33 Max
The two children were completely oblivious to the fact that their behaviour had caused a mini heart attack for a snooping mother.
Though Shirley did blow into the handkerchief, there wasn't that much snot that the entire handkerchief was wet. She also had folded it carefully so that the slightly damp part was inside and the outer layer was quite dry.
Still, undoubtedly, it was a bit icky.
Yet, the two did not think it was unusual or unnatural.
That's the beauty of such pure and innocent friendship between children.
After Holly got over her shock, she now saw Shane in a new light.
Simply because he was kind enough to offer her precious daughter his handkerchief - and thought nothing about taking back a snot filled one.
At that moment, Holly became Shane's greatest Knight Protector against the overly protective Dragon Daddy.
✿ Author posts on WN and neovel ✿
"You are allowed to look around," Teacher Alba told them, "But you must not leave this area."
The dog area was in an enclosed space, with one entrance and one exit. The enclosure was actually round shaped, so the entrance and exit were at opposite sides of each other.
Upon hearing this, the kids were excited and soon, they went exploring and looking at the dogs inside their 'homes'.
There were a few volunteers around and Amanda told them, "These are volunteers who come to help take care of the dogs. So if you have any questions about the dogs you see, you can ask them."
"Can we pet them?" came a voice, though small, was loud enough to be heard.
Amanda looked at Teacher Alba as if asking for permission and Alba nodded.
"Yes, but you must follow the volunteer's instructions," Amanda told them, "You must not crowd around because you might scare them."
"If you do not listen, then we will cut this visit short and go back to school," Teacher Alba warned them in a stern voice.
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded. Nobody wanted to go back!
And so, the chaos began.
Well, it was structured chaos but with young kids around, how could anything be done in an extremely orderly manner? The important thing was, everything was under control.
The kids would ooh and aah over the dogs inside their 'homes' and one or two volunteers would bring out a dog or puppy. All the kids had to come over one by one and not crowd around while the volunteer held the dog.
Although they were already docile and tame, they were still not too used to too many people around. Plus, the kids were easily excitable and this can result in one of two things: the dogs getting as excited and wanting to play with them or they shy away and may even act out in nervousness.
As expected, Alex was not with those crowds.
He wandered off on his own, looking at each and every dog that was there.
When he reached an area that had lots of people, he would simply glance over uninterestedly and head off to another place.
Unfortunately, there weren't really many areas that weren't populated with people.
It was a school trip after all.
Aurora didn't bother following Alex this time, choosing to do her own thing as well. Unlike Alex, she wanted to pet the dogs so she would hover around those that she found cute.
However, her attention was never really fully in front of her but she would always look up and see where Alex was. It wasn't that she was checking up on him but rather, she felt uncomfortable if she did not know where he was.
She was like this every time Alex went out with their Father, too.
It wasn't that she didn't think Father wouldn't protect him or keep him safe, but she felt like a part of her was missing.
They were independent yet, at the same time, dependent upon each other.
As long as she knew where he was and could see him, she was comforted.
This time, however, she noticed that Alex had not moved from one spot.
He was obviously completely mesmerized by the dog in that compartment. She couldn't see the dog as Alex was blocking it.
Aurora looked at the volunteer, whose name tag read 'Tammy' and was holding a little Scottish Terrier for everyone to pet. The kids were coming one by one, or two by two, and were gentle and quiet as they took their turns to pet the dog.
Aurora really wanted to pet the dog, too, but her curiosity over what captivated Alex won.
Heading over to him, she gave one last look of regret at Tammy and the dog before she quickened her pace.
Coming closer, she could finally see what it was.
It seemed to still be a puppy and it was having a staring contest with Alex.
Both were rigid, not moving, and having complete focus on each other.
Even when Aurora came over to stand beside Alex, neither her brother nor the puppy moved.
Aurora pursed her lips and looked at the little plaque on the glass.
Just like the zoo, each 'home' had details of the dog.
Name, breed, and a brief history of the dog.
This would help people make the decision when adopting a dog and not just take one based on how it looked.
Name: Max
Breed: Czechoslovakian Wolfdog
History: Found severely injured at foot of Mount Fiji.
Mount Fiji was not really a mountain, but a relatively large hill that was still free from civilisation. In short, it was a forest reserve where it was rumoured that certain wild animals such as wolves lived.
Which was rather ridiculous since wolves lived in the remote wilderness and Mount Fiji hardly fit the bill. No expedition or study was ever conducted to verify the truth of the rumour but it looks like perhaps, at one time, there had been wolves.
"I see you're interested in our Max," came a voice beside them.
Both Alex and Aurora had already known that someone had come over, but were not bothered to look at who it was that was approaching. Alex still ignored the voice and instead, it was Aurora that turned to look and greet the volunteer that came.
She saw the name tag, 'Kiki'.
Must be a nickname.
No parent would name their kid Kiki now, right?
Aurora nodded while Alex and Max continued their staring game.
"As you can see, Max is a Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, which is actually a hybrid between the German Shepherd and a Carpathian Wolf," Kiki explained.
Aurora was shocked, "Oh? How could a dog get together with a wolf?"
Kiki smiled at that, not thinking that it was a strange question for a young child to ask. In her mind, a young child's mind is simple. A dog with a dog, a wolf with a wolf.
"I mean, a German Shepherd is basically a domesticated animal while a Carpathian Wolf is a wild animal. How could the two meet, let alone mate?" Aurora continued to ask, making Kiki's eyes wide and mouth go wide open.
Since when do kids use such big words and can think that far?
Aurora turned to look again at the puppy, who seemed to be slightly more aggressive now.
Kiki cleared her throat, shaking her head and thinking that perhaps she was just too behind with what kids knew nowadays.
She was Max's handler and she was glad that she had done a lot of reading and research into Max in order to take care of him.
"Actually, the first wolfdog was the result of an experiment done in 1955 by the former Czechoslovak Socialist Republic," Kiki explained, "There were scientific studies done about its characteristics and so forth, but the military was particularly interested in having an attack dog that had the strength of a wolf and the docility of a dog."
"The experiment was rather successful and in time, this breed is particularly popular in some countries like Country F," Kiki continued, "Though we never had such a breed here in Country Tz. We suspect it was smuggled in and dumped when they could not take care of it."
She was quiet for a while and then stated, "This particular breed is not suitable as a pet, actually."
"Why?" asked Aurora.
"Like any dog, it requires exercise but this wolfdog requires it more than normal," Kiki explained, "So if you're the type that likes to stay home, or play games, then the dog's overactive-ness would most likely drive you crazy."
Hearing that, Alex's interest grew even more.
He already had an insane amount of training, so bringing Max along for the ride was not a problem.
Kiki's gaze went gentle as she looked at Max and said, "Also, wolfdogs are more loyal than normal dogs. A wolf lives for their pack and is very distrustful of strangers. Wolfdogs that are abandoned will normally never get rehomed because they shut down completely. Their whole world has collapsed because their family, the pack, is no longer around."
She touched the glass wall, "Max is still young so it's not so bad but he is already feeling the loneliness. If no one adopts him soon, he'll never be able to integrate into a family."
At this time, Max suddenly got up and went over towards Alex. He went on his hindlegs and touched the glass that separated them, as if beckoning.
Accepting.
Alex reached out his hand and placed it where the paw was.
Without turning, Alex said, "I want to adopt him."
