The closest hardware store to my apartment was run by the Kolbe family and mostly catered to the Sühi contractors and plumbers that worked in the district. It was a no nonsense concrete building with a loading dock at the back and a simple olfactory sign that wafted the smell of fragrant wood shavings down the street.

I had been there before to pick up little things for the apartment and it had always surprised me how neat and tidy the building was. No dust found shelter underneath the shelves or in the corners, it was ruthlessly and efficiently ejected by Mrs. Kolbe and her wooden broom.

I had thought about putting on a jacket or something to hide the blood that was dried to my chest and shirt but that wouldn't have stopped the stench. Lifeblood smelled different than blood from a minor wound and I positively reeked of death.

"Vot in the seven hells happened to you?" Asked the Sühi clerk from behind the counter, her Döbian heavily flavored by her mother tongue. "I could smell you before I even saw you!"

I shrugged. "It's alright Ani. Some gangster tried to rip my throat out, but it didn't end well for him."

"Oh no!" She bounded over the counter to get a better look. "Are you injured? Do you need me to fetch doctor?"

There was no use in resisting. I surrendered and let Ani mother over me for a moment. Her leather apron covered all the essentials but I found myself getting distracted in a not unpleasant way as she combed through my fur looking for bite wounds.

The Suomenlapinkoira, or Sühi for short, had a thick double coat and tended to overheat so they wore the bare minimum of clothing required for decency. We might have been from different countries but we were still both Hunds and she was very definitely an attractive female.

I held my breath so I wouldn't be tempted by how good she smelled. Mixing between our people wasn't necessarily forbidden, but it made things difficult and now was definitely not the time for it.

We had met under unfortunate circumstances years prior when her husband was killed by a runaway truck. We were both on our way to middle age but she had married early and I had never been one for settling down.

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After what was both much too long and also not long enough she let me go. I looked over Ani as if really seeing her for the first time. She was my height with long thick brown hair of various shades that probably covered everything she owned when she shed. Her muzzle was long and powerful. The seriousness of her face was offset by the almost comical black ring of fur around her eyes that made it look like she was wearing goggles or glasses.

"Vot have you gotten yourself into, Braverhund?" Ani asked, still standing close.

I exhaled slowly, still trying not to breathe her in. "It's nothing to worry about." I lied. "I'm going to lay low for a couple days and work on a few projects I've been putting off."

She nodded slowly, not really believing me. "You are good koira like my husband, but this is not place that is kind to good koira." Ani smiled sadly. "You should come back home with me when I visit. Vee can run in the snow on all fours like animals and varm ourselves in front of the fire afterwards."

That sounded like heaven, but I probably wasn't made out for that particular afterlife. I took her hand in mine. "I would love to, but you know I would freeze solid before you even got cold."

"Of course you would!" Ani laughed, interlacing her fingers together with mine. "You are soft short haired southern Döbian! And when you freeze I will add you to my collection." She gave my hand a squeeze before letting go. I could feel her warmth lingering against me.

I laughed despite myself. "Well at least you're honest."

"We Suomenlapinkoira are known for our honesty." Ani sighed. "I will get you what you need but have the decency not to lie to me about why you need it. You aren't exactly the do it yourself type."

I considered her words for a moment. "In a few hours the Bone Syndicate is going to try and kill me in my apartment. I had thought I might use a gas cylinder to rig a surprise for them."

"Oh, is that all?" Ani walked into the back and returned wheeling a dolly with two cylinders strapped to it. "Oxygen and acetylene is what you vant then. It stinks like garlic but I'm sure you can find a way to hide the smell."

I looked at Ani in surprise.

"You are good koira, I trust you not to get yourself killed or hurt people that don't deserve it." Ani patted me on the cheek. "Just make sure to come back to me, my sweet soft southern Döbian. I still need you for my collection. Now, will there be anything else?"

I gave her a list of what I needed to make my plan work and wordlessly she went about collecting them for me. There were a great many things I wanted to say but I had to settle on only two. "Thank you." I said as I wheeled my dolly laden with materials out the door.

I wanted to tell her that I would be back and that when I returned we would head north together and run in the snow until our hearts were ready to burst. But she had said not to lie to her anymore.