.^^ Puppy Cerberus ^^

— Athenos —

My alarm blared, and I slammed a fist down on it, groaning.

"You really hate that thing, huh?" Alexia mumbled, looking up from her book.

"You should have gotten some sleep... exams today..." I grumbled.

"Mmhmm. I slept for an hour, and you know I'm too excited about the exam to care about sleep." She grinned.

"Mm." I crawled out of the bed slowly, and pulled on some clothes.

"No, the red one. You can't wear blue jeans with a green shirt, it makes you look like you're trying to support a futbol team." She commented lazily.

I nodded, agreeing with her assessment, and pulled a red shirt on, hanging the green one up carefully.

"Coffee?" I asked, starting a pot. I must've been the only college student with his own merchant-grade cappuccino machine, and I abused the ability. I even sold cups, on weekends. I carted the thing out to the futbol field, and sold cups of coffee to the people watching the game. It's also how I explained my extra money to Alexia, as I didn't have a job.

She shook her head, holding up a mug of hot green tea from the table next to her side of the bed.

"Alright." I murmured, and laced my boots carefully, my fingers shaking a bit too much for my liking.

"Do you need help, luv?" She asked, glancing up over her reading glasses.

"I'm fine..." I tied the last knot stubbornly, and then sipped the coffee, grabbing my satchel. "I'll see you after my exam, and we'll celebrate, yeah? Maybe that bar that opened down the road?" I asked.

She smiled. "Sure, luv. I'll be there."

I smiled and crossed the room, and took the book, marking her page. I set it aside as she raised an eyebrow tinted red, (she usually dyed it brown every week, but she hadn't, in a while,) and kissed her.

She giggled softly, and kissed me back, then pushed me towards the door. "You're going to be late."

"Worth it." I snuck another kiss in, and walked out of the door of our apartment, to my final exam. Eight years of college, almost finished. After today, I was a fully legitimate Doctor, if they gave me the Doctorate.

The exam posed no issue to me, as I had already learned everything on it, and studied hard besides. The essays took longer, because I wasn't much one for writing, but I just did what Alexia would do. I explained the question until even a child could read my answer, and understand I was correct. (With the appropriate level of vocabulary, of course.)

My scores were handed back, the first one to finish, and I received a perfect score on everything, just like I'd expected.

"Congratulations, Mr. Parthenos, you have succeeded, where 97% of others fail, even at this stage." The professor smiled, and turned her eyes towards the room of students, reminding them to continue working.

I grinned and sprinted out, holding in a laugh until I was outside, and then found my way to the bar. "You seen a woman with brown hair, dark red eyebrows?" I asked the bartender.

He shrugged.

I nodded and made my way to the apartment. "Did her exams not go well? Shit!" I stopped and bought her some chocolate, just in case, then went to the apartment.

As I opened the door, I knew something was wrong. Her coats, which had hung in the doorway for all the five years we had lived here, (not cold enough in Jamaica for fleece,) were gone, as were her shoes.

"Alexia? Lover, are you here?" I called out, and closed the door. I took the chance to search the house with magic, something I had never done, and didn't find anything that carried her essence.

I stepped into the living room, and a buzzing sounded.

—

My fist crashed down on the alarm clock, and I groaned. "Fucking dreams..."

"There's food, if you're hungry." James spoke from the kitchen.

I cracked my back, nodding. "Thanks... sorry, I should be the one cooking for you..." I sighed, and rubbed my eyes to get them working right. 40 years really took a toll on your body, regardless of how healthy you were.

"It's alright. I actually like cooking. Mum says it'll help me snag a good woman, some day." He grinned.

I snorted. "She's not wrong. Women love a man who can cook. What did you make?" I asked, dragging myself over to the table.

"Sausage and Eggs, and toast. You're running low on Eggs and toast." He set a plate in front of me.

"Sweet... I'll buy some later today, if nothing comes up. Or I'll send Gui to get some." I sighed.

"Who?"

"Hmm? Ah, you didn't catch his name. The Cyclops at the Gyro stand. He gets me groceries sometimes, if I tip him enough." I chuckled, and started eating.

He turned off the stove, and made his own plate. "Oh. What kind of name is Gui? Is it a nickname?"

"All magical creatures use nicknames. You ever get a real one, don't tell anyone, not even me. Bad juju comes from spreading that around." I warned him casually, and cleaned my plate in the sink, then his when he finished just as fast.

"So the myths about true names having power, that's true?"

"Very. Humans don't have true names, luckily, but that also means we don't have that power... it's a bit of a double-edged Sword." I explained.

"What power?" He asked.

"Hmm? Ah, right. Having a True Name gives you the ability to call on your own power... a sort of Amplification. You say your name, and your soul responds, giving you greater power, and nearly-indomitable control over your magical power. Sort of like calling a dog's name. Your True Name makes your Soul Heel. Makes Wild Magic easier." I explained deeper.

"Wicked..." he grinned.

"It is pretty cool, yeah. Anyway, was there a clipboard on the table?" I looked for it.

He handed it over. "I moved it when I cleaned the table."

"Thanks. This is magical, actually. You might be surprised what all in this house is... this one logs every time someone magical in the area, (or someone I know personally, no matter where they are,) asks for medical help, and then the situation, updating automatically, then sorting based on urgency." I showed him as the Runes changed, and he grinned slowly.

"That's what you meant by technology catching up to magic, then? This is kind of like a magical 911 distress reporter?" He asked.

"Yes. Let's see... no urgent calls, that I can see, but a few important ones... liver transplant scheduled for next Sunday, you might want to stay with Gui for that one, it'll be very grody... but what about this one, do you think? Bite wound to the left abdomen, punctured lung..." I hummed.

"That's not Urgent?" He raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"No. The dragon was Urgent. A bite wound is a bite wound." I shrugged.

"What's important about it, then?" He asked slowly.

"Well, someone got bitten and a lung got perforated. You paying attention?" I grinned, and he snorted.

"Alright, let's go. This might be interesting. You think whatever bit him is still around?" He asked.

I hummed. "I hope not, but if they are, we call for Garçon, and leave the place until it's dealt with."

He sighed, disappointed, and I stopped us, instead of starting the car. "Listen... I don't want you getting the idea that the life of a Mage is all sunshine, sprinkles, and fighting. We're a society, there are laws. We don't run around like the old stories, killing people an' castin' curses an' all that. That's the reason for the Geas, you know? It was to make us separate from normal society, so we could both develop in peace. We have cops, doctors, jails, and businesses. We aren't savages, Alright? So I'm sorry if that disappoints you, but we don't try to fight stuff. Alright?"

"Alright... I guess that makes sense." He sighed, sitting in the front seat this time, and setting the book on crystals in his lap, with the translation dictionary and his journal set up like tiers, so he could translate.

I started the car, and began driving, towards the coordinates given by the distress call.

We ended up almost all the way to the Everglades South section, which was odd. Not much lived out here, human-wise. It was a national preserve, so no building was permitted.

I paid the entrance fee at the outer gate, and parked, grabbing my bag. "Well, this is a first. Never been out here on a distress call."

"Excuse me, sir, did you say you were here for the distress call?" A small woman in a rangers uniform ran up, huffing.

I blinked. "Uhm... yes? My name is Dr. Parthenos, I was dispatched to deal with some type of Bite and perforated lung?" I answered carefully.

"Yes! And there's a few others, as well! We are so relieved that you showed up so quick!" She began pulling me towards the recovery building.

"I'll grab the rest of my gear and meet you inside, Alright?" I pried her grip off of me. She was human, which was a problem. If only one patient was magical, maybe I should have left this to the normal paramedics.

She nodded. "Please hurry!"

I leaned down into the car. "Okay James, I need a favor. You need to take the... GPS, and see if it will tell you where the... animal is." I pointed at a magical compass pendant, hanging from my mirror between the two car-fresheners.

He nodded. "I've got it."

"Great. And don't get bitten. Lots of stuff out here is poisonous." I reminded him, and walked into the recovery center.

Animals from the swamp, in their various wounded ways, were around us in crates, and near the back, one of the crates was open. Next to it, someone I recognized from the market. I'd never treated him, but I knew he was an Ogre.

"What bit him?" I hummed, mostly to myself, as I began checking him for wounds other than the obvious one.

"He said it was a very large Wolf, which was very odd, because-, well..." she stuttered off to a halt.

"Because don't have wolves in southern Florida. Cougars, yes, and very big Coyotes, rarely, but not wolves. Any reports one escaped from a zoo?" I asked, and when she went to check the logs and make a few calls, I did what I could for his lung.

I couldn't operate here, nor did I want to, in such an unclean place, but I could heal his lung with magic, now that we were alone. I finished just in time, as she returned.

"No, doctor, I can't find any registry of an escape, but I did call the zoos in the area and tell them to check, just in case they missed it. It might have been an illegal collector?" She proposed.

"Perhaps... well, his lung isn't actually punctured, thank god, only crushed a bit. I relieved the pressure, and now I'll sew up this surface wound. His rib is also cracked, but not broken. A few weeks sitting at his desk, and he'll be fine." I smiled warmly, and began the stitches.

She hugged me, and I growled. "No! No touching while I'm sewing, ma'am, I'd rather not stab him!"

She flinched and stepped back, blushing. "Sorry."

"Hmph." I didn't respond, and then examined the bite pattern again. "Did you see him get bitten?" I asked.

"No, I heard the cage break, and then he yelled something about 'wolf!!!' And I ran in, and the door was open." She shook her head.

"Did he say 'wolf', or 'Wülfe'?" I clarified.

"Oh, the second one! He'd german, you know, so sometimes it's hard to understand him." She nodded.

"Yes, I know. We go to the same market... he must've speed-dialed me on my pager." I hummed.

"Hey, Athenos?... I think I found the Wolf." James called.

I snapped my head up, then looked at the woman. "You know how to apply bandages? Do so, I'll go make sure there's no problems with the animal. I have extensive experience with animals, that's why I was called." I assured her, and pressed the gauze into her hands, darting out the door.

James was staring down what could only be a female, puppy-version of Cerberus, as big as a fully-grown Rottweiler, and with the same coloring.

She yipped at him, cocking each head at a non-synchronous interval, her unclipped ears flopping with each movement, which was adorable.

"James, stay where you are. I'll get some steak, or something, and lure her into the woods. Garçon will-"

"Do What? She's just curious. The man inside smelled like Food... she eats monsters." He asked slowly, keeping his eyes on her.

"Oh... that does explain... well, I don't really know what else to do, she won't just follow us." I sighed.

He growled something, and she yipped again, three tongues lolling out happily.

"Please don't tell me you just adopted a Cerberus." I sighed.

He grinned. "Yep."

"Fine. Fine. But unlike Perceval, she'll require a good bit of training. And a lot of room. She's going to get much bigger. Take her around to the car." I sighed, and looked back inside.

A pair of human paramedics had arrived, and were lifting my patient up onto a stretcher. I nodded and skirted the building, sitting in my car. The Giant dog barked softly, sniffing my hair, and I frowned at her. "None of that! Lay down, so we can get going! And no more eating people! No humanoids in your diet, Alright?"

She cocked her heads.

James translated, or I hope he did, and she grumbled, laying down.

I drove to the next location on the 'Important' list, and tended the patient while James taught his new Cerberus how to play fetch.

After I'd done a few more, I drove us home, and entered the Troll Market, while James spoke to the dog seriously in her own language. She trotted at his left side primly, as if she's been trained all her puppy life.

Perceval had sniffed noses with her in his feline form, and she had snorted, then licked his head, and left him alone after that.

I found the Magical Animal vender, and her eyes widened. "Well I'll be damned... is that a Spawn of Cerberus? And a Female? You looking to start a magical menagerie, kid?" She asked James.

He shrugged. "I like animals, they like me, it's simple. Anyway, do you have a collar for her that would make her look like a normal dog, to non-magical folks?"

She hummed. "A Geas Collar? Sure, I might could whip something up for you. Plenty cheap, they're not very difficult to make." She rummaged around in her cupboards for a collar that would fit the dog, then thought better of it, and pulled out one with a Rune-Stone hanging from it. "Here we are! It'll keep her from growing too big, as well. Magically condenses her, so she never gets too big to be normal, yeah? Simple. 3Silver, and she's yours." She held out the collar.

I paid for it, then lowered my voice. "Any things she can chew on? Things that aren't my furniture? And food, I'll need as much of whatever she'll eat as possible." I sighed.

She smiled and set out a few Ogre-Bones, as tough as titanium, as well as a bag of what smelled like rotten steak.

The dog sat up, suddenly interested.

"What's that?" I coughed into my hand.

"That, my friend, is steak from a dead bison. Underworld Dogs go ape for the stuff. It's more a treat than normal food. You'll want to feed her just normal steaks, regularly. With her smaller size, she'll only eat what a normal dog would, so at least you don't have to worry about that particular expense." She explained.

I nodded and paid for the lot, then after depositing it all in my trunk, I went to get the groceries I needed, according to James, as well as several dozen pounds of steak, and a few pounds more of Bison Steak, which I would let rot, according to her directions for making my own treats.

We took it all home, storing it all in the deep-freeze for now. I would have to build the dog her own house, in the backyard. I wouldn't be able to handle her in the house. Not even my wish to make James like me would possibly override enough to allow a big, slobbering, shedding demon-dog into my house, for any length of time.

As we put everything away, I got an idea, and nodded, waving a hand in the direction of James's room. The spell was a simple one, one I'd done a thousand times before, to modify the house.

The upstairs, which I had never bothered decorating, was now covered in pet paraphernalia. There was a section for Perceval, a mixture of bird cage and cat walkways along the tops of the walls and across the ceiling, with an alcove in each corner he could hide in or hoard things in.

The stairway now led down to the door that I had made for James's room, along with a dog-door being installed in the door for the Cerberus and Perceval. I moved the spare refrigerator up there as well, (it was too complicated for me to make another with magic,) and moved all the dog's things up there.

James's room had also moved, to the front of the building, above the kitchen. A bit more private than before, and open on the back end, connecting to the animal room.

I gripped James for balance, when I was done, and was shocked when magic flowed into me like a Tidal Wave, slamming away my tiredness like a lightning hammer.

I yelped and reared my hand back, shocked, and he looked at me, concerned. "Whoah! Are you okay?"