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Sheep-Dog

Chapter 4 - Shattered Illusions

Bobby did not know what to do with himself when he was taken off active duty after capturing the wolf. He tried exercising but felt uncomfortable when the senior ewes and older lambs turned up to watch him. Some asked at him with adoration because of his heroic dead, while others looked like they wanted to devour him. Recalling the encounter between Dan and Betty Sue he could guess which part of him they wanted to wrap their chops around.

At the suggestion of some of the other guards who thought he could parlay his short-tern fame into a supervisor's position somewhere, he tried to study the manuals and rule books, but he soon became bored. He knew all the rules, all the drills and all the procedures already. What mystified him was the reasoning behind some of them, like the one that required the Watch to monitor and enforce the segregation of species on city public transport, where the front rows were reserved for sheep. Or the fines they had to apply to other species found using public bathrooms reserved for sheep, while there was no fine for sheep who used non-sheep facilities ... not that they would, he supposed. He had studied the scents of all of the Pastoria species - sentient and animal alike - and in his opinion sheep scat and urine was no better or worse than any other's; except for cat piss possibly, the smell of which made his nose wrinkle.

There were other laws that he had heard were created in the early days of the Republic, laws that dealt with actions against the sheep. Those laws, he was told, were passed by the first Assembly in order to ensure that the ill treatment they suffered under the rule of the wolves could never happen again. So it was illegal to insult, threaten or intimidate a sheep or to force it into doing something against its will. It was illegal or anyone or any authority to prevent a sheep from entering or leaving a building or from travelling anywhere in the nation.

These were good laws, Bobby thought, but he was surprised to discover that they did not apply to all species, just the sheep. He was even more surprised to read some of the interpretations of them that the Watch was obliged to enforce, such as arresting dogs that raised a lip or showed their teeth while looking at a sheep, because it imitated aggressive wolf behaviour.

"What if you were just trying to get a bit of bone out from between your teeth and a sheep happened to walk by and thought you were snarling at him?" Bobby asked Dan after being assigned to the school.

"That's what the tribunals are for." Dan answered. "But since the tribunal judges are all sheep, appointed by the local authorities, who are all sheep, duly elected by the citizens of Pastoria, who are ninety percent sheep, it would be better if you cleaned your teeth in private."

It made Bobby's head spin. Pastoria's motto was 'Rights and Justice for All' but it seemed that one species in particular had more of both than the others.

Bored and confused and with nothing better to do Bobby made his way down to the basement where the cell the wolf was being kept in was located. He was stopped by one of the other guards before the cell was in view.

"Sorry, Bobby. Dan said no one except him is to have any contact with the wolf."

"Really? I guess it makes sense, having just one interrogator. Has he questioned the wolf already?"

"Last night he had a short talk with the beast before heading back to his room to sleep it off. He was a few sheets to the wind, you might say."

"Did he get anything from the wolf? Are there more in the area?"

"I don't know. Dan plays things close to the chest. But if he had learned of a larger party of wolves hereabouts I'm sure he would have alerted the Watch."

"Yeah, I guess." Bobby turned to leave with his shoulders drooping and his tail hanging down.

"Hang on a second, Bobby. You've already had closer contact with the beast than any, I reckon, and you've earned your right to gloat over it. I heard from the Deputy that the creature would be moved out of here as soon as Dan wakes up, probably to the city lock up. Why don't you go take a peek at him while he's still here? There's a bucket there if you want to pee in it and throw it at him. Just stay back from the bars and promise that you'll not damage him. Dan wants him mobile when it comes time to move him."

"Thanks, Hank."

"Don't think about it. Go have some fun."

It was dim in the cell at the end of the corridor and Bobby could not locate the wolf at first. He thought the wolf might have escaped but its smell was still strong inside the small chamber and there was no window or other exit so it must be in there somewhere.

As his eyes adjusted to the gloom Bobby noticed that the smell was coming from what he had thought was a pile of grey wool blankets. He focused on it and after staring at it for a minute the pile spoke.

"What do you want, dog?"

"I'm the dog that captured you."

A wolf head emerged from under the blanket and two yellow eyes scanned him from head to toe. Then it covered its head again and turned away.

"You looked bigger when you were on top of me. Maybe I should have fought back more. Oh well."

Bobby hadn't been sure how the wolf would react on seeing him but suspected that it would either attack the bars in anger or cower shaking in the corner. Indifference was the last thing he expected. All the questions he had about how the wolf had gotten this far south and who may have helped him died in his throat. Not being able to think of anything else to say, he asked the wolf who he was.

"That's a strange question." The wolf said, uncovering his head and studying Bobby more closely. "In my culture one cannot refuse to reply to such a question. Did you know that?"

"No."

"Humph. Well, your ignorance does not relieve me of the obligation to answer." The wolf sat up a little straighter. "I am Argus, the keen-eyed, son of Black Fang of the Bloodtooth clan. Heirs to the throne of Wolfbridge."

"Wolfbridge?"

"That is what we called this city before the revolution. It was the Capitol of the Territories and the home of the Great Kings, the last dynasty of which was of the Bloodtooth line. Now, by custom you must tell me who you are."

"I'm, uh, Bobby Collie, the uh, keen-nosed. Son of Rufus of the, uh, Border Collies."

"Well met, Bobby Collie." The wolf waited a moment before adding "Now you say 'Well met, Argus Bloodtooth'."

"Well met, uh Argus Bloodtooth." He paused. "What now? Are we friends or something?"

The wolf laughed. "Not likely. You nearly dislocated my shoulder yesterday, so no, we're not friends. In fact, I should hate your guts because you ruined my age quest."

"What's an age quest?"

"You are a curious one, aren't you? Well, no harm in educating you, I suppose. When a wolf comes of age he is expected to embark on a quest to prove his prowess and bravery. Most ordinary wolves just cross the border and raid the farms close to the territories. I suspect from your name that you are familiar with these efforts."

"Yes. Now that you mention it most of the wolves we see in the north are young, like you. They steal wool from the storage sheds, food, tools and weapons if they can get their paws on them, and occasionally carry off an ewe." Bobby's brow furrowed. "Sometimes the ewes don't come back."

"Don't look at me like that. We don't eat them."

"Then what does happen to them?"

The wolf began to answer but then shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Bobby chose not to press the issue but changed the subject instead.

"So why aren't you up north stealing laundry from the clotheslines?"

"Although the royalty was abolished after the revolution the Bloodtooth are still noble leaders among the wolves. More is expected of me. A foray this deep into Pastoria, successful or not, earns me bragging rights and cements my place in the hierarchy."

Bobby's blood boiled, and it showed in the tone of his voice. "You consider raping innocent young lambs to be noble?"

"Rape? Who said anything about rape? Who do you think made that sheep outfit and left it near a blind spot in the wall? Wolves have been coming here for years, pup, years. Bayfield ewes have been helping us sneak in for a bit of action that won't get them pregnant since my Great-Grandfather's time. And while those who linger too long get caught there is always an accommodating dog like Dan to arrange a bloodless repatriation."

The wolf's words had a ring of truth, especially when Bobby thought about the actions of Betty Sue and her friends. And what about Dan and the gold the wolf had mentioned?

"You've been caught before?"

"No, this is my first time, but several of my brothers and my cousins have. Thanks to Dan the ones who were caught here all returned unharmed. He's great. He's even agreed not to free me until tomorrow so it would look like I was with the ewes for the night before getting caught. And since there is no one to contradict me when I get home, I'll claim that I had my way with half a dozen students before I was caught during a surprise inspection of the dorm. My status in the pack will be enhanced greatly."

"But ... wait ... what? That isn't right!"

The wolf looked at Bobby not unkindly, but a little indulgently. "You have so much to learn about the world, Bobby. Did they tell you that your ancestors and the sheep chased all the wolves off during the revolution? Would it surprise you to know that the wolves ceded control after being confronted by the combined strength of canines and sheep? Or that they stayed and tried to be part of the new democracy until it was obvious that a dictatorship of the majority was being formed? We left because we would not become slav- ..."

The wolf was cut off by a bellow in the corridor.

"I told you 'NO CONTACT'! Which of those two words did you not understand?"

The voice belonged to Dan, who sounded more sober but not very well, or happy, at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Boss. He must have sneaked by when I was taking a leak."

"I'll take a leak on you! Get out of here and don't let me see you until you're ready to suck my ... oh, there you are Bobby! Been having a chat with our prisoner, have you?"

"No, Sir. I just came down here to, uh, spit on him, Sir. But he won't come out from under that blanket."

"Really." Dan looked at the wolf, who made a show of peeking out from under the edge of the blanket. "He didn't mention anything more about gold, did he?"

"Gold? No Sir, he did not say anything about gold." Freedom, arrangements, being let go, but not gold specifically, he assured himself.

Dan's narrowed eyes opened slightly. "Okay. I have to, uh, question the prisoner a little more now. I've put you in for a Commendation so I suggest that you get your best uniform laundered and ironed for when Commander Festus calls you in to receive it. Well, what are you waiting for? Go!"

Bobby touched his forehead with his paw respectfully and backed away down the corridor. Once he was at the abandoned guard station he turned and ran all the way back to the barracks.

Once back in his tiny room he threw himself down on the hard bed thought hard about what he had been told. He did not know how much of what the wolf had said was true, but it was obvious from Dan's suspicious behaviour that something illegal was going on. By the time supper rolled around Bobby had decided to go over Dan's head and report what he had seen and heard to the Commander of the Watch. Since he did not have any money for the local coach, he would set out the next morning on foot.

At breakfast the next day, however, he was taken aside by the Deputy and informed that he was back on active duty, and in a new capacity - Wall Inspector.

"Dan is concerned that the wolves may have a secret way through the wall." The Deputy told him. "So you have to check every inch of the inside of the wall and report any deficiencies. You start at the main gate and work your way around and back to the gate."

"Wouldn't it be better to check the outside, and start at the back where the wolf came over the other day?"

"Dan is checking the outside himself today."

"Is the wolf still here?"

"Yes, but not for long. Dan is taking him to the city lock up this morning."

"I thought that Dan as checking the wall."

"He'll do that on the way."

"But the section of the wall the wolf joined the students at is in the opposite direction from town."

The deputy looked flustered. "You ask too many questions, Bobby."

"Sorry."

Bobby postponed his plans to go to the city. Checking the wall would take him a couple of days at least if he did it properly, and Bobby could not bring himself to do a half-assed job, even when it was obviously busy work. But on his next day off he would set out before breakfast, just in case Dan came up with another excuse to keep him at the school.

Bobby did disobey his orders a little bit though. Instead of inspecting inside the wall he did the outside, figuring that any breach would be more obvious from that side since young wolves on their first quest would have to find it just from a description. He also skipped the front of the wall because it was near a busy road and not likely to be used for surreptitious entry.

Late in the day near the section of the wall closest to the vegetable gardens he found what he was looking for, a series of stone blocks piled up against the wall like a set of stairs. It looked like it had been there for years, if not decades. A lone oak tree on the school side not only served as a landmark but also provided cover from observation and a way back across.

Using the skills he had perfected in the borderlands Bobby searched the ground around the breach. Sure enough, he found wolf tracks that were several days old. But more importantly he discovered a matching set leading away that were fresh that day. They were matched by a set of shoe prints that were roughly the size of Dan's. The two sets of tracks led back the way the wolf had come, but only one set returned, the shoe prints, and they had Dan's scent all over them.

It was not definitive proof that Dan had taken a bribe to release the wolf, Bobby supposed, but why else would the Head Dog bring the wolf out this way? And there was not enough time for him to circle the school grounds and take the wolf to the city lock up and get back in the same way ... unless the Watch had arranged to pick the wolf up in the forest for some reason, but that made no sense either.

Bobby was certain that he had stumbled onto something big, and he could barely stand to wait for his next day off.

It turned out that Bobby did not have to wait that long. That evening the Deputy told him that he would be going to the city the next day to receive a commendation from Commander Festus himself.

The ceremony was not until noon, but Bobby rose early and set out before breakfast as he had planned to because he wanted to get to the Assembly building early, before Dan got there. He still didn't have enough money for the local coach, but he was lucky enough to hitch a ride with a pair of horses bringing a cart of produce into the city. He arrived at the Assembly Building shortly after it opened its doors for business.

There were a few other members of the Watch hanging about in the foyer, and one of them recognized Bobby.

"Hey! It's the Collie that killed the wolf."

Bobby was surrounded by paws held out in congratulations. "I didn't kill the wolf." He explained to the dog who had spoken. "I just captured him."

"But he died of his wounds, right?"

Bobby shook his head. "He was fine the next day when I talked to him. Dan, our Head Dog, was supposed to bring him here to the city lock up yesterday."

A dog wearing the stripes of a supervisor shrugged. "I don't know anything about that, but the cells here are empty, have been for months. Come on guys, time to hit the streets." He patted Bobby on the shoulder as they filed by. "You take care, Collie. There is always a spot on the real watch for a brave dog like you."

The Watch offices were open, but Angel was not behind the reception desk, so Bobby ducked under the barrier. The door marked 'Watch Commander' was slightly ajar and Bobby almost lost his nerve as he approached it.

Should I knock or just walk in, he wondered? Or knock as I walk in? He did not have an appointment, but he was sure that once Commander Festus heard what he had to say he would forgive him for barging in.

But before he could either knock or walk in he was frozen in place by raised voices.

"I know you're lying, Danny Doberman." A gravelly voice used to being obeyed shouted. "Now tell the truth, how much gold did the wolf give you to let it go?"

"Commander, you wound me." Dan's voice answered.

Through the crack in the door Bobby could see the two dogs facing off across the Commander's desk. Festus, a huge Saint Bernard, leaned imposingly over the slimmer Doberman, his reddish eyes fixed on Dan's. But Dan wasn't backing down. From inside his shirt he drew out a small pouch that could not have held more than two or three gold coins. Bobby held his breath as he waited to hear what kind of excuse Dan would offer for letting the wolf go.

He held it so tight that when a paw grabbed him from behind and jerked him back away from the Commander's door he hardly let out a squeak.

"What the hell do you think that you are doing, spying on the Commander?" Angel whispered as she dragged the larger dog back to the reception area. "The Commander's business is private! Got it?"

"I'm sorry, I was going to report Dan for taking a bribe to let the wolf I captured go free, but it looks like the Commander already knows."

Angel squinted one eye and cocked the brow over the their as she regarded Bobby speculatively.

"The Commander knows everything that goes on in the City. That's how he got the job."

"Like I said, sorry. I should have known that he would be on top of it. How long has he known about Dan?"

"Since he appointed him."

"But then ..." Bobby was confused again, a state he had often found himself in when dealing with the ways of the Watch. "... Why? Did the Commander put Dan there to keep an eye on him? Is one of the dogs assigned there a mole?"

Angel shook her head like one who has found their idiot cousin trying to explain about the invisible giant rabbits again.

"You need to calm down, Bobby. Come with me."

She pulled a sign that read 'Back in 15' from a drawer and set it on the reception desk before leading Bobby by the paw into a small room just off the reception area. The room was equipped with nothing more than a wide, comfortable looking lounger. She sat Bobby down on the edge near the end and squeezed in behind him. Then she put her paws on his shoulders and began to massage them with her thumbs in small circles.

"You shouldn't let the politics and machinations of the senior dogs bother you." She said as she pressed hard against the tense muscles of his back. "It's a different world from the farmlands, and a dog needs different skills to survive and prosper here."

He was beginning to suspect that massage skills might be one of them. Her paws were making his tension disappear magically and he found himself relaxing against her.

She shifted around a bit and her paws moved to the front of his shoulders and the chest muscles attached to them. Bobby sighed as his head nestled between warm soft cushions ... cushions? The lounger had no back, let alone cushions. He started to sit up when he realized that his head was between the soft, round breasts of the Corgi but she drew him back with surprising strength.

"Shush, Bobby." She whispered into his ear. "Just relax and Angel will rub away all of your troubles."

He allowed her to pull him in but he held his head away at an awkward angle. He paws continued to work their magic though and he soon found his head dropping back against her breasts. It fit comfortably between those large furry globes and their warmth felt good on his neck.

He became aware that she was murmuring softly, calling him a good boy and praising him for his dedication to duty and his bravery. It made him feel almost as good as her paws, which had drifted south, first to his chest and abdomen but now they were rubbing the stress out of the long muscles on top of his thighs.

Before he realized it, she was nibbling on his ear and licking the inside of it where he was very sensitive. Simultaneously her paws had moved in and high up on his groin, where the fur was sparse under the thin material of his trousers. Bobby wanted to protest, to remind her that the Commander could come looking for her to process Dan's arrest at any minute, but he found himself unable to move, even when she sought out the buttons on his trousers and used her claws to undo them one after the other.

He had grown hard without realizing it, and on release from the confinement of his clothes his penis slid out of its sheath, red and slick and ready. She wrapped one of her small paws around it as well as she could and whispered, "Oh, Bobby, Angel's gonna rub away all of your troubles." Then she started to stroke it.

At some point she must have opened her blouse because he found that her breasts were free and bare and available when he turned his head. She used her other paw to guide his mouth to one of her erect nipples and he sucked on it greedily.

"Oh, yeah. Momma's gonna take care of you, but you have to take care of Momma too. Can you do that, Bobby?"

Bobby nodded eagerly without taking his lips from around her teat.

"Good. Let's start with getting you out of those clothes."

She managed to undo his shirt and peel it off him without removing her tit from his mouth. Her blouse was already on the floor and she threw his shirt down on top of it. Then she moved around in front of him and gave him a deep kiss that included a lot of tongue while she pulled his trousers and undergarments out from under him to add them to the pile. She slipped off her skirt and panties and threw them down too before pushing him back on the lounger and crawling up on top of him.

Bobby was sitting back with his head and shoulders against the wall and his legs hanging off the couch. Angel was straddling him with her knees on each side of his hips and her impressive chest looming above him. She shuffled forward until her groin was just above his quivering cock and then lowered herself don until her warm mound was pressed against his hot shaft.

"Does that feel good, Bobby?" He nodded. "How about this?"

She began to slide her mound back and forth along the length of his shaft. At first, he could just feel the wispy fur that covered it, but as she increased the pressure he felt the soft warm flesh beneath it and the first traces of moisture from inside.

Leaned back the way he was he could look along the length f his body and see the way her sex was opening and spreading around his thickening shaft. As he grew harder, she grew wetter and after a dozen strokes two pink petals of flesh emerged from inside her. At their apex he saw a small hood of skin with a little bump of flesh peeking out from it. He wondered if that was the elusive 'love button' that the other dogs in the barracks bragged about. According to them he was supposed to lick it or rub it, but she was busy dragging it along the veins that stood up from his shaft. She seemed content enough to be doing that, and it felt very good to him too, so he left her to it.

Angel was murmuring sweet nothings again, but now she was calling him a big boy, a hard boy, and telling him that he was pleasing his momma. That made him feel a little uncomfortable. he had never though of his mother doing anything like this, least of all with him, but he supposed that her and father must have been intimate a number of times since he had had so many older brothers and sisters.

Thinking of his parents doing it made him lose his enthusiasm, and his erection started to wilt. This did not go unnoticed by Angel, who sped up her gyrations on his shaft and reached behind with one paw to caress his balls. She used the other to pull at her breasts and even pushed one into her mouth to suck at her own nipple.

Bobby was fascinated, and his mouth made involuntary licking motions. Seeing that Angel giggled, leaned forward and put her breast to his mouth. He held it in both paws as he sucked and lapped away at it. The nipple grew hard between his lips, and his cock responded likewise. As she slid back and forth his cock extended as far as it could from the sheath until it was locked in place by the swelling knot at its base.

Just when he thought that he could not take any more Angel stopped and rose up off of him. The cooler air on his slick penis dulled the urge to cum somewhat, but she was not finished with him yet.

Angel stood up with a foot on either side of him and then squatted down until her glistening slit was just above the tip of his pointy cock. Reaching down she grabbed it and pulled it back until it was pointing straight up at her opening. She wiggled it about, rubbing the knob of her clit against it and spreading the clear, sweet fluid that was flowing from her around. Then she let her weight bring her down until the tip was inside her.

Bobby gasped. Less than an inch was inside but it already felt ten times better than the cunt massage she had been giving him and a hundred times better than when it was trapped between Ronnie's thighs. He recalled how he thought that was the best feeling he had ever experienced and blushed at his own naivety.

Angel began to lower herself down onto his cock, only a little at first, but plunging a bit deeper each time. He thighs stood out with the effort when she rose up and after a few repetitions she took his paws and placed one on each of her buttocks.

"Help a lady out here." She said and she held them there as she rose up again. Bobby got the picture and used his strong arms to help lift her up until just the tip of his cock was still inside and then he used them to steady her on the descent.

Before long her swollen inner lips were smacking up against his knot. "That's not going inside me, not today, Bobby boy. We don't want to get locked together on company time now, do we?"

Bobby nodded agreement, but he was longing to thrust up hard and pop his knot inside of her. Instead he concentrated on the feel of her hot wet flesh sliding up and down on his shaft. It was good, and he felt that he could keep doing it this way forever.

Angel increased the pace without pressing harder against it. She was breathing hard after a few minutes of riding him that way.

"Lord, Bobby, but you've got staying power." She pushed him down on the lounger and leaned forward until her body was pressed up against his. Back on her knees again she began to twitch and rock her butt and hips so that her clit was directly in contact with his shaft all the while. Meanwhile, Bobby could feel something swelling inside her, something that seemed to grab and surround his shaft a few inches up inside her love canal. As it grew she became more exited, and when she became more excited it grew some more. Its grip on his cock seemed to tighten and after another minute she was slamming herself down against him with so much force he was sure she would either force his knot into her or bust it.

She didn't do either, though. Instead she exploded in a gush of hot fluid and a stifled scream. Bobby's groin was soaked and her insides became so slick there was hardly any friction, but her hips continued to twitch as convulsions emanating from her twat shook her from head to toe.

Eventually she slowed down almost to a halt. She rotated her hips, feeling the state of his erection inside her.

"Haven't cum inside me? You are a hero, Bobby Collie. We wouldn't want any Corgi-Collie crosses running around Ariesborough now, would we? What would the sheep say? But don't worry. Momma's gonna take care of you likes she promised."

With that Angel reluctantly lifted herself off his steely shaft and sank down to the floor between his knees. She stroked his cock a couple of times and then, smiling in that open-mouthed toothy way that Corgis did, she tilted it back and wrapped her lips around it.

He had heard the other dogs talk about this, it was something they usually went to Suzy's Layer Cake for, but he never imagined getting his cock in someone's mouth. He had not even fantasized about it yet. He raised up on his elbows so he would not miss a thing.

Angel was holding him by the hips as her head rose up and down on him. Her eyes were closed as she concentrated on getting her lips down as far as his knot while she swirled her tongue around inside her mouth. Sometimes she paused to lick the little hole in its end, other times she stroked it with one paw while bobbing her head rapidly on the fist couple of inches, where it was most sensitive, but mostly she used just her mouth and took him in until he could feel the swelling of her throat as she swallowed the excess saliva.

She was murmuring again, although he could not make out the words as she was speaking around his thick shaft. But when his balls began to heave and his hips began to jerk instinctively she sank his cock even father in and made encouraging noises.

"Uhm hmp, uhm hmp, cm uh, Bby, cm uh."

She was not letting his dick go and in fact seemed to be telling him to cum while it was deep in her mouth, but he clenched his teeth, squinted his eyes and did everything he could to hold back as long as he could. It was not long, but it felt like forever.

She had such a tight grip on his shaft that when he came that the spooge had to force its way though with a sharp, sweet shot of pain for each wad. The sensation made him gasp, and then the sticky hot feel of that spooge trapped inside her mouth as it spread around his cock made him sigh.

More cum shot out of him as she began to move her mouth on him again, greedily sucking the drops as they emerged. Then she swallowed his load and took a deep breath before licking his shaft clean, a task made more difficult by the last few shots from his overworked balls.

Done with him, Angel wiped a few stray drops of spooge off her face and licked the last of it from her fingers. She poked his still erect penis and squeezed the knot at its base before standing up and gathering her clothes.

"It's a shame that I have to go back to work, but sometime soon you're going to have to spend a whole day with me so I can see how many times you can do that before you pass out." She said as she pulled up her skirt and buttoned her blouse. "But for now, just stay in here until that," she pointed to his knot, "goes down. Then go to the washroom and get cleaned up before the big presentation."

She leaned over him and planted a wet kiss on his lips. "See you at noon, Bobby." Then he was alone.

It took almost an hour before Bobby could get his cock back into his trousers without a noticeable bulge. Then he was off to the washroom to drop them again so he could rinse the smell of her climax off of him. He used some scented soap to cover up whatever smells he could not rinse off. By the time he emerged it was almost noon, so he went to the reception area to wait.

There Bobby found that Angel was busy berating dogs that had come seeking an audience with the Commander and other infractions. He also found Dan sitting at one end of the only free bench in the room. Least he tip his paw and alert Dan that he was on to him he sat down beside his boss and nodded respectfully.

Dan slid over against Bobby. "I heard that you saw my little confrontation with the Commander earlier."

Bobby shot a glance at Angel, who must have been the one who told Dan, but she was not looking their way.

"Yes. Something about gold." Bobby tried to sound nonchalant, but it came off as aloof, he thought.

"Something about gold." Dan said mocking Bobby's tone. "You know exactly what gold I'm talking about, the gold the wolf told you he had for me. You don't think that I saw your tracks around the wall by the oak when I went back last night to cover up mine?"

Bobby squirmed in his seat, embarrassed to have been caught. He had not thought of erasing his own tracks after discovering Dan's.

"I haven't told the Commander yet, but I will." Bobby said in a low voice while watching Dan out of the corner of his eye as he prepared himself for the angry outburst that was sure to follow.

Dan did not seem angry though. Instead the Doberman shrugged. "My own fault for wanting to lock up the gold before cleaning up. But you don't need to tell him, we've already settled up."

"Settled up? I don't understand."

"Settled up ... given him his cut. Festus gets most of the gold that the wolves bring to buy their quick release, half of which goes to the Minister for Public Security and his friends so Festus can keep his job as Watch Commander. I get a twenty-five percent finder's fee because it happened at my unit. You would normally get a ten percent cut but since it was your first time and we're giving you a metal and all we decided to split your share between the Commander and me."

Dan punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Next time, eh?"

Bobby was speechless. Dan's words had the ring of truth, and when he saw the warm way that the Commander greeted the Doberman before the ceremony, he knew they were true.

"Ah, here's our hero!" The gruff old Commander said on seeing Bobby beside Dan. "Just a young pup, I see. Well, you stick close to your Head Dog and you'll learn a lot. Just don't trust him to fetch the gold alone next time." He added with a laugh as he led them back to his office.

The ceremony was attended by a couple of sheep from the Assembly, no one too important, but Dan told him when it was over that they had to send some sheep to hang the medal on the recipient just to remind them who they worked for.

"They don't want you thinking that they rely on us." Dan said with a wink.

"Do they? Rely on us, I mean?"

"What do you think, Bobby?"

Bobby left the Assembly Building more confused than ever. The Commander of the Watch was taking bribes and sharing it with scoundrels like Dan. Females were indulging in sexual intercourse without mating permission. And some old Ewe was running a brothel where all kinds of depravity was likely going on just a block away from the seat of Government.

Speaking of which, or thinking or it rather, Bobby discovered that he had gone off in the wrong direction after leaving the Commander's offices and he was now standing right outside the house of ill repute known as Suzie's Layer Cake.

He was on the north side, the side where the rams looking for ewes went in. Dan and the other dogs had told him that while it was perfectly acceptable in sheep society even for married rams to seek pleasure with their own kind there they did not like dogs or other species lingering about. The entrance for other species seeking comfort with anything except a sheep was on the south side, and while Bobby did not intend to go in, he needed to get around to that side in order to get back to the school.

He looked around. The narrow alley on the east side was very close, but he had been warned to avoid it. Getting to the alley on the west side meant that he would have to pass the main entrance though, and there was a group of young rams lingering there, chatting. He peeked down the east alley. It was empty. Bobby figured that this early in the day there would be few customers for the more exotic trade that was rumoured to be offered on the third floor and that the chances of running into a ram during the minute it would take to traverse the alley were small. He put his head down and hurried into the narrow lane.

He counted the seconds as he trotted along, sure that if he passed the door in the middle without meeting anyone he would be safe since the neighbourhood at the south end was mostly made up of dogs, cats, pigs and horses. So intent on his count was he that he did not see the shadowy figure rushing up from the opposite direction, also with its head down. Those heads met in the middle with an auditable crack.

Bobby was knocked backwards. He got up quickly though, already offering apologies to what he assumed was a ram that had exited the Layer Cake just as Bobby was passing the door. He also rushed to help it up, surprised at how small it was. When the creature was erect he was shocked to see that not only was it a dog, but a familiar one at that.

"Ronnie? What are you doing here?"

Ronnie pulled away and looked like she was going to bolt, but then her body slumped as she hung her head and she told him that she had run away from the Teeswater farm after they refused to hire Bobby and let him be her mate.

"Did you come looking for me?"

"Not at first. I just wanted to get away, but anyone willing to give me a lift was headed to Ariesborough, so I ended up here."

"It was nice of them to help you." Bobby knew that Ronnie's family was even poorer than his had been, so she would not have had any money for the trip.

Ronnie's face went hard. "Nice of them? Nice of them? The first thing I learned on the road is that nothing comes for free." Ronnie almost spat as she described what she had to do to get a ride or a meal. "Even the horses." She cried as she clutched her shawl tightly. "Even the horses made me ...." But there her voice trailed off.

Bobby put his arms about her shoulders and drew her against him. There were some strange scents on her fur and clothes that he could not place, but he chalked it up to rough living on the road.

"Well, you're here now." He told her. "I'm sure we can find a place for you to stay and get you some kind of job."

"I have a place to stay, and a job." She murmured against his chest. "I was just about to go there when you ran into me."

Bobby took a half step back and held her at arm's length. He looked at her and she looked to the door leading to the third floor of the Layer Cake, the floor where rams paid to have sex with cats, pigs, horses .... and dogs. The scents he could not identify suddenly made sense.

"But ... why?"

"Don't ask. There are not many options for a dog that has run away. No one will hire you for a proper job if you are away without permission and no one will rent you a room, even if you can afford it. Try to stay and the Watch will arrest you, unless you can afford Commander Fergus' monthly 'fees' to overlook you, which just happens to equal what that old bitch Suzie pays us. So, I do what I have to do to. Besides, why should you care? Under that fancy soap I can smell that you have not exactly been wasting away pining for my love either."

Bobby remembered his morning tryst with Angel, more of a seduction on her part, really. "Ronnie, listen, I can explain."

"There is no need to explain, Bobby. The other girls that work here tell me that you have to learn quick or die on these streets, and you've learned, by all accounts. A cushy job at a school, in tight with the Commander's chief lackey, Dan ... oh, I could tell you things about that dog that would curl your fur ... and in tight with the Commander's Corgi too by the smell. Do me a favour, Bobby. Leave me be. Don't hang around looking from me or, lord forbid, asking after me to Suzie. The less there is to remind me of home the better."

She broke free of his grip, which had grown quite tight without him being aware of it and rushed to the door of the Layer Cake.

"Goodbye Bobby," She said as she stood in the open doorway. "Don't think of me anymore, because I won't be thinking of you." Then she disappeared inside, slamming the door shut behind her.

Bobby stood there staring at the closed door for several minutes before the sound of someone coming down the alley from the north broke the hex that her words had cast on him. He ran to the south end and kept running, all the way back to Bayfield.