Green Grove
Epilogue

Tetoryn was pleased to have finished college with only nominal student loan debts; he was honored to have spoken at the ceremony as valedictorian; most of all, he prided himself as the first of his family to graduate college. All in all, the young Weimaraner had enjoyed only positive experiences during his time at university, but that ended when he entered the real world. Unfortunately, it seemed, nobody wanted a Weimaraner employee when it came to puppyhood development.

He'd spent nearly three months hitting up every opportunity to find gainful employment. Tetoryn had two copies of resumes, one providing his full name and one listing him only as Tito; while the first was all professional and achievement-based, the second was much more laid back and 'friendly-for-pups' approach. All of his professors had said time and time again that the formal and business-aligned introduction would get jobs for graduates, it was the much more casual one that led to the trial run that had taken him places-- literally.

The Weimaraner let out a deep sigh, sinking back into his seat as he drummed his carefully clipped claws on the airplane's armrest. Titoryn had never much been a fan of flying, but if it would get him a job then he'd endure it. That, and he had plenty to keep him occupied so that he didn't have to focus on being who-knew-how-many-thousands-of-feet up. One of those reasons was, in fact, acting up. "Hey! That's mine! Give it back!"

The plane had two rows of seats; one on either side of the walkway. There were three seats to a side and Tetoryn had the aisle seat on the right and across the aisle from him were two puppies he had been provided as a trial run; he was escorting them on the flight and he'd be meeting his supervisor at the airport. Things had not gone horribly, but many, MANY thousands of feet in the air was not the right time for a loud, puppy-aligned argument to start. "No! I was using it! Mr. TIIITOOOOOO!!!!"

Out of the four puppies in total, two of Tetoryn's charges were seated next to one another. They had been well-enough behaved for the first part of the trip but, as the Weimaraner had been worried, at just over three hours from take-off to landing it wasn't abnormal for puppies to get cranky. Glancing at the two seated by the two little girls happily playing some kind of paw-slapping game next to him, he undid his seatbelt and went to address the boys. "Alright, you two... what's going on here?"

Charyn, the little Doberman seated closest to the aisle pointed at Dandelion, the Chow pup furiously scribbling away in a sketchbook. "Mr. Tito... Lion took my green colored pencil and he won't give it back."

The fluffy Chow pup looked up indignantly. "He wasn't using it and I needed it to finish my comic... see?"

Dandelion held up the sketchbook and what Tetoryn saw made him pause; the Chow must have been a prodigy because, in truth, the Weimaraner couldn't believe that an eight year old could have done such an amazing job. "Wow... that's really good, Dandelion... can I see it?"

The puppy's tail began wagging immediately and, not only did the Chow hand him the sketchbook, but he also returned the green pencil to Charyn. The young Chow, however, did add "And my name is Lion, not Dandelion."

Tetoryn offered an amiable, non-argumentative smile. "Of course."

Flipping the sketch pad open, the Weimaraner froze where he stood; not only were the pictures Dandelion had drawn 'not bad', they were, in fact, amazing. The skill with which the puppy was able to create what looked like a comic book was so fantastic he actually couldn't believe his eyes. Looking to the young Puppy he asked "You drew these?"

Dandelion nodded, tail wagging against the seat.. "Yeah-- I've been drawing for... like... forever."

Tetoryn continued flipping through them; there were amazing character concepts of what looked like super powered heroes fighting crime-- poses, action sequences, and everything. Dandelion had drawn some cityscapes, some street scenes, and a variety of sketches including automobiles, bicycles, and even an airplane. The most amazing thing, however, was the attention to detail the little puppy had paid to it all. Granted, the skill behind it wasn't the same as, say, a professional comic book artist, but they were vastly superior to something any normal eight year old Puppy should have managed.

Throughout his schooling he'd had a variety of classes dedicated to puppyhood development and that included concepts such as spatial awareness and perception. Usually most puppies didn't understand concepts such as perspective or shading on drawn artwork until they were ten but, according to Dandelion's profile sheet, he and the rest of the traveling group were eight and nine. The Weimaraner had a hard time trying to figure out what to say next and, at a loss for words, he simply handed the pad back to the boy. "Well... I know SOMEONE who's gonna be a graphic artist some day."

The puppy shrugged. "I mean... that'd be cool, I guess."

Charyn, who had been carefully stowing the green colored pencil gave the Chow a light elbow. "You don't wanna draw comics like the big kids, Lion?"

Dandelion frowned, but only for a second; the expression was quickly replaced by one of pure and unadulterated joy. "Can I? I can really be one? Wow! that'd be so really cool and neat and cool and stuff!"

The Doberman puppy gave him another elbow before turning to Tetoryn. "When's snack time? Ms. Ulwythe says that Dandelion needs something to eat when he gets like this."

The Chow gave Charyn an elbow back. "It's Lion, you fu--"

A little voice called from behind the Weimaraner. "Mr. Tito?"

Although Tetoryn was almost worried that Dandelion was about to use a word WAY beyond the acceptable scope for such a small puppy, he quieted down when the call came from across the aisle. Turning back to look at the girls, he saw that the Shepherd girl was crying noiselessly, big crocodile tears pouring from her eyes. It was the Collie pup however that was calling to him. "What's wrong with Soni, Nymeria?"

Behind him, the two boys were back to arguing, but it sounded like Charyn was telling Dandelion off for something; either way it was at a manageable level and the Weimaraner was able to focus more on Soni and Nymeria. The Collie motioned to her travel-partner while looking up at him with big eyes. "Soni and I were playing 'Down By the Bog' and she jammed her little finger... I think she might need a doctor or something..."

Tetoryn leaned forward across the seat, "Would you mind switching spots with me so I can see, Nymeria?"

The little Collie obliged, crawling out across the seats until she was in the aisle, and then followed him back in as he moved to sit beside Soni; he saw her shoot the boys a withering glare out of the corner of her eye-- she was a quiet and well behaved pup, and apparently she didn't much care for their antics. Putting the thought out of his mind, he looked down to Soni as she held up her paw. "See? I-is... is it... broken?"

There was no obvious sign of damage but, despite not being a medical professional, Tetoryn was fairly confident there was no serious injury. Regardless, he made a good point of looking it over, gently turning the paw this-way-and-that before reaching out to gently touch her pinkie. "Does this hurt?"

Soni shook her head slowly, sniffling. "Nuh-uh."

The Weimaraner slowly pressed his finger to hers and used the pressure to move the end of her little digit. "Does it hurt when I do this?"

After a short pause the Shepherd shook her head again. "No..."

Smiling reassuringly, Tetoryn leaned forward. "Well... it looks like it's okay... but let's just make sure with a kiss... hmm?"

He pressed the end of his muzzle to her small paw and she giggled, obediently letting him administer 'the proper dosage' before she took it back. Looking down at her fingers, Soni flexed and clenched them a few times before looking up at him, sniffling and wiping the remaining dampness from her eyes as she smiled in relief. "Thank you Mr. Tito... it's lots better now."

He offered her a smile in return. "I thought it would be. Kisses fix almost everything, you know."

With the emergency over, Tetoryn settled into the middle seat, but not before looking to Nymeria "If you're staying in the aisle seat, be sure to keep your arm in young lady-- you don't want the stewardess hitting your elbow with the cart when she comes by."

The little Collie, who had been glaring across the way toward the two boys glanced back to him; she was immediately all smiles, tail wagging profusely. "Yes sir , Mr. Tito! I'll be careful. I promise!"

If the Weimaraner were honest with himself he'd really expected watching four puppies for the duration of a cross-country flight would have been a horrible headache; he was thankful that, for the most part, they were really behaved. Without any complications for the rest of their time in the air, Tetoryn continued to count himself lucky. Things, however, took an unexpected turn once they had landed.

* * * * * *

In order to keep chaos as bay and maintain control of the puppies Tetoryn made sure his charges stayed in their seat while the rest of the passengers disembarked. Surprisingly, aside from Dandelion's groan of boredom, the four of them made little fuss and continued to patiently remain where they were. Only once the aisle was clear did the Weimaraner stand up, slip past Nymeria, and begin to grab their various items from overhead storage.

Each puppy had a simple piece of carry-on luggage, all identical save for their little name tags. The hard-bodied suitcases came with an extendible paw-grip and wheels; the fact that they were puppy-sized made them very easy for each of them to handle and he quickly distributed them before getting his own item: a simple black backpack. "Everyone ready? Do you all have your travel buddy?"

The two boys quickly jumped out in the lead after a cursory confirmation while Nymeria and Soni waited for Tetoryn to lead the way. The Shepherd girl called past him "Hey! Wait up you two! Remember: stranger danger!"

Dandelion came to a stop near the divider between coach and first class. "Hurry up! I gotta go pee!"

Although Tetoryn knew the dangers of moving too quickly when there were four puppies in a group with one adult he did his best to keep everyone together and assure there wouldn't be any accidents; he had a feeling that it wouldn't look good on his trial assignment if one of his charges ended up with wet pants. As they all hustled into the terminal the Weimaraner glanced around for bathroom signs while Dandelion complained about the difficulty of undoing pants to go to the bathroom; Charyn chided him that he'd have an easier time in a dress. It was a silly comment, and probably wouldn't have done well among older kids, but the Chow just nodded his agreement.

After the quick bathroom break, in which Tetoryn assured that all four puppies had a chance to go, he gathered them up again, verified that they all still had their luggage, and herded them toward the main gate. Although the directions had been vague as to what he should do upon arrival, they were clear enough that he was supposed to find his contact, a large dog dressed in green that would supposedly be 'impossible to miss'. He honestly didn't know what to expect, wondering just how easy his contact would be to spot. As it turned out, the Puppies did his job for him and, much to the Weimaraner's shock, the Dog meeting them was very VERY impossible to miss.

The Terrier standing by the security checkpoint was massive, and his expression was so incredibly severe that he was casually intimidating. When the directions indicated that he'd be wearing green they were right on the money; from head-to-toe the Terrier was dressed in green leather with the top reminding the Weimaraner of some kind of medieval gambison. What really startled Tetoryn was the fact that the Terrier's face grew even MORE severe once they locked eyes and he almost felt his tail tuck.

Tetoryn came to a stop under the gaze as Charyn, Soni, and Dandelion approached the large Terrier. As they drew near he held out his paw and each obediently took a clipboard from him in turn. They each went straight to a nearby bench and pulled out a pen, addressing the paperwork on it as if they were students taking an exam. Nymeria, who had lingered back with the Weimaraner, waited for the newcomer to approach them. If Tetoryn had expected the Terrier to talk to him first he was left wanting as, surprisingly, it was Nymeria he addressed. "Everything go okay, Ms. Grove?"

The Weimaraner stared at the Puppy as she took her loose hair and pulled it up into a bun, securing it with one pen before pulling out another and looking back at the paperwork in front of her. "Lion is going to need some refreshers on staying in character; Charyn did a fine job at getting him back on track and Soni stepped in when Lion was about to make a class two violation."

The Terrier snorted. "Figures. So much for a nice trial run. Okay... I'll mark that down on the report."

The intern paused, having trouble taking in the sudden change in the girl's speech pattern and mannerisms; it was almost as if she were an entirely different Dog... and a LOT older than eight. "I... what.... what's going on?"

The Terrier didn't even bother glancing his way. "Be with ya in a minute, kid."

The reporting continued, almost as if Nymeria had been spying on the other three like some kind of mole. Her observations weren't just astute; they were as complete as anything he could have come up with himself. The situation was beyond awkward for Tetoryn and he stood there without saying a word, feeling more and more embarrassed by the moment. What was going on exactly? Regardless of the number of times he asked himself he still had no answer.

Finally, almost as one, both Nymeria and the huge Terrier looked his way. It was the Puppy who spoke first and, when she did, there was no hint of puppy-like interaction to it; he felt like she was an executive assistant introducing him to management. "Tetoryn Lakewood, this is Correctional Trainer Supervisor Lhoton VanderCreek. If you score high enough on your interview he'll be your supervisor. You can call him CT Lhoton"

The Weimaraner swallowed, his muzzle going immediately dry as he held out a paw. "I-- uh... interview? When's that?"

CT Lhoton's paw engulfed his and, for a moment, Tetoryn felt like his fingers were stuck in a vice. The Terrier offered his arm a single, succinct shake. "You're already in the middle of it, kid."

The three puppies, having finished whatever they were doing with their clip boards, came back over and handed them, one at a time to Lhoton. Dandelion, who was the last in line, reached into his jacket and pulled out a pair of ear buds, sticking them into his ears before announcing "I'll be in the van."

Soni followed after him and Charyn paused only long enough to say "It was nice meeting you, Teto. Good luck on the rest of your interview!"

Tetoryn stared after the Doberman puppy, still far beyond confused. "The... REST of the interview?"

Nymeria clarified. "Soni and Charyn were on your interview panel. It was their job to assess your skills as a student travel guide. Dandelion goes everywhere with them and the administration decided to give him a trial run, but it looks like he'll need some more preparation before we do this again."

The Weimaraner just continued gazing out at the three puppies who were climbing into a green van waiting on the curb. Only when he saw the logo on the side of the vehicle along with the words GREEN GROVE did everything click. "They-- you're.... you four aren't actually puppies... are you? You must be Toy Dogs."

CT Lhoton huffed. "Kinda slow... isn't he?"

The Collie or, Tetoryn realized, more likely a Sheltie, gave the Terrier a light cuff on the hip, a mirthful smirk on her muzzle. "Be nice... he's still suffering from shock."

Everything finally started to fall into place and Tetoryn's brain jump-started. "Those four are... teenagers?"

The Terrier folded his arms over his chest as he glanced to Nymeria. "I'll be in the van too. Good luck with this one, Ny... he'd drive me crazy after five minutes. Finish up here so we can debrief and head back."

Motioning to the bench the three not-puppies had vacated, Nymeria led Tetoryn over to it and, after climbing up onto it, she turned to regard him. "So..."

He cleared his throat, stilly trying to reconcile talking to what he thought was a puppy in a suddenly very adult way; she was going to be interviewing him for the job? "Uh... so...?"

She cocked her head to the side. "You don't remember me... do you, Tito?"

Tetoryn glanced back at her. "Um... should I?"

Nymeria smiled, just a little. "We went to the same high school... for about four months. I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't since I--"

Everything clicked. "Nymeria! You... you sat in the front row on the far right in Mr. Webbler's science class!"

He wasn't sure, but he almost thought he saw her ears blush. Nodding, she looked back down at her paperwork. "Mmm-hmm... feels like a long time ago."

He was taken aback; not only was she not a puppy, but she was actually his same age. Her statement didn't even begin to capture the oddity of the situation, or seeing one of his old high school classmates about eight years later and looking almost the same. He couldn't keep that last part from escaping "You still look almost the same."

Nymeria let out a bland 'ha' at the statement. "Physically, sure... but back then I was still trying to look like a teenager."

Tetoryn had never hated himself more than when he spoke without thinking "Actually, you really look cute as a puppy."

The Sheltie's expression was deadly neutral. Eventually she offered a pleasant smile and clicked her pen with her thumb, saying only "Thank you."

* * * * * *

When Nymeria finally got into the van she sat next to Dandelion, who had selected to sit alone in the middle seat while Soni and Charyn sat in the back. The Sheltie had left Tetoryn on the bench where they'd talked with the promise that a representative from the school would come to pick him up and take him to his hotel. From there, she explained, either he would be called in for another interview or else someone would bring him back to the airport so he could be shipped home.

He seemed a little curious about that last point and his parting exchange still lingered in her mind. Just as she had offered him a formal shake of his paw, the Weimaraner smiled and said "It IS good to see you again, Nymeria."

She fought hard not to blush and chose to offer a much more centering jaded response. "You're just saying that because I'm your interview rep."

Tetoryn didn't miss a beat. "No... I'm saying it because I wont't mind it as much if I don't get the job."

The statement made her pause. "Why not?"

His tail wagged slowly back and forth. "Well... if I get the job then I'll finally be employed, but if I get turned down then there wouldn't be any work conflict when I asked if you wanted to hang out sometime."

Even though the statement was obviously silly considering he lived half way across the country it was still enough to make her lose the fight to keep the redness out of her ears. Rather than respond to his statement she went straight to the van and hopped in. Apparently her blushing didn't go unnoticed by Lhoton who, despite sitting in the front seat, obviously saw it clearly enough as he adjusted the rearview mirror. "Went well, I take it?"

Nymeria could tell from the faint tone inflection in his voice that he was picking on her. "Shut up, Lhoton."

The way his tail beat against the back of his seat as he started up the van told her everything she needed to know to confirm her first assessment and he laid off of giving her any more grief as he pulled away from the curb and merged into traffic. It was almost an hour to get back to the school, and that meant she had time to compose herself and get her thoughts together. It was one thing to be complimented by an old high school acquaintance, but entirely another if she was going to let it mess with her job. She was a professional, after all.

Dandelion, seated to her right, however, made that very difficult. He squirmed beneath his seat-belt, tugging at the jacket he wore as he continued to shift his Walkman around in his grasp. Eventually he let out a deep sigh. "Man... this sucks."

Ny glanced over to him. "What sucks, Lion?"

Rather than answer the question verbally, the Pomeranian just balled his paw into a fist with his thumb sticking out, and yanked his forearm back at the elbow so that his thumb hung over his shoulder with a gesture toward the back seat. Nymeria had of course heard the giggling and whispering from the two teens behind her but it apparently didn't bother her as much as it did Dandelion. She glanced back on his behalf, eying the Minipini and Papillion. "Each on your own side of the bench you two."

In most cases Green Grove took special care to make sure that male and female students didn't get too close, but Charyn and Soni had been in the same Bouquet for half their lives. Nymeria knew them well enough to know that there wasn't any concern about a romantic relationship but she also knew the school wasn't about to take chances; that kind of thing was beyond frowned upon. Also, she realized, it rubbed Dandelion the wrong way. Facing forward again, she glanced toward him. "That really bothers you, doesn't it?"

Dandelion simply huffed, folding his arms over his chest as he pouted "I just wanna get back home so I can take off these leggings and get back in my school uniform... dresses are SO much better than slacks."

The travel uniform that Dandelion and Charyn had been placed in for travel was, in Nymeria's opinion, an incredible improvement over Green Grove's dedicated frilly dresses; navy blue blazers with a blue and green striped tie, corduroy slacks, and black dress shoes over forest green socks. The Pomeranian, however, had grown up wearing dresses and, unlike Charyn, didn't quite manage to pull off the sophisticated young Pup look. She didn't press the issue. "Well, we'll be back at Green Grove soon, Lion. I'm sure you--"

The discussion was interrupted when a message came on over the radio in the front seat; it sounded like CT Hoiler. "Lhoton... you there?"

The Terrier kept one paw on the wheel while the other reached down to grab the paw-set and he pressed the button. "On the way back now, Hoiler. What?"

The Doberman on the other end let out a long sigh followed by a statement filled with agitation. "Ms. Mackay can't find her newest shipment of The Honorary Badger reading books... she thinks the Toy Terrorists ran off with it."

Nymeria glanced to Dandelion who shrugged innocently "We've been with you the whole time, Ny... there's no way we--"

Charyn, as usual, turned out to be much more useful. "It was probably 'The Sidekicks'."

The fur on the back of Nymeria's neck stood up. "...sidekicks?"

Soni chimed in "We gave up that stuff years ago, Ny... there's no way the teachers would let us get away with it these days."

Dandelion's tail immediately began wagging. "But, as with all great heroes, the responsibility is ours to train the next generation to rise abo--"

Nymeria let out a long exhale, raising a paw to her forehead so she could massage her temples; being on an airplane for about four hours had supposed to have been the difficult part of her day. Centering herself, she shifted in her seat so she could look at all three 'retired' Super Power-Pups. "Okay... so where are the books then?"

Soni looked dejected. "...you're gonna make us give em back?"

The Sheltie cracked a wry smirk. "Gawd no-- I hate that story... but, unlike you four, I have the key to the incinerator."


~The End~