything.
"I'll make sure he doesn't end up back here again." he said, taking a collar and slipping it around Tramp's neck quickly, fastening it before the dog knew what had hit him. It was a handsome red leather thing with bronzed buckles.
"Alright. I'll get the paperwork...make sure he doesn't bite you!" he exclaims, seeing the collar being fastened. Wincing, he goes to grab the paperwork, hoping nothing will go wrong for thirty seconds.
At first, Tramp is too startled to react. He shakes his head at the new sensation, trying to rub the thing off on the bars of the door. When it doesn't come off, he opens his mouth to bite, before realizing that he shouldn't at least until they're out the door...He sits patiently instead, waiting for the boring rustly stuff to be done so he can go.
The man pays for Tramp and his shiny new license, which he then affixes to the red collar, buys a few more things for his new pet, leashes Tramp and heads outside.
Tramp sighs again, and follows docilely along, testing the collar and leash as sneakily as he can. The jingle of the license is even more irritating than just the collar, and he tries to chew on it.
For his trouble he gets a firm jerk from the leash. "No, boy. That will stay on." His new Master leads him to his car, lets him into the back seat and drives him home.
Tramp grumbles and keeps walking. He stops in front of the car, growling and stiff-legged.
"Come on, Tramp." A treat was dangled in front of him, coaxing him into the car. "It's okay."
He tries to pull back, jerking his head from side to side, trying to get out of the collar.
His Master scoops him up from around his middle and puts him in the back, holding him there as he closes the door. Once he gets into the drivers seat, he gives Tramp his treat. "See, it's nice."
Tramp wiggles furiously, trying to bit but not quite able to reach, scrabbling with all his long, ragged, dirty nails. Once he's on the seat, he flings himself at the door, pawing at it, trying to get it open. He doesn't like the smell of the car, or the feel of the seats under his paws. He bumps the treat out of the man's hand, dismissively leaving it on the floor.
"Aw, Tramp, it's okay. You'll get used to it. I might have to get you a pet carrier for the car, I guess." his Master scribbled a note down on his list of things to do, then drove away.
Tramp starts whining when the car moves, soon ratcheting up to a full-blown howl. He flattens himself against the floor, growling and trembling.
As soon as they'd reached their destination, the man got Tramp out, soothing him and petting his head. "It's okay, we're done now."
Tramp leaps out as soon as the door is open, running as fast as he can on his hands and scabby knees, trying to get out of reach of the leash.
The man already had his leash and gave him a quick jerk to let him know he was stuck on the leash. "Come on, trouble." he chuckled, leading him into a strange smelling building.
Tramp yelps as he's jerked back. Deciding to give in for the moment, he follows submissively along behind the man, sniffing at the strange building nervously. He considers nipping the man's ankles, but the trip in the car has tired him a little, so he decides to bide his time for a bit.
"Good boy." he gets another treat when they get in. His Master walked them to the receptionist's desk. "I have an appointment for eleven."
Tramp eats the treat grudgingly--but he is hungry--and follows along.
The receptionist smiles--this is a frequent customer--then frowns as she looks at the dog in question. "Why, Mr. Brown...if I didn't know you better, I'd think you'd been using this dog for fighting! What happened? Where's Lady?"
Tramp snickers to himself. 'Lady?'
"Lady's at home, probably napping by now. I just got this fellow from the pound. I'm thinking we'll do some flyball once he gets used to living as a licensed pet." Mr Brown chuckled. "He looks a bit rough but after grooming and a vet visit, he'll look charming."
The receptionist smiles with relief. "Oh, how nice! I'm sure he'll love having someone around to keep him company, and fly ball is such good exercise! Would you like to come in with him, or would you like to pick him up later?"
Tramp is ignoring the conversation, stealthily gnawing on the leash while the man is distracted.
"I'll pick him up later, I think he needs a carrier for the car. He doesn't travel well." He scoops up Tramp again and puts him on the counter, taking the leash out of his mouth. "Tramp, no. No chewing the leash. You be good," he scolded.
Tramp growls, trying to jump off the counter.
The receptionist is prepared for this--the occasional pet isn't as well behaved as, say, Lady--and catches him carefully before he hits the floor, leash in hand. Laughing, she takes him to one of the grooming rooms, lifts him onto a table, and clips his leash to the table.
"Oh, sweetie." the groomer came in, eyes wide at the sight of the dirty, scraggly mess that was Tramp. "Let's just get you cleaned up."
Tramp has been chewing his leash this whole time, not making much headway on the thick material. He turns and looks at the groomer, flopping on the table.
The groomer took a long hose and nozzle and ran some warm water over Tramp, soaking him and getting some of the grease and dirt and filth of him and out of his hair. "Poor dirty creature, just look at this mop!"
Tramp yelps as loudly as he can, then bark-grunts furiously, trying to snap and being pulled short by the leash.
The groomer swats him on the nose. "No, doggie! Bad! No biting." he gets out a bottle of shampoo with a picture of a dead flea on it and started to soap up Tramp's filthy hair.
Tramp gets cross-eyed for a moment, and resumes his leash chewing, more urgently, occasionally wincing or yelping as the soap finds a sore or tender place.
After he's been thoroughly soaped and rinsed -twice- Tramp hears the snip snip of scissors cutting through his lopsided mane of matted hair. The groomer holds him by the neck so as not to hurt him with the scissors.
Tramp squirms against the grip on his neck, and -really- doesn't like the weird noise so close to his face and ears.
After about five pounds of sticks, mud, hair and unnamable substances had been removed from Tramp's hair, the groomer finally finished his trim into a fashionable, if short, cut. He cleaned out Tramp's ears and clipped his nails.
Tramp squirms and thrashes as much as he can through this, though he's soon panting--it's been a stressful day! He's very, very lucky and the groomer is very good, so he avoids getting cut. He scratches at his head and ears, not enjoying it as much now that his nails are cut.
"Just one last thing, darling, then you can go home!" the groomer said, taking a swab and swabbing Tramp's anus.
Tramp howls at this final indignity, kicking and snapping and growling.
"Bad doggie!" the groomer said, "I didn't hurt you, and now you're done."
The receptionist came back in to take Tramp to the front, where his Master was paying for his grooming. "Wow, pup, I almost don't recognize you!"
Tramp, thoroughly exhausted and humiliated, practically runs back to the man--anything to get away from these crazies!
"Good boy, you look very handsome." his Master said, giving him a handful of treats to chow down on. "Tell the groomer thank you, he looks great." he told the receptionist.
Tramp devours the treats, pressed against the man's leg and glowering at everyone.
His Master pets his soft, brushed hair, scratching gently behind his ear. "Come on, pup, one more stop before home." he led him out of the building.
Tramp follows almost eagerly, hardly noticing the scratching.
Tramp also hardly notices the kennel until he is scooped into it and the cage door shut. There's a soft towel and a squeaky toy inside with him. His Master lifts the cage into the back of the car and closes the door.
Tramp curls up on the soft towel after pawing at the door a few times, and sniffs at the squeaky toy. Surprised that it doesn't smell like anything but rubber, he chews it, enjoying the squeaking.
His Master smiles as they drive, stopping at the vet's office next. He got Tramp out, letting him take his squeaky toy with him. "Good boy, Tramp."
Carrying the toy in his mouth, Tramp follows the man curiously.
"I have an appointment. Under Brown." his Master told the receptionist. A vet tech came and took Tramp's leash from him and led him away as Mr Brown went over things at the desk.
Tramp is taken away before he really notices, though he does pull a bit, trying to get back to the man.
The vet tech leads him into a small room and gets him onto a cold metal table, holding him still.
Tramp whimpers at the cold, trying to squirm free and jump down.
The vet came in, checking Tramp's eyes with a bright light, looking in his nose and ears, opening his mouth and looking at his teeth. He made some notes on a clipboard, then started to prepare a syringe.
Tramp bark-grunts at all this, growling frequently, and squirming with all his might. He shakes his head at the light and pokings.
The vet grabbed his arm and gave him a shot before he could even struggle.
Tramp yelps louder than ever before and turns, baring his teeth and trying to bite, scrabbling with all four limbs.
The vet tech holds him down and grabs his jaw, keeping him from biting. "Fiesty dog, isn't he?" they laughed a little. "Can you open his mouth, he needs a worming pill as well."
The vet tech forced open Tramp's jaws, holding them open. The vet slid the pill down his throat, then stroked his neck until he swallowed.
Tramp gasps and gags, trying to spit it out, but is eventually forced to swallow. He glares at both of them, growling low in his throat.
The vet checked his heartbeat, prodded his anus and checked his genitals. "Make sure the receptionist asks if this dog will be kept intact. We want to encourage neutering." the vet said, turning to leave with his clipboard.
Tramp doesn't understand any of this, but is thoroughly uncomfortable and upset. He lunges at the leaving man, trying to bite.
The vet tech jerks him back, leading the sore and tired dog back to his Master in the lobby.
Head hanging, Tramp walks veeeery slowly back to the man, cowering against his leg and trying not to tremble.
"Aw, my poor Tramp. It's been a big day." his Master rubbed his side. "How was he?"
"He's healthy. A bit bitey, and his knees are scabbed up, but we have this cream for that." the vet tech handed him a jar. "Also, were you thinking of neutering him?"
"Yes, I'll make an appointment once he's all settled. Thank you." Mr Brown left, putting Tramp into his carrier and driving them home.
Tramp flops on the floor of the cage, too exhausted to do much.
Mr Brown drives them home, carrying Tramp's carrier into the house, leaving him in the front room, close to Lady's fancy bed while he went to go get Tramp's new things.
Lady is curled asleep on his bed, snoring daintily--he's not expecting Master home yet.
Tramp whines a little when the carrier is put down, sitting up and scratching at the cage door.
Lady stirs at the noise, rolling onto his back with his limbs in the air.
Tramp glares at him, then grins when he remembers that this must be 'Lady'. "Hey bitch." he growls, looking as suave as he can with his fur all groomed.
Lady sits up, looking shocked. "I beg your pardon...!" he cries, aghast. "What are you...who are you! How did you get in here? Get out at once, you ruffian!"
Tramp cocks his head to the side. "You're not female." his lip twitches and he starts to howl with laughter. "Lady!"
"No, I am clearly not female!" Lady yelps. "What are you doing in Master's house?!" Lady gets delicately off his bed, standing in front of the carrier, looking as menacing as he can, barking shrilly.
"He carried me in here himself, Laaaady." Tramp grinned, baring his teeth. "Just wait until he lets me out. I'll make you into a lady."
"Why do you keep saying my name like that? He must have brought you in by mistake. Or because you look so pathetic. He has a very kind heart, you know," Lady sniffs. He doesn't understand the last comment, so he ignores it. "Or maybe you're the new guard dog. I'm certain this will be the last time you're allowed inside."
Their Master came back in with an arm full of dog toys, biscuits, brushes, bowls and a brand new dog bed. "Lady, are you being nice?" he asked, setting the new bed next to Lady's.
Lady wiggles furiously, nuzzling against his Master, before turning back to the carrier and barking furiously. "Master! This...thing...got in somehow! What do you mean, am I being nice?" He cocks his head with confusion. "...and I don't need another bed..."
"Lady, shush, there's no need for a fuss. This is Tramp. He's our new friend." Mr Brown opened the carrier and let Tramp out, keeping a tight grip on his collar just in case they didn't get along.
Lady backs away, whining and looking at Tramp anxiously, especially now that he's out. He looks up at his Master for reassurance.
His Master scratches behind Lady's ear, making soothing noises to them both. "Good dogs." he smiles. Tramp wags and looks innocently up at Mr Brown, then lowers his gaze and smirks at Lady.
Lady nuzzles into the scratching, looking suspiciously at Tramp. "Master! Don't fall for it! Please! ...did I do something wrong?" He stands on his knees, front paws folded in front of him, whining and looking concerned.
"Oh, Lady, don't be so dramatic. Tramp will be your friend and keep you company while I'm gone. And I'll still love you just as much." Mr Brown lets go of Tramp's collar.
The scruffy, scabby mutt went straight to Lady, touching noses, grinning at him.
"Oh...ok..." Lady nuzzles his Master, nuzzling noses with Tramp. "Sorry. I guess we're supposed to be friends..." He grins back, shyly. "You've at least been to the vet and the groomers, so you must be safe."
"Ugh, does that make me a domestic -licensed- pet? No wonder those places were so awful." Tramp nipped Lady's jaw, moving around to smell the rest of him.
"Yes, you have a collar and a license. I know they can be a little scary, but it's nice. And then you smell good. And you get treats." He yelps a bit at the nip, but lets Tramp finish examining him.
Tramp crawls around Lady, hopping up on his back and mounting him, grabbing him by the back of the neck with his teeth.
Lady yelps and squirms, scrabbling with his legs to no avail, howling desperately for his Master. "What are you doing, you horrid thing?! Master! Heeeelp!"
Mr Brown knocked Tramp off firmly, pulling him away by his collar. "No, Tramp!" Tramp grinned, but looked innocent once again. "I guess I'll have to book you in to be neutered." their Master said distractedly, heading to the phone.
Lady curls on his bed, licking himself and whimpering. "What was that for?" he sulks.
"You're a lady, aren't you? A bitch? A fluffy prancing little show dog?" he drew his lip back from his teeth.
"I'm not -a- lady, you stupid mongrel. My -name- is Lady. And yes...I have won several shows..." he says modestly, chewing the toy in his bed a little.
Tramp puffed up and barked at him, stealing the toy and laying down in his own bed happily to gnaw at it.
"Hey! That's mine! You've got your own right there!"
"I wanted this one." he said, around a mouthful of tasty rubber.
Lady gets up, trying to grab Tramp's ignored chew toy. "Fine then," he sulks.
Tramp bit him when he went near his toy.
Lady yelps, running into the house barking for his Master. "Master! The beast bit me! I'll probably get some horrible disease and die!"
Tramp chuckled, gnawing the new shiny rubber off both toys.
Master bent down and pet Lady absentmindedly as he spoke on the phone. "Yes, as soon as possible. He can't breed Lady, but I'd rather he not breed in case he does end up escaping. Lady's still intact, yes. He's a purebred stud dog, though." he knelt down, letting Lady into his lap, shushing him.
Lady curls in his Master's lap, whimpering to himself and watching the door in case Tramp comes in.
"Thanks very much. Yes, goodbye."
Master put the phone down and picked up Lady. "Are you scared of him, pet?" he kissed his pale pet on the top of his head. "It's okay, you two will be good friends."
Lady licks his Master's face, putting his front paws on his shoulders. "Yes! He's scary! He bites me! Take him back, please!"
"Oh, Lady, it's okay. Tramp will just take awhile to adjust. He's not from a nice warm home like you are. He grew up outside in the streets and didn't have a master to feed him or love him." he sets Lady down in his bed next to Tramp, petting them both. Tramp gave a happy grumble around his newly-mangled, slobbery chew toys.
"Oh. Well. That's too bad. I feel sorry for him, I guess..." Lady settles on his bed, watching Tramp chew the toys. "But now all the toys are covered in his slobber..."
Mr Brown stood, leaving Lady sitting with Tramp as he went to do some human thing.
Tramp grinned. "Still want your chew toy, show-bitch?"
"Bleh, no. And don't call me mean things. You're in a nice place now, you don't have to prove how tough you are," Lady says, smugly.
"Oh, I don't have to prove it. I know I'm tougher than you." Tramp got up, trotting his lean, dark self to the back door to check out the dog-door. He slipped out after a moment with the flap, checking out the backyard for escape routes.
Lady follows him, making sure he doesn't get into any trouble or make a mess. "Ok, fine, I don't have to be tough. But now neither do you." Lady goes and stands in front of his deluxe dog house.
"Of course I do. I'm not staying here." he scoffed, starting to dig through the garden by the fence, throwing dirt and flowers up behind himself.
"Hey! What are you doing? Those are Master's flowers!" He barks. "And you shouldn't dig like that! You'll make a mess...and ruin your nails!"
"I'm getting out of here, dumb mutt." Tramp laughed. "I'm not staying in someone's -house-. That's for housepets. I'm a stray."
"Not anymore you're not. You have a license. And if you escape they'll take you to...the pound..." This last is said in a terrible whisper, as though he can hardly bear saying it. "You'll get in trouble."
"I've been in the pound lots. I live on the streets. And I can get this collar off." he scratched at it with annoyance. "If I try hard enough."
Lady looks completely shocked, his eyes bugging out of his head. "You're deranged! You're psychotic and dangerous and... a stray!!!!!!" This, of course, is the worst of all. "You'd better not get me in trouble." Lady races inside, barking furiously for his Master.
Tramp keeps digging, though his newly clipped nails weren't as good at digging as they had been. Grumbling, he kept throwing dirt about.
Mr Brown went to find Lady. "What's wrong, pet?"
Lady barks, wishing Masters could understand dogs. "Master! He's trying to escape!" He tugs at Master's sleeve, trying to pull him toward the yard, still barking around the cloth in his mouth.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming." he let himself be dragged outside by Lady. when he saw the mess Tramp had made he frowned, grabbing Tramp by his collar just before he wriggled under the fence. "Tramp! No! Bad dog!"
Lady lays in the shade in front of his dog house, grinning to himself and watching Tramp get scolded. "I told you..." he woofs to Tramp.
Tramp snarled and snapped at Lady as the Master dragged him past the other pet.
Lady looks aghast, retreating into the dog house with a whimper.
"No, Tramp! Come, Lady." Mr Brown whistled for his show dog. Tramp was installed in a gated off room with a bowl of water and a dish of food, laying on his bed with toys and bones about him. He grumbled and looked irritable.
Lady follows Master inside, trotting at his heels. He drinks a little water, then goes back to his Master, not wanting to leave his side.
Mr Brown is busily blocking the dog-door, shutting it so the dogs can't get in or out without him opening the door.
Lady whimpers. "Stupid mutt...now I can't go outside!" He nuzzles his Master's arm, looking pleading. "I wasn't bad!"
"Aww, I know today's been a big day." his Master chuckled, rubbing Lady's shoulder. "It's okay, you're still my perfect little gentleman, aren't you." he scooped up his show-dog and headed to the couch to relax and watch a movie, after quietly opening the gate to Tramp's room.
Lady pants happily, curled on his Master's lap adoringly, his head resting on Master's shoulder.
Tramp grumbled for a bit, then headed out. After flopping on Lady's bed, he inched his way over to Mr Brown and Lady, finally napping right beside the couch.
Lady looks at his Master for approval before tentatively hopping down and curling up with Tramp.
Tramp pretended to ignore him, but put his chin over the other's back.
Lady wiggles happily, gently licking Tramp, making little soothing noises, wagging and looking at his Master to show what a good boy he is.
Mr Brown smiled down at them, ruffling their hair together. "Cute pups."
Tramp grumbled when he was being licked, but put up with it. He'd have to be trusted out of the room so that he could make good his escape.
Lady grins up at his Master, curling up for a nap.
After Mr Brown had gone to bed and Lady had conked out next to him, Tramp got up and started to explore his new home. He checked out all the rooms, the interesting smells of the garbage and the sealed dog door. He scratched at it for awhile, butted his heada against it... it wouldn't open! He went to the front, jumping up and propping his front paws on the window, looking out. Damn, so close...
Lady hears the scuffling and scampering and bounds lightly out of bed to investigate.
Tramp raises his hackles and growls at him deep in his throat.
Lady yelps, trying to be quiet and not wake his Master. "What? Why are you growling?" he whimpers.
"How can I get out of this place?" he snarls, walking forward slowly, on stiff legs.
"Why would you want to? We have everything--food, water, toys, treats, walks, baths..."
"We're not free! We're just licensed toys." he growled. "Show me a way out of here or I will bite you to pieces!"
"I'm not a toy," Lady sniffs. "There is no way out. I'll bark and wake Master."
"You are a little toy. You just sit pretty in his lap and do what he tells you like a good bitch." Tramp stuck out his tongue. "Bleh."
"I'm not a bitch. I'm a dog. Why would I want anything else? That's what I'm for. I'm properly bred. Unlike some." He looks down his long, elegant nose at Tramp.
Tramp snapped and snarled, pushing Lady over and biting at his neck and chest.
Lady yelps and whines, crying out for his Master. "Agh! What are you doing? You'll scar me! You're crazy! You have rabies! Master will shoot you!"
"You've seen old yeller once too often." Tramp laughed, biting Lady's ear.
They heard the Master getting up and coming downstairs.
Lady runs to his Master, whimpering dramatically.
"He tried to kill me!"
Master picks him up, petting him gently and looking him over. "You're okay, Lady, Tramp didn't break the skin. You're a bit wet though." he touched the teeth-marks Tramp had left. "Tramp, no!"
Tramp went to the front door and scratched to go out.
Lady presses himself against Master, still whimpering a little, but calming down. "Why did you bring him here? He's horrible. Please, just open the door. Maybe he'll get hit by a car?" he says, hopefully.
"Alright, I'll let you both out." the Master sighed, going back upstairs to put on his robe. He leashed both dogs, put on shoes and went out the front with them.
Lady barks happily, bouncing around. "Yay! Another walk! I don't know why he's taking -you- out, it just rewards your bad behaviour."
Tramp waited until the Master was just turning to close the door, then he grabbed both the leashes and bolted.
"Agh! What are you doing!" Lady pulls back with all his might, trying to get back to Master, but is easily overpowered by Tramp. "Master! Help!"
Tramp waited until they were out of sight, then dropped the leashes. Unfortunately they had become tangled and he was now attached to Lady.
Lady keeps pulling, hyperventilating and almost in a panic. "Let me go! You've kidnapped me!" He only manages to tangle the leashes more, and sits down and howls forlornly. "What if I end up at the -pound-?"
"Shut up and stop whining!" Tramp barked at him. He trotted off towards his old haunts, by the train tracks.
Lady tries to just stay put, but is just dragged along on his sensitive knees, so he finally is forced along, whimpering quietly. "Ow...ow...how do you walk without kneepads?"
"Why do you need them?" Tramp chuckled, swaggering a bit now that he was back where he wanted to be.
"Because it -hurts-! My knees will be bleeding soon and then they'll be dirty and scabby and horrible like yours!"
"Suck it up, show-bitch! I'm where I want to be, you think I want to listen to you whine about your pretty little knees now?"
"What -do- you want?" Lady yells back, "Now we're out here, and I'm tired, and then it'll be morning, and I'll need to be fed and watered and walk, and then I'll need a place to sleep again, and how will you manage that?!"
"I want to be in my home, princess prissy-paws. You can be quiet and obedient and to what I say, and I will take care of you until I can get this thing off..." he scratched at his collar, "or you can whine me to death and then you'll be out here all on your own to starve."
"So you -do- have a home! Why didn't you just say so?" Lady sulks for a moment. "Well, I suppose I don't have much choice, do I? I'm stuck with you. You'll...be my Master?" he says, a little hopefully.
"I'll be top dog, but I'm not your 'Master'." Tramp growled. "Now, I want to go to sleep." he started to trot off to his favorite bed, a stack of old hay tucked under a rusty train car. Tramp settled in for the night, leaving space for the whiny dog.
Lady follows, wrinkling his nose at the smell and the dirt. "You want to sleep -here-? I thought you had a home..." He laughs. "Dogs can't be on top, that's silly."
"You've clearly never seen a pack of dogs." Tramp laughed, nestling further under the hay. "Come on, it's warm."
"Of course I haven't! What a ridiculous notion!" Lady follows looking suspicious. "It's prickly and it smells bad..."
Tramp grabbed Lady by the back of the neck and dragged him into the hay, sitting partially on top of him.
Lady yelps, but quiets down and snuggles next to Tramp, too exhausted to complain much. "At least you're warm...and you just got washed..." he murmurs sleepily.
Tramp was soon snoring softly against Lady, a smile on his face.
Lady sleeps fitfully, with lots of horrible, squirmy, whimpery nightmares.
****
Tramp woke the next morning with a big stretch and yawn, getting off Lady and starting to gnaw at the leash.
Lady yawns and stretches, looking quite comical as he attempts to jump off the bed. "Agh! Mast--oh. Right." Grumpily, he ignores Tramp and also starts chewing the leash, looking rather pained at this disobedience.
"We're never going to get through this stuff." Tramp says around a mouthful of nylon leash.
"It doesn't seem very likely. Well done." Lady lays down with a dramatic, despairing sigh. "I'll never get home...wait, I know!" Lady gets up and starts trying to pull Tramp with him.
"Where are we going?" Tramp trotted along next to him, raising an eyebrow.
"I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier! We just have to find a Person to help us!"
"Ugh! No!" Tramp stopped immediately, pulling Lady back. "We'll find something else."
"Glack!" Lady is strangled by the collar tightening around his neck. "Like what?!" he barks. "What's your idea? I'm hungry!"
"Well, then we'll just go get some food. Honestly." Tramp rolled his eyes, starting in a different direction.
"Oh. Ok." Lady follows. "I miss Master, too."
"I'll return you once we're untangled." Tramp promised, pulling Lady into a back alley and dragging him to the back door of a restaurant. He scratched at the door, and when that did not get a response, he howled.
"No! You shouldn't! We'll get in trouble!" Lady hides.
A man comes to the door. "Wha--oh, it's you...you know, I should really call the pound, but...ok...fine..." He goes and comes back with some scraps. "Here you go."
Tramp licks his hand gratefully then started to eat the delicious scraps of greasy chinese food.
The man goes back inside, shutting the door behind him.
"Come on, Lady, aren't you hungry?"
Lady comes back out, looking around nervously. "You're sure he's not going to do anything?" He sniffs hungrily, his mouth watering.
"Why would he? Come on, dig in." Tramp said around a mouthful of kung pao chicken.
"...I guess so..." Lady takes a delicate nibble. "Bleh. It's greasy...Master would never eat this, never mind feed it to me..." Nevertheless, he keeps eating, grinning a little.
"It's tasty isn't it?
"Yes!" Lady grins more. "What is it?"
"Chinese food, tastiest thing on earth. Just wait until they put out the potstickers." he grinned back.
"Mmmm...so...you always eat like this? ...it's amazing you're not really fat."
"I get lots of excercise." he chuckled, licking his lips as he finished up the leftovers. "Want some dessert?"
"Yeah!" Lady wags happily. He licks his lips in imitation.
"I know just the place." Tramp trotted away, heading for a butcher shop he knew was friendly to dogs. He scratched at the back with Lady and waited until two big lamb bones were tossed out to them. "Now this is a bone!" Tramp grinned.
Lady's eyes get huge. He's never gotten a fresh bone with meat on it. He's soon happily gnawing and drooling all over it, making happy little noises.
Tramp and Lady continue gnawing on their bones until late afternoon. Tramp is thinking all the while of the best way to free himself of this -admittedly attractive- whiny pampered show-dog.
Lady yawns sleepily. "So? Are we going home now? ...although it has been sort of fun..."
"I still have to figure out how to get this collar off." Tramp sighed.
"Why don't you just ask one of those people you know? Or your Master? ...where is your Master?"
"I don't have a Master, I just live like this." Tramp chuckled.
"...did he die?" Lady asks softly, nuzzling up to Tramp.
"I never had a Master, why can't you get that?" Tramp growled a little. "I was born outside in an alley."
"I don't understand...how can you not have a Master? My Master is very nice. ...he can be yours, too." Lady smiles.
"I don't want one. I like the way I live. I eat what I want, when I want. I sleep when I want, I walk when I want. I have everything I could want. Just because you're a silly pampered pet, doesn't mean I am."
"But...but...you're alone and dirty and smelly and skinny and...sad! We're not supposed to live like this. Things are supposed to be done for us." He licks Tramp.
Tramp bit him, though gently. "I'm just the way I'm supposed to be and I'm not sad."
"You should be," Lady says, nonsensically. "Can we go home now?"
"No, I'm getting this collar off."
Tramp turned and looked about, "ahh, how about here?"
Lady follows. "What's this?"
"A zoo. It's full of pets, like you. But they're all different."
"Oh! Neat!" Lady prances ahead, excited. "It smells funny."
"It does, like weird animals." Tramp moved through the zoo cautiously, looking at all the animals. "What do you think, can any of these help us?"
"...I don't know..." Lady is a little scared now, seeing weird shadows everywhere. "...maybe we should go..."
"No, we're fine." Tramp assured him. He saw wolves in one of the cages. "Hello, hello, who're you?"
"Eep," says Lady quietly.
A wolf comes over to the bars and laughs. "Looks like you and your girlfriend are pretty committed there...when's the wedding?"
"The leash is tangled and I want it off. Your teeth are sharper than ours. Would you mind?" Tramp offered a bit of the leash.
"Mmm...if you're sure..." the wolf laughs, then gnaws on the leash. "Blech. Gross. Did you at least bring me something?"
"Will this do?" Tramp nudged in the lamb bone.
"Mmm.... nice... that'll do. Really, we don't get fed much better than you pets in here," he mumbles through a mouthful of leash. "...almost got it..."
Tramp twitched and fidgeted impatiently, waiting for the wolf to finish.
Lady quivers with terror, pressed against the ground.
The wolf finishes chewing through the leash, neatly grabbing the bone through the bars. "Thanks," he says, barely comprehensible through the bone. "Take care of your girlfriend, I think she might faint."
"Yeah, yeah." Tramp trotted away, nudging Lady to move.
The wolf laughs and watches them go, chewing on his bone.
"...what was that?" Lady asks, voice quavering. "Can we go home now?"
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