Allegiance
The group is brought up to speed on Dakota's past and a pact is made.
"So, diapers, huh?" Zac asked, sitting on the edge of Rio's bed, "You still wear them?" Glancing away from Shayne's typing, Rio smirked and raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you obviously don't all the time cause I've seen you change at the pool, and ya know... you weren't wearing any." Zac continued, unsure if he had just offended his friend, "So, is it just at night? It's okay if it is, I mean, there's nothing wrong with having accidents. Some people just develop slower, ya know? Well, obviously you do know, cause you have. Or... haven't? You know what I meant. So-" "So you're asking if I still piss myself?" "Yeah. I mean, it's not a problem if you do, it's kind of normal really." Rio raised his other eyebrow to match the first and turned his torso to fully face Zac. "It's normal for a nine year old to pee his pants?" "Well," obviously flustered, the baseball star spoke without thinking, "Yeah, I do it all the time!" The sound of typing ceased as Shayne and Mike turned as one and shot twin looks of incredulity at their feline friend. "That's not what I meant to- If I did, I wouldn't care, because there's nothing wrong with it, so you don't have to be embarrassed." Zac, blushing clearly through his orange fur, crossed his arms and looked everywhere but at his friends. "Um, Zac?" Rio chuckled as he got to his feet and wandered over to his friend, dropping an arm across his shoulders, "Don't worry about making me feel bad." "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, Rio, I was just curious, and-" "You didn't. Wanna know why?" "Yeah, sure. Why?" "Because, my fine feline friend," Mike replied with a grin, "Up until I dared him to last night, my guess is that Rio hasn't worn a diaper since he was two." "So you don't- Why didn't you stop me earlier?" Zac laughed, playfully pushing Rio away from him, "You dingbat, I honestly was starting to feel real bad!" "Wanted to know how long I could keep it going, to be honest. Besides, I got you to admit that you wouldn't mind wetting yourself." "Yeah, we all heard it buddy," Mike affirmed. "Looks like we can look forward to you watering the lawn in the backyard later tonight, right?" Shayne chuckled as he swung back around to the task at hand. "What!? No, you can't, I mean, I don't have any spare clothes, and-" "Oh come on, I've got more than enough points saved up to dare you into it, and stopping by your house won't take that long anyway. First things first though..." With a final few rapid keystrokes, the screen emptied out to be replaced with their school's homepage, "What did you need to know?" "The homepage?" Rio said, confused, "I could have gotten there ten times faster then that." "Maybe," the wolf nodded, "But if you had done it, we wouldn't have a nifty little administrator button. I'm logged in as Mr. Garlend, and have access to just about everything." "Mr. Garlend? Never heard of him." "That's cause he don't exist. If I'd used an actual teacher, they might have noticed that the log in dates didn't match up. So long as we don't change anything, nobody should notice that Mr. Garlend was checking on a few things." "I'm going to pretend that all of that made sense," Zac said, peering over the wolf's shoulder, "What're we looking for Rio?" "Huskies and stags." "You're going to have to be more specific," Shayne shook his head, "Those aren't exactly uncommon." "Okay, well the huskies are twins, that should narrow it down, right?" "Are you talking about the dudes that trashed the bathrooms at school?" Mike asked. "Yeah, those guys. What grade do you think they're in?" "Uh.. they're older then us, I'd bet on it. Fifth, maybe sixth. Definitely not junior high schoolers though." "So...registered students, fifth grade, sort by gender, then by canine, subtype husky, and finally last name...." The reflection of the wolf's amber eyes flashed back and forth on the screen as columns rapidly scrolled past, stopping when he reached husky. "Hold on," Rio asked, "They actually have us sorted by species? Can they do that?" "Well, yes and no." Zac put in, "They can't really sort you out by species, but they are allowed to keep track of it." "Why?" "Something to do with population distribution and census numbers. I think it affects the school's federal funding for special requirements and accommodations." The typing stopped again as once more Zac found himself the target of the group's attention. "What the heck does that mean?" Rio asked, totally confused. "I have no idea," the tabby replied with a shrug, "My big sister and her friend have a civics class and were talking with my mom about it last week." "Okay then," Shayne said, swiveling back around, "Let's see here. Alright, looks like we got something. Pulling up Ms. Sloan's fifth grade class picture... anyone look familiar?" Rio surveyed the smiling faces from his seat on his bed and shook his head. "Nope. The fur pattern isn't right. Think they had different colored eyes too." "Alrighty, that was the only one in fifth, so switching the search to sixth grade, same parameters... whaddya know, another hit. This time in Mr. Rienhardt's class. Any luck?" "Think so, yeah," Mike chimed in, "Second row, a few out from the middle. What do ya think, Rio?" "Yeah, definitely. That's them." "Okay, so that would make them..." Shayne pulled out his phone and typed the names down, "Aiden and Ethan Gage. What luck, there's a stag here too, top right. He your guy?" After a soft nudge, Zac moved back to let Rio get a closer look. "Yeah. That's the dude. I'd bet on it." The tiger stated, Mike nodding in agreement. "Okay, so that would be... Ryker Sorensen." He reported, adding the name to the note on his phone and logging out of the fictional teacher's account before clearing the recent browser history and closing the link to his laptop, "Well, there you have it." "That's it? All you're going to give us is names?" Mike asked. "No, that's all I'm going to do from here though. If they are in any way to blame for whatever happened to Dakota then I plan on digging up everything on them that I can. Gonna wait till I get home though cause my rig is better at hiding traces then Rio's and I'd rather not get him in trouble." "Makes sense, thanks. Hey, did either of you actually have math homework? My dad's gonna ask when we go back out there." "Nope, finished it at school." Zac said, "Besides, it wouldn't matter anyway, we didn't bring our backpacks." "Yeah, but that's not the point." Rio replied, "What's the thing for working out area?" "Umm..." "That would be base times height," Shayne laughed, coming to the aid of his friend, "Or else pi r squared. Could be length times width, what shape are you after?" "Whatever shapes you just answered for." Mike cut in, "Now that we have studied our math homework, we can get back to my first question." " 'Fraid not." Rio said, giving his boyfriend a sympathetic pat on the rump, "We've got to go downstairs." "Why?" "Because we've been quiet for too long," the tiger replied, undoing the tapes on his diaper before pulling it off and tossing it at him, "My dad's gonna get suspicious soon." "You've got a point, actually," the bear replied, watching his friend as he used his undies to wipe at the slime between his legs, "Not wanting to waddle downstairs, huh?" "Actually, no. I wouldn't mind, but my mom'd spot it from the mall and that's not something I really want to explain." "Yeah, now that you mention it, not much gets past her." Mike chuckled, balling up the messy diaper and stashing it in his pack before tossing the tiger his hand wipes, "Here, wouldn't want you getting a diaper rash." "Thanks," catching them out of the air, Rio quickly cleaned himself up and slid on a pair of boxers before pulling his pants back on. As he did so, a chirp sounded from the floor near his bed. Zac crouched and snatched Rio's phone, tossing it to the tiger as he stood back up. "Thanks," catching it one handed, Rio keyed in his pass code while buttoning his jeans. "Hey, cool! Anybody still hungry? My mom's thinking about grabbing lunch on her way back." "Tacos!" Zac and Mike yelled in unison before exchanging glances and giggling. "Alright, two votes for tacos." Rio chuckled, grabbing a t-shirt from his dresser, "Shayne?" "I'm good with tacos. I like the soft shell ones, if that's alright." "Shouldn't be a problem," the tiger replied, opening the door and getting a jogging start to jump clear down the staircase. He landed slightly off balance, stumbling a few steps before tumbling into the kitchen, coming to a stop flat on his back snout to foot with his dad. "Well, that was dramatic. Lose your footing?" "Nope," Rio replied, crossing his legs and resting his head on his hands, "I meant to do that." "Right," the elder tiger chuckled, "The famous reclining dive from the second story entrance. My mistake. Did you need something or are you just trying to collect more frequent flyer miles?" "Oh, yeah, mom wants to know if you want tacos," Rio said, looking down as his phone chirped again, "Also she wanted me to ask you, to ask me, to ask Dakota what kind of underwear he wears and if he wants shorts or jeans." "That seems overly complicated. Why not just ask me to do it?" " That's the second half of the message. She says, and I quote; 'If he asks why I'm being complicated, tell him that Dakota is more comfortable with you. Also, I wouldn't have to relay any messages whatsoever if he actually checked his phone.' " "She actually said that?" "Yep, and there's more to it, I think. The message ends with a bunch of periods, so she's probably ranting at you and didn't want to send me the rest of it. Odds are it's on your phone." "Right. I'll have to check that. Okay then, I'll humor her. Rio?" "Yes, dad?" "Will you please go ask Dakota what kind of underwear he likes?" "Sure thing, dad," the younger tiger laughed, rolling to his feet, "Do you think I should ask him if he wants jeans or shorts?" "Ya know, that's a fantastic idea," grinned his dad, "Go ahead and do that. Oh, and I'm getting kind of hungry, could you please ask your mom to pick up tacos on her way back?" Rio chuckled again, heading down towards the basement as his fingers flew across his phone, laughing out loud a seconds later. "She says; 'Of all the insolent... Tell that punk to check his phone.' " The only response from his dad was highly satisfied laughter, so Rio flopped onto the couch and pulled up Dakota's number, waving to his friends as they trooped down the stairs. Hey, my mom is going shopping and wants to know if you wear boxers or briefs and if you want a pair of shorts or jeans? A muffled tone sounded from down the hall as the message went through, the reply sending in a few seconds later. I don't have any money Shaking his head, Rio passed the message along. Almost immediately a reply came through. I didn't ask if he had money, I asked what he wanted.Tell him I'm going to buy them, whether he wears them or not. Chuckling, he relayed the message. A much longer time passed between delivery and reply, and he could almost feel the tension in the other room. "Hey, your dad said that he's done with the t.v." Zac said, "You wanna play Blade's Edge 2?" "Sure, load it up." Rio said, as his phone chirped. Briefs, and I guess a pair of shorts cause I still have my jeans here. Will do Remembering that the bunny's clothes were on top of the drier, Rio headed over and double checked the sizes, dropping his shirt on the pile and sending the info on to his mom as the theme music for Blade's Edge filled the room. "I call the ranger!" He yelled, scooping up a controller hopping over the coffee table. "You always get the ranger, though." Zac whined, taking a controller from Shayne as the quartet settled into the couch. "Yeah, that's cause you all suck with him." Rio laughed. "Well, yeah, cause we never get any play time." Shayne retorted. "Not my fault you guys don't own the game. Now come on, we should be able to get to at least stage seven before my mom gets back." About a half hour passed as the cubs fiddled with the game settings, and got started. Midway through the second level, Rio's phone chirped again. "Be right back," he said, getting up after checking the message, "Don't start without me." He trotted to the washing machine, dropping his controller and picking up the bundle of clothes before stepping up to the bathroom door and knocking softly. "Hey, bud, can I come in?" "Yeah, but close it behind you." Came the muffled reply. Cracking the door just enough to slip through, he shut it behind him and leaned against it, surveying the room. His pj's were heaped near the toilet and Dakota was sitting in the bathtub. Crossing the room, he averted his eyes in an attempt to protect the bunny's modesty. "You can open your eyes, I've got the towel around my waist." He said, "I think I got your pajamas wet..." "Don't worry about it," Rio replied, carefully setting the bundle on the toilet lid, "I can wash them. Besides, your stuff is done. You don't have a shirt here yet, so I grabbed one of mine." He offered a hand and Dakota took it, levering himself up and balancing on Rio's strength to step out of the bath tub. "So, we gonna do the same trick as last time, for the pants?" The tiger asked, pulling them out. "Yeah, it worked then." In a repeat performance of the night before, the two cubs worked as a team to get the bunny dressed. With his pants situated, Dakota gingerly pulled the white t-shirt over his head. "It's just a bit too big, but that's okay for shirts." Rio said, gathering his pj's, "Ready?" Dakota nodded and the trekked out of the bathroom and down the hall, Rio pausing to grab his controller and toss his clothes in the washer. An almost unintelligible chorus of greetings rose from the couch as Dakota came into view. "Hi..." the bunny waved shyly, "Um, where'd the rest of you go?" "Toby's at practice and Skyler's probably kicking tail at a skateboarding competition," Zac replied "Oh. Well, okay, Rio can you help me upstairs really quick? I want to try that tea that Toby brought." "Yeah, I got you," he stepped under Dakota's arm and bellowed up the stairs, "Dad! Dakota wants tea!" "Coming up!" Came the reply, followed by the sound of running water. "Alright, up we go." The two cubs gingerly made their way up the stairs, and into the kitchen where Rio's dad had a tea pot on the stove and was pondering Toby's vial of rosemary needles. "You think this stuff is any good?" He asked, looking up as Rio helped Dakota onto a stool. "No idea. I'm heading back downstairs, holler if ya need me!" Rio replied, bounding back to the basement and collecting his controller before settling onto the couch. "Let's do this!"
About an hour and half later, the boss of stage six having fallen mere moments before, the front door opened and Toby's voice rang out. "Hullo da house! Da taco's 'ave arrived!" "We can't eat till the shopping's in the house though!" Kaylie shouted. "So come help, I'm hungry!" Skyler finished. "You heard em," Shayne said, pausing the game, "Let's go." The cubs dashed up the steps and surged through the front door, Rio's mom hopping nimbly out of the way. With the combined efforts of the two adults and seven cubs, the shopping was put away within minutes and shortly there after everyone was arranged around the breakfast bar munching on tacos. "Okay, first thing's first," Rio's mom said, "The past is the past and doesn't bear repeating. Like Toby said this morning, if anybody wants to know what happened in the past they're going to have to ask Dakota, and if he tells you guys no don't pester him. Got it?" She around the circle, shifting her gaze only when she recieved a nod from each cub. "Okay. That having been said, there are some mean people at your school who are picking on him, and I want you guys to keep an eye on him." "Sure." Kaylie said, "Who's your teacher, Dakota?" "Ms. Sloan," the bunny replied, "Her room's near the end of the fourth grade hall, right by the doors." "Cool," Shayne joined, "Me and Rio have Odhran, and his room's only a few doors down the hall. You can wait in Ms. Sloan's room until we get there and hang with us at recess, and then when school's over we'll make sure you get home. Where do you live?" "Well..." "He's going to be staying here with us for a while." Rio's dad said, gently interrupting the young rabbit. "Cool," Skyler grinned, "Long range sleepover. So, if he's staying here, then me and Kaylie can walk with him. We have to walk by here on the way home anyway." "You two don't walk anywhere." Shayne laughed, "You roll." "You're just jealous cause you couldn't stay on a skateboard if it had training wheels." Kaylie retorted, poking the wolf in the ribs. "Yeah? Well-" "If we could get back to the issue at hand?" The elder tigress interrupted, continuing after sheepish apologies from the two cubs, "Now, I know that everybody here has heard the don't trust strangers speech, but you have to really be on your guard from now on. If anybody ask you about him or where he is, don't tell them, okay? Just say you don't know or that you can't talk to strangers." "Why would anybody be asking about him?" Toby asked, tilting his head, "Is he in trouble or sum'ting?" "Nope, he isn't trouble," Rio's dad replied, "It's kind of complicated. Hey, think about it like this. You know that game you guys all play, Stormwright's Quest? Remember how in the first bit the gnolls ambush the royal caravan and kill everybody but Prince Alarian?" "Yeah," Skyler piped in, "You find out that there's a bounty on the royals, so you have to escort him to the capital to make sure nobody gets him." "Right. Think of Dakota as Prince Alarian." "You are such a nerd." Rio's mom laughed, shaking her head at her husband's analogy. "Hey, it works, doesn't it?" He chuckled, throwing a piece of lettuce at her. "More then you think, actually." Mike said. "How's that?" "Well, right after Prince Alarian joins your party you have a few options. You can just leave and head to the capital, but he's dressed all fancy and his hair is done up in royal braids so he gets recognized by all the peasants in the villages you pass through. Gossip gets around, and by the third village, the gnolls know he's with you and where you are, so you start getting ambushed by them." "Yeah, that's what Skyler did on his file." Rio laughed, "He had to reload so many times cause they kept killing the prince." "The right way to do it, is to disguise him." Mike continued, "Before you leave the caravan, you can have him trade clothes with one of the dead servant kids, and then you cut off his braids and smear mud on his face and in his hair and stuff. None of the peasants recognize him and any fights you get into, the bad guys assume he's a servant and attack him a lot less often." "You aren't going to cut my hair, are you?" Dakota asked, looking nervously at the bear cub. "No," Mike laughed, "I'm not gonna slather you with mud either. The point Rio's dad was making, is that the less people who know where you are, the fewer problems we're going to have." "Exactly." The elder tiger nodded, sticking his tongue out at his wife, "See? My example is perfect." "You are still a still a nerd," the tigress retorted, drawing another laugh from her husband before continuing, "So, everybody needs to keep an eye on him at school, and walk as a group to and from. During the weekends and when there is no school, he's going to be here so he should be okay." "De best way to avoid gettin' hurt in a fight, is to avoid da fight entirely." Toby nodded, "I can dig it, but why are dey after him?" "Because..." Dakota said, gazing down at the table and speaking almost too softly for the others to hear him, "My parents are dead and my big brother doesn't have any money for drugs, so to pay for them he let's people hurt me..." Everybody froze and all the cubs stared in utter disbelief at the young rabbit. Toby shook his head as the implications set in, clenching his fists hard enough to make all of his knuckles pop, the cracks sounding like gunshots in the deathly silence. "Dat's not right..." "Not right? It's terrible!" Skyler yelled, "That's like... it's so bad I don't even know what it's like!" "Yeah, I'd be torqued off if anybody messed with Sky," Kaylie nodded, "I can't imagine just letting people hurt him." "Yeah, and your parents being gone on top of that?" Shayne shook his head, "That's a raw deal, man. I am so sorry to hear your 'rents are gone, and nothing I can say or do can really fill that gap. But, we can do one thing. Come on guys, come here." He hopped off his stool and stepped a few paces away from the bar. The rest of the group huddled around him and had a whispered conversation. They walked back and formed a chevron before Dakota, with Shayne standing just before the teary eyed rabbit, Dakota, Rio and Mike a pace behind him, Kaylie and Skyler a pace behind them. "The King and Queen have fallen to the blades of the treacherous gnolls of the east, and The Omyalthyr have betrayed you. Though no mortal hand can alter the past, the future is yet unwritten, and your life is your own to shape. Though you may feel as if you stand alone before the forces of fate, fear not. We stand at your side and are ever ready to fight and die to ensure the golden age that you shall lead us into." The cubs each made a fist and held it over their hearts before going to one knee and bowing their heads, "We swear fealty and allegiance, Prince Alarian, The Swiftwatch is yours to command." Dakota looked down at the cubs bowing before him, the significance of what Shayne had said slowly sinking in. The tears that had welled up as when mentioned his parents escaped and slid down his cheeks as he shook his head in disbelief. "Well, go on then," Rio's mom whispered, her own eyes misting over, "Go accept your knights." Dakota's chest hitched as he nodded, accepting her help off the stool. "Um.. I haven't p-played this game," he said, starting to cry as his emotions got the best of him, "W-what do I s-say?" " 'I accept your service, and am honored by your friendship' " Rio's dad leaned in and whispered, giving him a slight push towards Shayne. "I accept your s-service, and am honored b-by your f-friendship," Dakota repeated, barely getting the last word out before losing his hold entirely, hanging his head and starting to sob. Shayne stood up and drew the crying rabbit into a hug, holding him tight as the rest of the cubs followed suit. "Don't worry, Dakota. We're here with you, and nobody will ever hurt you again." The wolf said, the sentiment being echoed by the rest of the group. Though at first Dakota just stood within the group's embrace, it wasn't long before he had wrapped his arms around Shayne's chest and buried his face in his shoulder. "See?" Rio's dad said to his wife, smiling warmly at the display of loyalty and friendship, "Told you my example was perfect. That speech was from the game." "Yeah, I figured," his wife said, her own voice breaking with emotion as she hugged her husband, "You're still a nerd though." A few moments later, Dakota managed to get a hold of himself and gently pulled out of the hug. "Thanks, you g-guys." He hiccuped, smiling happily for the first time since arriving at Rio's house. "You are welcome, my prince." Rio chuckled, "Now, let's finish lunch. Soggy tacos are no good under any circumstances." "Hear hear," Kaylie said, hopping back onto her own stool, "Is there anything else we needed to talk about?" "No, that about covers it for now," the tigress said, wiping her eyes, "If I think of anything else, I'll bring it up." "Sounds good to me," Shayne said, "Hey Skyler, did you win your competition?" "Yeah! Dude, it was so cool, you should have seen it! I managed to pull off a goofy heel flip 360 and...." The young terrier recounted his triumph in great detail as the rest of the group ate, and for the first time in far too long, Dakota felt as if he had somewhere he belonged.