Dear Grapevine,
When I got out of the shower, the she-dog and Don were talking quietly at the kitchen table. They fell silent upon my approach, watching as I took a seat across from the stranger. She looked like this:

Her pelt pattern mystified me; it had the same effect on Don too, for she caught him staring. "I guess I should begin," she said, casting an irritated glance at my brother before locking eyes with me. "I'm Autumn, one of the institute's former patients." I gasped.
"Really?" I said, leaning forward, intrigued.
Autumn nodded. "And like you and your friend," she gestured to Lotus, who was sitting in the living room on the armchair, passed out from the shock of today's earlier event, "I've escaped that horrid place." Donovan's small wings flapped a couple times, and I knew that meant he was interested in what this she-dog had to say.
Stop pretending. I know you like her, I thought.
"And of course, I shot your father because he was about to pull a gun of his own on you," the she-dog continued. My eyes widened.
"Are you saying that you saved my life?" I asked, barely able to keep calm. My fur was standing on end, making it look messy and unkempt. When Autumn nodded, I buried my face in my paws.
"It's okay, Vega," Donovan said, resting a paw on my elbow in a comforting way. "You didn't know... Everything's going to be okay..."
Of course, this was a lie.
Nothing was going to be okay again. Ever. No matter how much I or anyone else wished or hoped. What would Mom and Isa say when they came home? I don't know if I'd be able to face them after what happened. Suddenly, I heard shuffing and lowered my paws to see Autumn stand up and walk over to me.
"You see my necklace?" she said, holding it out to me as far as the chain would allow while around her neck. "My boyfriend gave this to me before I got sent to the institute. He told me that if I ever got lonely there, I could look at this and it would remind me of him; remind me that I wasn't alone at all."
I looked straight into her amber eyes and caught a glint of wistfulness that only lasted a split second before giving way to an emotionless gaze once more. "It looks nice," I muttered, trying to sound less interested than I was.
"I know," she said. "It's a mirror. My boyfriend fixed it so that when I look into it, I see a reflection of us together on a sunny summer day; a week before I went to the institute. It reminds me that he's always there, no matter what." Now Autumn seemed to be speaking to Donovan as well as I. She turned to him.
"Donovan, you look familiar. Have we met?"
I saw my brother frown, as if he were trying to recall a time when he'd come across Autumn. Finally, he said, "No, sorry."
A look crossed Autumn's face, as if she didn't believe him, but it quickly went away as she changed the subject. "We need to get out of here. Your mom and sister will be home soon, right?"
"Yeah," Don said, getting up. "I'll go wake Lotus." And with that he vanished into the living room. I looked expectantly at Autumn.
"You're willing to help us huh?" I asked, standing as well. Her amber eyes flashed with something that, for first time ever, I couldn't read.
"Yes," she replied, and she sounded as if she were trying to choose her words carefully. I figured she was hiding or planning something.
I just didn't know what.
~Vega