[Pup]

  She very much didn’t want to follow orders from anyone not Moose.

  She didn’t get much chance to express that desire, as the offending person ran off after giving the order, but that didn’t mean she had to give in. Between the indignant feeling of anyone even trying and the desire to leave, it was hard to decide how to go forward though.

  Unfortunately, she did need to leave. Somebody was obviously trying to cause trouble and staying here, even with Kitty present, wasn’t a good idea. If Kitty could help at all.

  ‘If officials are involved, we could bring trouble to Moose.’

  She shivered at the thought and started walking away. It wasn’t exactly defying the order she had gotten, she was still leaving after all, but she did her best to not do what was asked.

  ‘I even took a different path than I was supposed to. That means I didn’t listen, right?’

  Kitty’s presence might make her feel stronger, give her the courage to stand up for herself. But she knew that if she received a direct order and the person stayed around, she would find it difficult to disobey. She could choose which order to obey if Moose or Kitty had given her one, but just like now that was rarely the case. Orders from the two of them were often interpreted, not direct.

  It meant she rarely got the chance to say no.

  ‘I should get Kitty to put that book back. It is probably really expensive and I don’t want to get in trouble.’

  Her previous attempt didn’t give her much confidence, but if she could convince Kitty that it was what Moose wanted, she might have a chance.

  “Kitty, that book—”

  She had taken the hallway out of spite, to not go the way she was told. Looking back that might have been a bigger mistake. It seemed that Kitty hadn’t followed her like she thought.

  ‘Why would Kitty even bother with what Baylor said. She never has to worry about orders.’

  The corridor was smaller than the previous one, so it made sense.

  Both Kitty and Moose didn’t seem to like small spaces.

  ‘I wouldn’t either, if I was as big as them.’

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  She sighed and turned back to the way she had been going. Maybe she could make Moose understand. She had words now. Not many, but maybe enough to bring Kitty to task.

  “Kitty did say she wanted to trade with Moose.”

  The woman might be more than happy to give the book to him.

  She didn’t know where she was, not used to stations this high end. She had been there when they decided where to meet this new person though. She knew where she was supposed to be.

  ‘Now I just have to figure out how to get there.’

  She wandered down various corridors, looking for signs. Ones with pictures so she could understand them. Worried all the while about what else Kitty might steal before she could get to Moose and alert him to the situation.

  “Oh? Look what we got here boys. Seems their coming to us now.”

  Her ear and then head snapped toward the voice. She had finally managed to make her way out of the tunnels and had found what looked like the back side of a market area. The voice seemed to come from a group containing a random assortment of people. She couldn’t even tell who had spoken, due to them all making some kind of noise.

  It was their looks that set her fur on edge though.

  She whipped her head around, looking for Kitty or any sign of her presence.

  “What do you mean?”

  She didn’t like the feelings she was getting in this place, doing her best to stall as she backed toward the noise she hoped was the main street.

  “Heh, hear that? The naughty girl wants to know what we mean. What do you guys wanna tell her?”

  Her heart sank at that.

  Kitty had been caught after all.

  ‘There must have been cameras where she found that book. Now security wants to catch her!’

  She panicked and bolted.

  She didn’t even bother to listen for pursuit. They were after her, why would she question if they were? She thanked Moose for all the running he did. All the running she had tried to copy. Even as she felt she didn’t get enough breath she knew she could keep going, her heartbeat high but steady.

  ‘I only have to run long enough to get back to Moose. I can do that.’

  She burst out into the noise she had heard earlier, her momentum and instincts telling her to go right.

  It was another mistake, as she hit a soft wall soon after.

  “Uhff. That was quite the run young lady.”

  The soft turned into fur, a pleasant fuzzy feeling over a hard wall. Clearly muscle. It wasn’t as hard as Moose, but it was the toughest muscle she had ever felt outside the ship.

  She pinned her ears back and looked for a way to start her run again.

  “Now now. Why don’t we calm down and use our words, hmm? No reason to be going that fast on a crowded street.”

  She shook her head.

  “Their gonna catch me if I don’t get back home.”

  She needed to go fast enough so they didn’t follow her back to Moose.

  Otherwise, it would bring him trouble.

  “Oh? That doesn’t sound right. Who is going to catch you?”

  She was starting to get frustrated with the slow conversation, so she turned to point at her pursuers.

  She got lost for a moment. She couldn’t even see where she had come from.

  ‘Where are the people following me? Or that alley?’

  “Uh… they were back there. But I know they won’t stop.”

  She said the last with conviction as she turned back around, ready to start her run back to the ship.

  “Hmm, that sounds scary. Come, take my hand and I will walk you back to your house. I need to meet someone soon, but I am sure they will understand a little tardiness. Especially if it sees you back safe and sound.”

  She froze.

  It was happening again.

  She desperately didn’t want to. Wanted to close her ears and do what she thought best. Wanted to run away.

  But that… How could she see that as anything other than an order?