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To his own great surprise, Aran was actually paying attention to the movie, even though he was obviously fifteen years too old to fit in the target audience. The wolf concluded that he was probably trying to follow the story because he did not want Gina think that he was playing pretend just to please her.

It would render his efforts of compensation shallow and empty if he did, so Aran did his best to let himself go and maybe even enjoy the story. He recognized the black Labrador as Kody, more or less the main character of the movie, and his best friend Kahn, the roe deer.

The plot of the movie discussed people being made fun of because they are different from others. The storyboard writers tried to convey the message that being different is good, because everyone would be the same otherwise.

Additionally, the characters discovered that 'different' people sometimes have very special abilities. Their most prominent example was their own friend Hania, the shy ice dragoness. The five youngsters happened to live in a place where dragons are very rare, so most people were unfamiliar with Hania's ability to breathe ice. She also proved to be an excellent swimmer, especially for her young age.

After the movie, Jennifer came in, carrying a tray with two puppy bottles, a sippy cup and a small plate with some cookies. She put the tray on the ground and Gina immediately grabbed the sippy cup. With a smile, the collie took the vixen's place on the beanbag chair and began feeding Aran. She started with the smaller bottle, which contained a dose of the antidote.

As the wolf drank from his bottle, Jennifer asked whether her puppies had enjoyed the movie. Gina gave a short summary of what the story was about and what she had liked about it. From what the vixen told, Aran understood that she had seen a large portion of the series, since she mentioned events that were not in the movie.

"Princess, can you play by yourself for a little while longer?" Jennifer asked when the drinks were drunk and the cookies eaten.

"But I wanna play with Aran!" she said, pretending to pout.

"What if I just give you your pacifier, and you go watch another episode like a good puppy?"

"Why can't we play together?" she queried, cocking her head.

"I want to brush his fur. I started yesterday, but we didn't finish. Besides, Farani will keep you company, and you can play with Aran after I'm done."

"Aww, okay," the vixen responded with drooping ears, then crawled over to the television to pick what she was going to watch.

Jennifer got up from the beanbag chair, taking the tray with her as she left the playroom. When she returned, the collie carried Gina's pacifier and stuffed elephant, which she offered to the 'princess'.

"Farani!" the vixen exclaimed, happily accepting her plushie from her caregiver.

With her pacifier added to the mix, Gina looked like she would be occupied for the next half an hour. The collie beckoned her wolf puppy and took his hand. Together, they went to the living room, where she sat Aran down on the same quilted fabric as the day before.

"Actually, you should probably lay down," the collie thought aloud as she took Aran's t-shirt off. "I did your back yesterday, so I'll start with your chest now."

The wolf complied to her suggestion, twitching his tail.

"Listen, pup. I want you to tell me as soon as you feel like you're about to have another anxiety attack. Yesterday, I noticed it too late, but we'll have to work together to keep you where you are now, do you understand?"

He slowly nodded, and Jennifer got started.

"Jennifer? There's something I_don't_understand."

"What's the matter? Brushing isn't that complex, is it?" the collie joked, and Aran smiled.

"Nah, it's about Gina. Something feels... off. When I first met her here, she sounded angry, as if she wanted to take revenge for everything I did to her. However, now she's here, as a puppy, it's like she's even trying to become friends. How does that work? It's like she's oblivious of our past!"

"Easy, Aran, don't get too worked up over it. First of all, when she first entered your nursery, she was a puppy as well."

Aran's ears perked up.

"It was one of the reasons why you weren't allowed to turn around. Or talk, for that matter. Your only role was to listen."

"Then how do you explain the difference between what she said and how behaves now? Is she pretending to be nice?"

"No, this is the Gina I've gotten to know over the past months. What she did when you weren't allowed to respond was not so much for_her_ as it was for you."

"But you said she wasn't a part of the program!" Aran protested.

"I didn't," the collie replied matter-of-factly. "I only said that I had explained some things to her before I let her into your nursery, so she could say what you needed to hear with the right words. That's not a lie, is it? I_did_ instruct her on what to say, because, like I said, her role was all part of what you..."

"Needed to hear," Aran joined in unison.

"Yush, very good. This way, you'd be triggered to think about yourself and what you did. It even caused you to ask Gina for her forgiveness. That's a question she feared you might not be willing to ask, so it's very helpful that you came to the right conclusion by yourself."

Jennifer took a short pause to put Aran's shirt back on. She then nudged him to change his position and took off his pants, so she could brush his legs.

"It's still not entirely clear to me. How can she first show resent, then act like nothing happened before she even forgave me?"

"She had already forgiven you, as it was a part of her treatment. However, we thought it would be a good opportunity for her to forgive you in person. It's the confrontation itself that made it hard and emotional for her."

"Wow, I haven't even thought of it that way. On the other paw, it seemed a bit too easy that she'd just forgive me without consideration, even after months of treatment, right?"

The collie did not respond, she only smiled.

"By the way, how do you and Kaiser know all this stuff about me? Did Gina tell you all that?"

"How would she know about the divorce of your parents, dear?"

"No idea, that's why I was asking_you_, actually," Aran countered, attempting not to insult his caregiver.

Jennifer smiled again.

"Your story started with your mother. After you left, she was often confronted with herself, as there was nobody to talk to. The loneliness wasn't that much of a problem, but there was nobody to disturb her thoughts. As the practice of her life began to revolve only around herself, her she began blaming herself for much of what had happened."

"Like how my father abused me?"

"Among other things. She went as far as to blame herself for the times her own father sexually abused_her_."

"But that can't be true! My mother wouldn't be to blame for_that_ in any way, would she?"

"Easy now, Aran," Jennifer reassured. "We don't want you to slip away again. Take a deep breath."

The wolf obeyed and tried to calm himself down.

"Eventually, she couldn't keep all this to herself anymore, as she became increasingly unhappy and depressed. Your mother spilled her heart's content to her best friend, whom advised her to seek professional help."

"And that's how she found the Chainbreakers?"

"After a few minor detours, yush."

Aran cocked his head.

"But how does this relate to me?"

"During her therapy, your mother mentioned that she was afraid of her husband, especially when he abused you. Her therapist then understood that it wouldn't hurt if someone would help you deal with your past as well."

"Did my mother know about you guys? Or about the puppy treatment?"

Jennifer shook her head.

"None of that. She knew that some colleague-of-a-colleague of her therapist would be trying to help you. Her own therapist asked her a lot of questions about you, your relationship with your father, your childhood, and so on. Combined with what he already knew about your mother, he composed a dossier about you. The dossier was delivered to Chainbreakers Inc., and subsequently handed over to Kaiser. You know the rest of the story, don't you?"

"Most of it. So my mother didn't know about the kind of treatment, but she knew that I'd be getting help?"

The collie made Aran change his position once more, so she could brush his tail.

"We told her that we'd do our best, but that you'd probably want to accept our help after we had explained why you needed it. Since she had underwent quite some therapy herself already, your mother trusted her therapist to choose the right people to help her son."

"Am I_that_ important to her?"

"You've always been, but your mother was terrified of your father and didn't dare to stand up for you. She's changed into a better person now, though. Please give her a chance to show that she can be a mother for you, even though you're twenty years old and you're not very dependent on her anymore."

"How can I go back to her? I didn't exactly leave on the best terms," Aran replied hesitantly. "Will she even accept me back, regardless of whether or not I want her to?"

"It'll be okay, Aran, there's no need to worry or to be sad. Focus on the positive experiences you've had so far."

"How is that going to help me?" the wolf countered, feeling both confused and belittled.

"It's not going to work if I explain it all. I'd rather teach you a saying I've learned from Primrose. It's a rabbit saying, but I don't know the Lapine words."

"Doesn't matter, I don't speak 'rabbit' anyway," Aran said half-joking.

Jennifer smiled.

"The key is to have hope, Aran. The rabbits say that hope is the death of unhappiness."