Wings and Penny: The Way Home
[OOC: May and Jewel played by and © Soteria; Memo and Hollywood played by and © Blueflyer.]

The day had dawned cool and fresh as any other, but now the sun was high in the sky and the heat had been intensifying with every hour of its climb. Yeesh, the young woman thought, lifting her legs high to step through the long grass without tripping up. Behind her, the White Foam River burbled gently along its course, and beyond that was the town that she and her companions had left behind. Her thin cotton shirt was soaked with sweat, and she was wishing she hadn't chosen to wear her denim cutoffs.

I mean, I hoped it wouldn't rain today, but this might be just as awful.

Yet May had insisted they try anyway. Don't let the sun spoil their plans for a picnic. Johnny was out of town visiting his family, so it was just the pair of them. Beth pushed strands of her curly brown hair out of her eyes as she gazed ruefully ahead at her friend, a slight wry smile on her face. Hefting the picnic basket on her shoulder, she kept walking steadily. May had said she knew of a good place out here where they could sit and eat and enjoy the relatively unspoiled beauty of the countryside surrounding the town.

Oh well. It was probably good she should come back here again. Closure, perhaps, she might find here.

The last time she had been on the other side of the river, she had nearly cried herself hoarse calling for her lost dogs. She had gone as far as she dared, had enlisted the help of people to search the area. But even of the great monster dog there had been no sign. Beth sighed. It still tightened her chest, being here again. Winter had come and gone, and she was beginning to wonder if Penny and Wings were even alive. She had heard of whippets surviving as strays on instincts alone, but this was the wilderness with its maze of field and forest. So much could happen here to an animal that wasn't familiar with its surroundings. And Penny and Wings had certainly never been here before.

Beth sniffed, rubbing a sweat-grimed arm across her face somewhat crossly. It'd probably never stop hurting, but all she could do was keep going.

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That awful whining buzz, followed by the tickle of tiny legs on her ear. Irritably, the copper coloured whippet flicked the ear in question, but the fly only buzzed around some more before coming to rest again. With a half-snarl, Penny shook her entire head and snapped at the tickling thing. This was no time for her to have to deal with such pests. It was too warm this day, and despite Penny's short coat her breath was coming in heavy pants as she lay on her side, in her own whelping corner of the den.

The puppies were moaning and crying at her from the curve of her body in which they lay, and she put her ears back in consternation. She had already suckled them that day; she had no more milk to give. Why did they cry so? How could they still be hungry? Penny too whined low in her throat. The noises tore at her heart, but she too was hungry. Even with the fine feasting they had had a week ago when they were first born, feeding these six pups had proved to be hard work. It seemed they did nothing but hunt now. Penny sorely missed running and hunting with the rest, missed being part of the warm cosy pile they had all curled into every night. Together, that way, they had weathered the winter relatively unscathed. Ironically enough their hardships had seemed to come with the spring.

"Shh... shh," she whined fretfully, nuzzling and licking at them to try and still them and their hunger, their noise! One of the dog pups, the largest and firstborn, had managed to drag himself halfway up her flank, and she gently put him back in his place. Turning her face towards the entrance, she waited, longingly, for her companions to return.

Memo galloped back towards the tree with a fat hare in her jaws. Its feet dangled and splattered blood against her scrawny breast and the female faltered in her stride, mindful of the fragile body of the rabbit.

As she made her way into the clearing she stumbled to a stop. A noise brought her ears up and eyes alert. She watched a thicket for a time until finally Hollywood burst from the foliage. Memo jolted, landing in a splay legged stance as she watched him surprised. His own face was filled with shock and startled were his eyes. "It's ok," Memo said through a mouthful of rabbit.

Hollywood nodded before trotting forward and towards the tree. Memo followed. The whippet bitch was so much more slender than when she had started living in the wilds. Her coat was filthy and there were several large knots on her body from wounds or infected scratches. Her spine was like a fence-line and her legs didn't look so skinny anymore. Her ribs stood out stark against her pelt and her hip bones protruded like sharp spikes.

She made her way into the tree and dropped the rabbit in front of Penny. "Here you go," she said softly, glancing adoringly to the small puppies tucked into the copper female's body. They were so small and cute, and they needed nourishment. Memo was happy to help them in any way she could, and so she had taken it upon herself to hunt as often as she could for Penny. The results were getting fewer and Memo was having to run further and further distances just to find a suitable hunting ground. She spent much time hunting and pacing the land anymore.

She smiled kindly and when Hollywood brushed against her shoulder she looked at him, then nodded and exited the den to search out more food.

Hollywood stood in the den, beaming down at Penny and the puppies. When he finally had gotten to see the puppies for the first time his attitude had completely changed towards Penny. He respected her greatly and longed for a litter of his own. "How do you feel today?" he asked, a bit too cheerily perhaps. He had taken over Memo's job as 'bed nurse' and companion quite happily when Memo had said she wanted to provide for Penny and the pups.

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Jewel hadn't been for a run in a long time, and with one of May's friends babysitting the pups she didn't feel too bad leaving them. They were old enough now to wait between feedings anyhow. It felt good for the young basset to be away, and have a chance to move around. Her pups were healthy and she'd had a chance to go somewhere with may. of course she'd jump at that chance.

May was leading the way, favoring her knobby walking stick that she'd had for some time. It had been stuck in her closet for the longest while, and the smooth texture of it was comforting to her palm. She felt torn about bringing Beth out here, knowing the history with the whippets, but with all the pain there had to be some healing. May truly hoped this would help, or maybe by some slim little chance they'd spot the whippets. Chances of that were slim to none, but she had to just hope. While Beth carried the basket, may packed the blanket and Jewel's food and water bowls. It was quite a bit of things for just a picnic in the field. She'd also brought jewel's orange vest, because there was no telling how the basset would act if she found the trail of a hare or other small creature. While they were walking she was always a good dog, but once she sat down Jewel would let instincts take over.

Jewel was waving through the grass to their right, almost going under and through it with her thick, short body. Scattered across the earth were scents she had missed, the natural scent of the wild. She'd occasionally glance back at Beth, who didn't seem very happy to be out here a tall. Jewel didn't know the reason, she didn't understand that Penny and Wings had been lost here, but she knew that maybe her old owner would need her help along the way.

May finally stopped under a massive oak tree and looked back at Beth. "This is it!" she said cheerily, knowing the thoughts that Beth had to be having right now. The whippets were probably the only thing on her mind, especially with the search and that big nasty dog and just everything. May quickly spread out the large blanket and set up Jewel's water and food next to it. The basset gave everything a snuff and then stretched out next to the blanket to rest for a bit.

The blanket set up, Beth took a long swig of water from her small flask and plonked herself onto a corner of the cloth with a sigh. "Oh thank goodness. I thought I was gonna die back there for a while, it's so hot."

Shading her eyes with a hand, she gazed around at the sunny expanse of meadow before her. "It's pretty, though," she murmured, as a breeze riffled through the grass, setting the tall feathery tips of the grass flowers to swaying. "You picked a nice spot. C'mon, let's eat? All that walking's made me hungry."

Taking a sandwich from the basket, she bit into it, enjoying the flavour of the cold salty ham. Jewel, who had seemed to approve of everything, had settled down on the blanket as well, and Beth rubbed the hound between her long pendulous ears. "Now if only you could talk," she murmured. "Well... talk in English anyway. I could've asked you a few questions..."

She knew it was a silly thought. Jewel wasn't a trained tracking dog; it was more likely that she'd lead them to something that she wanted to eat. But still, though... what was the harm?

Glancing surreptitiously at May just in case her friend noticed what she was doing, Beth slipped her hand into her pocket and took something out of it. Penny's old red buckle collar. The bitch had been wearing her new martingale that Beth had bought for her just recently when the attack had happened. What if...?

Holding out the collar to Jewel's face, Beth started to feel somewhat ridiculous. Of course this was a stupid thing to do. Jewel had the nose for tracking things down, but no training. The collar was old. Penny and Wings had last been seen months ago. What were the blinking chances of anything coming of it?

Too intent on her own embarrassment to even see if Jewel was reacting in any way, Beth hastily returned the collar to her pocket, and gripped it tightly before releasing it, returning to the comfort of her sandwich.

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Penny almost whimpered in relief at the sight of her comrades, and her thin tail thumped wearily against the ground in welcome as they approached. It was always so good to see them.

She glanced at Memo and flicked her tail in brief but fervent thanks before falling upon the rabbit with all the hunger in the world. The pups, stirred by her moving body, began to set up crying again, but Penny hardly heard them. She would eat, she would eventually suckle them, and then they would all go to sleep and leave her in peace.

Taken up as she was with eating, she only half-registered Hollywood's inquiry, and it was only after she had gotten several good-sized chunks of the bloody meat down that she raised her muzzle again. Memo had left now, but she was used to her and Wings being in and out all the time. Food was needed now more than ever.

"Oh, so much better now," she told him gratefully. "I've been frightful 'ungry all day, and so have the littl'uns. 'Least now I can give 'em a good meal."

Her belly beginning to fill, she sighed happily before casting a tender eye upon the puppies. It was amazing what a few bites of rabbit could do. Now the edge was taken off her hunger, she felt much more at ease with her young ones. Seizing the nearest, one of the black-and-whites, she nibbled gently at the fur on its neck and withers, combing with her front teeth. The large dog pup was struggling away again, though this time it was crawling off in the opposite direction, blundering into one of Hollywood's legs and squeaking. Penny chuckled softly as she watched. It was odd, but having Hollywood around made her feel so much at ease. She had to admit, when she had first met him she hadn't thought a great deal of him, and he had always acted rather strangely with regards to her, in a way she wasn't altogether sure she liked. But he had proven himself a good caretaker, and he seemed as much at home here with her and them as Memo did out in the fields. Perhaps, once the pups were older, she could leave them with him and feel safe while she hunted with Wings and Memo. Yes, that did sound nice.

Thumping her tail good-naturedly, Penny set to polishing off the rest of her rabbit at leisure.

Hollywood tilted his head down at the little puppy as it came to squirm at his paws. He was hopelessly still as he watched, calm and gentle eyes just staring as his ears flopped forward, head angled down. It was dark, it's face dark and nose mottled pink with youth. It did have white on it. On him. The dog got a wiff of the pup's gender and the tip of his tail began to wag. A smile spread his canine lips as well and only after his excitement had consumed his features did the slim dog drop his large nose to the small puppy.

It smelled divine: like earth and milk and warm skin. In a strange way the pup smelled like home, but not the home he had known with beds and blankets and pillows. Instead he smelled like the closeness of canines, the sweet smell of a bitch's belly, and the earthen smell of dust, bark, and tree sap. The puppy's breath was something different and foreign to him for he had never smelled the breath of a puppy in all his adult years. It was saturated with the scent of milk, but it held something else too, a different smell he could neither place nor name. Just puppy breath.

The smell of the puppy filled him with so much warmth that Hollywood could only fall gracefully into a laying position and as he did so he scooped the puppy protectively into the space between his long front legs. A quick glance to Penny, and a smile assured her non-verbally of his good intentions before he once again returned his gaze entirely to the baby. "Hello," he whispered as if he would understand such words. He snuffled gently at the squeaking pup's ears and paws. "I'm Hollywood."

But suddenly he went to a place where words didn't matter and he transcended to a world where anything outside the den and Penny and the puppies didn't exist. He forgot his troubles and worries about Wings and not finding his way back home. He looked to Penny and noticed her grooming a small black and white puppy and after a moment of watching he looked to the pup resting on his forelegs and lowered his head, combing his short front teeth through the soft as goose down fur of the puppy's nape. His dark eyes closed as a sense of fulfillment rode him, rode his brow, causing it to furrow slightly.

Meanwhile, Memo trotted through a small glen in the middle of the woods where she had spied several rabbits the day prior and she froze at what she saw. In the center of the grove was a massive creature with long and slender legs and large dished ears and a narrow face. 'My,' she thought as she beheld the deer, 'I wish I looked as graceful as she does.' And for a score of breaths doe and whippet stared at each other, recognizing each other's grace and beauty before each fled in their own pursuits; Memo after a quail at the base of a tree and the doe for safer ground.

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When Beth settled down Jewel rolled so that she was closer to the human, a goofy roll at first in an attempt to cheer the woman up, but Beth seemed serious about something. She reached into her pocket and withdrew the collar, holding it up to Jewel. Jewel recognized it, and the scent that still drenched it. Her ears went up and she tried to follow the collar as it went rapidly back into the woman's pocket. The basset looked up with a confused look, watching Beth eat. Why did she have Penny's collar in her pocket? Where were they anyhow?

Jewel stood and moved to the end of the sheet, staring out across the meadows. She felt uneasy now. Beth was acting off and that collar had made her feel like something was utterly wrong.

May watched Beth from the corner of her eye, but didn't say anything. It was each woman's hope - whether spoken or not - that Jewel would do the one thing she'd never been trained to do. It was natural for a basset to find a scent and go with it, so what was so wrong with hoping Jewel would do the same? She'd been in several hunting trials, though those weren't quite the same as tracking trials. Or were they? May nibbled gingerly on her sandwich, pushing a can of soda over to Beth.

"It really is beautiful out here. Sorry it was so far, but this is the best spot to see the whole meadow," May said.

Jewel walked over to May and nudged at her vest. She may have been run-happy when she was younger, but she knew that the vest ensured she could be seen no matter what. May was hesitant. She wasn't ready to just let Jewel run. However, she also didn't want the dog to fall asleep in boredom. She gently wrapped the vest around and zipped it across the chest. She held Jewel's face and stared back into her soft brown eyes. "Do good out there, Jewjew," she murmured softly before she let go.

Jewel quickly pushed her way through the underbrush, towards the center of the meadow.

May leaned on one elbow, towards Beth, as she nibbled on her ham and cheese sandwich. She could see Jewel getting towards the center of the meadow now, her white-tipped tail waving like a flag over her orange hunting vest. She glanced over at Beth and sighed.

"Is it hard being out here?" she asked softly, looking up firmly at her friend now. "Without the whippets? I know you miss them so much." It was touchy territory. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," she said hastily. Suddenly Jewel's deep bay echoed through the meadow and May stood up quickly, nervous and glad for a distraction from depressing thoughts. She gave a whistle to tell Jewel not to go too far, but the basset was already on the other side of the meadow and quickly vanishing.

At May's words, Beth tensed slightly, but she knew her friend understood. After all, that might have been part of what brought them here in the first place.

She was trying to cobble together some kind of reply in her mind when the other girl suddenly cried out. Beth started and leapt up in time to see a flashing white and bright orange blur rocketing off into the distant grass.

"Oh Gods no," May said, stumbling as she started down the hill after Jewel. "Jewel! No! Jeweeeel!" she cried desperately. "Beth! We have to follow her!" She panicked as she turned and looked at her friend, her face pale. Beth had already lost two dogs out here, the last thing she wanted to do was lose Jewel again in the same place.

May turned to her with an expression of shock and horror on her face, and in that instant Beth reached out to seize her friend's arm.

"It's not happening again," she murmured, and charged off into the grass without a thought to the heat or her denim cutoffs.

The two women were charging together after the basset. They were nowhere near as fast, obviously, but they'd get there in due time and they weren't about to lose sight of that orange vest. At least, that's how May felt. She could feel tears burning her eyes at the thought of it all. She'd brought Beth here, to his wretched place, and now Jewel was high-tailing it after some critter. It was all her fault too, she just couldn't help but blame herself.

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Jewel heard Beth but her nose was telling her that this was far more important. The scent that had drenched the collar had struck her. She'd at least let the humans know that she'd found the trail! They could just follow her or something. She could smell Penny and Wings! And two other dog scents she didn't recognize. She stopped for a moment, roaming back and forth over the large grass-less area, trying to find the strongest scent out of the four. She found one that seemed to overlap Penny's a lot. She didn't know it was Hollywood's scent, but she knew it was male. And he was with Penny, and the scent was strongest. Oh heck Jewel, just move with it, she told herself.

She picked up her pace, occasionally lifting her head to bay and look at where she was growing. A couple of times thorns smacked her in the face, but she was definitely on the trail of something and if it found her old whippet friends she'd be very happy.

She almost fell as she rounded a corner to follow the scent. In fact, she quite barely missed Memo on her own hunting time. She slowed as a lot of scents started to gather. Here were those over-lapping smells again. Penny, wings, and the two other dogs. She looked up and around but only saw grass. She bayed again to let May know which direction she was in, then pushed through the grass. On the other side was a small clearing, and several trees. One had a big hole in it.

She snuffed and followed the scent over to the tree, shoving her head inside to look around. Wait a second.

"Penny?!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide as she looked from Hollywood to Penny. Her first thought was along the lines of oh my canis, she had puppies too! But wait, where's Wings? She gave Hollywood a disapproving stare, not even considering she might not be welcomed by the whippets who'd been lost for so long.

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Penny's tail thumped in approving delight as she watched Hollywood handle her baby. It was an odd sight -- though Wings seemed happy enough with his litter, and was always careful around them, she couldn't imagine him touching and grooming them with such tenderness. It was almost -- Penny snorted -- motherly in a way. Her snort was amusement; in a bizarre kind of way, it did make sense.

At least for now, the others seemed to have worn themselves out crying and were sprawled against her belly and over her legs, fast asleep. She nosed each of them gently, just to make sure they were all still there.

The mood was so tranquil, so utterly peaceful, that it was the startled cry that jolted her out of her state.

"Penny?!"

The whippet's head and ears shot up, eyes wide, and she turned to regard the long-eared, long-bodied, short-legged dog standing on their threshold with shock and disbelief. It had been so long since she had heard another dog's voice; seen another dog. She was shocked and appalled by this intrusion, yet at the same time... There was something oddly familiar about this young bitch. She peered at her.

At this very same moment, Wings was already trotting back to the den, a limp pheasant in his jaws.

"Wings!!"

The shout was cast from black lips as Memo blundered through the underbrush. Her long legs ate up the ground and her mood had zoomed from wonder and happiness to panic. Panic for the puppies and Penny.

"Wings, there's a stranger! A stranger headed for Penny and the puppies!"

She slowed for only a heartbeat at his side before she raced forward, leaping into the clearing and she raced for the tree where the back end of the basset was visible. "Penny!" she cried desperately in hopes to wake the copper female lest she be sleeping. All at once she stumbled to a stop and took in the vivid orange of the jacket dressing the basset and distantly the sound of rustling.

Silence then claimed the female until the lumbering and rustling of movement could not be ignored.

"Something larger..." she said in panic to Wings as she looked over her shoulder where the basset had come. "Much much larger." She heard the four legs running and mistook them for canine legs galloping in strange rhythm. Memo looked to Wings for a score of seconds and in her wild fear for the puppies and Penny she ran forward and disappeared through the brush. Her strides were long despite the foliage and spring weeds and in no time she fought free of a brier patch and stumbled out in front of two pairs of legs, two towering forms. Two humans charging for her.

Memo's eyes widened and her ears folded back, tight against her head and her tail tucked until it touched her belly. For a moment all she could do was stare, then she cowered before spinning and running back the way she had come.

Hollywood, however, was not in flight mode. With the presence of another dog intruding on the small space Penny now slept in with her babies, Hollywood had stood as tall as the hovel would allow and barred Penny and the puppies in behind his legs. He raised his shoulders, seemingly standing on tiptoe and lowered his head to shield his neck in case this bitch meant to fight.

He didn't like the way she'd looked at him. When Penny didn't answer the basset hound's greeting call, Hollywood advanced on the basset, aiming to force the dog out of the hallow tree. His eyes were focused on her face and the ample skin of her neck where he was sure to bite if the female went for Penny or any one of the puppies.

Jewel backed up as Hollywood went on defense and her expression changed. She was intruding on someone's den and she'd been rather rude to do so. As she started to turn, another whippet bitch charged into the clearing, heard another sound and charged the other way. She blinked and gaped from one whippet to the other, then looked around for anyone else.

She pointedly ignored Hollywood, calling out to her old housemate. "Penny! It's me, Jewel," she practically bayed towards the burrow. The whole ordeal was confusing her and making her nervous. She wanted to see Penny and be sure everything was okay, and why were there puppies in a tree? Why wasn't she at home with the puppies? Had Beth abandoned them here? Jewel flopped her butt on the ground and groaned in dismay. Then she focused on Hollywood again, who seemed adamant about defending Penny and her pups.

"Not gonna hurt the little ones, ya old brute," she said rather snappishly. She was just so confused.

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May froze as she saw the whippet bitch, then broke out into a run again, releasing herself from Beth's arms.

"THAT WAS A WHIPPET, BETH, A WHIPPET. C'MON!"

As the whippet burst from the bushes, Beth started too, and then all she could do was gape at the creature. It wasn't marked or coloured like either Penny or Wings, and it was extremely thin, but there was no mistaking what it was. And if it was, then could it be that...?

In that instant she redoubled her pace, plunging through the grass and bushes after it. They had no hope of catching it up, but they could follow.

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Penny continued to stare, wide-eyed, as the long low hound and her companion faced off. By rights she should have been frightened by this intruder appearing unannounced in their home, and indeed, part of her was frightened. But that wasn't the only thing that she felt. There was a bizarre sense of recognition, as if if she only searched hard enough, she might remember...

At any rate she got slowly to her feet. The pups, awakened by the noise and now the warmth of their mother disappearing from them, began to set up a chorus of displeasure.

"'Ollywood," she said, her voice gentle but firm. "I- I know her. I know you," she said again, this time to the strange hound, stepping cautiously closer, ears flat and nose extended, quivering. "I... oh!" She had caught the basset's scent, and with it the scents of all that she brought with her on her coat and her ears, caught in her thick folds of skin. And with that came recognition at last. Memories, blessed memories, all flooding back! The pups and her own survival had demanded her own thoughts, burying the recollections of an earlier life beneath. But oh, now she knew. Now she knew.

"You're... Jewel," she gasped in wonderment, her breath catching in her throat. She sneezed gently, flicking her tongue across her nose, hardly able to believe it. "My little friend Jewel? Oh, but it's been such a long time! And you smell like... you smell like..."

She trailed off as she looked up, gazing at the two humans that now stood before them.

As if Penny's words were a release command Hollywood moved to the side and craned his slender neck around to look at Penny. She knew this low slung hound that smelled strangely of warm...fabric, from a life he'd left behind now. He looked again to the basset hound until Memo raced into the clearing, breathless. Her strides stopped immediately and she was just about to say something when the impossibly loud sounds of more creatures followed. She slunk away from the sound and across the clearing but Hollywood could only stare.

Then he saw the forms of humans and he started, eyes wide and fixed on the two.

It was now that Wings appeared on the scene, from the tall grass. Startled by Memo's revelation, he had instantly made a beeline for the den -- and, true to form, the pheasant was still with him. He glanced from dog to human to dog with eyes large and bright, his agile mind trying to come up with the right thing to do. His instincts told him they should all flee; their winged heels could take them fast and far in a single heartbeat, much too fast for these clumsy creatures to follow. But they couldn't leave the pups, at any cost. Should they stay and fight?

As for Beth, she stood transfixed by the sight. There was another whippet, different from the fawn she had seen earlier -- a brindle-and-white, standing at the mouth of a hole in a large tree's roots. But the sight that caught and held her: Penny and Wings, her Penny and Wings, thin and ribby and looking the worse for wear, but alive. She felt as if her heart would stop.

"Penny," she said softly, her voice cracking. "Wings. It's me, guys."

And it was in that moment that both of them knew her.

Wings dropped his pheasant. Penny gave a high whine. And both surged forward as Beth knelt to clasp them both to her, the tears stinging her eyes overflowing down her face.

Hollywood, frightened by Penny surging past him, skittered from the den and towards a safer distance away from the humans. Memo was quick to follow and stand beside him, not quite behind him. "They must be Penny and Wings' humans," Hollywood said smartly, but so that only Memo could hear. A silence filled them as they looked to May and in a crushing moment, like a sea wave dashing itself on rocks, Memo and Hollywood realized that this woman was not Max. Their owner had not come. "Where is ours...?" Memo said, voicing the question they both were thinking. Hollywood couldn't bear to say 'she didn't come.'

"What do we do...?" the fawn bitch questioned of her brindled friend. "We cant just run away to be alone again..." Of course, they could. But neither of them wanted to that badly. Penny and Wings were family now, the puppies an important factor to them both in entirely different ways; Memo who would never have pups if Hollywood was to remain her 'mate' and Hollywood, who cherished the bonds of 'motherhood' he had recently discovered.

"Maybe they know where Max is," Memo reasoned as Hollywood turned to hide in the bushes. Hollywood sadly shook his head and Memo whined at him, turning to face him. "You cant just leave, now Hollywood! These are humans, not Dawg and Edgar! They might be able to help us! Humans can do things like that! They can give us food, good food!"

"Kibble, after what we have been living off of, Memo?" Hollywood spat, spinning to look at her. "That dry crunchy kibble after fresh meat? I'll seldom ever think fondly of the food our human gives us...I cant-"

"Who are you?" Memo asked, taking a step back. "You who took so long to learn to hunt and kill and live out here?" She faltered, then turned. "Do what you will, Hollywood, and I wish you well. I'm going wherever the humans will take me." And with that Memo trotted for the humans before stopping just our of arm's reach. She stood and stared at them, cowering slightly in uncertainty but Hollywood's place at her side reassured her and with tail wagging she bounded towards May with Hollywood clamoring for attention beside her.

May welcomed the two strange whippets happily, sharing Beth's glee at finding her two. This was all so much, and all so fast! She wanted to inspect all of the whippets just as she was sure Beth wanted to. May would love and pat and maybe even hug the two whippets that had come to her, to comfort them and assure them. Only what each would allow. Then as she turned her head to really take in Penny and Wings, she stopped and her jaw fell a little. For a moment she was startled. She looked at the two male whippets, and then back at Penny.

Jewel was overjoyed as the rest of them, but for once sat where she was and just grinned happily at the happenings. Then, as she saw May start to look close at Penny she remembered what she'd seen in the den. They'd had time to bond and she was sure from the condition of the adults that the pups would need some attention too.

"Penny, Penny what about the puppies?" She woofed, pausing to focus on the rust-colored whippet. "You can't leave them, that's for sure."

It was just as Jewel finished her woofing that May stood again and looked at her friend.

"Beth, look a little closer at your girl."

Beth felt like never letting them go again. The familiar, slender shapes of her beloved whippets -- much slenderer now, but still familiar -- pressed close to her, whimpering softly with recognition and joy. Penny swiped her ear and cheek with a pink tongue enthusiastically, her tail going like a whirlwind. Wings leaned his whole weight against her knees and draped his head across her shoulders. She had gone without any real hope for so long, it felt like a dream.

But May's voice was cutting through her thoughts, and she reluctantly opened her arms and sat back, examining each of them. Their ribs and spines were showing through their skins, but they both looked lean, hard muscled, and not much worse for their ordeal. There would have to be the routine vet checkup when she got them back to town, of course, but for now, they appeared as bright-eyed and alert as ever they had been.

But what really caught her eye was how Penny's belly sagged as it did, how the ten small teats that lined her chest and tuck were distended and pink. Beth felt her jaw begin to go slack. They had... but had they... were the-?

A sudden high piping from the direction of the tree eased into her thoughts as she stared at the copper-coloured bitch, who gazed at her with some bemusement, her tail still wagging.

"Why's Beth lookin' a' me like that?" she inquired to her companion, and then her ears flicked back as she heard her pups' small cries, as well as Jewel's call to her.

"Oh! Beth should see the puppies, yes. C'mon," she told her human as, spinning around again, she headed back to the den. Looking back to see if the young woman was following, she disappeared into the tree.

Feeling in a daze, Beth knelt down to peer into the hole and had to catch her breath as she was hit by a tidal wave of shock and wonder for the second time that hour. The litter squirmed and peeped as Penny nosed at each of them in turn before curling herself around them, looking self-satisfied.

"May," she called hoarsely. "Come here -- look!"

All she could do was stare.

Wings came to join her in the entrance, looking as modest as he could manage, though his high-wagging tail betrayed him. He looked back to find Memo and Hollywood, and to give them a smile of pride and joy, to invite them to share in this moment. They were all of them, after all, a pack.

Hollywood moved forward slowly, his ears held back as he beheld the two humans and the new dog. Coming up alongside Wings did not change his expression. Only when he saw the puppies did a fond smile cross his lips.

It was a small smile, but one none the less and when he saw Penny flopped down next to them he almost laughed for the sheer delight beaming from her eyes. His tail started wagging in slow twitchy wags and finally he layed down do he could get a better look at the puppies through the two humans.

Memo herself stood on the other side of Hollywood and watched too. Her mind was full of hope but fear as well. Never in the past months did she think she'd accept the closeness of humans. Sighing softly through her nose, she sat down and perked her ears up, watching the den in a docile manner.

Jewel again stood back and simply watched the goings on. She'd changed a lot since she'd last seen the whippets and apparently they had as well. They seemed more content now, in some strange way. She stretched out in the loamy soil around th eden and wagged her tail at it all.

May abandoned her affections for any of the dogs and slowly stepped over to the den. She crouched down next to her friend and stared in wonderment at the tiny, peeping whippet puppies. So many whippets in one place, and it wasn't even an official gathering! Silently to herself, she wondered if some stray had found it's way to the pack or if the pups were also purebred whippets. Well, no way to know that right now.

"Ah, Beth. We don't have a box or anything for the little ones," she said softly. She knew that her companion would want to rush everyone home as soon as possible.

"We do have a basket," Beth responded, thinking quickly. "We can go get the basket, line it with the picnic blanket, and bring them home in that, I think it's just big enough. Hopefully Penny won't mind me moving them," she added, "I don't really think there's room for her in there."

Penny was just too happy to see Beth, and bursting with pride that her human could now see her puppies. She had not thought of the girl for a very long time, so long that it almost seemed as if Beth and Cari and Johnny and Dusty had never existed at all -- oh, look how things were flooding back to her now! The scent of her girl was unlocking all of her lost memories. Now she had come to remove them from this wilderness. The copper whippet left her puppies again to come and leap joyfully around her mistress. Wings had come to press against Beth's other side. Wonderingly, Beth stroked and fussed over them as she studied the other two whippets. How had they found each other, these four? Why did Wings have these marks on his face? There were so many questions waiting to be answered, but first things first -- they had to get everyone back home.

She smiled at May. "Let's get all the stuff. We can finish off the food back home or something -- it'll keep. We need to get all of them back, and find out who these other dogs belong to. Come on guys. You're coming home."