HOME | DD

Description
The atmosphere in the shop was eerily quiet tonight with The Boss having given the rest of the mechanics the day off. Tis the season afterall, and no one would be caught working this time of year. No one, except The Boss himself that is. Every so often Dutch could hear the tempered cusses of a power word grunt from beneath the ailing vehicle currently raised up on the lift to reveal its temperamental parts at its underbelly. In between those intermittent words, the sound of rare passing vehicle of the occasional drunken holler from up the block where the bars where the rest of the majority of those who didn't have anywhere to go for the holidays had gathered were the only sounds that broke the weighted silence. Ping ping ping. Bolts dropped to the concrete floor as the man worked on replacing a part that was surving no better use to the automobile than a faulty liver in a living being. With each sharp sound that resonated in the empty shop the shepherd that lay sprawled in the corner atop a worn out blue blanket that he claimed as his perked his ears with an interested glance.

They were both experiencing something that felt particularly disheartening this time of year. A pang of loneliness despite their mutual company as spectors in the same haunt, brought out by the echo of a cavernous hole in their hearts. In the past this time of year was often joyous, a gathering of what was left of their small family - Alyson and Dutch, always at her side, would come home to The Boss to celebrate what they had to be thankful for. It was nothing extravigent, but it was always a highpoint of their memories. That was before the accident. And since then it felt as though there was little left in their lives as they no longer felt whole. Yet few outside of those who knew them best were privy to that pain, as all other times both maintained an easy going nature that complimented one another.

It was starting to get late, and Dutch was beginning to dose, but was intent on remaining diligent on keeping an eye on the man who had yet to head home. Something wiped the sleep from his thoughts as he heard tires slowing on the street outside until they stopped in front of the shop. Picking up his head, he gave a throaty warning that caused a halt in his master's work and he slid out from under the car that had ensnared his attention until the dog on watch alerted him.

"What's the matter, boy?"

The shepherd held silent while he listened until the sound of a car door opening and shutting brought him to shuffle onto his feet. The dog swayed a bit to steady himself, the muscles in his hindquarters as weak as an elder with hip dysplasia despite his youth. That wouldn't prevent him from protecting the last living member of his family, if only with a determined spirit. Footsteps crunched on the snow that had come to rest on the street outside since it had begun to fall earlier in the night, and they came around the vehicle to open another door. More footsteps followed, but there was a different sound to them as they came from a lighter body with twice the amount of feet. With this new information, Dutch's posture switched from a defensive to curiousity, a quiver to his nostrils leaving him with a faint wag of his tail with all the enthusiasm he could communicate to it. Instead of a growl, a form of chatter whimpered and yodelled in his throat that he directed towards only those he was familiar with.

A knock sounded at the garage door, the metallic sound ringing throughout the empty pace with a louder bang than any of the bolts that had fallen to the floor. The Boss wandered to the source of the sound, reassured by Dutch's encouraging welcome to whomever stood outside, but still used caution as he opened it. He expected perhaps the land lord, maybe a regular customer who broke down in the neighborhood, or perhaps one of the guys inviting him for a drink down at the bar. The light was on, so it was enough of a giveaway that he was in despite them being closed and him not wanting to be troubled tonight. When he opened up, a black and white blur wiggled his way through the opening before he had enough space to look out. Looking up in surprise, he saw Scott still standing outside with a sheepish grin that apologized for the bother before his mouth could say it.

"Sorry for stopping by so late, Harv. Wasn't even sure you were going to be in so late, but Carmen wanted me to bring some things by."

Dutch didn't pay much attention to their conversation, for he was already busy watching when Sully slipped through the door and began pacing towards him. The Portuguese Water Dog was doing what his ancestors did best and was hauling something in his mouth as he moved with as little awkwardness as he could manage. Passing under the yellow light that shone through from the street light outside, the best Dutch could tell was that it was a branch of some sort, and it was littering the floor with slivers of green as he went. The shepherd sat down slowly, ending up somewhat crooked in the way he sat with his legs to one side as he watched his friend approach with the object. "What are you doing here Sully? Boss sent Scott home hours ago."

It seemed he had gotten as close and he wanted to with the awkward parcel and promptly dropped it in order to answer Dutch. "Carmen's been baking all day. Wouldn't let me have any, unless she happened to drop it on the floor of course, " he grinned from beneath the fluff around his face with smug victory, "but she loaded some things into a little box and sent us here. I think they're for Boss."

He didn't mention anything of what he had dragged along with him, which prompted Dutch to nod his head towards it and give a questioning tilt to his head. "What's with the stick?" He wasn't sure what he expected, but the other male seemed to look down in surprise as if forgetting he had left the branch there, but gave a grin once his treasure had been taken notice of.

"Oh.. right. I know you were probably going to be spending the night in the shop as usual, and it seemed like Boss didn't have it dressed up for whatever ritual the masters like to do. I figured you might miss it from when you used to celebrate it with Aly..." Dutch's ears lowered a bit, but was more intrigued with what plot Sully had cooked up with the branch that he didn't openly dwell on the memories he brought up. "So... when Scott went and adopted their new pet tree, I saw that there were these branches laying around while they were loading it and figured... I don't know, maybe you would like to have your own."

Dutch just looked in a fluster of confusion and amusement as without further prodding, his friend reached down to pick up the branch once more and dragged it over to the wall. Once he had it positioned against the wall, he looked at it with an appraising eye and gave a low hum under his breath. "It's still missing something... The masters seem to put valuable things underneath it. Like to keep them safe until they are ready to use them the next morning."

Furrowing his brow thoughtfully as he considered what Sully said, Dutch glanced around before pawing at a buldge in his blanket until something rolled out from the folds of blue fabric. The worn out tennis ball had seen many romps between the two dogs on trips to the park, but it had fared well in its beatings. Giving it a nudge with his nose, it tumbled across the floor towards the branch and bumped against the wall before coming to rest among the collection of needles that lay beneath the makeshift tree. "How's that?"

The lion tuft plume at the end of the Portie's tail wagged in approval before he sauntered over to take a corner of blanket to rest on as he had many times before. Dutch dropped to the ground beside him and both dogs turned to look at their masters as they continued to chat. The older man's face was smiling, if only in the form of an upturned corner of his mouth. It seemed both dog and master had found a distraction in their company that kept them from the woes of the quiet. The sight made Dutch mirror his master's expression as he felt at ease with the warmth his friend's company had brought to them on this lonely night.

"Merry Christmas, Sull. I'm glad you came."

"Me too, Dutch. What are friends for?"

--------------------

SO... I had this sketch of these two that I wasn't sure what to use for. But then I figured that Dutch and his owner would be having a pretty lonely christmas since Dutch had to come to Canidale. So I came up with this dopey little story of how Sully comes with his owner to give them a bit of company, as no one should feel alone on the holidays.

I hope all of your holidays were special and spent with the people you cared about.

Cheers everyone <3

Dutch/Sully (c) SemperFerus

Description
The atmosphere in the shop was eerily quiet tonight with The Boss having given the rest of the mechanics the day off. Tis the season afterall, and no one would be caught working this time of year. No one, except The Boss himself that is. Every so often Dutch could hear the tempered cusses of a power word grunt from beneath the ailing vehicle currently raised up on the lift to reveal its temperamental parts at its underbelly. In between those intermittent words, the sound of rare passing vehicle of the occasional drunken holler from up the block where the bars where the rest of the majority of those who didn't have anywhere to go for the holidays had gathered were the only sounds that broke the weighted silence. Ping ping ping. Bolts dropped to the concrete floor as the man worked on replacing a part that was surving no better use to the automobile than a faulty liver in a living being. With each sharp sound that resonated in the empty shop the shepherd that lay sprawled in the corner atop a worn out blue blanket that he claimed as his perked his ears with an interested glance.

They were both experiencing something that felt particularly disheartening this time of year. A pang of loneliness despite their mutual company as spectors in the same haunt, brought out by the echo of a cavernous hole in their hearts. In the past this time of year was often joyous, a gathering of what was left of their small family - Alyson and Dutch, always at her side, would come home to The Boss to celebrate what they had to be thankful for. It was nothing extravigent, but it was always a highpoint of their memories. That was before the accident. And since then it felt as though there was little left in their lives as they no longer felt whole. Yet few outside of those who knew them best were privy to that pain, as all other times both maintained an easy going nature that complimented one another.

It was starting to get late, and Dutch was beginning to dose, but was intent on remaining diligent on keeping an eye on the man who had yet to head home. Something wiped the sleep from his thoughts as he heard tires slowing on the street outside until they stopped in front of the shop. Picking up his head, he gave a throaty warning that caused a halt in his master's work and he slid out from under the car that had ensnared his attention until the dog on watch alerted him.

"What's the matter, boy?"

The shepherd held silent while he listened until the sound of a car door opening and shutting brought him to shuffle onto his feet. The dog swayed a bit to steady himself, the muscles in his hindquarters as weak as an elder with hip dysplasia despite his youth. That wouldn't prevent him from protecting the last living member of his family, if only with a determined spirit. Footsteps crunched on the snow that had come to rest on the street outside since it had begun to fall earlier in the night, and they came around the vehicle to open another door. More footsteps followed, but there was a different sound to them as they came from a lighter body with twice the amount of feet. With this new information, Dutch's posture switched from a defensive to curiousity, a quiver to his nostrils leaving him with a faint wag of his tail with all the enthusiasm he could communicate to it. Instead of a growl, a form of chatter whimpered and yodelled in his throat that he directed towards only those he was familiar with.

A knock sounded at the garage door, the metallic sound ringing throughout the empty pace with a louder bang than any of the bolts that had fallen to the floor. The Boss wandered to the source of the sound, reassured by Dutch's encouraging welcome to whomever stood outside, but still used caution as he opened it. He expected perhaps the land lord, maybe a regular customer who broke down in the neighborhood, or perhaps one of the guys inviting him for a drink down at the bar. The light was on, so it was enough of a giveaway that he was in despite them being closed and him not wanting to be troubled tonight. When he opened up, a black and white blur wiggled his way through the opening before he had enough space to look out. Looking up in surprise, he saw Scott still standing outside with a sheepish grin that apologized for the bother before his mouth could say it.

"Sorry for stopping by so late, Harv. Wasn't even sure you were going to be in so late, but Carmen wanted me to bring some things by."

Dutch didn't pay much attention to their conversation, for he was already busy watching when Sully slipped through the door and began pacing towards him. The Portuguese Water Dog was doing what his ancestors did best and was hauling something in his mouth as he moved with as little awkwardness as he could manage. Passing under the yellow light that shone through from the street light outside, the best Dutch could tell was that it was a branch of some sort, and it was littering the floor with slivers of green as he went. The shepherd sat down slowly, ending up somewhat crooked in the way he sat with his legs to one side as he watched his friend approach with the object. "What are you doing here Sully? Boss sent Scott home hours ago."

It seemed he had gotten as close and he wanted to with the awkward parcel and promptly dropped it in order to answer Dutch. "Carmen's been baking all day. Wouldn't let me have any, unless she happened to drop it on the floor of course, " he grinned from beneath the fluff around his face with smug victory, "but she loaded some things into a little box and sent us here. I think they're for Boss."

He didn't mention anything of what he had dragged along with him, which prompted Dutch to nod his head towards it and give a questioning tilt to his head. "What's with the stick?" He wasn't sure what he expected, but the other male seemed to look down in surprise as if forgetting he had left the branch there, but gave a grin once his treasure had been taken notice of.

"Oh.. right. I know you were probably going to be spending the night in the shop as usual, and it seemed like Boss didn't have it dressed up for whatever ritual the masters like to do. I figured you might miss it from when you used to celebrate it with Aly..." Dutch's ears lowered a bit, but was more intrigued with what plot Sully had cooked up with the branch that he didn't openly dwell on the memories he brought up. "So... when Scott went and adopted their new pet tree, I saw that there were these branches laying around while they were loading it and figured... I don't know, maybe you would like to have your own."

Dutch just looked in a fluster of confusion and amusement as without further prodding, his friend reached down to pick up the branch once more and dragged it over to the wall. Once he had it positioned against the wall, he looked at it with an appraising eye and gave a low hum under his breath. "It's still missing something... The masters seem to put valuable things underneath it. Like to keep them safe until they are ready to use them the next morning."

Furrowing his brow thoughtfully as he considered what Sully said, Dutch glanced around before pawing at a buldge in his blanket until something rolled out from the folds of blue fabric. The worn out tennis ball had seen many romps between the two dogs on trips to the park, but it had fared well in its beatings. Giving it a nudge with his nose, it tumbled across the floor towards the branch and bumped against the wall before coming to rest among the collection of needles that lay beneath the makeshift tree. "How's that?"

The lion tuft plume at the end of the Portie's tail wagged in approval before he sauntered over to take a corner of blanket to rest on as he had many times before. Dutch dropped to the ground beside him and both dogs turned to look at their masters as they continued to chat. The older man's face was smiling, if only in the form of an upturned corner of his mouth. It seemed both dog and master had found a distraction in their company that kept them from the woes of the quiet. The sight made Dutch mirror his master's expression as he felt at ease with the warmth his friend's company had brought to them on this lonely night.

"Merry Christmas, Sull. I'm glad you came."

"Me too, Dutch. What are friends for?"

--------------------

SO... I had this sketch of these two that I wasn't sure what to use for. But then I figured that Dutch and his owner would be having a pretty lonely christmas since Dutch had to come to Canidale. So I came up with this dopey little story of how Sully comes with his owner to give them a bit of company, as no one should feel alone on the holidays.

I hope all of your holidays were special and spent with the people you cared about.

Cheers everyone <3

Dutch/Sully (c) SemperFerus