| Based on | Click to view |
| Artist | eleutheromania [gallery] |
| Time spent | 42 minutes |
| Drawing sessions | 2 |
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MySpoons wrote:username: MySpoons
storage thread: The Protection
hound name: Royal Honor [King]
coloration: Wire Red Sable Roan Piebald
sex: Male
age: 9 years
collar color: dark leather with silver buckle, please
backstory:"Obi never made it back from his shift yesterday," Julian explains as he flicks on the light in their room.
Adeline gets ready to go in record time. It takes about thirty seconds to get the hounds ready. Julian and Ada already have their assignment: Obi's usual circuit through the reserve. It is an hour out by drive; they start at the end of it.
Obi's walky-talky is dead... or he's not responding. Cell signal is not good enough out here to pick up a GPS signal, even if his phone still had power. Obi is a late-middle-aged man, ex-military who stayed on when the reserved switched hands from public management to private. It isn't like him to get lost or to fall radio silence. The late-night wouldn't have been worrisome if it wasn't almost twelve hours later than his usual clock out time.
Julian drives quick but cautiously, a tight grip on the steering wheel. The hounds in the back of the humvee are unusually quiet, sensing the unease of their handlers.
Until about half an hour later, when Speedy starts to howl-- Ada turns to scold the young pup, not in the mood for antics when Julian stops the car. As soon as the engine dies, Ada hears it, too. Distant howling.
"Obi, maybe?" Ada takes out a flashlight as Julian turns on the floodlights on the humvee-- they both jump out with their hounds. Speedy barks in the direction of the howling as Victor points. Julian unclips Ice, his tracking hound. She takes off and they all follow.
"Oh no--"
As soon as Adelaide spots the still form on lying on the side of the road, she knows Obi had passed on. Two of his hounds are next to him. King is stretched out next to him, silent and mournful. Smoke is running around in frantic circles, still howling. Ice runs past and sits next to Obi, looking to Julian for praise for doing her job.
Julian's praise is hollow as he rubs her head, looking at Obi's slack face. He has his toolbox next to him-- one of the storage containers right off the road has a broken latch. Ada kneels next to King, hugging the older hound. The hound doesn't take his eyes off his handler.
"It must have been a heart attack or somethin'." Julian murmurs. "Looks like he went peacefully."
Obi's hounds do not abandon him peacefully-- Adelaide stays with them, feeding them and watering them as EMTs come to fetch Obi. She had to physically load up King-- and keep him from scrambling into the ambulance. There is no question that his hounds will continue to work on the reserve.
They're all worried King will die of a broken heart but Ada does not give the hound any free time. He's with her, working, every moment of the day until they both drop from exhaustion.
It takes six months before Ada dares to let King relax, the hound at last recovered.[499/500]

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