"And this is where each of you will be sleeping. This is just Skye's house, so don't worry, Marshall, you have a pretty much identical one, except yours is red," Ryder announced, holding the door open to the pink doghouse. To him and Chase, it was just about the usual size of a room. But based on the pups' faces, from the perspective of their small eyes that had yet to see the wonders of the world, this must've been a three-story mansion.

"Woah...so I get this entire thing all by myself?" The Cockapoo asked in disbelief, turning back to him with a tilted head and eyes shining as bright as a kid on Christmas morning. The boy smiled and nodded, admittedly a bit proud to be hearing such positive reactions for his very own creation—and not to mention this was one he didn't have to fight with her over, unlike her collar.

"Yep, it's all yours, some of this stuff might be a bit big though. Decorate it, move stuff around, do whatever you want with it. Just don't break anything," he explained. Even if they couldn't exactly promise that everything in there was guaranteed to stay intact, they still seemed pretty excited. Though no one really knew if that was for the room itself or just from the idea of sleeping—in all honesty, both were valid reasons.

"U-uhm, Ryder, is it okay if I stay here tonight? W-we've never been alone so..." the Dalmatian nervously trailed off, lowering his ears and tilting his head at their new owner. The boy wasn't that surprised at the request (nor was he surprised by the spotted pup already trying to use the puppy dog eyes on him), it was sort of obvious that the two of them were used to spending most, if not all, of their life with one another. Besides, he was a man of his word when he said they could do whatever with their houses, that included guest passes.

"If you want to, sure, that's fine by me. Chase could even stay in here if you guys wanted to have a sleepover or something like that." In an instant, the shepherd turned over to the other pups with a wagging tail, and even the two siblings seemed just as excited—although that very well could just be because they were happy to stay with each other.

"That sounds really fun! Is that okay?" the shepherd asked curiously, flopping his head to the side and looking between the two pups. The two of them shared a single glance before nodding in agreement, only to look back at Chase with smiles that did all the talking necessary.

"Well, in that case, I'll leave you three to it. But, don't stay up too late, all of you have had a big day. And no chewing up blankets or pillows, those things are stupidly expensive. Have fun, though, goodnight." Ryder pet all three of their heads before smiling and closing the door, putting all of his faith into three newly introduced, hyper puppies being left alone—knowing exactly what he was risking. And to think that people always called him a genius.

"Wow...this is such a comfy bed." Marshall laid down on one of the blankets their new owner had set inside—even though the blanket was against nothing but the wooden floor, which was, well, just about as comfortable as any other piece of wood. Chase giggled as he shook his head, grabbing the blanket with his teeth and pulling it onto a large dog bed—effectively stealing the Dalmatian's spot.

"That's not your bed, this is," he explained, nodding over towards the actual dog bed. The two siblings tilted their heads curiously, watching the bed as if they were expecting it to grow a pair of legs and run after them. Something of this magnitude was only ever seen thrown out by humans, the fact that one this nice was even real was nothing short of incredible!

Skye, being the first of the duo to let her interest strike (curiosity always killed the cat, after all), sniffed the object before setting her front paws on the side. Without waiting for her to get used to it, her paws sunk into its cushiony surface, and instead of finding it comfortable as most would, she yelped and jumped back—even bearing her teeth.

"If that thing is a bed, then why is it twying to eat my paws?!" she exclaimed, clearly not as on board with the dog bed as he was expecting to—which seemed a bit hypocritical given how excited she seemed to sleep, though that did feel a bit harsh. Chase, just as clueless as ever, let out a confused hum. These pups were awesome, he was glad to have them here, but they were truly perplexing at times. That or he was just really bad at reading the room.

"It's just...soft, it's nice, just try laying down on it." The Cockapoo's eyes nearly jumped out of her head, she was being asked by her 'supposed' new friend to jump right into the belly of the beast! She made it clear that she was on edge, with a glare that was probably threatening to take him down with her if it came down to it. But she still stepped into the middle of the bed as her jelly-like legs laid—or more accurately, fell—onto its surface.

"I-its..." she trailed off as she ever so slightly sunk down, falling deeper into its soft surface like quicksand. The tan pup went dead silent, scanning every inch of the bed until eventually, she smiled and rubbed her head against it, rolling over and everything as she gripped onto one of the blankets. She almost looked like a cat, pushing her paws into the bed in pure wonder. "He's...right, it's so soft. This is amazing!"

"It is?" Her brother asked, just as skeptical as her once unawakened self was, and he too dipped his paws in. His eyes widened in shock as he fully stepped inside and laid down next to her. Their fascination was confusing to the young German Shepherd, but a victory was a victory nonetheless!

"I told you it was nice," he joked, shrugging it off as he jumped in next to them. All three of them easily fit into the dog bed without any sense of discomfort or claustrophobia—apparently, that's what Ryder meant when he said they'd have to grow into them. Skye looked over to her side and pulled one of the blankets that had been thrown to the side with her mouth, dragging it over them to somehow make them even more comfortable than before.

"So, what do you usually do during a...sleepover?" she asked curiously, only assuming that was the right word for whatever it was they were doing based on what Ryder had said. As excited as Chase appeared to answer—grinning from ear to ear with a wagging tail—the second he opened his mouth he simply froze, the grave reality of the situation finally dawning on him.

"Uhm...I dunno, this is my first time having one. I guess we could just get to know each other a bit more," he suggested, to which the two of them nodded eagerly—that was a pretty easy answer for such an uncertain question. Then again, they hadn't nearly shared enough to know what stories lay behind them, and they had nothing but time on their hands. Without Ryder, they could stay up all night and no one would ever know (even if logic said they had an hour tops).

The shepherd already knew what he was the most curious about, they had put just enough thoughts in his head that he simply had to know more. But the rational side of him—as rational as a puppy could even be—wasn't fully sure if it was the best thing to ask, especially now. Granted, no matter how much of him was able to think against it, curiosity always had its ways of outclassing logic.

"So...how did you two get separated from your Mommy and Daddy?" Skye and Marshall—who had only just now fully gotten settled in and used to the softness of their bed—froze as they glanced at one another. Their eyes were wide and they had nothing on their faces except anxiety, not a great start to a question he was already on the fence about asking.

Chase instantly felt guilty upon seeing the worry in their expressions, even if he was no detective, he could tell that he had awoken some unspoken memories for them. He couldn't blame them in the slightest, thinking about his old life on the streets was never enjoyable, not that he'd even do it willingly. He just hoped theirs was better than his experience.

"Well...we lived with them when we were really young, and one day we finally got them to take us out to the dog park. It was pretty fun there, but..." the Dalmatian trailed off, biting his lip as he tried to come up with a way to put all of this that would both be simple enough that he didn't think about it and also clear up their shrouded mystery. Not that it mattered much when Skye eventually took over.

"W-when it was time to leave, we tried to go back to them so we could go home, b-but...w-we couldn't find them. We spent all day looking for them, but we couldn't remembew how to get home, so we just stayed at the park. We ended up meeting this other weally nice pup, she said she didn't have a home eithew, so she showed us where she slept and let us stay there with her. She even helped us look for our Mommy and Daddy, and then one day while me and Marshall were out getting food, h-humans found us and took us to that place they called the pound," the Cockapoo explained, not exactly upbeat about her story—though again, no one could ever be happy about losing their parents.

"O-oh...I'm sorry to hear that. I used to be a stray in the city too before Ryder found me. Who was the pup you guys knew?" he asked curiously, both genuinely wondering if it was someone he might've stumbled up (as if he ever got any names), as well as assuming that a subject change from the whole parent thing was a bit overdue.

"Her name was Liberty, she was a little bit oldew than us, but she was awesome!" the Cockapoo exclaimed, having nothing but fond memories with their old friend—close enough to her that they practically considered her a third sibling. "We haven't seen her since then, though, we dunno if the mean humans got her or not."

"Well, maybe she has an owner now. I bet that would make her happy, right?" the shepherd eagerly suggested, feeling quite confident that this was an easy bullseye of an assumption. After all, from what he was aware of, nothing good come out of being a stray. The only thing one would ever be able to experience out in the streets was sorrow and hunger.

"I...don't know, actually. We asked her if she had a family and she just said that she had been a stray for as long as she could remember. And when we asked if she wanted one, she didn't seem sure. I think she's happy with being a stray," Marshall explained, and whether it was just an assumption on his end or not, it only confused the tiny brown pup's mind. That didn't seem right, how could anyone stand being all alone in the city, let alone enjoy it? This Liberty pup was either in denial or downright insane.

"Oh...that's...weird. But I guess it's good if that's what she wants. Either way, maybe you guys will see her again," he proposed, even though he silently refused to believe the former. Both Skye and Marshall seemed rather content with that though, and to him, that was his calling for a subject change (mainly so they didn't just fall into more awkward silence).

But, that chore didn't even end up falling to him, the Cockapoo's face suddenly switched to stern as she reached out and gripped his paw—which for some reason, sort of killed his insides in a way that he wasn't sure he wanted to question.

"Now, we have questions for you too." Skye stuck her nose up with a smile—and he wasn't sure if she was supposed to look inviting or threatening, somehow she came off as both. However, upon seeing the curious, tilted head of the shepherd, her face fell back down in an unimpressed manner, like a mother being asked the simplest question after having just answered it. "Oh come on, you weally think that we're just gonna show up at this big tower thing and not have questions?"

"Good point. What's up?" he asked, only for the two to look at each other and smile—likely using whatever strange mind-reading abilities that siblings seemed to have to try and figure out what to ask first. Whether they really were some weird magicians or not wasn't the case (he already had his suspicions locked, after all), Skye looked back and took a deep breath, preparing herself for who knows how many questions.

"Well, you said that you also used to be a stway?" Of course, her very first question had to feel like a punch to the gut—only vocalized by a low whimper that the shepherd managed to suppress. It was a valid question, he had just asked them the same thing, it was a taste of his own medicine. It didn't taste good, though, especially with no comfort to help wash it down.

"U-uhm, yeah, b-but it's nothing interesting to talk about," he forced out of his mouth—and despite how much effort he had to put in, his voice still only came out painfully shallow. Marshall and Skye exchanged a small glance, presumably getting the hint (which was conflicting to the shepherd, while he was more than happy to not talk about it, he was far too young to be getting voice cracks).

But of course, there was an awkward pause of silence as the two of them tried to figure out where to take the conversation next. They had plenty of options, and to their small yet curious minds, it was like an entire menu of questions to feast upon. Eventually, the younger of the two managed to put in their selection, hopefully one that was less of a sensitive subject.

"So, what's the deal with your owner? He seems like a cool dude and all, but how does he have a tower and all this fancy...stuff," he asked, pulling his tag up as an example to show his amazement and confusion even more. Now that the previous conversation seemed out of the way, Chase cracked a smile, looking between the two ever-so-curious pups to fulfill their mind's wishes.

"Do you want me to be honest?" It was probably a stupid question, but the two appeared as invested as one could be just to know the secrets crawling within the walls of the technology around them. "Well...I-I don't actually know, but it sure is nice, isn't it?"

"Sure beats sleeping on a blanket," Skye answered, rubbing her head against the bed that she still appeared to be absolutely fascinated by—and once again adding evidence to the more and more likely conspiracy theory that this bed was making her act like a cat in a puppy's body. Granted, that was a thought kept away from her, a dog (especially a puppy) enjoying being compared to a cat was something only found in myths.

"Didn't you have beds when you lived with your Mommy and Daddy?" the shepherd asked, not thinking much of the question as the pups nonchalantly shrugged it off. In all fairness, he couldn't exactly blame them, living as strays was never exactly the most glamorous lifestyle. Comfort couldn't always come first in the barren streets.

"Oh, well, Mommy and Daddy did, but we never had owners, and theirs was too small for everyone to fit. It was okay, sometimes they would let us lay on them," the Dalmatian recalled, thinking back on those comfortable nights when he was lucky enough to curl up on his mom's back. Being able to hug her and wrap himself up in her furry blanket (just as Skye would do with her dad) could never be beaten by the likes of a bed, no matter how soft it may have been.

"What were they like?" Both Skye and Marshall looked at each other, smiling—which he took as a good sign, meaning that finally, they had asked each other a question that had a positive answer. Though he did expect it, the bond between parent and child was always supposed to be the most unbreakable.

"They were awesome! They were busy a lot of the day trying to find stuff, they always said they were looking for food or...that paper stuff humans are always giving each other, but at night we all got to be together," the Cockapoo brightly explained, only to turn the question back onto him. "What were yours like?"

"Oh...I don't remember them much. I'm sure they were nice, I just never really got to know them." This time, he really was giving out the full truth, at least from what he remembered. He remembered bits and pieces of his parents, enough to know that he had them, he just never knew his for long enough their personality. Most of his memories dated back to when he was left in the city, all alone until Ryder found him and took him in (outside of a few that he didn't exactly want to remember).

"Aw man, well, maybe they're still out there! Ohh, maybe we could even help you meet them!" the Dalmatian eagerly suggested, only for Chase to turn away, refusing any sort of eye contact as the Dally's ears lowered. Wasn't the point of having friends to help each other? "Don't...you want to find them?"

"Marshall...please, stop asking about my parents," he muttered, his tone switching to a surprisingly demanding tone. In an instant, the spotted pup shut his mouth, zipped up his lips, and tossed the key away. The magic word had been said, after all, though that didn't mean they wouldn't be concerned. Skye especially, she tilted her head and scooted herself up the shepherd's side, nudging his cheek with her face.

"W-we're sorry, Chase, we didn't mean to make you sad," she whimpered, worry building up in her chest. The shepherd glanced up, drawn out of his trance by the warmness in her voice and the paw from each set on his back. Parts of him wanted to be mad at them, but he didn't really have it in him to be angry when they were on the verge of giving him puppy eyes—the audacity to use his own weapon against him.

"It's okay, it's nothing to worry about." The brown pup smiled as he turned over to them. The step-siblings, not as convinced as he appeared to want them, were a bit hesitant to buy into what he was claiming. They were still blessed with being able to pass off as young and dumb, but that didn't mean they were completely tone-deaf to emotions—albeit a little inexperienced.

"Are you sure? Daddy always said talking about stuff helped make it feel between," the cockapoo edged on, warmly pressing against his side. Chase, ignoring the small sting of guilt for continuing to push them away (that much he figured friends weren't supposed to do), only smiled and shook his head.

"T-thanks, but I'm okay, it doesn't matter now. What do you two wanna do now?" Whether it was his intention or not, his upbeat question managed to throw the entire mood for a curveball, ripping off the bandaid of tension throughout the room. Skye, under the assumption that bringing anything up any further interrogation about his life would be pointless, yawned and fell backward in trust fall fashion onto the bed below her—almost landing on Marshall who had to jump out of the way.

"Well, I'm weally tired, I kinda wanna go to sleep. Today was really fun! But...very tiring, especially dinner, I don't think I'll ever eat again after that," she proclaimed with a small giggle, knowing full well that she'd probably still gobble up a treat if the chance presented itself.

The tan dog smiled, laying on her back as she stared up at the ceiling covering her head for the night—that alone was something she was relieved to finally have. Her new home was...confusing, to say the least, it felt like some grand castle one would see in a fairytale. The most comfortable beds in the world, her own personal room, all the food she could eat, even something as small as a house to shield her from the rain was new to her, and not to mention the endless amount of weirdly complex human gadgets.

"Yeah, I kinda wanna sleep too. Goodnight, guys, sleep well. Don't let the bed bugs bite," the German Shepherd muttered, placing his head on his pillow with the expectations that all the fun was dying down and the boring (albeit necessary) part of a sleepover—despite it being the name of the game—was about to commence.

"Wait, what? What's a bed bug?" Skye asked, sitting up at just the mention of bugs sleeping alongside her sent shivers down her spine—she had no issue sharing a dog bed with someone close to her, but surely her standards were higher than that. Chase lightly chuckled to himself, keeping his head against his pillow as turned over to notice the worried expression on her face. In her defense, saying that without any sort of context probably could make it sound more like a threat than a term of endearment.

"I...don't think they're actually real, it was just something my Mommy and Daddy used to tell me," he explained, yawning in the process as he had to anchor himself onto the conversation so as to not fall asleep in the middle of it—that would probably seem a bit rude to his new roommates.

He had to say, for a pair who was generally energy-filled (admittedly, a bit too much at times), they also looked to be the type who appreciated a good sleep, just by seeing how much effort they were clearly putting into staying grounded in reality. A part of the shepherd was genuinely curious as to how long they would end up sleeping. That he could remember, nine hours in one night was his highest—a timing that would surely make the record books proud. But from the looks of it, he might have to pass on that title soon, though that certainly didn't mean he would lose his pride without a fight.

"Oh, phew. Well, goodnight, Chase, and thanks for everything," she warmly whispered, while the other two all muttered their own goodnights before settling in for the night. The shepherd tiredly wrapped his paws around his pillow, burying his head inside its cotton with the knowledge that any second now he'd be in the land of dreams. And after such an eventful day, he was ready for a bit of a break.

Marshall lazily laid his head against Skye's back, an act that she copied back to form their own little circle. Originally, it was just a way to help each other stay warm during the cold nights, but they ended up both agreeing that the comfort of the other sibling (which at times was all they really had) was a more than welcome added bonus, enough that it became routine over time. The two smiled at one another before closing their eyes, more than prepared to sleep just like a, well, puppy.

Neither of them could wait for tomorrow, and from the looks of it, whatever the next day would bring was a complete mystery. But for once, it was more of a fun mystery, like a cliffhanger at the end of a cartoon episode that forced you to wait all day just for a conclusion. It wasn't the type of mystery that made them wonder if they would be able to eat that day, or if they would have to spend the night under the freezing cold rain. Here, they seemed to have everything one could need. Finally, now that tomorrow no longer had to be a challenge to fight for survival, life seemed to be turning out in their favor.