Each dog had the sense not to bound around the yard in careless glee. Grey Dog kept his back turned to them and seemingly slept. For the entirety of the day, into the next night, he didn't get up. When Flare awoke the next morning, every dog was hard-pressed for dog food. They scrambled over each other like a clutch of chickens in a panic.

Except for Grey Dog. He sullenly nibbled on whatever food fell close to him, and then dragged his feet back towards his area. Flare was glad to notice that he at least look a drink before he turned his back towards the tires.

"This place sucks," Shadow said glumly. Flare had been able to keep the thought out of her mind for awhile, but she was once again compelled to agree.

"If only the other dogs weren't so defensive, we could all work out a way to escape this place," Shadow said boldly. The tan-yellow dog nodded in agreement, but privately couldn't imagine what it may be like outside of The Yard. Is there more trees and grass, or less? Is there prey out there that dogs can catch, like squirrels that stay on the ground? Is the whole world full of human dens and yards like this one?

"Yeah." She sighed. "If only."

~

The Man came to fight Jax and Grey Dog late that night. It was cloudless and without a lick of wind, so the callous noises coming from the shed were easy to hear. Grey Dog seemingly took his remorse out on Jax, because the younger black-and-white dog whimpered even after being tied up in The Yard. Flare smelled his blood, even though she was a ways from the dog houses- but Grey Dog nor Jax spoke.

As the leaves on the trees grew as thick and luscious as they could possibly get, The Man began picking up on his number of fights. Sometimes he brought the dogs to The Shed as often as every weekend. Shadow was still involved in this, and he, too, accumulated fresh wounds each time. Some of them would never disappear, permanently etched into his pelt as scars.

Summer was here, and the dogs no longer begrudgingly dealt with windy or rainy nights that brought a chill. Instead, they appreciated any breeze at all, and began lazing about in the heat of the day. Grey Dog's old spunk for dominance never seemed to resurface; he was defensive as always, but rarely used any authority. Those who could once expect agressive action from him could now except reserved sulking. He still protected his water bowl, but it was a lot less now that Mocha was gone.

Jax became the most redundant of The Yard dogs, bossing around others when he found the chance to. White Dog was as slow as ever, and Jax also never took up the opportunity to point this out. You'd think the black-and-white male would better support his aging friend, and the only dog who often conversed with him, but no.

Flare and Shadow became restless more often than not. Though most of their time was spent in the refuge of shade near the house, it was not something they preferred to do. As both dogs aged into adulthood more and more every day, they felt the confines of The Yard closing in on them. Flare felt the days blending together to the point where she couldn't remember most of them. It was so repetitive to do the same things every day... To see, smell and hear the same things began to feel like a prison. On top of this, her belly ached every second that she wasn't eating, and Shadow's was probably no different. The meager amount of dog food they were fed was not enough for even one dog's daily meal. The most interesting thing to happen would be to get scraps or find a new stick in the yard.

This was why it felt like such an important day when Flare finally did get scraps again. The woman had a bowl of something clutched between her paws. She dumped them from a bowl onto the ground, and Flare found them to be very salty and meatless.

Immediately following, her long and thin arms stretched out to distribute thin slices of cheese to each dog fairly. Flare swallowed them as they landed, hardly chewing. They were soft and had such a delicious flavor, offering her more nutrition than she'd had from the dog food in weeks.

Shadow nearly collided heads with her as she found a last scrap of cheese. Politely, the brown-pelted male sat on his haunches and looked away- a passive action that gave Flare the right to eat it.

She grabbed it from between the blades of grass and licked Shadow's muzzle greatfuly. Then, a slab landed right on his head- frantically, Shadow tried to knock it off of his forehead. His clumsy paws didn't hit it for several seconds, and when he finally did it fell onto his leg with a slap. Stuck there, the bright-colored cheese was a splash of color against Shadow's red-brown pelt. Watching it all unfold, Flare couldn't help but nearly explode with laughter.

The tan dog turned away to watch the human, knowing she owned the hand that had tossed the cheese onto Shadow. Soon, she felt his eyes boring into the back of her skull, and privately wondered why Shadow stared at her so often.

But unfortunately, the tall hairless figure with scraps of pelt across her torso and legs swiveled around to leave. So no more scraps, then.

"Flare."

The young female dog stiffened as she watched the door close. When Shadow said her name, it was usually followed by something serious.

She turned around to look, and was confused to see Shadow's gaze softer than silk. He licked his lips nervously and had his floppy ears pinned back, but was still trying to meet her gaze whole-heartedly.

Why is he looking at me like that? Flare felt uncomfortable. She didn't step closer to better hear him just yet.

"I was just wondering..." Shadow dragged out his words. Flare tilted her head, a bit impatient.

"...if that lick meant anything." He gave his tail a small wag, but Flare didn't.

"Yeah. It meant thanks," she finalized. Flare felt an tiny itch on her back, probably a flea, so she twisted to bite at it. Distracted, she listened to her stomach gurgle. The food had been great, and she was thankful, but couldn't she ever get full?

"Flare. I meant, more like- did the lick mean more than that."

She straightened her shoulders and let her ears fall. Shadow was being difficult, for some reason.

"More than what? A thank you's a thank you." She was beginning to feel a bit suspicious, and narrowed her eyes. Was Shadow trying to hold something over her by sharing the cheese? Did he regret giving it to her?

"I MEAN do you like me?" The brown dog sounded exasperated at this point, but he stayed sitting and pleadingly looked at Flare. She could hardly hold his gaze.

"As a friend," she said aloud. Shadow's hopeful look didn't waver yet.

"I meant as more than a friend. Like Grey Dog and Mocha were. Like m-mates." Shadow staggered on the word, and Flare's heart twisted for him. She knew she couldn't answer right away, without a careful reply.

He's so hopeful that I'll want to be mates. I didn't know he liked me like that! Flare felt a bit of panic start to erupt, but she shoved it down best she could.

The tan dog supposed that the constant staring at her when she wasn't looking, finally made sense. And Shadow protecting her, trying to sleep close to her every night? That stuff meant something the whole time. Her mouth suddenly felt very dry.

I know I can't lie to him. I just... Don't like him like that. Flare couldn't find any particular reason that she wanted a love interest right now, let alone for it to be Shadow. If I was in love, I'd know it. Right?

Stop second guessing yourself.

"I'm sorry, Shadow." Flare tried to let him down easy. "I really like you as a friend, but I haven't felt that way about any other dogs yet." She hoped this wouldn't ruin their friendship. For the first time, Flare searched his eyes for some sign.

Shadow was crestfallen, though. He avoided her gaze and was obviously trying not to appear hurt. Shut down, the male didn't speak for several heartbeats. When he did, it appeared to be a struggle.

"It doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I'm... Altered, right?"

"Of course not," Flare stated right away. Shadow's personality was divine, but Flare just didn't feel close enough to him yet. Truth be told, she hadn't let herself open up to Shadow much. She was skittish and had hardly found herself out, let alone whether she wanted a mate.

"If I'm being honest, that has hardly crossed my mind," Flare admitted. She didn't care that Shadow was uninterested in mating; so was she. Shadow nodded and appeared to be the slightest bit reassured. Still, with the way that the male got up slowly and went to get a drink, she could tell that something may have changed between them.

He really believed that I was going to say yes, she thought as she watched the skinny male's shoulders curve to take a drink of water. I'm sorry, Shadow...

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Flare colored sketch that I just finished(her ears are supposed to be darker):