Username: Lath
Name: Boghound's Stay With Me, My Darling | Rebel
Gender: Male
Name Meaning: /
Prompt:Rebel couldn't remember the last time the sun shone. It had been nothing but rain for weeks, and he hated it! The feeling of the squidgy ground between his toes was almost unbearable. It had brought all of the normal collie activities around Boghound to a screeching halt. No one was able to herd the ornery
buffalos, no one could run through the agility courses, and the dogs were being kept inside as best as they could. It was so
boring! He'd been biding his time with the younger puppies, as they kept things interesting. It wasn't until the
resident old timer pulled him aside that he realised he was being a bad influence by encouraging the puppies to misbehave and cause issues. Apparently they misbehaved enough without his influence... oops.
Without the distraction of the puppies, Reb was brought back to reality. He nosed the blankets laid out by the fireplace and spun around in a circle a few times, until he was satisfied with his spot. Just as he had gotten comfortable, in came trotting
another collie. The young male gave a yap in greeting, "hey! How about that weather, huh?" he found a comfortable spot on the blankets and sat down. "Yeah, you're telling me. I'm so bored I considered counting all of the dogs to see if we're all here," Reb rolled his eyes. Aiden laughed, shaking his head, "you must be
really bored. Me and a couple of collies were thinking of sneaking out. You want in?" he asked, looking at Rebel with a toothy grin.
"Where would we go? It's all swampy out there now," Rebel looked up, interested in the offer. "The barn! The horses don't mind sharing it for a little while, at least," Aiden took a moment to look around, making sure no one else was listening in. Last thing he needed was for Halcyon to hear his plans. He'd never hear the end of it. At least this way he could have some fun and
then never hear the end of it. Rebel thought about it for a moment: the horses generally didn't give them any troubles, and he'd love to get out and stretch his legs. In fact, the thought of getting out of the house was actually outweighing the gross mud. He took another moment and then nodded, "yeah, I'm in."
Aiden, Rebel,
Henry,
Olwyn, and
Zero hung around the kitchen aimlessly. The humans had left the back door open, the only thing in the way was the screen door. There was one thing you needed to know about Zero: he was a particularly tricky dog. He knew a
lot of human things, in fact, he was considered an expert. He knew how to open cabinets, the fridge, jars, and most importantly:
doors. They'd been waiting for the perfect moment to put Zero's skills to work. The humans had wandered away, and now was as good a time as any. "Go!" Aiden barked, and Zero nodded. He jumped up on his back legs and depressed the door handle. The door swung open with the force, and the collies ran out into the rain immediately.
There was much laughter, amused calls of, "I can't believe we did that!", and the wet squelch of mud between toes. The five collies ran to the barn, trying to avoid getting soaked. The smell of horse and hay was overwhelming, and Rebel breathed it in gratefully. The change of scenery was just what he needed. Olwyn walked over to her favourite of the horses,
Boogeyman. "We came to visit! Are you bored too?" she giggled as the horse nuzzled against her nose and promptly snorted in response. Henry took to licking his paws, cleaning the mud off. Aiden had wandered further into the barn, in search of a barn cat to harass. Zero had joined Olwyn's side, tail wagging slowly as he observed the pair. He'd never been too interested in the horses, but he liked that Olwyn did.
Henry's large, round belly stuck out like a sore thumb. Rebel curiously reached out a paw. "Does it hurt?" he asked, curious. "No, not really. Sometimes I can feel them moving around in there, though," Henry laughed softly, leaning into the extended paw so Rebel could feel. Henry was due to pop any day now, and Reb couldn't wait for more puppies to be running around. He was sure Henry was ready to be free of them as well. He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly the lights in the barn went out. He shut his mouth, curiously looking over to his companions. "Guess the power went out," Zero started in, walking closer to Henry and Reb. "Looks like it's out at the house, too," he said, pointing with one paw bent. The other collies' collective eyes wandered to look at the house, dark where warmth and light once spilled from.
"Uh-oh," Henry spoke, clenching his teeth. "What? What 'uh-oh'? What's wrong?" Aiden asked, trotting back to the group. "I think the puppies are coming," he responded, voice uneasy. "What?! Here? C'mon, we should bring you back to the whelping box," Olwyn nosed at Henry's back end, encouraging him to get up. "No. They're coming
now," he growled, and the group moved to give him some space. "Okay, at least on the hay..." Rebel nudged him towards a pile. "Alright, I can manage that," he responded in hushed tones, breathing heavy as waves of pain wracked his body. "Go get Halcyon," he murmured, laying out. "What?" Olwyn asked, not having heard him. "Halcyon! Now!" he barked. Rebel nodded and ran to fetch the elder.
By the time the pair had returned, one puppy was already born. Rebel had never seen something so tiny and helpless in his life. While Halcyon helped the expectant father through his pregnancy, Rebel found himself enthralled by the puppy. It had a scent to it like nothing else; warm milk and something he'd never smelled before. Puppyscent, he'd call it. It let out little yells of protest as Rebel nosed it. He was thankful Henry was too busy delivering the other baby to fuss over the first one. "Welcome, little one," he whispered, nudging it towards his father's belly. He sat back and watched as Halcyon talked Henry through breathing exercises, and then, like magic: bam! There was a second puppy!
Henry was exhausted, it may have only been two but this had been a long pregnancy. He laid his head down and listened to the rain falling. Rebel took over the duty of cleaning the puppy, licking it until it was warm and clean. He nudged it towards Henry's belly as well, before sitting back and taking in the sight. He'd never seen something so beautiful, so wonderful. Two healthy, beautiful puppies. Not even the rain could ruin that.
