A Superdogs Tale

[kijauni]

My Entry for BC Adopt #1000

Username: kijauni
Name: LoK Verus Salvator I Clark
Gender: Male
Name meaning: It's latin for A True Hero.


Prompt: In this Story you'll accompany Clark through several stages in his life and some key moments which shaped his future and behaviour.
Triggerwarning: Mention off accidents, cigarettes, injurys. Nothing too dramatic, I kept it all mild ofc!

L I K E S
* DC
* Summer
* Red Cape
*Superhero Storys
*Being Outdoor
*Hunting

D I S L I K E S
*Marvel
*Winter
*Scent of anise
*Having to Focus
*Being Alone
*Spotlight

Bonnie Tyler - Holding out for a Hero
3 Doors Down - Kryptonite
Foo Fighters - My Hero
The Chainsmokers ft. Coldplay – “Something Just Like This”
Alesso - We could be Heroes

Credits: Sparkle Dog, SuperDog Dividers

[kijauni]

Chapter One

Clark was cuddling with his beloved Cape. His mum had gifted him the Cape as a late birthday present because he had been obsessed with it since day one.
It was a red Cape, he could wear it attached to his collar and it made him look like Superdog, sidekick to Superman.
At least, thats what Clark told everybody.
And everybody thought he may had watched one too many Superhero movies.
Next thing would be that Clark believes he can fly.
Clark was already way past that point. He knew for sure he could not fly. A bruise on his face and a damaged ego were witness to this revelation.
But that doesn't mean he had no Superpowers. Some just sprout their Superpower later in life. Maybe he could shoot Lasers out of his eyes, or run super fast. Or maybe he could freeze water or talk to humans.
Clark yawned and cuddled a bit deeper into the pillows.
It was bedtime for him after a long day filled with many adventures and discoverys. One of these discoverys was that his mums human had said something about another human wanting to come and look at Clark and his siblings. Apparently this human tried to find a dog born to be a Search and Rescue Dog. Clark didn't understand what that meant but it sounded big, it sounded heroic.
It sounded like he better showed off his best behaviour tomorrow and maybe even wore his Cape. Nothing screams Hero more than a Red Cape, he knew that for a fact.
His whole life, spanning already 6 weeks, Clark has been dreaming about becoming a real life hero. He wanted to save lifes from danger, defend innocent dogs against evil humans or return stolen bones to their owners.
Or maybe he...
Midthought, Clark had fallen asleep. His twitching legs and moving eyes indicated clearly how he was dreaming up another "Clark: Superdog" Dream.
Maybe he was defending a Dog in a back alley against a gruesome attacker in this one, who knows?

340 words

[kijauni]

Chapter Two

"Clark! Come here!" Laura shouted at the top of her lungs.
But Clark being Clark was already off. The young Collie had found something else which caught his attention and his brain free'd from any thought of work, he chased after the beautiful butterfly. Maybe if he would speed up just a notch he'd catch it.
He widened his stride, ran faster and faster - when he suddenly had to pull the brakes.
The Fence surrounding the training area got to feel a nose pressed against it and see a dramatically sad dogface watch a Butterfly effortlessly escaping through holes not big enough for a dog.
Frustrated and void his distraction, Clarks good hearing turned on again.
"..ARK MARIBELLE PENNYWORTH! IF YOU DON'T COME HERE IMMEDIATLY THAN WE WILL HAVE A PROBLEM."
Oh dear, Laura seemed really upset. Her cheeks were red as the Butterflys Wings had been but unfortunately for a less joyous reason.
Clark sometimes wondered why Laura cared so much about this thing she called training. In his world, Clark did not need it at all.
He could find any treasure hidden if he just tried hard enough, why she forced him to always hunt this specific scent was beyond Clarks understanding. But Laura was not to reason with, he had tried multiple times.
So he tugged his tail in, put his best "itwasntme" pubby face on and returned to her.
She was lamenting to that other big person who was always around when they were in this area.
"... i don't understand... more focused.... best breed for.... It's really important to me."
Clark layed down and yawned. He watched an ant climb up a grass straw, using all it's strength to reach the top, sit for a bit on top and then descend again.
"You have to understa .... only 1yr old... young, and teaching... he'll learn..."
Clarks Ears perked for a second when the other big adult moved, but he only put a fleshy hand on Lauras Arm, not a reason to worry.
When he looked to the grass again, the ant was gone. Confused he looked around.
Where did it go? He turned on all his senses, sniffed the air for this distinctive, earthy yet sour ant smell. He closed his eyes, sniffed the air again and finally catched a small hint off ant.
Immediatly, he put his nose to the grown and started to follow the scent. It must be close, the scent was strong.
Just as he could smell he was nearly at the origin of the scent, he heard Laura shout his name in this tone of voice he knew meant to follow.
Clark sneezed, then turned around and trotted towards the two big humans.
Laura seemed a bit calmer again, maybe she'd be parting with one of those treats in her pocket?
But every inquiry was cut short when she said "Lets try it one final time."
Clark knew it meant work. You could probably see the internal sigh when Laura held up this cloth to his face again.
He sniffed and - BLERGH! Anis again. Literally his least favourite smell, why did she force this scent on him over and over again.
As usual, he was led away to a different area and then Laura said "Find the Bunny".
Clark found the game quite boring, there was no fun finding the same object over and over again. Especially at the limited locations Lauras Imagination seem to be able to come up with.
Clark sniffed the air. Trees, the nearby river, the shampoo in Lauras Hair and the Aftershave on the other big human. He sniffed again, adjusting his nose on the ground.
Mhmmm, a lot off ants seemed to live just underneath this pile of leaves over there.
"Focus Clark. Find the bunny!"
Lauras voice brought Clarks Attention back and his nose catched a faint hint of Anis. It felt like a punch in the Guts but well, he had to find it.
His Nose on the ground, shivering from disgust, Clark followed the awful smell to a small Red Box. Inside Was a bunny, covered in this vile smell.
If a dogs face could say "Tadaa", than Clarks face would say that as he sat down next to the Box and barked once, his tail Wagging.
After all, he was a good dog and he had prooven it just once more. And the treat which bounced off his nose when he tried to catch it midair, was well deserved. Of course.
Laura also seemed pleased, pat him on the head and called him a good dog. All the Butterfly Frustration seemed to have vanished from everybodys mind.

Soon, Laura and Clark were on their way home. As customary at this point, Laura turned up the Radio and they sang together to the Songs in the Radio. And as usually, Laura was totally off Lyrics but Clark did not mind as he howled along. Not everybody could be such a Superdog as he was.
He gently pulled his cloak a bit more over his back. He was using it as a blanket today. It read in big letters "Super Dog" and Clark was most proud off it. None of the other dogs at the doggy daycare called such a piece of clothing their own but sometimes Clark felt like the Cape was heavy on his shoulders.
He sighed a bit and started to dozz off.

Clark was awoken by the car coming to a sudden stop. It was nearly sliding even. Quickly, Clark yanked his eyes open to see what was going on.
He could hear Lauras Heart going faster and he could smell her sweat. Something Was wrong.
Clark stared out into the early december night. It was still darkening and it was this odd time of day where the light was gone but not fully yet, making telling shadows apart quit hard.
Slowly, shadows turned into shapes and he could make out a scene. There was a car. Perculiar the humans had decided to not drive it on the road, but on the side off it. It was also upside down. How would driving even work when the round thingys were looking up into the sky?
Clark grinned, Humans are so weird.
Than he heard Laura gasp for air and the car door was opened. He saw her run out, leaving the door wide open and towards the car.
The Air carrying so many different scents blasting into the car overwhelmed his brain for a minute.
There was a dark, sticky scent like oil. There was an old, burned scent. Maybe... Rubber? There was the scent of fear, the smell of tears.
And there was the metallic taste of blood. The scent of danger.
When the rush of New scents ebbed down, his other senses became more attentive again. He could hear Laura call something, he could hear a faint, screaking noise. Like Metall on Metall.
Clark felt an itch inside him to leave the car. Slowly, shakingly he left the car, ducked low to the ground. When his paws touched the ground, an electrifying feeling shot through his body.
He could feel his entire inner self become more focused, tuned to his surroundings. It felt like he was born to be Here.
He walked closer towards the car where Laura was frantically pulling on a door, which seemed to be stuck. The Metall creaked, nearly giving in. Suddenly, Clark could see two hands pushing from inside against the door when Laura tried to pull on it. And with a loud noise, the Metall finally gave in and opened a bit up. Enough space to fit a small person through and apparently the hands belonged to a small person.
Blond hair was the first thing Clark could see. Than a body followed.
The scent of blood became stronger and Clark could see some of it on the big humans face. Their Arm also looked weird, like it was attached a bit wrong to the human. Clark tilted his head.
What was going on?
He tried to Listen as good as he could to what the big humans said but the words didn't make sense to him.
"... slippery road.... sudden ice.... curve... everything black.... please call help!" Now that was something Clark understood, so he immediatly started to Bark. Alerting for help.
"Shut it, Clark!" yelled Laura. "What are you even doing here? Get back into the car!" she angry pointed towards the open door. Clark huffed and slowly walked back to the door. Why Was Laura so upset? He had just tried to help. The whole situation was too hard to understand for him.
He sat on the seat and watch Laura pull her small, noisemaker out of her Jacket. Than she said many, fast and upset words into it. Clark could nearly hear what the person in the noisemaker was saying. If he would be just a bit closer.
He again crept out of the car and made his way closer when there was a scream.
"MY DAUGHTER! Where is my Daughter?!?" shrieked the blood scented big human. Clark saw the expression on Lauras face freeze, than she said a few final words into the noisemaker before she put it back into her Jacket.
"Is your Daughter supposed to here?!" Laura asked in an alerted tone.
"She was in the back of the car. I thought.... I .... I saw her but.... why is she not there?" The other big human started to cry. Not the pretty Kind.
She spoke but Clark had troubles understanding much as her speaking was so silent and shaken by tears. Laura seemed to understand very well and she suddenly shot a glance to Clark which he did not like. He was about to back away, when she called him. "Come here, Clark. Such a good boy. Come!"
As he came closer, she said something to the other big human and grabbed an object out of their hand. It was a Horse but with funny black and white stripes. Laura held it close to Clarks face. With an intensity he had never heard before, she said:"Sniff! Find the bunny, Clark. Find it!"
Clark exhaled. This again. Hopefully it was not Anis this time.
He Took a deep breath. Certainly not Anis! He could smell shampoo and tears on the horse, snot and a cat. He could smell Endless nights of Bad dreams being comforted away and love and cuddles. And underneath it all, he could smell a scent. Just like Laura had but ever so slightly different. A human scent.
Clark perked his ears. What was he supposed to find out of this many, many scents? There was no bunny.
"Clark, please, find my daughter." the other big human cried out, kneading his shoulder fur a bit.
Ahh, so he had to follow the distinctive human scent.
He sat down, closed his eyes and allowed the Wind to bring the forest to him. There were the different scents he had discovered before, coming from the car, the big human, Laura. There was the smell of the forest, deep and rich. Moist, rotting leaves, - oh and Wildlife. A deer must have walked here by a while ago and it smelled like fresh pee off a fo - OH! There was the human scent.
It was very very faint, Clark had to focus a lot to keep it in his nose. He turned towards the scent and followed it. The scent smelled young and innocent. It came out of the forest. Clark slowly walked towards it, Laura and the other Human following him.
They passed by a moss covered treestump, where a few old mushrooms nearly covered up the scent but Clark managed to pass it. His senses high Alert, he realised the scent became stronger and stronger until he was at the very Source. He heard the two humans gasp.
The shadow of Clark Fell on the body of a young girl, crying, bleeding and hiding under a tree just as the faint Sound of sirens approached.

2002 words

[kijauni]

Chapter Three

The Wind was freezing cold and it brought tiny ice shards, biting into Clarks Nose. His eyes were covered with goggles and he wore his warm Vest against the sharp bite of the Winter. On top he wore his high traction Winter boots which allowed him to walk without any pain over the surface of the snow. But that was all secondary.
His objective was not to look good - altho nobody could argue against his good looks - but to find the missing Snowboarder.
Laura and Clark had been out already all day long, with fruitless efforts to find the person. One of the main contributors was, that nobody seemed to be able to provide Clark with a recent scent of the missing person. All he had to go off was some old clothes which had been found in the Hotel Room.
"Go right, Clark. I think I saw something down there." shouted Laura over the Wind.
Clark enjoyed his work but sometimes he wished he could go out on a nice, sunny day.
He turned his nose into the Wind coming from further down and inhaled. Mhm, there was a tasty rabbit down there. He could also smell the Pine Trees, the scent of many many Humans and some hidding Winter creatures. Everything Was overlapped with the fresh, clean smell of snow and the cold, iron-y smell of ice.
But no scent remotely close to the missing Person.
He turned around and barked.
Laura knew it meant He had not found anything. Despite his advice, she moved him forward and down the Mountain.
Clark nearly rolled his eyes. She was good but there is a reason He was leading. He had the Supersniffer.
Soon they approached something halfburied in the snow, next to some boulders.
It was a glove!
"See, I told you I saw something. Thats why you are the nose and I am the eyes. I don't know how you could overlook this beaming Red glove, but I give you a pass." said Laura, while picking up the glove.
Clark huffed. He had but one weakness and Laura never got tired teasing him over it. Green and Red are his Kryptonite.
Clark took a deep sniff off the glove.
Yes, that scent was much better, way more distinct as well.
It smelled like a Mixture of cedar, cigarettes and a hint of mint.
Clark held his nose into the Wind again and the scent was there. Faint but existing, distinct against the snows smell.
He barked and started to show the way. Now they were on track. And based on the strength of the scent, the human must have been here lately. Maybe a few hours ago.
Clarks tail wagged in excitment. This part of the Job was his favourite one.
His nose constantly on the ground or sniffing in the air, he slowly led Laura down the Mountain side. The snow started to become more slippery, more icey and more and more rocks broke through the surface. But without hesitation, Clark went over these obstacles and moved forward. Nothing Was able to hold him back anymore, not when he had a scent to track and a life to safe.
But suddenly, the scent was gone. Clark lifted his head up in confusion - only to come to a sliding halt as a big Cliff opened it's hungry mouth in Front off him.
Laura and Clark approached carefully the edge. It was a steep, maybe 20m deep fall down on hard, solid Rock and sharp boulders. A sudden gust of Wind blew into Clarks Face, roughing up his fur - and brought a scent of cedar, cigarettes and a hint of mint alongside it.
Clark barked and looked down.
"Are you serious? He is down there? How the hell did he go down there?". Lauras Eyes were wide and confused.
"Clark, I think we have to head home. We can't do anything anymore today. It's already darkening and they forecast snowfall in the next hour. Let me call our teamleader and inform him" said Laura, already reaching for her small noisemaker.
Another gust of Wind, stronger blew up. It tasted like snow and Rock and it carried the fresh scent of the missing person.
Clark was not ready to give up. That scent was fresh fresh, it must be directly from the person. He was down there and it was his, Clarks Mission to safe him.
His eyes pierced the sharp edges, the rocky slope and searched for a way down there. After a few seconds, he saw something.
Without giving it another thought, Clark barked and grabbed Lauras Jacket, pulled soft. As soon as he had her attention he darted towards the edge - and vanished.
"CLARK!" screamed Laura and stormed towards the edge only to see a happy dogface look over the edge, indicating to follow. Clark had managed to find a path, a path used by mainly four legged wildlife apparently as Laura struggled to walk it with her two legs and not only once risked falling and rolling down.
When they finally arrived in a landslide of pebbles and boulders, dirt and ice at Rock bottom, both were dirty and exhausted. But the Search was not over, the missing Snowboarder not Rescued yet.
Clark immediatly inhaled the air, scanning for the scent and latched onto it once found. It was strong, very strong.
He reassured with Laura that he could lead, she was speaking once again into the Noisemaker, than he walked towards a small forest a couple meters away.
Forest was already an exaggration, it was 20 Pine Trees at best. All bend towards the Mountain, bowing in Front of his greatness. The very few ones with a upright head were crowned with snow and every noise was muffled once you ventured between the low hanging Branches.
So it was no surprise that the groaning man didn't hear Clark coming. He would have probably jumped up, if his left leg wouldn't have been bending the wrong way.
His widened eyes and the fear in his face quickly turned into deep relief when he read the words on Clarks Vest.
"Search and Rescue Dog".
And in smaller print underneath
"Clark, the Superdog".
And now Laura entered the small opening, where the Man had apparently tried to build a Hut out of his broken snowboard and a few tree branches.
As Clark looked around, he listened to the two big humans talk.
"I am so so happy to see you two. You save my life. It is so cold out here and my leg... it's broken." the Man sobbed.
"Don't worry! We are here to help, I'll call for a Helicopter asap. But do you want some hot tea to warm you up?" said Laura, while pulling her thermocan out.
"How did you end up down here, so far off the allowed roads?" she wondered.
"I... I don't know how but I lost control and before I could do anything, I smashed into a boulder, lost my glove and my snowboard broke. Than I just tried to get off the Mountain but when I tried to climb this cliff down I Fell and... and my leg happened. And ...." he sighed in exhaustion and relieved fear. "and then I was preparing to stay the night out. I didn't think anybody would find me here." The mans hand started to shake. "Do you have a cigarette maybe? I am trying to quiet but my nerves..." he said blushing.
"Well, next time you better stay closer to the roads. We would have found you hours ago. If it weren't for Clark here, we probably wouldn't have at all. As for the cigarette, you'll have to wait till we have you back in the Hospital, sorry. Are you good? Here is your Glove btw! I'll call the Helicopter now."
Clarks attention was gone, he had done his job. He yawned. It had been a long day. He couldn't wait till he could cuddle up with his favourite toy in Front of the fireplace tonight.

Laura had combed his hair for hours today, than she had proceeded to smear some smelly stuff into his fur which made it shiny. And than on top of that, he had to sit with his warm Vest indoors, be quiet and focused when there was so much going on.
Hundreds of people were in this big house, everybody smelling so different. One of the old Ladys who had petted his head had smelt strongly like cat, Clark didn't like her.
Additionally, there were like a million different food smells in the air and sometimes Clark could see bits of bread or even delicious meat on the floor. Laura had always given him a warning glance but he just hoped she wouldn't pay attention once. He only needed one chance.
And lastly, and that was probably the most exciting part: there were dozens and dozens of dogs. Some were smaller, some bigger, some were hyped up and made their owners trouble, some were just big floofs laying on the floor. They were red and white and Black and brown and every dog colour and coat length imaginable.
But one thing United them all. They all wore a Vest. And all of their owners tried to look really professional but the dogs could smell their anxiety.
And of course, Clark was not allowed to interact with a single one. He still managed to meet a few known faces.
There were Sally from the Water Rescue and Bob the Epilepsy Service Dog. Gunter the Drug Sniffing Dog and even Miss Tilly, the Poodle Show Dog was here.
Something big was coming and none of the dogs had a clue what was on the Horizont.
Suddenly, the many legged mass of human and dog legs started to move into one direction and Clark was dragged along. A loud noise, like a Bell sounding three times and now they all were in a room with many chairs and tables.
Every Human and Dog found a table to sit on and Clark pulled towards sitting with Bob but Laura quickly called him back and shortened his leash.
That was new, she has not done that in years. Confused about this, Clark looked up to her.
"Soon, my good boy. Soon." she said, giving him a nervous pat.
Well, whatever it was making her nervous, apparently it was not his, Clarks, fault. So he sat down next to her and waited for the things to come.
He noticed a man, who was on something like a big table. He was in Front and everybody was staring at him. He had a Black sausage in his Hand and spoke into it. Magically, his words could be heard loud and clear across the whole room.
"Ladys and Gentlemen, welcome to the annual Meeting of Service Dog Owners off any kind. A place to recognize the best among us and establish friendly connections in the dog World." The Man paused and like one man, all the humans started to clap their hands together, creating a wave like noise raging towards the big table. The Man with the Sausage smiled and continued to speak.
The pattern repeated numerous times. The Man would say something, than he would Pause and the other humans would make this Hand noise upon which the Sausage man would smile and speak again.
After a while, Clark got drowsy from the repetition and was about to fall asleep when Laura tuck on the leash.
She gribbed the leash tighter and than started to walk towards the big table and the Man with the Sausage. The Humans started to make the Hand noise but this time, they were all looking directly at Laura and Clark. Clark shrunk a little bit under all this attention.
What were they up to?
Laura lead him up a few stairs and he could now overview the whole big house. Look into all off the human faces. It was overwhelming and he quickly hid behind Lauras Leg.
"Well, seems like our Clark is a bit shy here." said the Sausage Man and the Humans laughed. Laura gently tuck on Clarks leash and pointed him to sit next to her.
"I want to take this chance today to recognize the work of our Search and Rescue Teams in the Skii Holiday Regions. They do a wonderful job in harsh surroundings and Clark here saved already 14 *Laura whispered something* sorry, 16 people! An impressive amount for a dog off only 7 years off age." said the Man and the humans made the Hand noise.
"They recentlybeven managed to save one of our very own, Judge of countless dog Shows and World renown breeder Ryan Wilson." He pointed into the crowd and suddenly, one area was light up. A Man with Crotches got awkwardly up, smiled and waved. Clark recognized him as the Man with the Snowboard a month ago. He wagged his tail a little.
"For this and in recognition off all Search and Rescue Dogs, we would like to award Laura and Clark with our honor medal this year." Suddenly, a person walked up to Clark, kneeled down and fumbled around on his vest. When he looked, there was pin saying "Top Search and Rescue Dog" on it.
Clark understood now, they finally acknowledged him.
His chest swole in pride and he got up on all four legs, showed his new pin and barked.
"Haha, apparently Clark is a Fan!" said the man.
The humans in the room applauded, some whistled. Some were shouting "Wow" and "What a Superdog".
Clark felt warm under the Light.
He was finally recognised as the Real life Hero he always dreamt to be.

2289 words