Written by DawnCharger (in-game character name)
Agápē - Unconditional Love
… hello there, I am awake now!
My name is Kérberos, and I am a good boy. I live with a human in a fun, warm house that is near a big field and river! My human’s name is Roxana Hyperion; it is long and old and difficult to say, so I just call her ‘Owner’. She is a kind and loving human, and I have been very happy with her. She took me in when I was a puppy and taught me all kinds of things, like how to sit, to stay, to go outside when I need to, and to heal!
Or was that ‘heel’? I think it was the second one–human words are hard to tell apart sometimes.
Owner and I lived together for a long time, almost two yeers! (I don’t know what a ‘yeer’ is, but it was many, many meals ago.) There were a lot of things during that time, including birds, walks, people with packages, squirrels, evil kitties, and other people who visited a lot, including some who did not smell like humans. Owner told me they were okay though, so I only bark at them when I am happy to see them. (Which is always!)
Then, many foods ago, the best thing EVER happened: Owner had a puppy! I could smell him long before her belly got fat, and since he was so tiny and would also be my owner when he was finally born, I called him Tiny Owner. Owner calls him ‘Atreus’, but that is another weird human name that does not have any scents to help explain it, so Tiny Owner works for me.
He is here now, but humans grow slower than dogs do, so he is still tiny. (That is good though, because if he wasn’t tiny he would need a new name!) I am awake now under his crib, which is also where I was sleeping; I would like to get into his crib and sleep there with him, but the bars are too high for me to climb in for some reason. That is okay though; I will be here when he wakes up, just like I was after the last Food Time, and the Food Time before that, and the Food Time before that, and the–wait, he is waking up!
I can hear him making his human puppy noises, and my tail smiles and thump-thump-thumps against the floor because I am happy to get to see him again! I hop up and peek over the side of the railing. Yup, Tiny Owner is still tiny. He smiles when he sees me, and I smile back with my tail.
Owner comes in behind us to check on her puppy, and also because it is close to yummy food time! But first she has to check Tiny Owner in case he made a stinky. (He did!) He has many smells, and I like all of them, but this one is the most interesting. I hope I can roll in it today when the rubbish bins get knocked over by a mysterious breeze. If I don’t, another dog (I mean, breeze) might roll in it first and smell like him, and that would be very bad, and not good!
I am trying to be patient as Owner finishes cleaning up, and then as she picks him up and kisses his forehead in the weird human way that does not involve licking. I let out a patient noise–yes, Owner, he is also my favorite person in the whole world, but it is time for food now!
I follow them into the Food Room and lay down nearby. I used to watch Owner very closely as she made food in case she needed me to taste it for her, but she taught me to Lie Down until she was ready. That was a good thing in hindsight, because now when I lay down she puts Tiny Owner down next to me–just like she is right now! I give him kisses too to let him know how much I missed him, since I did not see him last night since he did not wake up. He lets out a human happybark as I do so, and I let him cuddle close while Owner is away. Humans do not have fur, so he can rest against mine to stay warm.
His hands grab some of my fur as he pulls closer, and I nudge him with my nose, both to help him closer and to remind him not to pull too hard. Grabby is his favorite game right now (he does not play normal puppy games like Wrestle and Zoomy and Bitey Face), and Owner showed him how to play Grabby with me in ways that do not hurt. I still remind him sometimes if he gets too excited, but it is okay–I know he is still a puppy, and I do not mind helping teach him.
Aah, that is better–Tiny Owner crawled up onto me, and it is like I am his bed now. I am much better than it though, because beds cannot snuggle him or lick him if he wakes up grumpy or chase away squirrels. Also, this will help him smell like me for the day, at least until Owner gives him a B-A-T-H. (I try not to run away and hide under the bed at its mention, but it is hard!) This is good because all other dogs will know that he is my Tiny Owner, and to be protected from squirrels, evil kitties, and other bad things as part of my pack.
We lay here together for a few hours (or is that minutes? Aeons? Time is hard for dogs, we measure it in foods) until I hear Owner set my bowl down. Normally I would run over to eat it right away just in case another dog had snuck in and was waiting to eat it first, but just as I have to teach Tiny Owner to be gentle, I have to be gentle too. Human puppies are much more fragile than dog puppies, and he would cry if I scared him. I would bite the face off of anyone who made him cry, but it would be very hard to bite my own face off.
Fortunately, I do not have to worry about that–Tiny Owner is not weaned yet, and I do not have to wait long before Owner picks him up to feed yet. Once he is off of me, I go over to my bowl for my food, which is my favorite thing that is not Tiny Owner! (Except for walks, which are also my favorite thing that is not Tiny Owner!)
I take time with my food–it is very yummy, and not just because Owner made it herself. She has some kibble, but also mixes in some of her food to make it special for me; today it is rabbit and peas, with fish oil and bacon grease (YUM!). I tried to save some for Tiny Owner once so he could also have yummy food … but I ate it.
In my defense, it was food.
Once my bowl is empty, I go to the door to let Owner know I need to do Outside Things. It is a little hard for her since she has Tiny Owner in one arm, but she opens the door for me and OUTSIDE I GO! I must check the entire yard to make sure there are no squirrels around (there aren’t!), and then I go to my corner to leave my own stinkies.
It is nice and cool outside, and smells like rain will come soon. Cool is okay because I have warm fur, but rain is not; it covers all of the other smells, feels like a B-A-T-H, and Owner does not let me snuggle Tiny Owner until I am very dry. That is all very bad, and not good!
Okay, I am done with that corner and will go to the other one to see if the rubbish bins have been emptied. The Bin Man is here, and I bark at him to say hello and remind him that this is my yard! He is also taking away the things I would like to roll in, but that is okay because he has found my ball. Please throw the ball, please oh please please throw it BALL YES I WILL GET IT!!!
He leaves before I can bring it back for him to throw again, but I am done outside anyway. Now I can go back inside. I show Owner and Tiny Owner my ball so that they can see I found it and would like them to throw it for me, but Owner is still busy. Tiny Owner is laying on his blanket on the floor though, which makes my tail smile, and I will bring it to him instead. He cannot walk yet and cannot play No Take Only Throw, so instead I drop the ball for him.
Here, Tiny Owner–you may have the ball!
You have the ball. It is yours, but you must throw it.
Pleeeeease throw it?
You are supposed to throw the ball, Tiny Owner. Like the Bin Man or Owner does, you have seen them do it. Throw it, throw it, throw it throw it throwit throooooow iiiiiit!
…I think Tiny Owner does not know how to play Ball. Is he broken? Even puppies know how to play Ball by now.
Oh well, I will teach him later. I guess we can go back to Cozy Snuggle Time.
As I curl around him to make sure he is warm and cozy, I think of how lucky I am to have a home with him. Every dog should have someone just like him in their life!
Well–not just like him.
After all, he’s my Tiny Owner.