Sniffer sat up in bed. Elizabeth had been up for a few hours, and Tiddles had taken the cubs into the back garden. He rubbed at his thigh, trying to get blood flowing back into it. His fractured leg had taken weeks to heal under the watchful care of Elizabeth. His thigh throbbed daily, and he had been left with a slight limp since the injury. It was not noticeable often, but once he got tired, it became more visible. He had been doing all the exercises that Doc had told him to do, but his recovery had been slow and painful.
He had been having rest breaks most days, as he had today once he had overexerted himself. It had been two months since he had sustained the injury, and the system update had occurred. It had brought confusion and fear to the township after the whole township had been rendered unconscious. The strangest part was that Sniffer had lost his connection to Tiddles. He no longer registered as an imprinted and could no longer see his character sheet or progression. This had caused him grave concern, although Tiddles had not acted differently.
Since Tiddles had returned with the Spylore cubs, he had turned into a fantastic father figure for them, and Sniffer had felt proud as he had cared for them and as he was doing today to train them. They were still very young but had moved from being hand-fed Keefir milk, which he and Elizabeth had been doing, to eating solid food. Tiddles always brought back giant rats to chase and play with to Elizabeth's regular scoldings. Sniffer thought it hilarious when one of the rats escaped the crate, but the chaos the cubs caused chasing it down was not the best indoors. Elizabeth had ended up ordering Tiddles that if he wanted to teach them with live rats, they had to go outside. So Tiddles had started taking them out to the rear garden.
Sniffer stood and slowly walked over to the back window. He looked out into the large rear garden. There were still vague remnants of snow that had not cleared fully, and he could see Tiddles and the cubs at the far end. He watched them for a while as Tiddles appeared to teach them prowling techniques. He was flat on his stomach, slowly moving through the grass, and the three cubs copied his movements. One of the cubs, he could not make out which at the distance he was from them, had their rear stuck up in the air, and he saw Tiddles stop and correct his position, pushing their bottom down, which made Sniffer chuckle.
Elizabeth had confirmed that two of the cubs were male and one female. After lengthy discussions, several arguments, and vocal growls from Tiddles, they had each been named.
Elizabeth had eventually named them with severe grumblings from Sniffer, who had just been calling them one, two and three. The female cub had been named Rosie, as she had a flash of red fur on her bib. The two males were Sneezy as he constantly sneezed due to sticking his nose in everything, which Sniffer had strongly objected to. Still, his dismay and protests had been ignored and finally, Pouncer, who was the most playful of them and always wanted to fight with his siblings. Tiddles had not objected to these names and appeared to accept Doc's conventions.
Sniffer thought he better go and find Elizabeth; they were supposed to leave in two days. It had taken a lot of persuasion and coercion by both Elizabeth and Sniffer to get Holland to support their decision, as it would mean they would be away from New Haven for at least a couple of months, taking Doc’s medical expertise with them as they journeyed to New Talisia and back. Sniffer needed to upgrade the truck, and the only place where he could source one was at the vehicle auctions in Talisia.
Tiddles had continued to grow exponentially, and over the time they had been in the town, he was at least another foot taller and broader than before they arrived. Sniffer thought it was probably due to the amount of treats he was fed by the townsfolk that had supported his growth spurt. With the three cubs as well, though they were still small now, only about two feet long, as they continued to grow, there was no way his truck could accommodate them.
He walked downstairs to find Fika and Elizabeth in the surgery area. There was a large slab of meat from a Wild One with its skin still on the table, and Elizabeth was talking Fika through stitching; Elizabeth had made a long incision with a knife through the meat. Since Fika had started working at the surgery as her punishment for killing her uncle, she had flourished under Elizabeth's guidance. Her medical skill development had already reached level 3, which was a huge step, and she seemed naturally adept. The punishment was precisely what Fika had needed, and her love for medicine had become apparent.
"That's it, keep the stitches tight and close together. The skin will naturally help close the wound, but you do need to ensure you don't leave large gaps. The fewer gaps that are left, the less chance of infection." She said.
"Hey," Sniffer called as he walked in.
Fika jumped at him, calling out, slipping with the needle, and pricking herself in her finger.
"Ouch." She cried, turning and glaring at Sniffer placing her finger in her mouth and sucking it.
"Sorry." He replied apologetically. "I am off to see Karen about the clothes she wants us to take to sell for her." He said.
"Sure, but be careful. Don't try carrying anything too heavy with your leg." Elizabeth replied, smiling.
"I won't." He replied, rolling his eyes.
"I saw that." Elizabeth scolded as he backed out of the door, hurriedly chuckling.
Sniffer left the surgery and headed over to Karen's in his truck. She was the township's clothesmaker, and when she discovered they were going to New Talisia, she jumped at the chance to get her clothes taken for sale. The township population was not large enough for the amount of clothes she regularly made, and she had quite an excess. Sniffer had already concluded that Tiddles would probably not be able to fit in the cage alongside the cubs and the items that they were being asked to take, especially as other townsfolk had also asked for them to carry various items to sell.
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What Sniffer planned to be a simple trip had become a logistical challenge. Several of the township members had also asked for them to see whether they could purchase various items for them as well.
Sniffer had grumbled initially until Elizabeth had persuaded him that it was for the betterment of all and resigned himself to the fact that they would be acting as a glorified trade caravan for the town. The only bonus was that the truck would be refuelled free from the town's supply. The following fuel drop was due in another month as they only came around every few months with the new tanks. The town's supply had started to get low now over the winter months, and they had started to cut back on some of the usual stores to ensure that it lasted, so getting fuel for his truck was a bonus. It would save him having to take a convoluted journey towards the northeastern depot first.
He pulled the truck outside and climbed down, walking to Karen's. "Hey, is everything packed up?" He asked as she answered the door.
"Yeah. Stevo has finished sealing the crates, which can be loaded when you are ready." She replied.
"Great. The truck is outside, so I can do it now." He said.
"I will get Stevo to come help. The crates are in the back room." She said, walking past Sniffer and heading over towards Stevo's.
A while later, they had finished loading the truck with the crates. There was no way Tiddles would fit inside with them, so he would have to free run. Sniffer doubted he would have any problems with this as he could do so without relying on the truck. He drove the truck back to Doc's.
"All packed." He said on seeing Elizabeth.
"Great." She replied, smiling.
Their relationship had gone from strength to strength during the long winter months, and during Sniffer's healing process, he realised that he did not want to leave the woman he had fallen in love with. He still wanted his role as a beast handler but knew that he had to decide whether he wished his past life or to be that with Elizabeth, and he had decided on the latter.
Elizabeth was, as usual, in the surgery, rearranging one of the cupboards; he smiled at her and walked up, kissing her on her cheek. "So, will you be ready to leave tomorrow?" He conferred.
"Yes, Fika will be able to cope with any normal issues. I hope that nothing major happens while we are away." She said.
"After what we went through recently, I hope not also." He replied. The grief and loss the township had suffered due to the Spylore and Angelore attacks was significant, and only now were several families still coming to terms with the ordeal.
The cubs came flying into the surgery, skidding and sliding across the floor as Pouncer chased Sneezy into the room, bringing with them their very wet and dirty paws from the back garden. "Out. Out. Both of you now." Elizabeth shouted at them. "You are making a mess everywhere. This room is supposed to be clean." As she ushered towards them, chasing them out of the surgery.
"Look at the state of the floor!" she chastised them, pointing at the multitude of paw prints now covering her pristine floor as the pair hid behind Tiddles' legs.
Tiddles and Rosie stood in the doorway with what could only be a grin on his face and a sour look on Rosie's; she turned and growled at the two boys, and they skulked back further.
"I'll clean up," Sniffer said, sighing.
The next day, they finished packing the truck. The skies were grey, but no snow had fallen, and hopefully, the main routes would be clear enough for their journey to New Talisia. The cub's crate had been strapped into the rear of the truck, and Sniffer had managed to secure a covering over the top of the cage area to protect the clothes crates and the cub's crate from the worst of the weather. Elizabeth stood in the surgery doorway, hugging Fika, and then walked down the path to where Holland stood. She flung her arms around him, hugging him, to his surprise, and after a moment, he hugged her back.
"I am going to miss you," she said.
"We will be fine," Holland said.
"You could at least make out you were a little upset to see your mum going," Sniffer said, shaking his hand.
Holland's cheeks turned red with embarrassment at Sniffer's comment.
“We should be back in a couple of months,” he said as he climbed into the vehicle and reached to start it.
“I hope you are not much longer than that. We will miss Doc’s skills while she is away.” Holland stated.
Elizabeth turned and scowled at Holland. “I have told you Fika will be fine dealing with day-to-day issues. She is very proficient.”
“As long as she can be trusted,” Holland added.
“Don’t start that again,” Elizabeth said, giving him a warning glare.
“Ok. But I hope you are right for your sake,” he replied.
Sniffer put the truck into drive and pulled off. The township had come out to see them off on their journey, and as they drove out of the town gates, they were cascaded with calls of 'Good luck' and 'Safe journey'. Tiddles walked along at the side of the truck, getting patted by the townsfolk as he passed them. He had become the town's mascot over the few months they had been here, and without him, it would be unlikely the town would have survived. Sniffer glanced out at him through the window where his head was aligned. “You ready, boy,” he said, looking at him. Tiddles let out a low growl of acknowledgement, and Sniffer began to accelerate.
Tiddles was looking forward to the journey; it would be the first time he could get the cubs out into the wilderness, and he was excited about teaching them how to start hunting for real. He quickly trotted by the side of the vehicle, his vast form now meaning his average trotting pace was that of a decently moving vehicle; he could maintain the speed easily and for hours without requiring any rest as his endurance was so high.
As they reached the mouth of the valley where New Haven was situated, Doc looked backwards. She had not left the valley in several years and had never been separated from Holland before, and although he was a grown man, she still felt a pang of guilt leaving him behind. She reached out and took hold of Sniffer’s hand, squeezing it.
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine,” he said, turning and looking at her.
She smiled back weakly.
Tiddles stopped as they reached the top of the ridge, looking back across the valley to where he had fought the Spylore and Angelore in the town. He would miss his daily treats from the townsfolk, but he had Sniffer, Elizabeth, and the cubs to look after now. He stood and let out a howl only a beast could make, its sound echoing off the valley walls travelling back to the township. He then turned and ran to catch up with the truck, looking forward to the trip to New Talisia.