Archive of Our Own

Most of the time, life was perfectly satisfying for Blewog. She had two humans, both of whom fulfilled their roles adequately, and were usually receptive to criticism. Sometimes she had to scold them for longer, but they eventually understood what needed improvement.

Her favourite one was her Cuddler. He was usually the one to feed and spend more time with her, and he had a soft voice and soft hands that could pet and brush like no other. He was also more inclined to give her little pieces of his own food when her Carrier wasn't around.

Her Carrier was fun in other ways. He was much taller, for one, and his shoulders were large enough she could balance on them whilst he walked, which offered the most amazing view of her territory. She'd finally managed to get him to the point he would go where she wanted him to when she meowed into his ear loud enough, though sometimes he would just unceremoniously put her down and proceed to ignore her, so that still needed some work. However, he also liked playing rough and when Blewog wanted a challenge, that was the stuff.

All in all, apart from some minor lapses here and there, both her humans were quite satisfactory and Blewog could say she did, indeed, have the life that befitted her.

Sometimes however, there came interruptions into her routine. There were times her Cuddler would be too busy to show her any real attention, or she had to follow him around and remind him of her existence to be given her due. The circumstances of those interruptions varied, but Blewog recognised the current ones as something that had happened before. It had been quite some time ago, but she'd seen many of the strange things now standing everywhere in her territory previously.

The most obvious one was a tall tree. It was high enough to almost touch the ceiling, and climbing it up would be an absolutely fantastical thing. Her Cuddler and her Carrier had adorned it with the strangest baubles, shiny and glittery tat that moved enticingly when Blewog pawed at it. Unfortunately, she always had to wait until both her Cuddler and Carrier were gone in order to play with it, because they didn't seem to find it very amusing. She supposed she couldn't blame them, because with the last tree, she'd knocked all the baubles down herself and left them with none. If they'd spent the time to hang them up, she guessed they would want to have some fun knocking them down, too.

So now Blewog was careful to only knock down a few, and her Cuddler always sighed before hanging them up again, and Blewog was proud she'd managed to figure out how this particular toy worked.

Others were not so obvious. It was really just shiny, weirdly-shaped clutter Blewog couldn't see the point of, but her Cuddler seemed to enjoy himself very much when hanging or placing them everywhere in her territory. She inspected them, decided they didn't bother her, and her Cuddler seemed fond of them so she simply ignored them.

Another unusual thing was the new smell of her territory, with her Cuddler spending a lot of time in the food-dispensing-room, playing with white powder and other things that seemed quite intriguing. However, her Cuddler wasn't willing to share those toys, and became quite cross the time she'd tried looking more closely at what he was doing. He'd then shut her out of the food-dispensing-room, which was really quite unheard of, but he'd given her a treat afterwards so the apology had been accepted.

There were also a lot of boxes and crackling paper and long ribbons to play with, and on the whole, Blewog didn't mind the strangeness of it all once the initial surprise had passed.

She'd thought she'd seen it all.

Then her Carrier brought home that.

It was a normal evening; Blewog was on her Cuddler's lap, lying on her back whilst enjoying a skilful belly brush, when her Carrier came home. Blewog was disinclined to move at first, because her Carrier would come to them anyway, but then she heard that noise.

In one move she was up, looking at the door. Her Cuddler made a soft sound of surprise, then she heard her Carrier call out to him.

'Pet, close your eyes.'

'What?'

'Close your eyes. Don't open them until I say so.'

Her Cuddler stayed on the sofa but Blewog had to look for herself. She raced to the forbidden-door-room, which her humans disappeared in and out of, and was met halfway with her Carrier. He was holding a large box and -

Had he really? Blewog hastily turned around and ran back inside before jumping on top of her cat tree, closely surveying her Carrier's progress to the sofa.

He was carefully making it to her Cuddler when the box gave a small, whining sound. Her Cuddler inhaled sharply.

'Oh my goodness, Alexis, you didn't -'

'Don't look yet!'

'Oh my goodness,' her Cuddler just repeated, and he had his eyes closed but he was grinning and sounded excited beyond measure. Blewog thought it rather misplaced on anything other than herself, but her Cuddler found joy in the oddest things.

Like... that one.

'All right,' her Carrier said with a broad smile, stopping with the box in front of her Cuddler. 'Open your eyes.'

Her Cuddler did, and immediately looked at the box.

'Can -'

'Yes, go -'

The box was open before her Carrier had finished speaking, and her Cuddler let out a gasp of delighted surprise as he reached inside and took out...

Yes. Her Carrier had.

He'd brought home... well.

'Merry early Christmas,' her Carrier grinned. 'Since we won't celebrate here, I thought I'd give you your gift early.'

'Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!' her Cuddler just repeated, delighted beyond measure.

'I still have to get his things from the car,' her Carrier chuckled. 'So you like him?'

What a needless question.

Blewog sat on her cat tree, regally observing her humans fuss and gush over the new arrival, which didn't seem concerned with making a dignified first impression.

Well. Perhaps it simply couldn't. After all, it was just...

The puppy took little to no time sniffing out Blewog once it had finished slobbering over her humans. It was suddenly at the bottom of the cat tree, staring up at her with large, dark, soft eyes, a pink tongue lolling out ridiculously beneath its oversized nose, and wagging its tail as though it wished to get rid of it. Around its neck was a large bow, the kind her Cuddler sometimes put on her, too, and which she tolerated because it always seemed to get her a bigger amount of treats. She thought it suited her, in spite of the annoyance. But this?

This was the stupidest-looking creature Blewog had ever seen.

She'd met dogs before. Her Cuddler liked to invite a female human to her territory, and she often brought such a small, excitable dog with her. Blewog had known the Toy Destroyer for very long.

Despite the name, the Toy Destroyer wasn't as annoying as Blewog had first assumed. It was actually very fun to play with her.

But to keep one here?

Her Carrier whistled, calling the puppy back, and Blewog watched it go.

In fact, watching was all she did that evening. Both her humans were completely preoccupied with the intruder and though her Cuddler kissed and petted her before going to bed, she was otherwise ignored.

It chaffed, a bit, but it had given Blewog the opportunity to observe the... well. She wasn't sure what to call it yet. It hadn't destroyed anything, it hadn't bothered her, it was just... there. In her space.

Being smelly and loud.

And looking stupid.

Blewog heard the main-sleeping-room's door close, and realised her humans intended to leave her alone with the puppy overnight.

With the smelly, loud, stupid-looking puppy.

Well. Blewog heard the puppy whine in front of the main-sleeping-room, and knew it was in vain. It only opened when her Carrier wasn't home.

She herself decided to test out the new, comfortable looking bed near the spot on the wall that emitted warmth. It was larger than any of hers and it most definitely would be a nice place to nap.

So Blewog settled, but hadn't closed her eyes for long when she heard and smelled the puppy coming back, then plop down annoyingly near her and whine.

She opened an eye and found it sitting in front of her bed, staring at her. It looked rather forlorn.

Blewog closed her eye again. The puppy whined. She opened it anew, and just in time to see it trying to join her on the bed.

She hissed and gave it a warning smack. This was her spot.

The puppy let out a distressed whimper as it backed away, but it didn't go far. It laid down just about right in front of the bed, looking at her dejectedly. Blewog decided it had understood and to go back to her nap.

For a while, it was peaceful. Blewog had her nap, then decided to have a small snack and went into the food-dispensing-room.

When she came back, the puppy was in her spot.

The cheek. Blewog shooed it away with a smack and a hiss, and the puppy scampered with a whine. She kneaded the bed a bit, trying to reshape it, but it wasn't as nice as before; the wall was no longer warm. It stopped doing that in the night.

But... The spot where the puppy had lain was warm. Very warm. It smelled, but it was warm.

She wasn't really tired, but she wanted to show the puppy whose spot it was, so she settled down again. 

Unsurprisingly, after a while the puppy began inching its way back to her. It kept looking at her with its big eyes, and that was rather annoying but Blewog let it pass.

It finally laid its head on the bed, wagging its tail. It looked so stupid.

But Blewog found she was in a good mood. She'd had her favourite food in her bowl, she'd had a nice nap previously, and perhaps it was time to learn a bit more about this new addition to her territory.

Well. A sniffing investigation, with the puppy excitedly panting and wagging its tail as they finally introduced themselves, told her it was male, and didn't smell better up close.

But he seemed to understand Blewog was his superior.

Not a bad start.

He followed her everywhere, sniffing at all her toys, and Blewog decided she wanted to play.

First she - they - chased her favourite ball, then she licked at her catnip toy whilst the puppy chewed the carpet. Afterwards she stretched, and saw a string she wanted to chase.

It was one of her favourite toys. At the end were a bell and feathers, and when her Carrier waved it around, it was the best thing ever.

She jumped on it, rattling the bell, and of course the puppy abandoned the carpet to come straight to her and look at what she was doing. Blewog licked at the feather mass, and feeling charitable, let it roll towards the puppy to show him what an awesome toy looked like.

The puppy jerked back, then whined and suddenly scampered away, hiding behind the armchair.

Blewog watched him go, then sniffed and looked around, but couldn't find anything that warranted this reaction.

Well. It was a puppy. It wasn't its fault it was retarded.

Blewog grabbed her feather toy and decided to show it to the puppy again. He was whining piteously and it was an unpleasant sound. A toy would stop that.

But as soon as she went round the corner of the armchair with the toy in her mouth, the puppy let out a little bark and went to hide beneath the sofa.

Well. All right. The puppy didn't want to play. Blewog was oddly offended, but she would not let it show.

So she went back to lie on the bed, licking and entertaining herself with her feather toy.

After a while, the puppy whined from beneath the sofa. He poked his head out, saw her, grooming her front paw to rub behind her ear, and let out an excited yip as he scrambled out of his hiding spot to rejoin her.

He put two paws on the bed, then suddenly barked again and ran away to hide once more.

If Blewog weren't smarter than him, she would wonder what he was doing.

Then she shifted, feeling her toy behind her where it had landed during her last play session, and suddenly wondered.

Well.

Blewog no longer wanted to play. Now she wanted to nap.

She wondered.

In the end, she rolled the toy off from the bed, then a little further, and a little further, until it was off somewhere and she could no longer see it. She then returned to her spot on the bed, and closed her eyes.

Before long, the puppy was back. Blewog didn't mind his attempt to come to her as much. She was comfortable and didn't want to move.

The puppy settled next to her, seeming exceedingly grateful for her presence (which was proper), and he was panting and he smelled, but he was warm. Very warm.

Much warmer than the spot on the wall.

Blewog was too comfortable to move.

She was still warm when she woke, some time later. The puppy was sleeping next to her, and it suddenly reminded her of sleeping with her Cuddler.

The puppy didn't even smell that horrible any more. Blewog rubbed her head against his shoulder and side, right up to his ear, and the puppy jerked a little but let her do it. Blewog sniffed at him again once she was finished, and there. Now he smelled more like her, and it was quite acceptable.

She yawned and shifted a little, settling more comfortably against his warmth.

And pondered.

He hadn't destroyed her toys. He was fun to play with. He was warm and snuggly. He smelled all right. He was eager to be where she was.

Suddenly Blewog realised why her Carrier had brought them the puppy.

He was meant to be her Friend.

Blewog purred, satisfied she now understood, and went back to sleep.

She was woken the next morning by her humans entering the room, making her Friend stir, and heard her Cuddler's soft exclamations of delight.

'Alexis, they're so cute, look at them!'

'I thought for sure Blewog would eat the poor boy.'

'What are you saying! She's a darling. Aren't you, Blewog?'

'I am honestly amazed the tree's still standing.'

'Alexis. Don't be mean. They're so perfect together! Look, they're right beneath the Christmas tree, right next to the presents, it looks like a postcard!'

'I think you've taken enough pictures, pet,' her Carrier chuckled. 'Have you decided what you want to name him yet?'

Her Cuddler hummed. 'Well. I was thinking... Ffrind.'

'Ffrind?'

'It means "friend". I know it's not very inspired,' her Cuddler said with a laugh. 'Man's best friend. But... I don't know, I like it.'

'So do I, pet. It's cute. All right. Let's have a Fluffy and a Friend, then. What do you suppose Blewog will think of your choice?' her Carrier grinned.

Her Cuddler smiled. Blewog closed her eyes again and purred.

'I think she likes it.'