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Darby was having a great time in this big, fruity-smelling house.
Nobody here could talk, but it was so much better than the last place he’d been, where he’d been stuck in a cage with a heavy collar around his neck and a bunch of other people who were all smelly and miserable and hungry. But then someone had come and gotten him and now he was here, in a house where he got to eat whatever he wanted and there was a small pack of other boys for him to play with and sleep with and he only had to wear a long shirt, which was a good compromise with human culture as far as he was concerned.
The guy who seemed to be the boss of the house was a lean human man who smelled like flowers and liked to sit with Darby on his lap. That was fine, though he wasn’t very comfortable to sleep on so Darby usually just pushed him away after a while and slept beside him instead. Darby got to sit with him at a big table and eat all the food he wanted every night, which was so awesome.
The other boys were all really nice too. They all slept together in one big room, and they cuddled him whenever he wanted, and he got a lot of pats on his head and scratches on his ears. A few times he’d transformed and they’d all used him as a pillow. They were all bigger than him, but Darby really felt like he was the leader of their little pack.
So yeah, Darby thought it was great here. One night the door to the room opened and the man who was also the boss but less flowery came and Darby knew by now follow him to Flowerman, so he just got up, trotted after him. He noticed halfway there that they weren’t going anywhere he’d been before, and then they reached a door, the man knocked and Darby, curious, pushed it open and just went inside.
Inside was the biggest bed Darby had ever seen, inside the biggest bedroom Darby had ever seen, and his eyes went wide. He darted right to it, not even noticing Flowerman sitting in a chair, and just dove into the blankets, snuggling in. This was so soft! His tail wagged like crazy. He wanted to sleep here from now on! Even if it did smell like Flowerman and fruit. He should get the others and bring them here, it was way better than the floor in their room.
Flowerman came over after a minute or so and put his hand on Darby’s leg, and Darby looked up at him, grinning. He smiled back, coaxing Darby off the bed, which Darby wasn’t that interested in doing, but he did get Darby to take his silly shirt off, which suited Darby just fine. Then he brought Darby over to the chairs, showing him a small box. Darby sniffed it, and Flowerman opened it and pulled out a little gold chain with a stone the colour of a stormcloud in the middle of it. Darby looked at it, head tilted, ear twitching. Oh, he knew what that was. The other boys all wore collars.
Darby snatched it out of Flowerman’s hand and put it on his neck, fumbling the clasp a few times but getting it eventually. Then he examined himself in the mirror, tail still going. He looked so cool! Now he was really a member of the pack!
Flowerman came up behind him and Darby turned around and hugged him to say thank you, then he signed thank you at him because he was going to have to teach this dummy how to talk someday. Then he headed for the door so he could go show all his friends. Flowerman held his wrist, keeping him in place. Darby looked up at him, pulled. Flowerman pulled Darby closer to him.
Oh, he wanted to wrestle. Darby grinned and tackled him to the ground, showing his dominance. He pinned Flowerman easily, even though he was so much bigger than Darby. This was why they needed Darby around here, he was the only one here with even a shred of dominance in his heart. Someone was going to have to protect them all from predators and stuff.
Once he’d demonstrated to Flowerman that he was the winner, Darby got up and headed to leave again. Flowerman grabbed him, and Darby sighed. He wanted to go. But Flowerman was gesturing to the bed. Oh, Darby got it. He trotted over there, pulling Flowerman behind him, and jumped onto the bed. Smiling again, Flowerman started to take off his clothes. Darby helped him since he was so slow, and pulled him into the bed so they could cuddle. Flowerman moved closer as if to bite him so Darby pushed him away and lay on top of him, transforming into his wolf form so he could be a better pillow. The collar was a bit tight like this, but it wasn’t so bad. It was only fair that he cuddle with Flowerman since he was always sleeping with the other boys. He was the boss, after all.
So Darby settled in, rolling onto his side to sleep, and letting Flowerman use him like a pillow. Darby happened to know he was a great pillow.
And he fell asleep, happy with everything. This was a great place to live.
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How Best to Use a Sword 