Loyal Dogs
An Act of Kindness: LD Version
By Evan Drake
©2022, Evan Drake, All Rights Reserved
Paul rushed down the street at full sprint, ignoring the pain in his legs and chest. His lungs felt ready to burst after the five-block marathon, but he had no intention of slowing down. Not when the final destination was so close; the apartment building was in sight. Besides, the pain didn’t compare to the run hours before. If anything, the tightness in his legs and chest distracted him from the dull throb on the left side of his face.
Once he finally reached the apartment building, he stopped and took a moment to lean on the wall and suck down large gulps of air. It was dangerous to stand outside where any passing patrol could catch him, but his chest and thighs had never burned so much in his life. I seriously need to work out more, he thought.
Once his breathing had returned to a semi-regulated state, he turned his attention to the building. Unfortunately, getting home was the easiest part. He was out after curfew and there was no covering up his face. He didn’t get a look at it, but from the stinging, there was some kind of mark.
He straightened his clothes and fur as best he could then headed inside.
The lobby was thankfully empty. Just to be safe, he sniffed for any scents. The smell of Niclas, the nightguard, was fresh indicating they just missed each other. Paul thanked his luck and crept towards the stairs.
He just made it to the base of the stairwell when Niclas came around the corner. The pair stopped at the same time and stared. Paul grinned nervously as Niclas folded his arms across his wide chest. Every part of Paul screamed to turn and run out the door, but the more rational side pointed out that he had nowhere to go. It was already past curfew, if they caught him on the street without authorization, he would be in much worse trouble. It was the one thing he hated about being a magic caster; even at 25, he was still being treated like a teenager. Niclas was known for being more gentle and lenient with the other weavers; Paul would rather take his chances with him.
“So are you going to explain why you’re out after curfew, or are you really going to make me ask?” Niclas asked.
Paul instinctively reached for his pocket, grabbing the jewelry box tucked inside. It didn’t contain anything illegal, but that wouldn’t stop some guards from confiscating it anyway. Niclas was one of the nice ones but it wasn’t worth the risk. “I…I got lost.”
“Really? You’ve lived in Kennel since you were six.”
“Come on, you know how strict they are around here. I only know where to find two buildings and that’s it. They don’t let us go anywhere else.”
Niclas’ ears rose. “And which of these ‘forbidden’ buildings did you visit? Since you know the way to ones you’re ‘allowed’ to go to.”
The insides of Paul’s ears burned as he realized his mistake.
The old hound sighed and descended the stairs. “Look, Morgan is gonna kill you anyway, so I’ll leave you alone. Now hurry up before someone comes in and sees.” He added as Paul hurried up the stairs, “And happy birthday.”
Paul thanked and cursed his luck and bounded up the stairs two at a time. At the top of the five-flight summit, he looked down at his watch. Its face read 11:15 pm and his heart sank. Not much time until the day was done. He knew he had missed curfew but it was later than expected. Hopefully Morgan wasn’t too upset with him.
If he was lucky, the coyote was asleep already and any awkward conversations could wait until morning. For the rest of the walk down the hall, he double-checked his tan fur, straightened out his dirty clothes, and smoothed his tail.
The inside of the apartment immediately made him feel guiltier as he crossed the threshold and turned on the lights. First, colorful balloons fell around him as he entered. Once his vision cleared, the banner reading “Happy Birthday!” still hanging from the ceiling and framed with colorful streamers scolded him. Paul swore under his breath as he slipped off his jacket. Morgan had thrown him a surprise party after all. When he had mentioned he always wanted one, he assumed the feline wasn’t listening.
He started toward the kitchen. All that running had left his mouth dry and he wanted nothing more than to drink water until his stomach burst. But he hesitated upon hearing the angry rant coming from his destination.
“One job. He had one job, show up. That was all he had to do. And he couldn’t even manage that! Now I have to spend my night washing all of these dishes and worry about him coming home! Oh, I hope he’s okay because I’m gonna kill him. He’s so—”
Paul stiffened and backed away. Avoiding an awkward conversation all night wasn’t possible, but he considered sneaking into the bathroom and drinking from the tap before facing his boyfriend’s wrath. Unfortunately, he forgot about the loose floorboard between the living room and the kitchen. He always avoided it when sneaking into the kitchen for snacks, and even on the way in tonight but forgot on the way back out. He froze and cursed his recklessness.
Morgan stopped pacing. Grey and black striped fur standing on end, making him resemble a walking ball of lint. Normally, Paul would find it amusing, but now it made him wish he lived anywhere else.
“Finally remembered where you live, did you?” Morgan asked, turning to face him. All the anger drained from his face and he hurried across the kitchen. “What happened? Are you all right?”
Paul quickly grabbed Morgan’s wrist to keep him from touching his face. “No, I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
“Sit down and I’ll take a look at it.”
Paul’s ears fell as he sat at the table. Having Morgan worry about him knowing the truth behind his injury just made him feel worse.
Morgan joined him with a first-aid kit and an ice pack. He grasped Paul by the chin and turned his face around as he examined him.
“You’re not gonna use magic?” Paul asked.
“And have to fill out a damn form in the morning for unauthorized magic? No thank you. It doesn’t look like anything’s broken, so it should be fine to heal naturally. But what happened to you? It was those damn watchers wasn’t it?” His hackles rose before Paul could even say anything. “I swear everyone thinks those bastards are so righteous but they’re just so—"
“No. I wasn’t attacked or anything. I…I…” he sighed knowing what was to come. “I tripped.”
Morgan stared at him with a deadpan expression. “I’m sorry. You did this much damage to yourself by tripping? Unbe-fucking-lievable.” He practically slapped him in the face with the ice pack. “Hold that on there to keep the swelling down. I can’t believe I was worried sick about you and you’re just running around kissing pavement.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I prefer your kisses,” Paul replied sheepishly.
The coyote was not amused. Paul dropped the grin.
“Sorry. I—”
“Sorry for what? For making me slave over a meal you would never eat? For making me worry for the last five hours? Or how about having to explain to the twenty-odd canids why the guy the party was meant for didn’t feel bothered to show up?” He stood and paced about the kitchen. “You know it’s a shame I actually prefer if something happened to you over whatever lame excuse you’re gonna try to offer. So what is it? What happened that you couldn’t be bothered to come home on time?”
“Well…I--”
Morgan snorted and leaned on the counter. “Don’t tell me: your watch broke. No, no wait. You forgot that I asked you to be home by 5? No, I got it! You had to save a bunch of orphans from a burning building?”
“No, I didn’t forget and my watch still works.”
“So you got held up by one of the watchers? That I can understand. Those assholes never let us have any freedom.”
Paul stared at his feet which he shuffled across the tiles. “I, I didn’t. I just thought I could make it back in time.”
“And you didn’t think to try and send me a heads up you were gonna be late?”
“You know they don’t like it when we use magic to message each other.”
A bitter chuckle was the coyote's reply. “Y’know, I just don’t get you. On my birthday, you were on time, you were present. You did everything to make sure my day was perfect. Why can’t you let me do the same with you?”
There was no avoiding it now. Lying was only going to get him in trouble. “I didn’t mean to—”
“You never ‘mean to’, Paul, that’s your damn problem! You know how hard it was planning you a surprise party? The shit I had to go through to get a permit for a large gathering—which was only for today, by the way. You said you always wanted one, so I figured I would do something nice for you.”
“I know that, and I’m sorry, it’s just—”
“Just what?”
“Will you let me finish?!”
Morgan stared eyes wide and tail erect. Paul quickly composed himself and pulled the small jewelry box out of his pocket. He opened the box, revealing an emerald broach inside. It had been designed in the shape of two birds circling each other with the gemstone set in the middle, making it resemble a green eye.
“You said your grandmother had a broach just like it, but your brother sold it to pay off his gambling debts after she died. I know how upset you were that they wouldn’t let you take it because of ‘protocol’, but when I saw it, I had to get it. I don’t know if this is the exact same one, but I figured it was close enough.”
“You fucking moron,” Morgan said, his voice breaking. He turned away, but it didn’t hide the glistening in his eyes. “How did you even get clearance for something like that? You know how they feel about us having jewelry.”
“Had to pull some strings and kiss a lot of ass, but I finally got the permit to buy the thing.”
“But did you really have to do that today?”
“Well, the guy told me unless I paid him today, he was going to sell it to someone else,” Paul replied, shrugging. “And the store was clear across the city, and no way were they gonna give me teleportation clearance. Then the trolley broke down on the way—”
“So you ran the rest of the way to the store and home again?”
Offering a sheepish grin, he replied, “Nah, just halfway to the store and the five blocks from the trolley stop.”
“Uh-huh. So I’m guessing somewhere between all this running you got jumped by the sidewalk?”
“I was kinda hoping you wouldn’t notice. It’s not exactly as flattering as ‘I saved an old lady from a mugger’.”
Morgan’s face twitched. Whether that meant he was trying not to smile or avoid hurting him, was impossible to tell, but the answer became clear when he threw his arms around Paul’s neck. “Would it kill you to think about yourself for five minutes?”
“I was thinking about myself. I was thinking about how grateful you would be and how I would be generously rewarded for my kindness.”
Breaking the embrace, Morgan punched him in the arm and said, “The only ‘reward’ you’re getting tonight is a hot meal and a good night’s rest.” He got up and headed for the refrigerator. “And… thank you for remembering.”
“Anytime.”
“Next time, though, can you just wait until after your birthday?”
Paul smiled and nodded.
Thanks for reading.
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The first novel:
https://www.amazon.com/Evan-Drake/e/B09MDBN3N5?ref_=pe_1724030_132998060
Worldlore:
Coming Soon
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