No thanks.
My mind went into overdrive, thinking of a way out of this mess.
What if I played a mental movie to all the humans within my suggestion range? What would I play for them?
I really wanted one of them to go tear up all those forms that my new humans were filling out to enter the lottery to win that stupid Chihuahua, thanks to the Niques' scheming.
Oddly, the mental movie for what I wanted started making itself in my mind. I noticed that my movie had a red tint to it, but I didn't waste time trying to guess what that meant.
In my mental movie, my humans were smiling and chatting with each other as they sat on a green pad on an old fashioned wooden bench in the front room of the pound, filling out the raffle paperwork. They stopped talking when they saw my three affected humans storming down the hall toward them.
The three affected humans, two males and a female, were moving fast. Their faces were contorted, with their noses all scrunched up and their teeth showing. The three of them grabbed the papers out of my humans' hands and started tearing them up. They tore violently, and they were growling.
My male human slowly rose in front of his mate, protecting her behind him. She cowered in fear. He looked afraid, too, but also determined. One of his hands went up diagonally in front of his face, and the other went out diagonally in front of his chest.
A female human coming down the hall from the other side of the building saw all this for the chaos that it was, and called the police on her cell phone...
I shook myself.
OK, that scenario was not going to work.
I didn't think the people affected by my mental movie would notice anything weird about whatever I had suggested they do. However, most of the humans in the building were outside my range. Most of those inside my range were full of excitement and pity, so my mental movie would not reach them. Also, new people were entering the building at random times.
I would have to choose a single target for a mental movie, and the movie would have to show the human something unremarkable to do, in order to stop my humans from adopting that stupid Chihuahua instead of me.
I couldn't risk blowing our cover as pet dogs rather than space alien Kaxians and creating a major incident. No, that was not happening. I wanted to be reborn again, thank you very much.
I closed my physical eyes and used my mind's eye to scan the human minds inside my range. Most of them were pink with excitement or orange with excitement combined with pity.
Ooh! There was a calm blue mind. One of the pound employees was walking down the hall toward the big-dog room.
Perfect!
Now, what did I want her to do in order to stop my humans from entering that stupid raffle? Well, OK, it was simple, really.
I honed in on her calm blue mind. I started making a mental movie of her going over to ask my humans a friendly question:
"Hi! How's the paperwork going, for the Chihuahua raffle?"
But it wasn't necessary for me to play my mental movie for her. Kax had blessed me with good humans who were kind. I could hear them talking about me while they waited in that stupid line the little dogs had fabricated to trap them into taking one of them home, instead of me.
"Well, we might as well go talk to him while we wait for our turn back at the counter."
"Yeah. There's really no need to wait here."
"Right! All these people are going to take a while."
Yes! I couldn't help barking out a gloat of my own, I was so happy! My fellow big dogs from Kax joined in.
"Ha ha!"
"Your little trick failed!"
"The humans are coming back here into our room!"
* * *
Neya crouched in the grass beneath a huge pine tree, bristling with new feelings as she listened to one of the old stories that her mother... no, that Alpha Female Fleek was telling the litter of wolf pups that she would soon leave in Neya's care.
"A long time ago, before anyone whose name we know was born, hundreds of big stars fell out of the sky and landed on the ground."
"Did they catch the forest on fire?"
"Did they make loud noises, like thunder?"
"Good questions! But, no, and no. The big stars landed on the ground without any noise at all. They were being driven here, in the way that humans drive cars and trucks on their roads."
"We are not to cross the roads!"
"The humans might smash us with their cars and trucks!"
"Were humans driving the big stars?"
"Right, Belg! We are not to cross the roads. Yes, Ordn, we don't cross the roads because the humans might crush us with their cars and trucks. Good guess, Tolt! But no, the humans were not driving the big stars.
"The big stars landed on the ground silently. We wolves gathered far away to watch. They smelled like metal because they were made of metal. They opened up, and dog aliens came out."
"What are dog aliens?"
"Dog aliens look a bit like wolves. They walk like wolves. They talk like wolves, too, but they are not wolves. They came from the stars long before anyone whose name we know was born."
"Are the dog aliens our friends?"
"Will we see the dog aliens?"
"Where are the dog aliens?"
This was the part Neya had been dreading. She had heard this story hundreds of times in her nine months of life. The wolves considered it a vital part of history, not to be unknown or ever forgotten.
"No, Kess. The dog aliens are not our friends. We don't trust them. Yes, Ordn. We do see the dog aliens sometimes. Tolt, the dog aliens live with humans, as their pets. That is the easiest way to know it is a dog alien coming, when you smell one. They smell like humans."
"Do they really look like wolves?"
"Why don't we trust them?"
"Belg, all dog aliens look at least a little like wolves. Some are bigger than us. Some are smaller. Some of their bodies have odd shapes. Some of their ears hang down. The biggest difference is in their coloring. They don't all blend in with the desert. Some do, but most stand out so you can see them from miles away. They almost all smell like humans, and that is the easiest way to tell that you are dealing with a dog alien and not a wolf."
"Do..."
"Wait."
"OK."
"Kess, we don't trust the dog aliens because they are not of our world. Earth is not their mother, the way she is our mother. The moon does not rule them the way he rules us, as our father."
Neya tried very hard not to show her feelings as Fleek sternly examined all the pups' faces to make sure they all understood:
Dogs are aliens, and they are not our friends.
We don't trust the dog aliens.
Chapter 10: Dog Bond
"There's our pig dog!" the man said, with a fond smile on his face.
Oh no!
Please don't name me 'Piggy'!
Please!
I tried reaching into their minds to suggest they not name me something so ridiculous, but their minds were too full of emotions: purple joyous excitement, mostly.
The woman smiled back at her mate as the pound employee unlocked my kennel, put my leash on, and handed it to the man.
"Here, Boy!" the man said.
I was being as friendly as I knew how when I walked up to my new human: hanging my tongue out of my mouth, holding my ears up high, and wagging my tail in as big a movement as I could.
My new human, Scott, looked friendly, too. He was smiling and slightly bent over so that we could see eye to eye.
When I got within his reach, he petted me for the first time, saying,
"Yes, Boy, you're coming home with us. Yes, you are!"
I licked his hand.
He smiled and pet me some more.
And then...
All thought of entering Scott's mind to suggest anything at all went away. I had been trying over and over, ever since he called me their pig dog, to get him to forget that name, to please not name me "Piggy!" Now
, I didn't care if he named me that. I completely forgot my plan to have him not name me "Piggy." That plan was erased from my mind, and anything at all that I had been thinking was replaced by a new idea.
This man was my human! He thought of me as being his dog, but he was my human. I was responsible for him. I felt fiercely protective of him.
I also wanted my human to be happy. I would do whatever it took to make him happy. I would obey any command he gave me. If he named me 'Piggy', I would no longer even mind (at least not when he was around).
I knew all of this within the time it took our eyes to twinkle as they met when he smiled at me, after I licked his hand.
That was it.
We bonded!
This man was my human.
I was his dog.
I would serve him until death parted us.
I would die for him.
More, I could feel that my loyalty had completely changed. Not more than a moment had passed, but deep down inside I knew that I would fight any of my fellow Kaxians, even, to defend my human. I would go wherever my human said, do whatever he told me to do, and enjoy it.
In the back of my mind, I still knew I was a Kaxian. I remembered my former life of wishing for promotion and looking forward to mining. Those days were over.
One tiny corner of my mind was intensely curious how I could still serve Kax, how any Kaxian could still serve Kax, under the dog bond. This part of my mind was so tiny that I could easily ignore it. I did ignore it. I was ecstatic to be on a leash, walking down the hallway of the pound with my new human. Nothing else mattered.
The pound employee led us all into a clinic. Thank Kax for sending me memories of what would happen next. Otherwise, I might have been afraid. Instead, I was just giddy with excitement at getting such good new humans!
"OK, he is your dog now, so you hold him while we give him his shots."
The woman held me while the man petted me. I was so content, I barely felt the shots.
"Oh!" The woman said when they shot the identifier chip into the skin on the top of my head,
"Did you have to do that? It looked like it really hurt him!"
Such compassion, and she wasn't even bonded with me! I knew I had been right about her! She was going to be one of my best humans ever, and furthermore, she wasn't even a dog person.
I smelled a cat's scent on her. It was on my male human, too, but it was strong on her. The cat was hers. She was a cat person. That was fine. I also smelled two other dogs on my new humans: a Nique and a Kaxian, but their scents were faint. I would be the only dog in their den, which I would also share with a cat.
The pound employee said, "Don't worry. Dogs are very forgiving. He won't hold that against you."
My human's mate crumpled her eyebrows at the pound employee, and then looked into my eyes.
"I am so sorry, Boy. I didn't know they were going to do that. Do you forgive me?"
"Of course I forgive you."
She couldn't possibly understand Kaxian speech, but I licked her hand and then smiled at her, to try and get the point across.
She smiled at me and petted me, and I knew things were going to be great in my new home.
Just then, another pound employee came running into the room.
"Scott and Cherise Kelley?"
"Yes, that's us," my new human's mate said.
"You need to come to the front office!"
* * *
Lido usually enjoyed car rides, but this time he was just impatient to get there, already, and see Skil. Part of him could not believe he had pulled this off. He was afraid to look forward to seeing Skil when he arrived, for fear it was all a mistake and they were taking him someplace he would never see her again.
Oh, this looked good!
They turned off the main highway and headed down a long dirt road that ran between rows of trellised grape vines. A few houses sat at the end of the dirt road, but no other houses were in sight. The grape vines stretched off into the distance until small rolling hills ended the view at the sky.
It was a few hours yet till dark, so Skil was still at the mine. Lido looked for her anyway.
Oh.
Wow.
There was her scent.
It was all over the place. He breathed deeply, savoring Skil's scent and letting it keep him company until he saw her.
The car stopped in front of the houses.
Eight Kaxians milled around near the car: four German Shepherds, three Rottweilers, and an American Staffordshire Terrier. Some wagged their tails to greet their humans. Most kept looking askance at Lido's door.
The male human opened Lido's door and snapped a leash to his collar.
"Come, Boy! Let me show you around."
"Let him show you around, New Guy, but just know I am your actual boss around here."
Keeping quiet so that his new human would not become alarmed, Lido bowed his head to acknowledge the Rottweiler as pack leader.
The pack leader hung back, standing still and proud with a female Rottweiler who Lido figured was his mate. The third Rottweiler smelled like he was their son, and stayed near them.
"Boss, the new guy looks young. Will he go to the mines with Skil, or stay here?"
"We'll see how well he fits in, Blackie, and then I'll decide."
Lido tore his attention away from the other Kaxians to look up at his new human and wag his tail, to show he was happy to be here.
The human petted Lido once on the head and then walked him the entire perimeter of the vineyard. The four German Shepherds and the American Staffordshire Terrier walked along with them, milling all about and running off to chase birds as they went. Every time one of them chased a bird off the vines, the human said:
"Good Boy!" or
"Good Girl!"
They finished touring the perimeter of the vineyard, and then it was time to eat. Their male human let Lido off the leash, and their female human brought out a bag of dog food.
Lido waited to see which bowl was his.
"Here, Boy, your dish is here."
She indicated a bowl next to Blackie's. Lido let Blackie get to his bowl first, just so there was no misunderstanding about anyone trying to eat someone else's food.
"Come on, Boy! Eat your food!"
But then Lido heard the voice he had been longing to hear.
"Lido! Is that really you? How did you get here? Are you here to stay? I can't believe it!"
Skil came running through the vineyards on her way home from the mine, talking the whole time until she was right there, and she tackled him. The two of them went rolling around play fighting to use up some of the energy they both felt at being together again after two whole days apart.
After the humans went back in the house and all the Kaxians were finished eating, Boss called a meeting.
Lido sat down next to Skil. He noticed that Blackie moved over quickly to also sit next to her.
"Alright, so by now, everyone knows that the new guy is Lido from Skil's mining pack. Let's welcome him to our vineyard pack."
"Welcome, Lido!
"Hey Lido!"
"Glad to have you with us."
"Lido, our humans have us here to protect them and their grape vines. If we don't do that, then we will all be back at the pound."
The pack members had strong feelings about going back to the pound.
"Don't wanna go back there!"
"No way, no how!"
"Right, so we may be able to send both you and Skil to the mine during the day, but that doesn't mean you won't still have to do vine guard duty in the evening. Skil already does double duty. She doesn't have time for much else but duty, eating, and sleeping."
"I don't mind, Boss."
Blackie said something meant for only Skil to hear, but Lido heard it, and it made all the hair on his back stand on end.
"I wish you had time to play with me like you were playing with the new guy."
Lido looked at Skil. She was looking at B
lackie with her head slanted to the side, as if she was trying to figure out what he meant. The meaning was all too clear to Lido, but it was Skil's choice who she played with. He was just sad at the thought of her playing with any male other than him.
Boss continued the meeting.
"So, we need to figure out how to get all the runs covered, and whether or not that leaves us free to send two Kaxians to the mine. I would like to do that, so let's do our best to cover all the runs. Skil!"
"Yes, Boss?"
"You take Lido on the sunset run."
"Yes, Boss!"
Lido didn't hear the rest of the meeting. He was too happy wallowing in the realization he would be running the vineyards with Skil soon.
Blackie didn't take it well. He paced back and forth during the entire meeting.
Blackie's pacing was the one thing Lido did pay attention to at the meeting. He felt the Rottweiler's eyes on him, and it didn't feel good.
Finally, Lido was running the vineyard with Skil. It was even more fun than mining together. They were free to run and play, and they did. Not too much play, but every once in a while one of them would tackle the other, and the two of them would go rolling over each other, play fighting.
Skil had explained to Lido what they were supposed to be doing.
"It's simple, really. The humans set this place up well, with the houses in the center of the vineyard. The rest of us sleep there. Our duty is to patrol. We wake them up if trouble comes."
"Wow, that's pretty easy."
"Yep!"
"Does trouble ever come?"
"Yeah, the coyotes have been here twice."
Still, for some reason, the two of them just could not keep from tackling each other and play fighting. It was the best time Lido remembered ever having, at least in his limited memories of only this life.
* * *
Blackie had trouble sleeping that night, even after his human came out and petted him goodnight. He tried to get comfort from his father, the leader of his pack.
"Boss?'
"Yeah, Blackie?"
"Now that we have the new guy, could Skil maybe just stay here and run the vineyard with me?"
Boss sighed and licked Blackie's nose.
"I know you like Skil, Son."
Blackie's tail started wagging.
"Hold on."
Blackie's tail stopped wagging.
"I know you like her, but I can't promise her to you, Son. I have to send her to the mine, and I will probably have to send Lido, too."
"But Dad!"
Boss gave Blackie a stern look.
"Sorry. But Boss..."
"I can see that I haven't done my Kaxian duty by you, Blackie. I've been too busy being Boss of this vineyard pack, and not busy enough being your father."