I was the first to wake up, turning towards my phone to see that it was 5 in the morning. Luna was fast asleep, clutching on to my arm. I gently loosened her grip and crawled off the bed, making sure not to alert her. Today was Saturday with a forecast of clear blue skies, an excellent day to spend riding around the city. I tiptoed towards the closet and picked out some clothes before making my way to the shower.

The little pup was still fast asleep when I was finished so I went over to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. As I poured the pancake batter in the iron pan while the eggs cooked, Luna could be seen shambling into view, softly rubbing her eye sockets. “Good Morning little one! We got a big day ahead of us, starting by taking you to the vet to get ya checked out and then head on over to that anthro district they're building so we can get new CLOTHES!” I practically screamed, stirring up the eggs as they started to turn more fluffy.

“But for now, let's get energy into our bellies and start off strong. Excited?” her tail slowly wagged before speeding up. Clearly, it was easy to hype up the young wolf. Luna hurried towards the table, looking up at me with eyes full of hunger. “I can't wait alex!” She yelped.

Together, we ate in silence with Luna constantly excusing herself from getting more servings, leaving me nothing but scraps but it didn't bother me at all. “Go take your bath so we can leave. I'll have Stuff for you to wear when you're done.” I said, taking both my plate and hers to the sink. Luna nodded her head and ran into the bathroom, firmly shutting the door behind her. I went over to my smartphone and explored the contacts, finally selecting the person that i wanted to call. It ringed for a couple of seconds before someone on the other end answered. “Hello?” A woman called out.

“Hey Linda, it's me. How's it going?”

“Oh hey Alex! It's been so long and I'm doing fine.” She said, sounding slightly exhausted but still kept that cheerful attitude in her voice. “yes it has. Could you do me a huge solid and open up the office early today?” I asked, crossing my fingers that she wouldn't immediately start talking shit. There was a long pause on the other end. “Fine but you better give me a damn good reason why.” Linda sighed while I apologized and thanked her at the same time. Eventually, I explained to her what happened yesterday and hoe I needed her help seeing if Luna was healthy.

“Awww! That's so noble of you! Bring her here and I'll see what I can do.” Linda said in delight. 

We continued to converse with each other, talking about the old high school days when we came out of the bathroom dressed and ready to go. I said my goodbyes to Linda and hung up the phone, Luna looked up at me, tail wagging. She had on brown cargo shorts that I grew out of along with a black T shirt that had the power rangers logo at the center. “sorry that i have nothing but boy clothes for you to wear. We'll buy something that you'll find more appealing at the store.”

“I don't mind wearing these alex! They are somehow comfortable to me.” She responded. I raised an eyebrow at what she said before nodding.  “Well if you say so. Come on, let's get going.”

****

The drive through downtown was filled with Luna looking out the window, dumbstruck at all the new things that were around her. “Alex! What is that?” She asked, pointing at a yellow bus with dozens of human children stepping out and rushing inside a tall brick building. “That's what we call a school, It's where young kids go to learn and make friends.” 

“I wanna go! I wanna go!” She barked, having both hands planet onto the passenger window. Reaching out, I scratch the back of her neck to which Luna responded with a cute growl. “Maybe you will in the near future. Thinking back on it, I had a time of my life in my school days, working hard to be at the top of my class which gave me my own place and car.” To be honest, that was the half truth as I was more like the class clone more than anything, just barely pulling through with average grades. Luna however, looked up to me for advice and guidance and I didn't want her to fool around like I did when it comes to an education.

A few minutes of driving lead us towards the commercial district with rows of small businesses lining the street. People were already out and about, parking their vehicles in front of their stores while I did the same, finding a spot away from everyone else. “Alright, the door should be unlocked, you think you can walk?” I asked as Luna hurriedly unbuckled her seat belt. “ My feet feel much better now thanks you alex!” she yapped, stepping out the door and shutting hard.

“Shut my door gently next time little one or you'll break the glass in no time.” I quickly remarked. It didn't take me long to regret making that request when Luna's tail suddenly stopped wagging and hid in between her legs. “S-s-sorry Alex.” She muttered out.

“It's all good little one. You'll understand when you get your own car.” I said while kneeling down to rub her head as her tail instantly wagged again from my touch. 

“My my! What a cutie!” a woman yelled from afar, walking towards us. She had on dark blue medical scrubs covered by a white overcoat that had her name sewed onto her breast pocket. The pup cowardly behind my leg at the sight of a stranger which did cause both of us to chuckle at the same time. “Don't worry, she's the friend I told you about.” Luna was very hesitant at first, never wanting to budge from her spot until Linda pulled out a lollipop and offered it to her.

“Don't worry honey, i won't bite.” Linda reassured the small pup. 

“H-hello. It's nice to m-meet you.” Luna responded, taking the piece of candy. Linda smiled and looked back up at me. “I never imagined wolves being this close to city, they usually don't want to have anything to do with the modern world.” 

“Well, the drive to the bridge I found her in was pretty far. I gotta say,  she ran quite a distance before stopping.” I informed Linda as we made our way to the front entrance of her office. She reached into her pocket to pull out an assortment of keys all jumbled together. It wasn't long until she found the bronze colored key and inserted it in the keyhole when I felt a slight tug on my pants. I looked to see Luna worriedly gazed at me. “Alex….w-what is she planning on d-doing to me?” Luna whimpered while we walked inside.

I looked down at her and gave a soft smile. “Don't worry little pup, she's only gonna give ya a quick check up and then we're done!” I told Luna as Linda flicked up a set of switches near the reception desk. The lobby we were in was quickly flooded with fluorescent light, along with the hallway leading further within the office. Opening the second door to our left, Linda motioned for us to enter before closing the door.

Claire's examination went on well over an hour with the pup's nervousness clearly showing on her face. I stood by the door, watching as the whole thing transpired in front of me. Luckily, Luna was behaving rather well through all this, doing whatever Claire asked without fail. It wasn't until the doctor wanted to have a word with me outside the room. 

“So how is she?” 

“The kid is fine, all she had was a bunch of cuts and bruises that healed over rather quickly. Her body however, well I need to draw some blood to get more information.” Claire's nonchalant voice echoed across the empty hall. I wasn't a huge fan of sharp pointy objects especially if they're needles so I can't imagine what Luna would do. “Ok sure. Tell what you know so far.”

“From what I read back in college, the wolven tribes are a bulky bunch all thanks to their natural diet. I have no doubt that Luna will grow to be twice your size. What interests me most is what lingers down there. I'm betting that Luna may experience an extra dose of testosterone throughout her years but it's too early to tell.” I listened as Claire continued to lecture me about Luna's race, explaining the do's and don'ts when it comes to taking care of one. 

We eventually re-entered the room where Luna sat patiently for our return. I had the task of giving the girl the bad news while Claire opened a cabinet and pulled out a medical packet that sealed up. “Ok little one, here's the deal. We'll get some ice cream after this buuut, my friend here needs something from you.” As I said this, Claire was already putting on her rubber gloves that made Luna shiver before looking back at me. 

“Don't look at it or you'll make things a whole lot worse.” I told Luna as she understandably did the exact opposite, never tearing her eyes away from the needle. 

“Hold still sweetie, it'll just be….a little...prick.” Claire said slowly, firmly gripping the pup's arm while gently driving the needle in. Luna cried out and immediately wedged her head into my shoulder, hitting me with waves of nostalgia.

****

Saying my goodbyes to Claire, we drove off with Luna riding in the back seat this time. I could tell she wasn't happy with what happened, who would blame her for that? “Have you ever had ice cream before Luna?” I asked as our car was crossing the bridge that led towards the next district. The wolf refused to tear her gaze away from the window with arms crossed in a defiant manner but she did have both ears pointed in my general direction. After a brief moment of awkward silence, I continued on. “I know you may hate me for not telling ya ahead of time so I want to make it up to you.” 

Luna's face softened a bit before looking my way on. "I don't hate you Alex, I just don't like sharp pointy things."

My face lit up with her honesty."You're not alone love but we gotta make sure that you're healthy so you won't get sick on me." Grabbing the Aux cord that was stored inside the glove compartment, I connected my phone and radio together and scrolled through a list of songs from my favorite playlist before passing her the phone entirely. "You said that your mom taught you how to read so pick a song up there, any song!" Luna looked at the strange device, taking her time examining every inch of it before settling for a single song. The entire car erupted in a deep base, causing the pup to jump in her seat while her ear moved all over the place.

The car's dashboard screen lit up with what was currently playing along with it by. "Resonance by Home eh? Not bad of a pick Luna!" I said, slowly bobbing my head to the beat. " This is not like the music my tribe plays Alex." Luna said while looking up at me. She saw what I was doing and started to mimic my movements. "But if you like it then i like it too!" She barked.  We didn't say much else after that, simply listening to what was being played was more than enough to make the trip enjoyable. Eventually, we made it to the shopping center that was located at the far side of the city. Here, there was a much heavier concentration of anthros who were assimilated into human society with some having their own vehicle while the majority took the public transport system. "There are so many people here Alex and they are dressed like you!" Luna couldn't hold down her excitement as her tail wagged uncontrollably. 

We both walked past dozens of stores inside the mall with crowds of anthros browsing through the items put out for display. Luna was at a loss of words as she sat on my back, gawking at the activity happening around her. "All I need to do is find some nice clothes that fit your size and we'll be in business." I mumbled before my attention was directed towards a group of young anthros conversing with one another. They wore similar uniforms with the males having on beige khaki pants with a dark blue cotton vest on top of a white T-shirt. For the females, they had  I could tell  that they were custom uniforms as a result of their tails popping out freely from their backside.

"Who are they Alex?" She asked, sharing the same gaze I had. "They're children that attend a school Luna. They sit in a classroom and socialize while gaining an education. If I didn't go to school then I wouldn't have had my job or my car or even my apartment."

"Would that also mean that if you wouldn't have met me too?"

"Well most likely yes ."I told her as we entered a nearby clothing store. It wasn't as packed as the other places, holding just a couple patrons browsing about. Luna immediately hopped down and followed closely by while I began to shop. "Welcome to our Store sir. Looking for anything in particular?" A young human woman asked as she walked towards us from the register. I glanced at her and politely shook my head. "We're just browsing at the moment ma'am? I responded, returning the soft smile she gave me. Luna instinctively went for my legs to hide.

"Awww what a cute young lady! I take it that you're getting your daughter some stuff for school?" The question itself caught me off guard which was apparent by the way I stumbled over my words. "I…..uhh...well… not ex-" 

"You're letting me go school Alex?!" Luna's tail wagged slightly while still hiding behind me. The store clirt couldn't help but giggle at the pups sudden change in demeanor. The plan wasn't to introduce Luna to school so early but she kept on begging and begging until I eventually cave with a sigh. "Ok fine, you win. We'll head over to the supermarket to get you some supplies but first, let's get you some clothes. For the next hour we browse the store, grabbing things for the pup. It was clear that Luna showed little interest in the skirts and dresses that the clerk recommended to her but took a liking to the wide assortment of jeans and bottom up shirts.

"I like these because they look Alot more comfortable." Luna pouted while I looked at the clerk and shrugged our shoulders.  "Fuck it. If that's what she wants." I said, both arms already full of clothes. Luna skipped towards the register with me slowly following behind, mentally prepared myself for the final price for everything she wanted. "I hope you plan on wearing all these little one." I told her just as the clerk finished ringing everything up bringing the total up to what will make my blood pressure shoot to the roof. I gave the lady my credit card and helped her load the goods into these gigantic paper bags.

We spent a total of 3 hours in the mall, going from store to store to get basic supplies including shoes, a backpack, even a bunch of notebooks and pencils. It wasn't until we got into the car that Luna made a tiny slip up. "I'm pretty sure that's everything we need for the school year." I said, storing the last bags into the trunk. " I got a nice fresh T-bone waiting for you at home, sounds good?"

Upon hearing this, the young wolf jumped with joy, wagging her fluffy tail profusely. "Yes yes yes! Please daddy!" Luna howled before suddenly going silent, her paws quickly jumping to her maw while looking at me with wide eyes. I stared back down at her, heart skipping a beat as I turned red. "I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't mea-." 

"No no no it's fine, it's m-more than fine! Is that how you think of me Luna?"  

The pup flattened her ears and looked away. "It's just that you're just like mommy, you fed and took care of me just like her so….. I Imagine you as her bu-but like a dad." She whispered out. I couldn't help but cover my face, not daring to show Luna my blushed face. This inadvertently made her look up at me in distress. “Im sorry Alex! I didn't mean to make you mad at me please forget what i said!” she cried out. “No no no, it's not that little one, what you said made me more happy than anything. You can call me whatever you like!” I chuckled. Luna's face beamed as she ran to her side of the car door and jumped in. I made a mental note to head to the social services center to make it official as I stepped into the driver side and drove off.

When we got home, Luna immediately ran to the trunk of the car to grab as much stuff as she could before running up towards our apartment. I went on ahead and had a smoke, slowly inhaling the fumes and blowing them back out."probably gonna need to quit these before long." I mumbled as Luna zipped past me to grab the remaining bags. " come on dad! I got the steak out, you just need to cook it!" She growled, shooting up the steps again.

"I'm coming little one."