Damsel in Distress
Written for the prompt "dog in the snow".
Title: Damsel in Distress
Series: Tales of the Abyss
Length: 675 words
Genre: General, Fluff, Friendship
Characters: Natalia, Guy
Summary: Females of all species adore Guy.
Natalia swore that she heard whimpering, but when they looked into the alley behind the shop, all they saw were old boxes and crates, covered with a light dusting of last night’s snowfall.
The sound was louder here, though, and closer inspection revealed a dog huddled in one of the broken crates, trembling from cold and pain, with only a scrap of cloth for warmth.
Natalia immediately crouched down beside the dog and cast a healing arte to ease the dog’s pain, but he continued whimpering.
“No collar or tag. He must be a stray, poor thing,” she said. “We have to help him.”
“What’s wrong, fella?” Guy knelt by the opposite end of the crate and laid a hand on the dog’s abdomen. “Oops. I beg your pardon, my lady.”
“What?” Natalia asked.
“Our boy here is a girl, and… expecting.”
“You mean puppies?” she asked stupidly. What else would a dog be expecting? Canaries?
“Yeah. Probably soon, too, if she’s nested.” He pressed his fingertips against the rounded belly, and the dog whimpered again. “Shh, it’s okay,” he said, and he moved his hand to scratch the dog’s ears. “All done, see? Good girl.”
“So when it’s an animal, you have no difficulty touching a woman,” Natalia teased.
He winked at her in return. “You know me, I’m a sucker for a damsel in distress.”
“Indeed.” The wind began whipping coldly about them, tossing up the bit of snow from the ground and promising more to come. “What should we do? We can’t leave her here to freeze. The puppies would never have a chance.”
“I’ll take her. Every lord of the manor needs a faithful pooch, right?” Guy continued scratching the dog’s ears, which had perked up at the attention. “Do you want to come home with me, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice low and cooing. He stroked her jowl gently, in case in her imminent motherhood, she felt threatened and wanted to bite. Instead, her tongue poked out to lick his finger. “Yeah, you do. That’s a girl.” The dog nuzzled her nose against his palm, and this time her whimper was more like a sound of assent and happiness than one of pain.
Clearly females of all species adored Guy.
He inspected the crate, but it was obvious that lifting it to carry the dog without disturbing her wouldn’t work. It was sure to fall apart if they tried. “I hope it’s okay to move her,” he said as he shrugged out of his coat.
“I think we have to, before the weather gets any worse,” Natalia reminded him, and he nodded. “We’ll take her straight to the house.”
“We’ll set up a nice basket by the fire, how will that be?” he asked the dog, keeping his tone coaxing and soft as he lifted her ever so gingerly to wrap her in his coat. She was swaddled like a newborn, surrounded by deep blue wool with her tawny head peeking out one end and her tail drooping from the other. Her eyes closed as if she were exhausted by just that much activity. “That’s my good girl.”
They walked as quickly as they dared in the direction of his house, not wanting to jostle the dog any more than necessary. Guy shivered in his shirtsleeves, but the bundle in his arms was his priority. “I’ll put the word around and post some notices,” he said, “but if no one claims her, would you like one of the pups?”
“I would, actually,” Natalia answered. “A boy, if there’s one, so I can name him after you.”
“To be your protector.” His chest puffed out at the idea.
“To fetch things for me,” she corrected, then giggled at the exaggerated way his proud chest fell.
“I should have known,” he said with his typical good humor. “All right, then, I expect he’ll be your most loyal and devoted servant.”
“Well, I am a sucker for a guy who obeys my every command.” She pretended she was still talking about the dog.
Originally posted 1/19/12
Title: Damsel in Distress
Series: Tales of the Abyss
Length: 675 words
Genre: General, Fluff, Friendship
Characters: Natalia, Guy
Summary: Females of all species adore Guy.
Natalia swore that she heard whimpering, but when they looked into the alley behind the shop, all they saw were old boxes and crates, covered with a light dusting of last night’s snowfall.
The sound was louder here, though, and closer inspection revealed a dog huddled in one of the broken crates, trembling from cold and pain, with only a scrap of cloth for warmth.
Natalia immediately crouched down beside the dog and cast a healing arte to ease the dog’s pain, but he continued whimpering.
“No collar or tag. He must be a stray, poor thing,” she said. “We have to help him.”
“What’s wrong, fella?” Guy knelt by the opposite end of the crate and laid a hand on the dog’s abdomen. “Oops. I beg your pardon, my lady.”
“What?” Natalia asked.
“Our boy here is a girl, and… expecting.”
“You mean puppies?” she asked stupidly. What else would a dog be expecting? Canaries?
“Yeah. Probably soon, too, if she’s nested.” He pressed his fingertips against the rounded belly, and the dog whimpered again. “Shh, it’s okay,” he said, and he moved his hand to scratch the dog’s ears. “All done, see? Good girl.”
“So when it’s an animal, you have no difficulty touching a woman,” Natalia teased.
He winked at her in return. “You know me, I’m a sucker for a damsel in distress.”
“Indeed.” The wind began whipping coldly about them, tossing up the bit of snow from the ground and promising more to come. “What should we do? We can’t leave her here to freeze. The puppies would never have a chance.”
“I’ll take her. Every lord of the manor needs a faithful pooch, right?” Guy continued scratching the dog’s ears, which had perked up at the attention. “Do you want to come home with me, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice low and cooing. He stroked her jowl gently, in case in her imminent motherhood, she felt threatened and wanted to bite. Instead, her tongue poked out to lick his finger. “Yeah, you do. That’s a girl.” The dog nuzzled her nose against his palm, and this time her whimper was more like a sound of assent and happiness than one of pain.
Clearly females of all species adored Guy.
He inspected the crate, but it was obvious that lifting it to carry the dog without disturbing her wouldn’t work. It was sure to fall apart if they tried. “I hope it’s okay to move her,” he said as he shrugged out of his coat.
“I think we have to, before the weather gets any worse,” Natalia reminded him, and he nodded. “We’ll take her straight to the house.”
“We’ll set up a nice basket by the fire, how will that be?” he asked the dog, keeping his tone coaxing and soft as he lifted her ever so gingerly to wrap her in his coat. She was swaddled like a newborn, surrounded by deep blue wool with her tawny head peeking out one end and her tail drooping from the other. Her eyes closed as if she were exhausted by just that much activity. “That’s my good girl.”
They walked as quickly as they dared in the direction of his house, not wanting to jostle the dog any more than necessary. Guy shivered in his shirtsleeves, but the bundle in his arms was his priority. “I’ll put the word around and post some notices,” he said, “but if no one claims her, would you like one of the pups?”
“I would, actually,” Natalia answered. “A boy, if there’s one, so I can name him after you.”
“To be your protector.” His chest puffed out at the idea.
“To fetch things for me,” she corrected, then giggled at the exaggerated way his proud chest fell.
“I should have known,” he said with his typical good humor. “All right, then, I expect he’ll be your most loyal and devoted servant.”
“Well, I am a sucker for a guy who obeys my every command.” She pretended she was still talking about the dog.
Originally posted 1/19/12