The puppies followed her back from Kiwi's burial site early the next morning. The mother-dog knew she had reached the end of her stay with Kiwi's body.

Copper and Finn had pestered her with so many questions. Why won't Kiwi move? What's dead mean? Why are we putting Kiwi underground?

Gypsy stared sullenly at the ground as she recalled her bitter answer to their questions. They had quieted.

Dead means gone forever.

The small family had made it about halfway back when an uplifting breeze picked up, sweeping through Gypsy's fur and bringing with it the tang of rain.

"Let's hurry back before it rains," she urged. Copper looked up at his mother with a shy smile, trotting closer. "Okay, Mum. I miss Kiwi and Star though..." He trailed off, his fluffy puppy ears twitching.

Finn jogged forward with a wagging puppy tail, sidling up to his brother and nuzzling his cheek to provide reassurance. "It's alright. Mommy will take care of us, and you have me. Ooh, can we play the stick game on our way back?" Finn twisted his neck to look pleadingly at his mother.

She gave a weak smile. Sweet Finn knew how to cheer up any situation, and she wouldn't bash her son for trying. "Sure." Gypsy told her pups to first find two separate sticks. When they brought her them, she rewarded the finder of the biggest stick with a back-ride. They squealed in glee.

Somehow playing with her two remaining male puppies lifted her grief. Gypsy's shoulders felt less heavy, her heart less destroyed. At least I have them. And I won't let anything happen to them. They'll never leave my sight again.

With determination, she plodded on through the rain. Her puppies seemed unbothered by it, although they had to borderline scream to be heard over the swaying of the trees.

As she pushed into camp, she was buffeted by the fierce winds that swept under the treetops and trough the glade. A dripping North stood there, eyes locked onto Gypsy before she even entered.

"I heard about your pup Kiwi." The white Pitbull halted beside a massive oak tree and stared back.

Is that all? Isn't an "I'm sorry" supposed to come after that? Yet none did. North simply glanced down at Gypsy's muddied paws.

What a weirdo. She turned away to head for her den, wondering if Bronx was still on patrol.

"Wait. I had a favor to ask." As Gypsy swiveled abruptly on her toes, North beseechingly continued.

"If you're capable of helping anyone other than yourself, that is." Taken aback, the Pitbull's lips twitched across her teeth at the rebuke.

"I fed Obelisk when I was here... and before I had pups I was cleaning out the dens and uprooting brambles to keep it clean around here." Feeling rebuked, Gypsy let a defensive snarl creep into her voice.

The bushes rustled and Ace pushed his way through, twitching his ears to rid them of raindrops.

Yet Gypsy wasn't done.

"And by the way... you've hardly even talked to me since I arrived. What makes you think I'd even do you a favor?"

Maliciously, North bared her teeth. They were stark in contrast compared to her inky black pelt.

"The fact that you've hardly pulled your weight, except to be a plaything for Bronx."

Offended, the fur on Gypsy's neck rose. The nerve! She pushed her two male pups behind her as she sidled up to the female.

"Hey, hey!! It's alright, ladies. Chill out." Ace stuck his neck out, blocking Gypsy from approaching North any further.

"This problem is easy to sort out. So, North- what favor are you asking? If Gypsy doesn't want to do it, I'll happily volunteer." Ace's piercing blue eyes flicked from one female to another as he stood between them.

"I just wondered if she was capable of watching my pup for an hour or two. I want to fetch food for Lavender, but there's been more and more humans around with the warmer weather."

Ace nodded seemingly without any thought on the 'capable' comment. Which, privately, made the fur along her spine lift.

He then turned to Gypsy. "And would you watch Lavender while North is away, Gypsy?" His black triangular ears flattened to block out the rain. It seeped through the tree leaves, hurling down and splashing against the dog's backs with a cold chill.

"That's fine. I was just about to take my pups to the den so we could wait out the weather. I'll take Lavender with us as well."

Now mildly interested, Gypsy peered around the black mother-dog's figure to see little Lavender. The fluffy black-and-white pup was chewing determinedly on a stick.

Ive never even formally met Lavender. "So, yes. Sure." Gypsy responded as the older pup glanced up at her.

"Good. Not a scratch on her. And she'd better not catch any sort of sickness from your-"

Ace interrupted, to which Gypsy threw him a greatful glance. Can't she ever stop scorning someone? North was the most loathsome dog the Pitbull had ever met.

"Gypsy would never hurt a puppy. And Kiwi was the only pup of hers that became sick," he muttered on the last part. North pricked her ears, then sighed in disgust.

Gypsy's eyeballs twitched with rage but Ace was still standing between them.

"Okay, then. I'll be back before dusk." She turned on her heels. The curly-coated shepherd was swallowed beneath the gloom of the trees and the haze of the rain.

"Bronx asked me to patrol the Western border, and I haven't yet. So I suppose I'll be off now-." Ace stated with a cool tail wag at his friend Gypsy. "Do you want me to bring you food after I get Obelisk's, though?"

Startled, she looked up. She had been gazing at Lavender, who was watching her mother leave with a relieved expression.

Lavender leaped to her paws. "YES, she's gone! What's your names? How old are you? What's your names?," she asked twice in a row as she raced towards Finn and Copper.

Copper leaned backward, nervous. But Finn leaped forward and shouted "Finn! Aren't you Lavender?" And when she nodded, he said; "That's such a pretty name!"

Gazing fondly at her well-mannered pups, but heart still aching for Kiwi and Star, she smiled.

"Gypsy?"

Ace was still there, and called her back to reality with an uncertain worried gaze.

"Yep, yeah? Thanks, Ace." She lifted her gaze and put her full attention on him.

"I'm sorry I'm so distracted lately. It's just the pups... She sighed and looked away, but Ace was already comforting her.

"It's okay, I promise. You have me or Ghost whenever you need us. We'll never leave you. But, if you don't need us, we'll also stay out of your way." He gave a lopsided smile. The she-dog felt gratitude fill her chest.

"You don't know how much your support means, Ace. I feel like I keep doing everything wrong and... and Bronx and North are judging me for it." She sniffed, recalling how Bronx had snapped at her male puppies to stay away last night.

"I would never, Gypsy. Neither would Ghost. We all make mistakes, and it takes a stronger person to forgive a mistake then to hold a grudge against one."

She looked away at Ace's wise words. He's like the embodiment of perfection. Never too worked up about anything. Doesn't cry, get mad, or push his problems onto others. Does he even have any problems?

She opened her mouth to ask how Ace had been doing, but just then the clouds released an onslaught of harsh, slanted rain. It was hard to hear over the sound of water smacking the earth.

"I'll be back," Ace said. "And perhaps you could bring the pups to my den- and we could talk."

Her ears lowered with reprise. Bronx wouldn't like it, but then again... Bronx had been neglecting her recently.

"I'd like that," Gypsy commented quietly. They shared a knowing look as Lavender and Finn played. Copper was staring at the two adult dogs as if working out their inner thoughts.

"He likes you, Mum! As more than a friend, I mean." Copper looked up at her with big, watery brown eyes.

Ace made no move to deny it. Instead, he hesitantly bent towards the pup. "You're an observant one, aren't you? Well, you aren't wrong little pup."

It was hard to meet the husky mix's gaze when he lifted his neck back up. Gypsy could hardly stop her eyes from filling with tears.

Ace would be a much better father. Why.... why didn't I think of that before? Why did I abandon him? Like... like how our house folks abandoned us.

The guilt was crushing her underneath its immense paws as Ace turned to leave, flicking his tail in dismissal.

"Well, I look forward to our chat tonight. See you later, pups! And the most attractive she-dog to ever walk the earth." With a spry glint in his eyes, he leaped forwards into a run. Gypsy didn't have the chance to respond, and she had a feeling that's just what he wanted.

"Alright, pups. Let's go in the den and wait out this weather."

_________
Copper