The Twelve Days Of Kurai’s Mass

(Kurai)

I am deeply worried. My mother is still not back and day 9 has begun. I had expected her to return within a few minutes of my own return. Something terrible must have happened to her.

“Cheese, Foxy, have either of you seen my mother?” I ask, standing up and yawning.

Apparently it had snowed AGAIN. I am covered in snow. I shake my fur to remove the snow and my fat jiggles as well. Oof, those cows added a LOT of weight.

“No, Kurai. Is she usually gone for this long?” Foxy asks.

“No, which is why I’m worried. She doesn’t even have a job currently,” I reply.

“Dang…I guess I shouldn’t have persuaded her to go visit Arashi,” Cheese says.

“Ohhhhhh! She’s with my daddy! Do you think she’ll bring him here?!” I ask, wagging my tail.

Seems SOMEONE had a change of heart. My mother went from absolutely refusing to even mention Arashi to going off and spending time with him. If my mother is with Arashi, she should be fine. He’s a black lab, after all.

I’ve met at least two black labs in my life and both are great. That would be my daddy Arashi and Sara, whom I have not heard from in a looooong time. Labradors in general are intelligent, strong, and agile. Arashi works in a lab and draws blood; I wouldn’t want to get in a fight with him. He probably knows every blood vessel in every animal by heart!

“I think she will, Kurai! I think she’s going to bring your father back!” Cheese says, nodding her head.

“Ooooh! What would he think of how big I’ve gotten?!” I ask.

“He might be impressed. I don’t know,” Cheese says and shrugs. “Are you ready for day 9?”

“Yep! What is today’s challenge?!” I ask.

“Nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, fiiiiiiveee goooooldeeeennnn riiiiings! Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear tree!” Cheese sings.

“Ladies dancing…so any nine women who happen to be dancing?” I ask.

“Yes, as long as they dance, they count,” Cheese says.

“So, this might not be as bad as the eight cows. If I find small enough dancers, it might not matter too much,” I say.

“Very well; I’ll stay here and watch to see if your mother will return!” Cheese says.

“If Mrs. Ōkami isn’t here, can I eat all the food in the house?” Foxy asks.

“NO!” Cheese and I yell.

“Foxy, rather than eating everything, do you think you can roll me to town? I think I remember there being a dance club somewhere,” I suggest.

“Roll you? Already? You haven’t eaten yet,” Foxy says.

“You think I can walk all the way to town?” I ask with a laugh. “I’m too round.”

“Okay, okay, you DID eat eight cows yesterday. I can roll you. Besides, I find it fun. You’re like a living ball,” Foxy says, sticking her tongue out.

“Bye, Cheese…I hope my mom comes home soon!” I say and begin to roll out.

Foxy rolls me alllll the way to town. As I thought, there is a dance studio in town. Within the dance studio is my next meal. I’m not doing so well anymore, but the good news is, I’m almost done!

Foxy rolls me all the way to the door. Slowly, I prop myself back up on my feet. I push the doors to the studio open and squeeze my way inside. There’s a bunch of birds dancing around inside of the studio! Ah, well, I guess a lot of the animals I ate were birds.

“Oh, excuse me, you are interrupting our dance session,” the teacher says, staring at me funny. “I don’t recall seeing a wolf in my attendance.”

“Sorry, sir…I was just curious. You can go back to dancing,” I say, making a sad face.

The teacher sighs in annoyance. I’m clearly not wanted here. I quickly identify nine female birds amongst the crowd. Perfect! Nine ladies dancing!

As everyone starts dancing again, I blunder out onto the dance floor. Working quickly, I swallow up each of the birds I predetermined to be my next meal. Squawks and hollers of fear ring out. Ahhh, much, much, easier than eating 8 cows.

The teacher pecks me angrily, yelling at me to let his students go. I don’t let them go. Foxy comes to the rescue and wrestles him away from me long enough that she can roll me back out of the studio. As I am rolling, I see the feathers slowly drifting back to the ground.

“Do you think my mom is home now?” I ask, trying not to puke.

“Maybe! We’ll see when we get there!” Foxy says.

So we roll all the way home. Unfortunately, my mother is still missing. How could she be gone for almost two days straight? I would think Arashi would be easy to convince to come over. He IS my daddy after all.

(Suisen Day 8)

I thought for sure it was all over. The male wolves would all be showing up and fighting over me like idiots. They might even accidentally hurt me in their scuffle. As I am cowering, another voice rings out.

“GRRRRRR ROOF ROOF!” it’s can’t be, can it…?

The wolves turn from each other to the new comer. The smell of aggression still heavy in the air. The growling continues. I glance up and see a tall, broad shouldered black creature.

“You all stay away from her!” it’s Arashi speaking.

“Pppfffttt, a dog! You see this, boys?! A DOG thinks he can fight us!” the biggest of the wolves says, laughing.

“I can take ALL of you! I’m not afraid! You just stay away from Suisen!” Arashi barks.

“Arashi, I appreciate you coming to the rescue, but this will never work. Do you understand the raw strength of an angry wolf?” I ask.

“See? She’s on our side!” another wolf taunts.

“I’m giving you one more chance…you leave Suisen alone or I will beat you all to a pulp!” Arashi warns.

“You know what, boys? Let’s team up. Then we all can take the girl. Surely she’ll see that we are the best possible mates!” the largest wolf suggests.

“Wait, what?! ALL of you?!” I ask, even further outraged.

“Hah hah hah…you KNOW you secretly want it…” the largest wolf teases.

While he is distracted, Arashi leaps in. For some reason, he looks so beautiful right now. His slick, yet dense black fur is all frazzled up, his nose bridge crinkled in anger. Underneath those deep dark jowls are the most dazzling white fangs I have seen in a long time.

Quickly, he pushes the wolves who were behind me up to the front. I am no longer surrounded. I could flee if I wanted to. Something roots me here in my spot, however.

I watch, Arashi’s well defined muscles flexing with every leap and bound. Who knew a guy who draws and studies blood for a living could fight so fluidly? In a seemingly random move, Arashi bites the largest wolf on the left side between his elbow and shoulder. CRUNCH! Well, speaking of drawing blood!

The big wolf howls like a baby, squiggling to get away. The others try to come to his aid. Arashi lets go and takes on the smaller wolves. The largest wolf flees, leaving a trail of blood.

“Ah dang, I don’t think we stand a chance…he’s strong…for a dog…” one of the smaller wolves says, slinking away.

The wolves start to disperse, but one remains behind. A medium sized wolf who is mostly gray but has a streak of black across his face. The two canines clash bitterly. At last, Arashi bites the wolf’s throat, winning the fight.

“ISURRENDER!” the wolf squeaks, dripping everywhere.

“GET OUT OF HERE!” Arashi barks, letting go.

Weakly, the injured wolf hobbles away. I stare up at Arashi from my place on the ground. The sunlight glimmers off of him and he looks like an angel who has descended from heaven…a bloody angel, but an angel nonetheless. He licks his fluffed up fur, still twitching a few areas where he got bit.

“Arashi!” I gasp.

My rival, the dog whom I’ve absolutely loathed. Is it possible that I am in love? I squiggle closer to him, still low to the ground. He lowers his mighty head, resting it atop my own. His heart is still racing and he’s quivering from the adrenaline rush.

“Come to my house, if you wish,” Arashi murmurs. “I can make sure you are uninjured.”

“I don’t think I am injured,” I say. “You stepped in before they could touch me.”

“Come on, anyhow,” Arashi invites.

I was supposed to be inviting him to MY house! Not the other way around! He thrusts his head in the direction of his house. My heart is pounding quickly as I follow after him.

We arrive back at his house and, even though I thought I never could bring myself to do so, I step inside. He closes the door behind me, trapping me in here with him. Gently, he sniffs me over, looking for injuries. As I had said, I am uninjured.

“Ah, you are bleeding,” Arashi announces.

“Ummmm,” I say.

“That’s not an injury, though, this is natural,” Arashi says.

Oh dang, he’s behind me. He KNOWS. He lifts his head and stares me in the eyes. Yeah…I know EXACTLY what his “cure” will be.

“I did just save your life. May I have the honor?” Arashi asks.

Before I can even think, I hear the words from my lips, “Yes. Go for it.”