Sheep and Wolf

'Gr-ry!' said Chelsea and startled Gary by hugging him tight from behind when he was peering at the park from the alley.

He swallowed his heart back down his throat. 'Shh..' he said. 'I think that same guy is here again.' Chelsea peeked over his shoulder and he had to will himself to ignore the nice soft pressure against his back and pointed at the front of a car just visible in a side street. 'I think that's the same car as yesterday, just around the corner at the other side.' He clenched his jaw when Chelsea pressed harder against his back as she looked at the car.

With a mix of mostly relief but still a little regret when she pulled back he turned to her. 'We'd better not go into the park tonight.' he said.

Chelsea flattened her ears as she nodded and Larry joined her in sadness by flattening his ears.

'We can see if that other green spot is free and hope whoever that guy is will give u-' he said and stopped when he saw two young men step into the back of the alley. 'Ah crap.'

One of the men pointed at them, said something and they hurried towards them. Chelsea started to growl but Gary took her shoulder.

'Let's try to avoid scaring people.' he said and took her hand. 'We'll run for now because we're faster anyway.'

Chelsea nodded. 'Kay.' she said and followed Gary who moved quickly around the corner of the alley and headed along the street with Larry on their heels. They had only run halfway to the corner when a couple of other guys showed up there an spotted them.

'What's this?' said Gary as he stopped running and looked around for another escape route. 'Sleep trouble convention night for everyone?'

He ran with Chelsea and Larry across the street and into the park hoping to avoid any more people. But they had barely reached the other side when they came upon three young women who squealed at their sight. But instead of running away like Gary somewhat hoped they would, they hurried up to them too.

'Okay, this is getting ridiculous.' Gary said while Chelsea looked from him to the girls and back. 'This way.'

The way to another alley looked clear until they almost bumped into a young couple making out.

'It's really true!' said the cheerful girl. Gary thought if she was a dog she'd be wagging her tail like crazy.

'Cool!' said the guy. 'And she looks hot!'

Gary looked back at Chelsea and quickly stepped in front of her. 'Hey! Don't ogle her!' he said and moved back with her. A quick look left and right told him others were moving in their direction and he pulled Chelsea along to what he thought was a small alley.

Running into it he discovered it was a dead end to the back of the shops left and right and cursed. He heard voices behind him and pulled Chelsea behind him to protect her.

'Fight?' asked Chelsea. 'Growl?'

Larry growled softly at the people gathering at the exit.

'No.' sighed Gary. 'We can't start hurting anyone. And there are too many to get away clean.' He groaned. 'It's over. We're going to be dissected and studied.'

Larry gave a whine as he looked up at Gary.

'And you'll probably end up in the pound too.' Gary said to Larry. 'I'm sorry, boy.'

'They're real!' someone said.

'Way cool!' another said while several of the people started taking pictures.

'How do they get the legs to look so real?'

'And the tails move freely.'

'Hey, how did you make those costumes?' a girl asked.

'Is this a hobby?' another girl asked.

'Are those horns wood?'

'This looks way too professional for a hobby.' a guy said. 'It's for a movie or something.'

'Oh! I know!' another guy spoke up. 'It's for the Unlikely Friends movie!'

'But that's just a rumour.' said another.

'What movie is that?'

'It's about a wolf and a sheep getting trapped together while they're being hunted by bears, then they work together to escape and become friends. In the end the wolf saves the sheep from being eaten by his pack and they run away together.'

'But they never confirmed they were going to make that movie.'

'I heard it has only been suggested once at a meeting of one movie studio.'

Gary lifted his hands. 'Okay, okay!' he said and moved closer to the group. 'You got us. This is a costume test for the movie.' He sighed loud. 'It's all meant to be kept secret so you can't tell anyone about it. It would ruin the big surprise when we release the movie.'

'Hah! I knew it! I was right!'

'When will the movie be made and released?'

'Who's going to star in it?'

'Will there be romance?'

'Hold it.' Gary said. 'Nothing has been definite yet. And the release of the movie will take some years anyway, if it doesn't get delayed or cancelled in that time. So there's no reason to get anyone excited over this.' He glanced back at Chelsea. 'And my friend only wanted to help me with testing the costume, she doesn't like to be seen so please delete the pictures or at least keep them to yourself.'

The group reluctantly agreed.

'There's nothing you can say about the movie yet?'

Gary shook his head. 'It's all too early for now and I don't want to get your hopes up.' he said. 'Which is why we test the costumes in secret at night to see if they can take the punishment during filming.'

A few understood and nodded.

'Okay. Thanks for telling us.' one said.

'Yeah, even if the movie doesn't get made, you've done a wonderful job on the costumes. They look so real.'

'Thank you.' said Gary at the compliments the group gave. 'So if you'll excuse us, we still have a little work to do before we can rest.'

The group thanked him again and slowly went back to where they came from.

One young man gave him a smile. 'I don't care so much about the movie, but you gave me enough inspiration to keep me entertained for nights.' he said with a wink and left Gary speechless.

He let out a deep breath and leaned against the wall while he felt his legs tremble. 'Thank goodness they believed that story.' he said when Chelsea and Larry came up to him. 'I really thought we were done for.'

Chelsea smiled and hugged him tight. 'Good Gr-ry.'

Larry gave him a bark and tail wag of approval.

Back at his place Gary prepared a light meal for everyone and sank back on the couch after eating. 'What a night.' He saw Chelsea smiling at him. 'What?'

She pushed him back down on the couch and crawled over him. 'Good Gr-ry.' she said. 'Protect me.'

'Ah.' he said, blushing underneath his furry face. 'I just did what came into mind.'

She smiled wide at him, nuzzled his muzzle and cheek and snuggled up with him. 'Feel safe with you.' she whispered.

Gary embraced her and closed his eyes. He didn't know how to respond anyway since his heart beat faster and he knew what he felt for her. And knew it meant making a choice between Suzy and her if it came to that. Despite his worries he still fell asleep soon enough.

***

Gary was in a good mood when he arrived at work the next morning. Suzy had given him another kiss on his cheek and wished him good luck on his work when they went their separate ways that morning. He found Dolores and Tom talking while they pointed at one screen.

'Hey, what's up?' he asked and he moved next too them to have a look. He froze as he saw the blurry pictures from a very popular new tread on a movie site.

'Looks like our town's the talk of the day now.' Tom said. 'Something about a couple who are secretly preparing for an exciting fantasy movie to be made.'

'I wonder if they could be Bill and Mandy.' said Dolores. 'They're both very good at handiwork and create all sorts of stuff.' She looked up at Gary. 'What do you think?'

Gary gave her a smile. 'I think I'll stick to what I'm good at.' he said and went back to his desk hoping there'd be a new scandal involving famous actors today.

***

'Gary.' Chelsea said.

'Good!' Gary said. 'You're getting better at speaking.'

Chelsea smiled at him and wagged her tail as they sat in a corner of the park late at night. He thought it lucky that the curious people who had come because of being mistaken for costume makers had gone soon and they could enjoy the quiet again.

'But you still don't know who you really are, right?' he asked.

Chelsea shook her head and looked down.

'Don't worry.' said Gary and put his arm around her for a quick hug. 'It'll come, I'm sure. Just like your improved speech.'

She smiled up at him. 'Happy I didn't eat you first time.'

'As am I.' he nodded. 'Very happy.'

'And you have no memory of how you left my apartment each time?'

She shook her head.

He nodded. 'I can't very well tie you down.' he said. 'Unless you're into that sort of thing?'

She gave him a blank stare.

'Thought so.' he chuckled. 'I'll try to stay awake tonight. See what happens.'

She nodded and sighed.

They sat for a while when hers and Larry's ears pricked up. They both looked to the side and Gary followed their gaze wondering what they had heard. Chelsea stood up and moved carefully towards the edge of the park with Larry and Gary following her.

When they got closer Gary thought he heard a faint mewing, and as they got closer to one tree it was clear. They gazed up at a kitten which had found its way up the tree and clung to a branch as it mewed in fear.

'Great.' said Gary. 'Now all we need is the fire truck.'

They heard a rustle behind them and a girl shouting 'Mindy!' just before she ran into the three of them and froze.

Gary could have sworn he heard crickets while he watched the twelve or thirteen year old girl with short black hair in shirt and garden overall staring back at them. He opened up his mouth to speak when the girl suddenly took a stance like a martial artist.

'Don't you dare touch my Mindy!' she said.

Gary took a step forward. 'Oh, but we donAAHH!' He rubbed the shin she had kicked. 'Why'd you do that for!?'

'You were going to do something strange!' she said, taking a step back.

'I only wanted to say we weren't going to harm the kitten! We're not strange!' he said and watched the reddening spot on his shin. 'I'm going to still feel this in the morning.'

'If you're not strange, why do you look like that?' she asked, eyeing Chelsea and him.

'Ah.' he said. 'Right, I forgot about that for a moment.' She narrowed her eyes. 'Ehm, we're testing the costumes for a movie. Didn't you read the news?'

She shook her head. 'I don't believe you.' she said. 'That does not look like a costume.'

'It's very sophisticated?'

'Ohh..' she said and relaxed.

'See?' Gary said as he relaxed. 'There's nothiAHH!' He clutched his chest where the girl had swiftly pulled on his wool coat while tears welled up in his eyes. 'Now what!?'

She held up the hairs she had pulled out. 'That, is not a costume.' she said. 'You better start telling the truth or I'll scream for help.'

'Geez, what would you need help for?' Gary said as he blinked his eyes. 'I should be the one screaming for help.' He looked sideways at Chelsea who hid her sniggering behind her hand. 'Oh, so you're taking her side now!?'

The girl took her fighting stance again. 'Start talking.'

Gary sighed. 'Fine, fine.' he said. 'Truth is that for some reason I have been turning into this at night for a while and ended up each time in the park. And I don't know why or how to stop it.' He gestured at Chelsea. 'She is most likely the same although she doesn't remember anything about her normal life.'

The girl watched them both for a moment. 'Oh, okay.' she said and relaxed.

Gary blinked. 'That, you believe right away!?'

She shrugged. 'It makes more sense.'

Gary slapped his hand in his face and groaned.

The kitten mewed again and the girl looked up to it. 'Mindy!' she said. 'Don't be afraid!'

'Right.' Gary said and looked up to the kitten. 'So it's yours?'

The girl nodded. 'She slipped away when I walked out of the backdoor to watch the moon.' she said. 'I tried to grab her but she slipped under the hedge and onto the street so I had to dress before I could go after her.'

'Ah.' said Gary and nodded. 'At least you found her quickly. So what's your name?'

'Maddy.' the girl said.

'I'm Gary.' he said and gestured behind him. 'And this is Chelsea and Larry.'

Chelsea smiled at Maddy. 'Nice to meet you.'

Maddy smiled back. 'Nice to meet you too.'

The kitten mewed again and Gary hummed. 'Were you planning on climbing the tree?'

Maddy looked away. 'Can't you?'

'Me?' said Gary. 'She's your kitten and I'm sure you're better at climbing than I am.'

She shuffled her feet.

'You can't climb?' he asked.

She shook her head.

'What kid can't climb trees?'

'I just don't like heights!' she said and pouted. 'You do it!'

He looked back at Chelsea who grinned and Larry gave him a bark.

'Fine.' he sighed. 'I'll go up the tree.'

He couldn't remember the last time he had climbed a tree, but he was sure it had more lower branches. He took hold of the lowest one which was just above his head, pulled to test it, then pulled himself up while prying his hoofs into the side for extra grip. He groaned and tried to grab the next branch, then his feet slipped and he fell down on his behind.

'Ouch.' he said as he leaned sideways to rub the new painful part of his body.

Maddy crossed her arms and huffed. 'Are you a man?'

Gary stood up. 'Did you take a good look at me?' he said, then grumbled as he tried climbing again.

After many grunts, scrambles, groans, and sniggers from below Gary finally managed to climb upon the branch Mindy clung on. 'Here, kitty.' he said and reached out for it, only for her to hiss at him and move further up the branch. 'Ah, no. Don't do that.' He moved forward until the branch creaked and tried reaching out for Mindy again. She crawled even further back and hissed at him again. 'Great. How do I get her to come to me?'

Chelsea pondered as she watched Mindy, then moved just below her attracting her attention with one hand. When the kitten looked down upon her she took a deep breath and let out a loud bark.

'Great, thanks.' said Gary, peeling the kitten from his face, one tiny claw at a time.

When he had Mindy safely in one hand he climbed down carefully. Only at the last branch did Mindy flail and scratch him and made him lose his grip on the branch and foothold against the trunk. One crash later he held up his arm and handed Mindy over to Maddy while getting a close look at the trees roots and groaned 'I'm definitely going to feel this in the morning.'

'Thank you, thank you!' she said, hugging her kitten and smiling bright. 'You saved her!'

Gary collected himself from the ground with the help of a grinning Chelsea and pat the dirt from his coat. 'Just glad we could help.' he said. 'Now you'd better get back home, and please don't tell anyone about us.'

'I won't.' Maddy said, turned to go back home, then faced Gary again and beckoned him to lean closer.

'What is it?' he asked, then received a big kiss on his cheek from her before she hurried back. 'Thanks again!' she said as she waved on her way.

Gary chuckled and Chelsea nudged him. 'Hero.' she said with a little grin and Larry barked in agreement.

'I don't know about that though.' he said. 'Let's go to my place again, see if we can discover where you go to in the morning.'

Chelsea nodded and took his arm as they went on their way.

Gary rubbed his chin while checking everything once more. 'Coffee, spicy snacks, orange juice, movies, watchdog.' he said. 'I think that should be enough to get us through to the morning and witness what's happening to you.'

Chelsea nodded. 'Ready?'

Gary nodded and leaned back on the couch while Chelsea leaned back against him and Larry laid down on her lap. 'Here we go.' he said and started the first movie.

The first movie was a werewolf horror and Gary chuckled at how Chelsea rooted for the wolf. The one after that wasn't enough to keep her awake though and Gary smiled softly as he watched her sleep peacefully in his embrace. His thoughts turned to Suzy and he imagined it was her in his arms. Drowsiness came over him and he grabbed the pot of coffee. He was thankful it wasn't hot when he took a big gulp.

When the coffee didn't seem to lessen the drift towards sleep he ate a handful of the spicy snacks and huffed as it burned his mouth. After some more coffee he was still losing the battle and tried dunking the snacks in juice or coffee before eating them.

When he blinked his eyes morning light came through the windows and Chelsea had gone. The charcoal and pepper taste in his mouth was still there.

He looked at Larry who yawned. 'You didn't make it either, eh?' he said and Larry flattened his ears as he gave a soft whine. He gave Larry a pat on his head. 'I don't think you could have prevented it.'

He stood up and froze as his body was engulfed in a wave of pain. 'I forgot about that.' he muttered through his teeth.

Gary showered and dressed in slow motion and was just in time to step outside to see Suzy. 'Good morning, Suzy.' he said as cheerfully as he could. 'How are you doing?'

She smiled at him. 'Good.' she said. 'I feel like I've been sleeping much more soundly lately. And I feel much more energetic. Like I've been working out every day.'

'Oh, that's good.' he said and thought it was rather the opposite of him.

'And how are you and Larry doing?' she asked, giving his arm a friendly squeeze and squatting to gave Larry a hug.

'We're good.' he said through the pain and cleared his throat to get his voice down to his usual tone. 'Fine as always.'

She stood straight and smiled at him. 'Say, would you two care to join me for dinner again tonight?'

Gary forgot any pain he had at once. 'Yes!' he said. 'I mean, I'd love to. But don't go through too much trouble for me.' Larry barked once. 'For us.'

Suzy chuckled. 'No worries.'

They walked down to the street and a familiar voice called out 'Miss Miller!'

Gary held his breath when Maddy came up to Suzy and him with Mindy in her arms.

'Good morning, Maddy.' said Suzy. 'You wanted to make sure you're in time for Mindy's check?'

Maddy nodded and stared at Gary.

'Ah, this is Gary, my neighbour and friend.' Suzy said.

Maddy smiled at Gary and he felt a nervous twitch going up his spine.

'Nice to meet you.' she said and held out her hand. 'I'm Maddy, and this is Mindy, my kitten.'

He shook her hand. 'Nice to meet you too.'

Suzy looked at Gary and blushed a little. 'Ehm, see you later then.' she said.

'Ah, yes.' he said. 'I'll see you later, Suzy.'

Suzy put her hand on Maddy's shoulder. 'Shall we go then?'

Maddy nodded and looked up at Gary. 'Goodbye, Gary.' she said.

'Goodbye, Maddy.' Gary said and watched the two walk away, relieved at the notion she hadn't recognised him. Until she looked back at him and gave him a wink.

'Ohhh shit.' he said and looked at Larry. 'Someone knows.'

Larry barked in affirmation and they hurried on their way to the office.