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"Really, I'm fine sir." Luke insisted on what felt to him like the hundredth time. "I don't have time to lay down on my bed, things need to be prepared for Cooper's team to-'"

"Quit yer Barking, pup!." Thistle reprimanded the human as he took said human to his bedroom. "Ya know yer' suppose' to listen to yer elders. After all these years one would think you would have learned that by now." The blue heeler swore that the human was as stubborn as he was when in his youth.

Getting the human inside the room was no easy feat for Thistle, convincing Luke of actually resting would be an even harder feat. The human had the strange habit of working himself into exhaustion, and despite how the majority of the other dogs in Shelter claimed that Thistle only hung out with the human because he wanted to fuck him, Thistle actually liked the human's company… Well maybe he had indeed horny thoughts about Luke a little too frequently for comfort, but the human was one of the few people that treated him as if he was just another normal friend, instead of an old cranky dog. Thistle had some numbers under his belt but he wasn't on death's door and he had no plan on dying anytime soon. The problem was, that struggling with the stubborn human to get him to lay down on the bed would probably be the end of the senior.

"Sir, I just ha-. Achoo!" Luke got interrupted by a violent involuntary biological response... also known as a sneeze.

Luke just stared horrified at Thistle, the dog had an unimpressed expression on his face, one of his ears was down while an eyebrow was up clearly demonstrating his disappointment. Luke's cheeks felt burning hot as he realized where his 'natural biological response' ended up.

"Really, boy?." Said biological response was now dripping from Thistle's face.

One unfortunate sneeze was all it took to get Luke to finally lay down in bed. The shame of having sneezed on his friend made Luke so damn guilty that he would rather just shut up and let himself be taken care of than probably face that little accident... Or better yet, he could just die out of embarrassment and his suffering would be over... whichever came first was welcome. After thoroughly wiping his face with a cloth that was conveniently lying around, Thistle smirked at the human laying on the bed. The blue heeler proceeded to check Luke's temperature by putting his paw on the human's forehead, he may not be a healer but he had learned one thing or two by just watching other folks that knew their stuff from afar... He seemed to do that a lot these days.

"Stay, pup." Thistle ordered, putting his clawed hand on Luke's chest, carefully pushing him down onto the bed. "I be getting you somethin' my ol' pa' used to give me when ah' was feeling down on the gutter." The dog continued, his hand remained a second or two too long on Luke's chest, even after the human nodded in acknowledgment.

Luke could not ignore that the warmth of Thistle's hand was really comfortable. The funny thing about getting a cold was that your internal temperature went haywire because of it, and Shelter's interior temperature was warm most of the time thanks to all the canines that lived in it, sometimes too warm. Yet Luke's body was really cold, however, so the human was a little bit let down when the old dog finally decided to walk out of his room to search for whatever it was that his 'pa' used to make. As soon as Thistle left, Luke hastily covered himself with his covers. The result was a quite amusing burrito-shaped human that shivered every once in a while. Left alone with his thoughts while gazing at the ceiling and sniffing now and then, Luke thought back on the incident with Humphrey and Teak, he felt very bad about Humphrey. He didn't even get the chance to apologize to the poodle as he was quickly dragged out of the tavern by Thistle after the incident. The old dog had thankfully come to his aide when Teak was about to get in a fight with Alon and defused the situation.

The wolf that was apparently more worried about getting sick than his friend…

Luke's heart broke just a little, he was used to most of Shelter's residents brushing off Teak's behavior or mistaking it for completely different scenarios, some even believed that Teak and he were married and were just having a lover's quarrel(apparently canine married couples fought all the time, sometimes even coming to teeth and claw). Yet he had thought that Alon out of all people would understand and empathize with him, understand him even... He had obviously been wrong, despite their similarities in how they've been treated by the end of the day Alon was still a canine... With claws, fangs, fur, and a tail. Luke, on the other hand, didn't even have sharp teeth, maybe he was doomed to spend the rest of his days alone in Shelter, without ever being understood. Condemned to just serve the dogs until he dropped dead from exhaustion or illness…

Though this flu didn't seem particularly deadly... At least he hoped so.

Luke realized that a tear had been going down his cheek. Quickly wiping it away before Thistle or anyone else could see it. His pain was his alone, he didn't have to bother anyone else with it, he had learned that from his past with the felines. No matter how much you hurt, you had to either be strong enough to bear it, or considerate enough to not spread your pain onto others. Luke loved his friends. he really did, but they had their own problems and responsibilities to take care of, enough burden on their shoulders for the human to add even more to what they already had to deal with. Max had to take care of Shelter's morale, keeping unity and peace as much as he could through inspiration and entertainment. Rune had to train the newcomers, serve as chief in security, and deal with the assignments that were too hard for the regular teams. Burry dealt with keeping Shelter stocked up on supplies, personally preparing the food, tending to the crops, personally traveling to trade for what food they couldn't grow... And Alon… Luke didn't really know what Alon did on a daily basis but still. Sometimes he just wished that someone would-.

"Aye, good boy!."

Luke's thoughts were interrupted by Thistle coming into his room carrying a steaming bowl held in his left paw and a hefty book in the other. Luke noted that Thistle's cane was strapped to his back, it wasn't like the old dog couldn't walk without it, just that after a while his back started to hurt… Or maybe it was out of habit?. Luke didn't really know and hadn't asked about it. What he knew was that he had seen Thistle walking without it plenty of times, and the dog didn't put too much of his weight on it in the first place either. Plenty of dogs picked up weird habits every now and then, Luke still remembered the weird dalmatian that liked to count his own spots every 3 hours to check that he hadn't suddenly gotten new ones.

"I knew ye' couldn't resist to ol' papa Thistle and his charms." Thistle moved his eyebrows up and down with half-lidded eyes and a killer smile.

Had he been feeling better, Luke was sure he would be having really impure and naughty thoughts.

"What do you have in there, sir?." Luke decided to ignore Thistle's attempt at flirting and focused on the book and the bowl.

"Don't ye worry yer head about these things, pup." Putting the book to the far side of the bed, The senior dog sat beside the burrito-shaped human with the bowl in hand, he produced a spoon out of one of his pockets, dipping the utensil into the thick liquid and after blowing on it for a while offered it to the human.

"Open wide fer' me pup." The sensual look in Thistle's eyes made Luke just a tad suspicious.

"What is in that… uh, is that supposed to be a soup?." Luke asked, eyeing the so-called 'soup'.

"Just a special thing to make ye feel better boy!."

"Who made this again?." Luke sneezed after that.

"I instructed Burry in how to make it, will ya eat it already?. My arm is getting kinda sore and this ain't exactly cold ye' know?." Thistle rolled his eyes, he was just playing with the human, no need to take the fliting seriously... Unless...

"I can perfectly eat it on my own-" Luke sneezed again.

Thistle grimaced, raising an eyebrow at the string of nasty stuff slowly going down Luke's nose after he sniffed. "Do ye want yer brew with boogers then?."

"..."

"..."

"...No?."

"So yer considerin' it?."

"No!."

Luke opened his mouth saying 'ah', given his current condition he had no other choice but to submit himself to whatever Thistle had Burry prepare for him… Though if he was being honest he kinda enjoyed the attention. Burry would usually take care of him when he got sick, but right now the chubby dog was very busy with all the work that had to be done, that was the number one reason why Luke was still working earlier, even with how terrible he felt. He liked to help and didn't want to be lazy while Burry just slaved away at the tavern...Just like how he must be right now.

"Atta boy, here it comes." Luke had to admit that it was embarrassing to be spoon-fed at this age. He had to admit that the brew tasted much better than what it looked like.

The human and dog followed a rhythm after that. Thistle would grab a spoonful, blow on it for a while then feed it to Luke, the human dutifully taking it all in without much protest. The steam that came out of the bowl was surprisingly helping in clearing Luke's nose, making his sense of smell once again available to him. Now that he could smell the brew Luke realized that the smell was pretty good, it was a strong, yet spicy smell that was surprisingly pleasant, his dry lips were getting better and the cold he felt was being battled by the brew's temperature, not much... But it was better than nothing. Even after Thistle blew on it some warmth remained in each spoon that was fed to the human. After about a couple of minutes and a very patient Thistle, the entire bowl was done.

"Good boy, human!" Thistle complimented the human, patting his hair for emphasis.

Luke blushed, not used to the praise. he noted that Thistle was putting the bowl to the side, but instead of leaving the blue heeler was reaching instead for the big book that had been set aside earlier. With great care, Thistle finally retrieved the book on the far side of the bed and sat just beside the burrito human on the bed. Placing his arm over Luke, inviting the human into his warmth. While Luke felt better, it was quite obvious that the cold was still an issue for him, his shivers had subsided but were still present, he also felt oddly sleepy, it probably was because of the cold he caught or something.

Getting his head comfortable on Thistle's chest, Luke realized just how cold he felt. Thistle's temperature was like a furnace to Luke in comparison, even though his own body temperature wasn't that far off from Shelter's cold environment. He couldn't stop the yawn that came from his mouth, whatever had been in that brew couldn't possibly make him feel both better and also sleepy, right?.

"This ol' thing here is something me own elders used ta' read to me when I was just a pup and not feeling so well, human." Thistle said, as his hand claws softly and tenderly drew lines in Luke's hair.

Luke briefly entertained the thought that maybe he should get sick more often if it got him this kind of treatment. Thistle's blunt claws combing through his hair felt like heaven on earth, the warmth radiating from the blue heeler was like a summer breeze back in the feline territory, one of the few things Luke missed about his past. Luke hated to admit that he was much more comfortable in here, sick and snuggling to the senior dog than on the Tavern and healthy… It was a shame Thistle was only doing this because he was sick…

"Why are you here, sir?." Luke finally asked Thistle, the dog's claws stopping for a moment before resuming their pampering of the sick human. "I mean no offense… But you probably have better things to do than being here with some ill human... You might even get sick… and I wouldn't want that."

Thistle chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest into Luke, causing a strangely pleasant feeling.

"Even ol' foolish me knows this be just a simple cold… An untreated one, that is... Is why ya were feeling like that before, ya should take better care of yerself, pup." Thistle playfully pulled one of Luke's ears, being careful not to hurt the human.

"Sides'... who says I have somethin' better ta do than being in bed with an attractive young man, hmm?." Thistle teased, putting on a seductive face as he winked at Luke.

Luke hid his face by pressing it to Thistle's leg to hide the blush adorning his face. The act required him to bend his back a little bit more. Thistle, of course, didn't miss the chance to keep messing with the human.

"Oooh, gettin' feisty now, are we?." Thistle laughed when Luke just hid his face more. Muttering about how the heeler was a 'pervert old dog'.

This position was more comfortable for Thistle. Luke's head was comfortably placed on the dog's lap allowing easy access for his hand to keep playing with the human's soft hair, the feeling of it was as much enjoyable for Thistle as it was for Luke. The human was happy to oblige, of course, he was missing on the irony of this old dog petting him into complacency.

"What do ye say I read ya some of me' book?." Thistle asked. Luke yawned, he didn't see the harm in it.

"This isn't some sex crazy adventure that you're fond of, right?." Luke asked, skeptical. "I mean no offense, sir, but I'm not feeling like I need one of those right now."

"First of all. Drop that 'Sir' thingy, there are other things ya could be calling me, pup…" Thistle teased, tracing a claw seductively down Luke's chin to the prominent bump on his throat. Thistle chuckled as he watched Luke shiver, and not from the cold, he could practically feel the goosebumps that went through Luke, it was fun messing with the human. "Second of all, these weren't written by me, human. These stories are more fitted fer puppies, but I figured I could read ya some of these while the sleeping herb that I asked Burry to put in your brew takes effect, ya need the rest to get better."

So that was why Luke was feeling so sleepy, he supposed that if Burry agreed to put that in his 'home medication' then it should be fine. Nodding his head Thistle opened the book, and searched for a good story to read, one that might be to the human's enjoyment. "This one might be to yer liking. Ya ever heard of Luna and Sol's tale?." Thistle asked the human on his lap.

"Luna and Sol?, I think I heard those names once or twice around the Tavern but I don't really know the story." Luke replied, now curious.

"Well, Human, let this old dog be yer first time then." Thistle teased once again. Luke rolled his eyes, the innuendo wasn't lost on him.

Thistle cleared his throat, preparing his voice for the tale.

"Tells the story, about two lovers... Born so different from one another... Yet born so similar at the same time… these two lovers were named Sol, a canine who had the most golden of furs, and Luna, whose eyes shined the clearest gray on his furless dark body."

"Furless?. was Luna a Saurian?." Luke asked, he had never heard of a furless dog unless they were sick.

"Some dogs don't have fur, Human. Like the… Uh… Xolee-cunty?... Yeah, that one." Thistle replied, confused about the furless breed.

"Xoloitzcuintle, but yeah, not all of them are furless-." Luke tried to say before being interrupted.

"Thing is, that every race has their different take on the story. The cats say Luna was one of those furless cats and Sol a lion, so do the rodents have their take and so on." Thistle interrupted Luke. "Far as I know, Luna's race was never specified, this one be one of the oldest versions of the story so no specifications on Luna's species… Who knows, for all we know he coulda' even be a human, huh?." Thistle said, smiling down at the human.

Luke scoffed at the thought, doubting that a human would have been involved in a story that spanned different cultures… Then again, the idea of it was strangely comforting.

"Well, moving on… Sol's pack was really strong, said to be able to spew flames from their every orifice and send mountains flying with just a wag of their tails. Their bark so strong that it was said to be heard from one kingdom to another." Thistle drawled, Luke doubted that such a thing could even be possible but puppy stories always seemed to exaggerate things.

"Now, Luna's tribe was nothing to laugh at, it was said that they spoke to the dead, their silver eyes could peer into your very soul and reveal even your darkest of secrets to the world. Their control of mana was so strong that even the elder monsters knew better than to mess with them, they were able to cast spells that could change the world as we know it." Luke noted that Thistle said 'tribe' and not pack.

"One fateful day as he trekked through the plains doing his normal chores for his pack, Sol found a pair of silver eyes watching him, those eyes were on a face darker than a Rottweiler's nose… So mesmerizing. their beauty, so great that not even the vast gardens of the ol' world could compare. On the other side of things, Luna saw in Sol a fur so golden, brighter than the biggest of flames, four times as warm... a beacon in the dark" Thistle paused dramatically.

"It was safe to say that it was love at first sight. The fools, both of them didn't act, no… Not that time, nor the next few times that they encountered each other… But… As the encounters and stares got more frequent so did the distance between them shorten each time. Getting closer by each encounter that passed, greeting, then talking... Until one day they were courageous enough to finally accept what was going on in their hearts." Thistle's voice was soothing to Luke, his paw tenderly petting the human's hair also making Luke feel comfortable.

"What happened next?." Luke asked, curious and invested in the story now.

Thistle chuckled, now aware that he had gotten Luke interested in this old tale.

"What happens when two souls that desire each other so much meet. They consumed their love in a passionate act of love. Things didn't stop there, though, every time the both of them went to do their activities away from their respective tribes they would encounter each other, they would talk… Play… Touch… Caress…" Thistle looked down at Luke. "... And Love each other."

"This went on for a long time. Their adventures had remained a secret to their families all that time. For their union was forbidden, their love not accepted, a secret to be kept forever… Or so they thought. Alas, secrets can't last forever, unfortunately, not even ones so precious as this one was... they were discovered in the sweet act of passion." Luke held his breath.

"Their families enraged and betrayed, forbid each from seeing the other, not only that, as war broke out between Sol's pack and Luna's tribe over what they saw as a sinful act… Desperate to ensure his love's safety again and to end the death and desolation of his family, Luna did the unthinkable, he offered his life to Sol's pack chief... Sol's own father. In compensation for having disgraced his son, blaming everything on himself... For it was his mistake to have enticed and seduced Sol into his treacherous embrace and poisoned-filled kisses. The chief agreed, however, fearing his son's reaction, it was to be kept a secret from Sol. The chief decided to have a ritual out of it, performed at the edge of the world... A bargain had been struck, one that would end Luna's life in order to ensure peace again, but more importantly to bring safety to Sol. To Luna, this was a sacrifice worth doing millions of times over if he had to." Thistle's voice got somber, somehow sad. Luke remained completely silent, fully involved in the story.

"Then... It happened, the woeful day arrived. As the ritual took place, Sol somehow found out about what his father was plotting and immediately set in his mind to stop the ritual that was to end his lover's life… Though as fate had it… Sol would arrive too late. As his love lay gasping his last breaths, Sol took revenge on his father and his accomplices, the flames of his revenge and fury, so great that the world's edge would never be able to be reached by anyone else ever again. Vengeance completed, he went to his dying lover's side, holding his hand for one last time. As Luna touched Sol's cheek and with what little strength he had left he made one last promise to Sol. Their bodies would be no more, but their souls would forever be together just like before... Forever and always." Thistle looked away from the book for a moment, he knew this next part from memory.

"As Luna passed away, Sol could feel mana like none he had ever felt before. His very being dissolving into thin air, moving across the skies, the entire world... Even farther beyond than that. Sol's spirit would end up becoming the very same giant ball of light and flames in the sky. his flesh would form every living being that moved, breathed, played, and loved." Luke, fully enamored by the story was getting impatient for Thistle to continue.

"on the other hand, Luna's soul became the gentle guide on the night sky, the smaller but wiser counterpart of Sol, his blood that had been spilled that woeful night would flow through the land, forming the great oceans, giving shape to the countries and continents, and the very same sustain of life itself...."

"Wow-" Luke quickly shut up, realizing that he had interrupted, thankfully Thistle continued with the deep smooth drawl of his voice.

"Luna's spell had made sure that they would spend the rest of eternity together, forever playfully chasing each other, and if ya were lucky enough you could see the exact moment when they found themselves, their embrace obscuring the land so they could love each other in privacy. It is said that after Luna's death, Sol became so protective that he would blind anyone that he caught staring at their embrace for too long. after that they would play again, just like that for the rest of eternity." Thistle finished, Looking at the human he was so dutifully pampering.

Luke was at a loss for words, the story had been perfect, he had loved it. the human had fought through the sleepiness trying to overtake him just to get to the ending... He had but on doubt.

"Sir, that was a great tale, but I'm curious... If Luna is the moon, why do canines howl at the moon then?." Luke asked, Thistle chuckled.

"Well, canines are said to be closer to Sol, so each one of us may feel just a little bit of Sol's love for Luna, and we just express those feeling through our howls." Thistle lovingly stroked Luke's cheek as the human yawned.

"I would Like to hear more stories if it's fine by you, sir." Luke requested as he yawned, sleep was starting to win the battle against his tired body, however, a few more stories couldn't hurt right?.

"Sure, my boy." Thistle smiled, all too happy to have attention paid to him.

So Thistle continued telling stories from his book, the slow drawl of his voice along with his warm accent was like a lullaby to Luke. The warm clawed paw that was loving on the human didn't stop for more than a few seconds before pampering him with affection again. Luke was on the verge of falling asleep but he fought bravely, he had one thing he felt that he should do.

"Thanks for doing this...I don't really know why others don't... really pay attention to your... Stories..." Luke struggled to say, sleep's embrace winning the battle against him, his eyes and mouth closing on their own. "You are a good dog, Thistle..." And with that Luke was out like a light.

Thistle's eyes watered, his vision getting misty for a second before he wiped his eyes with his shawl, how many years had been since someone last called him that?. to canines being honestly called a good dog was one of the best compliments they could receive, it wasn't uncommon for older dogs like Thistle to never be given that compliment again. Thistle smiled at the sleeping form cuddled into his lap, the Heeler bent down and placed a fleeting kiss on the human's head.

"Sweet dreams, Luke." he whispered with a smile on his face.

"...."

"..."

"...."

"Ya know, fer someone so deadset on bein' a 'lone wolf', ya don't seem to be away from him for longer than an hour..." Thistle said to the shadows, knowing full well who had been watching them all this time like some kind of Voyeur.

A dark figure emerged from the shadows, his single visible red eye set on the older canines on the bed with what could be described as a very bored expression. "I feel like I might expel the contents from my stomach after all that..." Alon said. "most don't notice my presence, impressive of you to see through my incredible espionage techniques."

"Yeah, well... Am not 'most', boy." Thistle replied unimpressed by Alon's shit. "I'll take care of him tonight, so ya can leave now and stop worrying bout' him." Thistle added.

Alon scoffed. "I am not worried about the state of the human's health!." he replied, lowering his voice when Thistle put a finger in front of his muzzle, signaling the wolf that he might wake up Luke. "Also, I'm not a 'boy', you senile old scrap." Alon whispered, indignant.

Thistle rolled his eyes. "if I compare my numbers to yers, then yes, ya are a boy in me eyes." This said, then quickly changed the subject before Alon could keep replying, risking waking Luke. "If ya ain't interested in his health then why are ya here?."

Alon growled to himself, glaring at the old dog. Alon hated to admit the senile rug was right... Why had he come here?. why had he risked getting chased down and killed by every dog on Shelter for the human?. why had he threatened the brute to deter him from doing it again?... Alon had so many questions and very few answers about himself. He stared at the Human adorably wrapped in his bedsheets and cuddling to the old dog's lap.

Alon couldn't bring himself to put a name to the feeling going through him right now...

growling to himself once again, the wolf departed the human's room without a word to the other two occupants. As he stomped through the corridors and halls in Shelter his frustration only grew.

He really needed a drink... or a dozen.