User blog:InklingBear/Life of Pets - Amour de Chien

Story #24 - Amour de Chien
1:09pm

Ah yes. Valentines day. The one day where people all over Royal Woods can spend time with the crush of their dreams, their boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wives. Everybody was free to partake in this one of a kind special holiday. The siblings were hoping their passionate affection for their partners would be one to remember for a very long time. If luck was on their side, it could be enough for them to score.

Now then, onward to the possible shenanigans the four family animals could be up to today.

Inside the red pooch pen, Charles gazed upon a picture of a sophisticated poodle. Her hair being floofy had the dog blushing. His tail wagging ever so swiftly. His paced panting being more raucous by the second. Hearts floated all around the pooch's head as he let out a long sigh.

He was in love.

"Ah..." the pup uttered. "Ain't she a beaut?"

The white hound himself continued to stare at his photograph. His little canine heart would always seem to flutter every time he would look upon his dream mate. Puppy eyes would soon start to ensue as he happily whined at it.

Charles faced the reader immediately. "In all my years of bein' a dog in dis family, I've never seen anythin' dis beautiful here in dis good ol' neighborhood." He softly caressed his photo with a gleeful smile. "She's fancy... she's fluffy... allurin' even!" He proceeded to sedately wag his tail once again. "What would make dis day even luckier? If I could just look upon her-"

Suddenly, he was interrupted by a voice calling out to him.

"Hey dog!" Cliff uttered with a smirk, influencing a jump from the startled dog. The animal turned around and gave his unintelligible muttering towards the smiling, frisky feline. "Whatcha doin' dere, pal?" he inquisitively asked.

"Nothin'!" Charles quickly answered, tense filled him gradually as he looked at the cat dead on. "...N-nothin' at all!"

"C'mon, dog. What were ya gazin' upon now?"

Charles scoffed. "Hey, mind yer bidness, would ya? I just told ya it's nothin'."

Cliff rolled his eyes as he responded in a sarcastic manner. "Oookay den... whatever ya say dere, dog." He pretended to walk away, only to remain stationary right on the outside of the doghouse.

Oblivious, Charles returned to looking at the photograph of the pooch of his dreams. His pupils enlarged as he had a feeling that his heart melted. She was out of this world in the mind of a white hound in absolute solitude. It was pretty hard for him not to take his eyes off of her for at least a couple of seconds. The fluffy poodle was on his mind, twenty four seven. He would try anything in the world, just for her. Whether it risked his life or paint a small bit of bad reputation to others. Charles heavily sighed out of affection. He happily whined at his mate as his nose rubbed about the surface of his picture, before he laid his wet lips on the surface.

Cliff could help but take a peek back inside the doghouse. He wasn't surprised at the fact that Charles was still oblivious to his sudden appearance, just behind the mutt himself. As the hound continued to smooch on his picture, the cat let out a snicker. He wasn't trying to be subtle about it at all, he simply didn't give his two cents about it in the least.

His sudden sounds of snickering startled the white hound again, influencing a yelp out of him. He quickly dropped his photograph and shifted his gaze towards the immature feline. Charles growled at him, getting him to put his humor to an abrupt halt.

"Cat, what da heck is da matter wit' youse?" Charles irritably questioned.

"Alright, dog," Cliff retorted. "Dere's really no need for ya ta lie ta me. If it's just another dog yer into, ya don't need ta be secretive about it. We're among pals here after all."

Charles sighed. The cat does have a point. It wasn't like he was doing anything he wasn't supposed to be doing. He figured it couldn't hurt to spill the deets about the dog that stole his heart. He was the key, and she was the lock to the heart.

"Alright, cat." Charles said, blushing overtime. He presented the picture to Cliff, much to his delight. "Dis pup here is da love of my life. Her name's Cathy. She's a fine lookin' poodle, don'tcha tink?"

Cliff glanced upon his photograph that was somewhat covered in his drool. While he thought his choice of breed seemed to be fitting for his tastes, he instead wanted to comment about the wetness on his picture.

"I can tell, ya must've been droolin' about her." Cliff replied. "Also, dat's a bit gross, if ya ask me."

Charles was confused. "Huh? How?" He looked upon his moist picture. He seemed understood what the cat was referring to. "Ah." he uttered to himself, shaking off the excess saliva off the picture. "Yeah, I can agree wit' ya dere, cat."

The hound blushed again, hugging his picture as if it was a stuffed animal a child would snooze with. "She means everythin' ta me!" he said, wagging his tail again. "My heart has never felt like dis towards anybody I've ever known!" Geo and Walt joined Cliff to his side as Charles explained about his crush. It was to the point where it was at least intriguing enough for them to stay and join in on the conversation. "...Not countin' our unconditioned affection towards dose humans in our family but dis one right here... she takes da cake!"

"Aww, this is so sweet!" Geo complimented.

"Hmph. Lucky you." Walt added with a little irritation.

Charles elicited a small, jumpy reaction upon noticing the bird and the hamster. "Whoa! What are you two doin' here?" he asked.

Geo and Walt shared a glance. "We were wondering where you guys were so we looked around for you." Walt answered.

"And then, we heard some chatter coming from outside," Geo added. "At first, we thought the cat was messing around with you, but it turns out he's interested about your little friend you have there in your furry paws."

"As do we." Walt concluded.

Charles glared at them all. So much for his own privacy, thanks to his secretive self. Ever since he inadvertently showed his pals a picture of his hydrant and the poodle back then, he wasn't completely sure how to explain himself. To his own surprise however, none of them apparently came to him about it or mentioned it since. But now, it couldn't hurt to open up to his pals more, given his sweet and docile nature.

"Me 'n my big, droolin' mouth." Charles unintelligibly muttered to himself before he loosened his grip on his photo, letting it fall to the dry grass.

The cat of the group had grown curious as the dog explained about the poodle. "So dog, whatcha gonna do ta win dis heart 'a hers?" he asked, followed by a smile from Geo and Walt.

The hound gulped before he blushed. He was gravely stumped on any moves for his sweet damsel of a canine. He scratched as his head, looking down at the grass in front of him. "I uh... I have no idea, ta be honest wit' youse." he shamefully uttered in response. "I've never gotten anywhere near her before. I'm... a little uneasy ta try 'n greet her." He rubbed vertically at his arm. "What am I gonna do, ya guys?"

Cliff, Geo, and Walt shared a glance. The three felt a little bad for their canine pal. They wanted to offer any kind of support they can to construct Charles' shy confidence. As they looked back at the hound with a confident look, they all shared a wink with him.

"Don't worry, dog." Cliff said.

"We'll help you in any possible way we can!" Geo happily added.

"You owe me if this turns out to be a waste of our time." Walt warned.

"Aw, thanks pals," Charles said. "I honestly dunno what I'd do without ya."

Upstairs in the bathroom, the sound of a blowing hairdryer ensued as a moist Charles chomped at the air blowing into his gaping mouth. "Alright dere, dog." Cliff said. "If ya really want ta make a good impression on dis chick, yer gonna hafta whip up some lines."

"Huh? Lines?" Charles curiously uttered. "I'm pretty sure dat's a turn off fer most livin' bein's nowadays."

"Well dese lines will definitely turn her light switch on, pal." Cliff reassured. "Deys's gonna be real clever, and dey'll work on just about everybody!"

Charles sighed as the sound of the hairdryer slowly got quiet. "If ya say so, cat." he said.

"Great!" Cliff uttered in response. "First off, I'm gonna introduce ya ta one of my favorite accents. It'll make anything ya say sound amusin'."

Curiosity ensued for the canine. "Okay, what is it?"

Cliff was ready to answer his question. The cat grew a bit exuberant as he cleared his throat. His dialogue shifted to another language, much to Charles' baffled reaction.

"Comment fais-tu mon amour?" the feline spoke.

Charles was completely puzzled. "What?"

The cat stated loud and proud. "Je parle français! L'obtenez-vous jusqu'à présent?"

Charles had no idea how to respond. He leisurely moved his head horizontally, much to Cliff's shred of confusion. "Ya could at least tell me exactly what yer sayin' so this ain't as awkward than it already is..?"

Cliff muttered to himself. "Wow..." He turned back to the dog. "Alright den, dog. I'll help decipher dis fer ya." He cleared his throat once again. "How do ya do, my love? Comment fais-tu mon amour?"

Charles may have a hard time discerning a new language but soon enough, he will. Just one step at a time was all he needed to become more competent about it. "Uh... Comment... fais-tu ...m-mon amour?" he tried to pronounce to no avail. It sounded a little rusty for the cat but at least it was good enough to exceed his effort.

"Eh, good enough!" he commented. "Now, try dis one, I'll even say it real slow fer ya. Do ya want ta spend time wit' me? Voulez-vous passer du temps avec moi?"

Charles gulped. He attempted to the best of his ability to get his pronunciation as par as he could. "I... V-voolee-voo passeer... do tar evec mwa?"

Cliff stood silent for a brief moment. He thought about his accuracy to the next line he taught him before it wasn't as bad as he thought. He looked at the reader as he gave off a quick shrug. It was a nice accurate pronunciation, at least for the cat.

"Great!" he replied. "I tink yer gettin' da hang 'a dis."

"Wow, really?" Charles curiously questioned.

"Yeah, dog. I can see dat special mate 'o yers shower her love fer ya like a delicious coconut cream pie already!"

Charles was stunned as his face turned to a shade of pink for a brief moment. He wasn't sure what to say about his compliment at first. "O-oh..."

 30 Minutes Later

The nervous pup was downstairs in the kitchen. His attire now contained a spotted bow tie, guaranteed to have a couple of animals stare. Walt held a bouquet of flowers in his stubby feet. The yellow avian had an intent that they wanted the dog to try an alternate approach. The bird extracted a flower from to bouquet and offered it to Charles, in order to ensue a quick practice.

"Alright, dog." Walt uttered. "You're going to simply approach her with these flowers in your mouth."

Charles grabbed the flower from the bird. "Okay den." he answered. "...And I just give dese ta her, I'm assumin'."

Walt winked. "Look who's catching on fast."

"Huh. Pretty simple enough fer me."

Geo walked up to the colorless hound with a box of chocolates. He figured it would be another sweet gift to add to help Charles make a good impression to her. What could go wrong?

"What's even better than flowers?" Geo said. "How about a box of chocolates?"

The dog's eyes widened quicker than an open chest. His immediate reaction was to spit out the flower he had in his mouth and glare at the innocent and insensitive hamster, along with Walt. Geo was confused, he had no idea what would provoke his sudden change in attitude.

"Are ya crazy, Ham?" Charles spat. "I can't give her dose!"

The hamster slightly tilted his little head. "Huh? Doesn't everybody give chocolates to each other on a day like today?"

Charles flipped the box without even a hassle. "Yes, but somethin' like chocolate ain't one of 'em fer us dogs!"

"You want him to get her sick?" Walt irritably questioned, causing Geo to break a sweat.

"What? No way!" the hamster panicked. "I didn't know dogs can't scarf down this stuff!"

"Neither can you, Ham." Charles sincerely added.

Before the hamster fell flat on his back, he uttered "Wha..?"

The hound picked the flower back up again. Time for them to resume their session. Walt shifted his angered gaze upon the dog as he commanded him on what to do next. "Anyway, about the flower, you can't go wrong with anything red, pink or white. I prefer yellow myself but red's honestly a close second to me. Just give those to her and I'm pretty sure she'll want to be with you."

"Oh, thanks bird." Charles replied. "I'm sure dis'll work out great!"

The hound wrested the bouquet of flowers. He folded it into his arms as if it was a doll. His confidence would slowly start decreasing as he can't stop thinking about how he would approach the poodle later on today. "Great gosh," he said, wagging his tail as he elicited a shade of pink on his face. Hearts floated all around the lovey-dovey canine as if he was deep in the name of love. "I can't believe dis is all happenin' so fast... I-I don't even know where ta begin.

"Alright, relax there love hound," Geo uttered. "You don't have to be nervous about anything. It's not like you're proposing to this dog your dreams. I'm pretty sure if you stay confident through all of this, you've got this in the bag."

Charles had to collect himself for a moment. He figured that the hamster had a point. "Yer right. I can do dis." He gulped not long after. He just had a terrible thought about all the preparation Cliff, Geo and Walt have been sending the dog's way. His ears flopped as if he was in great fear of the possible result. "What if all 'a dis don't work? I don't wanna make this awkward whenever I approach my pooch..."

"Oh, that is such quitter talk, dog!" Walt spat. "You can't let one bad little thought stop you from making that lovey dream of yours come true. You take action to make things happen!"

"Trust us, we promise you that we're just trying to help guide you to a wonderful life." Geo added. "This is what us pals are for after all! We can solve anything in a snap! Cause we've got the power!"

Geo concluded his input with a snap. Those array of words lifted the spirits of the nervous hound. In all seriousness, the yellow avian and the brown hamster do have a point, given their good intelligence with their advice. He set the bouquet down before he straightened his bow tie. Confidence filled the dog as he squinted his eyes and shared a good smirk towards the two pets with determination.

It's show time.

"Faisons le." Charles uttered.

His sudden change of language caught both Geo and Walt off-guard. The two shared a baffled glance before they looked back at the dog.

"What?" Walt said.

"What does that mean?" Geo added.

"...Let's do dis." Charles spat, before Cliff rolled into the kitchen with a radio with a few choice songs at the ready. He figured there was one thing missing to really complete the mood of his future approach.

"Well, I guess now's a good time ta add some romantic music ta fill da void." the cat said, playing a slow jam filled with violins.

 10 Minutes Later

The four Loud pets were now waiting just outside of the front porch, with the radio and the bouquet of flowers at the ready. They all looked around for the poodle that matched the photograph, to which belonged to Charles. Inside the love-stricken hound's mind was filled with a complicated mix between confidence, nervousness and being quite bashful. Whatever the case may be for him, he wasn't willing to let conflict step in and mess things up for him. All he was really afraid of was getting jilted out of the blue. He had to believe in himself. No matter what happens in the next few minutes, he was willing enough to take that chance.

"Are ya guys sure dis stuff's gonna work?" Charles asked the three pets.

"Well, when has it not?" Cliff nervously answered, but who was he to judge? This was literally the first time the three pets helped them out with all sorts of their individual advice.

"You've got this, dog!" Geo cheered.

"Just remember what we've went though and it shouldn't be a problem." Walt added.

"Man, I hope you pals are right," Charles timidly uttered. His face blushed again, looking down at the pavement just thinking about the fluffy pooch. "Oh, sweet Cathy. What I wouldn't do ta win her over. I love her so much..."

Cliff, Geo and Walt shared an awkward glance. One of them set their sight on a passing animal. Wouldn't they know it, it was the dog that Charles had been talking about all afternoon.

Cathy the poodle, strutting down the sidewalk as if she was on stage showing off for an audience. Her fresh clean appearance had Charles' eyes turn into red, beating hearts. He was devoted, nervous, and for once had his moist tongue roll out of his gaping mouth. It all happened so fast. It was almost like chance alone.

"It's her!" he thought. "It's really her! W-walkin' down da sidewalk!"

"Wow, she's much more beautiful in person." Geo complimented.

"Ya got dat right." Cliff added.

"She's okay..." Walt concluded.

"Dis is it, ya guys." Charles said. "I-it's time ta score me a good mate."

As the poodle approached closer to the Loud residence, it was time for the colorless hound to make his move. He gulped for a small beat before he grabbed the flowers by mouth. Immediately after, he stepped down from the porch, walking closer to his dream. The others silently cheered the dog on as if he was about to win a race before Cliff turned on some romantic music to play in the background.

"Go get 'er, dog!" Cliff heartily cried.

"You can do it!" Geo added.

"You still owe me if this doesn't work out!" Walt concluded.

Charles was getting closer each step he took. Cathy still strutted down the sidewalk without a single care, that is, until she was stopped by the love-struck hound. He stepped right in front oh her trail, his face turning more pinkish than usual as he gave the pooch an awkward smile.

She was somewhat dazed about his sudden appearance. Curiosity filled the female pooch as she wondered what Charles was planning to do next. She tilted her head as she let out a subtle whine.

Charles set the bouquet down in front of her. Cathy approached the flowers to give them a little sniff. As she continued to savor the fragrance, the white hound let out a small sigh before the silence was inevitably shattered. "Eh... B-bonjour... mon amour," he said, much to the pooch's nonplussed reaction. His amateurish french accent made her head perk up. Not only that, it even put a shade of pink on her face.

"O-oh..." she uttered. "Such fancy talk..."

It was somehow working, despite the face that none of the pets knew anything about her interests. It was like getting lucky at a lottery drawing. Charles' move so far wasn't as awkward as he first thought. All he had to do was not lose any steam from this point onward.

He sheepishly smiled as he gave a chuckle. Confidence filled him after her surprised reaction. "J'aime ta... fourrure, ça te va bien!"

Cathy's heart felt like it was melting ever so timely. It turns out, she did have a thing for anyone that's into the french culture. This could be the perfect dog for Charles. This was a lucky shot that he's been offered now, and he was going to take it without any regard whatsoever.

She giggled. "Well, thank you for that... divine compliment."

Satisfaction filled Cliff as he watched the move unfold with a smile. It was almost like raising a baby bird for a while, finally able to soar on it's own long after. He could never be any happier than this.

"You really taught him well with this fancy language, cat." Walt said.

"I know I did." Cliff responded.

Charles was at the final inning of his approach. He had a feeling it was time to reel her in and take it home. "Je suis... tombé amoureux de toi d-depuis que je t'ai regardé." he confidently said as Cathy smirked at him. "S'il vous plaît, v-voulez-vous passer cette journée avec moi..?"

The hound closed his eyes. His fancy sounding question alone had Cathy amazed. She literally had no idea what to do from there. She wanted to respond to his question badly, but had no idea how to put it. If only it was that easy to answer things like that in a way that pleases someone or let them down as nicely as possible... the better the results would be in the long run.

She smirked. "You can stop with the fake acting there, you." she said, catching Charles off-guard as he threw his head down slightly. "You don't have to talk french to leave an impression on me... I already have some kind of interest in you. Besides, there's nothing more important than just being yourself. That's all that matters, boy." She approached Charles up to his face before her lips passed on to his. Caught by surprise, the white hound widened his eyes frantically. He literally did not see this one coming at all.

The rest of the three pets silently elicited a gasp. Home run. Score. Mission complete. Who's to say that he actually got lucky? To which case, it'd be true, all by chance alone. Usually, it'll take several other dogs along the way until he would find the perfect one. Charles' case was completely different.

As her kissing lasted longer and longer, the hound himself went with it. His eyes leisurely closed shut as he sat there to let this all sink in his mind. His tail wagged frantically as his face slowly turned less red that it was before. He did it. He knew he could.

As the two pulled apart from each other, Charles heart fluttered. His eyed returned back to hearts as he flapped his paws, hovering in the air for a short time. "Woo-hoo!" he uttered. "Dat... was... a-amazin'."

"Oh yeah?" she said with a blissful smile. "I've got much more waiting for you down at the park." She grabbed the bouquet before she turned around. Her floofy tail flicked upwards as it brushed up against Charles' chin before she strutted once again in the distance. "Don't wait up."

Charles stood there quietly. His tail moved around as he observed her walk away to the aforementioned destination. He smiled before he sighed, laying a paw on his forehead as he fell flat on his back on the concrete pavement.

"Wowsers." he uttered. "Dat turned out a lot bettuh than I thought!"

The rest of the pets zipped towards the accomplished pooch. "Ya did it, dog!" Cliff commented.

"Not bad for a canine like you." Walt added.

"How do you feel?" Geo asked, much to his curiosity.

Charles irises grew, softly shaking in excitement. "Like a man... a brave man." he answered.

The hamster was confused. "But you're a dog."

"Nice understatement, Ham."

Charles got back up on his feet. The next thing on his mind was to gleefully shake the paws and wings of his fellow pals. For their positive vibes and confident approach techniques, they all deserved it.

"Thank y'all so much fer all da help, pals." he said.

"Hey! Watch the wing, dog!" Walt spat.

"Sorry, 'bout dat."

"What can we say?" Cliff uttered. "Dis is what us good pals are for, right?"

Unanimously, the four pets cheered "Yeah!" in great delight. Nobody was wrong here. They all had each other's backs no matter what kind of silly conflict or objective life had to throw at them. Heck, they're able to handle a house of thirteen human citizens for years on board.

Not long after, a fancy looking female cat, a red avian, as well as a hamster strolled past the four pets. Immediately, the reactions of Cliff, Geo and Walt had their gaze shift into hearts. Their faces gaining a shade of pink as they gave out a devoted smile. It all happened without any given warning. Charles was confused as to what was happening now. Could they be in the same state the dog was in much earlier today? Signs would be directly pointing to yes in this case.

"Wowee! I've never seen a greater puss like dat in my life!" Cliff uttered before sharing a sigh.

"Wow. The color of red... she's definitely my type." Walt neutrally said.

"A cute hamster like her has my full attention..." Geo concluded.

Yep. They were in love. Charles gulped.

"Well... I uh... hafta go meet up wit' my girl at da park." the hound said, slowly backing away from his love-stricken companions. "I actually forgot ta uh... sniff her! Dat's it!" He awkwardly smiled at the three animals before he zipped off to catch Cathy at the park.

It was just Cliff, Geo and Walt now. Hearts floated all around them as their love filters ensued. They thought about how they were going to impress their sudden crushes they had. They all placed their paws on their forehead, sighing together in unison before they all fell flat on their backs.

Here we go again.

~End~



Trivia

 * This story was suggested by ChristopherDobelman.
 * This was planned to be released on February 14, 2019, but real life encounters took place.