User blog:InklingBear/Life of Pets - Along for the McBride

Story #22 - Along for the McBride
 11:00am

Today was the day for the Loud family to finally take a vacation they all worked so hard on for the past few months. It was finally time to take on something new. Everyone was all packed and ready to go on a brand new experience outside Royal Woods like they've never experienced it before.

A very passionate Lincoln made a call to his best friend Clyde through the use of a walkie talkie, asking him a simple favor before they leave out of town.

"Hey Clyde!" he said. "Me and my family are going to head out for our trip in just a few minutes."

Clyde was surprised. It was almost like he was happy for him. "Really?" he responded. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah! So, I called you to see if you're willing to help us with a little something while we're gone?"

That question along had the McBride thinking. He thought for a brief moment before he responded back. "Oh, well... sure why not!"

"That's perfect! You'll be over in a few, right?"

Clyde chuckled. "Sure thing, bud! ...But it won't be for another hour."

Lincoln was confused. "Huh?" he reacted. "How come?"

"My dads have some personal business to take care of and they need my help for the time being. But don't worry, I'll be on my way as soon as we're done here!"

Lincoln's spirits rose. "That's awesome! There's a note that Lana made on the table in our living room to look out for. It's a list of things you have to do for our pets as you watch the house while we're gone for a few days."

Clyde felt confident about the boy's task. It wouldn't be much of a problem on his behalf. He does have two cats on his own. "Not a problem there, Lincoln." he said. "You can count on this McBride."

"Thanks!" he contentedly reacted. "It's a total bummer that you won't see us when you get over here, but you'll definitely see us when we come back!"

"Definitely!"

Some unintelligible chatter omitted through his walkie talkie. The source was from Harold, asking him for his help at the very minute. "That must be my dad," Clyde said. "I gotta go, bud. Have fun, and I'll see you soon!"

Lincoln smiled. "I will! And thank you so much for doing this for us!"

Clyde assured himself with a simple "No problem!" before the conversation was put to an end from there.

 One Hour Later

It was once again, affably quiet down in the interior of the Loud House. Four pets were all together in the same exact place, snoozing their day away ever since the Louds left for their vacation trip. A peaceful day indeed. No ensuing chaos for at least two to three days straight. It was almost like they'll have plans to execute during their complete absence.

The sound of growling stomachs ensued after a while, waking up every single animal in the household. Somebody was hungry, and it was time to satisfy their needs.

"So much for snoozing in..." Walt irritably spat.

The rest of the pets turned to the sarcastic avian. "Gee bird," Charles said. "Ya don't hafta be so short-tempered all da time."

"Yeah, why so rude?" Geo curiously questioned.

Walt placed a wing over his face, wiping it off in the process. "Sorry guys," he uttered. "I've been going through something for the past couple of days, and it's starting to get real heated as of now. I would explain more, but chances are you guys wouldn't give a care."

Charles, Cliff and Geo all sat there, staring at the bird for a brief moment until Cliff broke the silence. "Well... I would." the cat uttered in response.

The dog looked down to an empty stomach before he turned to the rest of the pets. "Anyway pals," he said. "Who's up fer some leftover grub dose humans have in store in da fridge?"

The feline responded by licking his lips. "I can hardly wait dere, dog!"

"I am!" Geo added.

"I guess I could go for something." Walt uttered.

As they were all making their way to the kitchen to munch on some food they had left in the fridge, the sound of tumblers from the front door omitted, catching them all off their guard. It was like their hearts jumped. The pets turned to the door, thinking someone was about to let themselves in.

Their suspicions turned out to be completely true.

Clyde and his dads, Harold and Howard appeared right at the doorway, prepared with several items to help watch over the house. Their unexpected visit to the house confused the pets. They thought they had the house to themselves for a few days, to do anything to their heart's content. They were all sorely mistaken.

"Hey there," Clyde said. "Hope you don't mind us stopping by here for a couple days!"

The pets shared a gulp simultaneously as the pre-teen himself formally introduced the pets to his two fathers. "This is Charles, that's Cliff, this one here's Geo, and last but not least, Walt."

"They do seem to be in good condition." Harold said, influencing the pets to share an awkward smile.

"They all look cute..." Howard diffidently complimented, causing the pup of the house to blush.

"Compliments aside, I have a promise to keep to my old buddy Lincoln." Clyde said as he walked over to the table, picking up a short to-do list for the Louds. "We have some house observing to do."

The pets looked at the three men before sharing an awkward glance towards one another. Things are going to get under control for them. Before the McBrides could do anything else in the household, the pets all zipped to the kitchen, out the doggy door, and into the red pooch pen which belonged to the white canine of the family. The three men didn't see that coming at all. They were understandably perturbed.

So much for getting two to three peaceful days of being left alone.

As the four pets were in the doghouse filled with bate, they all broke down into discussion about the McBride family. Strong scowls ensued for them all as their feral conversation progressed.

"I don't believe this fellas," Charles fumed. "What da heck are dose humans doin' here?"

"Heck if I know," Cliff retorted. "The real question is, what is with our family?"

"Yeah, I agree with the cat!" Walt angrily spat. "Do they really think we're incapable of behaving ourselves?"

"Guys, calm yourselves!" Geo said, much to his fret. "I highly doubt this is worth a concern-"

"Yes, it is!" Charles, Cliff, and Walt simultaneously spat towards the hamster, causing a small jump. He sighed, as he was unwillingly cut off by the three animals.

The dog grew more furious after each word he exerted. "We don't need no humans I've never met before ta watch over us!" Charles said.

Cliff stepped in to nonchalantly ask the white dog a specific little question. "Have ya even sniffed at dere-"

"Quit bringin' dat up!" Charles yelled.

Cliff continued the topic about their troublesome situation. "I'm probably not da one ta turn to fer any advice about dis," he said. "...But dere comes a time where yer old enough to da point where ya don't need nobody ta watch over youse."

Walt nodded to the feline. "Yeah! I mean, it's not like we're gonna 'run away', or 'kill each other' or something like that. We've always been loyal to this family, no matter what the cycle of life had to throw at us."

"Dat's da one thing I just wish dis family'll understand dere, bird." Charles rejoined in agreement. "Now fellas, dis leaves me wit' no choice. We're gonna hafta show dese humans dat we're capable of takin' care of ourselves!"

The other pets, sans Geo unanimously cheered as resolution filled them. They were all insistent on showing the McBride family on how well-behaved they really are. Despite the family owning two cats themselves, they were possibly confident enough that they could take care of four.

It was time to show the family what they can do.

"Wait a sec, how exactly are we gonna do dis?" Cliff curiously wondered.

Charles stood there quiet for a second. He was stumped. "Ya know, I haven't got the foggiest idea on what ta do about it." he shamelessly answered. "Might as well try ta improvise as we go along with dis, I suppose..."

Clyde's voice reached out to the pets as he looked for them outdoors. "Charles? Cliff? Pets?" he said. "Report back to the house, right this instant!"

Charles inhaled before exhaling. "Alright, let's get dis over wit'." he uttered, extending his paw out for the others to follow after these words read the dog's lips. "Paws 'n wings in."

Cliff, Geo and Walt all did so without a second to spare. After a quick second, the animals all shouted "Break!" before each and everyone inevitably dispersed.

 Five Minutes Later

Back inside the house, the first thing the McBrides had on their to-do list was to tackle the pets' hygiene. An upset Charles and Cliff were in the arms of Howard and Harold as the latter stopped the flow of water from the faucet from a tub.

"Alright there, Charles," Howard uttered. "T-Time to hop in."

The two fathers slowly set the two animals down in the temperate bath water as they rubbed away at their fur, applying the liquid soon after. Soon after, they broke out the soap. To them, it was like bathing a small child who loved to have everyone do things for them. As for the pets, a load of chagrin filled them. They didn't ask for this in any shape or form. It was like they could never catch a break from anybody.

The dog and the cat's ears flopped down low as they softly growled to them, catching the men's attention that something's wrong.

"What's wrong, Cliff?" Harold asked.

"Too hard?" Howard curiously said.

"You think we used too much soap?"

Howard had a feeling it could've been something else. "Nah, it couldn't have been that."

"Hm..."

Charles and Cliff irritably rolled their eyes. The first part of the chore was complete. Harold set his next task on getting some items as he left the bathroom to get them. Before he could move another step, he gave Howard some instructions.

"I'm going to get the conditioners since I forgot to get them up here, you get the towels." he said before he walked off downstairs.

"Sounds like a plan." Howard responded before he too walked out of the bathroom to retrieve the item.

It was just the two animals alone at the very moment. They thoroughly sighed in unison just before a bubble or two rose up from behind the dog, popping inevitably as it reached the surface. It caught the two of them off their guard, especially the cat of the household before he hesitantly smirked and responded to a dazed Charles with "Nice."

The compliment had the dog blushing. He glared at the feline before growled, splashing the feline in the face with the sudsy water, causing him to meow in surprise.

Clyde was downstairs in the kitchen, preparing the food for the pets as a Geo and Walt stayed put on the checkered floor, observing the kid do his work. In the mind of a yellow, hostile avian, he felt that this was somewhat controlling. It was almost like a long lasting debate on what they could and couldn't do inside the interior. It's as if somebody set some strict rules in the house that everybody had to follow.

"Alright, the food's out and ready." Clyde said. "Hopefully this would satisfy your growling guts."

Walt gave a glare to the child. If there was a time for the bird and the hamster to throw in a complaint, now would be the perfect time to deliver it, to his face. He flew over to Clyde, uttering his angry tweeting, before the boy took cover, making his attempts desperate to calm the mad avian.

"Whoa, Walt!" he exclaimed. "Calm down, I'm getting your food in a second!"

Geo sighed once more. If only the other pets could understand their intent on why the McBrides were over here in the first place, they wouldn't have to put on a ruthless scene. It was three against one in his case. He was such a poor little critter, only trying to prove his point to the rest of the pets. He didn't think that he would be unfortunate enough to unanimously get singled out, just like that by the rest of the pets in almost an instant.

The only thing the hamster could do now from this point onward was to watch their arguments towards the McBrides unfurl. Not long after, he sluggishly threw his head down, shaking his head in mere disappointment.

Back upstairs in the bathroom, while Clyde's fathers were still gone, Charles and Cliff jumped out of the tub, shaking themselves dry until they puffed up not long after.

"Alright dere, cat?" he asked.

"Well, whattaya think?" Cliff retorted. "Now, dey want care? Let's give 'em care. Darn humans think we're incapable of handlin' ourselves."

Charles nodded with a determined smile. He suddenly had an idea after he answered to the damp feline. "Yeah, we'll show 'em alright. Hurry up 'n grab some brushes and toothpaste!"

Cliff saluted. "Right!" he responded, hopping up on the sink to grab hold of the two items the dog requested. He tossed a set over to the canine as he squeezed some toothpaste out of the tube, brushing away at his chompers before the canine did the exact same thing. They just hope they could pull off their little plan before Harold and Howard arrived back in the bathroom.

"Hurry, dog!" Cliff spat.

"Ya ain't gotta tell me twice!" Charles responded, hopping up to the sink. They both continued to brush away at their teeth for a brief period of time as if they were gnawing away at a freezing popsicle. Cliff gurgled while Charles licked away at the bristles as they were almost finished, before they both spat everything their mouths had in store had into the sink in front of them.

They shared a smile in front of their mirror. Glistening chompers were evident for the two animals, making them satisfied with their result. Charles and Cliff fist bumped for a job well done on their part.

Quick paced footsteps omitted out in the hallway. Clyde's dad were on their way back to the bathroom, and fast. Charles and Cliff hopped down from the sink, landing feet first before Charles slipped and fell flat on his stomach, letting out a small yelp immediately after.

"You alright, dog?" Cliff asked in concern.

"Of course," Charles answered as if he had nothing to worry about. "It's a good thing we haven't eaten yet or else dis could get real musky in here."

Cliff smirked. "So yer not even gonna mention da fact dat ya did somethin' while we were in da bath?"

Charles gave another glare towards the snarky cat. "Yeah, I splashed yer face. So what?"

Cliff sighed before he let out a subtle snicker under his breath. Before they could do anything else, Howard and Harold arrived back to the bathroom interior with towels and conditioners. It was almost like they were busted for doing the wrong thing.

"What are you two doing out of the bath?" Harold questioned, lightly telling the two animals off.

Howard grabbed the moist feline, with intent to place him back into the tub. "We're not done with you just yet." he unconfidently spat. "We just need to do one more-"

It happened without any warning. Cliff's sudden meowing and hissing at him caught the man off guard. He swiped his paw across the man's arms delivering a couple of wounds to his living flesh. Howard yelped in great pain as he reacted to Cliff suddenly acting out of control, causing the man to suddenly lose his grip on the pesky feline.

"Yow!" he exclaimed, much to the utter shock of Harold and the white dog before the cat took his distance from the man. They didn't think the cat would suddenly act out.

"Howard!" Harold said. "Are you alright?"

"I-I don't know why I didn't see that coming..." Howard nervously said. "I guess the cat's trying to tell us something?"

While Cliff was still holding on to his incensed expression, the cat responded with a casual nod. Harold and Howard curiously raised an eyebrow as they took notice of the feline answering their question. It was the pet's chance to put their explanation into detail. Despite the fact that the cat could only meow to them in response to whatever the two had to throw at him, he was willing enough to at least take a shot.

Downstairs in the living room now, Walt still messed around with the eleven year old McBride. Geo still lamented about how he would be outnumbered on his part. It's like none of the pets didn't give their two cents about him at all, even though his idea sounded like he had a point. Although the Louds do think about them whenever they're not around the house but It was a divisive matter, but he wasn't going to let a unanimous decision like that bring his hopes down. He had to do something about it.

When the perfect opportunity reaches the hamster's sights, that's when he'll decide to make his move.

Clyde skimmed through the list of things to do for the pets as he repeatedly hyperventilated into a baggie. while he attempted to shoo the mad avian off. "Aw geez, what am I going to do with you, Walt?" he nervously uttered. "I can't let my best friend for six years down after everything we've done together!"

He grew more anxious with each and every sentence he spewed out. But, he wasn't going to let a bird stop him from doing what matters the most in his friendship with Lincoln. He tried to make an offer to him before he set the paper down. "Hey, you want to sing along to some music?" he asked, as that was one of the things on the list.

The question alone had Walt stop flying around the boy, almost as if he suddenly paused in midair. His anger towards the kid slowly withered away as he flew over to the radio, landing on top of it soon after. He pushed some buttons on the box before some classical, but sophisticated music blasted through the speakers.

Walt was satisfied. He prepared himself for a short time before he sang along to the music playing through the radio. In his mind, he was an angel that had yet to omit a sour note from his gullet. It was absolutely flawless.

Clyde stood there speechless. The bird seemed to have left a memorable impression on the boy. "Wow." he simply uttered as Geo rolled next to him, bumping into his leg. "Oh, hey Geo."

He chuckled for a bit before he picked up the hamster's ball before he started to make with some unnecessary baby talk. "Aren't you the cutest wittle hammy I've ever seen. Yes you are, yes you are!"

Geo was understandably uncomfortable now, but he was also confused at the same time. The hamster was almost on the verge of cringing at Clyde's attempt to try and bond with him. He wasn't used to this kind of talk before like they used on felines and canines alike. The boy's actions had him thinking for a brief moment. Maybe the other pets could be right about the McBrides after all.

It would soon reach to an inevitable conclusion in the hamster's head that he didn't need anyone to watch over them. It wasn't like they were all babies that needed to be watched over constantly. They were well behaved enough to do fine without anyone bothering them in the first place. If they were able to handle seven to eight hours alone in the house for five straight days several times before, being alone for a couple of days would be a total cinch to them all.

Geo had to stand up. For him. For the other pets. It's time for the hamster to bust out the big guns. He started off with some of his chattering toward the pre-teen boy, politely asking him to set him down on the carpet floor.

"Sorry." Clyde uttered, setting the hamster's ball back on the floor, letting Geo free to roam around wherever he wanted. Geo rolled to the table in front of him at full speed, hitting one of the legs as it knocked a television remote down to the floor. He was confident that he knew what to do to get the McBrides to understand that they didn't want them around to begin with.

Clyde was confused with what Geo was trying to do. He watched him carefully as the hamster hopped out of his ball, pushing a button to turn on the television behind him. A news article picture presented itself on the rectangular screen, but without any volume.

The boy grew more impressed after Geo's show of intelligence. "That's amazing..." he uttered, unable to think up a better comment to provide. "I'm starting to think you guys have things under control here..."

Back upstairs, Charles and Cliff exerted themselves to oblivion as they put on a show for Clyde's two father figures. Cliff stroked the pup's white fur repeatedly with the use of a brush before the two switched positions. Their intent was to hopefully leave an impression on the two men so they would at least leave them be for the rest of the time the Louds were absent in the house. As the two pets took a glance at their nonplussed faces, they were somewhat assured they had this one in the bag. They wish they didn't have to show off their mysterious aptitude in front of the boy's fathers, but they were desperate to try anything they can to finally get some of their alone time back.

"I-I don't understand this." Howard said. It was almost like he was either suddenly hallucinating, or he's finally seen everything. Heck, him and Harold were outwitted by two of their own cats once before. Nothing should be able to surprise him from this point now.

"Relax, Howard," Harold uttered, patting him on his shoulder. "Pets like ours are always up to their zany little schemes like this. These two are no different than what our cats have done."

Howard started shaking vigorously after he uttered more words. "I don't know, I think I'm having another episode..."

"Man, you have got to lay off on some of that coffee you've had for the past week or so. I think they're trying to say that they don't need our help."

Charles and Cliff quickly nodded to Harold remark as they elicited a smile. That was what they've been trying to say to them from the start of their unexpected visit to the Loud House.

"Hmm. Y-You might be right about that." Howard replied. "I'm well impressed with how well trained their pets are... it's quite scary if we're allowed to be honest here..."

"Well, what do yo expect from a universe like this one? A lot of things can happen here." Harold said, before Charles winked to Harold. He knows. "And if they're well trained enough to take care of themselves, I'm afraid they won't be needing us anytime soon."

The result influenced a fist bump between the dog and the cat.

 Five Minutes Later

Clyde and his dads made their way to the open front door, items all packed up for the next day. Impressions were made today in the interior of the Loud house. It was like heading out to an amusement park ride for a time that none of them will not soon forget. But alas, all good thing must soon come to a well deserving end. IT was time for the McBride family to depart from the Loud House for the day.

"Well pets, It's been... pretty interesting today." Clyde said.

"But don't forget, we still have to stop by and check on you from time to time and make sure nothing goes wrong!" Harold uttered as he gave a wink.

"We'll see you all tomorrow afternoon!" Howard nervously smiled.

And with that, they all exited the house, closing the door from behind. The pets' mission was complete. They wanted to feel the urge to celebrate, but for some reason, it just didn't spark inside them all.

"Well, dat's dat!" Charles said, brushing his paws off together.

"We did it ya guys!" Cliff said with a nice mood.

"But they're coming back to check on us... tomorrow!" Walt spat in mere disappointment.

"At least we finally get to catch a break and do anything we want..." Geo uneasily said.

Charles stomach growled. He was real hungry by now, along with the cat. "And da first thing I'm gonna do is hit da fridge!" he spat, walking his way to the kitchen. I'm starvin' here!"

"Yer always starvin', dog." Cliff said as an understatement before he followed the white pup there.

Walt was somewhat curious to the point where he had to ask Geo a question regarding their meeting in Charles' red pooch pen. "Hey Ham," he said. "What was your input on the whole pet sitting situation anyway?"

That piercing question had Geo in utter irritation. They didn't care about his plan before, he was mad about someone finally showing their care for him.

"Oh, so now you guys are interested in what I had to say about all of this!" Geo exclaimed before rolling off to be in solitude. "Well it's too late for that now!"

Walt was stunned as he watched the hamster roll away from him. He shared a glare at the reader before he ultimately sighed.

~End~