The Hitchhiker's Guide to Puppy Rearing

[Wolf D. Plasma]

It was an odd thing, this world.... Much of it still remains a mystery, which could probably be best put as everything, just about. The magic in this world is something Dragon, even after living here for so long, could still not understand completely. Many questions remained unanswered, and most of it is only best answered as magic. Like, why it morphs everyone into human animal hybrids, why senses are dulled to the human standards of senses, and... why these Fieros keep becoming mutationless pups as they walk through the portals.

Even though this pup that she now had was never an adult before, he still lost much of what he used to look like when they crossed over. For one thing, he lost that little rat tail of his, and he also lost the bandana he had that he more or less inherited from one of his fathers, Rei.

(Word Count: 155)
(Level 1 1/5)

[Wolf D. Plasma]

Yes, this puppy, Kuno, had two fathers. It was yet another odd thing about Fieros... most of the time, they bred like most other animals; a male and a female come together and the pups are produced as a result. However, there have always been those select few occasions in their history where they could breed outside of the usual male/female pairing, and within those occasions, pairings of male/male and female/female were capable of producing pups.

Kuno, along with many others, was a result of this. Dragon knew that one of Kuno's fathers, as well as one of his half siblings, had crossed over into this world with her friend, Salki, and Salki had given her this pup to look after. The rest of the Rei family, with the exception of the two pups born here, were back on Earth, and this included Kuno's other father.

(Word Count: 151)
(Level 1 2/5)

[Wolf D. Plasma]

Dragon sighed for a moment as she sat down at the sofa with the little pup, who happened to be sleeping at the time. So much mystery and wonder surrounded the pup; she knew mostly what to expect when he grew up, but at the same time, there was still much for her to figure out about him. His eyes had barely opened if at all, according to Salki, so she had no idea what his eyesight would be like. It could be normal like Rei's, but at the same time, there was Kuno's other father to take into consideration. Kuno had already inherited the tail of the other father, as well as a good deal of his coloration, but what about the eyes?

Dragon shivered only slightly at thinking about it. Kuno's other father did not have much in the way of eyes. Instead, they were empty sockets, and there were what looked like tears of blood underneath them.

(Word Count: 167)
(Level 1 3/5)

[Wolf D. Plasma]

Kuno yawned and stretched his legs out over his new alpha's lap before he rolled over so that his legs were instead hitting her, as opposed to just kicking air. Dragon sighed with smile at the little pup. Then she glanced over at his closed eyes. Yes, he did seem rather peaceful here, in his sleep. Perhaps he was having a good dream or two? It was hard to say. Dreams were weird like that.

Again, Dragon began wondering about the fate of this pup's eyesight. She did not know exactly what to expect; hell, she did not even know all the details surrounding Kuno's other father. All she knew was that the sockets looked practically empty. It was unknown if they actually were, but even then, if they really were just black eyes, was sight possible?

So many puzzling questions, indeed.

(Word Count: 153)
(Level 1 4/5)

[Wolf D. Plasma]

Dragon was not entirely sure on why exactly she was so focused on how this pup saw the world. After all, even if it did turn out that he was going to be missing an eye, surely Vera would be able to handle it? She seemed perfectly capable of teaching her totally blind son how to hunt like a pro, so surely she would have no problems with teaching Kuno the same should he be half blind or something of that nature.

Perhaps it was merely curiosity? The desire to learn as much as she could about Fieros as a species, especially with the crossing over of Fieros from Earth to this new world where they will surely flourish more than they had in their previous home? Granted, they likely would not flourish nearly as well as they would in their original home world, but domestication was an interesting beast in its own right.

(Word Count: 159)
(Level 2)

[Wolf D. Plasma]

Suddenly Kuno rolled off of Dragon's lap and plopped down on the floor with a small thud. Then he promptly ran off, either as if the fall had startled him, or that he was prepared for the fall so it didn't phase him. Dragon watched him flee before she sighed with a grin on her face. This was definitely not the first time he had done this to her, and she suspected that it likely wouldn't be his last so long as he didn't grow up before he could do it again.

Kuno was a smart puppy. Even though he still was a puppy, and acted more or less still like the average puppy, he seemed to be much more aware, and he had a much better understanding of the world than most. He still couldn't speak or in any way communicate with her, nor did he truly understand what she was saying either, but again, just because you couldn't communicate or understand others, doesn't mean you couldn't understand other things.

(Word Count: 177)
(Level 2 1/5)

[Wolf D. Plasma]

Well, it was probably to be expected, since, according to her special list of which non-common Fieros came when to this world, compiled over the last couple of years with the help of friends, Kuno was the 42nd Fiero to come into this world.

Now, even though the number 42 was more or less a joke between her and her friends, ever since Kuno came in and began acting smarter than the average pup, Dragon had begun to believe that perhaps there was some truth in the whole 42 thing.

There is a series of books as well as a movie known as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and in it, the number 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of the universe. It seems rather trivial, but considering it was more or less a comedic take on science fiction, it was funny, but again, making sense for Kuno's unexplained intelligence.

(Word Count: 156)
(Level 2 2/5)

[Wolf D. Plasma]

Not too long later, Kuno came back running with one of the puppy toys that were scattered around the house and down in the den. As soon as he was close enough to Dragon, he clumsily stopped and began shaking the toy furiously. Then he stopped and did a play bow, looking up at Dragon as if expecting her to play with him.

Dragon grinned and reached down to pick up the toy, but then Kuno leaped away, taking the toy with him. He shook it furiously again, growling playfully, before he accidentally flung it away to his left, with the toy landing a few feet away.

Kuno stared in the direction that he threw the toy in, but then he tilted his head and looked around in the other direction. Where did the toy go? For all he knew, it vanished.

Kuno looked up at Dragon now, with a puzzled but expectant look on his face.

(Word Count: 165)
(Level 2 3/5)

[Wolf D. Plasma]

Dragon looked down at him before she pointed over to where the toy was. "What you're looking for is over there, silly," she said with a grin.

Kuno looked into the direction Dragon had pointed at him before he tilted his head again. Then his tail suddenly wagged as he finally spotted the toy. As quickly as his tail wagged, he raced over to the toy, stumbling on top of it before picking it up and shaking it again, tossing his head around as he did so.

He paused for a moment to look over at Dragon before he ran over to her, hopping onto the sofa and offering the toy to her. Dragon grinned and tried to take it from him, but then he moved back quickly and play bowed to her with the toy still in his mouth. He growled faintly, as if daring her to take it from him.

(Word Count: 159)
(Level 2 4/5)

[Wolf D. Plasma]

Dragon smirked. "Ah, so that's how you're gonna play, eh?" she said, grinning now. "Okay then, have it your way." More quickly than she had before, Dragon reached out to grab the toy from Kuno, but before he could react to it, she grabbed onto the toy and pulled it toward her, with Kuno giving a muffled yelp of surprise. He was quick to yank back though, and he growled even more, tail wagging.

Dragon grinned even more as she held firmly onto the toy. Occasionally she would let Kuno pull back far enough to make him feel that he had the upper hand, but she'd always pull him and the toy back to her as easily as she let him pull it. Most energetic puppies tended to play the same way, so Dragon knew how to handle it.

Then Kuno decided that he was going to be smart about this.

(Word Count: 159)
(Level 3)

[Wolf D. Plasma]

Kuno decided to stop tugging at the toy and let Dragon have it. He sat down and looked away, as if he either was admitting defeat, or he had no interest in playing anymore.

Dragon, tilting her head at first, grinned faintly, figuring he probably just got tired of playing. "Aw, tired of playing already?" she said now, wiggling the toy in front of him before letting go of it. "I tired you out, huh?"

Almost as if to answer Dragon, Kuno looked up at her before suddenly grabbing for the toy and sprinting off, shaking it around rather ecstatically again. Dragon stared at him before she grinned again. That puppy sure was a smart cookie.

Of course, Kuno's antics couldn't go on forever. As he was throwing the toy around, he accidentally smacked the left side of his face into a wall.

(Word Count: 152)
(Level 3 1/5)

[Wolf D. Plasma]

Kuno let out a rather loud yelp, not so much in pain, but in shock from the sudden contact the side of his face had with the wall. He dropped the toy and jumped back before he swiped a paw gently over the sore side of his face. He whimpered faintly.

Dragon came over to him quickly. "Are you okay, little one?" she asked in concern as she knelt down beside him and carefully scooped him up. Kuno curled up against her, still whimpering and a bit dazed from the hit.

Dragon sighed and stroked him, all the while checking the side of his face that had smacked into the wall, making sure that he didn't severely injure himself or anything. Seeing no signs of injury, she sighed again, this time more with relief.

"It's okay, Kuno..." she said to him, continuing to stroke him. "That must have startled you a great deal though, did it?"

Kuno's whimpering calmed down before he looked up at Dragon again. Then he yawned and curled up a little bit more against her, before he finally fell asleep. Dragon smiled faintly before she stood up, careful not to disturb him, and sat down on the sofa again, cradling him in her arms.

(Word Count: 220)
(Level 3 2/5)